/
So, it’s been two weeks since I started helping Canal with his work. Instead of the usual jobs in other worlds, such as exterminating magical beasts and gathering medicinal herbs, I get a lot of background checks and cat searches. …… I have no idea why I’m missing so many cats, let alone background checks, but I’m not sure. In the midst of the …… days, the request I received today was unusually different in color from those.
“So, why did you come here, Nee-chan?”
“Um, well. It’s actually about the repayment of Lotus-san’s debt. I was wondering if it would be possible to have a little more time and handle it in a more peaceful manner…”
A huge stone tower called the Building. Surrounded by strong-looking men in a room on the 16th floor of the building, Canal was talking frantically next to me.
Oh, and by the way, I am the only one who came here because even if a fatal mistake is made, I can use my banishment skill to somehow make it work, and I also performed a rough trick of gluing a crystal imitation made with [Copy and Fake] to my wrist. If someone investigates it, they’ll realize it’s a fake in an instant, but there aren’t many people who would suspect someone for wearing something that everyone should naturally have.
“You know, Nee-chan, there’s no way I’m just gonna say ‘I see’ and take that kind of talk, you know that, right? Right”
“Y-Yes! Of course, I understand that. But you see, I just hope that you can believe in Lotus-san’s sincerity…”
“Don’t be ridiculous! If you’re going to talk about sincerity, at least pay back the money you borrowed!”
“Hee!”
As the young man behind us threatened us, Canal instinctively shrank her shoulders. Seeing that, the fierce-looking bald man with a beard sitting in front of us lightly glared at the young man before continuing his words to Canal.
“Oi, shut up! Sorry, Nee-chan, this young man has no patience.”
“N-no! Such a thing is…”
""
“But what he is saying is not wrong, you know? What you borrow from others, you must pay back. That’s a natural thing for a human being to do. Don’t you agree?”
“That may be true! But, you see, I have also received information about the interest rate being just a little bit higher than what is legally allowed…just a little bit, you know…”
“Huh? So what? We explain all of that clearly when we lend out money, you know? And they borrow from us with full understanding, so it doesn’t matter.Well, whatever. If you have a problem with it, then you can pay us back instead. For now, one hundred million will do,”
“What?! W-why me!?”
To Canal’s astonishment, however, the bearded man replied with a faint smile.
“Why you ask? If Nee-chan, you came here, it means that the bastard Lotus had money to hire you even though he didn’t have money to pay us back, right? Then you came here because you intend to pay back the debt instead of Lotus, don’t you? Am I wrong?”
“Of course not! Why would I–“
“What then? You got money from a guy who borrowed money from us and came here with no intention of paying it back? That’s not going to fly.”
“I don’t understand! And besides, Lotus-san’s debt is only two million yen,”
“That’s the fine for sending a boring errand boy. Just pay it already!”
“Whoa!?”
The bearded man slammed his big fist down on the table with a thump, and Canal again shrank her shoulders in fright. Ah, I guess there’s no point in watching this anymore.
“No matter, Canal. Let’s just go home.”
“E-Ed ……?”
“Oi Oi Nii-chan, what do you think you are doing?”
The bearded man with a deep voice glared at me, but I paid him no attention. I completely ignored him and continued talking to Canal.
“You understand, right? You’ve been set up from the beginning. I mean, why would you even take a job like this?”
“T-That’s because I was asked by someone who has been giving me good-paying requests recently, so it was hard for me to refuse…”
“Oh, so you were set up at the request stage?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s not about that. These guys… including not only that Lotus guy but also the person who gave you the request before him, are all in on it. They planned from the beginning to rip off money from you, Canal. I bet the information that you won a fortune in Dice Lane got out.”
“Huh, Why!?”
Surprised again, Canal frantically looked around at the faces of the men and me. Ignoring her, the bearded man stared at me.
“Nii-chan, you are making a terrible accusation. Do you have any evidence for what you’re saying?”
“Evidence ? It’s not fair to ask such a young woman for 100 million. It doesn’t make any sense, and the way you’re pushing the story is too forced. No one would be convinced by such a shoddy argument. But it’s different with the Canal now. She’s got a lot of money, so she might be willing to pay that amount rather than go through the trouble of dealing with you people. It’s the perfect amount to pay to avoid any real trouble. Of course, once she pays it, you’ll probably continue to hassle her for more money endlessly.”
“… what is the basis for that?”
“Ah, let me rephrase that. I decided you’re a scoundrel because your face scares me. So, I’ve conveyed what I wanted to say. Now let’s go, Canal.”
“Heh!? Uh-huh.”
I rose from my chair, took Canal’s hand, and turned around to see two young men dressed in matching black clothes standing in front of the only doorway.
“Hey, Nii-san, neither you nor I are brats. The world isn’t so kind that you can just say “let’s go home” and we’ll leave it at that, you know?”
“That’s my line. Do you really think that a group of unarmed men, about ten or so, can stop me?”
At my words, the men surrounding us burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha! Hey, what’s up with this guy!? We’re unarmed!?”
“You’re not seriously suggesting that you’ll fight us with that splendid sword of yours, are you? What kind of street performance is this?”
“Hey, Nii-chan. I used to be quite a wild one in my younger days, but even I wasn’t that stupid. So listen, Nee-chan, I won’t say anything bad to you, just pay up quietly. Or are you going to put on some drama like that cosplay guy and have a big showdown?”
“Ed ……”
In front of the men who looked down on and ridiculed me, Canal turned a worried gaze towards me. I gently released my tightly clenched hand and without hesitation, I drew my sword, [Dawnbreaker] and punched the two men in front of me with the hilt of my sword.
“Ggggghhh!”
You bastard, you did it! Oi, you guys–“
The other men reacted by reaching into their pockets and trying to get something out, but there was no reason to wait for them to make such a foolish move. The five-meter square room was within the reach of my sword, and in just a few seconds, everyone but the bearded man was on the floor.
“Ah, let me rephrase that. Do you really think you can stop me with your skills that are no better than being unarmed?”
“You, bastard …… who are you?”
“Me? I’m–“
“Hmmm, very interesting indeed.”
Suddenly, there was a loud crash as the window in the room shattered, and someone jumped inside. With jet-black hair that flowed down to his waist, the all-black clad man, wearing a black coat over his black suit, and looking completely shrouded in black, kicked the surprised bearded man into the wall before landing soundlessly on the floor.
“I would love to hear from you. Who the hell are you?” The man asked,
“…… that is something I’d like to hear from you too.”
What I could feel from the man was the presence of an overwhelmingly strong man who was of a different dimension from those lying on the floor. The one who pushed me away, who was supposed to be protecting Canal, was Canal.