Chapter 116 - Chapter 115: The Noisheim Family's Circumstances 1
The third day of the second week of the Month of Earth.
The academy had entered its long vacation, and it had already been a week since Mika returned to Rish Village.
It took about seven hours to get from the Royal Capital to Rish Village.
Since I had grown accustomed to flying, the speed was significantly higher compared to the beginning.
Also, obtaining the Magic Bag meant I could fly without carrying anything, which was a huge advantage.
Since I could put my leather vest, gauntlets, and boots into the bag, I no longer needed to worry about weight or balance.
Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how fast my current flying speed is.
Since I don't know the distance, I cannot calculate it based on the time taken.
If the flying distance were seven hundred kilometers, that would mean a speed of roughly one hundred kilometers per hour.
If it were five hundred kilometers, then around seventy kilometers per hour.
In this era, detailed terrain and distances are naturally major military secrets.
The maps sold at the Adventurer's Guild are only simple ones that show the rough positional relationships of towns.
If you are just walking along the roads, that is sufficient, and even if adventurers go to places off the roads, they go to their destination based on vague information like "head towards XX, which is east of YY Mountain."
Adventurers who dislike walking inevitably have limited work.
The higher-ranked the adventurer, the less they mind walking; they don't use shared horse carriages and will take on any terrain.
Before returning home, I had visited several people to say goodbye.
I went to the Guild to greet Kaerya's party, whom I happened to meet.
I also told Yunressa, Rosalinde, and Chirensta that I was returning home.
If Mika, who had been visiting every week until then, suddenly went silent for a month,
"Could it be...?"
They would worry.
Although I do pay using the Guild Card, the date is sent to the Guild headquarters as information.
So, if they investigated in detail, they would find out "Well, it seems he is still alive," but that is only when checking on someone's whereabouts.
Since it is not information obtained through daily operations, I let them know in advance "I am returning home" so they wouldn't worry.
Besides, the Guild Card can't be used in Rish Village anyway.
I also stopped by Yaroibarov's inn.
The inn is already open and seems to be fully booked every day.
In fact, it seems most adventurers are paying for a month or even three months at once as a regular stay.
Yaroibarov has many friends in the Royal Capital, and it seems they all moved into his inn.
"Why does everyone stay at the inn? Isn't it cheaper to rent your own base?"
I asked something I had been wondering about for a while.
"Whether it's cheaper depends on the base you rent and how many servants you hire, doesn't it? You can't say that in general."
"Oh, you're worried about burglars if you don't have servants?"
"It's not just for that, hiring servants. But well, that's part of it. District 2 has quite good security, but that doesn't mean there aren't such things. In District 3, it gets quite worrying."
It seems there are few burglars in District 2 because there are many patrol soldiers and knights, and they patrol frequently.
Of course, circumstances vary slightly depending on the location, but if you don't skimp on the budget, you can live relatively safely compared to other towns.
Within District 2, at least.
"If you stay at my place, my cooking is the main point, right?"
"It is delicious, certainly. Yaroibarov-san's cooking. ...It's a bit expensive though."
"I use good ingredients and put in the effort and time. I won't allow any complaints about the price."
Saying that, Yaroibarov grinned.
Indeed, Mika also thinks it is worth paying that amount.
I haven't eaten it in years, but I want to eat it again.
Although I can't stay at Yaroibarov's inn, so I can't eat it.
"Please open a restaurant in the Royal Capital too! Then I could eat there!"
"I was looking for both a restaurant and an inn. The conditions for a restaurant are strict, so even when a vacancy appeared, it was over budget."
It seems his opening in the Royal Capital wasn't focused solely on the inn; he was looking for both.
It seems he decided to run an inn simply because a vacancy that fit the conditions for an inn happened to appear.
That's what it seems to be.
"Besides, it's probably because it's easier to exchange information. Most guests know each other, so they can exchange information while eating, right? Plus, I have the advice of a senior I'm grateful for."
Yaroibarov puffed out his large pectoral muscles as if showing them off.
Well, being able to hear the advice along with the story is indeed grateful, even if he says it himself.
Well, for these reasons, it seems Yaroibarov's inn is doing very well.
"How about Kistil-san? Has she collapsed from overwork?"
"You idiot. I'm not driving her that hard."
Bonk, a knuckle strike came down.
Well, Mika isn't really that worried either.
Even when I stop by occasionally, Kistil always looks busy, so we haven't been able to talk much.
I thought it would be bad to disturb Kistil who was seriously and diligently working, so I usually just checked on her situation a bit and left without saying anything.
