Illya stared in amazement at Axion as he took off his coat.
What does this say now?
Axion replied in a calm and indifferent voice:
“So what between comrades?
As Claude said, we fought with monsters risking our lives.”
When did he become filled with this spirit of companionship?!
At Axion's assent, Lennox now exclaimed in a cheerful voice:
"Great!
Quickly, let's get ready and go in.
I'll massage your backs!"
After taking off their coats, the two began to remove the rest of their clothes in front of her without hesitation.
Axion was already wearing only a white undershirt.
Through the thin shirt, a strong and tight upper body emerged, and Elia hurriedly turned her gaze.
While she was thinking about the need to escape quickly before they even took off their pants, she saw the wound on Axion's stomach.
He had recovered enough that bandages were no longer necessary, but an ugly mark remained.
"Are you well?"
When Ilya glanced at his stomach and asked, Axion nodded.
Then Lennox stopped undressing and approached.
"Elle, what are you doing?
Aren't you going to take off your clothes quickly?"
“I-I, I mean...”
While she was stammering in confusion, someone grabbed her arm.
When she turned her head, she found Yusar, who had gone to book a hotel room, had already arrived.
Lennox called out to him in a welcoming voice:
“Yousar, I have come!
Get ready quickly and come in as well.”
Yusar nodded to him with an embarrassed face:
“Lennox, I'm really sorry, but Erhan and I can't do this.
Something urgent has come up.”
“Urgent matter?”
When Lennox asked, Yusar continued with a serious face:
“After I booked a hotel room, and before coming here, we stopped by the bank briefly to review the money we had collected, and there seemed to be a problem with Erhan’s account.”
“What are you saying?
Is that really true?”
When Ilya shouted in surprise, Yusar nodded.
"Yes.
Looks like you should go with me to the bank immediately.
Lennox, I'm really sorry, but let's postpone the shower for later.
We can do that after we get back to the unit."
Hearing these words, Lennox's face became a little gloomy.
“It's inevitable...”
“I'm really sorry.
We took a shower with Axion today.”
Since Axion did not show any special reaction, he did not seem upset by this situation.
Ilya Yusar asked after she hurriedly packed her things and left the bathroom:
“What exactly happened to the account?
The money is safe, right?”
Then Yusar completely abandoned the serious expression on his face that he had on a moment ago, and smiled at her with a sly smile:
“Well, what do you think?”
At his sudden change in attitude, Elijah's eyes narrowed.
“You lied.”
“There's no need for those boys to reveal your identity, right?”
Anyway, thanks to Yusar, we were able to overcome the crisis.
“Thanks for saving me.”
When I thanked him, Yusar smiled broadly:
"You're welcome.
Like you said, we should focus on our common goal, right?"
At this response, Elia smiled back as well.
“While those boys are washing up, let’s go to the bank first and withdraw the money.”
Finally, it was their turn to see the fruits of their hard-earned efforts in unity throughout this period.
They went to the bank and checked the account.
Elijah's eyes widened as she checked the account.
[85,400 gold]
“…We made that much money in one month?”
Her voice trembled.
The budget of the Trenngen fiefdom for one year is about 20,000 gold.
They made money beyond their four-year budget in just one month.
Then Yusar pointed with his index finger and said:
“No, this is your share.
The money we earned is three times that amount.”
“Right.
So the total amount is...”
Before she could finish her words, Yusar had completed the calculation.
“256,200 gold.”
What a wonderful skill he has in mental arithmetic.
Illya wanted to withdraw 80,000 gold from this amount to take it to her hometown.
Then Yousar dissuaded her:
“If it's not urgent now, you'd better withdraw exactly as much as the fiefdom needs.”
“Why?”
To her question, Yusar said in a mysterious voice:
“Because the state of the world right now is not normal.”
"What do you mean?"
When I asked, Yusar glanced around and whispered:
“It's not appropriate to talk here, so let's go out and talk.”
"Understood."
Since Yusar's advice regarding money was always helpful, Ilya, based on his words, withdrew only the necessary minimum amount of money, which was 10,000 gold.
It was enough and more to restore the baron's entire fiefdom.
She withdrew the amount in the form of a check, keeping it carefully in the inside pocket of her training uniform.
When they left the bank, Yusar opened his mouth:
“Just a moment ago, there were many ears listening, and that is why.
Even those who work there are government employees affiliated with the Imperial Palace.”
“What exactly is happening?”
“Let's talk first while we drink some water.”
Then, instead of answering, Yusar pointed with his eyes to a nearby booth.
