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Apparently, one should dress accordingly when receiving punishment. Such was the tradition of the Tenest family.

As Hersel’s eyelids began to droop, Selly, who was sitting opposite, opened her eyes half-way and asked, “Why are you taking me along?”

“Hm?”

“Usually, you don’t take anyone besides a couple of guards.”

Selly was puzzled.

Whenever Hersel visited the mines, he took only the minimum number of guards. Despite the servants’ objections, he insisted on going alone, which made everyone in the mansion suspicious.

After thinking for a moment, Hersel responded indifferently, “If you don’t want to come, get off.”

“…No. If I stay here alone, I won’t see anything good, so I’ll go with you.”

After the brief conversation, there was a moment of silence.

Hersel, in a languid, sleepy tone, said, “I’m a bit sleepy….”

With those words, he fell completely asleep, and Selly shook her head as she watched him.

The reality that this man was the only one she could trust made her feel pathetic.

Even when she needed to be alert, Hersel had become somewhat lax after returning from the armory.

However, there was nothing particularly dangerous.

The road to the mine was well-maintained, and it was a safe area with rare monster sightings.

Besides, they had an escort.

Clip-clop, clip-clop—

Jack, who had been scouting ahead, appeared, kicking up a bit of dust. He rode his horse alongside the carriage and laughed heartily.

“Hahaha, I found some bandits hiding up ahead. But when they saw the crest on our armor, they ran off in fear!”

Jack thumped his chest, showing the Tenest crest on his armor. It was understandable. The Tenest family was one of the most renowned in the empire, and this area was directly under their control.

Rodel, who was sitting at the back of the carriage, chuckled.

“Idiots. How many were there?”

“About a dozen or so? If they hadn’t been so cautious, it would’ve been quite the spectacle.”

“Indeed. I would have liked to see the young master’s skills in action.”

“Yeah, it’s a pity. Seeing him handle it would have spread good rumors and boosted the people’s morale.”

“When the young master becomes the head of the family, there would be fewer complaints, right?”

“Of course~ The higher the people’s favor, the better for us.”

Although Hersel had personally chosen these men as “trustworthy guards,” Selly was incredulous listening to their conversation.

Hersel, who couldn’t even catch a spider, showing his skills against a dozen bandits? She could only imagine his face being pummeled.

They were clearly chosen for their flattering words.

Not wanting to be part of this sycophantic contest, Selly moved to the coachman’s seat for a new conversation partner.

“So, your name is Rendal, right? It’s my first time working with you.”

Selly squeezed herself into the coachman’s seat and spoke to the middle-aged coachman holding the reins, but he remained silent.

Selly felt uncomfortable with the silence. She had heard that Rendal was a man of few words, even though she had only seen him a few times.

However, Hersel had insisted on bringing the longest-serving coachman from the mansion, so she had no choice but to include him.

“Here, have some.”

Selly took some snacks from her bag and offered them to the coachman, trying to break the silence.

But the coachman didn’t turn his head; he just glanced at the jerky Selly was offering. She wondered if he was avoiding her because of that incident.

“Thanks.”

One of the hands holding the reins reached for the jerky. Just as Selly’s face brightened slightly—

“Slow down, I can’t sleep with all this shaking….”

Hersel suddenly stuck his head out towards the coachman’s seat.

His appearance made the coachman’s hand awkwardly stop in midair, and Hersel’s gaze fixed on the scene.

After a moment of awkward silence, Hersel spoke.

“…Do only you have a mouth? Bring that over here.”

Selly snorted at Hersel’s arrogant attitude, handed the jerky to Rendal, and returned to her seat.

As she rummaged through her bag to check for anything damaged, Hersel spoke.

“That coachman, you said he’s been around a long time?”

“Yes? Oh, yes. He’s been here since I first arrived at the mansion. I heard he had already served Tenest for over 20 years back then….”

From then on, Hersel didn’t attempt to sleep again.

The carriage slowly made its way to the mine.

***

Outside, there were buildings like dormitories or annexes for the workers, but this place wasn’t for working on the outskirts of the quarry.

We had to enter like moles into a tunnel.

Thud, thud—

The uneven stones pricked at my soles. The sharp fragments of the quarried rocks seemed ready to draw blood if I were barefoot.

Entering the mine’s entrance with the group, dusty air swirled around.

The temperature was uncomfortably high, and the sticky humidity quickly clung to the skin.

