“Still, I got what I wanted.”
As Ian walked down the corridor outside the office, he smiled with satisfaction.
‘This troublemaker guy has no interest in precious metals, huh?’
Unfortunately, the original Ian didn’t have such refined hobbies.
He spent all his money on alcohol and women.
If he had at least collected precious metals or gems, Ian could have sold them to raise funds when needed.
It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do about it.
‘But that’s not the important thing right now. Let’s hurry.’
Every second counted.
He quickly made his way to the stables.
After taking a carriage out of the lord’s estate, Ian headed to Dobina Village.
Located in the southern part of Schrantz County, it was a relatively peaceful village, separated from the uncharted territories.
It was also a place where more outsiders than locals stayed, as it served as a base for adventurers who came to hunt monsters in the unknown lands.
“Halt there!”
When he arrived at the village entrance, soldiers stopped him for inspection.
“We need to inspect your carriage.”
“Sure.”
At the coachman’s words, Ian opened the window and leaned out.
“Y-young lord?!”
The soldier who was about to inspect the carriage was startled and quickly bowed his head.
The two senior soldiers beside him also bowed in unison.
“Huh? Do you know me?”
Had the real Ian visited this place often?
‘No way.’
Why would a troublemaker like him come to a small, insignificant village like this?
“I was one of the soldiers who participated in the recent subjugation!”
“Ah, I see.”
Given how Ian had shown exceptional skill during the subjugation, it made sense that the soldier recognized him immediately.
“Right… Dwayne. Now that I think about it, it was you.”
“Y-you remember me?”
“Of course. How could I forget a brave soldier who fought so well?”
Dwayne was visibly shocked.
Ian could understand his reaction.
‘Well, if a high-ranking officer remembered a lowly soldier like me after just one glance, I’d be surprised too.’
[Soldier Dwayne is moved that you remembered him. Loyalty increased by 1.]
Just remembering his name was enough to make Dwayne’s loyalty rise.
But in reality, Ian had simply used the status window to quickly check the soldier’s name.
“I thought he was exaggerating, but… did he really kill five orcs by himself?”
“If the young lord remembers him, he must have done something remarkable! He might even outshine me. I’ll have to keep an eye on him!”
Dwayne smiled humbly at the praise from his seniors.
‘He killed five orcs by himself?’
If his stats were good, he might be useful somewhere.
With that thought, Ian checked Dwain’s stats.
Name: Dwain (Lv.5)
Race: Human
Class: Commoner
Profession: Low-ranking Soldier
Title: Skilled Hunter
Loyalty: 6
Ambition: 10
Strength: 23
Agility: 18
Magic: 2
Leadership: 5
However, there was nothing particularly remarkable about his stats.
‘He has a title. Was he a hunter before becoming a soldier? Aside from having slightly higher strength for his level, he’s just an ordinary soldier.’
But since Dwayne’s boasting didn’t harm him, Ian decided to play along.
“Five? No, it was six. Truly an impressive soldier.”
He even went along with the exaggeration.
“Wow, this guy. I didn’t think much of him, but he’s amazing!”
“Hah, I’m jealous. If I’d known, I would’ve volunteered to earn some merit too.”
[Dwayne feels gratitude toward you. Loyalty increased by 3.]
“By the way, can I go in now?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
After exchanging a few words, the carriage smoothly entered the village.
An old house on the outskirts of Dobina Village.
A mother and daughter lived there, but now several men had barged in and turned the place upside down.
“The money we lent you, where is it? When are you going to pay it back?!”
At the shout of a middle-aged man, the daughter, Sera, retorted angrily.
“We only borrowed 10 silver! But you’re asking for 2 gold in return? That doesn’t make sense!”
“Don’t you know about interest? If you’d paid on time, it wouldn’t have gotten this high!”
With their meager income, it would take years of backbreaking work to repay even 10 silver, let alone gold.
It was impossible.
“How can the interest double in just two years? That’s outrageous!”
“Can’t you see the contract? The interest rate is clearly written here. You’re the one who signed it.”
Sera clenched her mouth shut.
It was true—she had borrowed the money.
But she hadn’t known how to read at the time.
If she had known the interest rate would be this high, she never would have taken the loan.
Back then, she had been desperate to pay for her mother’s medicine and had fallen for their sweet talk.
‘These scammers. They definitely didn’t say the interest rate would be this high back then!’
“I-I’m sorry. Please, forgive us.”
Her mother, Rimil, approached with her frail body and bowed her head in apology.
“Sorry? Forgive? What good does that do? Will my money magically return?”
“We’ll find a way to pay it back, just give us more time…”
“You’ll never be able to pay it back anyway! But your daughter here is quite pretty. Selling her as a slave should cover at least part of the debt. Boys, take her!”
