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“I’m back,” Lloyd said before pushing the door open.
Creak.
When the door was open, he could see what was  going on inside the drawing room. Three pairs of eyes focused on him.
“Huh? Lloyd?” Baron Frontera was the one who spoke to him first. His eyes were filled with a mixture of surprise, delight, and a tinge of embarrassment.
Lloyd bowed politely to the baron. “Yes, I have returned.”
“Yes, I see you’ve returned safely. Are there any injuries?”
“No, thank you for your concern.”
“You look tired.”
“I am okay. I’ve worked hard in crossing the mountain.” Lloyd smiled bitterly. He was grateful to the Baron who was concerned about his condition first when he saw him. On the other hand, he also felt fortunate to have returned to the territory at a time when the Baron was in a difficult situation. All because of the two uninvited guests who were currently sitting opposite to the Baron.
“Long time no see, Mr Shiloh and Mr. Meatloaf.”
“
.”
The two loan sharks had been wordlessly glaring at him since earlier. Shiloh, the skinny loan shark and Meatloaf, the chubby loan shark. Their gaze towards him was never kind.
‘Perhaps because they had no choice but to back down after I discovered a loophole in their action the last time they visited.’
Wasn’t he right, though?
One corner of the skinny Shiloh’s lip curled upwards. “My, my, look at this. Aren’t you Baron Frontera’s outstanding eldest son?”
“You’re right. What excuses did you come up with today to chase us out?” The fat Meatloaf chimed in as well.
Lloyd’s sour grin widened. “You must have received an official invitation today, right?”
“Clearly,” Shiloh said. “I sent someone to notify the Baron ahead of time, asking whether we could visit. The wise Baron happily agreed to the suggestion, isn’t that right?”
“
 That’s right.” the Baron nodded his head. His expression, however, wasn’t very happy. It was natural, given that the Baron owed them a substantial sum of money. Therefore, preventing them from visiting wouldn’t be possible.
Lloyd was able to deduce these facts without needing further explanation. He was already accustomed to this situation.
‘This happened to my father as well.’
Day after day, creditors came to visit their house. His father was suffering because of their harassment, but didn’t have the bravery to stop them. No matter what kind of abusive language they hurled, father could only nod his head, saying yes and only yes.
The weak was the one at fault. The creditors would kill them.
In the evenings after the loan sharks had come and turned the house upside down, father drank soju alone and muttered these words while lamenting fate.
‘Sigh. Let’s stop thinking about that.’
Recalling that memory was painful to him.
Lloyd inhaled deeply and buried the painful memory deep within himself.
He then turned his gaze to the two loan sharks in front of him.  Just like that, his gaze already turned composed. Instead of sadness because of the painful memories, those eyes were filled with a faint manipulative glint. The same also applied to the voice he directed to the loan sharks.
“Haha, I see. I welcome you with my whole heart. Have you tried the drink produced by our livestock?”
“I’d like to get something other than a drink,” Shiloh retorted. Meatloaf added, “Something like a mine, for example.”
“A mine?”
“That’s right, a mine.” Meatloaf’s chubby cheeks jiggled. His eyes, half-buried in the flesh of his cheeks, were full of greed.
‘That coal mine you just built, kid,’ the thought popped in Meatloaf’s mind.
The coal mine in the Frontera Barony was said to have been built by the eldest son, who was a notorious ruffian. He built it by mobilizing the soldiers.
Meatloaf initially didn’t believe the rumors in the slightest.
‘What kind of mine was being built in the Barony?’
They wouldn’t even have the money to build it. That was why he only sneered and didn’t take that rumor seriously.
Similar rumors had continued to reach his ears since then.
Meatloaf had heard that an accident had occurred while they were digging the mine. Ant beasts appeared and nearly exited the tunnel they were digging. In the process, the hooligan eldest son saved the workers. One rumor after another came out from people’s mouths until it all reached his ears.
By then, Meatloaf also felt that something was strange. He sent a man to investigate the situation at the Barony of Frontera. Thanks to that, he finally knew.
“Who would’ve thought that our Baron’s eldest son possessed such a talent? Korean floor heating stone? Ondol? You made such weird things and coaxed the residents to raise money, right?”
How surprised was he when he first heard that?
“It wasn’t until then did I realize. No wonder our Baron has been diligently paying his interest lately. The money comes from making ondol or whatever that is,” Meatloaf stated.
“You’re clever for using the money that remained to build paved roads and a coal mine. For real, kukuku.” Shiloh, the skinny loan shark, chuckled. Meatloaf automatically burst out laughing as well.
