A pile of unfinished documents and an inkwell lay on top of the desk adjacent to the living room. The mana tool merchant and I had left the sofa to sit there.
“I truly appreciate your help before,” he said. “Allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Chotos. As you know, I’m the proprietor of the mana tool shop here in Tibar.”
“Then I’ll also reintroduce myself as well. I’m Nemaki Dasai. The one who’s holding your daughter over there is my partner, Gol. Her real name is Goltarou.”
The man named Chotos twitched at my statement. “I see. The Barbarian Queen Goretaru… I know they say nature follows name, but I guess choosing to name her for the resplendent goddess of slaughter and jealousy wasn’t just for show.”
Mister, you, too?! Who keeps making you people say that fake name?! Her name isn’t Goretaru; it’s Goltarou! I was proud to be the one who had named her, and I wouldn’t yield to these false monikers. My heart had broken when I first faced this trouble with Master Speria, but this time, I would make the people of the world acknowledge my fantastic naming sense. I’d start with Mr. Chotos. He would be the first step in my plan to conquer the world with my incomparable flair for names.
I made sure to emphasize the proper pronunciation of each syllable as I spoke. “My Gol-ta-rou is strong, after all. Those punks were no match for her.”
“You call them punks, but…everyone in Tibar knew of their leader—that behemoth, Dazu the Swordbreaker. He’s an outlaw without equal. Well, I suppose he and his gang were nothing more than punks against that Goretaru of yours.”
This guy keeps calling her Goretaru. What a stubborn fellow.
“Hmph, even if there were a thousand men like him, Goltarou would knock them out simultaneously. After all, my Gollll-ta-roooou is the strongest being in the world,” I said.
“You’ve got quite the confidence in your Goretaru’s abilities.”
Argh! Like I said, it’s not Goretaru! Say it with me, my guy! Gol. Ta. Rou! Why can’t you understand something so mind-numbingly simplistic?
But I wouldn’t give up. Not yet.
Ten minutes passed in much the same way.
“I…surrender. Goretaru it is… Mister, you call her whatever you like…”
“Huh? What are you going on about?”
All my efforts were in vain. In the end, I couldn’t get Mr. Chotos to correctly refer to her as “Goltarou.” My heart had once again been broken.
Mr. Chotos was confused by my exhaustion, but he cleared his throat, fixed his posture, and looked me in the eye. “Nemaki, I formally apologize for appraising your Earth Ogre sorcery cores at such an unfairly low price. I’m truly sorry. For all you have done…if you wish to buy back your sorcery cores at the price I initially stated, I freely offer you the chance.”
Mr. Chotos wore an earnest expression as he placed the leather bag of sorcery cores on the desk between us. I had made sure to recover it before we left. Nonetheless, I had sold the contents of this bag, so presently, they were this man’s rightful belongings.
“I see. Buying them back at the same price…”
“I’m sorry… With my business in such a state, it’s the best I can do.” Mr. Chotos bit his lip and cast his eyes downward.
I folded my arms and thought it over. This proposal meant I would buy back the sorcery cores with the very money Mr. Chotos had initially given me for them. In short, we would each return to our starting states.
Although I was unfamiliar with business as usual in this world, this at least seemed to be a valid compromise. What was more, I highly doubted Mr. Chotos, who was up to his neck in debt, could financially compensate me in any other way.
“Okay. I have no objections. I’ll let this matter slide.” I nodded.
Luckily, I hadn’t spent any of the money, as Pizzaman had paid for my lunch. Therefore, the proceeds from the initial sale were as yet untouched. If I returned the money to the man in front of me, the case would be settled.
The generosity of my classmate, Pizzaman, had saved me a great deal of trouble. Thanks, Pizzaman. I’ll definitely have to treat you the next time we meet.
“This is the payment I received this morning. Please confirm the amount.” I placed the relevant coins on the table.
In exchange, Mr. Chotos picked up the leather bag of sorcery cores and held it out to me. I firmly accepted it.
With this, the case was closed. I moved to put the leather bag into my larger shoulder bag. But for some reason, Mr. Chotos refused to let go.
“Hey. You done?” I asked.
“A-ah, s-sorry. I wasn’t aware.”
“There’s no way you weren’t aware!” I snatched the leather bag away. Jeez, what a greedy jerk. I was getting really tired of this guy.
As I was putting the leather bag away, I stopped. Something was off.
“Hey, mister. You know, for some reason, it feels like this bag is lighter than I remember.”
Cold sweat appeared on Mr. Chotos’s forehead. On closer inspection, he was gripping a black sorcery core under the desk.
Hey, don’t think you can fool me, you damn barcode!
I grappled for the sorcery core in his hand.
He resisted as he cried, “For the future! Please, Nemaki, please! Just this one!”
Though I mercilessly recovered my stolen goods, I also sighed and rested my elbow on the desk. After all, I knew the reason for this man’s repulsive actions. The debt collector punks had withdrawn, but his debt hadn’t disappeared with them. Their leader, the big fellow, had said they were hired by some company to collect on the debt. I believed he said the “Paisley Company.” “Paisley” sounded like some kind of Western clothing brand… Well, I didn’t really care.
Mr. Chotos had most likely borrowed from this Paisley Company. In other words, as long as the debt to the actual company went unpaid, another group of debt collectors would eventually turn up. That was why he was being so persistent with my sorcery cores. His problems had yet to be resolved. My accidental intervention had only delayed the inevitable.
That wasn’t to say I didn’t have an opinion about a company that would utilize such a criminally inclined and violent group to collect money from a petty merchant who had lost his wife to disease and had to care for his sickly daughter. But borrowing money in and of itself fell within the realm of reasonable economics. The unfortunate long-haired punk whose bones Gol had broken had been right when he said that returning borrowed money was basic etiquette. I agreed that the premise was sound. In the end, if Mr. Chotos suffered in debt to a company, that was his own fault.