34 – LH Nun Punishment Act 8
People are always looking for something better.
Bigger houses, richer tables, and more possessions,
Such human desire has been a powerful driving force for their development, but…
Sometimes it makes humans do the act of adventure.
That in itself wouldn’t be bad.
In order to gain something new, it is necessary to make new attempts, and the development of the human race has also been achieved through the success of the adventure.
But… adventure always entails risk.
It was a person who was in a safe place, stepping out into dangerous rough terrain.
And this creates new opportunities for people, but at the same time creates another opportunity for someone else. The scruff of the prey he is aiming for is an opportunity to snatch it.
*
“after… ”
Taking a deep breath to relieve tension, Linda Halls slowly entered the building.
The place where she arrived is the branch of the Beden Merchant Merchant in downtown Lugano.
It was a place I had already visited for a few trades, but today it felt different.
“Welcome, Sister Linda.”
“That… is Bahamut-sama here?”
A receptionist greets her at the entrance.
Looking at him, Linda asked cautiously, expecting and anxious at the same time.
“No, Bahamut-sama was unable to come because he had an urgent business.”
“Is that so?… ”
Linda shows signs of disappointment at the guide’s words.
Although the story prepared and the actual purpose were different, the feelings were sincere.
And, seeing her like that, the guide opened her mouth with a little bit of encouragement.
“But I don’t think you need to get too discouraged. Bahamut-sama couldn’t come after waking up, but he sent an agent.”
“If you say agent…?”
Sister Linda asks with a little hope in those words.
Then, in the room that the guide entered, new people were sitting.
A woman who seems to be the same age as herself and a young girl who has yet to take off her hair.
Upon recognizing Linda’s entry, they greeted her politely.
“hello. Are you the parish priest, Sister Linda Halls?”
“Ah.. yes, but… who are you?”
“Nice to meet you. My name is Isolda Evergarden. As the head of the upper Beden administration, I have come to respond to Linda’s request on behalf of Bahamut.”
“Ah.. that’s right. Nice to meet you, Miss Lee Solda.”
Linda speaks in an innocent voice.
Seeing her like that, the woman named Isolda lightly gestured toward the chair, and Linda sat down accordingly.
“I know the story roughly. You want to take out a loan from our boss?”
“Yes, it is.”
Linda answers Isolda’s question with bitterness.
Regarding this, Lee Solda looked at her with cold eyes and asked.
“Can you tell me why? As it turns out, I remember that the amount requested for the loan was not even a penny or two.”
“That’s… the truth is…”
Linda, with a look of intimidation at Isolda’s words.
Isolda didn’t show any change in expression even after seeing her like that, but Linda said in a sad voice regardless of Isolda’s attitude.
“Isolda-nim must have heard the story. That the Dragona Empire signed a peace treaty with the Kingdom of Hungary a while ago.”
“Yes, did something like that happen?”
Lee Sol-da tells the story in a way to keep going.
Regarding this, Linda continued to speak in a voice full of earnestness.
“Although Bahamut-sama had seen it before… In the meantime, our parish has maintained the area by mining and selling iron ore. Even so, life was not very good because of the harsh environment.”
“Huh.”
“However, with the conclusion of the peace agreement this time, the price of iron ore has fallen significantly. In addition, even the customers who had been buying iron ore in the meantime were cut off. As in other regions, it came back as a fatal blow in our parish, which is choking on a single piece of iron ore.”
“So?”
If there is anything else to say, Lee Sol talks as if asking him to do so.
It was a very arrogant attitude, but Linda bowed her head and asked her earnestly, knowing very well that it was the other person who was holding the hilt.
“please! Although right now the customer is cut off and we are losing money, but sooner or later we will be able to restore the customer again. So at least… until then, help those poor people. I want you to help me a little so that I can feed them even one meal.”
“Help… that doesn’t sound like a good story. Unfortunately, this is not a monastery for charity work, is it?”
Lee Sol-da is showing a cold reaction to Linda’s words.
In response, Linda was feeling the growing anxiety she had been feeling since the first time she saw her.
‘This woman… I had a premonition to some extent. He’s not as easygoing as I thought.’
In general, it was Linda who often used the method of appealing to people’s emotions when persuading someone.
After all, what moves humans is emotion, and even a cool-headed rationality often becomes shaken by showing gaps in front of emotion.
In particular, the more foolish the target is, the easier it is to give in to emotions.
Even if she refused in the end, she could soften the other person’s heart, and the debt of the heart erased in that way served as a lever for Linda to drag the situation to her advantage.
