NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 8: Debts
Alicia was there, skipping her steps as she played with other kids. How jealous! I was not allowed to go outside the mansion, and here she was, playing by herself! Unlike the formal attitude she showed around me, she displayed such a smile and laughed loudly.
"Hey, hey! Look! This is how you jump and play skips!" Alicia played with three other girls, jumping on the circle they drew on the dirt with sticks.
"Aww, you are so good at this!" Alicia said, followed by the two other girls.
"Hey, Alicia, you are a mage now, right? How is it going? Are you rich now?"
"Nah... not really. My father and I have so much debt. At this rate, I could only finish paying off the debt by next year."
"Wow! Amazing."
"No!! At this rate, I am going to be sold as a concubine to some filthy merchant!" She moaned. We couldn't have that; she was drafted as our employee. Even if she got married, she would still need to be here, right?
"Why don't you just ask Lord Elidranthia for help? The way you speak of her, she seems to favor you a lot. She even proposed to pay for your tuition, right?"
"Ah... but she is scary," Alicia said. Her words seemed to cut right through my chest. "I don't really want to meet her. Moreover, she is a noble. If I offend her, I might get cut down. Moreover, I heard she was jealous of my talent. She is a dark, you know."
"So, you are better than her?"
"No, she is actually so smart. She managed to complete Alex's lesson in a week. But her talent is dark, and her firepower is lower than mine. I think that's why she didn't like me." Alicia said. Wait, how come she said I didn't like her? I was waiting for you to call me! I like you a lot!
"Well, the count's daughter is dodging the drafting; she might just be a spoiled brat. It must be hard to butter up to her all the time."
"She is smart; she will know if I flatter her and scold me. I have done that before. She seemed able to see through me. She is scary; I don't want to meet her..." She groaned. Her words shattered my heart. Is this how the world sees me? I did my best for them. I never did anything bad! Is it simply because of my eyes that they feel uncomfortable? I sat behind the building, and Alicia said goodbyes after playing a little bit more. She still had feystone quotas to meet. None of that registered with me as I continued to lean on the building behind me while squatting down.
"When the sun set, I felt my tummy growl. I stood up and continued to walk through the main street. It was easy to find Laura on the main street as she looked left and right, searching for me in panic. She stood out like a sore thumb. I silently grabbed her from behind and hugged her.
"Hieek! Oh my god. Lady Eli! You nearly scared me to death. I am so sorry that I lost sight of you. Are you okay?"
"I am fine. Just a little tired. Could you please carry me back to the mansion?" I pleaded, and she nodded. I was piggybacked all the way to the mansion, and by the time I was in my room, the sky had already turned dark. I ate my dinner and took a bath in silence. I refused to look anyone in the eye ever since.
"Laura, am I hated?" I asked my personal maid as she put me on the bed. She ordered others to clean the room since I didn't let go of her hands. When she looked at me, I instinctively closed my eyes to not frighten her.
"You are unique, Miss Eli. Everyone in the castle knows that your eyes are a little intimidating, but you have a kind heart," Laura said.
"Does everyone fear me?"
"They did not fear you lately. It's just because of your mana impression. Open your eyes. See? If you remain in control of your mana, no one will fear you."
"How can I make them like me? Is it my fate not to have friends?"
"Well, let me tell you a story. I have a friend named Hole. You see, he was a rotund person with a scar on his face." I imagined a gorilla-looking person but fatter. I giggled immediately.
"See, everyone made fun of him, just like you. He was downcasted at first. However, he kept a kind and caring attitude. He often gave free food to his friends or helped them study in the capital. Right now, he owns a bakery in the capital and often sends free food to the slums. He is loved by many as his business rose. His face and rotund belly are now trademarks for his bakery."
"Do you think I can be like him?" I asked. I have heard stories from my parents on Earth about this smelly but nice friend. Everyone had complaints about him, but they kept it to themselves because this person was nice, and everyone liked his attitude.
"I'm sure you will achieve greater things than him. You are smart and kind," her words struck home with me. I am at a disadvantage, but that might work in my favor. I need true friends. If I never heard Alicia's complaints about me, I would just assume that Alicia is my best friend, even though we were no more than acquaintances.
"Money cannot buy real friends" was advice I heard from my previous world. How stupid of me to assume I was best friends with Alicia just because I paid for her tuition.
The following day, I immediately filled my feystone quotas and delivered them to my father. I had increased my feystones to 15 of them. It was either my mana had increased, or I had gotten more proficient in filling mana and thus wasted less.
"Dad, I want to join the drafting. Brother Zach, how is it? Do you think you can incorporate illusions and distractions?" I asked both my brother and father during our lunch.
"No. I'm afraid not. Your illusions are still unstable. The monster could break free from your illusions or attack randomly. Sorry," he replied. I guess drafting is a no-go. I didn't expect much anyway. Dark magic was weak against swarms like these unless I learned higher-level magic.
"Dad, our house is in debt, right? Could I see why we are in debt?"
"Our house is in debt due to constant attacks from the monsters. We pay quadruple for the military alone compared to even a duke," Father answered. Oh, I thought I had to dive into the accounting books to figure out why our house was in debt. They already knew the reason.
"The kingdom is helping us, right?"
"Yes, the kingdom gave us stipends. However, it is not nearly enough. It only covers half of our standing armies."
"Why are you asking these questions, Eli?" Brother Zach finally grew suspicious, and I gave an honest answer.
"I keep filling feystones, but I haven't even put a dent in our finances, right? I thought we need to do this another way."
"Well, yeah. You were right on that one. We do have high hopes when you go to school next year." Zach and Father nodded.
"Can't I at least try it now?"
"Well… you can look at the files later. Finish your food."
It turned out that the finances of this county were in terrible shape, even I could see it. And I was only a high school student in my previous life. Basically, we were spending too much, and our income was insufficient. Our lands were tricky to farm due to constant monster attacks, making food expensive, and our industries suffered.
Before addressing our debt, I needed to tackle the yearly deficit in our budget. We had a deficit of over three thousand gold each year. The most significant expenses were for mages, knights, feystones, archers, food subsidies, and blacksmith subsidies, along with the salaries for other personnel. Other expenditures accounted for less than ten percent of our total expenses.
Now, how should I solve this?