Starting Today I'll Work As A City Lord

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"Thump, thump, thump..."

The grass curtain of the greenhouse was lifted as the second and third members of the War Wolves entered first, holding the curtain aside. Lucas followed, draped in his coat, stepping in slowly.

He looked at the female beastkin in front of him, glancing at the ears on her head, then letting his dark eyes drift down to her tail. He immediately recognized which beastkin race she belonged to.

"Wolf tribe? Or... dog tribe?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, noting how similar the two could appear.

"Wolf! I'm a wolf, not one of those big dumb dogs!"

Freya bristled instantly, her ember eyes flashing as she raised her head proudly. "I'm a royal wolf knight from the Valtoria Beastkin Kingdom!"

"Oh! Such a prestigious title?" Lucas nodded slightly. Just as a bit of pride flashed in Freya's eyes, his lips curved into a smirk. "And yet? You still came here to steal from my home!"

"Steal? Who's stealing?" Freya's wolf ears perked up, her cheeks flushing as she protested loudly, "I was just borrowing! I'll return it, absolutely return it!"

"Uh..." Lucas tilted his head, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. He turned to look at Mina, only to see the cat girl blushing and quickly turning her head away.

It seemed that the cat-eared girl had also often 'borrowed' things in the past, and the proud demeanor of this wolf beastkin was strikingly similar to that of the beastkin girl back home.

Could it be that all beastkin girls in this world were tsundere? Lucas's mind buzzed with a mix of strange thoughts.

"I swear on my honor as Freya that I will absolutely repay your cucumbers in the future." Freya declared with a serious expression.

Given her aloof personality, Freya would have swung her sword and fought her way out already if it weren't for all those arrows aimed at her. Who had time for this kind of back-and-forth with humans?

"So, your name's Freya. A nice name!" Lucas nodded approvingly and asked calmly, "So, Miss Freya, exactly how long is this 'future' you mentioned?"

"Um…" Freya's amber eyes flickered, her cheeks reddening slightly. She straightened up and replied seriously, "Very soon… a year at most… ahem, maybe… six months…"

Under Lucas's intense gaze, Freya's once-confident posture slowly wilted, her tone shifting from confident to hesitant, as her "repayment" timeline shortened from a year to a mere forty days.

"Forty days? Are you sure you're not just lying to me?"

Lucas narrowed his eyes, quietly assessing Freya's armor before saying, "If I let you go now and you simply disappear, how am I supposed to find you to repay the cucumbers?"

"You… I…" Freya was at a loss for words, her plan to have him release her so she could vanish was clearly exposed.

Repay the cucumbers? No way. The cucumbers she had "borrowed" with her own strength didn't need to be repaid!

"I 'will' repay you, I swear!" Freya was growing frustrated, a rare feeling for her. If she were stronger right now, she'd silence him just to end this embarrassing exchange.

"Oh, so what if 'I' came to your home to 'borrow' something, and then promised to return it in forty days?" Lucas asked with a slight smirk.

"I'd cut you down… uh…" Freya's words slipped out before she could stop herself. Realizing her blunder, she closed her mouth, blushing furiously, feeling thoroughly humiliated.

"Cut me down?" Lucas nodded thoughtfully, then replied calmly, "Well, in that case, maybe I should also… cut 'you' down?"

"You…" Freya took a cautious step back, her suspicion rising.

"Young master…" Mina approached from behind and tugged at Lucas's sleeve. She stood on tiptoe and whispered in his ear, "Young master, Freya was the one who helped us in the Helen's Tribe."

"Huh? Is that so?" Lucas was somewhat surprised. He looked over at Freya, who seemed embarrassed but still held her head high in pride.

She was a wolf beastkin knight with faith and pride, of course, excluding that shameless side she'd just shown.

Freya overheard Mina's whispering, which made her cheeks flush slightly. She had been looking for the princess, and it was only by chance that she had encountered the slave traders. It wasn't exactly 'helping.'

"Alright, since you helped Mina and the others, I'll let the cucumber theft slide." Lucas said with a deadpan expression.

"What?" Freya was immediately angered by Lucas's expression. What was with that look? Was he implying that she, a royal wolf beastkin knight from the Valtoria Beastkin Kingdom, couldn't repay a few cucumbers?

"I said, I'm not going to pursue the matter of the stolen cucumbers." Lucas replied lazily.

"No! Who stole anything? I 'borrowed' them, and I'll return them!" Freya's face was serious as she retorted, her pride now fully awakened. She couldn't accept this—was she really worth just a few cucumbers?

"Huh? You really plan to return them?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, barely suppressing a smile. "Then when exactly are you going to repay? If you say forty days, then forget it, I'll just consider it a gift to you."

"No, no, that's not it! I…" Freya, usually composed, lost her cool entirely. She quickly shouted, "I can help you kill someone!"

"Yes, I can help you kill anyone you want, and I'll consider it repayment for the cucumbers!" Freya said earnestly.

"…" Lucas twitched his lips and rolled his eyes. "I don't have anyone I want to kill."

"Forget it. Just go!" Lucas turned away, waving his hand dismissively. "You can repay me in forty days."

"You… You clearly don't believe I'll repay you!" Freya gritted her teeth.

"Huh? You really would?" Lucas turned back, surprised. "I thought you were joking."

"You…" Freya's wolf tail bristled, her irritation rising. She had an almost uncontrollable urge to charge at this noble and kill him. The way he spoke made it seem like she'd take his cucumbers without ever intending to pay him back!

"Then tell me, what will you use to repay me?" Lucas turned around, arms crossed, and said, "Silver coins will work too!"

"Silver? Silver coins??" Freya stared at him with wide amber eyes, shocked. "It's just a few cucumbers, and you want silver coins?"

Coins? Freya didn't have any. Not a single one. She had given all her money to Bella to recruit soldiers, and recently, she had been wandering the Forbidden Mountain, surviving on hunting. Coins were the least of her concerns.

"Of course. Have you ever seen vegetables in winter? Have you ever seen cucumbers like these before?" Lucas asked, firing two questions in a row.

"No!" Freya honestly shook her head.

"Well then, I think it's fair to charge a hundred copper coins for each cucumber," Lucas said, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. Of course, a hundred copper coins was a ridiculous price. He'd sell them to the merchants for about ninety nine copper coins at most.

Freya paused for a moment, remembering the indulgent lifestyle of the noble merchants, then nodded reluctantly. "That's not unreasonable."

"Well then, the cucumbers you stole last night must have been at least twenty or thirty, right?" Lucas said slowly. "And you broke the cucumber vines. Originally, new cucumbers would have grown in ten days, but now they're all gone."

"..." Freya was momentarily speechless, feeling awkward. It seemed like no matter how the situation was explained, she was always in the wrong.

"By this calculation, you owe me at least several dozen silver coins." Lucas said calmly.

"I..." Freya was once again at a loss for words. What was she supposed to do? Was she really going to have to carry the reputation of stealing cucumbers? If Princess and Bella found out, they would probably laugh at her for the rest of her life.

"..." Mina rolled her eyes. This wolf-eared girl had really managed to get herself tangled up in this. How naive could she be?