BXBX NOVEL Chapter 27: Kohali And Rumon
「I\'m going to wear this…」
It looked first-class for a commoner\'s clothes, but it probably appeared like cheap clothes for Kohali. While surprised, she reluctantly took the clothes. Perhaps Rumon had prepared himself, he gently admonished Kohali, and instead he looked relieved.
In the room, I stood in front of the sibling who were finally wearing a proper clothing, and showed the gold coin held by my guard.
「I\'ll pay for Kohali\'s dedication. How much do you want?」
There was a large quantity of gold coin inside the bag held by the guard. There was also the payment for the clothes, so I made an idle civil officer bring it. It was my pocket money.
Perhaps Kohali felt ashamed to request money, or maybe she\'d remembered herself being violated, she\'d started to shake as she remained silent with her head downwards. Rumon had noticed her reaction and tried to speak, but I stopped him with my hand.
「Then let me change the question. Try telling how much gold coin was our intercourse a while ago worth?」
「...Its not, something that can be exchange...with money...」
「So there\'s no need for me to pay?」
Eh? Kohali spilled out a surpised voice. She seemed to be thinking that receiving only several commoner\'s clothing was insufficient to compensate for her virginity.
「In the case when a commoner young girl has no choice but to sell her virginity, that girl would propose the price to the man. I\'m just asking you the price. As a daughter of a merchant, you know the standard price right? Answer as you see fit.」
「...The, standard price? Around a thousand gold coins...?」
Unable to understand what she was saying, I felt dizzy in spite of myself. Rumon looked the same—no, he appeared more shocked and was holding his head.
「A thousand gold coins? Are you referring to the gold coins from the Holy Navenphos? 」
「Eh…? I\'m referring to Levios Kingdom\'s gold coins, though?」
Simply speaking of gold coins in Levios Kingdom, that would be pointing to the kiris gold coins. Moreover, two kiris gold coins would be enough for a common family in Nyuneri to support themselves for half a year. Probably.
There was no way that a commoner young girl\'s virginity would be worth one thousand kiris gold coins. If that was the case, then the commoners would be able to live just by giving birth to a daughter.
「Let me ask you just in case. Are you saying that a person must pay one thousand kiris gold coins to have sex with a young girl in Nambonan?」
「If they don\'t have any choice but to sell their body, isn\'t that much the average price?」
It seemed that the one thousand gold coins she gave as a price was not for her virginity, but the average price for virginity. She had an unusual sense of money.
「What\'s wrong with this girl? Hey, is your family really a merchant? Your sister looks like she\'d advise a person to eat cake if they don\'t have bread.」
As I looked at her brother, who was also her guardian, he began to explain with lowered head.
Kohali and Rumon\'s father had been completely focused on their business and had no time to pay attention to their family. Their mother didn\'t recover well after giving birth to Kohali and died, so having no parent he could rely on, Rumon spent his days protecting Kohali.
He appealed to their father and told him to talk to the young Kohali, who was feeling lonely at that time. What came back to him was a bag containing gold coins. His father was implying that they could use it to buy anything they want and not trouble him.
「...Father would sacrifice anything if it meant profit for the business. And because of that, he has a lot of enemy in the business.」
He was famous for using underhanded means to become a nominated council member from being an ordinary peddler, and he also wasn\'t liked by the citizens. Worried about Kohali\'s safety, Rumon limited her from going outside as much as possible. Whether good or bad, since their father had provided them money, Kohali grew up in a peaceful environment protected by her gentle brother.
「Partly because of that, Kohali is a little ignorant of the world. She can\'t continue being like that from now on, though…」
「Brother… I…」
Having explained in front of her just how ignorant she was about the world, tears welled in Kohali\'s eyes. Rumon gently stroked her beautiful silver hair and wiped away the tears in her eyes with his finger.
Kohali\'s figure seemed to have overlapped with my younger sister Fanny in Nyuneri.
「...What are you planning to do after this? You\'ve lost all your properties.」
「I\'d like to establish myself in business like my father. I may not look like it, but I\'ve trained my skill as a merchant. We wouldn\'t be able to start a business here in Nambonan, though.」
「Hm? All you\'re properties have been confiscated, but that only applies to the present state of affairs. There shouldn\'t be any problem if you want to start your new business here.」
haha, Rumon gave a dry laugh.
「That\'s impossible. My father has incurred so much hostility from all over the place that its difficult to believe that he was a council member. If you\'ve seen the other council member\'s house, wouldn\'t you know?」
「I see, you\'re right.」
As you could see, there was not a single servant remaining in the mansion. It was only natural since the family head had lost his properties and couldn\'t pay them anymore.
Then, did the other council members experience the same thing? No. The elected councilors became a council member by election based on their character and popularity. Most of their servants went and were making an effort for their last service without caring about the pay.
The residents nearby their homes could often be seen preparing food for the family members of the councilors, and some were discussing the places where they could stay. Properties aside, there was no way to confiscate the trust that people had for them.
The five council members who felt relieved upon seeing the contents of our peace agreement were the five elected councilors. They probably knew that the citizens would shield them if they defended Nambonan\'s independence.
Even the other nominated councilors, they had also been raising their reputation through public facilities and by hosting festivals. Due to that, quite many people were worried about them and came to their home to check their condition. The nominated council members were formerly merchants, so the complete confiscation of their properties should be the worse outcome for them. It was no wonder they were feeling down.
Only this mansion had been left behind by their servants the moment they were dismissed and also the only one abandoned by the nearby residents. This tells how vicious of a person their father was.
As their father wasn\'t included in the list of the executed, he didn\'t openly go against Quordentz, but he didn\'t seem deserving of sympathy.
「That\'s why, I plan to start a business in a new land.」
The eldest son of an upstart family. His first journey to an unfamiliar land. Deceived and bankrupt. …Those words surfaced in my mind.
I didn\'t really care if Rumon were to die, but it would be a loss if Kohali were to fall with him. Yet, It somehow didn\'t feel right to force Kohali to come to Nyuneri and confine her in a detached house while looking after her. As I was groaning, Rumon politely spoke.
「In Nambonan, the price for the body of a virgin young girl would be around one kiris gold coin. We would be thankful if we could receive a generous price.」
I remember Tesh mention that by giving five kiris gold coins, the citizens would instead feel in debt. Considering that, I concluded that the price that Rumon stated was a fair price. He was quite an honest man. Could he really survive as a merchant with that kind of character?
「Give them five.」
I glanced at my guard and ordered him to provide them with five kiris gold coins. It should be enough for the two of them to survive for a while.
「Thank you for your kindness.」
Rumon lowered down his head towards the man who forced himself on her beloved little sister.