Still, there were a few chances to talk, and when I listened to her,
"Yaroibarov-san's cooking is truly amazing. I want to be able to make it like that soon too."
She said.
Her current goal seems to be getting Yaroibarov to recognize her work with "You can serve this to customers" for at least one dish.
Kistil's smiling face as she worked towards her goal looked truly sparkling.
While Kistil was working so hard, Mika was relaxing at the family home, "Zzz...".
Every day I went to the academy, and after school, I ran through the Royal Capital to complete "Curse-type" requests, tackling the search for the cause.
On sunny days, I was flying around for curse removal or hunting other magical beasts.
It's okay to relax a bit during a rare vacation.
I visited the church every day, played Buattre Heed with Kifrod, and made the usual donation.
Since my activities in the Royal Capital were going smoothly, I splurged on donations, making them several times larger.
Then, for some reason, Radi scolded me.
I don't understand...
It seems Radi thought I was overworking myself.
I was lectured to use the money for myself.
Today is a sunny day, and Amalia is at home.
She was humming a tune and cheerfully doing household chores.
From Mika's perspective, who dislikes housework, Amalia and Loretta, who seem to enjoy the troublesome chores, are truly admirable.
Though I absolutely never think of imitating them.
It seems Loretta has finally been recognized as a full-fledged weaver.
However, now that she has finally become a full-fledged weaver, she wants to weave even better, so she went for voluntary training today.
It seems a skilled craftsman teaches her occasionally on holidays, and she is participating in that.
I truly think "Wow" about Loretta, who works so hard even giving up her holidays.
Though I absolutely never think of imitating her.
(I did work on holidays in my previous world too, but I didn't do it because I liked it.)
I only did it to handle the overwhelming workload, not because I was motivated by ambition.
The reason Mika worked on holidays was not ambition, but a sense of responsibility.
I did it to keep the schedule from being disrupted.
That was all.
Of course, due to specification changes and such, the schedule ended up being a mess anyway.
"Mika, sorry for a moment."
"Yes."
Amalia was sweeping the floor with a broom.
Since she was trying to sweep around the chair I was sitting on, I jumped down from the chair and moved it aside.
Seeing her lift it effortlessly with one hand, Amalia looked a little surprised.
"Mika has become quite strong, hasn't he?"
"Hm? Is that so?"
I felt like I could lift this much from before.
Perhaps Amalia's image of Mika is still stuck at when he was seven or eight years old.
Since I can only return once a year, it's inevitable that such a gap would occur.
"You've grown taller too; you're a big brother now."
She smiled with such gentle eyes.
(...I'm the shortest in my grade, though.)
Slowly, very slowly, Mika's height is growing.
However, unfortunately, everyone else is growing even more than that.
Thanks to that, Mika was the shortest in the first grade of elementary school.
Including the girls.
I sometimes see children about my height, but I've decided not to hold onto that fleeting hope.
(Oh right, speaking of which...)
Mika remembered that there was something he wanted to ask Amalia.
Since it is a somewhat delicate issue, now when she is not here is just right.
There is also a part that is embarrassing, but I decided to summon the courage and ask.
"I have something I want to ask Mother..."
"What is it, Mika?"
Amalia answered without stopping her sweeping.
"It's about Big Sister."
"Is something wrong with Loretta?"
"About now... marriage, or something... what do you think? Ah, ahaha..."
Since it was a somewhat embarrassing topic, Mika tried to laugh lightly to hide his embarrassment, but he failed.
Amalia's sweeping hand and humming stopped, and the air froze in an instant.
(...Yikes. This feels like a huge landmine.)
I should have asked more indirectly first.
Previously, the Marquis (Old Man) asked if I had an older sister of marriageable age, and I wondered what would happen to Loretta.
If Loretta were to marry, Amalia would be alone in this house.
In that case, I became curious about what Amalia would do.
Amalia looked painful, lowering her head, and her hand holding the broom trembled.
"That child cannot get married... It's pitiful. I think Loretta has given up on marriage too."
She muttered with a face that seemed to be holding back tears.
"............Why...?"
Mika couldn't help but ask.
I knew I was asking for a painful story, but I couldn't help but ask.
Amalia wiped her eyes lightly and smiled with resignation.
"Because we can't prepare the dowry... We cannot get married."
"Dowry?"
It seems in this country, when getting married, the family sending off the daughter is expected to provide a dowry.
In ordinary families, the going rate is about one gold coin, around one million Rats.
For a single daughter, some families struggle to prepare two gold coins.
