I'll Show You Something Fun

The next morning, everyone gathered at breakfast.

Since it was Elza's turn to cook, she'd enthusiastically prepared omelets, bread, and soup. While they worked through the spread, Yohane spoke up.

"Once we finish this, we're heading out."

"Got it. To the Logos family?"

Azu asked as she tore a slice of crispy toast in half.

Yohane handed her a jar of homemade jam as he answered.

"No. The Merchant's Guild first. Just in case. I want to confirm whether they have a license."

"That's the important part this time?"

"Yeah. That's right."

Elza was watching Yohane as he said this.

"What a devious face you're making. Scary, scary."

"Hey, the scary ones are the criminals running an unlicensed lending operation."

"And who was it that said they'd squeeze money out of those criminals, I wonder?"

Alexia chimed in teasingly while helping herself to seconds of the omelet.

Outnumbered, Yohane decided to focus on his food.

After they finished eating, he brought the three of them along and headed straight for the Merchant's Guild.

The Merchant's Guild started early.

Some merchants began doing business before dawn, and the guild had to accommodate them.

It was probably the liveliest place in the entire city.

When Yohane arrived, a roar of voices was echoing from the warehouse next door.

Azu turned toward the warehouse and heard people shouting and calling out in words she couldn't follow.

"Um, Master. What is that?"

"An auction. They're bidding on pork and mutton brought in by the Butcher's Guild."

"This early in the morning… Oh, right. If they didn't start this early, it wouldn't be ready in time."

Having asked out of curiosity, Azu nodded in understanding.

Yohane told her she was right and took a small bottle from his pocket, handing her a piece of candy from inside.

Azu accepted it with both hands, thanked him, and popped it in her mouth.

Sweet nectar melted on her tongue, and the sweetness made her face soften involuntarily.

"Lucky you."

Elza said this and patted Azu on the head.

Leaving the three of them to wait at the entrance, Yohane went deeper inside and spoke to a clerk, who brought out a ledger.

He took it and read through it from the beginning.

After scanning every name written on the parchment, he returned the ledger.

Then he came back to where Azu and the others were waiting.

"Just as I thought, nothing. I know every name and their shop. No new entries, either."

"You've confirmed it already?"

Alexia was impressed at how quickly he'd finished.

"Can't afford to waste time on this. Being a member of the Merchant's Guild means no red tape, either."

"Could I take a look?"

When Elza asked, Yohane shook his head.

"Don't bother. You'd have to fill out stacks of tedious paperwork, then wait for it to be reviewed."

"Aw, so that's basically a no."

"Pretty much."

"Too bad."

When he asked what she wanted it for, she said it was a secret.

Odd woman, fixating on the strangest things, he thought, but it was nothing new, so he didn't press.

She wouldn't answer anyway.

Maybe because she'd been a priestess, she was oddly good at deflecting questions.

In terms of conversational skill, she might have even surpassed Yohane.

"Right then, lead the way. To this Logos family."

"Got it. Leave it to me."

Azu crunched the last bit of her candy, balled both fists, and replied with enthusiasm.

Azu took the lead, the others following behind her.

As they moved south, Yohane frowned at the shift in atmosphere.

"It's really changed."

"It wasn't like this before?"

"No. Last time I was here, it was cleaner and more lively. A little time away and it turns into this."

"Is it because of the population increase?"

"No… The flow of people probably just hasn't been managed well. Jacob is doing a good job, but his predecessor was terrible. All they can do is wait for time to fix it."

As long as there was work, people could get by with food, clothing, and shelter.

Nobody chose to live in a slum by preference.

Some people probably balked at low-paying jobs, but from what Yohane could see, most of the people here weren't like that.

The city's expansion plan should be getting underway soon, and with it, jobs would follow.

Most likely, this area would be improved in tandem with the expansion.

When that happened, the Logos family would be swept away too.

He wanted to make his move on them before that happened.

People stared at them with undisguised curiosity, but Yohane glared back.

The stares quickly vanished.

"Here it is."

Azu pointed, and there stood the Logos family's building.

Looking at it again, it was a strange structure.

Needlessly extravagant, if anything.

"New money taste."

Yohane summed it up in a single phrase.

The building was large and kept clean, but with the surrounding area still filthy, it stood out like a sore thumb.

Its owners' attitude—you're on your own if you're not us—was on full display.

Even the trees that had apparently been planted nearby were dead.

"Let's go in."

The three of them nodded at Yohane's words.

From here, it was Yohane's show.

Until things got rough, anyway.

Stepping inside, they found the same sullen woman from yesterday working the front desk.

Under her brazen stare, Azu flinched involuntarily.

It was a cold gaze.

But for Yohane, who'd been hardened by cutthroat merchants who'd eat you alive, it was nothing.

Yohane sat down hard in the chair in front of the reception desk, deliberately making noise.

The woman at the desk raised an eyebrow slightly, then pointedly ignored him.

Azu and the others lined up behind him, hands clasped behind their backs in the classic attendant formation.

"Hey. I hear you lend money here."

"Yes. Are you looking to borrow?"

"Yeah. How much can I get?"

He crossed his legs and put on an arrogant act.

The receptionist looked him up and down, then cleared her throat.

"For first-time customers, there is a set limit. Up to ten gold coins."

"Then lend me ten."

"What will the funds be used for?"

"Do you have to know before you'll lend?"

"No. Then please fill out this form."

A single sheet of paper was placed before him, along with ten gold coins.

Yohane pinched the paper between his fingers and made a show of looking it over before filling it in quickly.

"Repayment is due in three days. That will be thirteen gold coins."

"Thirty percent in three days? Nice racket."

Yohane grabbed the coins and stood.

He walked out briskly, and Azu and the others hurried after him.

Once they were away from the building, Azu spoke up.

"Um, did you just… borrow money?"

"Patience. I'll show you something fun."

He balanced one of the gold coins on his fingertip and flicked it into the air.

The coin spun glittering through the air before he snatched it out of the sky with his right hand.