[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
Chapter 126 - A Slap for Every Penny Found (8)
"Wait a moment. I'll show you the relevant documents."
Scala rummaged through the stack of papers on her desk and pulled out a few to lay in front of me.
"These are the ransom demands from the other side. Ridiculous, right?"
"That's quite a lot."
"And this is the money we can scrape together from our mercenary group. It doesn’t even come close."
"You're right."
"And this is the amount you saved up under your name, Sophie. The amount matches, right?"
"Yeah, it matches. Now hand it over."
Scala shook her head at Hindrasta's demand.
"Sorry, but things were urgent, so we had to use it too."
"That’s my money! It’s not yours!"
"I know, I get it."
Scala sighed, looking fed up.
"I know. But what else could I do in an emergency? Our comrades are all captured. What, should we just let them die?"
"You keep saying 'comrades,' but aren’t I one too?! I earned that money while I was part of the mercenary group!"
"Dammit!"
Scala slammed her fist down on the desk at Hindrasta's rebuttal.
"That's why I'm saying, because you earned it as one of us, we used it to help save our people! I told you before too! We were uncomfortable holding onto your money, so we told you to just take it all and stash it in a bank! But what did you say? You couldn’t set up a bank account because your identity was unclear! So we had no choice but to hold onto it for you!"
"Does that mean you can spend it however you like just because it's not in a bank?"
Hindrasta shot up from her seat, knocking the chair over noisily. Scala immediately stood up too.
"We need to keep our comrades alive first before we can worry about paying you back! The money you left with us, we can earn it back in no time if we get the mercenary group back on its feet! We won't steal from you, I swear!"
Scala kicked the fallen chair, smashing it to pieces. Poor Orendi flinched and hunched his shoulders, looking terrified.
"And you, Sophie! Are you even human?! My dad took you in without a second thought when you were a nobody without any experience! He let it slide when you made a scene about wanting to join! He fed you, sheltered you, paid you on time, even got you the best equipment when you did well, and prioritized your missions! We’ve never missed a single paycheck, right?! We made sure to account for every penny and set it aside for you! Plus, we even gave you spending money to use however you wanted! And now you’re acting like this? Loyalty is thicker than blood! We ate, slept, and worked together for years! Don’t you have a single shred of gratitude for my dad?! Huh?!"
"That’s...."
Hindrasta stammered, looking flustered.
"So can you please stop talking about money for a moment?! My head’s already about to explode! Everyone’s been captured, from my family to my subordinates, and I’m the only one left—what the hell do you expect me to do?!?!"
Scala was gasping for breath, her head hanging down as she stomped on the broken pieces of the chair.
"So please... help me. I can’t do this alone.... I promise I won’t cheat you out of your money.... Just stop bringing it up until this is all over.... I’m begging you...."
Hindrasta hesitated, her mouth opening and closing before she finally managed to speak.
"I... I’m sorry...."
And with that, a cold silence fell over the office.
I could almost hear the sound of Orendi’s eyes darting around nervously.
I could understand both Scala and Hindrasta.
Right now, Scala didn’t have the luxury to care about anything other than saving the captured mercenaries.
So, she probably had no choice but to dip into the funds Hindrasta had left with them. Given the situation, it made sense.
But at the same time, it wasn’t unreasonable for Hindrasta to keep insisting on getting her money back.
Scala was appealing to her sense of humanity, but Hindrasta wasn’t human.
As a dragon, she didn’t care at all about the lesser races she deemed inferior, and she had an obsessive attachment to her possessions.
So, the fact that she apologized to Scala, even a little, probably meant that she had come to understand humans somewhat over the ten years she had been forced to live in a polymorphed state.
"Alright, Sophie. It looks like you understand how urgent the situation is for the mercenary group."
"Because if you want your money back, this is the fastest and easiest way. If we beat them up and make the ransom a non-issue, that money will go straight to you."
After a simple explanation, Hindrasta nodded.
"Well, yeah, that makes sense. Fine. Let’s go smash them up. But what about you? Are you just going to watch?"
"For now, I’ll observe. I want to see how my students perform in a real fight."
Scala had trained with me for about a month during the war, and Hindrasta had received intensive training during a month-long competition, so calling them my students wasn’t entirely wrong.
With that, everything was settled.
"Orendi, open the dimensional gate. We’re short on time."
"Ughh... I don’t even care anymore...."
With a resigned look, Orendi opened the dimensional gate.
# # # # #
The exit of the gate led directly to the enemy’s territory. Ahead of us was the lord’s castle.
There were a few guards wandering on the walls, but overall, security didn’t seem that tight.
They must have relaxed after their big victory in the territorial war.
Inside the castle, lights were blazing, and there was a loud clamor.
Maybe they were throwing a big feast, celebrating with the reparations they wrung out from the family that hired the Reblanc Mercenaries.
"So, the prisoners are supposed to be in there?"
"That’s what I’ve heard. There’s supposed to be a prison underground."
"Hey, Orendi. Can’t you open a gate straight into the building or the underground?"
Orendi’s face scrunched up in discomfort at my request.
"It’s hard to calculate coordinates that precise...."
If it were Kaiden, he would’ve opened a gate right in front of the prison door, maybe even laid out a red carpet.
"What about dropping in from above?"
"I thought of that, but the castle has a coordinate-disruption spell."
That would prevent us from opening a gate accurately. It could lead to a dangerous situation if we ended up in the wrong place.
This is a common setup for important facilities, done with simple totems enchanted with magic.
If it were Kaiden, he’d find a way to slip through, but Orendi still had a long way to go to reach that level.
"Looks like there’s no choice. Orendi, blast the front gate with an attack spell."
"Yes—Wait, what?! An attack spell?! I thought I was just here to open dimensional gates!"
"We have to get the gate open if we’re going to enter. Or did you think we’d just ring the doorbell and politely state our purpose?"
"Well, no...."
Orendi looked around nervously, glancing at each of us.
Scala and Hindrasta both had desperate expressions, their eyes silently pleading with Orendi.
"I... I guess there’s no other way."
Unable to ignore those looks, Orendi finally extended his hands.
"Let’s hope they don’t have any defensive spells."
He muttered, conjuring a bluish glow in his hands.
"I don’t even understand what’s happening anymore... I was relaxing in my room, and now I’m about to attack a noble’s castle... Here goes!"
A straight line of magical energy shot from Orendi’s hands, crashing into the front gate of the castle.
With a thunderous boom, the gate was blown clean off its hinges.
Guards on the walls began shouting, ringing bells, and causing a commotion.
"Alright, let’s go."
We charged into the castle, pushing through the rising clouds of dust.
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]