Chapter 51
“No, Master, you don’t need to feel bad about it~”
“Why?”
“They had plenty of chances to pay me back~ The only ones at fault are those cesspool-dwelling bastards who kept ignoring them~”
“They had chances to pay me back? But...”
Before my Gift evolved, back when it was the Magic Vault, I couldn’t use 【Forced Collection】, so I had no way to demand repayment.
“It’s true that you couldn’t demand repayment with the Magic Vault, Master~ But they could have returned the magic they borrowed at any time~”
“Huh?”
“The borrower’s status shows how much they owe~ And they can make repayments voluntarily from there~”
“R-really?”
“Yes! Does that ring any bells?”
I searched through my distant memories—back to when I’d just become an adventurer.
“……………………Oh!!”
Now that I thought about it, there had been several times when my magic had recovered at odd moments.
I hadn’t given it much thought at the time, but had one of the three been returning the magic they’d borrowed from me...?
It was so long ago that I’d completely forgotten...
“Those sewer crickets were making repayments at first, too~”
“They were...?”
“But eventually they realized there wouldn’t be any consequences if they stopped paying, so they did~”
“…………”
“That’s just how people are~”
Those bastards knew all along and still didn’t pay me back!
Even though they knew exactly how much magic they’d borrowed from me, they still kicked me out!
After treating me so humiliatingly, too!
As my anger rose, I realized something.
“Did you make the repayment amount equal to the interest on purpose?”
“That’s right~”
I remembered what MP had said before――.
――Let’s collect 11,492 MP a day, about 99 percent of what they can manage to repay~.
The daily collection amount was 11,492 MP.
Multiply that by ten, and it came out exactly to the interest charged every ten days.
That was just barely within what they could repay.
But that was because the interest rate was set at 8%.
――At ten percent, they’d go bust right away, so let’s make it around eight percent~.
If the interest rate were set to the maximum of 10%, they wouldn’t even be able to pay off the interest.
So MP was squeezing them for all they were worth, keeping them alive but never letting them off the hook...
“I did at least give those little shits a choice~”
“You did?”
“They didn’t have to use only their own magic to make repayments~”
“What do you mean?”
“They could have used Magic Recovery Potions, then put the recovered magic toward repayment~”
“Oh, I see...”
“Though it seems they wasted the Magic Recovery Potions they had on hand, too~”
“…………”
“If they’d put everything they had into repayment from the start, they could’ve paid it all off in under a year~”
“…………”
If they’d felt even the slightest remorse, they would have put everything they had into repaying it, just as MP said.
But they hadn’t...
Something inside me was freezing solid.
“I see. Then there’s absolutely no need to show them any mercy.”
“Yes~!! You’re amazing when you’re like this, Master~!!!”
Until now, there’d been a soft spot tucked away in my heart.
Some part of me had still thought that if they repaid the magic and properly apologized, I might forgive them...
But that feeling had just been shattered into pieces and vanished.
I’d collect from them down to the marrow of their bones, until their lives were worn away.
――That was my resolve.
The warmth was draining from my heart――.
Suddenly, Rinka squeezed my hand tightly.
“D-don’t worry, Rento-san. I’m here with you!”
“R-Rinka...”
Warmth flowed from her hand.
I’d been on the verge of being swallowed by something.
I’d been on the verge of losing something precious to me as a person.
Rinka had pulled me back from the brink.
Thanks to her, I’d managed to hold on.
“Thank you, Rinka.”
“I just... I was afraid you were drifting somewhere far away, Rento-san...”
“It’s okay. I’m all right now. You saved me.”
“That’s good~”
If Rinka hadn’t been there, things could’ve gone badly.
A cold sweat trickled down my back.
If I’d kept going like that, I would’ve...
Even now, I couldn’t stop trembling.
“Master, are you all right~?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ve made up my mind. Let’s get ready for tomorrow.”
“Then let’s buy that Skill we talked about~”
Tomorrow, I’d come face-to-face with those bastards.
The preparations for that wouldn’t take much effort.
There was just one thing to do: buy a Skill.
With this Skill, I could easily turn the tables on them.
It cost a hefty 150,000 MP, but I’d saved up enough over the past week.
All that was left was to move my finger.
I adjusted my status and bought the Skill I had in mind――.