“FIVE HUNDRED GOLD??!!?”

The merchant’s mouth was wide open. His eyes were bulging. His head was tilted almost horizontally. His hands lost power and the mug he was holding fell on the floor, spilling its contents on the floor. At the very least, he was wearing male clothing now.

“Give or take a few silver,” the tall black-haired girl next to him replied.

“Don’t forget the total for the food you ate, and that copper for that drink you just spilled,” a third voice added.

The merchant turned to his side. A man, equally tall as the girl, was using a cloth to wipe the inside of a mug. Apart from the height, his hair was also of the same color, and his face was also similar to hers. He had a rough look and a muscular body, evidence of hard work.

The three were in the dining area of the inn. Wooden tables and chairs were strewn across the room. The furniture and floor were spotless, as if brand new. One could say they were maintained well. The dining area itself was unusual. It was located on the second floor, instead of the first. Two set of stairs, one on the east and west ends of the expanse, led to the ground floor. A counter ran across the long side of the room and behind it were multiple barrels containing liquor.

The merchant leaned on the counter, covering his face with his hand. The two others seemed to be waiting for his reply to the situation he was facing.

How does this relate to me? Well, the truth is that merchant and I are one and the same.

---

A debt of 500 gold less than a year after my coming of age? You got to be kidding me!

“You say I was unconscious for three days, so I was expecting at maximum, nine silver,” I calmed himself down before speaking.

“That’s right! Your deluxe room cost three silver per night for a total of nine,” the girl answered.

“Then please elaborate on how it escalated to five hundred!”

“Well, we were heading back from the nearest town when we found you unconscious by the river bed.,” she narrated, “You were very cold and needed be warmed up.”

“I don’t see ho-“

“Let her finish, will you?” I was rudely interrupted by the man.

“Sadly, we didn’t have enough left to camp out that night, so we had to carry you over here…”

I didn’t like where this was going.

“Our cart contained the goods we just bought from the town, and we had to unload al- some of them for you,”

“And?”

”Well... the total amount of goods we discarded was worth five hundred gold.”

“Of course, we tried to return as soon as possible to see if the items were still there, but you can very well guess what happened,” the man added.

… Did I hear that correctly? Did they seriously just toss away five hundred gold worth of goods outside of a town?

“So you just left them alone, unguarded?”

“Yes,” the man replied, looking at the girl, “Someone was insistent we get you over here fast.”

“Couldn’t you have left ANYONE to guard the items?” I was shocked at their laxness.

“Oh, only we were travelling , just the two of us,” the girl answered.

Carrying 500 gold worth of goods through country roads with just two people to guard it? That has to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!

“I know it’s difficult for us to ask this, but we have to chain you down until the debt is paid.”

“And what proof do I have that you actually spent that much?” my suspicion rising, I questioned the duo.

The man brought out two pieces of paper from his pockets and handed them to me. Each had the name of the buyer “The Neutral Inn”, a list of goods, and the amount of gold spent for each. The seals of two reputable merchant families were on the paper. A subtle glow emerged from the seals, faintly enveloping the entire paper.

What the hell?! The seals… These are genuine! Or are they just good forgeries… No, that can’t be. Magical seals can’t be duplicated with this high a quality.

I handed the papers back and sighed.

“From the looks of it, I see you know they’re real,” the man asked, “And the seals prove the contents weren’t altered, yes?”

“Regrettably, since the glow hasn’t dissipated from the paper, the contents haven’t been changed,” I answered, “Although, it’s interesting that you have those seals with you. I assume those trading posts you went to don’t usually give out those.”

“Of course, I asked them to. These days, you can’t be too safe. And in this particular case, it turned out nicely for us.”

Nicely enough to shackle me with an outrageous amount debt… But what in blazes! How can someone who can request a merchant family seal have such lax attitude with regards to safeguarding their belongings?

“One last question, this place is called, ‘The Neutral Inn’, yes?” I asked.

“I already told you, didn’t I?” the girl pouted, bringing her hands on her waists.

“You can check the signage outside if you want,” the man lightly smiled.

“Got it,” I sighed.

“So you acknowledge it, the debt?” the girl spoke.

“Given the proof, I have no choice but to,” I said with disdain.

Normally, I would vocally question other aspects of their so-called “story”. They may have just hidden the goods somewhere else while pretending to have dumped them to rescue me.

It’s just that those papers…

Not only do those papers give their story credibility, but the same can be also applied to the two people. The Goldkin and Midas families would never give away a document with a magical seal on request , unless the person asking was trustworthy. Faced with these realities, I had to give in. I could attempt to escape, but they did save my life.

I could feel my subconscious weeping. Never before had I felt a mixture of shock and sadness.

Hearing my answer, the girl wiped the brow of her forehead in relief. She then displayed a grin of confidence, like a lion who had captured her prey. The man however, kept his stern face.

“I don’t think it’s time to celebrate yet,” the man warned his partner.

“Hehe, why is that? He says he acknowledges the debt. We can ask him to pay it back,” the girl looked momentarily confused.

“Therein lies the problem. Actually, I only have two gold and fifty-seven silver on me right now,” I broke the bad news.

“That totals to around three and a half gold, all in all. Obviously mountains away from the amount he owes us,” the man pointed out, shaking his head side to side.

