"I'm back."
Creak.
Lloyd opened the door.
He spoke in a deliberately casual tone.
The scene inside the parlor came into view beyond the opening door.
Three pairs of eyes turned toward him.
"No, Lloyd?"
The first to speak was Baron Frontera.
His gaze mixed surprise, joy, and a hint of embarrassment.
Lloyd bowed politely to the baron.
"Yes, I'm back."
"Good, you returned safely. No injuries?"
"Yes. Thanks to your concern."
"Still, your face looks thinner."
"I'm fine. It was just from pushing hard over the mountains."
Lloyd gave a wry smile.
He was grateful to the baron for worrying about him right away.
On the other hand, he felt relieved to return at the baron's most awkward moment.
That was because of the two unwelcome guests sitting across from the baron at the table.
"Long time no see. Mr. Shailo. Mr. Mitroph."
"..."
The two moneylenders had been staring at him silently since earlier.
The skinny moneylender Shailo.
The fat moneylender Mitroph.
Their gazes toward him were far from friendly.
'Probably because of the time they visited before and had to retreat after I poked holes in their logic.'
Was that thought correct?
The skinny Shailo curled one side of his lip.
"Oh ho. Who's this? Isn't it the esteemed eldest son of Baron Frontera?"
"Right. What excuse did you come up with this time to chase us away?"
The fat Mitroph chimed in.
Lloyd's wry smile deepened.
"You must have come here after a formal invitation today, right?"
"Of course."
Shailo said.
"We sent word to the baron in advance. Asked if it was okay for us to visit. The wise baron graciously agreed. Isn't that right?"
"...Yes."
The baron nodded.
But his expression wasn't bright.
That was only natural.
The baron was in the position of owing them a huge debt.
So he couldn't even dream of blocking their visit.
Lloyd could grasp the situation without any detailed explanation.
He was familiar with such scenarios.
'Father was the same way.'
Debt collectors who visited the house almost every day.
Father endured their harassment but never dared to stop them.
No matter how much they spewed abuse or caused a ruckus, he just nodded and said yes, yes.
Powerless people are sinners.
Debtors are scum worthy of death.
That was what father would mutter like a lament while tilting his soju glass alone on evenings when the collectors had trashed the house and left.
'Whew, let's stop thinking about it.'
Memories that stung just to recall.
Lloyd took a breath.
He pushed down the painful recollection.
He looked at the two moneylenders in front of him.
His gaze was already calm.
In place of the painful memory, cool shrewdness filled his eyes.
His voice toward the moneylenders was the same.
"Haha. I see. We truly welcome you. Have you been offered any refreshments?"
"Forget refreshments. We'd like something else."
The skinny Shailo retorted snidely.
The fat Mitroph added a word.
"Like a mine, for instance."
"A mine?"
"Yeah, a mine."
Mitroph's thick jowls jiggled.
His eyes, half-buried in fat, gleamed with greed.
'Foolish brat, the coal mine you built.'
It suddenly came to mind.
The coal mine said to have been built in Frontera Barony.
The infamous wastrel eldest son had mobilized soldiers to create it.
At first, he hadn't believed the rumor.
What mine in a barony like that?
They wouldn't have the money for such a thing.
He had dismissed it with a sneer.
But it wasn't true.
Similar rumors kept coming afterward.
An accident during mining.
Giant ants nearly appeared.
In the process, the wastrel son saved the workers.
All sorts of rumors spread from mouth to mouth, tapping at ears.
By then, even Mitroph sensed something was off.
He sent people to investigate Frontera Barony.
That's how he learned.
"Who would've thought the baron's eldest son had such talent? Gudeuljang? Ondol? He made those weird things and tricked the territory folk into pooling money?"
He had been so shocked when he first heard.
"Thanks to that, I finally understood. No wonder the baron has been paying interest so diligently lately. It was money from that ondol thing."
"With the surplus, he paved roads. Dug mines. Smart. Really, heh heh."
The skinny moneylender Shailo chuckled too.
Laughter came naturally.
A coal mine, of all things.
A newly made one at that.
His nose for money, which never failed, was telling him.
If they could seize that mine, it would be a golden goose for the foreseeable future.
"That's why we're here visiting the baron, having this looong talk."
"A good talk?"
"More like negotiations beneficial to both sides."
At Lloyd's retort, Shailo grinned slyly.
He turned to the baron.
He gestured arrogantly with his eyes.
"Why don't you tell your son yourself?"
"..."
The baron fell silent.
Shailo clicked his tongue.
He lifted his gaunt, pointed chin and said.
"If the baron has no intention of speaking, then I will. Simply put, it's this: the baron transfers the mine rights to us, and we waive three months of interest. But the baron keeps rejecting our terms."
"..."
"What does the young man think? Maybe try convincing your father yourself. Aren't our conditions excellent?"
"..."
Excellent my ass.
Hand over a mine built through blood, sweat, and tears for a measly three months of interest waiver.
It was infuriating just to hear.
His fists clenched involuntarily.
His teeth ground together.
But Lloyd didn't raise his fist or twist his face.
Showing anger would only make things worse.
The angrier he got, the softer he had to be.
The madder, the slyer.
"Oh dear. That's quite a win-win proposal."
"Right?"
Like hell it was.
From now on, he'd beat that proposal twice and turn it into a win-win-win-win negotiation.
Resolved, Lloyd smiled.
"Then, may I make a proposal too? Would you hear it?"
"Negotiate? No need to listen."
"We'll repay the debt in installments from now on. Partial repayments, you could say. And adjust the future interest based on the reduced principal."
"...What?"
"Oh no. You already heard it."
"..."
Unpleasant looks rose in Shailo and Mitroph's eyes.
Mitroph stroked his thick double chin and said.
