CH 26

Personal Talk

The battlecruiser [Radiant] has a number of small dining rooms for high-ranking aristocrats. The room and Schleer guided Kisei and Saki to was one of those rooms.

“OHH, STEAK! It’s been a while.”

Seeing the big steak on the plate, Kisei raised a cheer. The steaming meat is giving off a very appetizing fragrance.

“I’m sorry about the synthetic meat……we are during wartime so–”

“No, please don’t worry. I don’t mind even if it isn’t organic. This is plenty enough for me. Anyway, I’m digging in.”

After he smiled and put his hands together, Kisei immediately cut a bite-sized piece and put it into his mouth. The gravy overflowed from the piece of steak and it was seasoned with plenty of spices. One couldn’t tell that it was made from synthetic protein from the taste at all.

In this era, most of the products in circulation be it meat or vegetables are synthetic or genetically modified bio-foods. Of course, natural organic foods taste better but they have become extremely expensive in this era and are no longer something that you can have every day.

“Yup, it’s delicious. Even if it’s synthetic, this steak is really nice, isn’t it? It’s much more delicious than the meat I usually eat too.”

“You are kidding right? A mercenary with your level of skills should be raking in money right? You should have plenty of money to eat organic meat every day right?”

Saki teasingly smiles at Kisei while wildly chomping down on her steak. There should be a lot of clients who would be willing to pay an exorbitant amount of money to hire a mercenary with superhuman skills like Kisei. He should be even richer than some lower-class aristocrats, or so Saki thinks.

“No way, the meat I normally eat is the lowest-grade one you know. I don’t have any money after all.”

“Eh.”

His reply not only surprised Saki but Schleer as well so the two reflexively looked at each other.

“At least in my case, I think that I have given you a reasonable amount as prepayment though……..”

“Ahh, that. I don’t have that money anymore.”

“Did you use it all in a casino!?”

Leaving a mercenary who has to maintain their own striker aside, a mercenary like Kisei who jumps from battle to battle by himself should not be able to spend that amount of money in such a short time. It doesn’t seem that he spent it all buying some precious ornaments or buying himself a spaceship either.

“Well, it’s not like that……you see, I send it all back to my family. We are in debt after all.”

“A, Oh…….you did say something about the debt your dad left you huh.”

“What’s that. I haven’t heard anything about this at all.”

Schleer unpleasantly looked at Saki.

“Maybe he doesn’t trust you enough to talk to you about it right.”

“Ha?”

“Well, I don’t want to spread my family’s shame everywhere I go after all…….there was no right timing to bring it up too.”

‘Also, please don’t make me talk while I’m eating’, Kisei continued while narrowing his eyes.

“Well, that’s true…….it’s a hard thing to talk about after all.”

“Unnn, I’m sorry but can you tell me more about it? Of course, I will not tell others about this, I swear on my honor as a knight.”

With a little hesitation, Schleer decided to ask. She knows that it’s a rude question but she doesn’t like that Saki knows what she doesn’t. Also, she thought that she could help if his problem is a serious one too.

“I’m not really hiding this so I don’t mind though……..”

What are you going to do about it once you know, that is the only question Kisei has.

“Well, it’s not that rare of a story you know. My dad left us a huge debt and ran away. My sister had a supposed incurable disease that cost a lot of money to treat. That’s where my money went.”

‘My sister was cured a while ago though’ Kisei continued with a smile as he brought another piece of steak to his mouth. However, Schleer couldn’t return that smile.

“Why was your father the one who borrowed……rather, what became of your mother?”

According to Vuld common sense, men rarely make debts. After all, they don’t have much opportunity to go out in the first place. The reality of Vuld society is that there is not that much chance for men to interact with money.

“She died. Everyone in my mother’s family is born with a weak body…….my mother was no exception. Back then there were a lot of things going on with my family besides my father’s debt so she probably couldn’t bear it and passed.”

“Ah, so she was a single mother huh. Are you an aristocrat?”

“Terran’s marriages are monogamy so we do not have that many mothers like the Vuldes you know……”

With Vuld’s highly biased birth rates, it is common for a normal family to be polygamous except for some high-ranking aristocrats. As a result, they usually have a lot of mothers. Sisters often share a single husband so oftentimes due to a large number of children, they do not care which child is whose.

“Th, that….must have been hard on you. My condolences…….”

Schleer almost dropped the fork in her hand. She gently adjusts her grip and puts the fork on her plate while taking a deep breath.

“Your Highness, is this not the time that you can show off your worth as a woman?”

“Y, Yes. I will consider increasing your reward. After all, you have brought us many unexpected results in this war. I will get in contact with our financial department and…..”

“Oh, please don’t worry. I was already content with the agreed amount. As a pro, I can not possibly ask for more. Please, there’s no need to adjust my reward.”

“N, no way.”

Schleer looks like it’s the end of the world. It’s a code of chivalry to extend your hand out for those in need. Especially when the other party is a man. However, she can’t help someone who refuses to be helped.

“If, if it’s like this then I will just have to support you all your life……….”

“Just what part of your brain led you to that conclusion.”

Completely forgetting his manner, Kisei retorted.