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Chapter 10: Alicia
🕑 Added 2023-11-05 18:24:58 +0000 UTCThe day had finally arrived! I would no longer be a loner! I had promised Alicia that I would visit her house this afternoon. Since the morning, I have been trying to decide which dress to wear. However, Laura, in her wisdom, advised against anything too fancy since Alicia's family wasn't very wealthy. Hmm... I didn't recall Alicia being particularly poor in the novel. Ah, but she had been an orphan living in an orphanage when I read about her in the novel. Nobody actually knew about her family.
As I approached her house, it looked more like a shack than a proper home. I tilted my head in confusion at the disarray. Alicia was even poorer than I had thought. But why? Wasn't her dad a knight? Knights were paid more than average citizens, and it could be a pretty lucrative job if they paid attention to their safety and equipment maintenance. Moreover, Alicia was an apprentice mage now. Surely, the family's income had increased, right?
"Hello, Alicia! Are you there?" I knocked on her door. I was a bit excited. Back in my days on Earth, I wouldn't have been allowed to visit a place this run-down, let alone eat outside or go walking down the streets. However, I was healthy now! I could go wherever I wanted.
"Hello, Lord Elidranthia. I'm sorry for my small house. Please come in."
"Hello, Alicia. How are you?" I asked.
"I'm fine," she replied with a smile despite her patched and poor clothing. I thought her usual clothes were old and worn, but these were practically rags.
"I have to say, I expected a knight and a mage's house to be wealthier," I commented on the state of her house. It only contained two beds and a table. The table had only two chairs, so it was just enough for Alicia and me.
.......
An awkward silence followed. This wasn't how I had imagined playing with friends would be. I had thought we would go to her room and play with dolls or something.
"Lord Elidranthia, may I ask why you came to our house today?" Alicia finally broke the silence.
"Um... I simply wanted to play with you. You've never been to our house, and Laura said that it would be a bother if I invited you regularly because you have duties. So..."
"I see. Let's go outside; maybe we can sit around in the plaza." Alicia stood up and opened the door. "This place must have been very cramped for you, Lady Elidranthia."
"Well, okay," I replied and followed her with my maid in tow. She sat down on a nearby bench near the plaza. Some peddlers were still shouting their wares, but there were far fewer of them now that winter was approaching.
"So, why do you want to get to know me?" Alicia asked. "As you can see, I am poor. Even though I am a mage, I couldn't escape my father's debt."
I tilted my head in confusion. Alicia's family should have more than 20 gold coins per month, quadruple the ordinary people's salary. How could she be in debt?
"What do you mean you couldn't get out of your debt?"
"My mother died, leaving behind a debt from her tuition in the capital. The loan was about 100 gold with over 30% interest. At this rate, I am going to be sold to some merchant… hix…," she sobbed as she spoke. "I am sorry…"
"I see," I said, hugging her as she cried. "If it is 100 gold…"
"No, Lady Eli. When she said her debt was 100 gold, it meant that she initially had a debt of 100 gold. Right now, the debt must be over 1000 gold with 30% interest."
"Huh? How is that allowed?" I looked at her in disbelief.
"It's not. If you petition a justiciar, they will defend you. But there are other ways to harass Alicia's father. Moreover, if you petition to a justiciar, you need at least 300 gold here to have your case reviewed. Hiring a justiciar defender, court invitations to the other parties, and the journey to the capital back and forth," Laura explained. Her face scrunched up in disgust. I thanked her for her honesty, and it was clear from her expression that she didn't like such a law either.
"I see," I nodded.
"Oh, look at the time. I need to go to the barracks. I have my shift today."
"Let's go together!"
"But your father forbade you to go to the drafting, right?"
“I was merely looking! It was just a normal training sortie, right? There weren't even any monsters there,” I explained. This was different from what I had imagined friends bonding with each other would be like. But we were in a fantasy world now, and maybe military training was also a way to make friends. I needed to stop getting excited and lose control of my mana lock. If my magical impression got out of control again, I might destroy whatever little trust Alicia had in me.
“Ahh! Alicia, where is your father? Why isn't he coming today?” Zach asked Alicia when she arrived. She tilted her head in confusion. “My dad skipped work?”
“Yeah. I didn't see him coming today. What happened?”
“I... I didn't know! He went out this morning. I thought he was already here with you! Where is he? This has never happened before!” Alicia stuttered in confusion.
“Hmm?” Hey Loharn! You were on the same team as him. Did you know?”
“I did not know, sir!”
“Call all of his team now!”
“Yes, sir.” When we called all of his team about his whereabouts, one of them asked for permission to speak privately. Zach, being the considerate leader he was, allowed him, and now all four of us spoke inside a private officer's room—me, Alicia, Zach, and him.
“So, what do you want to speak about?”
“It's about John, Alicia's father. He spoke to me privately last night that he is going to the capital discreetly to contact a justiciar.”
“Huh? Why?” Zach asked while tilting his head. It immediately clicked for me. Did he want to default on his debt?
“He wanted justice for a debt that wasn't his own. His wife's debt grew exponentially, and now, a loan shark was chasing him. He could not pay because of the ridiculous interest, and now he was looking for justice in the court. He lived frugally to the point he built a shack for housing instead of paying rent and tried to save whatever money he could and even robbing his daughter's salary.”
“I see.”
“Dad….” Alicia sobbed and thanked God that her dad was okay.
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“Damn it, John. Why did you make it hard for yourself? I said I will wipe off your debt. In return, you shall give me your daughter to be employed by Duke Luca Lightsworn.”
“My wife killed herself so she could be free from your vile debt. Now you want to take my daughter to be your pet? I would rather die!” John glared at his nemesis. He was merely a commoner soldier with no skill to speak of.
However, his daughter, Alicia, would be different. She had magical talent level six. She was among the lucky 1% of the people in this world, unlike him. He wouldn’t let his daughter become someone's pet. He was supposed to go to the capital in a year, but her daughter had netted him enough money for him to go to the capital and contact a justiciar.
Alas, this world was cruel to commoners, as the mafia under Duke Luca had a wide net that traced all the debtors and even cases for the justiciar. Even when John was able to contact the justiciar, if he were killed or somehow got into an accident and died, the case would never be reviewed. They had hundreds of ways to circumvent the law. For example, they could hide John’s body until the review expired, put him in an accident where monsters ate him, or simply kill him and bury him in the woods. This would mean that John would be considered a missing person.
“So, should we kill him, boss?”
“Hmm… no. If we kill him, I am afraid Count Shadowstep will take her in instead of an orphanage in the capital. He did pay for her tuition despite the enormous debt his territory has been carrying, after all.
“So, what do we do? Do we send a threatening letter?”
“No. That could be evidence for the justiciar. We need to kidnap her and then negotiate with her. She will then be an obedient girl until the academy starts two years later, and then she will be employed under Duke Luca, and I will get a bonus for that. Hehehe.”
“Let’s go to the Shadowstep territory.”
“No!! Just kill me already! I have never been a good father to Alicia. I have lived like shit for all these years!”
“Well, you know, we are in the same boat. I also have daughters and wives to feed. So, don’t hate me for it, okay? Let us go. We will depart.”