However… the woman named Isolda, who was now in front of Linda’s eyes, did not feel any gaps in such agitation.
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No, far from being agitated, on the contrary, he was openly showing an indifferent attitude, as if he had no interest in Linda’s story at all.
Linda was able to read even small changes in people’s emotions, so this kind of appearance of her was more clearly reaching her.
Looking at Isolda like this, Linda was able to figure out what kind of person she was.
‘Maybe… this person might be the same type of person as me…’
A person who is not swayed by emotions and treats others according to thorough reason.
Even though she uses emotion as her main weapon, Linda also belongs to that category.
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No, rather, because of that personality, she has had no qualms about playing with people’s hearts.
only one person. Except in the case of Jake, her old childhood friend and the man she loves.
‘Anyway, with this, I know that the other person is not a meek person. Chih… well, since he’s that kind of person, he’s in charge of the upper ranks of Beden, but…’
That was what she was thinking, but that didn’t make Linda despair or panic.
Even if the opponent is not naive and weak-minded, it is because he has already considered countermeasures against him.
only. In this case, it is true that I wanted to avoid it as much as possible because it was relatively bloody compared to the previous case.
Feeling regretful inside, Linda carefully looked at Isolda in front of her eyes and said.
“Of course, I am not simply asking for a loan. Of course, I will offer a suitable collateral, so I just hope that you will be lenient.”
“Collateral..”
Unlike before, Lee Sol-da starts to show interest in Linda’s words.
In front of Isolda, Linda handed over a piece of paper she had prepared.
“This?”
“As I said, we own a lot of iron mines. I will give you one of them as security for the loan.”
“Hmm… ”
Lee Sol-da slowly looks at the documents at Linda’s words.
The iron mine contained in it was the least mined among the things Linda owned, but Linda thought that this would be a good enough hand, as the other person did not have the jaw to know such details.
And, looking at Linda like that, Isolda said in a quiet yet chilly voice.
“All right. If you are willing to pay collateral, we have no reason to refuse.”
“Go… thank you! Thank you very much!”
Even though it was a painful thing to release the mine, anyway, if only the gold mine was developed, there would be no problem in bringing it back.
As she calmed down the uneasiness that lingered in her heart, Linda’s characteristic innocent and bright smile appeared on her face.
The very smile that I used to show in front of so many people who were suffering.
*
“Whoa.. I think I’m going to live for a bit now.”
A large inn located a long way down from the south of Lugano.
In the special room of this inn run by the Beden Merchants, Bahamut stretched happily.
A long-distance wagon trip that took place in no time.
As the hot weather continued, Bahamut felt like he was on a summer vacation.
“After all, people have to travel. It’s nice to be out like this.”
Although there was still a long way to reach the destination. The excitement he was feeling right now reminded me of the feeling of an overseas trip that he had only been to once in his previous life.
“I am such a blessed boy. To be honest, it’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit, but to be able to visit it like this… and with such a beautiful woman next to me.”
With those words, Bahamut glanced behind him.
From there, Ophelia’s face was slightly blushing, as if she was a little embarrassed by her master’s words.
“Come to think of it, did Ophelia say it was her first time there?”
“Yes, it is, sir. I too have heard about it a few times, but I have never actually been there.”
“It’s great, let’s take this opportunity to see a lot of great things and eat a lot of delicious things. It’s rare to be formally invited there like this.”
“Yes! master.”
Aside from the part about the caliber, Ophelia’s eyes shine only in the part about eating.
Seeing her cute side, Bahamut automatically smiled at the corner of his mouth.
‘Lee Sol-da is proceeding smoothly with the field work. In addition, I was able to get this unexpected insurance. There won’t be any big problems this time either.’
While thinking that, Bahamut lay down on the bed feeling a little tired.
at that time..
“yes?”
The next moment, Ophelia stood quietly in front of her.
Showing a slightly relaxed atmosphere unlike before, she began to blush slightly.
“I… Master… the safety of this place has been perfectly confirmed…”
“Yeah, I guess. It’s not another place, it’s a place run by our Beden upper house. But why?”
Feeling a bit suspicious, Bahamut asked, and Ophelia hesitated and opened her mouth with difficulty.
“So… well… that’s… Master… it’s been a long time since we’re alone together… it’s been a while…”
She looked like she was longing for something.
Then Ophelia shyly unbuttoned one of the buttons on her coat.
Seeing this, Bahamut recognized what she wanted and at the same time began to feel his mood slowly heat up.
“Whoops. do you want that great. I will love you to the fullest, so come closer.”
The moment he heard that, Ophelia’s mouth began to bloom with a blissful, shy smile.