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The Familiar Satellite Town of Pond – Part 04

“What do you gain by knowing?”

“Nothing.”

“Then why ask?”

“I just told you. We need to clear things up.”

“Whether I’m a boy or a girl? Is there even a point to that?”

“There is,” Lavia declared. “Because I’m Silver’s number one.”

“S-So you’re his girlfriend? I-I see… There’s nothing to clear up, then.”

The girl awkwardly averted her gaze from Lavia.

“Aren’t you interested in Silver?”

“…”

“I knew it.”

“I-It’s not like that! Your question just made me pause to think.”

“I don’t really care about what you feel. I just want you to stick to your disguise.”

“…I know. You don’t have to tell me that,” she responded sullenly.

Unfazed by her demeanor, Lavia continued with more questions. “Are you disguising yourself as a man because you can’t work in the government as a woman?”

“That’s one reason.”

“Wh-What do you mean?” asked Paula, who didn’t quite understand.

“Only males from noble families can serve in the government. Females can serve if their abilities are recognized, but they need to be older.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable.”

“I just have a bit of knowledge about the nobility.”

To repay the debts, she chose the risky gamble of succeeding in the unconventional Four Elementals Fusion Theory, as she couldn’t work due to her being a woman.

“There’s actually one more reason for my disguise. But before that, since you already know, I might as well tell you.” She sounded relieved. “My name is Ivy. Ivy F. Taylor, Isaac’s twin sister. Isaac succumbed to the same illness as our father. Ivy was the one declared dead, though.”

“I see.”

Falsifying one’s own death was by no means a pleasant thing. Lavia had done something similar—choosing to conceal her origins and abandoning her family name. Of course, she had no regrets about letting go.

“It’s quite tiring. Though he was my twin brother, living in disguise as a man is tough. It feels great to get it off my chest.” She laughed dryly.

The only other person who knew about her living as Isaac was the old woman.

“The kingdom’s laws dictate that if the head of the family changes due to illness or accidents, and there are no direct male heirs, peerage can’t be passed on.”

Paula looked utterly confused, so Lavia explained.

“If the father suddenly dies, and there’s no son, the House will be dissolved.”

“I-I see… But I feel like that kind of thing happens quite often.”

“Yeah. If there are close relatives, or if an adult daughter has a husband, there’s no problem. An influential high-ranking aristocrat—a guardian of some sorts—could also temporarily look after them. But House Taylor probably didn’t have any of that.”

“Incredible. You really know a lot.”

“More importantly, inheriting a peerage through impersonation is a serious crime.”

“I know. I just need to keep this up until I complete my research.”

Ivy picked up a piece of catalyst stuck to her sleeve and placed it on the edge of the table.

“If I succeed, I’ll get a lot of money. Then, I can abandon the Taylor family and start a new life somewhere.”

“…”

Despite talking about the research she was absorbed in, talking about her dreams, Ivy’s words rang hollow. And Lavia knew why.

She had lost both her parents and her twin brother, and the only servant she had was an old woman who wouldn’t be able to take care of her forever. Ivy had been alone for quite some time now.

At the age of sixteen, Ivy had practically given up on life, living with only the dream of the Four Elementals Fusion Theory, a theory Hikaru considered impossible to achieve. This way, she could avoid thinking about other things. She didn’t know what lay beyond or what she wanted.

That’s why Ivy wasn’t resentful or angry at the debt collectors, or at her father’s second wife for leaving with the debts. She was simply indifferent.

We’re the same.

Lavia knew the eyes of those who had given up and surrendered to their fate.

She’s just like me.

Lavia D. Morgstadt had done the same.

“I understand your situation,” Lavia said. “You should do what you can.”

“Thank you. Being able to immerse myself in research is the greatest happiness for me,” Ivy said, resuming her meal.

“…”

Paula looked at Lavia as if wanting to say something, and Lavia understood what Paula wanted to convey. She wanted to find a way to help Ivy.

“Let’s go to the Adventurers Guild first thing tomorrow,” Lavia whispered. “I think I found something to do other than reading.”

---

On the night Hikaru first arrived in this world, it was raining. Armed with the very blade that had pierced Roland, he sprinted through the darkness.

His destination: the mansion of Count Morgstadt, a nobleman who frequently visited the capital. True to the status of a powerful Count, it was an imposing and grand estate.

Hikaru stood once again before the Count’s mansion. Unlike that fateful night, the sky was clear, and silence enveloped the surroundings. There were no stray dogs wandering around.

“Why would you buy this place, Edward Ballast?”

The Count was killed, and his daughter, suspected of the murder, vanished. In the ensuing chaos, with the throne changing hands, the search for the young girl was abandoned. House Morgstadt fell, and the mansion, now ownerless, went up for auction.

And the buyer was none other than the Ballast Trading Company.

Since Lavia’s liberation, Hikaru and Lavia had been active in Pond, but they deliberately avoided this house, a place fraught with unpleasant memories of Count Morgstadt.

“Let’s not dwell on it too much,” Hikaru said casually.

He effortlessly infiltrated the premises through the back entrance. The gate was unlocked, and with the guard napping, there was no need to use Stealth—though, just to be extra safe, he kept it on.

