Don’t Run Away My Lord

57 – Catching the Tail (5)

Before entering the city center, we passed by farmland for a while.

Liana looked around the farmland and commented.

“It would be possible to be self-sufficient. If food is not secured, no matter how strong our military might be, it is like a castle built on sand.”

“As soon as someone cuts the food line, it will collapse on its own.”

“In that sense, this seems like a very stable place. It would really be great if it became our territory.”

The downtown area of Tregel territory appeared on the other side of the farmland.

The County of Tregel was a large city that could not be compared to the Barony of Gilan.

It was a place worthy of its majestic nickname, the gateway to the East.

The streets were full of people, and loaded carriages narrowly passed by passers-by.

Various types of shops, hospitals, courts, etc.

It is a very nice place to live, equipped with all the basic things humans need to live.

Although Lashio Gilan recommended this place to us with different ideas, it is clear that even without that, it is quite a mouth-watering place.

“It’s a good place. But the problem is, I can’t see those thugs the great lord mentioned.”

“Do bad kids walk around a place like this in broad daylight? Find a place where they can stay.”

Liana thought for a moment, then stopped a person passing by and asked.

“Is there a pawn shop in your territory?”

After confirming the location of the pawn shop, Liana dragged me towards it.

“Why pawnshops?”

“Pawn shops are places where people who need money right away go.”

When I heard those words, I knew what Liana was thinking.

“Are you trying to meet people who prey on people who need urgent money even at high interest rates?”

“Yes. Most gangsters also engage in private lending. If the great lord knows about them, he is definitely also involved in private lending.”

It has also gone into the illegal direction.

At this point, I decided not to believe that Liana was once a saint.

She knew how to use divine power, but she was definitely not a saint.

* * * * *

Liana went to the vicinity of the pawn shop and hid in her alley, sticking out only her head to observe her movements.

“Hmm… Do you see those over there?”

The place Liana pointed to was across the street from the pawn shop, where several neat-looking men were talking with small bags at their sides.

“I can see it. Are those guys taking out private loans? I can’t tell from the outside.”

“Do you see the bag on the side? Usually men don’t carry bags like that. They think it’s something only girls do.”

“Hmm… Is that so? Then I guess I’ll have to go to those guys.”

“Let’s go. And if you don’t listen, please do it your lord’s way.”

“My way? What is it?”

Liana smiled cutely at me.

“To destroy it.”

“That’s not the easiest or fastest.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

The men stopped talking when they saw us approaching.

All their eyes turned to Liana’s chest.

Liana asked those men.

“Hey. Are you taking out a private loan?”

“What?”

“A private loan. I need money urgently, but I have no place to borrow it.”

It’s so out of the blue that I can’t make sense of it.

The men were equally embarrassed.

They looked at Liana and scratched her head like she was an idiot.

“I do it…”

“That’s great. Can I make some money right away?”

Liana spoke innocently, as if she were a bit lacking.

She looked exactly like the time I first met her in the desert.

“Yes, well… Yes. How much do you need?”

“About ten gold coins. If not, even five.”

I thought it was too small a amount for a private loan, but when I think about it, it is not a small amount.

The interest alone is probably more than half.

If you persist without paying back, it may snowball and turn ten gold coins into a hundred gold coins.

“That much is possible right away. For now, it’s okay to stand like this and talk… Let’s sit down somewhere and talk calmly again.”

It seems that loan sharks caught the scent of a wealthy person because of Liana’s foolish expression and the ridiculously small amount of money.

They led us to a certain place, their eyes shining and exchanging sinister glances with each other.

Without any expectation of what would happen to them a few minutes later.

From Noble mtl dot com

* * * * *

“No, really, why are you doing this…”

The loan sharks who had been pushed to the end of the alley were trembling and looked at me with fearful eyes.

“I want to talk to the boss of your organization. Is it that difficult to guide him?”

The loan sharks said nothing as they looked at their colleague lying down behind me.

There is no particular reason why the situation suddenly became like this.

All he said in a polite tone was that he didn’t want to use a private loan, but wanted to meet his boss about something important.

