Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 25 Temporary Security

The sheriff quickly processed the transfer, and as he watched the impressive string of numbers disappear into his pocket, a greasy smile spread across his fleshy face.

"Lord Victor's fate is indeed heartbreaking, but it was all a sacrifice made in the pursuit of the truth of magic." He picked up the debt agreement on the table and threw it into the brazier at his feet in front of the two of them. "This debt... is now settled."

Flames licked the parchment, causing it to curl and shrink, gradually charring and turning black on the charcoal fire in the copper basin.

Avira stared at the brazier, at the thing that had once broken her spine, now reduced to an unrecognizable, ugly black mass amidst the crackling, acrid smell of burning.

This tormented her for days and nights, forcing her to betray her knightly dignity, endure unfounded accusations, and be bound by chains... and just vanished?

Just because this man casually pulled out a savings card?

As a low-level logistics officer in the adventure team, where did he get this money?

A sense of absurdity yet undeniably real dissonance shattered Avira's worldview.

"And this too." The sheriff pulled another document from the filing cabinet and tossed it into the brazier. "This is her record at the police station. Now, she's a free woman... oh no, she's one of yours. Consider this tattered outfit she's wearing—I mean, her gear—a gift from me."

He winked at Rod, a knowing look on his face.

"Thank you very much, Sheriff."

Rhodes retrieved the savings card, which now only had 4 Orim in it, but he didn't care.

He watched as the documents in the brazier gradually burned out, and a weight was finally lifted from his heart.

80 Orim is a cost, but the benefit is an absolutely loyal front-line tank and a temporary period of safety.

"Let's go."

Rod turned and walked toward the door without glancing at the sheriff again.

Avira followed him stiffly until they stepped out of the police station and were swept away by the cold, sea-smelling morning wind, which brought her back to her senses as if she had been in a dream.

The crowds on the street gradually thickened.

Early risers began to hawk their wares, the iron wheels of carts carrying sewage rolled over the stone slabs, and the faint screams of women who had seen corpses lying dead in the street pierced the morning mist.

Rod stopped and turned to look at Avira, whose expression was complicated. "What's wrong? Reluctant to part with that debt agreement?"

“No,” Avira lowered her head, her throat feeling like it was full of grit, “I just… didn’t expect you to actually pay for me. 80 orms… that’s not like you… uh, not doing ‘losing money’.”

In her memory, Rod was a man who would haggle over a few copper coins.

"If you mean 'stingy,' then you're right."

Rod twitched the corner of his mouth and cast his gaze toward the Hohenheim vineyard, which was faintly visible in the morning mist in the distance.

It used to be the most enviable property in the city, but now it shows signs of decay.

"Look at that manor. That idiot Victor sold and mortgaged the family's most valuable assets to buy that Crimson Star. He thought he could turn things around with the artifact, but he only pushed his family to the brink of disaster."

Rhodes' voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling insight into the situation: "Now, Kyle is dead, and Victor is dead. They were the two best candidates to succeed the Hohenheim family."

"Do you think those previously suppressed Hohenheimian relatives—those ravenous hyenas—will let go of the old baron, this bloody piece of meat?"

Avira was startled. She knew all too well the cruelty of infighting within noble and wealthy families, having once been one of them herself.

"The old baron is too busy to help himself, so aren't we safe?"

"On the contrary," a sharp glint flashed in Rhodes' eyes, "that old man is most dangerous precisely because he's been driven to the brink. Although the sheriff has temporarily silenced him with money, when the old baron discovers he's being devoured by his relatives, he'll find it difficult to harm his own family and will inevitably seek an external outlet. Sooner or later, he'll act like a mad dog, tracing the deaths of his two sons back to us."

The color drained from Avira's face.

If the previous debts were merely shackles, then the Hohenheim family's revenge was the guillotine blade hanging over their necks.

"In that case...why don't we leave Rust Harbor? The United Kingdom of Virian has a vast territory; they can't control everything."

