Chapter 106 A Friend’s Love and a Business Meeting
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I visited the Zaitz Merchant Guild to purchase some dwarves.
There, I found myself on the receiving end of an ice-cold glare from my friend Balthazar’s lovely fiancée candidate—Merinda Lancaster. She looked at me as if I were filth.
That’s a misunderstanding.
I’m nothing like that hopeless pervert.
I’m a perfectly normal gentleman who appreciates women—in the proper way.
Determined to raise my affection score2 with her, which had surely hit rock bottom, I set out to redeem my reputation.
”What a beautiful woman,” I said. “So refined, so poised—as if she stepped right out of a painting. I couldn’t help but be captivated. Balthazar, you’re far too undeserving of her.”
Women should be complimented, even if it’s just flattery. I followed my own principle to the letter, showering her with the highest praise.
Merinda Lancaster.
At first glance, she seemed plain and unremarkable. But if you looked closely, she had rather fine features. The gentle smile perpetually on her lips was clearly a mask for the weariness beneath.
She wore no fashionable dress—instead, an older garment, meticulously mended and altered to fit. It lacked the flair of other noblewomen’s attire, yet it carried a quiet, undeniable elegance.
Her hair was a muted brown. Her eyes a faded blue. In those beautiful eyes lay a profound resignation—the look of one who had sacrificed herself for her family and quietly accepted her fate.
Flattery aside, she was quite the woman.
I genuinely thought Balthazar was unworthy of her.
Whether he sensed my true feelings, Balthazar timidly spoke up.
”Ah, um, Xenos-sama!” he stammered. “She is… she is a very important fiancée candidate to me. So, please, I beg you—do not try to steal her away…”
I wondered what he was so worried about.
Even I had no interest in stealing a friend’s “precious fiancée.”
”Don’t worry,” I assured him. “She is beautiful, but I have no intention of pursuing her. In fact, I will wholeheartedly support your budding romance.”
At those words, Balthazar’s round body trembled with sheer relief.
”Oh! What a relief to hear that! For you see, Xenos-sama, you are notorious for your lechery and arrogance. I feared that once you laid eyes upon Merinda-sama, the treasure of this world, you would stop at nothing to take her! That’s why I’ve been so cautious—arranging this engagement interview1 with every possible care to ensure she never crossed your path!”
Behind him, I saw Gregor’s face go pale.
(Damn, he was that wary of me?)
The guy sure talks a lot of trash. I mean, I heard plenty of rudeness in there that I’m not just going to overlook… but eh. This hopeless pervert is probably just giddy about finally finding a girlfriend. I’d let it slide this time.
”Hey now. What exactly do you think I am?”
”Oh my, oh my! What a slip of the tongue!”
And we both burst into laughter from the bottom of our hearts.
Merinda observed our friendly exchange with cold eyes—as if watching something utterly repulsive.
* * *
”So, Xenos-sama. What brings you to the Zaitz Merchant Guild today?”
”Ah, well. I’ve recently been in need of some talent I simply cannot do without. I came to see if you had any good stock.”
I was here to buy dwarves.
At my mention of “talent,” Merinda, who had seemed utterly disinterested until then, flashed a sharp gleam in her faded blue eyes.
”In that case, I shall handle the negotiations myself.”
”But are you sure? Isn’t this your important first meeting with her?”
At times like this, I’d be a good friend and prioritize her.
”Oh, no. I had just finished my farewell greetings. I was savoring her lovely scent one last time, you see.”
”Then you should see her safely home. These days are dangerous.”
I threw out the perfect pass to support their love.
It was already evening. The sun would soon set, and the skies of the Royal Capital would darken.
The guild would arrange a carriage to take her home, no doubt. And Balthazar, as her fiancé, should escort her.
”Indeed. I hear even Her Highness Liliana was kidnapped. Our guild recently received a request from the Holy Knights of the Royal Family to assist in the investigation.”
Well, if anyone’s a slaver, they’d be the first suspect.
”Certainly, the situation in the Royal Capital is perilous these days. Very well, Merinda-sama—”
Just as Balthazar began to offer her a carriage ride…
She held up a hand.
