The man who appears to be in his late twenties with a lean build tightens his grip on Zane’s collar for a moment.
His grin falters for a moment at the unanticipated change in the tone of Zane’s voice. But, considering it a lapse in his own composure, he doubles down on his threat.
"What was that, huh!? Did you forget who you are speaking to? You want to hear it again, right? Fine, then. Your wife must be present at my house tonight, and she must warm my bed with her body, that’s what I said!"
The other man who was standing behind Zane, who looks more aged, probably in his early thirties, shifts his stance. He doesn’t speak, but he senses something wrong.
Meanwhile, Zane has gone silent in his place. He doesn’t know the reason behind his anger. The anger shouldn’t have been this high for a woman he met only a day ago. But the reality is obvious.
He feels angry, incredibly so. And, on top of it all, he feels confused.
What deal did Jack make exactly? Did he really make Clara a part of his deal?
He pushes his thoughts aside. This isn’t a time to think right now. The hand of this man on his collar makes his skin crawl with humiliation and rage.
His hand moves abruptly, and before anyone can stop him, it lands hard against the man’s cheek.
"Get your hand off me, Bastard!"
The man’s head tilts to the side from the force of his slap. Initially, he looks genuinely confused, then his jaw clenches and finally he snaps.
"YOU AREN’T WALKING OUT ALIVE FROM HERE TODAY!"
The man in his thirties, who had been standing still until now, also moves forward. His fist finally connects against Zane’s back as he mutters under his breath, "Insolent!"
Soon, the space around them becomes the center of attention for the rest of the people. The crowd gathers and circles them, watching the fight with clear signs of amusement and interest.
Zane thrashes against both men, while groaning in pain as his back hurts badly from the fist. But, he doesn’t back down. He rains down his own uncoordinated fists and kicks toward both men.
Though, they also don’t show any sign of pity. Their attacks are more coordinated and heavier than Zane’s. Their punches connect against his body, one after another.
The fight starts messy, and in just a matter of a few minutes, it ends.
Zane lies on the ground, flat but still alive. His chest heaves and his body twitches occasionally at the places where the hits landed. He isn’t dead, but he is injured quite badly.
Ugh... My back... cruel bastards!
However, he hasn’t lost completely. Because the crowd’s attention is not on him right now. They assess the situation of the two men, with their expressions ranging from contempt to mockery for the standing men.
Both of their heads are down in pure shame. The dark purple bruises have already started forming on their faces, thin, long red lines mapped along their bodies from the scratches of nails.
The fight shouldn’t have stretched longer than a few seconds. They didn’t expect this outcome at all.
"Haha! See these losers! They got beaten up by a low-level swordsman. Might as well die of embarrassment."
"Truly. I would have jumped from that wall if I was in their place."
...
The taunts and murmurs from the crowd only fuel the fire further.
Only when several minutes have passed does the crowd scatter back to continue their own activities. Zane is brought to a small room to patch his injuries.
He takes this moment of secrecy to inquire about the questions related to the ’deal’ Jack signed for. The medic he asks this question to just lets out a huff of laughter at his situation.
Slowly, the pieces fall together. The medic didn’t explain it to him kindly; his words came out full of taunts.
The deal isn’t just about Clara. The main point he finds out about his current situation is that Jack has a large debt on him, which his puny post as a low-level swordsman cannot possibly solve quickly.
So, when Kael and Bram, the two men who fought with him just now, heard about his situation, they offered Jack a more ’efficient’ method to clear up his debt.
Obvious to everyone else, that ’efficient’ method was nothing more than a petty scam. But, in his desperation, Jack agreed.
Initially, Kael and Bram offered him money for helping them with their duties by doing some simple but hard-working chores. The amount they offered was small, but if they paid it consistently for a certain period, Jack would have repaid his debt fully.
But, just after two months of this arrangement, something shifted.
Their payments to Jack started getting delayed by a margin of a few days or sometimes even more than that. They also started increasing the workload on him by giving warnings about delaying the money further.
Jack tried finding some way out of this trap, but he failed. The debt kept him desperate, and the amount they were holding gave him hope that maybe one day, they would settle it properly.
But, the interest only increased further, the money that he was receiving from them became ever lower while the workload on him kept increasing.
Then, one month ago, his situation became so critical that he was stressed both mentally and physically. He realized that there was no way out of the trap anymore. The contract between them was informal too, so he even lost his chance to accuse them officially.
At this point, Kael and Bram came to him and finally gave him their ’mercy’. They promised to give him all the money they owed him and also repay the debt on his behalf, and in return... he must just make his wife sleep with them somehow.
After making him do all of their chores, the final goal of their plan was to take his wife away from him too.
Initially, Jack refused it completely. But, as the days passed by, they kept nudging him to relieve his burdens...
...One day, he finally lost and agreed.
...
Zane groans under his breath, not just from pain now, but from the sheer headache that he just received from the explanation.
So, that’s why that ’knight’ earlier called me a ’scum’! Seems like everybody knows about this deal here!
[The host has taken over another major part of Jack’s life.]
[Synchronization rate: 30%(+8)]
The voice echoes inside his head and his annoyance just increases further.
What... should I do? I am losing my mind!
A few minutes pass and he looks up slowly. The annoyance turns into a hard determination as he straightens up.
"The debt... that is the main problem. I have to do something about it and also..."
I am going to fuck those two bastards for making Jack put his wife in danger... No, I mean putting MY WIFE in danger!