Episode 18: The Scum’s Demise ② (Elanda’s Perspective)
“Elanda!?”
“Elanda-chan, is it? What happened to the Stampede?”
Scum… two of them.
Yes, the ones here were my fiancé, Jekyll, and the casino manager, Alessandro.
And Claire was here too. …However, she was sprawled on the floor, exhausted. Naked.
They’re the worst, these guys. Even at a time like this.
Jekyll, awkwardly trying to stand between me and Claire to block my view, and Alessandro, who didn’t seem to care at all.
To think one is my fiancé, and the other was a candidate for fiancé… it’s enough to make me cry.
“Regarding the Stampede, we defeated the mid-level monsters, and evacuated when the lower-level monsters started appearing.”
And I, telling such a lie at a time like this, am also the worst. Just self-preservation…
“You defeated the mid-level monsters? Even though the Orc King and Elder Wolf were there?”
“Didn’t you see what came out? What about my casino?”
And what came out of their mouths was only about their own failures. They weren’t worried about the town at all.
Shifa… Lux.
You two wouldn’t do something like this. Not if you had power.
Someone like me, without power, has no choice but to curry favor with someone. No choice but to use someone. If something happens, I can only try to deceive, and there’s no turning back anymore.
“Michelle returned, and with her at the center, we defeated the mid-level boss. After that, the entire guild buried the dungeon entrance, but the last thing I saw was that whole area being blown away.”
“Wha…”
“As expected, it was the right decision to leave with my assets. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave.”
The scum said, leaving.
In the distance, I saw a giant, winged, lizard-like monster. That must be the dragon spoken of in legends.
There’s no way we can win against something like that.
“Wait, Alessandro-san. If you’d take me with you…”
“If you want to come, come on your own. But Elanda-chan, you can’t. If I were to take you, I wouldn’t be able to make excuses to Father.”
Even his parting shot is the worst.
If anything, I wish the Stampede would attack this scum.
“Wha- After I gave you all that money, you can’t mean…”
Jekyll, looking dumbfounded, tried to retort to Alessandro… but there’s no way this man has that kind of spirit. He reflexively started to speak, was glared at, and then trailed off.
“Shut up. Money, you say? That was originally mine. Hey, isn’t that right, Elanda-chan?”
“What do you mean? Wasn’t that a contingency fund for when something happened?”
“…”
I’ve had enough.
One failure and everything collapsed.
That’s how it is, isn’t it?
“There’s no way you can say it, right? That it was merely repayment for the losses little Elanda-chan racked up when she got hooked on the casino back then.”
“…”
“Wha-? What do you mean?! How many gold coins do you think there were?”
I can’t even cry anymore.
Yes… When I was young, as the daughter of a Viscount family, my days were spent studying inside the house.
I rarely went outside.
The reason was simple.
This town is a dungeon town. A town of ruffians called adventurers.
It was bustling, and money circulated well, but as a consequence, public safety wasn’t good enough for women and children to walk around freely.
Father tried to train guards and instill some discipline, but it was difficult to resist adventurers who grew stronger and stronger inside the dungeon.
However, if guards were sent into the dungeon, what awaited them was the path of resigning and becoming adventurers.
The earnings of adventurers in a dungeon town are good. Many former guards became adventurers.
The work of guards in a normal town mainly consists of escorting important people, subjugating monsters that appear, and searching for and gathering materials in forests and such.
Although their lives are on the line, the danger is less, and compared to dungeon exploration, all of it is inefficient.
The probability of encountering monsters outside the dungeon is low in the first place, and there’s no reward for defeating them.
While dealing with such ruffians calling themselves adventurers, Father managed things well as a ruler, so his reputation was relatively good.
But there are always those who hold grudges, those who cause trouble.
Father himself was injured in incidents caused by such people, and in the past, relatives had even died.
I understood it intellectually. But to a girl reaching adolescence, it felt like nothing but shackles.
I wanted to go to the guild too. I wanted to walk around the town.
Just when I was thinking that, I met Alessandro, the third son of Duke Hoherneld, our patron family… the scum who is right now abandoning me and trying to leave the fort.
It was at an evening party hosted by the Viscount family.
A modest gathering inviting neighboring nobles. I believe we had received an award from His Majesty the King for managing the town while keeping the dungeon in check. Father hosted a party to celebrate that.
Naturally, the Viscount’s family couldn’t not attend such a party.
My younger sister and I both attended.
That’s when this guy approached me.
I was completely charmed by this good-looking man, acted as if he were a romantic interest, and became interested in his business, the casino.
Although he was the third son, he was attending the party as a representative of the Duke’s family, so my father and family couldn’t stop him from inviting me to the casino.
It felt good.
Freedom.
And I enjoyed the amusements just as I was taught.
As expected, they didn’t do anything too outrageous to a girl just past ten, so I repeated wins and losses, thoroughly enjoyed myself, and went home that day. When I left, I was treated like a princess, and I was in a dreamlike state.
A fleeting dream. If it had ended there, there would have been no problem.
But back in my daily life, I couldn’t forget the excitement.
I secretly started going without my family’s knowledge. I ended up going.
Thinking back now, I’m sure this scum knew.
I think so, but I believe his perception was merely that a good ‘mark’ had rolled in.
I got carried away, losses piled up… and I ended up with a debt I had no prospect of repaying.
Alessandro paid it off for me once, and I fell even deeper…
Thinking back now, I realize I was completely played. Welcomed, treated like a princess, eating delicious food, playing, and then going home. Even when told about the debt… I’d nonchalantly say things like, “I’ll win someday and pay it back.”
I didn’t even understand what debt was in the first place. I was foolish.
Over about five years, the debt ballooned.
And then, after the Stampede occurred and my mother and older brother died, he said to me.
“Of course, I can’t do anything reckless because of the scandal, but… Elanda-chan. This is really…”
Having heard the total amount of my losses from his subordinate, he wore a troubled expression.
In reality, he was probably laughing inwardly. Thinking I was a good mark. But at that time, he had the face of an angel extending a helping hand to a troubled girl.
“I’ll keep the interest to a minimum, and I’ll hold onto it for five years. Probably until around the time you get married. That way, it won’t be exposed to those around you, right? What, if you use your authority to manipulate the town and dungeon’s budget and income, it’ll work out somehow, won’t it?”
“Didn’t you pay it for me?”
Even at this late stage, I brought up his initial verbal promise. In response, Alessandro shook his head.
“I said that the first time, but everything since then has been left on credit…”
“…”
Perhaps finally realizing how bad it was, I think I was trembling a little.
“As the owner, I can’t just pay it for you, can I? You understand that much, don’t you? I need you to pay it back properly.”
Those words made me anxious, and I looked at him with pleading eyes, but what I got in return was a smirking expression and heartless words.
With that, I clearly understood.
I had been dragged into an antlion pit and dropped. No, I had been dropped long ago.
This guy probably said such things because he anticipated Lux’s and the others’ strength.
If he continued exploring, this town would become more and more prosperous. He was telling me to get the money from there.
The scandal he intended to keep as leverage if nothing else happened, he carefully brought it out here. While firmly planting fear and anxiety in me.
Just when we had finally recovered and started sailing smoothly, I couldn’t bear for such a scandal to be spread.
I signed the contract that had been prepared…