Holding my breath against the thick air, I glanced around to see small tunnels branching out from within the cave.

What am I supposed to do here?

I’ve never done physical labor before.

Just as my temples began to throb, Jack grinned slyly.

“Well, as usual, we’ll act like we know nothing. Rodel, the young master is busy. Let’s go.”

“Yeah… It’s been a while since we had a good drink.”

Huh?

What do they mean by “act like we know nothing” and “have a good drink”?

Selly looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“What are those men talking about?”

“…I have no idea.”

I wanted to question Jack, but a middle-aged man running towards us interrupted.

He forced a smile.

“Haha… Young master, we’ve been waiting for you. How have you been?”

I gave a simple nod and nudged Selly’s shoulder, whispering quietly.

“Who is he?”

“Judging by his attire, he seems to be the person in charge here.”

His clean appearance, unlike the workers, made it clear.

Just as I was about to ask for an easy job, he said something unexpected.

“We’ve prepared plenty of liquor for the guards’ quarters. They’ll drink until they can’t remember a thing, so don’t worry.”

As expected…

I suspected it, but those two guards had really left to drink.

“Young master, this way. I thought about bringing some serving girls, but it was hard to find anyone willing to come here…”

Serving girls?

I stared blankly at him, feeling slightly dazed.

The person in charge fidgeted, gauging my reaction as if he had made a mistake.

“I-I’m sorry, young master. But we have plenty of fine liquor, so please don’t be angry.”

It was absurd. Even though Hersel came here to receive punishment, he was enjoying indulgence instead of reflecting.

The person in charge was both catering to and covering up for him.

Selly looked at me with disgust, as if staring at something revolting.

“No wonder there were strange rumors. Is this why you always came alone?”

Really, there seemed to be no end to the tales of this character.

Having no excuse, I shifted the conversation to the person in charge.

“Forget the liquor. I’m here for punishment, so let’s get to work. What do I need to do?”

“Work, you say?”

The person in charge looked surprised for a moment, then his face brightened.

“You arrived early, and someone has been waiting for you. The young lady also mentioned she wants to finish quickly, so this is perfect.”

What is he talking about? Young lady?

Selly sighed in frustration.

“Hmm~ A young lady…”

Should I just leave her here after the work is done?

***

Following the person in charge, we arrived at the annex outside the mine.

“This way, please.”

As we entered the annex, the creaking hallway revealed a man leaning against the wall by a door.

Long black hair reaching his waist was his distinguishing feature.

“Is that…?”

No, it must just be someone who looks similar.

What are the chances he’d be here?

As I walked closer, the more certain I became that I wasn’t mistaken.

He looked at me with a blank expression. His head turned, revealing his pale face.

“It’s been a while, young master. The young lady is inside.”

His lazy demeanor shattered my disbelief, sending a slight chill down my spine.

His long hair wasn’t a fashion statement but simply neglected out of laziness.

This extremely negligent man was unmistakably a playable character.

Ashen Dellerger.

One of the hardest difficulty characters in the game, rated as a “very difficult” storyline.

He always ranked high in player performance tier lists on the Asares community due to his strength.

But did he just say it’s been a while?

Did he have a connection with Hersel?

Even though playable characters’ scenarios start at different times, Hersel was always dead before any scenario started, so it was understandable that I wouldn’t know.

Anyway, if this is Dellerger, the “young lady” inside must be—

Creak.

Entering the room, a woman sat at a table.

Her pale blond hair tied back shimmered.

“It’s unusual to see you not drenched in liquor.”

Her noble appearance and jade-colored eyes matched the figure I had in mind.

One of the major NPCs of Asares, the merchant’s daughter, Aria del Orbella.

According to the settings, she was served by Dellerger, so it was easy to guess even before opening the door.

But the surprise didn’t fade.

Why was such a woman waiting for Hersel as if they had an appointment?

Oh, come to think of it…

In one of Dellerger and Aria’s conversation logs, Hersel’s name was mentioned once.

When Aria bought a sword for Dellerger.

-You bought all this, miss. You must have a lot of money.

-I bought it with the money I made by hoarding before the announcement.

-It’s all thanks to that young master.

-Yes, I ripped off that fool Hersel quite a bit.

Remembering Hersel’s name was unusual for players since it was rarely mentioned.

“Hersel, is something wrong?”

Aria asked as I remained silent, organizing my thoughts.

How should I respond?

