Vol.1 - Chapter 4: Laying The Foundation (9/9)

"Huff... Huff..."

Rina tried to calm herself by taking deep breaths. She seemed to have managed to control her pain a little.

"What did you do with all that money you borrowed? At least you must have used that money for something productive, right?"

Minato scratched his head and turned his eyes to the pouch on the table.

"That was my plan, but those bastards wouldn't let me!"

"Pfft. Hahaha!"

Rina started laughing again while the young man put on an angry expression and continued speaking.

"Even though I was paying them back, they increased the interest and wouldn't let me pay them off completely no matter what. They even sent thugs to harm me outside of the agreement and took my money by force!"

The brown-haired woman had not forgotten the pain she had just felt, and this time she stopped her laughter before it could go too far. Minato was once again angry at his predicament and gritted his teeth.

"What did you expect from the bandits? It was a mistake to make a deal with them in the first place."

He was already accepting what the boy in front of him was saying. He knew more than anyone else what a fool he had been and what his current situation was. He had made these pleas only to express himself.

Until now he had always been alone in this matter, but now he was somehow able to confide in others. Thinking it was no longer necessary to mince his words, he continued.

"Tsch. It doesn't matter now. We can't break the deal no matter what. The only solution is to give most of the money at once. If we pay off the entire debt at once, the deal will be over."

"Huh... So the money you borrowed went down the drain. Then we can't solve this without collecting all the money from scratch, like you said."

The auburn-haired young man did not say anything else at this point. Instead, the brown-haired woman next to him pulled herself together and became a little bit serious, continuing the conversation.

"Ahem. So? What do we do now, Shin?"

She expected the boy in front of her to look thoughtful, but her question was quickly answered.

"This money is not that important actually, but we need some time. I mean you guys... I guess since you can't collect two gold coins all at once, you'll have to pay slowly as usual, Minato. In the meantime, get your affairs in order with Rina. Bandits shouldn't scare you now that you have a bodyguard, and you can take on more dangerous and lucrative endeavors now that you have someone to protect you."

He paused for a moment and gauged the reaction of those in front of him. When he saw that they were listening attentively, he continued.

"You may have been foolish, but you have a chance to get out of the situation you are in now. Once you have taken care of your own affairs, your real work will begin. Your role in our plan will be as a link. You need to find plenty of customers in the Black Market and reliable and knowledgeable people in the upper part of the city. It wouldn't be bad if you slowly start to catch the eye of the big fish down there."

The duo across from Shin listened in amazement and bewilderment to the boy talking. They were stunned by his calm and confident way of speaking. If someone else had said these things, they wouldn't have even taken that person seriously, but right now they were filled with curiosity.

"What are you going to be doing? What kind of work are we going to do if Minato just needs to make some connections?"

"Don't worry about that. There's not much else to do in this city but trade, isn't that right, Minato?"

The silent young man nodded his head up and down in slow motions. He didn't quite understand what this business was either, but after what he had heard, he wanted to trust the boy. Maybe it was because he had never really trusted anyone until now.

"You guys can do what I ask, can't you?"

Shin looked at the others with expectant eyes. He too was looking for someone who could be trustworthy and a long-term partner. He was really hopeful about this pair he had found. Even though they had only known each other for a few days, they had both appeared to him as sincere and good people.

Just in those few days, they had opened up to a stranger, to him, and revealed to him the events that had affected their lives. Shin smiled warmly and closed his eyes, extending his hand to them.

"Think wisely about the deal this time, Minato."

Rina smiled in the same way and reached out her hand. Only one hand was missing at the center.

"The great Minato will have his revenge!"

When he too put out his hand, a verbal agreement was accepted in this group, even if there was no written agreement. Everyone would stick to their role and do what they had to do.

"So, what's the deal then? You say two gold coins is not a problem at all, so it must be something solid."

The brown-haired woman's earlier curiosity was aroused again. She absolutely had to know the answer to this question.

"Minato, there are about five or six silver coins in the pouch. Since you were chased before last night, you must be close to payment time. Now that the rain has stopped, why don't you pay a visit to your bandit friends?"