There was no one at the backdoor, allowing Hikaru to traverse the familiar mansion.

This place reeks of booze.

He passed near the dining room, where the smell of alcohol filled the air. Several people were snoring.

It’s sad to see a noble’s mansion end up like this.

Hikaru went up a dimly lit staircase. The floor was dirty, and the railing had collected dust.

Hikaru’s Mana Detection had pinpointed the location of an individual who might be Edward Ballast. He was on the second floor.

I think that’s Count Morgstadt’s office.

It was a very luxurious room, so it had to be Edward.

This brings back memories.

The first time he used the Soul Board, the first time he activated Stealth, the first life he took. If he didn’t meet Lavia, he might have departed Pond immediately, never to return.

Upon reaching the room where Edward lounged, the door flung open, and a man emerged.

“Motherfucker!”

Caught off guard by the door opening right before him, Hikaru froze. A close call. He was too absorbed in reminiscing about the past. Had he not been using Stealth, the man might have noticed him.

Hikaru retreated to the hallway corner, quietly observing the man.

For a merchant, he sported luxurious attire, almost noble-like. His wavy, reddish-brown hair was swept back with glistening gel. His firm, beardless jawline and cool eyes gave him the aura of a promising young businessman, but he lacked the physical build needed to handle rough characters.

“All these people causing trouble…”

Grumbling to himself, the man entered an adjacent room and slammed the door, failing to close it properly. Hikaru peeked through the gap. The man lay motionless on the bed, seemingly asleep.

Letting out a breath, Hikaru proceeded to Count Morgstadt’s office. The door opened and closed silently.

There, illuminated by the magic lamp, stood Count Morgstadt.

Of course not.

A moment later, his figure vanished. Hikaru found himself more distressed about revisiting the mansion than anticipated.

With no internal light, only the moon’s cold glow illuminated the room. Hikaru turned on the magic lamp, reassured that the room’s owner was sleeping next door. The feeble light, even if seen from outside, wouldn’t pose a problem.

The room’s bookshelves remained, but most of the books were gone, and the desk and sofa had become shabby, if his memory served him right. He glanced at the stack of papers on the table, covered in scrawled characters.

“Assault. Commission failure. Unfinished commission. Assault. Hit the client. Commission reward gone. What is this?”

They seemed to be reports from subordinates, with few records of success. Disturbing notes like “Is the person embezzling?” or “This guy is dead” were written in red ink. The red-tipped quill pen lying there indicated they were filled out in this room.

Their temp agency business was not doing well.

“Freya said the previous head did pretty well. So I guess the company’s current main source of income is money lending.”

Hikaru picked up the thick stack of papers on the table. It was labeled “Loan and Debt Contracts”. Flipping through it, he found documents concerning loans, signed by Edward Ballast of the Ballast Trading Company. The man from earlier was indeed Edward.

Hikaru could sneak into the neighboring room and check the man’s Soul Board for his name, but he didn’t think it was necessary.

Poor security, sloppy filing. Compared to infiltrating the Imperial Palace and the Tower, this was a walk in the park. He could scatter the documents all over the place and Edward probably wouldn’t even notice anything wrong.

“Or maybe this is normal, and the security at the palace and the Tower were just too tight.” Hikaru leafed through the pages. “Ah, this is it!”

He found House Taylor’s contract. The debtor was Vilma F. Taylor, the late Baron’s second wife.

As he scanned through it, Hikaru remarked, “The interest rate is reasonable.”

It was right at the limit of the interest rate stipulated by the kingdom’s laws, but it was fair.

“Hmm, that’s weird.”

It wasn’t the interest that was unusual. It was the principal.

House Baron started declining only after the death of the family’s head. Vilma wouldn’t have been able to bring all the valuables with her, and selling what remained would have been enough to repay the debt. As a matter of fact, there were no noteworthy furnishings left in the house.

“Did they wait for the interest to balloon first before demanding payment? Even then, it wouldn’t have gotten this bad. Were they defrauding her by not disclosing the total amount?”

In which case, he could destroy Ballast Trading without hesitation. He flipped over to the next page.

“More loan?!”

Hikaru discovered multiple additional debts under Vilma’s name.

“…”

He couldn’t believe it. The last document was dated just recently—two months ago.

Even after fleeing the capital, Vilma continued accumulating debt in House Taylor’s name. The total principal was staggering, barely repayable by selling the Baron’s mansion and land. The interest, however, was insurmountable. Hikaru couldn’t cover it with his own money either.

“I thought I earned quite a bit, but I guess I still have a long way to go.”

The situation brought home just how much privilege the nobility enjoyed. If even a Baron could borrow such an amount, what about those with higher titles? How much did nobles with businesses and estates earn?

“I should’ve charged Luvain a lot more.”

Considering the future of Bios, he couldn’t simply loot the national treasury, and carrying around gold coins was impractical. So Hikaru took what he considered a fair amount as compensation. However, looking at this loan agreement, he couldn’t help but think that he was too modest.

Either way, he now had a clear understanding of the situation. Though House Taylor’s debt was tremendous, it was legal, and still accumulating because of the late baron’s second wife. Edward Ballast hadn’t engaged in unlawful activities.

Hikaru’s options were limited.

“What now?”