”Ah, please wait! If you’re about to have a business meeting, would you allow me to sit in as well? I… I would very much like to see the work of the man who might become my future partner. With my own eyes.”
An unexpected refusal.
Was she really that unwilling to ride alone with Balthazar? That was my reading of her words.
But my friend Balthazar took them at face value. He was positively optimistic, that one.
”Oh! Merinda-sama is interested in my work! What joy! What gratitude!”
His round body trembled with emotion.
And so, we moved to a private room, and under her watchful gaze—we began our negotiations.
—
Summary:
Xenos visits the Zaitz Merchant Guild to purchase dwarves but immediately finds himself under cold scrutiny from Balthazar’s fiancée candidate, Merinda. After a clumsy attempt to compliment her, Balthazar reveals his deep paranoia that Xenos will steal Merinda, which Xenos brushes off with laughter. The business meeting proceeds, but Merinda unexpectedly insists on joining the negotiations.
—
Trivia:
1. Xenos refers to Balthazar as a “hopeless pervert” multiple times, establishing this as a running joke between them.
2. Merinda is described as wearing a meticulously mended older dress, indicating her family’s poverty.
3. The term “affection score” is used instead of the literal “好感度” (kōndo) to preserve the game-like meta-layer.
4. Balthazar is extremely paranoid about Xenos stealing Merinda due to Xenos’s notorious reputation for lechery.
5. Gregor’s face goes pale when he hears Balthazar’s confession about arranging the engagement interview to avoid Xenos meeting Merinda.
6. Merinda’s eyes flash sharply at the mention of “talent” (jinzai), showing she is strategic and calculating.
7. The Zaitz Merchant Guild recently assisted the Holy Knights in investigating the kidnapping of Her Highness Liliana.
8. Merinda refuses a carriage ride home with Balthazar, insisting instead on joining the business negotiations.
—
Translation Notes:
Notes:
• Balthazar – Son of the Crowley family. A pervert with no boundaries who considers himself improved after being advised to stop saying “stinky” to women. Obsessed with female scent. Currently engaged in an arranged marriage meeting.
• Merinda – Third daughter of the impoverished Lancaster baron family. Engaged in an arranged marriage meeting with Balthazar. Has dull blue eyes. Expresses cold contempt toward both Balthazar and Xenos after they are grouped together as perverts.
• Xenos – Job: Heir to a high-ranking noble house; Relationship: Owner of Lilia; Has romantic connections with Elenor, Cecilia, and Lizel; Item/Magic: Summoning magic, [Substitution Collars]; Note: Was caught up in a Royal Palace explosion and missed three days of school. Pragmatic and calculating personality. Job: Noble of Grimlock family, protagonist; Relationship: Manipulator of Princess Liliana, pursuing Serena; Item/Magic: [Ring of Transformation]; Note: Reincarnated villain with game knowledge, calculating and arrogant. Job: Theater Owner and noble of Grimlock family; Relationship: Fiancé to Cecilia; Item/Magic: Game knowledge/metaknowledge; Note: Reincarnated villain protagonist who knows the original game script.
• Gregor – Balthazar’s guardian and minder at the Zaitz Merchant Guild. Calm and professional demeanor that breaks only when Balthazar misbehaves. Defers to Xenos with formal respect.
• Liliana – Known as the “Angel of the Asgard Kingdom” for her golden hair and sky-blue eyes, this princess is the younger sister of Prince Liam and Elenor. While maintaining a refined, angelic public facade, she is a manipulative mastermind who wields explosion magic. As Serena’s liege and the true culprit behind recent assassination attempts, she carefully hides her dark nature behind whispered, noble asides.
• Lilia – Xenos’s fiercely loyal, trauma-resilient Head Maid is a lovely, pale, busty woman with long dark hair, a chest tattoo, and a nullified crest. Dressed in a black uniform, she maintains refined, icy elegance when disciplining others, especially Elenor. While formal and efficient with guests, she masks deep, jealous anxiety for Xenos, finding her greatest joy in serving him and sleeping by his side.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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