6. Proof of Existence (15)
Unexpected encounters always gave a different impression.
Embarrassment, delight, or even hatred or anger could be the result of this coincidence. Right after meeting Siene Alpenhauser over the crystal ball, I felt the same way.
I was puzzled at first.
Why did Shiene-senpai appear here? He was a person who should be teaching students at the academy. It was hard to fathom the reason for contacting me privately.
Doubts and anxieties followed. Because not knowing the reason always accompanied fear. And the last impression that came to me was ‘relaxation’.
The one who called me, saying that he had an urgent business with a shy expression, pouting eyes, and more than anything else, was Siene senior.
Then there was only one answer.
It wasn’t me who had the problem. Shiene-senpai is having trouble, so he wants to ask me for a helping hand. There was no reason for me to shrink.
As soon as I realized this, my complexion suddenly calmed down. Seeing my eyes regaining his composure, Siene-senpai snorted and turned his head away.
It was still difficult to discern the whereabouts of that gaze. Even the boundary between the silver pupil and the white eye was ambiguous.
However, the language was clearly digging into my ears.
“Looks good. Do you think living in the Holy Kingdom is worth it?”
“Then Siene-senpai doesn’t look good. Also, my name isn’t ‘The Hatchet Fool’, it’s ‘Ian Percus’.”
Despite my leisurely objection, Siene-senpai only pouted her lips.
No, it was not at the level of sticking out, but it was the appearance of hating it with eyes closed. Oooh, it seemed that a clamor of criticism was heard in my ears.
As if it were natural, Siene-senpai’s bruises continued.
“Is it? I didn’t know. The impression that he is a scoundrel who threatens helpless women with a hatchet is too strong.”
“Think of it as a sign of affection.”
“What madman interprets that as fellowship?!”
The silver-haired woman banged on the desk and raised her voice. I scratched my head and fell into trouble.
It’s been successful so far.
Unfortunately, Siene-senpai seemed to be an exception. Hey, you’d normally have to react like that.
Also, I had no intention of being close to my seniors.
“Originally, at a young age, we get to know each other through punching, don’t we?”
“You sound like a little puberty child… Violence is usually a sign of a broken relationship. favor? Nothing like that! My relationship with you is over, and in my mind it’s over! Got it?!”
It seemed that he still couldn’t overcome the shock of the last meeting. Even though he didn’t do any harm with the hatchet.
In the end, I shrugged my shoulders and decided to go straight to the core.
“So, is there any reason why we, a relationship that has already ended, should have this conversation again?”
It was a painful point.
Siene-senpai, who had been vehemently condemning my rudeness up until just before, had her mouth shut. There was silence for a while, and finally a sigh escaped the woman’s mouth.
And soon, a soft voice followed.
“… … What do you want?”
“What do you want?”
I honestly didn’t know, so I had to ask again. Shiene-senpai was the one who contacted me out of the blue, but he said it as if I had the request.
I couldn’t help but tilt my head.
But Shiene-senpai, on the contrary, only narrowed her eyes, as if in disgust.
“You did it on purpose, right? Knowing the fact that our Alpenhauser Mercenary participated in the bidding to seize the supply of monster corpses.”
Aha, I let out a faint exclamation.
Now I understand the situation. With Reynold-san and I participating in the war, the Seongguk side decided to dispose of a huge amount of monster corpses on Lia’s upper ranks. And this place, where a large number of demon beasts have recently occurred, was one of the main supply routes for demon beast corpses.
If it was a top tier that was in the business of beast corpses, it would have been embarrassing. In the midst of preparing for the bid, someone monopolized that large amount.
However, there was something I didn’t understand.
“Isn’t that just a small part of Alpenhauser’s many ventures? Stop doing it, stop even if you don’t.”
“It’s a problem because the contract is hanging.”
Heh, Shiene-senpai said with a snort.
“Is there anyone who doesn’t know that the magic beast industry is the most attention-grabbing business these days? It is especially popular in the vicinity of Seongguk. If it’s a monster corpse, there are people who cover it up and buy it.”
‘Beast corpse’.
I suddenly felt the revival of a forgotten goal. The reason why I came here with Lia in the first place was to hear rumors about a trade union that trades monster corpses.
After hesitating for a moment, I pretended to be calm and asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you really going to pretend you didn’t know until the end? It’s the story of ‘Shylock’s Company’! What kind of conditions do you want to place… … !”
I had heard the name ‘Shylock’s Company’ somewhere.
It was a place where they dealt with the orphanage. Before leaving for the ascendant, he deliberately asked the saintess for her name, so it was certain. So I was even more curious.
It was a guild large enough to sweep away the corpses of the demons. There was also a way to participate in the bidding directly without going through other merchants.
In particular, it would be advantageous to do so in a place where a large number of corpses are distributed, such as a mass occurrence of demons.
However, after arriving at the camp, I had never heard the name of Shylock’s Merchant. Perhaps you should ask Leah for details.
Are you deliberately paying additional costs for coexistence with small and medium-sized enterprises?
It was nonsense. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.
No matter what this meant, Siene-senpai had a nervous look on her face.
“Why, why… What are you complaining about?”
There were no complaints whatsoever. It wasn’t a story to decide on my own anyway.
The top belonged to Leah. Lia, not me, also had the right to decide on matters involving the Merchant.
However, Shiene-senpai was losing her temper as she slowly looked at me, wondering what she was misunderstanding.
“Hmm, hmm. Was my tone a little rude? I apologize. However, it is rare to find a company that can digest that amount at once. I want you to remember that our Alpenhauser can help.”
Still, instead of answering, I just stayed silent.
There’s no particular reason, it’s funny seeing Siene-senpai looking at me.
In the end, Siene-senpai showed a tearful expression.
