Chapter 62
“We’re he—… Huh!”
“There are two… H-Hic! We were just going to order t-two bowls of stew, but… ha… ha ha. Something urgent just came up!”
“Same here! I’ll come back another time!”
Two mercenaries who had just entered the shop saw someone and immediately turned around, fleeing out the door as if running from danger.
“That’s the thirtieth already.”
“……”
Hearing Jay whisper softly beside her, Ceres stared fixedly at one spot.
“You don’t have to whisper.”
“Sorry?”
Not like he won’t hear it anyway.
And look at him—pretending to know nothing, just shamelessly sitting there.
The person she was glaring at was seated right in the center of the shop, calmly reading a book.
‘What is this, a study room?!’
Is this a library or what?!
‘Kainel, you bastard.’
Should I just snatch those glasses off his face and smash them?
She couldn’t believe how infuriating Kainel looked, sitting all by himself like he owned the place.
“Hey, you.”
“……”
At Ceres’ call, Kainel looked up at her.
“What exactly are you doing right now?”
“Could you fix your tone, maybe?”
“What about my tone?”
“Pick one and stick to it.”
Not polite, not casual—just confusing.
“Alright then.”
“……”
Ceres immediately switched to informal speech as if she had been waiting for that.
Kainel placed his glasses down on the table, barely suppressing a smile.
“What are you doing here?”
“Told you—waiting for repayment.”
“I know that!”
Bang!
“Didn’t that hurt?”
“You son of a…”
Does that even matter right now?!
At Kainel’s reaction—calmly watching her after she slammed her hand on the table—Ceres almost cursed out loud.
“Do you seriously have to sit here to collect it?”
“Then sign.”
“……”
…Should I kill him?
Ceres pressed the back of her neck and let out a long sigh.
How many times had they repeated this conversation now?
‘Was he always this stubborn?’
Why does nothing seem to get through to him?
“I said I’d pay you back. I’d make every payment, right on time.”
“Sure. Go ahead and repay me. I’ll be here, waiting until you pay back every coin.”
…Seriously, should I kill him?
Right now, she felt like pulling out her sword from her dimensional space and swinging it just to vent.
“This is obstruction of business! I’ll sue for damages!”
“Go ahead. As much as you want.”
Rich people are the worst.
So smug, so infuriating.
Ceres glared at Kainel, who simply smiled like none of this bothered him, and wiped her face roughly.
‘Damn bastard.’
Ever since that day—since that man showed up with stacks of debt documents—this nonsense had continued.
Even though she promised to repay him and cover interest properly, he kept planting himself in her shop and driving people away.
Of course, customers took one look at Kainel seated inside from the early morning and ran without looking back.
A few bold mercenaries insisted they needed the stew to cure their hangover and managed to place an order, but—
Tap.
“……”
Cough!
“H-here’s the bill!”
The moment Kainel shut his book and fixed his cold gaze on them, they couldn’t even finish half their stew before bolting from the shop.
“Are you trying to make me pay the debt or not? You’re scaring off all my customers!”
I need to make money to pay you back, idiot!
And also—
“How the hell did you get all the debt papers?”
Loan sharks aren’t stupid.
They’re not the type to easily hand over a high-interest contract that pays regularly each month.
But she was supposed to believe every single one of them willingly handed the papers to this guy?
Does that make any sense?!
“Because nothing is more precious than life.”
“…Life?”
…Did he just imply he threatened them?
Ceres gave him an incredulous look.
You really must be so bored these days.
“Well, some of them handed it over easily.”
Kainel hadn’t even used threats, but one place had gone so far as to thank him for taking it off their hands—which left him slightly puzzled.
He had no idea that it was the same place Ceres had stormed into before, demanding to know why they had beaten up her employee.
Ding.
“What, that guy’s here again today?”
At that moment, the shop door opened and someone stepped in.
Frowning deeply, the newcomer was none other than Chaian de Devrica, the Master of the Magic Tower.
“Hey! I told you I’d repay that debt!”
“Why would you?”
“I should be the one asking that!”
A few days earlier, when Chaian had found out the reason Kainel kept sitting in the shop, he had made a suggestion.
