Elena lay prostrate on the floor with her hands pressed to the ground around the tomato debris.
Ian quickly grabbed the back of her neck.
She had been about to put her mouth on the smashed tomatoes.
“Three seconds… three seconds!”
“Say something that makes sense.”
“Noooo.”
Elena’s arms flailed as Ian held her by the neck.
Realizing she couldn’t win by force, her arms and legs went limp.
She turned to him with a frustrated look.
“Why, why, brother! It hasn’t been three seconds yet! You made it pass by pulling me!”
“Get a grip, Elena. There are many eyes watching.”
“I, Priestess Elena, serve only Deus and spread the teachings of Numina. I’m not ashamed of others’ gazes as long as they aren’t the gazes of those two.”
“Do you think Deus isn’t watching from the sky?”
Following his pointing finger, Elena looked blankly up at the sky.
Then she let out a small sigh.
“Ah.”
Thankfully, that seemed to work.
“Right?”
“Why is it so bright today? If only it weren’t… Tsk.”
Ian couldn’t imagine what the doctrines of her cult were like.
Anyway.
‘Thank you, Deus.’
He silently thanked Deus and the clear weather for calming Elena down and then surveyed the situation.
The overturned stall and the noisy store.
Considering the gleaming bald head and the muscular physique of the “Uncle’s Fruit Store” owner, it was likely the opponent was not an ordinary person.
At the same time, no windows were broken.
It wasn’t as big a commotion as it seemed.
“Stop. You can’t enter here right now.”
As they approached the store, a man came out and blocked them.
Dressed in a black suit but with a menacing face.
His golden tooth flashed with every word, adding to his menacing look.
“We have business with the owner here.”
At Ian’s words, the man smirked.
“Owner? There’s no such thing here, kid. This place is undergoing debt collection, so you’d better get lost before things get rough. Come back when a new shop opens.”
Debt collection?
That means he borrowed money and couldn’t repay it?
Ian squinted his eyes.
‘Indeed, the store’s condition was poor. Despite having high-end goods, there were no sales.’
It wasn’t strange that he borrowed money.
But the store didn’t seem so bad that it would go bankrupt right away.
Ian had even boosted sales last time. There didn’t seem to be any major expenses.
As expected.
— What law demands repayment of principal and interest in advance!
Uncle’s loud voice was heard from inside the store.
Entering the store, Ian saw the fruit vendor’s face red with rage.
“… He looks like a giant cherry tomato.”
“Shh.”
Ian covered Elena’s mouth and asked.
“What happened?”
“Oh, the distinguished student of Lichten Academy, our fruit store’s hope, top customer Ian, has come! I’d like to give you something, but the store is in such a state!”
“It’s fine. But what’s going on?”
“I borrowed money from the Raymond Trading Company. Suddenly they demand the principal and interest! It’s not even the due date! These thieves! I just paid for the imported fruit wholesale. I have no money now. They must have targeted this moment!”
The fruit vendor, uncharacteristically, poured out his words.
He seemed quite aggrieved.
And indeed, the story seemed legitimate.
Elena cautiously tugged at Ian’s sleeve.
“… What is it, brother?”
“In short, the owner has no cash, so despite the contract, they’re demanding the principal and interest, and since he has no money, the store is at risk of being taken over.”
“Demanding such a thing…! People who play with money should be cleansed in the name of God!”
… Is your doctrine really okay?
Only briefly doubting, Ian was interrupted.
“Demanding, you say.”
From the shadowed corner of the shop, a man emerged.
He resembled a rat, with a thin mustache and a frail appearance.
He stroked his mustache and held a piece of paper that looked like a contract.
“If you look here, it clearly states, ‘In the event of cash flow difficulties at the Raymond Trading Company’s Lichten branch, the repayment date for half the principal and interest can be advanced, and this may lead to debt collection,’ doesn’t it?”
“You bastards said it yourselves! Raymond Trading Company having cash flow issues? Does that make any sense? How could the Raymond Trading Company go bankrupt!”
“Hehe… What can I say, my lord? Such a thing has happened. Our Lichten branch has made many investments recently, and it just happened. Truly tragic.”
The rat-faced man rubbed his hands together and laughed sinisterly.
‘It’s a setup. I’ve seen this pattern before.’
This was a scheme Ian had often seen even before his possession.
A frail country is kindly lent money at low interest, and when they can’t repay it, they are subtly swallowed up.
‘The neighboring country used this tactic frequently.’
To see it in a fantasy world was surprising.
Judging by the cleverness, it was undoubtedly Emilia Raymond’s strategy.
When it comes to these tactics, she’s the most brilliant heroine.
‘So, this is how the Raymond Trading Company expands its influence.’
