NOVEL WEB Chapter 103 - Chapter 103: The Inn in the Black Market
Chapter 103: The Inn in the Black Market
The inn we were directed to was located right along the street, very close to Gisella’s house. About ten or so men were milling around the entrance of the inn. Each of them was carrying some kind of weapon, and they were all vigilantly scanning their surroundings with dark and rough expressions. It was somewhat intimidating but not particularly surprising. Such scenes were common around the outskirts of the black market.
With Sarah in the lead, followed by Kuro and Shiro, then me, Gisella, and finally, Mil and Zamza carrying Kohaku, we all lined up. We had all come together for some reason, but we certainly didn’t intend to raid the place. We were simply here to rearrange those villager’s debt. We wanted to avoid any conflict if possible. However, it seemed they didn’t share the same sentiment.
“Huh? What are you guys doing here…?”
“W-What did you come for!?”
“Hey… Isn’t that…?”
“W-Whoa! It’s Gisella!”
“And there are… three onis… What’s going on?”
“Hey, isn’t that Bonus, the one who recently cracked down on the Piri Mercenary Corps?”
“I heard Gisella joined this place called the Bonus Company.”
“We better get out of here… Quick… Let’s run!”
As we approached, the situation escalated into chaos in an instant. It seemed this wasn’t just an ordinary inn. It didn’t look like a particularly large building, but a ridiculous number of people poured out from the small entrance, panicking and scrambling around.
“Um, excuse us. We’ve come to repay a debt!”
“Huh!? Oh… What? Debt?”
“You idiots, close the door quickly! We’ll be killed!”
Sarah, with a tense expression, stood in front of the half-open door and loudly stated our purpose. The people around the entrance all turned to look at Sarah at once, then scattered in the next moment, and finally, with a loud noise, the door was shut.
Shiro and Kuro looked puzzled. While in Misharl’s market area, we often wandered around with this same group, and there was never any commotion. In fact, recently, people even greeted us with smiles as we passed by… What could be the reason for this stark difference in reaction?
It felt like we had stepped into a horror movie, but Gisella didn’t seem bothered at all and just chuckled nonchalantly. Meanwhile, behind us, Zamza, holding Kohaku, and Mil were happily planning to make some new jam.
These guys are really carefree…
“Ugh…?”
“Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to come with this many people…”
“Mr. Bonus… What on earth is this…?”
“Hmm, no response.”
“I’ll open it.”
“Ah, Shiro, wait…”
Kuro rhythmically knocked on the door, but there was no response. Shiro, looking annoyed, grabbed the handle, and with a loud tearing sound, ripped the door off its hinges. Without stopping to put the door back, she strode confidently inside, and we all followed after her in a line.
“Shiro, let’s try to handle this peacefully and avoid any trouble, okay?”
“Yeah.”
When Shiro looked back at us, she had a sly smile, but it was hard to tell if she understood the situation. Sarah was frozen in place, unable to keep up with the situation, but with a push from the strangely cheerful Mil, she managed to follow along somehow.
As we passed through the narrow entrance and entered what seemed like a hall, there was no sign of anyone. Whether they had fled or were lying low, it was eerily quiet. Despite the slightly creepy atmosphere, Shiro continued to move forward confidently.
Passing through the corridor from the entrance hall and opening doors one by one, we found no one in any of the rooms. Eventually, we all gathered in front of the room at the end of the hallway. It seemed to be the only room locked. Before Shiro could break down the door, I called out to the room.
“Um, I’m Bonus from the Bonus Company! We just want to have a little chat… Could you open up?”
“… … …”
“Just here to repay a debt we owe to an acquaintance…”
“… … …”
“Bonus. Should I open the door?”
“W-Wait! …Alright! I’ll open it now, so come in!”
Along with the panicked voice from inside the room, there was a sound of people hurriedly moving around. After a moment, there was a metallic scraping sound, and the door slowly opened. Inside, it looked like a warehouse with no windows. Furniture and belongings were arranged unnaturally, giving the room a messy impression. In the center of the room, a large table was surrounded by sofas and chairs, but there was no one sitting there. Instead, about a dozen men were standing, holding their weapons at the ready with tense expressions.
It felt like trouble was brewing, but Gisella, upon seeing the situation, just chuckled.
“We’re just here to hand over some money, so why are you all brandishing weapons?~”
“O-Oh, Gisella… We… we don’t mean any harm. P-Please, put down your weapons! Quickly!”
The men who had their weapons raised hastily lowered them and let go.
A small, rat-like man standing in the corner of the room frantically gave orders to the men around him.
It seemed this man was the leader of this group.
