Chapter 32

"Vell"

"What is it, Louise?"

In order to attend Brother Ehrich's wedding, the four of us—me, El, Ina, and Louise—boarded a magic airship heading for the capital.

Unlike me, who has money from my master's inheritance, the other three had to borrow a gold coin each from me to pay for the airship fare.

Some might say that it's too easy and lenient to lend money so readily, but in this world, borrowing money is not such a simple matter.

If you can't repay the borrowed money and lose a lawsuit brought by the lender, you might end up in the mines with no right to complain. Money is that important, and the law stipulates that if you can't repay, you must do forced labor or anything else to pay it back.

However, in this case, there is no promissory note or interest.

So, even if I told the Margrave of Brechleiter that the three of them didn't repay the money, it would be difficult to win a lawsuit because there is no evidence.

But, once the situation is explained, two of them will be in a difficult position.

Their parents, who are vassals of the Margrave of Brechleiter, borrowed money from me, who plans to make them my chief retainers in the future, and didn't repay it. Moreover, it was a completely trust-based loan with no promissory note or interest.

Naturally, Louise and Ina's families would be looked down upon by the Margrave of Brechleiter and fall out of favor. These two, who are well aware of this, would never default on their loans.

Besides, if the four of us, including El, go hunting, we can easily repay a gold coin.

It would be a waste to save a gold coin and spend a month traveling by carriage. Considering this, the three of them could say that I lent them the money unconditionally.

"Here, the money I borrowed."

After boarding the magic airship and finishing the first dinner, we were relaxing in our room when Louise appeared and handed me the three gold coins she had borrowed.

Honestly, the repayment speed is terrifying.

"That was quick."

"I got a good part-time job."

"Can I do that too?"

"No, it's a job that only I can do because I can use the Magic Combat Style."

"What kind of job is it...?"

"I can tell you, but you have to keep it a secret."

Louise began to explain how she repaid the borrowed fare in just half a day after boarding the magic airship.

"Isn't this ship for the wealthy?"

The fare is at least one gold coin, so it's out of reach for commoners, and the passengers are mostly nobles, their attendants, and wealthy merchants.

Louise started a game in the lounge, where many people gather.

"I'll arm wrestle with anyone. If you win, I'll give you a gold coin. The entry fee is ten silver coins."

Suddenly, a cute little girl makes a bold offer. Naturally, she attracted a lot of attention.

"Nobles wouldn't accept such a challenge, right?"

"I targeted their attendants."

Win a gold coin by arm wrestling a ten-year-old girl. Many of the guards hired by nobles are confident in their strength. They all started challenging Louise one after another.

"That's too bad."

Louise's natural strength is not much different from that of a girl her age. However, she is a master of the Magic Combat Style, surpassing even her father and brothers who are instructors.

A muscle-bound man over two meters tall was defeated by Louise in a few seconds, and this sparked a wave of challengers who eagerly paid the entry fee.

By the second half, there was a sense of "At least let someone win once." Louise's winning streak continued.

"You made a good profit."

"Yeah, now I can shop in the capital."

The expenses for staying in the capital were covered, but she wanted to repay the money quickly and was wondering about shopping and souvenirs. This earnings solved all her worries.

"It's not a problem, is it?"

She won all the matches fairly, and it would be embarrassing for a grown man to admit he lost an arm wrestling match to Louise. So, Louise managed to earn about five gold coins without any issues.

"Just to be safe, I lost one match at the end."

There was one highly skilled former adventurer who was hired as a noble's guard. She staged a close match with him and intentionally lost at the end.

"That's ruthless."

Naturally, the attention of the challengers and the audience shifted to the man who finally won a gold coin from Louise. During this time, she managed to slip away smoothly.

"And you even repaid El and Ina's shares."

"Hehe, I plan to make El carry my shopping bags until the debt is paid off."

She doesn't seem to be pressing Ina, who is a childhood friend. Given their relationship, she will likely repay the debt properly.

"You're a scary woman."

"Yeah, I'm a demon woman."

Saying this, Louise struck a pose to look seductive, but unfortunately, it had no effect.

"Sorry, it's not enough time yet."

"Don't say that!"

At this point, she doesn't look like a demon woman at all. However, her character is not to be underestimated.

"I'm the same age as Vell and a student at the Adventurer Preparatory School. Even though I'm a half-noble vassal's child, I don't want to owe anyone if I can help it."

She clings to me boldly, but as a minor noble, she has some pride. Balancing this is very difficult.

"So, I thought I'd pay a little interest."

"No need."

"You should accept it honestly."

With that, Louise quickly moved next to me and kissed my cheek. As expected of a Magic Combat Style user, I couldn't do anything and just got kissed.

"I'm too embarrassed to say anything."

Leaving this message, Louise, still blushing, quickly left the room.

"Despite being a child, will you really become a demon woman?"

While thinking that I shouldn't be swayed by such a child, I was actually a bit excited inside.

However, that excitement would change to a different kind of excitement in just half a day.