The Price Tag on the Ring
After I tied up Metis, the bandit leader whose price tag was still dangling from her ring, and hurled her out the window, the inside of the train fell into dead silence. It was hard to believe these were the same thugs who had been swaggering around just moments ago. Even though they were worthless extras, slaughtering them without reason left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth—no matter who I was. In a way, it was almost fortunate. Humans gathered around a single focal point are convenient like that. You don’t have to deal with each one individually; just cut off the head, and the rest will accept the outcome.
But even as every last bandit held their breath, one of them was still scurrying around busily.
The bearded thug—the one who had been clinging to that rotten rope—was finally grasping the situation and latching onto a different lifeline. It was good that he could adapt his attitude so flexibly to the circumstances, but wasn’t he taking the world a little too lightly?
When Fania raised her hand as if to strike him, the bearded man shrank back in a way that didn’t suit his size at all. The bundle of snacks in his hands looked especially pitiful.
Fania glared at him for a long moment before silently snatching the bundle of snacks away. It seemed she had no intention of scolding him any further. To get off with only a single tongue-lashing after properly pissing off that foul-tempered bitch—it was nothing short of good luck.
Time to wrap things up, then. There was also the bet I had going with Fania.
I crossed my arms, leaned against the railing, and swept my gaze over the bandits.
There was no answer. Only the sound of people swallowing hard.
At those words, the bandits sprang into frantic motion. They shoved and squeezed past one another, rushing to fetch the bundles they had stashed in the other cars. It was absolute chaos.
Meanwhile, Fania was munching on the snacks while chatting with the man.
It was the kind of story you’d only find in some third-rate, cliché soap opera. I had no idea what she saw in such drivel, but Fania was listening with tears glistening in her eyes. I’ll never understand why women get so worked up over these pathetic tales.
I shook my head, opened the window, and yanked on the cord tied to the seat. A blood-soaked corpse was dragged up. It was Metis, her body twisted and broken, life long extinguished. I had planned to wait until we reached the station, but I sensed that her magical power had completely vanished, so there was no need to delay any longer. Time to retrieve her.
I placed my hand on Metis’s head and focused my power. Soon her body scattered like smoke, leaving behind only a single dull gray stone.
When I held out the stone to Fania, who had been deep in conversation, she frowned and looked up at me. She seemed annoyed that her flow had been interrupted.
After spitting that out, Fania turned back to the man.
Her indifferent attitude made something stir uncomfortably in my chest. I clenched my teeth.
Was she really going to neglect our goal just to listen to that worthless drivel?
She was right—regardless of her attitude, Fania had given a proper answer. I knew that in my head, so why couldn’t I calm down? This was… right. Was it because of Xena’s pride?
I collapsed into a seat like a puppet with its strings cut. Then, watching Fania and the man, I pulled out a handkerchief and chewed on it viciously.
In the meantime, the bandits who had gone to fetch the bundles began returning in groups. Before long, nearly ten bundles were piled up in the corridor.
I stuffed the mangled handkerchief back into my inner pocket and spoke.
The bandits frantically began tearing open the bundles. The man who had been talking with Fania stood behind them, watching the scene intently. He seemed worried they might try to pocket the ring.
When I glanced at Fania, who had been left alone, the corner of her mouth seemed to twitch upward.
More than half the bundles had already been opened. Six gold rings with red gems had appeared, but the man kept shaking his head. It seemed the one he was looking for hadn’t shown up yet. After all, gold rings with red gems weren’t exactly rare.
I rested my chin on my hand and looked down at the opened bundles. There really were a lot. Were there always this many rich people in the world?
When I turned my head slightly to look at the man, he still couldn’t tear his eyes away from the contents of the bundles.
Gulp.
And in that fleeting moment, I didn’t miss the way his Adam’s apple bobbed.
Oh?
I seemed to have found a clue that would let me win the bet with Fania. A guaranteed winning card, at that.
Right on cue, one of the bandits seemed to have discovered a new ring. I crooked my finger, and he handed it over.
The moment he saw the ring in my hand, the man’s face lit up.
The man took the ring and bowed deeply to both me and Fania. Fania’s face brightened as well.
Yes. I’m sure you are. Time to get this show started. It was time to teach this fool, lost and flailing in his dreams, what reality really looked like.
The man politely offered the ring with both hands. I lifted it as if appraising it, turning it this way and that in the sunlight to examine it closely. For someone who claimed to be well-off, it didn’t look particularly expensive. Given Xena’s taste for luxury, I was probably right. Since his father had been so vehemently opposed, they must have run away without any family support. The ring had likely been bought with his mother’s own money. And on top of that, the exorbitant cost of travel. His current financial situation was obvious. He was living far below the level he had once enjoyed.
Living standards aren’t something you can easily lower. If someone who lived in a palace-like home was told to live in a dusty single-room shack, or if someone who ate greasy, high-class cuisine every day was told to eat canned beans every meal, nine out of ten would break.
Regardless of what kind of person he was, this was normal. That was probably why he had swallowed hard while looking at the bundles.
The man asked again, looking utterly bewildered. I smiled gently at him and spoke.
Fania’s sharp voice sliced through the air. I ignored her and kept my eyes on the man.
Demanding it outright would be a bad move. Starting with “would you like to hear a proposal” was the correct approach. It was like getting a foot in the door. As a man, it would be hard for him to refuse. After all, I wasn’t demanding he hand it over; I was simply asking him to listen. Especially since I was the benefactor who had recovered his ring.
Fania’s voice grew increasingly urgent, as if she had sensed something ominous. I was reminded once again how sharp her instinctive intuition was.
The man, who had been moving his lips hesitantly, finally spoke with caution.
At that point in the conversation, Fania stood up and stepped between me and the man.
What nonsense. The place you belong isn’t some flower garden—it’s reality.
I shook my head and pushed Fania aside.
It was a fortune that could buy five or six houses. Having spent time in this world, I could roughly gauge the value of what was inside them. With this much money, he could easily return to the comfortable life he once had. And with his lover, no less.
The man drew in a sharp breath. His entire face trembled as if he couldn’t even manage his expression.
A bead of sweat trickled down his chin. The next words that came out were exactly what I had been waiting for.
The price tag that came from the man’s own mouth, and the devalued ring. Fania’s face froze over coldly. I thought that expression looked rather pleasing as I smoothly played along with the man’s words.
I snatched the ring from the man’s hand. The moment I turned my back, he immediately gathered all the bundles into his arms and began to laugh.
Fania was glaring at me fiercely. I stared right back at her face.
The face that had been glaring at me gradually twisted, and finally she lowered her head to the floor. Fania squeezed her eyes shut, her fists trembling. Droplets fell from her face and soaked the ground.
Her voice, thick with tears, stabbed into my ears. The one who was taken aback by that was me. Wait… why is she crying? Is this something to cry about?
Fania lifted her head again. Her blurred, wavering eyes stared at me, and I unconsciously took a step back.
My intention had been to break Fania’s spirit, but I hadn’t wanted our relationship to completely collapse like this. With those words, the train came to a stop. We seemed to have arrived at the station.
Fania silently turned and walked toward the exit. Still stunned, I followed behind her. The ring in my hand felt unbearably cold.