"Leave?" Rod glanced at her sideways, his eyes like those of someone looking at a naive child who didn't know what was going on. "It seems that since the family threw you into a place like this, you haven't really seen the world outside Rust Harbor with your own eyes."

These words shattered Avira's last remaining hope.

She was indeed escorted by the family's guards and then abandoned in this city of scrap metal.

Her understanding of the terrors of the uninhabited areas outside was still limited to the ink stains on the parchment and the rumors in the tavern.

Rhodes held up one finger: "First of all, we're all just Iron-rank adventurers. What do you think is outside the city? A hunting ground for nobles? It's full of lairs of cannibals and twisted aberrations."

"With our capabilities, we wouldn't survive more than three days in the no-man's-land. Unless we spend a fortune hiring professional escorts, but do you think we have that kind of money right now?"

Avira's lips moved, but no sound came out. She lowered her head in shame.

Rod extended a second finger: "Secondly, putting aside the first point, do you think we can just take you away from this godforsaken place without paying to avoid trouble? The reason that sheriff is holding you is for the bribes and ransom he obtained through collusion with Victor, or for the profits from selling you."

"If we dare to run away without paying, he will immediately issue a city-wide warrant for our arrest under the pretext of 'debtor absconding.' To him, you're just a walking 800 six-cent gold coin."

"In order to recover this windfall, he would not hesitate to put a price on our heads on the bounty."

"Although Rust Harbor operates independently of the United Kingdom of Virian, it is still nominally under the Kingdom's jurisdiction. Once we are on the wanted list, there will be no place for us in any of the Kingdom's city-states."

"not to mention……"

He paused, his gaze falling on the hilt of the sword that Ivira gripped tightly, a hint of amusement in his voice: "Will your noble chivalrous code allow you to live like a coward, bearing the mark of a 'fugitive' and eking out a living?"

Avira's body stiffened, and her face grew even paler.

“Third, and this is the most important point,” Rhodes withdrew his hand, no longer looking at her, “I need a stable base, not to scurry around like a rat in a gutter. Any trouble that can be solved with gold coins isn’t a real trouble. These 80 orms are an investment; they buy time.”

He abruptly changed the subject, pulling a small black notebook from his pocket: "Of course, there has to be a reason for the money spent. This debt should naturally be attributed to the Hohenheim family."

He turned to a page and, in front of Avira, solemnly made a note on it.

"The cost of the extortion debt is 80 Orim. Add in the compensation for emotional distress, lost wages, and shock... well, let's round it up to 1,000 Orim. Sooner or later, I'll make them pay me back with interest."

Closing the notebook, Rod patted Avira's stiff shoulder.

"As for you, your current role is my personal bodyguard and full-time laborer. Your life is mine, and your freedom was bought by me. Until you pay back those 2400+ Orim, even if Death comes to claim you, you'll kick him back. Understand?"

Avira stared in astonishment at the man who spoke of extortion so confidently.

"Bodyguards... I have no problem with that. But isn't the word 'coolie' rather disrespectful to a lady?" she protested in a low voice, but her expression didn't show any real anger; instead, it was more like a sense of relief.

The morning light shone on Rod's mud-covered face, and his eyes gleamed with a light harder than diamonds.

For some reason, Avira's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, felt a sense of peace that she had never felt since being exiled by her family.

"...Yes, Lord Rhodes." She lowered her head and called out this honorific title from the bottom of her heart for the first time.

No longer for the empty titles of family or knight, but simply to live, to pay off debts, and for the man who pulled her out of the abyss.

"Very good." Rhodes stretched. "Now, let's go home. I'm starving. I hope that unscrupulous merchant Chiba can withstand the pressure from Hohenheim."

After all, it was Chiba who spread the rumors about the Crimson Star, and she was also the one who presided over the auction.

However, since Chiba has managed to survive in this wretched place as Rust Harbor and is even doing a decent job as an intelligence broker, Rhodes isn't too worried that Chiba will be implicated in this major incident.

The two disappeared into the bustling crowds of Ruian Harbour, one after the other.