Chapter 20.2. Apologies Are For Profit

“Aguni-san, what is this?”

Ouga asks Enraku when he sees the contents with one eyebrow twitching. Enraku slapped his thigh with a snap, smiled boldly, and held out the trunk case to Ouga and the others.

“I apologize for what happened. I’m sorry for deciding to do this on my own. But I’ll give this to you in the hope we can prevent something like this from happening again.”

The trunk case is opened. Its contents are a paulownia box covered in shock-absorbent material. No, it was rubies and emeralds inside a paulownia box.

As evidence of magic, rubies contain fire magic, and emeralds contain wind magic.

“The fiery ruby is inhabited by the summoned beast Salamander, for Teijo-san. And the windy emerald is inhabited by the summoned beast Griffon, to Takano-san as an apology.”

“Magical jewels! That must be a terrible amount of money! I cannot accept it!”

Yoshiyuki, who works for the Ministry of Magic, is astonished because he knows how much this jewel is worth and how rare and magical the item is. It is a magical jewel that would be worth at least three billion.

Even though Miu’s life was in danger, this was too much to take. Yoshiyuki tries to return it, but Enraku holds him back with a wide, glove-like hand.

“Take it. That’s how important your children are to me. I honestly don’t think I can afford this.”

Enraku, who would be called a fierce general in this day and age, showed his good spirit and grinned.

“In dangerous times like this, that magic  jewelry will come in handy. I wouldn’t you mind selling it, since it’s an apology gift, but if you let Takano-san’s daughter have it, it will be less dangerous, don’t you think?”

Miu might do something reckless in the future. Yoshiyuki shuts down and shows hesitation, thinking that if she had this  jewelry at that time, she might get saved, although if she usually has it, Miu could get kidnapped too.

“You should only let her have it when she’s going into the dungeon. It’s a safeguard, right? Yoshiyuki-san.”

As if reading Yoshiyuki’s mind, Enraku’s smile deepens, and he recommends the  jewelry. Frankly, Yoshiyuki hesitates, his heart wavering. For the lovely Miu, this jewelry would be a unique protection. Above all, Yoshiyuki cares about his wife and child.

Seeing his hesitation, Ouga exhales slightly and calls out to Yoshiyuki.

“Yoshiyuki-san, I thought it would not be a problem if you gave it to me. Oh, I’m fine with the ruby. I’ll have you pay me twice the market value of this gem in cash. Of course, without transfer tax.”

Ouga and Enraku’s gazes collided, and a vision of sparks flew, the people around them thought. It created a tense atmosphere, and they felt tingling on their skin, but Enraku immediately relaxed his mouth and exhaled.

“Whew. I see. I understand. Give me a week.”

“Fine, I’m unwilling to do so, but I’ll take care of it.”

The two men exchanged 10 billion yen, a sum of money that a commoner could neither see nor touch, with a light touch, as if they were playing catch with a ball.

Yoshiyuki breaks out in a cold sweat when Enraku’s attitude tells him, even if he doesn’t like it, that Enraku is a high-ranking noble.

“Well, then, we’re done here. Good. Masatoshi, you idiot, you should be sorry!”

Enraku laughed boldly and punched Masatoshi on the cheek. There was a crack, and Masatoshi rolled on the floor again and get blown away.

“Hyah, hyah, I, I’m so sorry!”

Nose bleeding, teeth are broken, albeit baby teeth, and mouth bleeding, Masatoshi utters an apology.

Aguni Enraku. He was a great flame wielder, the head of a duke family, and a famous man with a bold, open mind and a good temper.

Thus, the Stone Golem Incident ended with heavy damage to Duke Aguni.

The other is a man with a good temperament, Aguni Duke’s Enraku, who is the counterpart of Teijou Ouga, a famous martial arts master with a solid and sturdy character. It was a scene that showed his character.

Of course, this is only a superficial story.

After all, Enaku’s smile had deepened, and he was in a good mood when he returned home. His face was no longer the boldness it had been a moment ago but had a cunning smile.