Despite merchants being looked down upon in this era, Orbella was a noble family.

In the past, they became nobles by lending a huge sum to the emperor during a financial crisis.

Later, they even married into the royal family, so their descendants carried royal blood.

Their status matched mine, and in this world, the idea of ‘ladies first’ was deeply ingrained.

According to etiquette, I should also use honorifics.

But I’m a scoundrel.

“No, nothing in particular.”

“Well, that’s good. We can finish quickly.”

Her casual response indicated it was the right answer.

Aria smiled and handed over a document.

“The terms remain the same.”

It was a contract.

The terms were simple. The Orbella Merchant Guild would purchase byproducts from the mine.

“Hmm…”

Accepting that Hersel, who was exiled, would be involved in such a contract was one thing.

It wasn’t a significant matter, just a contract for handling byproducts.

The payment was made to the Tenest mansion, not Hersel, indicating it wasn’t done arbitrarily.

But something felt off.

I didn’t know the market price or value of byproducts to judge if this deal was fair.

Aria, whom I knew, wouldn’t engage in a scrap-dealing business.

And I doubted Hersel would conduct a legitimate transaction.

-Yes, I ripped off that fool Hersel quite a bit.

Recalling that conversation log reinforced my suspicion.

To uncover the truth of this contract, I decided to probe Aria.

“The terms are lacking.”

I pushed the contract back. Aria looked slightly flustered.

“What do you mean? The terms are no different from last month.”

“The contract itself is fine. I want to talk about the ‘between the lines’.”

The spaces between the lines.

In the game, Aria often referred to hidden, secretive deals in contracts as “between the lines.”

Aria flinched slightly, then sighed deeply.

“This is a continuation of that previous conversation. As I said then, the end of the war between Antore and Sidiril has caused iron ore prices to drop steadily. Recently, new minerals discovered in the southern continent are expected to completely replace iron ore. I can’t offer you a higher price.”

Talking about iron ore out of nowhere during a discussion about byproducts?

Okay, noted.

Now, what should I say next? Let’s just say something and see what happens.

“Still, this seems like a pretty poor deal.”

“If you need money, the only way is to increase the transaction volume. But that carries risks for you too.”

The contract stated all byproducts were to be traded.

The term “transaction volume” wasn’t appropriate here.

And what risks are there in a byproduct deal?

I pieced it together.

Hersel and Aria had been trading iron ore, not byproducts.

Hersel had no right to sell ore, and Aria’s contract didn’t include buying ore.

It was a secretive deal, hence the “risk.”

Let’s dig deeper into what kind of deal they had.

“What’s the point of business if you’re afraid of risks? Let’s increase the volume.”

“Then you’ll need additional personnel to transport the ore besides the manager.”

“What’s the big deal? Just hire more people.”

“The more ears listening, the more mouths to keep shut.”

…So that’s how it was.

I finally understood the nature of Hersel and Aria’s contract.

Hersel, conspiring with the manager, secretly diverted a portion of the ore, treating it as byproducts.

And Aria bought this ore, disguised as byproducts, at a low price.

Hersel would then receive kickbacks from Aria.

I felt a headache coming on. Hersel, even in exile, was siphoning off the family’s assets.

Oh, seriously… Hersel…

“You damn…”

“Excuse me? Damn?”

“This deal is garbage.”

I let out a long sigh and said.

“No more games. I’ve changed my mind about this deal. It’s off.”

“What? No, what are you saying…”

Continuing this deal would eventually be discovered, leading to assassination attempts, and putting my life at risk. It would give my enemies a perfect excuse to target me.

Aria, squinting her eyes, reluctantly spoke.

“Fine. I can’t agree to increase the volume, but I can increase your share, Hersel. But…”

“You misunderstand. As I said, this deal is off. From now on, there’s no deal.”

Realizing my firm stance, Aria’s face turned blank. Then she suddenly smiled meaningfully.

“Hm, trying to back out now? You don’t hold the initiative in this deal. I do.”

Feigning confidence, she looked at her nails and continued.

“Oh… what should I do? If the Duke finds out, he’ll be furious, the people’s morale will plummet, and you might even lose your inheritance rights?”

Her sudden threat felt almost amusing.

Not doing the deal was fine, but treating me like a fool was laughable.

I twisted my lips into a smile.

“Go ahead, try it.”

Let’s show her what happens when you mess with someone who knows a lot.