Chapter 210
Chapter 210
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 210
>Chapter Title: Ah, Even This Is a Bit Much for Me
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The sun had vanished, and streetlights were flickering on one by one.
Evelin finished speaking just moments after the magic lantern at the guidance office lit up.
"So, in other words..."
Bathed in the glow of the magic lantern, Aster set down his teacup—still wetting his lips—and finally opened his mouth.
"The business you were running in your name tanked hard."
"It did tank...!"
Evelin bristled, starting to argue back, but soon deflated with a heavy sigh.
"...You're right. It did. But it was because of some unavoidable variable. I still haven't figured out what it was..."
Aster's lips twitched at the sight.
It was a bizarre expression, neither crying nor laughing—but if he had to pin it down, it leaned toward a smirk.
'...Things turned out like this?'
Evelin hadn't gone into detail about the "tanked business," but it wasn't hard to guess what it was.
[Damian Model Student Project]
It was the mess that had entangled them during the Demo Project.
If he had to name it now... yeah.
'Evelin Rehabilitation Project' or something like that?
The black market for buying and selling exam papers inside the academy, an attempt to build a grade-fixing underworld—that was the "tanked business."
Who could've predicted it'd blow back like this?
Still, there was one part that didn't add up.
"No matter what, cutting off support over one failed business? Doesn't that seem a bit extreme?"
"That's..."
Evelin bit her lip, trailing off.
The memory of that time came rushing back vividly.
Truth be told, even when the exam leak got exposed, it was still something she could've smoothed over.
Debey... that idiot proxy had been put in place precisely for situations like this.
And the ties with her noble trading partners?
'...Those could've been buried too.'
The value of the Goldrin name.
The massive penalty fees.
Plus the advantages from future business.
They might blush for a moment, but the enormous profits that would fatten their houses for decades? Few nobles would let personal grudges stand in the way of that.
Sure, the blood loss would've been huge.
Huge, but...
'...Not to this extent.'
Among the nobles she'd dealt with back then, more than a few had even been hoping for the failure—just for the compensation.
So, what was the real problem?
- And honestly, this whole affair... embarrassingly enough, wasn't uncovered by academy staff. It was some justice-driven student.
That nightmare voice still echoed in her ears.
- This gathering today is also about spreading word of that student's exemplary sense of justice far and wide.
Up to that point, she'd been grinding her teeth.
Whoever dared ruin her plans—she'd hit back with every dirty trick in the book. That's what she'd vowed, sharpening her blade in her heart.
...Right up until the name was called.
- Evelin de Planche, step forward.
Cheers erupting around her. The auditorium filling with applause. Praise pouring from clueless students.
The absolute worst moment of her life.
Even now, she'd jolt awake now and then, hearing that applause in her dreams.
Shivering.
Evelin shuddered involuntarily at the horrific memory, then let out a deep sigh to regain her composure. Or tried to.
But the simmering rage wouldn't settle, and she ground her teeth.
'If only they hadn't called my name...'
Who the hell was the snitch?
If she found out now, she'd throw everything she had at them...
She was thinking that far when—
"...? You alright?"
Aster's voice snapped Evelin out of it.
"Ah, sorry. Just a bad memory hit me."
"Happens. What're friends for?"
"Friends..."
Evelin mulled over the word for a moment, then took a good look at Aster.
She'd been too flustered earlier to think straight, but was it the bad memory that did it?
Her eyes had already regained their sharp glint.
In that moment, she posed a question.
"Aster, I was too rattled earlier to ask, but... what's your angle here?"
"Angle?"
"Yes, your angle."
The eyes fixed on Aster were chill. Or rather, devoid of any warmth.
"I'll thank you for the kindness first. But from where I'm standing, it's a favor that makes no sense."
"Why doesn't it make sense?"
"I've got tuition debt hanging over me, sure—but you didn't think I'd buy your 'friends' line wholesale, did you?"
"Hmm."
Aster let out a low hum.
Evelin peered into his eyes, trying to read him, then spoke up.
"If you're after something from me, save it. As you saw, I've got nothing left."
Nothing left.
It was the truth.
Everything she'd ever had was something she'd grasped under the Goldrin name.
And on top of that—
"If you're betting on me going back to Goldrin someday and laying groundwork for then—this is wasted effort too."
"Why?"
"That's..."
Evelin, who'd been speaking coldly, fell silent for a beat. She chewed her lip, her gaze drifting vaguely across the table.
It wasn't long before she spoke again.
"Simply put... if it was just a business flop, there would've been a shot at coming back. But the flop was only the start."
The flop was just the inciting incident.
Yeah, that was right.
No matter how fatal this mess, it was still just one failure.
Considering her potential, they'd demote her at worst—not outright exile like this. It made no sense.
So why?
That was when Aster's mouth opened.
"Because of your brother?"
"How did you... Ah, right. Be weirder if you didn't know."