They all stopped brandishing their weapons in a panic.
“Would you like to sit down?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“I’m Bonus from the Bonus Company. And you?”
“I-I’m Marcelus.”
“Marcelus, why don’t you take a seat too?”
“T-That’s right… I suppose I should…”
I gave up trying to make sense of this situation and decided to just proceed with talking to this man to accomplish our goal. Marcelus, while shifting his gaze nervously, obediently sat down on the sofa opposite.
Shiro and Gisella sat on either side of me. Unlike in the Lord’s Manor, the small sofa made it quite cramped. I just hoped I didn’t look like a child… Zamza, holding Kohaku, Mil, and Sarah seemed to be standing behind me. And for some reason, Kuro, with an excited expression, smoothly climbed onto the sofa where Marcelus was sitting, still wearing her shoes. Then, instead of sitting, she squatted down and peered at Marcelus’ face from the side.
(Note: Lol. Making it look like Bonus is a leader of some type of criminal organization or mafia)
“Gu-gyaa~u~gyaa~u~a~”
“Huh? Uh, w-what…?”
Kuro made a strangely wicked face, baring her teeth and making strange noises. Marcelus seemed to catch Kuro in his peripheral vision, but he quickly averted his gaze and turned his head towards me as if pleading for help.
Whether it was my imagination or not, Marcelus’ complexion seemed to be getting worse and worse. Kuro always does something incomprehensible out of the blue. Well, she seems to be having fun, so I’ll just leave her be…
“It seems the folks from Vaintz Village have come to repay the money they borrowed. Do you remember?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Well, there are some circumstances, and I’m thinking of covering it for them…”
“…”
“Would that be okay with you?”
“Gyaa~u~?”
“A-Alright! No problem at all!”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
As I asked the question, Kuro moved to peek at Marcelus’ face. Marcelus seemed to catch Kuro’s gaze, but he quickly looked away and shouted his response anxiously.
The room was quite cool, but Marcelus was sweating profusely.
Come to think of it, Kuro used to pretend to be a monster when she played… Well, she certainly seems like one now.
Perhaps because we’ve known each other for so long, I find this sight strangely endearing, but Marcelus looks as if he’s been cornered by a ferocious beast.
“Um, so, is this all the money that Vaintz Village borrowed? Sarah, can you confirm?”
“Yes, sir! There are no mistakes!”
“A-Ah, yes, indeed… They have definitely been repaid…”
“Do you have any documents to that effect?”
“N-No… There’s nothing like that.”
“I see… Well, okay. Also, we accidentally broke the front door, and I apologize for that. We’ll cover the repair costs—”
“N-No, it’s fine! We were actually planning to replace that old door! Don’t worry about it and just go home!”
“Hmm, something feels off… Huh? Wait… Aren’t you… familiar…?”
“?! …M-my face… It’s common in Savoia.”
I don’t think I’ve seen such a crude face even in Savoia.
I glanced at each of the men lined up behind him, and they all turned their heads unnaturally, as if their necks were about to snap off. I felt a strong determination from them to not make eye contact.
I’ve definitely seen a few of them somewhere before, or maybe not…
However, as someone who operates in Misharl, I shouldn’t have such unsavory acquaintances.
“Oh, I see! You guys were the ones following me when I first came to this town! I get it now, it was you guys.”
“W-What!? …I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know…”
“Well, it doesn’t matter now. Don’t worry about it. More importantly, it seems that acquaintances of mine from Vaintz Village will be staying here in the future, so please take good care of them!”
“Understood! Of course. …I’ll do my best to accommodate them as much as possible!”
“That’s a relief. Well then, shall we all head back~?”
It seems these guys prey on naive or seemingly weak people in the town, using all sorts of tactics to squeeze money out of them.
If I had made one wrong move, I might have been forced into some awful work by now.
However, in reality, nothing harmful happened.
It was terrifying and unsettling at the time, but now I don’t feel angry anymore.
And this fear…
As Gisella said, it doesn’t seem like they’ll willingly become our enemies.
Rather, it feels like we’ve become the mafia or something, which is quite a complicated feeling…
And even if we were to eliminate these guys, more troublesome ones would just pop up immediately.
In that case, it’s the Lord’s job to handle it further.
I hope Laura’s father can do his best.
However, I need to be careful with my behavior.
I can’t afford to have any more strange rumors spreading.
It’s good that we’re not being underestimated anymore, but I must not get carried away.
I need to act with as much common sense as possible, or else I’ll lose the trust of the decent and honest community around the Misharl market that I’ve worked so hard to build.
I guess I’ll have to pay for the door after all…