The Golden Goose (2)

Ash's gambling debt amounted to no less than seventy gold coins.

That was an amount an ordinary person would have to work their entire life to earn, but fortunately, Ash was an exceptional adventurer.

Though it would take some time, she could earn enough if she worked hard for a few months.

The problem was that the Hero Party had no reason to wait several months.

The calamity was still on the move even at this very moment.

It was in that situation that Veronica made an unexpected proposal.

“You want the slave? You mean Mr. Leon?”

“Is this slave's name Leon? That sounds like a very convenient name to call him.”

The alternative she proposed was none other than having Leon's ownership transferred to her.

Shabel couldn't hide her bewilderment at the sudden proposal.

“You want Mr. Leon…… It's all so sudden that I don't quite understand. He's only a slave, isn't he?”

“You know very well that he's not just an ordinary slave, don't you?”

Veronica lightly raised the hand holding her fan.

A servant waiting behind her immediately approached, took the fan, and handed her a tobacco pipe.

Veronica placed it between her lips and slowly drew in the smoke. She turned her head and exhaled a hazy cloud.

“I know of this gentleman. He's the slave knight who defeated a calamity, is he not?”

Shabel furrowed her brow.

“How did you…….”

“A merchant who can't recognize people's value can't very well call herself a merchant, can she?”

The corners of Veronica's eyes curved into long, narrow arcs.

Veronica Furnell, owner of the Golden Goose, Milton's largest gambling house.

She came from a mid-ranking noble family in the western part of the Empire.

Since her family operated a small trading company, Veronica had possessed an excellent head for business from a young age.

She had established businesses of her own in several cities across the Empire.

Milton's Golden Goose was merely one of the businesses under her command.

As a merchant, she kept close track of all the major events taking place in the Empire.

Naturally, she also knew about the recent subjugation of Rahav, the calamity that had shaken the continent.

‘A slave who defeated a calamity alone……’

She hadn't been certain that the rumor was true, however. It was simply too absurd.

Even if the rumor was true, it had nothing to do with her.

Anyone who had accomplished something on that level would certainly attract the attention of powerful people first.

Veronica knew her own limits. She had no power to compete with people like that.

So she had considered it someone else's business and lived within her means, but then, what was this?

That famous slave knight had appeared right before her eyes.

“Only a handful of people in the Imperial Court know that Mr. Leon joined the Hero Party. How did you figure it out?”

“It wasn't a particularly difficult deduction.”

Veronica answered while looking at Leon.

“The black hair and eyes that looked as though they had been carved from gold, just as I'd heard in the rumors. I'd also heard that he had a striking appearance…… but the rumors failed to do the real thing justice.”

“You recognized him from just that?”

“More than anything, I couldn't imagine the famously righteous Hero bringing along a slave merely to wait on her. You must have judged him to be a talent necessary for subjugating the calamity, and taken him along for that reason.”

“That…….”

Shabel swallowed her words.

Veronica's insight was astonishing. She had noticed Leon's identity from only those few clues.

Of course, there was one thing wrong with her deduction.

Leon wasn't responsible for subjugating the calamity in this party. His role was doing odd jobs.

“What do you think? If you hand him over to me, I'll forgive the debt. No, I'll provide all the funds and supplies you need for your journey.”

He was a hero who had defeated a calamity.

A golden goose that laid golden eggs.

For Veronica, acquiring someone like that by forgiving a debt and providing a little support would be an incredible windfall.

“That's great, Shabel! She'll erase the debt and provide support too. We won't have to worry about money anymore!”

Ash exclaimed delightedly.

Shabel glared at her for thoughtlessly butting in.

“Have you forgotten why we don't accept support from merchant houses?”

“Um, well…….”

Ever since Shabel had gained fame as the Hero,

dozens of merchant houses and nobles had volunteered to sponsor the Hero Party.

They showered her with honeyed words, offering to provide not only enormous travel expenses but also the finest weapons and a carriage free of charge. Shabel rejected every one of those offers.

There are no favors in this world without a price.

The moment the party accepted support, they would have to repay their benefactors in some way.

They might demand that the party promote their trading house, or ask them to save a particular territory first.

Shabel didn't want to be dragged around by such conflicting interests.

Shabel had explained this several times, so Ash wasn't unaware of the reason either.

“But this time, we're not accepting it for free. It's a transaction, so it's fine, isn't it? And Shabel doesn't like that guy anyway, so let's send him off while we have the chance.”

“Have you forgotten what kind of slave he is? It would be disastrous if he ended up in the hands of an evil person.”

At that moment, Veronica removed the tobacco pipe from her lips and interjected.

“That is an interesting thing to say.”

A thin stream of smoke slipped between her lips.

“Then, are you a good person, Hero?”

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what you said. You called him a slave who must not fall into the hands of an evil person.”