The cutthroat succession battle for Goldrin's inheritance was pretty infamous in merchant circles. Especially for how anything-goes it got.
"Eh, whatever."
Evelin nodded calmly and pressed on.
"My brother used this chance to knock me out for good. I couldn't fend off his attack, and that's how I ended up like this."
"So it's part of the succession fight?"
In other words, company brass might've given her another shot—but the succession war twisted it into this disaster.
Right then, Aster followed up.
"But why?"
"...Pardon?"
"I get you're wiped out, like I said. So what? No strings attached. Friends. Ever heard of 'em?"
"No, I know what friends are, but..."
Aster sighed and shook his head.
"You really have a hard time trusting people, don't you?"
"..."
Evelin couldn't find words.
Aster just gave her a wry chuckle.
"Friends help each other out. That's the deal. C'mon, repeat after me: 'A favor's just a favor.'"
"A favor's... just a favor?"
"No calculating."
"No... calculating?"
Evelin stammered it out, dazed, and Aster's voice slipped right into her ear.
"Yeah, exactly."
Evelin thought to herself:
*Somehow... that voice sounds cheerful.*
Meanwhile, Aster thought:
'*...Tch, not easy, huh?*'
* * *
I took a sip of tea and gathered my thoughts.
I'd tried slipping in some rapport while she was off-balance, but damn, a real pro at this game. Evelin wasn't budging easy.
'*Going too heavy on the vibe isn't smart either.*'
Best to pull back a step, switch topics.
"By the way, what about your tuition? They couldn't have booted you without a dime, right?"
"That... It wasn't much, but I did bring some cash."
"And?"
"Spent it on an office."
"...An office?"
Evelin nodded at my question.
"Yeah. You need an office for anything. Found a spot that'd cut the rate if I paid a full year's rent upfront, so I signed."
"Hm. Makes sense. Office's gotta be in Hazen, then."
"Yeah, outskirts. Comes with a little warehouse too."
Her casual answer had my eye twitching for a second.
Hazen, and shelling out a full year's rent in one go counts as "not much"...
Talk about a different league.
Even a big-name house would strain calling that pocket change.
Anyway.
"You dumped every last coin into the rent?"
"...Yeah. Didn't know my credits were frozen then. Was gonna use those for business startup and tuition..."
Evelin sighed, her face darkening.
Total "screwed" expression—and yeah, I got it.
'*Rents an office to launch a business, then no funds when it's go-time... I'd lose it too.*'
Hell yeah.
At this point, curiosity was inevitable.
"So what's the plan now? No living money either?"
"Living expenses... I can pawn this brooch for a bit. The issue's business capital... Guess I'll have to beg the landlord, eat the loss, and get it back."
"But you said you needed the office."
"It's a hassle, but I could do paperwork at the academy and short-term warehouse rentals."
Hm, gotcha.
'*You've got it all figured out.*'
My mouth felt all sticky for some reason.
I'd picked her up like some dumped lover, but turns out she's a tiger cub who can fend for herself.
At this rate, slave... er, friend? Nah, loose business contact at best.
So, how to play this.
'*Sneak over and torch the office?*'
No rent refund then?
Wicked thought flickered, but I shoved it down.
As a justice-upholding Troubleshooter, ends-justify-means goes against the justice code.
Fine, then—how do I win over my slave... er, friend?
Pondering that—
When Reilly's voice piped up. He'd been listening quietly, almost like he wasn't there.
[Aster-nim?]
What, buy an artifact?
Eh, not a big deal.
[What.]
[You seem to be working some angle, right? Your face looks kinda sour.]
[Just ribbing me?]
[As if. Just figured I could toss you some advice. Kinda.]
[...Advice?]
I cocked my head.
Looked like he'd sniffed out me needling Evelin.
What ace up his sleeve here?
[Nothing fancy, but worried you might drop ash in the finished soup? Wanna hear it?]
Drop ash in the soup?
[...Hit me.]
I lifted my teacup and glanced at Reilly. His voice rang in my ear right after.
...And once I'd heard it all—
[...In short, what you gotta think now is how to turn this situation to your advantage.]
I let out an exclamation the second he finished.
[...Brilliant.]
[Hehe, brilliant, right?]
Spot on.
This was brilliant.
Wasn't some huge intel drop, but his advice woke me up to something I'd totally overlooked.
Hang on, though.
"..."
I fixed my gaze on Reilly's beaming, innocent grin.
[Spill it straight.]
[...Huh?]
[What's your game?]
No way Reilly's this helpful to me.
Shine's not the only one gnashing teeth my way.
But even with my suspicion, Reilly kept that sunny smile, replying all pure.
[They say joy shared is joy halved, pain shared is pain doubled.]
[And that means...?]
[Dunno the details, but more victims the better, yeah?]
[...]
What a rotten little imp.
Honestly, even I thought this was pushing it a bit...