Elia headed towards the kiosk to buy a bottle of water, but she was very surprised.
“Wait, a bottle of water at that price?
That’s impossible!”
The price of a bottle of water has tripled compared to before.
“Has there been a nationwide water shortage or what?”
In response to Ilya's reaction, Yusar shook his head no.
“It's not just water.
In the last few days, the prices of everything have gone up like crazy.
Restaurant menus, accommodation prices, transportation costs all.”
After walking around the city a little and checking out the situation, I found that it was indeed real.
Although she was in the unit, she was engaged in an agency trade that imported goods from the outside world, so she knew approximately the general level of prices.
Although it had risen slightly compared to before she enlisted, it was definitely not that much.
As if Yusar had read her thoughts, he opened his mouth and said:
“While we were in field training, prices suddenly started to rise sharply.”
Oh, that's why you didn't know.
During the training period, she could not practice agency trading, so she had no reason to check prices.
“Also, the interest rate at the Imperial Bank has exceeded 20% as of this morning.”
“What? 20%?”
she shouted in an excited voice.
She had learned in her previous life at some point that banks raise interest rates to cool down prices when they rise.
But 20% was an absurdly high level.
She had heard that the foreign exchange crisis that happened a few years before her birth in her previous life was that big.
“That's why she asked me to withdraw only the minimum amount of money and leave it in the bank for now.”
Yusar nodded.
“More importantly, what is happening in the empire these days?”
“I don’t know the details, but it seems that the situation in the Imperial Army is a bit turbulent.”
"Imperial Army?
So then."
Since military issues were directly related to the security and safety of the empire, the economy seemed to be affected as well.
“Well, the politics of the higher-ups are none of our business, so we can only wait until it is well resolved.”
Yusar added with a sigh.
The issues of the Imperial Army or politics were not a problem they could solve, they were just ordinary soldiers in the Grand Duke's family.
“Anyway, what do we do now?”
There was still some time left before Lennox and Axion finished their shower.
Then Yusar said to her:
“Elijah, let us do whatever you want.”
"suddenly?"
When I asked him again, Yusar smiled broadly.
“You're getting tired of pretending to be a man in the unit, aren't you?
Maybe there are things you normally wanted to do but couldn't because you were pretending to be a man.”
“That's true, but...”
"Let's do this together now.
This way you'll feel comfortable even if Lennox or Axion suddenly shows up."
His words were good.
“Is anything at all acceptable?”
"certainly."
•
“What a beauty!
I will eat with appetite!”
Elia exclaimed as she looked at the strawberry mousse cake on the plate.
As she took a small bite of the cake with her fork, the soft mousse melted in her mouth.
The sweet and sour strawberry scent spreads refreshingly.
"Mmm!
So delicious!"
When Ilya exclaimed with wide eyes and a voice full of excitement, Yusar smiled lightly.
“Elijah, is this what you wanted to do?”
Instead of answering, Elia nodded vigorously.
This place was the best pastry shop in the capital, located next to the bank.
And that was the famous strawberry mousse cake sold there!
Lavinia's cake was her favorite ever.
'Whenever I read the original novel, I really want to try it at least once.'
Even in her previous life, when she wanted to eat something similar to this, she would buy the strawberry mousse cake sold near her house for alternative satisfaction.
'Indeed, the original is different!'
It tasted like heaven, literally!
Of course, the price was high.
As prices rose, the price became enormous.
She was about to push, but Yusar quickly pushed first.
'This is also a business strategy, right?'
Elia thought like this as she ate the cake.
The place around her was crowded with elegantly dressed noble young women.
Meanwhile, Yusar looked at her calmly while she was like that.
He felt strange seeing Elia, the usually bold and calm schemer, eating cake like a normal girl her age.
He did not hate this contradiction, and without knowing it, a light laugh escaped him.
"Why are you laughing?"
“Just because you look comfortable now.”
So, did I usually always seem nervous?
She remembered her life since her enlistment.
It was a life that had to be lived with tension.
‘It was a completely different life from Illya’s life as an ordinary young noblewoman.’
She looked at her hand holding the fork.
It had become very rough due to the hard training she had undergone, and calluses had formed on it.
When she saw the white and soft hands of the young noblewomen around her, she unknowingly hid her hand under the table.
'Normally, I wouldn't care about such things...'
She didn't realize it when she was training hard in the unit, but now that she had this comfort, feelings of deprivation that she had forgotten swept over her.
At that moment, Yusar reached out and grabbed her hand, which she hid under the table.
“What, what?”