This dowry is not money for the daughter getting married, but rather something given to the receiving family to say "Please take care of our daughter."
So, without this dowry,
"They won't even give you a dowry. Your family must think you don't matter at all."
It seems this becomes a reason to be bullied at the husband's home.
Therefore, it seems women who cannot prepare this dowry have to give up on marriage.
To Mika, it seems like a foolish custom.
Regardless of whether there is a dowry, a mean mother-in-law would eventually find another reason to bully her.
Nevertheless, families sending off daughters work desperately to prepare this dowry so that the daughter does not feel humiliated at her husband's home for "not even preparing a dowry."
In families with many daughters, it seems they sometimes go to great lengths to prepare this dowry.
When Mika thought about Loretta's marriage before,
"How could I give my precious sister to some unknown guy!"
He thought something like that, but when told he couldn't even make her marry even if she wanted to, he suddenly wanted to let her marry instead.
It's too pitiful for such a kind, hardworking, and capable person to be unable to marry due to such a trivial custom.
"I'll prepare that much! Then you'll be fine, right?"
I heard from Salomrassa that Kaerya's party has members belonging to the Information Broker Guild.
I will thoroughly investigate the other party's conduct, and I really want Loretta to have a happy family.
However, even if Mika said he would prepare the dowry, Amalia's expression did not brighten.
Her face became more painful, and finally, she covered her face with both hands.
"...Mother, why...?"
All I could do was mutter that, seeing Amalia's sobbing and crushed posture.
After waiting for Amalia to calm down, we sat facing each other at the table.
Mika had hesitated to delve into the Noisheim family's circumstances until now.
But I had touched upon those circumstances in an unexpected place.
If so, I cannot turn my eyes away forever.
I don't know if Mika can solve it, but at least as a family member, I should bear it together.
"Mother, will you tell me?"
"............"
Amalia lowered her head and closed her mouth.
"Mother, please! Tell me!"
Mika realized he had unintentionally raised his tone and closed his mouth, saying "...sorry."
And so, a heavy silence continued for a while.
It was Amalia who broke that silence.
What Amalia spoke of, bit by bit, was the story of one man.
That man was a bit slow and had a weak side.
Since childhood, he had been mocked by the village boys, but he never got angry about it.
Even as he grew up and became a young man, that man remained the same.
He worked in the cotton fields, but perhaps due to his slow nature, he couldn't finish a full day's work easily.
He often held back the village vigilance committee's activities.
The man had a close childhood friend who was a girl.
The two were very close, and the man was very kind to his childhood friend.
Before long, the two fell in love and got married.
A few years after getting married, they had a child.
It was a girl.
They couldn't have a second child for a while.
After a short gap, the second child was born.
It was a long-awaited boy.
The two were very happy.
But this was the peak of happiness for the two.
About a year later, an epidemic broke out.
The woman's parents passed away.
The man's father also passed away.
Miraculously, the family escaped infection.
The woman mourned the death of her parents, but she could recover because her family was safe.
However, a year later, the man injured his arm.
He was bitten by a beast that attacked the village.
The village where the couple lived was small, but fortunately, there was a deacon who could use [God's Miracle].
The man's injury was healed immediately.
But the man's arm began to hurt terribly.
It hurt terribly just to bend or extend it.
He became unable to work much.
The man was mocked by the vigilance committee.
He had been called "clumsy" before, but everyone mocked him even though he claimed pain despite being healed with [Heal].
The man began to escape into alcohol.
Since the man stopped working, the woman started working outside.
She had been taking time off because the younger child was still small, but she returned to weaving work.
She decided to have the older child look after the younger one.
The man began to abuse the woman.
The villagers mocked the man who was being supported by the woman, and he directed that frustration at the woman.
The man had been mocked often since childhood, but he had endured it all because he was weak-willed.
That self-control was lost due to alcohol.
Sometimes that violence was directed at the girl and the boy.
The woman desperately protected the girl and the boy.
With her own body.
The man had a vicious nature.
He didn't hit visible parts like the woman's face, but hit her back, for example.
Because of that, no one in the village noticed the woman being abused by the man for over a year.
However, the man's violence was finally discovered.
The deacon in the village noticed and reported it to the Priest.
The Priest consulted with the Village Head, saying village problems should first be handled by the Village Head.
When the Village Head and the Priest interrogated the man, the man ran away.
Leaving behind the woman, the children, and everything else, the man fled the village that very day.
The man's name was Wody Noisheim.
The man who was Amalia's husband and the father of Mika and Loretta.