A coal mine?! That one was newly built, too. It was the smell of money, his strong gut feeling said so.
If he could make that mine his, he was sure it’d be a goose that’d lay golden eggs for a while.
“That’s the reason why we visited the Baron as soon as possible and had a very g~ood conversation with him.”
“What do you mean by a good conversation?”
“We’re negotiating a deal that will be beneficial for both of us.” Shiloh slyly laughed at Lloyd’s retort. He looked back at the Baron and gave him an arrogant wink. “Why don’t you tell your son yourself?”
“
.” The Baron fell silent.
Shiloh clicked his tongue, raising his pointy chin, and said, “If the Baron doesn’t want to, I will be the one who will talk. Simply put, it’s like this. The Baron grants us the rights of the mine and in return we’ll waive three months of the interest. But you know what?! Why does the Baron keep on rejecting our terms?”
“
.”
“What does the young one think of this? We believe it would be better if you tried to persuade your father yourself. Aren’t the terms we offered wonderful?”
“
.”
Lloyd didn’t think it was wonderful. He couldn’t believe the loan sharks were offering to waive three months’ interest in exchange for the rights to the mine he had worked so hard to build.
After listening to it, he knew that these d*cks didn’t even try.
Lloyd tightly clenched his fists and was about to grind his teeth. However, Lloyd didn’t raise his fists nor did his expression change.
The more he became enraged and displayed it, the more he‘d be wrapped in their schemes.
The harder the situation, the softer he’d speak.
The angrier he got, the more cunning he became.
“Oh myyy, What a generous offer.”
“Right?”
That wasn’t true at all, okay. Starting from now, he’d change that to be a win-win offer, but he’d be the one who won twice.
Determined, Lloyd grinned.
“Then, I’d like to make one suggestion. Would you like to hear it?”
“A negotiation? I don’t think we need to listen to it.”
“From now on, we’ll repay the debt by splitting it up and paying it off in installments. I’m referring to a partial payment. Then we’ll pay the interest. After that, the next interest would have to be proportionate to the decreasing amount of debt.”
“
. what?”
“Oh, what should I do? You’ve already listened to the suggestion.”
“
.”
Displeasure filled Shiloh and Meatloaf’s eyes.
Rubbing his double chin, Meatloaf said, ”That’d be difficult.”
“That’s right, It’d be difficult. A partial payment is impossible, that’s our policy.” Shiloh continued, “If you want to pay, you’ve to pay it back all at once. No paying in installments. That is not how we do things.”
“Hoh, so you want me to pay the initial debt all at once?”
“Of course.”
“So you want us to keep on paying a huge amount of interest all this time?”
“That’s how we do things. Didn’t you borrow the money after knowing that?” Shiloh raised his eyebrows, as if asking what nonsense Lloyd was talking about.
What Shiloh said was true. They were private loan sharks. It was their purpose and method of doing business, which was to lend money and charge a high interest rate. That was why they refused to accept partial payment.
A never-ending circle of increasing interest. How many people in the world could pay back that huge sum of money at once?
It’d be even more impossible for people who were forced to borrow money from private loan sharks due to a financial emergency. They’d be struggling to break free from the debt that had bound them, a debt they’d never be able to pay back. Just like an ant falling from its nest, straight into hell.
One could never escape even though they struggled. They’d be sucked dry, until only an empty shell remained.
‘If a debtor goes bankrupt or dies because of their harassment, they’ll buy the territory at a bargain price and resell it at an expensive price.’
Shiloh and Meatloaf. The two loan sharks used that very popular method. That was also the trap in which Baron Frontera was currently trapped. Lloyd intended to break off the wicked loop of the trap right now.
‘Otherwise, no matter how much money I make, it won’t end.’
He wanted a partial payment for the debt. This way, the interest could be reduced according to the remaining amount of the debt. If these two conditions were met, many things would change. It’d be just like a regular debt, not a private loan anymore. It would also be much easier to pay off the debt in the future.
“That’s why I made a suggestion. What do you think? Aren’t the terms I offered wonderful?”
“
.”
Lloyd didn’t care whether the other party snorted at him or not. He put his thick-as-an-iron plate face on and pushed the idea.
Of course, Shiloh and Meatloaf’s snort only got louder. Shiloh even blatantly sneered at him.
“Has our Young Master lost his mind today? You’re being weirdly stubborn. Do you really think we’ll take that ridiculous offer?”
“You certainly will.”
“We certainly will?”
“Yes.”
“And why would we?”
