The Fat Aristocrat Waltz in the Labyrinth - Chapter 80
Chapter 80: The fat aristocrat continues to have money problems
Click, click, snap.
Scratch, scratch, click, click.
——It’s all because you got scared over there, right?!
——Am I always to blame only when it’s inconvenient for you?!
Through the thin walls, the sounds of men shouting in the next room could be heard.
Thud, slam, rip, tear
Click, click, snap, scratch.
“Hmm—this week’s earnings are not bad—let’s allocate some extra for reserves.”
Stopping his hands from tapping the worn-out abacus he’d bought at a flea market, Mitrof wrote the numbers in his notebook.
The small room in the shabby inn arranged by the guild had no chairs. Mitrof sat on the coat spread on the floor, using the bed as his desk.
The pages were neatly lined, detailing expenses and income from daily life and exploration in fine print.
At the same time as a muffled scream, a loud thud was heard from the upper floor, and dust and sand rained down.
Brushing off the sand from his hair and shoulders with one hand, Mitrof pressed the tip of his pen to his lips.
“The repayments are going well—Canule said she plans to buy more cooking utensils… I wonder how much I can lend her.”
Mitrof is a son of a nobleman. Not only the management of the estate but also the money account is an indispensable skill.
Having had strict tutoring from a young age, bookkeeping is not a burden. His tutors probably never thought it would come in handy like this.
Currently, Mitrof is in debt.
Last month, Mitrof dueled a knight for personal reasons. As a result, he had to ask a priest at a medical facility for treatment since he was injured.
Priests are known to have magic that can heal even severe injuries, and it is called a “miracle.” But it comes with an incredibly high price tag, called a “donation.”
Although they won’t engage in shady business practices like lending at high-interest rates to those who can’t afford it, they cannot default on their payments.
Therefore, Mitrof is repaying his debt in installments.
Many adventurers like Mitrof are in debt to medical facilities and priests. Some are even forced to continue as adventurers to pay off their debts.
Adventurers burdened with medical expenses become more cautious. They cannot afford to accumulate injuries. Mitrof was no exception and had been taking a steady and safe approach to labyrinth exploration lately.
Mitrof found the signature written in the lower right corner, and widened his eyes in understanding.
Suddenly, the wall next door shook with a loud noise. It seemed like something big had collided.
“Well, I’d like to pay it off once and for all.”
Although there were some savings, they were reserved for emergencies. He couldn’t use them all for repayment.
Mitrof, however, believed that there was a way to earn a large sum of money.
Blanc Manje. She is the “chief” of the people living in the labyrinth. She oversees the production of “amber,” a very rare sweet nectar generated in the labyrinth.
Recently, Mitrof received a request from her and was rewarded with a small bag of amber. He entrusted it to someone else, so he didn’t know how much it would sell for, but he knew it would be helpful for repayment.
However, the “people of the labyrinth” and a woman named Blanc Manje were both unfathomable. Mitrof was a little scared of getting actively involved with them and what effect it would have, as there was clearly some motive behind Blanc Manje’s actions.
For now, all he could do was chip away at the numbers bit by bit. It was the only answer that Mitrof could come up with, no matter how much he thought about it.
And so, Mitrof held up his notebook in front of him.
The decreasing numbers of his debts. Watching them go down had become Mitrof’s recent source of enjoyment.
It was a tangible result that he could see with his own eyes.
A loud noise echoed from the wall. A fight had finally broken out in the next room. Upstairs, the floorboards were creaking non-stop. Complaints about the noise could be heard from somewhere.
But Mitrof had already become accustomed to the noise of the cheap lodgings.
He let out a yawn and snuffed out the lantern before slipping into bed.