The girl’s expression reverted to a straight face.

“Paying this large an amount would be tricky…” I muttered.

“But you’re an adventurer, right? A mage wielding a staff! Getting five hundred gold take a while, but not impossible!”

“Actually, I’m just a merchant with only basic knowledge regarding combat. This staff was just something I intended to sell.”

The girl’s tilted her head sideways, eyes wide open – disbelief.

“I see, but since you’re a merchant, you can take funds from your cache an-“

“That would be ideal, but I was just starting, and almost all the money I had was used on that failed caravan.”

“Failed caravan?”

“The result of that was me almost drowning in the river,” I answered.

The girl raised one of her fingers. She then placed her two hands on the temples of her head – distress.

“Then maybe you know someone who ca-“

“Sadly, I don’t think anyone I know could pay that sum…” my voice trailed off, “Scratch that, I do know someone, but they probably wouldn’t even consider lending me a silver coin, let alone 500 gold.”

The girl began to shake. She looked her companion, teary-eyed – despair.

“Bro, what do we do now? That guy can’t pay at all!”

The man sighed. He placed his hand on his chin and thought for a moment. He then brought his hands together forming a steeple before speaking.

“You were the one who wanted to dump everything! Don’t look at me. It’s your responsibility. You think of a solution!”

He just pushed the blame on her!?

“But you agreed to it in the end!”

“Because you kept on pestering me, saying that since he was an adventurer, he would have the means to pay!”

“That still doesn’t change the situation we’re in!”

“You wanted to save him!”

The situation was quickly worsening. The two were arguing back and forth, their voices getting slowly louder. I suddenly heard a loud bang. The girl had slammed her hands onto the counter.

“The important part was we saved him. Five hundred gold is nowhere near close to the value of a life!”

I looked at the girl. Her eyes were watery and red. It looked as if she was close to crying. Despite her weeping, I could see the sincerity in her face.

I then glanced at the man. He looked away from the girl, grasping his arm on the side.

“I’ll go downstairs for a while,” the girl said as she turned around, leaving the two of us.

"I'm sorry that you had to see that," the man apologized.

The room was soon filled with a silence.

“Listen,” I spoke up, breaking the stillness, “I have a proposal.”

The man focused his gaze on me.

“I don’t think I can pay back the entire sum this instant, but I can probably pay it back little by little. Do you need the money that urgently?”

“No, we don’t. We were planning to use the materials to renovate the inn, but I guess the inn can still manage in this state,”

Nothing looks out of order in the first place… Why fix something that isn’t broken?

“Good, then I-“

“Wait! If you’re thinking of just waltzing out there with a promise like that, you got to be joking,” the man stopped me, his eyes piercing.

“Of course! Merchants never shirk out of their word. I can even sign a contract if you wish.”

“That’s not enough. We need a more solid guarantee,” the man was adamant, “And before you even mention it. That staff of yours will not be enough as collateral.”

I let out a deep breath. He needed something to prove that I wouldn’t just back out of the deal, but as is, I couldn’t offer him anything in exchange. I suppose a “promise” isn’t enough to satisfy a man who had the approval of the Goldkin and Midas families. I had to approach this in a different way.

“Very well. I understand your position.” I glanced around the room, before continuing, “I normally wouldn’t even consider doing this, but as you seem to have a reputable establishment here, what if I offer you this in compensation?”

I reached into my clothes and pulled out an item from a hidden pocket and placed it on the table.

“This is?” he looked at it, eyebrows raised.

It was a golden medallion, normally worth only as much as its equivalent weight in the metal it was made. The man however, looked like he had seen an impossible sight. His eyes were bulging and he covered his mouth with one hand. He was also shaking.

“This is genuine and it’s resonating too!” he exclaimed.

For a brief moment, a bright light emanated from the medallion.

“Then would you agree to that contract now that you know about this?” I asked.

“But with this… That means… No… You can definitely pay the five hundred gold!”

“That may be true, but this is something I don’t want to rely on.”

The man stared at me, before bringing his hands back to his chin. I could see beads of sweat form on the sides of his head. A short time passed as he thought about the situation.

“Alright, I’ll listen.”

He offered his hand. I met it with my own, and we shook.

“My name’s Argent. I trust you already know the rest,” I introduced myself.

“Puer, I’m the co-owner of this place along with my sister,” he replied.

“Well then, now that introduction’s are over, let’s talk about that proposal...”

---

By the time the girl came back, she would have seen an odd sight. The merchant and her brother were standing up, shaking their hands firmly. On the counter was a piece of written parchment. Upon closer inspection, she saw two signatures on it, one of which was her brother’s. The merchant would have had an expression of relief on his face, while her brother would have had reverted to one of ambivalence.

“What’s happening?” she looked confused as to the change of the atmosphere.

She had recovered from her earlier bout and wanted to get back to the discussion, but she could sense that the concessions had already concluded.

“Ah Puella, you’re back,” her brother spoke, “About this guy, he will pay for the 500 gold.”

“So that’s what this paper is for?”

“Yes and no, this contract states that we will work for us while he’s paying back the debt.”

The merchant approached the girl and reached out his hand.

“Good day, Ms. Puella. Until I pay off my debt, I’ll be under your care as your inn’s bookkeeper.”

---

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