“I brought a friend who’s extremely good at negotiating today.”
“
. what?”
Shiloh tilted his head while Meatloaf frowned deeply.
Lloyd looked back to the door of the drawing room and said, “Hey, you can come in now.”
As soon as he said that–
Bang! Whooshh!
The door to the drawing room was slammed open with a tremendous force. It was so strong Lloyd wondered if the door would get pulled out.
The wind created when the door opened blew Lloyd’s shirt, as well as the two loan sharks’ hair who stood in the back. Then, a roaring shout echoed in the drawing room.
“Nice to meet you! I am Arosh, the orc. I am here today to meet the Lord of Frontera Barony on behalf of the Sand and Steel Tribe, oiiink!”
Rumble! The room’s interior rattled because of the loud shout.
“
!”
Shiloh and Meatloaf unconsciously covered their ears with their hands. They tried to bury themselves in the back of the drawing room with a frightened expression on their face. The Baron was no different.
“You, umm, l-long time no see,” the Baron said.
“Yes, oink!”
“Did you come here together with our Lloyd?”
“That’s right! I came here to inform you of the chief of our tribe’s intention, oink!”
“What do you mean?”
“This, oink!”
Boom! Booom! Boom!
Arosh walked across the drawing room with his muscular build. He flashed past the two frightened loan sharks, his muscles flared. On the Baron’s table, he placed down a heavy object. It was the fangs of a giant monster.
“Only the bravest warriors can hunt the fangs of a Kargas. The chief of the tribe wanted to give this to the Baron as a token, oink.”
“Token, what kind of token are you referring to?”
“A token for our blood alliance, oink.”
“What?” The Baron’s eyes opened wide.
Arosh continued, “Lloyd Frontera is our tribe’s benefactor. Not only that, but he’s a human being who has been acknowledged as a warrior by the tribe. Of course, this is a rare case in the history of orcs, oink.”
“No way
.” The Baron’s eyes opened wider and wider. He couldn’t help it. The orcs acknowledged Lloyd as a warrior. Unbelievably, what Lloyd said really came true.
It must’ve been extremely difficult. No, it should be nearly impossible. There were, of course, a few exceptions.
One of the most famous anecdotes related to such a case was dated hundreds of years ago. A certain girl without a name was acknowledged as a warrior by the chief of the tribe, Akash.
It was a distant story that had been simply recorded in the history books. Whether it was the truth or not, it was difficult to determine.
In fact, the Baron had only a sliver of hope that Lloyd would be acknowledged as a warrior when he sent him go. However, that thing that should be unrealistic was officially declared by Arosh, a dignified Orc Warrior and the son of the tribe chief.
“Also, as the father of Lloyd Frontera, a warrior and benefactor of the tribe, you’re fully qualified to form a blood alliance with our tribe, oiinkk,” Arosh seriously declared. His expression was also serious. “How about it, Baron? Will you accept the will of our tribe chief and form a blood alliance with us, oinnkk?”
“
.” The Baron swallowed dryly. It was a crazy huge stroke of luck he’d never imagined before.
Forming a blood alliance with the orcs. It meant that Frontera Barony would officially be in one union with the orcs.
“Of course.” This matter wasn’t something to hesitate or worry about. The Baron determinedly nodded his head.
Arosh smiled happily, revealing his fangs. “Good! Now the Barony of Frontera has a blood alliance with us. We’re each other’s friends, sisters, and brothers, oink!”
The Baron and Arosh exchanged handshakes.
In the meantime, the two loan sharks could only watch the scene blankly. After a while, Arosh turned his eyes to look at them, who subconsciously flinched.
“However, who are these humans? Arosh heard everything from outside the door. Those humans kept on belittling the Baron, oink!”
“
!”
The eyes of the two loan sharks—both Shiloh and Meatloaf—shook greatly. Arosh’s following question made their hearts race faster than before.
“Could these humans be the Baron’s enemies, oink?”
“
.”
The Barony and the Sand and Steel tribe had formed a blood alliance. The enemy of the Baron was the enemy of the tribe as well. It was a warrior’s virtue to  kill the enemy of the tribe right away.
As such, the orcs were famous for being thorough in returning favors and resolving grudges. Unfortunately, the two loan sharks were quite familiar with orcs’ customs.
“Umm, you see, if they rejected my suggestion, they’d unfortunately be our enemies from now on.”
Lloyd was feeling complacent as he talked in a roundabout manner. Cold sweat began to trickle down the back of the two loan sharks.
Author’s note: (Eye glints)