Then, he suddenly started asking where he had sent me and pulled out a knife, so I was just exercising my right to self-defense.

Is there any other way to avoid getting stabbed other than letting go of the knife?

In the process, force control failed.

“Oh my. I broke my wrist. I’m going to have a hard time for a few months.”

Liana said as she squatted down and touched the wrist of the fallen person.

She could be cured quickly if she received divine treatment, but Liana showed no signs of using divine power at all.

Well, there is no obligation to provide treatment.

I looked back at the people standing close to the wall and asked.

“Can you take me there?”

“What happens if I don’t take you there…?”

“I think I know even if you don’t tell me. If you want to take out a private loan, you’ll need to be smart enough to do basic arithmetic.”

“Ha… Mr…”

The loan sharks, realizing that they were in a situation they could never get out of, shook their heads in frustration.

“Ha… f*ck… Really… What should I do…”

“You idiot. What should I do? What should I do? That bastard would kill someone without even blinking.”

They whispered quietly, as if they believed I couldn’t hear.

“But if you take him, won’t you be screwed…?”

“I don’t know, you asshole. I’ll f*ck you here or I’ll f*ck you there.”

“It really looks like sh*t…”

The loan sharks who came to a conclusion looked at me and said.

“Follow me…”

“Only one person needs to go. One person has to take a sick friend to the hospital.”

Then the loan sharks began fighting to get out.

“Stay on the left, go on the right.”

When I finished cleaning up, the face of the person left behind became completely dead.

* * * * *

The place the loan shark guided us to was just an ordinary building.

It was not a dark alley, nor was it an abandoned house with broken windows.

It was a nice place standing on the main street, and soldiers from the estate even passed in front of it.

“Is this the right place?”

“That’s right. You’ll find out when you go in…”

The bright, well-lit interior was filled with several desks placed neatly and people sitting there doing paperwork.

In the corner, there’s a green palm tree pot that looks like something you’d see in the Southern Ocean, and a cage with a small bird neatly lined up by the window…? What, really?

I thought it would be a dark, dungeon-like structure, with smoke-and-booze-fueled delinquents coming out to greet us with glaring looks…

After going inside, Liana tilted her head.

“What is it? Is this a government office? What’s going on? Are you deceiving us? I’ll break both your wrists so you can’t masturbate for the rest of your life…”

The man became thoughtful and shouted at Liana’s bloody remarks.

“I swear it’s true! It’s really here!”

Hearing that sound, several people working turned around.

But he seemed to have quickly lost interest and turned his attention back to the pile of papers on his desk.

“Good. I believe it. Where is the boss?”

“This way… This way…”

The man dragged us inside.

Then, the person sitting at the separate desk stood up and stood in front of us.

From what I could see, he seemed to be a mid-level executive.

“Welcome. What brought you here?”

“I have business to do with the boss here.”

“Boss? Ah, you mean the boss. But… What’s the matter? The boss is out of town right now.”

“Please tell me that I came because I want to reorganize the power structure of the territory.”

The person who heard those words smiled without showing any expression.

“I’ll tell you that. When you get back from outside.”

“When will you come?”

“I don’t know. He left without saying anything. He probably won’t come back until dinner.”

“Um… Is that so…”

Then the inner door opened and a woman stuck her head out.

“Manager, please let the guests in.”

The man who heard those words stepped aside without any katabuta.

“Let’s go in.”

“Thank you.”

* * * * *

As I entered the inner door, the woman from before walked ahead without saying a word.

After walking down a short hallway, I came across another door.

“Go in. The boss is waiting.”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, she walked straight past us and headed back down the hallway.

Liana quietly opened her mouth.

“I’m not good at entertaining guests.”

“That’s right. Let’s go in.”

When I opened the door and entered, a nondescript office came into view.

When I looked up the name ‘president’, I saw an old woman with red hair sitting at a desk.

Is that woman the boss?

This is really surprising.

I thought he was a tough guy with a big scar on his face.

“Ergan…”

Liana held my arm and whispered lowly.

When she turned around, she had a very strange face.

“That woman…”