Shin ignored the short woman's question and addressed the young man in front of him. He saw that there was still a little hesitation and doubt in the young man's eyes.

"Don't worry, it can't be easy to expose such things in the Black Market. You know better than that. The chances of them accusing you without any evidence are next to impossible. If you pay what you owe, they won't have the slightest doubt."

After saying this, he looked into the young man's eyes once more. It was clear that his fear was deep-seated and he wasn't going to get rid of it anytime soon. Nevertheless, Minato swallowed and nodded to the boy as he turned his gaze to the money pouch on the table.

"You're right. I'll attract more attention if I try to escape. I got some silver from Kali and I've been saving up for a while, the amount should be enough."

Even though that fear lingered, he had to honor the new deal he had made. Because he could not postpone it like he had postponed the written agreement with those bandits. He had to fulfill his part in this agreement, which was based solely on trust, no matter what. Even though it was the first time he had accepted such an engagement, he understood very well what it was like.

"It's stopped raining, let's go before it starts again."

As Minato repeated the chestnut-haired boy's words, Rina stood up even before the young man. She looked ready for the mission, but there was one thing she had forgotten.

"You're not going anywhere."

She was surprised by the sudden outburst of the boy in front of her, but she soon regained her composure and sat down quietly. Although no words came out of her mouth, the displeasure on her face said it all.

"Anyway, you'll attract more attention if you go with Rina."

Minato could only nod in agreement. Then he stood up and left the inn with quick steps.

"Huhh... I'll go rest then."

"There is one last thing. Something important..."

Rina tried to get up from the table but Shin stopped her again.

"What's that so important?"

The short woman had a tired look in her eyes. Apparently, she didn't expect much more from this conversation and was thinking of leaving, even though she had stopped at the boy's words.

"You asked what I was going to do, didn't you?"

The short woman's empty eyes filled with excitement and curiosity at what she heard. Shin continued without waiting.

"I'm going to leave the city for a while."

Not satisfied with what she had heard, the short woman began to ask questions.

"Where will you go? The assignment you gave Minato is nothing at all, what is the real job? How do you plan to earn so much money?"

Shin remained silent and waited for her to calm down.

"You don't need to know everything. I just wanted to tell you that I'm leaving in a few days. It will probably take me about a month to come back."

"What, a month? We're not going to do anything for a month?"

Rina was dumbfounded, trying to digest what she had just heard. These words made no sense to her. Before she could realize what was happening, Shin was backing up his words with more of the same.

"Weren't you listening to our conversation just now? You will protect Minato for a month. He'll make enough money to pay your salary, so it shouldn't be a problem for you."

Shin stood up from his chair as Rina became even more confused.

"Stop! Am I not going to do anything in the meantime? That guy wouldn't even move a muscle out of his fear! He'll carry on the way he was before you came. If you wanted to hire me, why did you say all this now and not after a month?"

"Huh... I needed some kind of bodyguard anyway. Don't worry, because Minato won't even have any free time. If you're thinking about your salary, stop protecting Minato. It's to his own detriment if he doesn't pay. And speaking of fear, he's also very afraid of you."

Having said that, he turned around and started walking out of the inn. Rina also stood up quickly and started walking beside him.

"How can you be so reckless? We accepted you as our boss even though you are a brat, but you actually act like a child! This is not a game, you know that, right?"

"I understand why you're frustrated, but I want you to help me, Rina."

Shin suddenly turned to the woman next to him. When his eyes met hers, he made a request and smiled.

"If you don't want to sit idle, stick to Minato so that he can't sit idle either. You may think he's an idiot, but apart from his preferences, he seems to me to have a lot of experience in these things. Maybe with you protecting him, we'll get something better than we ever thought possible. What do you think, isn't it worth a try?"

Seeing the boy's smile, Rina looked away from him. She could only watch as Shin left the inn without another word.

'Very well, Mr. Shin. I wonder how true your smug attitude will turn out to be.'

- End of Chapter 4: Laying the Foundation -