Ian now understood why Silvia had such difficulty dealing with the Raymond Trading Company.
While Silvia meticulously formed cooperative relationships with small shops, Emilia Raymond was swallowing them up in this manner.
Their methods were incomparable from the start.
“Anyway, since there’s no cash, we’ll continue with the collection. Please proceed with the appraisal, appraiser sir.”
The rat-faced man bowed to the man standing beside him.
A plump man with glasses.
He adjusted his glasses and started examining the fruits and the store.
Ian discreetly asked the fruit vendor.
“How much are you short?”
“I borrowed 2 gold, so I’m short about 1 gold.”
“Shouldn’t the fruits here be enough to cover that?”
The fruit vendor’s face turned red again at Ian’s words.
He started pointing at the appraiser.
“He’s the problem! How can he say these fruits aren’t worth that much? Only 10 silver for all of this? These damned thieves!”
Thud.
When the fruit vendor hit the table, one of the fruits flew off.
So that’s how that tomato ended up flying earlier.
The appraiser frowned and spoke.
“It’s not 10 silver, it’s 1 million krone. Since when was the currency unified… such ignorance.”
“What did you say!”
“And fruits can’t be properly appraised for their real value. Even if we seize them and sell them, their value would drop over time.”
The appraiser’s words were followed by the rat-like man.
“If you’re unhappy, you could sell everything, but not by today. Hehe.”
“……”
“You can’t sell them all today anyway. Hehe. Appraiser sir, how much is this shop worth? I think it matches the principal and interest perfectly. Hehe.”
At the rat-like man’s words, the fruit vendor grabbed the back of his neck and sat down.
“My… my shop is falling into this wretched scheme! Ahhh!”
Man.
Small business owners really have it tough.
This is as chaotic as it gets.
The way they set this up is too cunning.
They targeted the exact moment the shop had no cash?
It couldn’t be a coincidence.
It means the Raymond Trading Company was tracking the money flow in and out of this shop.
And probably not just this shop.
‘Amazing. Truly.’
Ian was once again impressed by the scale of this world’s machinations.
He realized he would soon have to step into such a world himself.
“Now… it’s time for you to leave. This place now belongs to the Raymond Trading Company. Since you probably can’t repay the money… signing quickly would be less stressful, don’t you think?”
“You… you b*stards.”
“Oh, if you hit me, you’ll be charged for additional damages. Hehe.”
“…”
“By the way, there seems to be a lot to clean up. If these fruits don’t sell, they’ll have to be disposed of… what a worry.”
…Anyway.
Ian realized he could solve the immediate problem in front of him.
“You don’t need to worry about that.”
The rat-faced man turned to look at Ian.
Not only him, but everyone in the store focused their attention on Ian.
… It’s a bit embarrassing, though it’s not like I’m doing something grand.
Ian called out to the half-dazed fruit vendor.
“Uncle, or rather, sir.”
“…Huh?”
Ian gestured to the shelves full of fruit with his finger.
“I’ll take everything from here to there.”
The fruit vendor’s eyes widened in surprise.
Ian gave him a reassuring smile.
“With this much, I think I deserve VIP treatment, right? You’ll deliver, won’t you? And from now on, too.”
This is how you flex.
◆
That afternoon.
To be precise, 30 minutes before lunchtime.
In the central garden of Lichten Academy.
Students with black, pink, red, and beige hair were busily moving about.
The leader among them seemed to be the lone male student, as his voice was the loudest.
“Alright. Let’s hurry up! We need to finish preparing before lunchtime!”
.
“Danya! Your face is red, are you okay? You could’ve rested if you were feeling sick. Hm? Of course, we need you.”
.
“Elena! If you keep staring at the tomatoes, I’ll take them off the menu! Then you won’t get to eat any, will you? Come on, focus!”
.
“Lina, did you message your friends on Kirtos? Keep sending it. Invite everyone! But make sure they have money to spend!”
.
“Danya, I need some Snowflakes. I’m already running low on magic. Thanks. How many have I made? Probably a thousand.”
“Elena. I told you not to suck the sugar off your fingers, didn’t I? Switch places with Danya. Go set up the signboard.”
— Crash!
“Elena, are you hurt? No, it’s fine. We can set the sign up again. It’s not useless. You skewered all the fruit, didn’t you? Don’t cry. Thanks to you, everything is ready. Good job. I’ll give you two tomatoes today. Not now. Let’s set the sign up together? One, two, three!”
[ First Sale Begins! ]
“Ah! I forgot something. Lina and Danya, can you bring that over here for a moment? Yes, that. Just lift it up!”
[ Dessert Research Club ]
[ First Sale Begins! ]
