Chapter 34: Let's Save Up Tuition!
Lying near the top of the elm tree, Kaian felt as though the pleasant breeze might send him straight to sleep.
But then a rough shout came from below.
"Hey! Kaian! Get down here! I've got a big one!"
Kaian waved his hand, moving the thick branches and leaves aside, and looked down.
Shine!
A brilliantly glowing bald head greeted him like the last light of departing summer.
It belonged to Dominic, the owner of the F&F Exchange, whom Kaian had been seeing far too often since the beginning of the year.
Kaian lay back down with a bored expression.
"What big one? You're bluffing again! How many times do you think I'm going to fall for that?"
He had plenty of memories of rushing over after hearing there was a high-rank escort job, only to discover it barely qualified as the lowest end of mid-rank.
"I'm serious, you brat! The client is standing right over there!"
Dominic sounded both offended and desperate.
Kaian moved the leaves aside again and looked toward the F&F Exchange in the distance.
Sure enough, a well-dressed, plump middle-aged man was pacing anxiously in front of the shop.
Kaian clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at that face. Trouble is practically written all over it. Not buying. Not buying."
That was the face of a man he should avoid if he wanted a long and comfortable life.
The timing wasn't good either.
At the moment, Kaian's willpower was officially on strike.
"Meaningless. Life is meaningless. What's the point of working like a dog if I still can't afford tuition? Forget it. If there are rich nobles, there should be beggars too. Ptooey."
For just one day, Kaian wanted to forget all his worries and enjoy a peaceful moment beneath the blue sky.
When no answer came from above for quite some time, Dominic sighed deeply.
Then he shouted even louder.
"It's highest-rank, you brat! Twice the pay of a mid-rank job!"
Kaian's eyes snapped open.
He swept the wooden board and all his money into the subspace bag at his waist.
Then he jumped down in front of Dominic.
Whoosh!
"Whoa! You scared me."
"Mister. That's exactly the kind of job I'm supposed to handle, right?"
Kaian grinned brightly.
Dominic had clearly expected that reaction.
He proudly expanded his thick chest muscles and started walking toward the exchange.
"Tsk. You're still a kid, yet you've already got a money ghost clinging to you."
"Ha! What about the man who takes a thirty-three percent commission from that kid every single time? I caught this money ghost from you, you know!"
Dominic burst into hearty laughter at Kaian's familiar backtalk.
Then he lowered his voice.
"It's a big fish. Don't screw it up."
"When have you ever seen me ruin a job?"
Dominic nodded at Kaian's confident reply.
"True. A money ghost wouldn't do that."
Dominic had no idea where this bold little brat had come from.
He didn't know who Kaian lived with.
He didn't know whether he lived alone.
If he did, Dominic didn't know where.
He didn't know how Kaian had ended up in this lawless forest.
And Dominic never asked.
Everyone working at an illegal exchange has some kind of story.
That was all he thought about it.
But there was one thing Dominic knew with absolute certainty.
Kaian was one hell of an escort.
He's the best in this business. Give it a little more time, and exchanges will line up to recruit him.
Dominic trusted his eye for talent.
He had spent his whole life running an exchange in Vernas Forest, which connected the Valancia Empire and the Silvaris Federation.
It might have been an illegal exchange in a lawless region beyond the reach of any nation...
But business was still business.
A merchant who abandoned basic ethics would collapse quickly.
That was why Dominic always wrote a contract for every job.
If something went wrong during transport, F&F paid compensation.
And no matter how much money was offered, he refused jobs he'd be ashamed to tell his family about.
In lawless Vernas Forest, F&F was one of the rare exchanges that still had a conscience.
Even so, Dominic's shop had become one of the major exchanges in the forest.
The reason was simple.
Fast.
Safe.
Accurate.
An exchange earns as much as its escorts are worth.
That was why recruiting capable escorts mattered so much.
And Kaian, that little money-obsessed brat, had never once forced the exchange to pay compensation.
Fast.
Safe.
Accurate.
Those three things sounded impossible to achieve together.
Kaian somehow managed all three every time.
The client, however, knew none of this.
The man looked troubled when he saw how young Kaian was.
"I believe I specifically asked for someone who could take the fastest route while keeping everything as safe as possible."
"That's exactly why this boy is perfect."
Dominic smiled confidently.
"You can search every exchange in Vernas and you won't find an escort who knows this forest better."
The man still looked doubtful.
Kaian stood crookedly and stared at the client and the carriage behind him.
Attitude matters in this kind of work.
He asked bluntly.
"What are you transporting?"
The man looked at Dominic again.
Dominic gave him another reassuring nod.
Above Dominic's head hung F&F's somewhat unusual shop motto.
[Speed and Family Save the World.]
The man swallowed.
Everyone said this place was the best...
He took a breath and answered Kaian.
"The carriage contains tableware of the highest quality. It needs to reach the capital of the Silvaris Federation within four days."
"Hmm. Is protection magic applied?"
"Of course."
The man answered immediately.