"That won't work."
"Right. It won't. Partial repayments are impossible. That's our policy."
Shailo followed up.
"Pay it all at once. No piecemeal payments. That's not our way."
"Huh. Pay the entire principal at once?"
"Of course."
"So keep paying massive interest in the meantime?"
"That's our way. You borrowed knowing that, didn't you?"
Shailo raised an eyebrow as if asking what nonsense that was.
His words were true.
They were usurers.
Lend a little money and balloon it with huge interest—that was their goal and business.
So they didn't accept partial repayments.
A swelling principal.
How many in the world could pay back such a massive sum at once?
Especially for someone desperate enough to borrow from them—it was impossible.
In other words, debtors writhed eternally in an inescapable debt trap.
Like ants in an antlion pit.
No matter how they struggled, they couldn't escape.
Sucked dry until only empty shells remained.
'When the debtor goes bankrupt or dies from the torment, they snatch the territory or real estate for pennies and sell high.'
That was Shailo and Mitroph's favorite tactic.
It was also the true nature of the trap Baron Frontera was caught in now.
Lloyd intended to break that vicious cycle right here.
'Otherwise, no matter how much money I make, it'll never end.'
Allow partial repayments.
Reduce interest based on remaining principal.
Just those two conditions would change everything.
It would no longer be usury, but ordinary debt.
Repaying would become much easier.
"So that's my proposal. What do you think? Aren't my conditions excellent?"
"..."
Regardless of their sneers.
He pushed forward with a titanium-plated face.
Of course, Shailo and Mitroph's sneers only grew.
Shailo plastered an obvious smirk on his lips.
"Has our young master lost his touch today? Keep stubbornly pushing nonsense? You think we'll accept that ridiculous proposal?"
"Of course."
"Of course?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because I brought a friend today who's excellent at negotiations."
"...What?"
Shailo tilted his head.
Mitroph furrowed his thick brow.
Lloyd turned around.
He spoke toward the parlor entrance.
"Hey, you can come in now."
At that moment.
The instant his words fell.
Bam! Whoosh!
The parlor door burst open with tremendous force.
It was so violent it seemed the door might fly off its hinges entirely.
The wind from the opening door fluttered not just Lloyd's shirt collar, but even the hair of the two moneylenders behind him.
And a booming shout echoed through the parlor.
"Nice to meet you! I, Orc Aroshi, have come today representing the Iron Sand Tribe to meet the lord of Frontera Barony, gruk!"
Roooar!
The single shout made the room reverberate.
"...!"
Shailo and Mitroph instinctively covered their ears.
They buried themselves into the backs of their chairs in shock.
The baron was just as flustered.
"You, uh, it's been a while?"
"Yes, gruk!"
"Did you come with our Lloyd?"
"Of course! Here to deliver our chieftain's will, gruk!"
"Will?"
"This, gruk!"
Thud, boom, thud!
Aroshi crossed the parlor with his massive muscular bulk.
He passed the terrified moneylenders, pecs bulging.
He placed a heavy object before the baron's table.
It was a large monster's tusk.
"The tusk of Kargas, which only the bravest warriors can hunt. The chieftain wanted this as a token for the baron, gruk."
"A token? What kind of token?"
"A token of blood alliance, gruk."
"What?"
The baron's eyes widened.
Aroshi continued.
"Lloyd Frontera is a benefactor to our entire tribe. Moreover, he's a human rarely acknowledged as a tribal warrior in orc history, gruk."
"What..."
The baron's eyes grew even wider.
It was unavoidable.
Acknowledged as a tribal warrior by orcs.
What Lloyd had boasted about had truly come true.
This was no easy feat.
No, nearly impossible.
Of course, there were rare exceptions.
The most famous was centuries ago, when an unknown girl was recognized as a warrior by Great Chieftain Akushi.
But that was too long ago.
A distant tale recorded in history books, its truth hard to verify.
So the baron had sent Lloyd with little expectation of such recognition.
Yet now, it was being officially declared by Aroshi, a proud orc warrior and the chieftain's son.
"Furthermore, you are the father of that benefactor and warrior, Lloyd Frontera. You qualify fully for blood alliance with our tribe, gruk."
Aroshi's voice was serious.
His expression solemn.
"What say you, Baron? Will you accept our chieftain's will and form a blood alliance with us, gruk?"
"..."
The baron swallowed dryly.
It was an enormous stroke of luck he had never imagined.
Forming a blood alliance with an orc tribe.
That meant Frontera Barony officially joining the orc tribal alliance.
"Of course."
No need for hesitation or deliberation.
The resolved baron nodded promptly.
Aroshi bared his tusks in satisfaction.
"Good! Now Frontera Barony is blood-allied with our tribe! We are friends, brothers, and sisters, gruk!"
The baron and Aroshi shook hands.
Meanwhile, the two moneylenders could only watch blankly.
And moments later, Aroshi's gaze turned to them, making their bodies flinch involuntarily.
"But who are those humans? Aroshi heard everything from outside. Those humans kept disrespecting the baron, gruk."
"...!"
Skinny Shailo.
Fat Mitroph.
The moneylenders' eyes shook violently.
Aroshi's following question made their hearts pound harder.
"Could those humans be enemies of the barony, gruk?"
"..."
Frontera Barony and Iron Sand Tribe were now blood allies.
The baron's enemies were the tribe's enemies.
A warrior's virtue was to immediately eliminate tribal enemies.
Orcs were infamous for their thoroughness with favors and grudges.
And unfortunately, the two moneylenders knew orc customs quite well.
"Hmm, well? If they keep rejecting my proposal, they'll sadly become enemies from then on."
Lloyd added slyly.
Hearing that, cold sweat began pouring down the moneylenders' backs.
(End of Chapter 42)
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