The Creditor Comes Knocking

Chapter 22 The Creditor Comes Knocking

The next morning, Mia came and knocked on the door.

Alphonse sat up and stretched.

Loud snoring still filled the room; Taisi was sleeping soundly.

As expected, low-level battle qi cannot form a protective force, and it is not as powerful as internal energy, which can form a self-circulating cycle and impact the sealed acupoints. Once knocked down, it has no ability to resist.

Alphonse rolled out of bed, walked over, and used his fingers to release Tessie's pressure points, then patted him awake.

Taixi sat up abruptly, looking completely bewildered and lost.

He simply couldn't believe that he had suddenly fallen into a deep sleep all night after his seemingly weak master touched his body.

Alphonse quickly washed up before letting Tessie carry the large bag of herbs downstairs.

Mia had already settled the bill and even called the delivery wagon.

However, she didn't seem to be in good spirits; her bright eyes were slightly puffy, and she had faint dark circles under her eyes.

"You didn't sleep all night?"

"I can't sleep!" Mia exclaimed, her face full of frustration. "It's just one night of staying up, nothing serious, I can go back to sleep. Let's go!"

Alphonse hadn't expected Mia to stay up all night watching the money box; that was far too cautious.

With everything prepared, Alphonse didn't linger in Ryan City. He instructed Tessie to keep an eye on the precious herbs in the carriage before mounting his horse and setting off with Mia in the carriage.

They sped along the road.

Taisi sat in the carriage, somewhat lost in thought. To him, this was all foreign land, and the scenery wasn't particularly interesting.

This master seems to be somewhat different from the nobles I've met before.

Even though he knew nothing about blacksmithing or mineral exploration, he still bought himself.

He thought that becoming a slave would mean being treated harshly, but to his surprise, he was treated to good food and drink, and was even allowed to sleep in his room.

What is the purpose of this?

He already has such a powerful female knight by his side, is it really necessary for him to go to such lengths to recruit me? The slave contract we signed leaves me with no way to refuse his orders.

However, losing his freedom still made Tessy feel very unhappy.

Humans are cunning; you can't easily trust them, especially nobles!

I was lucky on this trip; I didn't encounter any bandits or anything, and everything went smoothly.

The carriage moved rather slowly, and it wasn't until dusk that it returned to Coldwind Territory.

As soon as they arrived at the castle gate, a guard rushed over and said, "Young master, a merchant came at noon, saying that the lord owes him money and he's here to collect the debt. Captain Simon is currently entertaining him and has been waiting all afternoon."

What a coincidence! I just happened to go out to sell the formula, and the creditors came knocking on my door.

Tsk!

Alphonse dismounted and turned to Mia, saying, "Mia, I'll go see what's going on. Have Tessie take the herbs to my room, but don't let them get damaged."

After saying that, without waiting for Mia's reply, he strode into the castle.

Even from some distance away from the reception room, one could hear the shouting coming from inside.

A shrill voice was berating, "How much longer do I have to wait? I've been waiting all day! Do you know how valuable my time is? How much money will I lose if I waste this whole day?"

"Speak up! Are you mute?"

Captain Simon replied hesitantly, "I'm so sorry, please wait a little longer. Our young master will be back later. Or, could you come again tomorrow?"

"Do you think I'm idle every day? Coming here every day because of this debt?" The owner of the voice scoffed. "If you really don't have the money, I have a solution for you!"

"Your Coldwind Territory still has quite a few lovely young girls. As long as your guards are mobilized, capture them all, sell them to a good place, and in a few years, this debt will be paid off."

As he spoke, the man chuckled sinisterly, "How about it? This is good for everyone; those civilians won't dare to resist."

"This won't do!" Captain Simon's voice immediately rose. "We absolutely will not do such a thing!"

"This won't do, that won't do, and the Baroness is too afraid to come out and see me. Is your young master deliberately avoiding me?"

Alphonse happened to be standing at the door when he heard the man's words and was already quite annoyed. He immediately retorted, "Why should I hide from you? I only owe you money, not your life!"

In my previous life, in that modern society, the one who owes money is the boss.

"Young Master!" Captain Simon stood up in surprise, but then looked troubled.

So what if the young master comes back?

It's not that they can't pay back the money; this has created a rift, so what should they do?

"How dare you speak to your creditors like that?"

Alphonse glanced at the fat man sitting on the sofa. He was dressed quite luxuriously. His black coat was either made of fox or mink fur, with fluffy and delicate fur trim on the collar. A white feather was stuck in the small woolen hat he was wearing, and even the shirt underneath was embroidered with gold-edged patterns.

He was all fat, bulging out several times, and his appearance was a bit sleazy, with small, sharp eyes, plump cheeks, and two rat-like whiskers. His collar couldn't even cover his loose, drooping chin.

Both were fat, but the slave trader Valen looked much better than him.

The guards he brought along looked quite fierce, tall and muscular with menacing faces.

Alphonse sat down on the sofa next to Captain Simon, looking directly at the fat man. "It's those three thousand gold coins, right? I only found out these past two days that my father owed this debt. Although he has passed away, I will not renege on my debt. I will repay it."

"Hmph!" The fat man snorted, his chubby face jiggling. "It's not just three thousand gold coins. Your father told me it would be repaid after a year, plus interest, making it a total of three thousand five hundred and forty gold coins!"

Alphonse paused, then frowned.

That interest rate is a bit high!

"We're currently short of funds; we hope you can grant us another month."

Before he could finish speaking, the fat man interrupted him, "You have no money this month, but you'll earn three thousand gold coins next month? Let me tell you, you have to find a way to pay back the money today. Either you mortgage this castle and sell it for money, or you listen to me."

He was initially shouting and berating Alphonse, but his voice gradually softened.

Alphonse stared intently into his eyes and continued, "I can't come up with that much money this month, but it will be different next month, as long as you're willing to wait a little longer."

The speech was not only slow, but also had a strange rhythmic tone.

Captain Simon was astonished to find that the fat man's chubby face had a look of confusion on it, and even the bodyguard standing behind the sofa stared intently at the young master.

What's going on?

(End of this chapter)