Chapter 31: Twofold Payback

“Ku… Kukuku… Ahahaha! I can’t stop laughing when I recall their expression!”

“Arvish-sama, you’re laughing too much. We still don’t know whether they really died or not…”

Arvish managed to stop his laughter and sipped on the cup of tea on the table. Feria, who sits across him, also graciously drinking tea.

“Feria got a point in saying that but, in that depth, it’s impossible for them to come back.”

“That maybe right too.”

Feria who looks uninterested, drinks tea and smiles. However, in her heart, she was delighted that Erna would end up dead. She was laughing that she could finally get rid of that nuisance.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

The relationship between Erna and Feria is not that complicated. Erna’s House is a well-known family in Sanargia Great Forest Kingdom. Feria’s house, on the other hand, was a noble but an inconspicuous one, it’s neither good nor bad. Therefore, Feria had a strong hostility towards Erna. To call it, it is jealousy.

Such jealousy that was turning into an ugly shade gradually disappeared. Feria can’t help but feel so as the subject was dead. Above all, the feeling of winning is erasing it.

Knock! Knock! 

The knocking sounds on the door of the room echoed out and Arvish, who noticed the sound, replied,

“Who is it?”

“It’s your butler. Young master, there are some guests who want to meet you.”

“Guests? Bring them to the reception room then.”

“But… I understand.”

The butler gives out an evasive reply then he move away from the front of the door. Arvish felt doubtful about that.

“Considering our butler, compared to his usual ones, it was such a strange reply. What kind of person are those guests?”

“You’ll see it when you meet them. Maybe the ghost of that silver-haired man came.”

“Haha, that’s quite a funny joke. For now, shall we head to the reception room then?”

Arvish and Feria then go to the reception room. In there, about thirty people are waiting for them.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Are you Arvish?”

A person who seems to be their representative began to speak.

“Yes, what are you guys?”

“It’s not what are you. I brought the requested items.”

When the man puts the bag in the table, the remaining twenty-nine others also put their hemp bags or leather bags on the table one after another. Moreover, other bags were brought in from outside of the room one after another, pile of bags were made inside the room in no time.

“W-What is this…”

When Arvish opened the bag, it contained a large amount of dried meat and vegetables. What made his blood boil was a bag full of pepper. There were also bags filled with sugar, and it was clear that they were too much for him.

“Well then, this is the sales slip. However, in the future, please stop ordering just like yesterday, saying that it should be delivered today. It’s not like we are only dealing with aristocrats you see.”

“Delivery…?”

Arvish immediately confirms the issued sales slip. It was written that Arvish Gloris ordered it.

“I did not order this!”

“Ha!? You didn’t order them?”

The men in the room were angry.

“What’s with that look! I’m the Marquis son, Arvish! Bring back what you have brought with you right away!”

“What? Then, you’re just playing while making such orders?”

The man spoke calmly without any hint of being afraid. Arvish then became more and more angry.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“Yes! It is someone else’s mischief and I don’t know who it is! Hurry up and go back!”

The man takes out a piece of paper and shows it to Arvish.

“This is the order form. Look at it carefully.”

“There’s no need to check that!”

“It’s okay, take a good look at it.”

Arvish confirms the order form. The Gloris family mark was stamped next to his name.

“This is… isn’t this the seal that only the family head has…?”

“It being stamped there means that what we deliver is officially traded. If you refuse to accept them, we’ll take this to the union.”

“Union!?”

Arvish became flustered. Only merchants register at the Trade Union and it is a very large organization in the capital. Originally, it was designed to combat unfair trade and as its influence is so high, even aristocrats cannot disregard it.

However, Arvish, though taken aback, immediately argues.

“If you want to report it, do as you like! I’m not going to pay for what you have brought! Whether it’s stamped or not, it has nothing to do with me!”

“Is that so? Then as I merchant, I can’t be outdone.”

The man stands up then carries the product he brought out of the room. Perhaps the other guys had the same idea, and in the same way, they took their goods out. Feria who saw the situation was silent.

“Humph! I don’t know anyone who would do this, they probably planned to harass me. I’ll search for them and send them to death penalty!”

“Arvish-sama, wouldn’t this be bad?”

“Ha? Bad?”

“Yes. With the Gloris family’s seal on it, it was supposed to be a formal transaction as the merchant had said. Then, that would fall on the trade violations and business interruptions regulated by the laws of this kingdom. And above all, the union is the one that controls the distribution in this kingdom. It’s clear that if you go against them, you’ll not get away scot-free.”

Arvish replies to Feria’s explanation, “What’s wrong with that?”. He is the third son of the Gloris family. As for martial arts, he has been called as a prodigy since he was a kid, but he was less interested in the economy compared to the children of the commoners.

“In this situation, Arvish-sama is going to be punished by law and in addition, the Gloris family wouldn’t be able to buy anything that is related with food due to union sanctions, that’s what I thought…”

“Whaaat!?”

In a room with only two people, Arvish stood up in astonishment. Then he immediately rushed into the room of the Gloris’ family head.

“Father! I need to talk with you!”

Lord Gloris, who is writing at the desk glanced at him but he immediately returned his line of sight to the paperwork before him.

“What’s with that commotion? Guests can be invited here, so enter like a nobleman.”

“It’s not the time to talk about that! Listen to what I have to say!”

Arvish spoke of the previous event and Lord Gloris immediately opened the drawer to confirm it.

“I don’t have my seal! What do you mean by this?!”

“There is a guy in this mansion who stole it! And it was even used to buy a lot of merchandise under my name!”