“Yes!”
“She’s my only daughter! Please, don’t take her…!”
Rimil clung to them, begging, but…
“Get off!”
Thud!
“M-mother!”
As one of the men pushed Rimil away, she collapsed weakly to the ground.
“P-please…”
Rimil crawled forward, reaching out to grab the edge of their clothes.
“Let’s go.”
The moneylender ignored Rimil and dragged Sera out of the house.
And then…
“…Who’s this?”
At the front of the house, leaning casually against the fence with his arms crossed, was a black-haired boy with crimson eyes.
The boy spoke.
“Just a passerby.”
A black-haired, crimson-eyed passerby.
That boy was Ian.
“Then mind your own business and keep passing by.”
“I was planning to, but all the noise was really getting on my nerves.”
The moneylender scanned Ian’s surroundings.
Noticing that there were no knights or attendants nearby, he puffed up his chest arrogantly.
“You look like a noble, young master. Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong and get yourself hurt. Just move along.”
“From what I overheard, you’re planning to sell her as a slave. How much does she owe?”
“What? Are you planning to pay off her debt, young master?”
“I asked how much. Don’t make me repeat myself.”
“Well, if you insist. It’s 2 gold.”
As soon as the man answered, a quest window appeared before Ian’s eyes.
[Quest ‘Repayment’ has been triggered.]
<Repayment>
Objective: Repay 2 gold (0/1)
―Sera borrowed money to pay for her sick mother’s medicine. Repay her debt for her.
Reward: Mother and daughter’s loyalty +10
“So, what do you think? Can our noble young master afford to pay off this debt?”
The moneylender sneered.
“You borrowed 10 silver, and in just two years, it’s multiplied twentyfold? Even Satan would bow to you.”
“What?”
In Ian’s hand was the contract that should have been in the moneylender’s possession.
The moneylender hadn’t even noticed when it was taken.
“This is clearly illegal. Shouldn’t this be dealt with according to the territory’s laws? Ah, this is evidence, so I’ll confiscate it.”
The moneylender’s face twisted in anger.
It was infuriating to hear a boy, still reeking of immaturity, talk about exploiting the people and enforcing the law.
Of course, he knew Ian was a noble, but he didn’t care much.
In a poor territory like this, the only noble with any real power was the lord himself.
Still, since Ian was a noble, causing trouble with him would be a hassle, so he usually preferred to let things slide.
“I told you, didn’t I? Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“Today, I feel like sticking it in.”
People like this, who acted on a sense of justice, needed to be taught a lesson to behave.
‘There’s still someone around here who hasn’t learned their lesson.’
The moneylender shouted inwardly.
“This brat doesn’t know who he’s messing with! Fine then! Boys, teach him a proper lesson!”
As he gave the order to attack…
[The ‘Repayment’ quest has been updated.]
[Quest ‘Loan Shark’ has been triggered.]
<Loan Shark>
Objective: Arrest or eliminate the loan shark and his gang (0/6)
―Defeat the loan shark gang exploiting the territory’s people.
Reward: Mother and daughter’s loyalty +10
The quest had changed.
The thugs charged at Ian, their numbers overwhelming.
He looked at them and smirked.
Thud! Crash!
In an instant, the area turned into chaos.
“Y-young lord… What on earth…?”
The coachman couldn’t hold back his shock.
Following Ian’s orders, he had parked the carriage nearby and waited, but the sudden loud noises prompted him to quickly bring soldiers over.
And what he saw was truly gruesome.
“Oh, you’re here again?”
Ian waved cheerfully at Dwayne, who was among the soldiers.
Beside him were five burly men, beaten to a pulp and unconscious, and one man screaming with his right wrist severed.
The latter was the loan shark.
It wasn’t hard to guess who had severed his wrist, given the bloodstains on the sword Ian was holding.
“Ugh!”
The coachman gagged and averted his gaze upon seeing a severed human body part on the ground.
“What on earth happened here?”
“This guy came at me with a sword. I showed mercy by only taking one wrist.”
After easily handling five men on his own, the loan shark, perhaps feeling threatened, had drawn his sword and charged at Ian.
In response, Ian drew the sword at his waist and repaid the favor by severing the man’s wrist.
Dwayne glanced at the severed hand on the ground and saw that it was indeed gripping a sword.
“I see.”
Drawing a sword against Ian in this territory was a capital offense.
Dwayne quickly understood the situation.
“Dwayne. Go and bring some soldiers. About twenty.”
“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden…? That’s beyond my authority…”
“Tell the garrison commander it’s my order. Hurry.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Dwayne hurried off toward the barracks.
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