Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 28: Tauro’s Father Exits
Two men stood before Tauro’s terrified father. One had short hair and a scar at the corner of his eye; the other was large and bald. Both wore plain clothes and carried swords at their waists.
The scarred man studied Tauro for a moment, appraising him.
“So you’re Tauro. Your father owes us a great deal of money. If he doesn’t repay it, that puts us in a difficult position.”
He spoke gently and wore a friendly smile.
His eyes weren’t smiling at all. Tauro immediately recognized the performance.
“I hear you have a lot of money. If you repay the debt in your father’s place, you’ll be helping both him and us.”
These men were probably not legitimate moneylenders.
Tauro’s old village lay several days from Saisi.
Even if he refused, the men were unlikely to travel all the way back without recovering something for their trouble.
“Do you have a written loan agreement?”
The two men flinched at the unexpectedly mature question from a child.
“O-of course we do.”
The scarred man produced a sheet of paper from inside his clothes.
He waved it briefly before trying to put it away again.
“That isn’t a loan agreement, is it?”
“What makes you say that, boy? You shouldn’t make things up just because you can’t read.”
The man’s smile remained, but his gaze sharpened.
“I can read.”
Tauro’s father and the scarred man exchanged a look that said this wasn’t what they had been told.
“From what I saw, that’s an instruction sheet from your superiors. It says to begin by speaking gently, find out how much money I have, determine whether you can keep extracting money over time, and squeeze out as much as possible. I won’t pay anything when you don’t even have a loan agreement. And even if you did, I no longer consider this man my father, so I still wouldn’t pay his debt.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! Repay what you owe your parent!”
His father cried out as though clinging to a lifeline.
His desperation suggested that failure might cost him his life.
“As I already told him, I spent part of the money from the mithril sale and donated everything that remained. I have money I’ve earned since then, but I have no intention of handing it over.”
Hearing that the fortune was already gone, the two debt collectors looked at each other.
“Soak, this is very different from what you told us.”
The scarred man’s smile had vanished.
“Wait! He must be lying!”
Soak desperately pointed at Tauro.
“Everyone in this city knows what happened to the proceeds from the mithril. I spent part of it in this very restaurant. Ask anyone nearby. They’ll confirm it.”
The employees had already been listening closely after sensing that their city’s famously kind young adventurer was being harassed by dangerous-looking men.
“That’s right! Satou treated everyone to a huge feast here, then donated everything left to the orphanage. The whole city knows!”
“Exactly! He’s a loyal boy who spent a fortune thanking everyone who had helped him!”
Their voices rose in Tauro’s defense.
Then Yasuragi-tei’s proprietress appeared.
“Now, now. You’re disturbing the other customers. Gentlemen, you should understand that if anything happens to Tauro, the entire city will become your enemy. For your own sake, I suggest you don’t push this too far.”
She smiled pleasantly while fixing the men with a piercing stare.
As expected of a former adventurer, her words were polite but carried tremendous force.
The support was more than Tauro had anticipated.
Realizing that the situation had turned against them, Soak and the two collectors hurried toward the exit.
Tauro called out to the debt collectors.
“Although I’ve severed ties with him, I’m sorry he caused you trouble. You came all this way on your superiors’ orders, so I understand that you can’t return empty-handed.”
His father had already fled and disappeared.
“Consider this compensation for the inconvenience. I don’t need a receipt.”
Tauro took a gold coin from his pocket and tossed it to the scarred man.
Overawed by a presence that seemed impossible for a ten-year-old to possess, the men hurriedly caught the coin and ran out of the restaurant after Soak.
Tauro paid his bill, thanked everyone for supporting him, and left the restaurant.