"Thank you very much, Mrs. Lluvia." I smiled gratefully after receiving a cup of coffee.
"Don't worry about it, it's the least I can do for you." Mrs. Lluvia said and sat across me holding a cup of coffee on her hands. "Besides, it's not every day that you are here, so I must try to be a good host now."
I grinned and took a sip of coffee.
After leaving the gang, I did not return to the institute immediately. Instead, I decided to pay a visit to Lluvia's house. It had been a while since the last time I came, so it was being time to come again.
It was already dawn, but Mrs. Lluvia was probably already awake. Mrs. Lluvia was a very hardworking woman, so she woke up early each morning and went to sleep late at night.
And as I expected, Mrs. Lluvia was awake when I arrived.
Mrs. Lluvia was very understanding. She did not ask why I arrived at dawn or where I was the past week. Instead, she received me amiably and even offered me a cup of coffee.
Afterward, we started to converse about different topics. Mrs. Lluvia talked about the recent happenings in the capital while I heard her. I tried to use this opportunity to rest and relax my body. I just faced a god after all, so my body was still a bit tense.
"I have to say, Clark, I kinda admire you. You are so young but you are already independent. Moreover, you look like a very hardworking young man. Nowadays, very few young men are so hardworking as you."
"You are flattering me, Mrs. Lluvia. I was forced by the circumstances. If I was not forced to abandon my home, I probably would be partying everyday as most young nobles."
"It's not flattery. I'm not ignorant enough as to don't know that even if you are a genius, you need to work very hard to attain your cultivation at your age. I heard that the captain of the imperial guards is only in the eighth layer. You are much younger than him, but your strength has already reached to the seventh layer, just one layer below."
"I was lucky." I smiled modestly, to which Mrs. Lluvia rolled her eyes. "I wish I was so lucky as you then. Sigh, compared to you, the men of this house... Sigh."
"Did something happen?"
Lluvia hesitated briefly before sighing and deciding to talk about it. "You know my son is working as a guard in a town nearby, right? Apparently, he got in a huge gambling debt there."
"Gambling debt?"
Lluvia nodded in disappointment. "Like father, like son. Both of them are the same."
I could only smile wryly. Mrs. Lluvia always fights her husband due to his gambling addiction, but now, she learned that her son is the same as his father.
"Clarice is devastated. She has not left her room in two days."
I nodded. "Sorry about that."
"Why? It's not your fault. Actually, I have to thank you. The money you are giving us for the room has helped our situation greatly."
I smiled. "I'm glad then."
We continued conversing and Mrs. Lluvia offered to prepare me breakfast. I had to go to classes later, so I accepted her offer gladly.
While she was cooking, someone knocked on the door.
Mrs. Lluvia looked at the door and sighed. She then walked towards it with a complicated expression.
Two men were waiting outside the door. One of them was her drunk husband, and the other was a serious-looking young man carrying him.
"Good morning, Mrs. Lluvia." The man holding her husband greeted her politely.
Lluvia furrowed her brows. "What are you doing here?"
"It's not the first time I come, Mrs. Lluvia. You know already the reason."
Lluvia's face turned dark. "How much?" She asked.
"700 gold coins."
Lluvia's expression changed. "Are you robbing me!?" She growled angrily. "700 hundred gold coins is too much!"
The man remained inexpressive. "Your husband was the one that gambled and lost. Now he has to pay."
"I'm not going to pay all that money!"
The man frowned. "We never lost our money, Mrs. Lluvia. If your husband owes us, then he must pay! With gold or with blood!"
All the blood drained of Lluvia's face. The meaning behind the man's words was clear. If they don't pay, Peter will die!
Lluvia was pale. Regardless of his many defects, Peter was her husband. She could not let him die like that.
Lluvia bit her lips. "... Please give me a few days to reunite the money."
The man frowned. He looked at the drunk Peter and threw him on the ground. Peter did not wake up despite it. He probably was too drunk to feel anything.
"One week." The man said coldly. "If you don't have the money one week later, face the consequences!"
Lluvia nodded with a frightened expression. The man saw it and nodded. He then kicked Peter away and sneered before leaving.
"Remember, Mrs. Lluvia. Seven days."
Lluvia just bit her lips and fell silent.
When the man was gone, I sighed and walked towards her.
"Are you alright?"
Lluvia forced a smile. "... Sorry, I showed you something unsightly."
I shook my head. "Every family has its troubles. I'm nobody to judge yours."
Lluvia smiled bitterly. She then looked at her husband before shooting me an apologetic gaze. "Clark, can you help me to carry Peter to my room."
I sighed and nodded reluctantly. Of course, I did not carry him. Instead, I lifted him by his neck and dragged him until the room.
Lluvia wanted to say something, but she shook her head after remembering the huge debt they had now. She even felt a bit refreshed seeing her husband being treated like that.
It was obvious she was very dissatisfied with her husband.
...