Kaian stared at him suspiciously.
There was no such thing as someone using an illegal exchange to transport completely normal goods through completely normal means.
It wasn't merely rare.
It simply didn't happen.
The man flinched under Kaian's sharp stare and looked away.
Why does a child's gaze look that terrifying...?
Eventually, he added in a quieter voice.
"Ahem. Originally, we were going to transport everything by sea... so the protection magic was prepared for that route..."
Kaian finally nodded in understanding.
If the man had used the sea route as planned, a national guild would've escorted the goods from the port.
However, ocean mana frequently became unstable.
Routes could suddenly close without warning, just as they had now.
Experienced merchants accounted for such variables by setting generous delivery deadlines or preparing several backup routes from the beginning.
In other words, this guy's a beginner. But how does a beginner even know about the Vernas exchanges? Hmm...
Kaian stared at the man again.
"Mister, be honest. You trusted the national guild escort and got lazy with the protection magic, didn't you?"
The man wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief.
"Ahem... Perhaps."
"Come on. I'll have to redo the magic."
Kaian clicked his tongue.
"The roads here are rough. Almost everything is dirt. If you use weak protection magic, all those expensive goods are going to break."
He paused.
"Actually, haven't some of them already broken? Mister, let's see the cargo."
"...Is that really necessary?"
"It'll be a problem if you later claim I broke something and demand compensation. Besides, I'm going to redo the protection spell anyway. Checking the cargo is mandatory."
The man desperately looked at Dominic again.
Kaian shook his head.
I'm the one escorting him, so why does he keep looking at that old man?
It wasn't just this client.
Customers who came to F&F always relied on Dominic.
Even when they had never met him before.
Kaian looked Dominic up and down.
It's strange. He's especially popular with middle-aged men.
Maybe there was some special trick.
But Dominic usually did nothing except fold his arms and stare directly into the other person's eyes.
Is it the muscles? Should I bulk up too...?
While Kaian was wasting time on that thought, Dominic gave a clear answer.
"We need to inspect the goods before writing the contract anyway, so let's check them now! Like I said earlier, if you're transporting illegal drugs, weapons, people, or anything like that, we won't take the job. If that's what this is, I can direct you to another shop at a different entrance."
Once even the trustworthy-looking owner insisted, the man reluctantly showed them the cargo.
Just as he'd claimed, the carriage was packed with smooth white dishes and beautifully crafted silverware.
"Wow, shiny. Is this a carpet too? Seriously? The people ride outside while the precious dishes get the inside. What a world."
Kaian grumbled and waved his hand.
Flash.
Something seemed to flicker.
Neither the client nor Dominic could clearly tell what color the light had been.
But they clearly saw the loose protection spell, which had looked ready to fall apart at any moment, become solid and firm in the blink of an eye.
The man's eyes nearly popped out of his plump face.
"Young man, how old are you? You just used magic without chanting!"
"Almost fifteen. I'm going to be famous soon, so make sure you remember this handsome face."
Kaian casually ignored the man's amazement and began petting the horse pulling the carriage.
"Oh, it's a horse. Isn't taking care of one difficult? Even this exchange uses Auto Magina these days."
"Ahem. A carriage simply has more elegance when it's pulled by a horse."
"Ohh. You're a man of culture."
The horse remained calm even under an unfamiliar hand.
Kaian rewarded it with a sugar cube.
"Good boy. Very good. Mister, I respect your classic taste, but if you want to make the deadline, I'll have to cast [Enhance] on this fellow. At his normal speed, we'll never make it in time."
The man seemed slightly overwhelmed by Kaian's smooth judgment and handling of the situation.
He nodded.
"V-very well."
"And half the payment in advance."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
This time Dominic was the one who jumped.
He had already negotiated the job up from high-rank to highest-rank for Kaian's sake.
Now Kaian wanted half the fee up front?
The normal advance was ten percent!
Dominic scolded him sternly.
"You brat. I know you're desperate for tuition, but that's going too far."
Kaian stared at Dominic like he was the ridiculous one.
"Boss. How long have you been doing business? Look at a calendar once in a while."
"Huh?"
Dominic still didn't understand.
Kaian sighed.
"It's hunting season for the dark elves and magical beasts. For the next month, they're at their most aggressive."
Dominic's enormous chest muscles flexed.
"Ah! Right! I forgot!"
He nodded immediately.
"Then half in advance is correct. That's hazard pay."
The client was beginning to suspect he was being scammed.
But he didn't have any better option.
With a resigned expression, he pulled out his money pouch.
Kaian bowed politely and began pushing him toward the exchange.
"Hehe. Then let's go write the contract."
Dominic followed with a booming laugh.
[Family is bound not by blood, but by trust. Trust is paid in advance.]
It was F&F's hidden motto.
The client had no way of knowing that.
Even as he signed the contract, he never completely let go of his suspicion.
Kaian smiled brightly at the man, who kept glancing nervously around.
Besides... this job smells incredibly suspicious.
