I Just Wanted Revenge, But Everyone Loves Me - Chapter 38
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 38
Hyacinth was caught off guard in an instant. Rejection, just like that.
Usually, guilds like this put money first, no matter what.
Three drinks meant three transactions. He was offering to conduct business three times over.
Setting a price per drink meant the cost would vary depending on the quality of the transaction.
In other words, it was essentially saying that if they deemed it a worthwhile deal, they’d be willing to pay a fair or better price in Gold Coins.
It wasn’t a bad condition for the guild, either. There was no reason to refuse.
“Why, why would you do that? Are you not open for business today?”
“No.”
The old woman’s eyes, already slitted at the corners, narrowed further.
“I’m not doing business for a while.”
“What do you mean… If my proposal doesn’t suit you, I can offer more. It’s not my money, but I can spend as much as needed!”
If there was anything in this world that couldn’t be done, it was almost certainly because of insufficient funds.
But the organization he belonged to was Bancadium.
Even if he gifted several houses to accomplish his mission, it wouldn’t leave a scratch on that millennium of wealth.
“When you say you’re not doing business for a while, how long do you mean? Could it be just until tomorrow?”
“What?”
The old woman let out a bewildered noise at words that casually trampled over ordinary reasoning.
But who was he, after all?
A mage as skilled with brilliant magic as he was confident in spouting nonsense.
“Or perhaps until midnight today? I could certainly wait that long.”
……
“Everyone has a different definition of ‘for a while,’ don’t they? For me, it means today until midnight, or tomorrow. Both fall within my definition of a while.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
The old woman, unable to contain herself any longer, threw out a few words.
“I said I’m not doing business. Talking nonsense won’t help, so get out of here.”
“I can’t.”
……
“My apologies. Given this situation, I’ll do my best to help you feel a sense of kinship, so to speak…”
At that moment, Hyacinth, who had been keenly observing his surroundings, flicked his fingers.
A small Magic Circle appeared just in front of his left temple.
Simultaneously, a Blade that came flying at him caught on the Magic Circle like a spider’s web.
Hyacinth, having successfully defended against the attack, dusted off his chest.
“Just so you know, a surprise attack isn’t a good choice. Even if I say so myself, I’m quite a genius—”
Before he could finish speaking, Hyacinth activated several Magic Circles.
Placing defensive barriers at the vital points of the human body—the opposite temple, the philtrum, the heart—he smirked.
Magic Circles created at a speed faster than light perfectly blocked the Short Sword that came flying at him suddenly.
“As I just mentioned, trying to kill me here would be pointless. I’m quite, very much, rather talented, you see.”
……
The old woman, who had been quietly watching the mage prattle on with more nonsense, clicked her tongue.
She had meant to let him go without a fuss.
But now that he knew her identity as the guild master, she couldn’t simply send him away unharmed.
“Follow me.”
The old woman led him beyond the counter, deep into the interior—the true headquarters of this guild.
“From what I could see outside, whoever cast these spells must be quite skilled.”
From the Barrier Formation protecting the exterior to the Soundproofing Magic that wrapped the interior tightly.
Though it was small enough to look a bit shabby for a guild counted among the Capital’s finest, it was nevertheless not a place to be taken lightly.
“Though I notice you prefer a certain… cleanliness of taste. Usually, offices like this are plastered with money, practically bursting with the need to display wealth.”
This place, furnished with only what was necessary, was unusual. Normally, a reception space like this was decorated as lavishly and luxuriously as possible.
Of course, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
It was the first space visitors who came by reputation alone would see, and the best way to display a guild’s prestige and wealth was to decorate such a space grandly.
That was precisely why it was surprising.
The wealth displayed there directly reflected the guild’s business acumen.
Business acumen, in this context, naturally meant whether there was competence or not.
But unlike other places, here even the furniture already on display looked a bit aged.
“The space hardly matters. What’s important is that business is handled perfectly, and that’s all.”
“How did you know I’m the guild master?”
The old woman, already seated on the sofa, asked in a voice full of wariness.
Hyacinth, following her lead and settling into the empty seat, answered.
“Surely I wouldn’t come all the way here without investigating? I’m not so unprepared as that!”
……
The light in the old woman’s eyes grew cold and sharp as she regarded him.
Hyacinth, who had let out a nervous cough for no good reason, added to his words.
“I said I could set any price, but you still refused outright without hesitation. Without even knowing what the transaction would be worth, a single staff member wouldn’t flatly deny it unless they were insane.”
It wasn’t small change.
With such massive sums at stake, anyone capable of making an instant decision would naturally hold a high position—that much was obvious.
“Then let’s proceed with the transaction—”
“I said I’m not doing business for a while.”
“What? No, how can that be!”
Hyacinth practically leaped at the old woman’s words, protesting in rapid succession.
“If you’ve brought me all the way to this secluded, quiet place, you have to take responsibility, don’t you?”
“If you’re going to talk nonsense, get out. I never said I’d do business with you anyway.”
“Then let me ask once more. Will you conduct a transaction with me—”
“Should I kindly show you out?”
“No, are you really just going to abandon me like this…!”
“Who said I’m abandoning you? I never had you to begin with.”
Hah.
Hyacinth, rejected again and again before his very eyes, let out a hollow breath.
At this point, even he couldn’t help but ask.
“Why are you closing the business? Or do you have something else you need to do?”
……!
The pupils of the old woman watching him wavered for the first time.
Something to do.
The old woman—no, Guild Master Violet—couldn’t help but think of a certain child.
‘Please make me completely wicked and ruthless!’
The image of the child, speaking those words with such liveliness and a smile, flickered hazily across her mind.
* * *
Violet came from a small Orphanage on the streets. She didn’t know who her parents were, but she had a younger sister with a considerable age difference.
A beautiful child with pink hair and blue eyes.
Unlike Violet, who had always been cynical, her younger sister Isabel was gentle and kind to everyone. She was a child with such a soft nature and such inner depth that one wondered how she could be so good-hearted.
And so Violet kept her close.
She worried constantly that some rascal might sweet-talk this angelic sister and whisk her away entirely.
‘Come on, sister. Do you still think I’m a child?’
‘In my eyes, you’re still young, Isabel. If you meet any strange people, immediately turn around and run away, understand?’
Every time Violet said such things, Isabel would pout and say she was overprotective, but Violet couldn’t help it.
Not simply because she was her sister, but because, from any objective standpoint, her sister was extraordinarily beautiful.
The moment she stepped onto the streets, there was no shortage of people casting suggestive glances her way.
For a woman with no status and no backing to be beautiful in such a street environment was almost akin to a curse.
Violet’s worry only deepened the more her sister blossomed like a flower—that she might be abducted, that she might fall into some terrible fate.
But despite all this caution, the year Isabel came of age.
At last, it happened.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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