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Chapter 73

Side: Cordelia Allston

The president’s room at Nuralis Trading Company.
In a room adorned with new rich furnishings, I sat with a gloomy expression, sipping tea.

「Hey, Cordelia? Is it really impossible?」

Facing each other across the desk on the sofa, my grinning uncle addressed me.
The repulsive sight of him made it hard to suppress my nausea.

「That’s what I’ve been saying. I absolutely don’t want to.」

Then a bald man—oily and middle-aged— who is sitting next to me, arrogantly said,

「Hey, Cordelia-sama? Do you have any idea how much money I’ve invested in the hero?」

The company president reached out to my head and began stroking my hair.
A chill ran down my spine, and goosebumps appeared on my back.

「Well, but still, isn’t it too much?」

The company president placed his hand on my shoulder.

「All you have to do is go to a certain country, while escorting a merchant convoy, and that’s it.」

「You’re talking about using hero privileges to forcefully pass through checkpoints between countries without cargo inspection, right? Are you asking me to become an illegal goods transporter?」

「Well, that’s a terrible way to put it. I’m just asking you to guard a dangerous trade route as a token of gratitude for your everyday efforts. Recently, there are a lot of bandits on that route.」

「Well, even if you say that…? You won’t tell me what’s in the cargo, and I’m not stupid. I have my own position. Hey, can I go now? I don’t want to be here for even a second longer…」

As I stood up, my uncle loudly stopped me.

「Wait, Cordelia!」

「Uncle Joseph. No matter how much you say you’re my sponsor, there are requests I can accept and ones I can’t. I was called here to hunt down criminals opposing the trading company, wasn’t I?」

My uncle then shook his head.

「…It will cause trouble for the family, you know?」

「Huh?」

「If you plan to continue defying the sponsor’s intentions, we have our own ideas as well. As the president has been saying, you just need to be a guard for the convoy. You don’t need to know what you’re transporting. If you do that, you can stay clean, and you truly won’t know anything.」

「I feel like you’re already told me the answer, though…」

「Even if something happens and the situation becomes exaggerated, you genuinely didn’t know anything. It won’t be a problem. Come on, Cordelia? It’s time for you to grow up a bit and repay your sponsor a little.」

It’s hopeless.
These guys… are already beyond ridiculous.

With the push of money and violence, they’ve probably had everything their way so far.
In various ways, it seems like several screws in their heads have blown off.

「That’s why it’s impossible.」

「If you don’t listen, we’ll exert pressure on the Vestaha country, which the trading company has made substantial donations to.」

「Huh? Wait… putting pressure on a country with such trivial matters? I mean, what do you intend to achieve with that pressure?」

「We’ll frame your parents with false accusations and have them imprisoned. They were the ones who expelled me from the village. It will be like a dream come true for me.」

I can’t even muster a wry smile anymore.

—What is going on with these people?

「…………」

Seeing me remain silent, my uncle grinned.

「It seems you’ve made up your mind, Cordelia. Despite being my niece, I’m impressed by your determination.」

It looks like my uncle has misunderstood my silence.
However, this is becoming quite troublesome.

Well, I can’t just cut down these two old men on the spot because of what they told me to do.
If I get imprisoned, my family will be used as hostages by these guys indefinitely.

I’ve decided on the direction: I will survive this situation, rescue my parents, and then rebel against them.

However, at this moment, I’m not explicitly being coerced into engaging in criminal activity, and there’s no evidence.
They’ve probably factored that in, and even if I officially criticize the trading company later, no one would pay attention to it, especially since I’m known as the Bloody Princess(Ruby: Berserker).

Ultimately, it might end up making me look like a spoiled brat complaining.

Well… considering the future, they might be aiming to establish my position as a hero and in the trading company from now on.
It feels like they’re trying to surround me from a young age, gradually taking control, and ultimately creating a puppet.

In that case, their countermeasures against my official retaliation might already be in place… smoothing things over is probably their specialty.

The development from now on is going to be a real hassle.

ーUgh, seriously… What should I do?

At that moment, the door was thrown open dramatically.

「That’s it… you scoundrel!」

With those words, Lute McClane’s splendid kick landed on the head of the trading company president.

「L-Lute… Lute… Lute?」

Surprised, I spoke those words with an astonished expression.