Mika was stunned.
"...That guy... That kind of guy is my...?"
Father?
That scum bastard?
"You shouldn't call Father 'that kind of guy'."
Amalia muttered weakly.
"Getting drunk on alcohol, raising a hand to Mother, and even to Big Sister and me...! And by the way, how old was I back then! Wasn't it two or three years old!?"
Did he even lay a hand on a child like that?
He is a scum bastard of a scum bastard!
Is this the reason I couldn't recall my father's face when searching Mika's memories?
Sealed as a bad memory. Or perhaps I really didn't see my father's figure.
I intentionally avoided looking.
To avoid being the focus of attention.
Mika took a slow deep breath.
To calm the rising anger.
(Calm down... This isn't the end of the story.)
If the story ended here, it would be good that a bad guy is gone. Happy ending, happy ending.
It's disgusting, but that's all there is to it.
The current problems of the Noisheim family have not yet come up in the current story.
"...So, what happened then?"
"Because Loretta watched over Mika well, Mother was able to work with peace of mind. In that way, the three of us managed to live peacefully for about two years..."
"Two years...?"
Was it when Mika was about five years old?
"What happened?"
Mika urged the continuation of the story, but Amalia hesitated to speak.
Her tightly pressed lips trembled, and unable to hold back, a single tear flowed.
"............Debt collectors... came..."
"Debt? No way...! You're joking!?"
Amalia let out a sob and choked on her words.
Mika somehow calmed Amalia and gradually heard the story.
The scum who fled Rish Village seems to have gone to Kotontesse.
It is a neighboring town, but it is over ten kilometers away, and villagers rarely go there.
It's understandable if no one notices a scum living like a flea in the back alleys.
And that scum seems to have accumulated a huge debt and spent his days drunk.
Normally, lending such a scum a large sum of money would be impossible.
But something even more impossible happened.
That scum,
"My wife is beautiful, right? My daughter is quite capable too; she'll fetch a good price!"
Borrowed money from a loan shark using his wife and daughter as collateral.
Slaves can be bought and sold for less than one gold coin.
And in this country, the law is enforced where crimes extend to relatives.
There is no way the responsibility for the debt wouldn't extend to the family.
Rather than collateral, he probably proposed to involve them jointly.
The debt of the scum, who was a husband and father, weighed down on Amalia and Loretta.
The loan shark seems to have investigated the scum's story.
Using people to investigate the Noisheim family, they judged that the wife and daughter could indeed be sold for a high price as the scum said.
They lent an amount up to the point where repayment was definitely impossible while ensuring profit based on the selling price.
"...How much?"
Mika could not suppress his fist trembling with anger.
If that scum were here now, I would surely have beaten him to death.
But I must not direct this anger at Amalia, who is trembling with voice and shedding tears right in front of me.
Even when Mika asked for the amount, Amalia seemed reluctant to speak.
"Mother, tell me. How much is the debt?"
"............Five million, Rats..."
Mika urged her again, and finally Amalia told him the amount.
Five million Rats. Five gold coins.
(...Should I get angry that it's only five million Rats? Or should I feel relieved that it ended at five million Rats?)
Mika leaned back against the chair and exhaled deeply.
With five million Rats, I could pay it back immediately with what I have on hand.
But this amount is from a few years ago.
With interest, how much has it swollen?
(It's unlikely to be ten percent interest, but I should prepare for two or three times that.)
It wouldn't be surprising if the five million Rats debt from a few years ago has now exceeded ten million Rats.
(They aren't legitimate loan sharks, after all.)
They are the kind of people who lend money with the premise of selling someone as a slave or something.
They are definitely people connected to the dark side.
But, at this point, I notice one strange thing.
(The debt is valid. And now... repayment is in progress...? Why?)
If they were lending money with the premise of selling Amalia and Loretta, why are the two still safe?
Noticing this, Mika confirmed the facts in his head.
However, no matter how I think about it, I still can't find a reason why the two are safe.
It seems not all the facts have been revealed yet.
To confirm that, Mika asked one question.
"Mother, what is the name of that loan shark? He's a loan shark in Kotontesse, right?"
"Eh, yes, it seems so... Mother doesn't really know much about it."
Doesn't know much?
That's even less understandable.
He is the one you are repaying the debt to every month.
"Well... You are repaying it every month, right?"
"Eh, yes."
"Who are you paying the money to?"
"I'm paying it to the Village Head."
"............Huh?"
Village Head?
Why the Village Head?
Mika became even more confused by Amalia's answer.