Chapter 184 - Harsh Debt of the Practor Family

THUD!

"Ow… Watch out for the shoulder…" 

"How stupid and impulsive can you be!" Hurman shouted, not caring about his son's complaints. "If you were foolish enough to challenge him being told he was an elder, then your skull is thick enough to handle my punches!"

Jonon got himself back off the floor and sat down once again. He didn't care about the strange looks the others gave him, feeling content with his efforts against Mertin the night before.

While Hurman tried to calm down and returned to his seat, Keldon and Shadur gave Jonon another once over to double-check for more injuries. Vloz was quiet inside Oli's shadow while the young gorilla in human form was smiling slightly after hearing the father and son banter.

Getting back to business, Hurman coughed to regain his composure. "Shadur… Do you have any news about Lyle's condition?"

Shaking his head, Shadur replied, "I had to spread the blood sample among multiple tests, some of which take a couple of days to find results. Nothing's come back thus far but we'll recognize the drug in his system soon enough. Also, the same goes for you, Patriarch. The drug in your system shouldn't be as impactful as the one in Master Lyle's body, but it may be one of the reasons you've been feeling more sluggish and unable to cultivate properly. I'll know your results by midday tomorrow."

"Thank you, Shadur…" Hurman sighed, glancing upward out of his desire to disbelieve the situation.

"I told you to hire him ages ago, Hurman. Had you listened, Lyle may not be in this--"

"I understand and I accept responsibility for that," interjected Hurman. "But I can't change my past actions. I had taken Mertin's abjections at face value at the time and never properly listened. The best thing we can do now is work to change our present situation."

"What will you do about your debt?" Oli asked calmly.

Hurman nodded and blinked. He reached to the side and acquired a leather-bound binder filled with parchments and papers of many sizes. The old man carefully opened the binder, ruffling through pages for a moment before stopping and sighing once again. "According to this, It seems like Mertin handled one final piece of paperwork before departing with his wife and children. He used the family seal to write up a doc.u.ment that agreed to begin making the deferred payments on the loan he took out in the family name. And the first payment is due before sunset today…"

"To the Libarn Guild, correct?"

"Yes… So I'd expect someone from the guild to arrive sometime today to collect the payment."

"And how large is the payment, and the total debt?" questioned Oli.

Shaking his head, Hurman answered, "The loan was for five thousand gold--"

"Five thousand?!" Both Keldon and Jonon shouted in disgust while Shadur was at a loss for words.

Hurman then added, "But there was a deferral agreement that lasted for more than a year…"

"Since Lyle's incident?" Jonon asked sharply.

"That's correct…"

"Then Mertin's been involved with the Libarn Guild for that long? And if he was drugging Lyle, isn't there a chance that Mertin was behind Lyle's failed ascension?"

Hurman nodded and closed his eyes.

Able to feel the thick tension settling in the air, Oli asked loudly, "But how large is your debt after such a long deferral? And what sort of interest is applicable? We already knew that Mertin was likely involved in Lyle's incident so there's no need to be shocked by further evidence. For now, the immediate issue is your debt and possibly losing your home."

"Oliver's right. We need to layout each issue one-by-one and handle them accordingly. The debt and your first payment will be the top priority," added Keldon. "One thousand gold after more than a year of deferral… Given the typical interest Libarn charges and how Mertin likely agreed to something higher…"

Keldon then blinked and stared wide-eyed at Hurman. "Does it compound daily?"

"... It does," Hurman answered with a heavy heart.

"And it was deferred for how long?"

"About one year and eight moons."

"One year and eight moons?!" Keldon almost had a heart attack on the spot. "One year and eight moons of daily compound interest?! Off of the base five thousand gold?! How could you let that happen, Hurman?!" 

"I take full responsibility for letting this happen, but there's no way of denying that it exists…" sighed Hurman, wishing that he was wrong in this case. "However, though I was to get to the bottom of this, I'm not savvy enough to understand the total debt without--"

"What's the interest rate?" Keldon demanded to know."

"... It's thirty-seven percent…"

"That… This is aiding your our theft?! Hurman…" Keldon leaned back, outraged by the calculations he was running in his head. "Not including what will accrue after today, you owe at least nine thousand gold…"

"WHAT?!"

This time, Hurman was the one floored by the result along with Jonon. Neither was able to visualize such a large sum of money, let alone grasp the fact that they might owe so much. And Shadur was further stunned, left utterly speechless and thoughtless due to the shock rattling his brain.

Oli shook his head. He understood interest enough to believe Keldon whole-heartedly, but that didn't mean he was expecting the sum to be so large. "Hurman… How much is the cost of each payment?"

"Four hundred gold a month."

Keldon chuckled out of disbelief. "That's just enough to hurt your struggling budget while making sure you never get back out of the debt… How kind of them…"

"Do you have enough for the payment, yes or no?" Oli asked.

"Scrapping the last of our savings, we should have just enough to cover it. But before the end of the sun we won't be able to afford any food or supplies for the property, our servants, or ourselves."

Scratching his head, Keldon thought hard about what he could possibly do to help. "Hurman… you can't take out another loan, can you?"