Veronica lightly twirled the tobacco pipe between her fingers.

“Then do you keep him as a slave because you are a good person?”

“That…….”

“Or did the name of Hero alone grant you the right to own someone as well? I find that most intriguing.”

Shabel's mouth fell shut.

Veronica continued speaking without losing her smile.

“Before worrying about whether I am an evil person, perhaps you should first consider whether you are a suitable person to be his master.”

Silence fell when she finished speaking.

Beyond the acrid smoke, Shabel and Veronica's gazes clashed.

Even Ash, sensing the tension, kept her mouth shut, leaving only the faint sound of tobacco leaves burning in the room.

Leon, who stood at the center of the argument, was watching the scene with great interest.

A righteous Hero being pressed on her morality by the owner of a gambling house, left utterly flustered.

There had never been a more ridiculous farce.

Veronica exhaled another plume of smoke.

“Let me ask you once more. Will you hand him over to me?”

“……No.”

Shabel answered after a moment's hesitation.

“This person is only accompanying me for the time being. He isn't my personal property, so I can't hand him over to someone else.”

“Is that so? What a shame.”

Veronica did not make a pathetic show of clinging to her proposal.

It would be a lie to say she felt no regret.

But she couldn't forcibly take him from the Hero Party.

Besides, Veronica hadn't seriously expected her proposal to be accepted in the first place.

“Then let us return to the main issue. Lady Ash will have to repay the seventy gold coins she borrowed.”

“……Understood.”

In the end, they had no choice but to repay the money.

Shabel wanted nothing more than to leave Ash behind and go, but the circumstances were far from favorable.

Ash's role in the party was that of scout and its only adventurer.

She wasn't merely a powerful fighter; she was a veteran who possessed a wide range of skills essential for adventuring.

It would be difficult to replace her immediately.

“Could you give us a few days?”

“Can you gather seventy gold coins in a few days?”

“If we took on several difficult quests…….”

“Milton is a peaceful city. There could hardly be a better place for mercenaries to starve to death.”

She meant that there were no quests here capable of earning a large sum of money.

The magical beasts that appeared around the city were weak, and public order was stable as well.

The occasional quests posted by the guild were nothing more than petty jobs like guarding caravans or searching for lost items.

No matter how many of those quests they completed, it would take years to gather seventy gold coins.

“We could go to another city and look for quests.”

“I suppose that's possible. However, Lady Ash will have to remain here. I can't let a debtor leave without any collateral.”

“What? You want me to stay here? Are you saying you think I'll run off without paying?”

“That doesn't seem like something the person who secretly brought the party's money to a gambling house should be saying.”

“Fair point.”

Ash readily admitted it.

Shabel bit her lip in frustration.

Taking on a high-risk quest while leaving Ash behind carried considerable risk.

Yet they couldn't stay in Milton and cling to petty quests that paid mere pennies.

‘Should we accept support…?’

There were countless places that would rush to provide funding the moment she sent word.

But doing that would only put them in new debt. It would merely be shifting one debt onto another.

“Enough unproductive talk. Get to the point.”

“You?”

While Shabel was unable to make a decision, Leon, who had been watching from the side, spoke up.

“What do you mean, ‘the point’?”

“It's obvious that you have a demand you want to make of us.”

At those words, Shabel turned her gaze toward Veronica.

Veronica's smile had deepened. It was a meaningful smile.

“You are quite a perceptive slave. Could you really be the hero who defeated a calamity?”

“This much is nothing.”

Leon had a few other suspicions, but he didn't bother voicing them himself.

He waited for Veronica to explain.

“I am someone who likes peace very much. I have no desire whatsoever to hold back the Hero who is setting out to defeat the calamity.”

“Then will you forgive the debt?”

“I can't erase the debt without receiving anything in return. I am a businesswoman, and surely I must uphold at least that principle, mustn't I?”

Veronica smiled gently and held the tobacco pipe out to her servant.

The servant took the pipe and returned her fan.

“However, I can take your circumstances into consideration and accommodate you as much as possible.”

“How?”

“Just as you said, Mr. Slave. If you fulfill one personal request of mine, I will forgive the debt in full.”

Shabel's eyes narrowed.

A request worth seventy gold coins could not possibly be a simple one.

“What is the request?”

“It is not such a difficult favor. I would like you to find someone who took my property and ran away.”

“You want us to catch a thief?”

“He is closer to a traitor than a thief. He used my trust to take something extremely important to me and then ran away.”

“If we catch him, you'll forgive the debt?”

“Yes. What do you think? I believe I've made quite a concession.”

To repay seventy gold coins with a single quest. With this, there would be no lengthy delay.

It was an offer Shabel couldn't refuse.

“Understood. We'll accept.”

A satisfied smile spread across Veronica's lips.

“A wise choice. Then shall we discuss the details properly?”