Well, then again, he had been desperate to buy medicine for his dying wife and daughter…
N-no! I wouldn’t be tricked a second time. I was sure there was nothing pitiable about this greedy and shortsighted barcode man.
I once again let out a deep sigh. My gaze fell to the leather bag in my hand, and I peered through the opening at a portion of the black crystals glittering inside.
I had picked up these stones on the roadside to make some easy money. Picking them up had been simple impulse, and obtaining them hadn’t required much work. To think these boring stones could make such a difference in the furious battle between life and death… I began to feel somewhat indecisive.
“There’s something I would like to consult with you about. Exactly how many of these sorcery cores would you need to completely pay off your debt?” I asked.
“Four…no, three would be enough,” he replied.
Was that really all he needed? It was a surprisingly low number. Although I hadn’t counted the original total number of sorcery cores, I believed it was around thirty. I had been under the impression he would need to sell off the entire bag to repay what he owed.
I see. So just three would be fine.
“Hm? Three…?” My shoulder twitched. “The necessary number is three, right? Hey, wait a second, you barcode.”
“Bahcode? What’s that?”
“It’s, um, a word for the few remaining hairs on your head, duh.”
“What did you say? I ain’t bald!”
“Huh? Are you kidding? If your head were a battlefield, commanders on either side could see their troops advancing clear to the other end.”
“Retract that! My hair’s luxurious!”
“Ugh, I can’t believe you make me look at you! As if that weird hairstyle could cover it up! In the first place, if you’re a man, your hair thins as you age, and it makes you look dignified! Refined! Have some confidence in your years and live proudly—wait, no!”
Stop that, self! I’d been riled and unintentionally strayed off-topic.
I slammed both my hands on the desk. “If you’re telling me the truth, three sorcery cores would’ve been enough to end your troubles, but you bargained down the price to squeeze them all out of me? Hey!”
“Ah…”
“You lying liar who lies! You hopeless barcode!” I grabbed the man’s collar and shook him roughly.
“Wh-whoa, I-I’m sorry! I’m truly sorry about that! I really didn’t think an idiot who would fall for such outlandish lies and sell all their sorcery cores for dirt cheap could even exist!” The hair on the crying middle-aged man’s head became disheveled, once again transforming him into a fallen samurai.
Argh! Are you apologizing or dissing me? Pick one!
“Jeez…” I let go of the man’s lapels and sighed for a third time. I took out several sorcery cores from within the leather bag and dropped them on the desk. After pondering for a bit, I added another. “That makes four… Okay.”
I stared at the four black sorcery cores lined up on the desk. After gathering them in a pile, I pushed them toward the man.
“You can have these.”
“Wha…? D-do you mean it?”
“Yes. But don’t misunderstand me. This isn’t a donation. One of these sorcery cores is for the cost of repairing the shop. When my Gol kicked out the debt collectors, she made a huge mess and destroyed the wall.” With an extremely serious and stern expression, I tapped my finger on the desk. “The other three are an investment. Use them to pay back your debt and reorganize your financial management. I’ll have you return the money with plenty of interest.”
Of course, I was lying. This was just to make sure he didn’t feel spoiled. I had absolutely no intention whatsoever of staying in this town long enough to see the distant future when his shop, currently on the verge of bankruptcy, sprang back to life enough to actually repay me.
Mr. Chotos’s eyes kept darting between my face and the four sorcery cores on the desk. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to speak, but for a moment it just sounded like something was stuck in his throat.
“I-I’m sorry.” When he accepted the sorcery cores, his hands trembled like an alcoholic patient’s. His dirty face crinkled as he sobbed with a runny nose. “Ugh, waah. Zorry. I’m r-really zowwy… D-danks. Denk you, Nemegii… I’m zowwy for twicking youu…”
“Ew. Hey, that’s disgusting. Stop crying. If you don’t, I’ll take them back.”
“Waa, I dun’t dink I can stup muhselff…”
“What does that even mean…?”
Please, I’m begging you, get a hold of yourself. The future of your small five-year-old daughter depends on you keeping it together.
Yeah, that’s right, see, if this man’s debt were left standing, a miserable future awaited his daughter, Teru. This was a world where vicious punks had no problem throwing their weight around. If the debt remained, the debt collectors would no doubt sell Teru off to some shady store when she came of age. If that happened, I would have no choice but to take responsibility and make her my wife to save her. I didn’t want to see that girl’s tears, and I couldn’t stand the thought of seeing her live such a sad life.
Yeah. Nudging Mr. Chotos along the path to repaying his debt was all for the sake of the future of adorable Teru, who I would henceforth treat like my own little sister. This man’s future was just adjacent. He was inconsequential.
I simply couldn’t abandon a disheartened, middle-aged single father taking care of his child. The kid was the important part, so I—don’t want you to misunderstand. It was the kid! I didn’t feel bad or anything! D-don’t be stupid!
“W-waah…” Mr. Chotos was face down on the table, still crying.
I didn’t know how many times I’d sighed at this pitiful father sobbing while holding the sorcery cores in his hand, but I shrugged in exasperation. Then, for no real reason, I turned to look at his daughter, his most treasured possession.
Since poor old baldy and the golem moocher were having the ugly conversation of miserable men, which could only have a tremendously detrimental effect on a child’s development, I’d made Gol keep Teru occupied on the sofa in the living room.
From here, they almost looked like sisters. Teru was fair-skinned all around, and it went without saying that Gol was pure white.
Speaking of, Gol had been staring at me for a while now, while roughly rubbing Teru’s head. Was she trying to get my attention? Well, Teru was still squealing in excitement, so there probably wasn’t anything to worry about there.