Seeing Roswaal's face twitch ever so slightly, Grin knew at once that the clown probably could not actually cough up that much money.
"If you don't have it, then you don't have it. Why are you shouting so loudly…"
He muttered under his breath, then swept his gaze around the room as if he were picking goods off a shelf.
"How about this? I think your mansion's decorated pretty well. Why don't you just transfer the whole property to me?"
Pfft!
Emilia, who had just taken a sip of black tea, nearly spat it out.
"Ahem… Puck… if Grin-kun takes the mansion, then where are we supposed to move?"
"Haha, Grin actually managed to make Roswaal lose his composure. That really is rare."
Ram drew in a slow breath.
Ever since that white rat had entered the mansion, she felt as though she had already used up an entire year's worth of irritation in a single day.
She pulled the sentence record from her pocket and handed it over to the Count Clown.
"Roswaal-sama, Ram thinks it would be better to send this man to labor. The fence around Arlam Village that keeps monsters out still needs repairs. If he gets eaten while fixing it, that would save us quite a lot on food."
Roswaal accepted the judgment slip and sank into thought.
A moment later, his usual inscrutable smile returned.
"I am terribly sorry, Grin-kun~ Even for Mathers House, a whole cart of holy gold coins is rather beyond reach~ However, I do have a compromise~"
Grin scratched his head.
"By compromise… do you mean half a cart?"
Roswaal's brow twitched again, but he still managed to maintain his smile.
"Think carefully, Grin-kun. That sentence of yours should still have a copy on file in the Royal Capital. Even if I handed you the money, you would not be able to spend it freely."
"If you are willing, I can try to restore your status as a free citizen. In exchange, I would like to hire you as a guard for Mathers House."
"As for salary, I will pay you the highest rate on the market—around sixty gold coins per month. What do you think? As you can see, our faction is in urgent need of capable people~"
For once, the clown was not exaggerating.
A criminal sentenced to border labor could not simply appear in any official city and expect to live peacefully. The moment he showed his face, he could be wanted all over again.
"Sixty?!"
Otto cried out in shock.
"That's not a small sum at all! It's more than I make in an entire year!"
Sixty gold coins came to a full six hundred thousand copper coins.
The holy gold coins Grin had asked for were not part of normal day-to-day circulation. They were usually reserved for occasions like the Royal Selection, aristocratic dealings, or the underground market.
Even if someone really handed over a full cart of them, spending it all would be another matter entirely.
That was why salaries were usually paid in regular gold coins.
"Can I get an advance?"
Grin rose from his seat, leaned across the dining table, and stared directly at Roswaal.
"Certainly~"
Seeing Grin take the bait, Roswaal answered at once.
Grin slapped a hand onto the table.
"Then we have a deal. Start with three months."
As long as he remained inside Lugunica, there was no escaping the kingdom's laws.
If he ran off on his own, he would probably just end up back in prison again.
Restoring his status as a free citizen was too important.
He absolutely had to secure it.
Roswaal gave Ram a look.
The peach-haired maid immediately understood and left to fetch the money.
Then Roswaal stood and gave Emilia a slight bow.
"Please enjoy the rest of your meal, Emilia-sama, everyone else as well. I have matters to attend to and must excuse myself now. Grin-kun, from this moment onward, I entrust the safety of this young lady and this mansion to you."
Snap.
Grin stood at attention and threw Roswaal a sharp salute.
"Yes, sir. We swear to protect the homeowner, to the death."
Emilia tilted her head in confusion.
Puck copied Grin's gesture and floated beside her with a cute little grin.
While they were speaking, Beatrice—who had already finished eating—suddenly scooped Puck up from the table.
"Very well, Brother. It is time for us to leave this place overflowing with idiots. You are coming with Betty to tidy up the Forbidden Library, I suppose."
"But Betty, if I leave, Lia will be in danger."
Puck struggled in Beatrice's arms, fluffy and round and entirely too adorable for his own dignity.
Beatrice, hearing that, shot Grin a glance full of disdain.
"Do not worry, Brother. If that child is threatened, Betty will appear at once and blast the villains to pieces, in fact."
"Why are you looking at me? What can a lowly guard like me even do?"
Grin pointed at himself in speechless defense.
"Hmph."
Beatrice only huffed and walked out of the dining room, her twin drills bouncing at her sides.
The moment Puck left, Emilia looked visibly awkward for a brief instant.
She suddenly seemed no different from some socially anxious girl dragged into the wrong century.
"Um, Grin-kun… thank you so much for finding the insignia for me. It really is very important."
"It's fine, Emilia. Roswaal already paid me back. Look—my money's here."
Grin gestured toward the doorway as Ram returned carrying a tray.
On it sat stacks of gleaming Lugunican gold coins.
One hundred and eighty in total.
Thunk.
Ram dropped the tray onto the table, and the neat tower of coins collapsed at once with a bright, satisfying clatter.
"Take it, you greedy white rat."
"Magnificent! The color, the temperature, the fragrance—Spartacus!"
Grin buried his face straight into the heap of gold.
Back when he had been hanging around with Old Man Rom and the others, he had been lucky to see a handful of silver coins in an entire month.
This was the first time in his life he had ever seen this much money in one place.
Otto stared, unable to hold back his reaction.
"Terrifying. Truly terrifying. Grin-kun's eyes look just like a greedy dragon's."
Emilia looked at him with clear concern and a touch of reproach.
"Grin-kun… Puck said money can corrupt a person's heart. And things like stealing women's clothes… those are not things a good child should do."
Grin looked up resentfully.
Several coins slid off his face with a clink and dropped back into the pile one after another.
"About that matter… well… I really am sorry, Emilia. I caused you trouble. I apologize."
Since the magic mirror was technically his, he had no choice but to take the blame himself.
Seeing him apologize properly, Emilia hurriedly waved both hands.
"Grin-kun isn't that bad. As long as he knows his mistakes and can correct them, then he's still a good child."
Once again, the certain half-elf naturally placed her one-hundred-and-fourteen-year-old self in the role of an elder.
What no one else realized was that if one subtracted the century she had spent frozen in ice, and then looked at her actual mental age of around fourteen, she was basically just a middle-schooler putting on airs.
Otto quickly polished off the rest of his meal, wiped his mouth in a rush, and then suddenly looked stricken.
"Stealing… clothes? As expected of Grin-kun, I shouldn't hear any more than this. Thank you for the meal!"
He got up to leave, but after reaching the door, he stepped back two paces and waved toward Grin.
"Grin-kun, I'm about to say farewell to the Count. I'm really happy I managed to sell all my goods successfully. I need to hurry back to the capital and clear my debts, or I'll lose another day's worth of interest."
Grin stared at the pile of gold in front of him and fell silent.
It was about time he started making some investments in his future.