Tribe Conquest: Harem starts in a tribe!-Chapter 16: Loan

The entrance door was banged hard three to four times with fists, a rough voice coming from outside,

"Buan, come out and pay us!"

’What now?!’ Buan screamed in his heart, frustrated by the constant trouble finding him.

However, on the outside, he remained calm, not to worry his stepmother and sister.

Getting up from his chair, he went to the door and opened it.

In his sight appeared three middle aged men, all dressed in similar attires, an insignia of a huge tree on their cotton, green robes.

They weren’t burly like the other warriors of the tribe; instead, they appeared leaner but sharp, like some muscular, old scholars.

In the memories of the original owner, there was information about them.

These three gentlemen were from the Julla tribe. They were sent by their tribe to the Vila tribe for maintaining trade shops and opening up a bank that maintained the money flow.

In this tribal world, money was managed by the Julla tribe.

The Julla Tribe was a merchant tribe. Its location was what made it a different entity altogether. If you were to create a line in the exact center of the forest, joining the east and west directions, then the Julla tribe would fall on the easternmost point on this line.

Vila tribe would fall to the south of this line, seventy five kilometers away from the Julla tribe.

However, what made the Julla Tribe different from the rest of the tribes was its nature.

The Julla tribe was weak with no powerful warriors; however, they were more advanced in craftsmanship. They created clothes made of cotton, silk, jute, and other materials. They crafted high-quality weapons from different metals.

If there was any tribe that held the highest influence in the entire forest, it would be the Julla tribe.

They were like an epicenter of trade. Every tribe sold their goods to them in exchange for their goods. The Julla tribe bought goods from every tribe and sold them to others at a higher price.

They also produced copper, silver, and gold coins. They were the ones responsible for money management and goods exchange.

One might ask how they obtained such methods, and the answer was the god they worshipped. It is said their ancestors received the divine knowledge from the God of Maya, the god responsible for craftsmanship and technology.

Much like how the Vila Tribe and Roen Tribe worshipped the Sun God.

Julla Tribe, to expand further, opened trade shops and banks in each tribe, sending their representatives.

"Buan, we don’t think you can repay your loan after losing a leg. We would like our money now, and if you can’t pay us, then your house will be ours to sell and recover our money." The one in the front spoke, appearing the oldest and most experienced among the three merchants.

From the original owner’s memories, Buan knew the full story.

After Buan’s father died, Buan and his elder sister, Elira, who was five years older than him, were left alone in Buan’s current house.

This house was a gift from Buan’s father to Buan, the only inheritance his father left him. There were also his father’s bow, spear, sword, and other weapons; however, they were taken by the tribe as tribal treasures.

Without any way to sustain herself, Elira went and took out a huge loan against Buan’s house as collateral; however, when Buan came to know about it, he naturally protested.

But to Buan’s surprise, she had already spent most of the loan amount on luxurious spending like eating in the most expensive inn in the tribe everyday, buying jewelries and expensive clothes to show off to her friends.

When he tried to go to the bank to clarify that the house was his, Elira called Rokan and his goons to beat up Buan. And when all the money was spent, she simply married Rokan, abandoning Buan to deal with the loan himself.

When Buan went to the bank to explain what had happened, they said that Elira, being the daughter of the former patriarch, would inherit half of the house. Her loan would be valid against the house as a partial owner.

Buan was finally left with two options: either sell the house and take his share or pay back the loan to keep the house to himself.

He chose the second option.

However, to no avail, he couldn’t even pay back the interest, leading to the current situation.

’What a messed up situation.’ Buan commented internally.

He, looking at the three indignant merchants, folded his hands and spoke confidently: "Who said I cannot pay back the loan?"

"Oh? You can?" The merchant at the back, clearly the youngest among them, asked with wide eyes.

The other, extending his palm, demanded, "Pay us then."

The corner of Buan’s mouth twitched.

"I didn’t mean now. I’m saying I’m capable of paying you back, so have patience." Buan said with folded hands.

The oldest merchant in the front, sized him up from top to bottom, his gaze stopping at the wooden leg.

He frowned and asked: "How do you plan to pay us back?"

In that moment, Buan’s eyes shone with a resolute light of confidence. "I will hunt spirit beasts. Sell them and pay you back."

The three of them looked at Buan with a stupefied expression, doubting their ears as if they had heard wrong. They remained dazed for a while, unable to react.

"Pfft—!"

Suddenly, one of them burst into laughter, the other two following suit.

After a few moments of laughing to their hearts’ content, the oldest one spoke while wiping the tears from the corner of his eyes.

"Buan, spirit beasts aren’t some bugs that you can just go and hunt. Even experienced warriors lose their lives." He paused and then smirked, "Even when you had a leg, you couldn’t hunt normal animals. And now with a wooden leg, you want to hunt spirit beasts? Stop your bullshit."

At this moment, the one in the middle said hurriedly, "Why even waste time talking to him? Let’s just take the house."

Buan suddenly felt the situation becoming tense. If he couldn’t get enough time from them to pay back the loan, everything would be for naught. His house would be taken away, and the grand elder would get to laugh in his face.

The mother who believed in him would become a laughingstock. Even he wouldn’t be able to lift his head because of shame.

Moreover, without the house, where would he live?

He was already unfamiliar in this world, and without a house to live in, it would be a death sentence.

"One month!" He yelled, grabbing the attention of all three merchants. "I will hunt a spirit beast in a month, and if I can’t, then you can take my house."

Suddenly, the merchants turned quiet. Their eyes reflected interest.

They looked at him, exchanged glances between them, and then nodded to each other as if agreeing.

The one in the front spoke. "Alright. One month is nothing to us. But remember your promise today."

Buan nodded confidently, assuring the merchants.

The three merchants smiled, satisfied by this outcome, as one of them suggested. "Since we are done here, Let’s return. I left my shop with my assistant. He is new, I don’t want to leave him incharge for long."

The other two nodded in agreement.

However, as they turned around to leave, Buan called out to them, remembering something. "Wait!"

He ran up to them and extended his palm at them. "Can you give me a small loan?" He asked with a shameless smile.

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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)