Smells Like Money

By the time Azu and the others had washed up in the bath, changed clothes, and returned, Yohane had already finished his own preparations.

"Oh, looking clean."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Let's eat."

Yohane said this and sat down at the table, so Azu and the others took their usual seats as well.

The table was covered with plates of food, nearly double the usual amount.

"Isn't this too much?"

"Maybe. I was just making stuff without thinking and this is what happened. The garden out back had plenty of stuff growing, so it worked out."

"I can't find any fault with your cooking skills."

Out in the backyard was a small vegetable garden that Azu and Elza tended, planted with various vegetables.

Between Alexia occasionally using magic on it and Elza giving it a blessing now and then, everything grew fast. And big.

This time, Yohane had made generous use of those vegetables for a lavish meal.

Once Azu saw Yohane start eating his pasta, she followed suit.

She reached for the closest dish first, a pizza baked to a perfect crisp.

It was already cut into six slices. She picked up one.

The toppings were finely chopped vegetables buried under a generous layer of cheese.

The sauce appeared to be tomato.

When she took a bite, the cheese, softened by the heat, stretched out in long strings.

She ate quickly to keep the cheese from dripping, and the slice was gone before she knew it.

Elza served herself some paella on a plate and ate it alongside a stir-fry of meat and vegetables.

Alexia's eyes wandered for a moment before she settled on a bread roll stuffed with bacon.

While eating, Azu reported the information they'd gathered to Yohane.

She hadn't achieved spectacular results, but she figured it was better than letting him think they'd done nothing at all.

Yohane listened to Azu's report without interrupting.

When she'd finished, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and washed it down with a sip of wine.

"I'd heard bits and pieces about the south side, but I didn't know it had gotten that bad."

"Yes. The deeper parts especially weren't what I'd call sanitary."

"One step away from becoming a slum. That's the old lord's son's parting gift, more or less…"

There had been a period when the city's population shrank, the result of exorbitant taxes and reckless governance.

The south side had been hit hardest by the depopulation, and now that people had returned, those with shady pasts and those too poor to live elsewhere had flooded in.

"If you're looking for culprits, I suppose that area does have the highest odds."

"That's what I thought, but… I couldn't really get anywhere with it."

Azu shrank down, fork still in hand.

Yohane snorted at the sight.

"If it were that easy to find them, we wouldn't need guards. But a moneylender? That smells."

"D-Do I still smell?"

Azu couldn't help but react. For a girl her age, this was a matter of life and death.

"Not that kind of smell. The smell of money."

"Uh oh, his eyes are turning into gold coins."

Elza teased.

"A money changer would be one thing, but a moneylending license isn't handed out easily. It affects the entire city's economy. It'd be a problem if just anyone could do it."

"That's certainly true. Nothing good comes of having too many people drowning in debt."

"Exactly. And if aggressive debt collection were tolerated, it would undermine public safety. Nobody wants to throw cold water on an economy that's finally improving."

"So the south side is what happens after all that…"

The mountain of food that had covered the table was now safely stowed in everyone's stomachs.

Azu and Elza took the initiative on cleanup.

Alexia left it to the two of them and sipped her after-dinner tea.

"So, what are you actually planning to do?"

"The Logos family, was it? They're definitely running an unlicensed lending operation. I'll confirm it to be sure, but if so, they're probably not even paying taxes. They've likely got a nice pile of gold sitting around."

"Well, obviously."

"Whether they're connected to the theft ring or not, I don't know. But we'll have them compensate us for our losses."

"… What a wicked face. This is exactly why you can never let your guard down around a merchant."

"How does it feel to be employed by said merchant?"

"What a mean question. Yes, yes, you treat us very well."

Yohane clasped both hands together in front of his mouth and rested his elbows on the table.

"Good things come after bad."

"Will you be alright? The way you're talking, it sounds like there'll be trouble."

"If you three had gotten into a fight on your own, it would've caused all sorts of headaches. I'm glad you pulled back early. Even if you'd gone in and crushed them, I could've dealt with it, but there wouldn't have been any profit in it."

Azu and Elza finished cleaning up and came back.

Yohane beckoned Azu over.

Azu went to him.

"What is it?"

"Tomorrow, I'm coming along. We're going back to that Logos family."

"Understood."

"Things will definitely turn violent, but no killing. Can you manage that?"

"Of course."

"That goes for you two as well."

"Sure thing."

"Showing force is nothing new to us. With Elza around, you don't need to worry about that. As long as Azu doesn't go overboard."

"I-I'll be fine. I won't even draw my sword."

Azu hurriedly denied Alexia's implication.

She didn't want Yohane to have some strange impression of her, though it was probably too late for that.

"Let's see how much I can squeeze out of them. When you can't hide behind the law, all you have is violence. That's what lets them throw their weight around, but it won't last forever."

"Honest business is the best kind."

"Right. We're careful about that too, you know. If we tried to gouge people… haaah."

"Ahaha, sounds rough."

Yohane let out a sigh after trailing off.

Maybe he was taking out a bit of frustration on the Logos family, Azu thought, but she kept the observation to herself.

In any case, it was good to see Yohane's fighting spirit restored.

She had absolutely no idea what he intended to do, but all Azu had to do was follow him.

No matter where that led.

"Azu. You look happy."

"Seeing you full of energy makes me happy, Master."

"What's that supposed to mean? You say weird things."

"Do I?"

Yohane said this while stroking Azu's head.

Azu quietly accepted it.