‘I’ll repay all the debt for her.’
‘No thanks.’
‘Huh? Why not? You’re just here to collect money, right?!’
‘Whether or not I accept it depends on me, the one getting paid.’
‘Ha! Then I’ll just give the money to Ceres. Ceres! I’ll give you the money. Just pay him back.’
‘No.’
‘What? Ugh, now you too?’
‘Taking money from you would also be another debt. I don’t want to end up owing this person and that person.’
‘You don’t have to pay me back!’
‘No. Even emotional debt is still debt. This is my responsibility, so I’ll handle it.’
Ceres had spoken so firmly that it made him feel hurt.
Recalling the memory, Chaian pouted and changed his approach.
“Ceres, think about it again. I’ll pay a proper price for that Defensive Stone. With that, you can repay all your debt.”
He was referring to the Defensive Stone he’d obtained from the Drow Barony’s steward in exchange for reinforcing the shop’s barrier when the Black Forest Monsters appeared not long ago.
“If I’m paying fairly for it, there’s no reason to feel burdened—”
“I’m counting that against the 5,000 gold you paid me for being your temp assistant.”
“T-That was a salary…!”
“Stop pretending. That thing wasn’t even worth 500 gold, and you topped off my pay with your own money.”
“Luka, that jerk…!”
Chaian buried his head on the table, cursing his secretary Luka, who had clearly spilled the beans on purpose.
Ceres clicked her tongue and told him not to blame others, then brought him a glass of cold water.
“Why do you keep bringing up something that’s already settled?”
“Because otherwise it means you worked without even getting paid!”
“So what. We’re close enough that I can do that much for free.”
“……”
We’re close enough…
Close enough…?
Chaian, who had been flaring up, suddenly fell silent.
Unable to say anything, he looked like he was on the verge of tears as his gaze drifted back to the original target.
He couldn’t stand just watching the absurdity unfold anymore, so he resolved to at least start an argument.
“Why did you even buy all of Ceres’s debt in the first place?”
Since when were you two so close that you’d buy up her loans and stop the loan sharks’ interest?!
“Are you bored? Looking to pull a prank or something? Wow, you’re completely ruining the image of the Northern Duke!”
“Are you curious?”
“Yes!”
Ceres sighed as she watched him reply so eagerly after just mocking him.
How can someone like him be the Master of the Magic Tower?
Chaian, Kainel is totally playing with you…
“Do I look like the kind of guy who’d tell you that?”
“…Wow.”
As expected, twisted sarcasm came flying out.
Chaian’s jaw dropped.
Was this guy always like this?
Kainel’s sly smile, clearly mocking him, had never looked more infuriating.
“I think I told you before—this isn’t your business. Seems like you’re not great at picking up on things.”
“Can’t you just take the money and be done with it?”
“Nope.”
“Unbelievable!”
Chaian ruffled his hair in frustration.
This Kainel guy, and Ceres too—why were they both so stubborn about all the wrong things?
This could’ve ended neatly if they’d just taken his money, but instead they kept going around in circles!
“Want some tea?”
“No! I’m not drinking anything!”
“Fine then.”
“W-Wait! I’ll drink it!”
Chaian barked out his reply irritably, clearly in a foul mood, but as soon as he saw Ceres turning away without hesitation, he immediately folded.
Kainel, watching from the side, looked at him with thinly veiled pity.
All that fuss over tea.
“Drink it.”
“Okay!”
But then, when only Chaian got served tea, Kainel’s brow twitched.
“What about me?”
“What about you?”
“I don’t get any?”
“Yeah, you don’t. Why would I give tea to someone with nothing pretty about them?”
“You gave him tea because he’s pretty?”
“Yep.”
As a grin bloomed on Chaian’s face, a chilly smile curled at the corners of Kainel’s lips.
The kind of smile that only came out when he was really annoyed.
His narrowed eyes fixed on Chaian, who sipped his tea smugly.
‘He keeps reminding me of someone.’
He’d noticed it before—but this guy, the Magic Tower Master, really acted just like Arthia.
That subtly infuriating attitude…
Is it something all Magic Tower Masters have in common?
—
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