“I’m sorry! This Siene Alpenhauser even apologized, but will it come out like that?!”
Is this woman worthy of being called ‘the sun and moon of the Alpenhauser family’?
I swallowed a blank laugh and questioned.
Come to think of it, there was one thing I wanted to ask Siene-senpai.
Intelligence related to the saintess.
Somehow, I couldn’t bring it up and the meeting ended. Feeling strangely uncomfortable about that fact, I decided to visit Lia’s tent.
**
“no.”
It was an assertion that was uttered before he could even say anything.
I had no choice but to let out a sigh and express my despondent feelings. It was because I knew very well that my sister’s stubbornness would not be easily broken.
Especially for any matter.
Leah was now with her face buried in my arms. It almost clung to me as I sat on the bed. It couldn’t have been a manly attitude in the eyes of others.
Leah’s ‘no’ was an intention to reject my subsequent request.
I already knew the outcome, but I had no choice but to put my request into my mouth.
“Leah, please stay away… You’ve been doing this for two hours already. And without saying anything.”
“Ha, but it’s scary… … ”
In an instant, my firm resolve was shaken by the damp voice. It shouldn’t be like this, but Lia’s eyes looking up at me with tears in her eyes were no different from foul play.
In the end, I had to hold Leah in my arms again and stroke her hair.
“It’s okay, Leah. nothing will happen now An investigation team was also dispatched from the Holy Land, and they decided to escort us on our way back.”
“I’m still anxious!”
Lia raised her voice like that, dripping dew from her eyes. He seemed quite shocked.
“All of a sudden, faceless people come in, how can you not be scared?! Even the words didn’t work properly… Ugh, don’t monsters rise from the ground?”
I decided to sympathize with the disgusting Leah first. It was obvious that trying to get detailed testimony by digging up memories of the time would only have the opposite effect.
“Yeah, that must have been scary. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
“Of course I wasn’t hurt! He kept looking at me and muttering something, but he was so scared that he couldn’t even move. ‘Castle’, ‘Castle’… What? Thinking of what the hell to do… … .”
It was right after that that Lia’s body, which shuddered and spewed out anger, lost strength.
It was because the cry broke out again while recalling the nightmare at the time.
“Um, I was scared… brother… … .”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. now i have… Then let’s talk about work tomorrow.”
At that time, Lia’s attitude, which had been pouring out tears, suddenly changed.
It was a dramatic change that took place as soon as I heard the word ‘work’.
It was to the point where I could see the hallucination of Lia, who had stopped crying before I knew it.
“… … What is your job?”
“Of course it’s your top job. While you were gone, I had some discussions with Seongguk.”
A gulp, a dry swallowing sound was heard.
Of course, it was a voice from Leah. Soon, eyes with a mixture of anticipation and excitement turned to me.
“What was the discussion about?”
“About how to dispose of the demon corpses? Also, I have to give Reynold-san and I a reward according to our performance. But what am I going to do with the money?”
Lia’s heart rate started to rise rapidly. The saturation of the sparkling eyes was so high that it was blinding.
My sister asked me with her fists clenched.
“So, what did you decide to do?”
“I decided to leave it to your superiors.”
hahahaha. Even Lia’s breathing was getting rougher now.
A younger sister gasping for blush in her brother’s arms.
It was a sight that I honestly did not want anyone to see.
Lia asked again in an excited voice.
“No way, all that much… … ?”
“uh,”
and the next moment.
“aaa! my brother is the best! After all, I only have an older brother! I want to marry you!”
Without the appearance of crying, Lia cheered and rubbed her cheek in my arms. He took another drink and kissed me on the cheek.
side, side, side.
If left as it is, her face would be covered with the marks of Lia’s lips. I had to dissuade Leah with a devastated smile.
“Stop, stop… So, you don’t have any complaints anymore?”
“Of course! You can earn this much from one raid? You can get hit a few more times! Should I write a letter to the Dark Church?!”
Instead of an answer, only a hollow laugh came out of my mouth.
It was still too young. You don’t even know how terrifying the Dark Church is.
Of course, I didn’t bother. It wasn’t that I was ignorant enough to ruin the happy little sister’s mood.
Instead, I just asked Leah, who hugged me with joy.
“By the way, Leah. Have you heard of ‘Shylock’s Company’?”
“Yes? Of course you know, he’s a big hand in the beast industry.”
Lia answered without even a single doubt. He didn’t even seem to be curious about why I was asking such a fact.
So I was able to dig up information more freely.
“Did the Merchant also come here?”
“No, it wasn’t on the list of bidders? Rather, oppa, let’s count our money! Look closely, how much do we need to live a wealthy old age… … .”
Lia continued to talk about something after that, but my mind went elsewhere.
‘Shylock’s High’.
If this was the case, it would be good to dig in earnest. Even if it’s a bit forced.
**
The day after we finished the necessary discussions with Seong-guk, we were finally on our way back to the orphanage.
Even if it didn’t show, everyone was tired. Seongguk would stand as an escort, and we spent the whole day dozing off. However, Mr. Reynolds did act a little strangely.
“So, Mr. Reynolds, what about the ‘girl”s eyes?”
It was a question that came to my mind out of nowhere. At my question, Mr. Reynolds gave a slight exclamation. And for a long time, I sneaked out and looked at Lia alternately.
A careless voice escaped from his mouth.
“… … I don’t know. Perhaps you are mistaken.”
It was an empty conclusion, but it was also ridiculous to interrogate Mr. Reynolds about it.
Most of all, it wasn’t long before an incident happened that took away my whole mind.
On the day I arrived at the orphanage, a saintess approached me through a chaotic atmosphere.
“A masked assailant appeared.”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“You don’t give me a lot of time to rest.”
It seemed that it would take some more time to get rid of the poison.