Lord Gloris slapped his desk with his fist. With that loud sound, Arvish immediately sinks into silence.

“…Since it was said to be under your name, isn’t it because the person who stole the seal has a grudge against you?”

“T-That is…”

“I can’t forgive you if my Gloris family will suffer any losses just for a personal enmity against you. So until you find that seal, I forbid you to come back to this house.”

“Father! Anything but that!”

“I’ll talk to the union. Be sure to find that seal. Until then, you are prohibited to call me father! If you understand, go out.”

When Arvish left the room, he was trembling in anger and it was as if his blood vessels wound snap. With crunching sounds, he grinds his teeth in anger and blood drips from his fists that were tightly gripped.

“Feria, because of anger, it’s likely that I’ll get crazy…”

“I’m sorry. However, to steal your family’s seal, that person must be really powerful.”

With those words, he thought of one person.

“That guys should have been dead… don’t tell me, he is… alive?”

After a moment of thinking, Feria replied to Arvish,

“Let’s go to the guild. If they are indeed alive, there would be witnesses.”

“Right! Then let’s go and check it out!”

Arvish and Feria left the mansion.

◆◇◆

While sitting in a chair, I was looking at what was in my hand. It is a small seal that is modelled after a dragon.

“Hey, let’s go to the guild.”

“Uhm, it’s about time for Pero to come.”

I placed the seal on the table and sipped the tea next to me.

“Eh? What’s with this seal?”

“I picked it up.”

“It fell? Then the person who dropped it is having a hard time now.”

“Yeah. Let’s keep it until I find the owner.”

I then gripped the seal and stored it in the bangle. And, actually, this seal is borrowed from a certain mansion….

In place of Arvish, I ordered in many shops and specified that they should be delivered to the mansion on this day. Of course, I totally put on the robe’s hood and didn’t show my face to anyone. Nowadays, it seems that it’s the time of the year where delivering of goods are difficult.

Yes, this is my revenge. We were about to be killed, and twofold payback would be appropriate. The reason I used this method was because I remembered the harassment that I had suffered when I was a business owner.

If the company management goes well, somebody will go out of their way and cause trouble from somewhere. After paying for the harassment order for a while, I was forced to go to the police when it was the sixth time. As it turned out, it was the employees of the rival company who harassed me, but the frustration I felt at that time was quite considerable. So, I decided to harass him this way while taking advantage of my past experience.

In the first place, he is arrogant because he is an aristocrat. Then he’ll just need to lose the backing of the Gloris family. First of all, harassment should be the starting point for losing trust from the family and create gap between them. With this, the reputation of the Gloris family will also fall.Please read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com

It will quickly spread among merchants who have early information, such as ordering a large amount of goods and refusing to accept them. It’s a nuisance in this world. And finally, the disappearance of their seal.

If an important seal of the family was stolen, no matter where it falls, it will be a huge problem. If there is an order with a seal on it in Arvish’s name, they will know who is targeted, then they will start to hate him.

Then the gap with his family will deepen more and more. I will buy the fight that was sold. Now you can buy it with your arm, but that’s not enough. I was angry with the parents who raised him like that. Therefore, I gave the Gloris family a twofold payback.

“Waauu!”

The room’s door opened and Pero came in. Apparently, his role for today is over. In addition, Duke Medil comes in after Pero.

“Oh, you were here? I was looking for Shinichi-kun you see.”

“Hmm? It’s rare for the Duke to look for me.”

“No, well tomorrow you guys will leave this place, right? I have something I want to talk about before that.”

The Duke then sits beside me.

“What do you want to talk about?”

“Actually, the Estent Empire is showing some worrisome movements. You live in frontiers, and the borders are just beyond your eyes, so be careful.”

“Eh!? Do you mean that the Estent Empire is preparing for war!?”

With Erna’s words, the Duke raises his forefinger and gestures to be quiet. Certainly, it’s not something that should be said out loud.

“Most of the people living in that country are Dragonewts. They have a high level of physical ability and are ambitious. Until now, they used to be living quietly in the neighbourhood but, this will not always be the case you see.”

“…Dragonewts huh. I’ve heard rumors that humans have incomparable abilities, but isn’t it strange that they who have been quite submissive until now suddenly made a move?”

“Yeah, different races once united to fight against humans but that’s a long time ago. Rumor has it that not only this kingdom, but others are preparing for war as well.”

“War huh…”

Japan once experienced a great war. I was born after the war, and I still have those deep scars from war when I was young. If possible, I want to live without war. That is my thought.This is translated by Yume Neiji (yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com)

“I understand. We’ll be vigilant.”

“If you feel that it’s dangerous, please evacuate to this mansion anytime. I will welcome you all the time.”

“Thank you for your continued consideration.”

I deeply bowed to the Duke.

“That’s all I want to say”

The Duke went out of the room. It seems that the duke has no time to rest even after his son’s death. I wish I could help him, but it would be difficult for an adventurer.

“War, maybe my country is also in danger?”

“Isn’t Sanargia Great Forest Kingdom ready for war?”

“I think so. If that’s the case, I have to go home after all…”

“Well, don’t be pessimistic. It’s not yet fixed if it would turn out into war.”

Erna says, “Yes, that’s right” and nods, she picks the cookie on the table and puts it in her mouth. Her words and actions don’t match.

“Now then, it’s about time, shall we head to the guild?”

“Yeah, we are going back to Mana tomorrow and it’s our last day doing quests here in the Capital.”

Upon leaving the mansion, we headed for the guild.

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