When I reached the top of the steep slope leading to the sea, I saw people arguing on the beach. One is a female and the other two are male. The female had dark skin that had been well tanned by the sun. Judging from her height, she seemed to be a young fisherman.
She is about 16 years old, older than me, I think. She had a gentle-looking face, but right now she was frightened and flustered. In contrast, the two men had sharp eyes and brute looking. Carried by the sea breeze, I could hear their conversation all the way up the hill.
“Give me back my boat.”
“If you want it back, give me my money back first.”
“You guys are terrible. You already took our house, but you also want to take our boat as well.”
The older sister speaks in a drawn-out manner so there’s little sense of urgency. I’m sure she’s usually a much more laid-back person.
Who are these guys to bully such a kind-looking person?
“If you want to blame someone, blame your father for the debt. We’re just collecting the money he owed us.”
The men were laughing at her mockingly.
“If the boat is taken away, I won’t be able to go fishing.”
“That’s none of our business.”
One of the men coldly rejected her, but the other spoke in a soothing voice.
“I’ll introduce you to a better job than being a fisherman. Looking closely, you’ve got a pretty face. And your body isn’t bad either. If you’re up for it, I think you could make quite a bit of money.”
“Wh-what…?”
“Mmm, let me check it out.”
The man gazes at the Oneesan’s body with a lewd look.
“No……”
“Don’t say that. I won’t do you any harm. Hehehe.”
“Let me go.”
The man grabbed her arm!
What should I do…?
The two of them have fierce faces and large bodies. I knew there was no way I could handle it, but I felt like I would regret it for the rest of my life if I pretended not to know. There’s no way I can turn a blind eye to such evil. After all, my goal is to make Gandalcia an ideal island!
Even if I can’t match them in strength, maybe I can repel them somehow with bluffing….
I steeled myself and shouted loudly.
“Hey, stop what you’re doing!”
As I ran down the hill, the three of them looked at me with quizzical expressions. It seems they never thought there would be people on this island.
“Why? Who the hell are you?”
I gasped in horror, but I forcefully retorted.
“I am Cedie Dantes, lord of this island!”
When the name of the Dantes family was mentioned, the two men flinched for a moment.
“Is he for real?”
“Look at his clothes. And he has a sword hanging on his waist.”
Even though I was kicked out of the mansion, I’m still wearing fine aristocratic clothing. Moreover, swords are very expensive, so few ordinary people could buy them. Most people would rather buy the necessities of life than buy such things. Surely, these people are also from Dantes’ territory. When they found out that I was from the Earl’s family, they changed their attitude a little.
“Greetings, young master. But we’re not doing anything bad, really.”
“That’s right. We are just collecting a debt that this girl’s father owed. I have the debt document right here.”
The man showed me the papers. It appears to be genuine, and it even stated that if the money is not paid back by today, the family will mortgage the house and boat.
“How is it? There’s no problem, right?”
“Yes. But that doesn’t mean you should be rough with this Oneesan.”
“No, no. Young master you see, the house and the boat alone are not enough to pay off their debt. I need this girl to work too…..”
Clearly, his underestimating me, thinking I’m just a child.
“That’s a lie! The deed doesn’t say anything like that. The only things mortgaged are the house and the boat!”
“Tch!”
The men clicked their tongues and looked around.
This is bad. Are they going to ignore me and kidnap this Oneesan? Or maybe they are planning to kill me to keep my mouth shut.
“Please leave this island quickly. If I call out loud, Alexei-oniisan and his vassals will come running here!”
Of course this is just a bluff. Neither of my brothers are on the island, and even if my eldest brother is here, I very much doubt that he would do anything for me. But a lie is a useful tool, and although my eldest brother is useless, I’ll at least try to make good use of his name.
“Ah? No, it’s not like that…”
“We’ve taken the things so let’s go now.”
It seems the men mistakenly thought that my brother was on the island. He let go of the Oneesan’s arm and quickly got ready to go home.
“Give the loan document back to her before you go!”
He looked like a bad guy, so he might take advantage of it. I won’t let him do that. My tutor taught me that once you’ve made the payment, you should destroy the document properly.
“Yes, yes…”
He handed the document to the Oneesan, then they got into one of their boats and her’s, and this time, they left for good. She watched in amazement as the two boats disappeared into the ocean. Tears flow endlessly from both her eyes. She looks so crestfallen that it’s hard to talk to her.
“What should I do? How should I live from now on?”
The way she looks, with her shoulders shaking, is just like me until yesterday. I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help her.
“Oneesan…”
“Sorry for causing a fuss. I was running away from those debt collectors. But in the end, they took my boat too. I thought that as long as I had the boat, I could continue working…”
“Were you short of money?”
“My father was sick. But he passed away the other day. Now I’m all alone in the world. I don’t have a home anymore, and I don’t know what to do from tomorrow onwards.”
The more I hear about it, the more it seemed similar to my situation. I guess I can’t just leave her alone. When I tried to invite her over for some herbal tea at home, a status screen suddenly popped up.
This is probably the same as with Eugenie, as the conditions for developing something have been completed.
“What’s your name Oneesan? I’m Cedie.”
“I’m Lulu.”
“Lulu-oneesan, maybe I can be of some help to you.”
When I checked the status screen, I couldn’t help but smile.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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