Chapter 65
Late into the night, we were finally released from the banquet and staggered back to the inn.
As soon as we entered the room, Rinka collapsed onto the bed.
When Rinka let down her ponytail, her sky-blue hair spread across the bed.
“Phew... I can’t eat another bite...”
Throughout the banquet, Rinka had kept eating nonstop, barely drinking at all.
Someone had thoughtfully replaced the plate in front of her with a fresh one every time it was emptied.
I wonder how many people’s worth of food she ate.
I’m curious, but too scared to ask...
Now, she had a blissful expression on her face as she declared she couldn’t eat another bite.
Meanwhile, MP was...
“MP got drunk too...”
During the banquet, MP had been sitting on my lap, secretly nibbling at the food I gave them.
That was all well and good, but after MP had eaten her fill of the flour-based dishes, MP said, “I want to try some alcohol...”
It was MP’s first time drinking alcohol.
MP must’ve had a bit too much, because MP’s face was red and MP was swaying unsteadily.
Even the wings on MP’s back were moving more awkwardly than usual.
I’d eaten and drunk a fair amount myself, but I was used to banquets and had kept myself in check, so I wasn’t nearly as bad as the two of them.
The two who weren’t used to it seemed to have gone past their limits.
“You two, good work tonight. Want some water?”
“Thank you!”
“Sorry for troubling you, Master...”
“It’s all right, it’s all right. Don’t worry about it.”
A hangover remedy for MP.
A digestive medicine for Rinka.
I dissolved the medicine in water, poured it into glasses, and handed them to the two of them.
The one I gave MP was a shot glass, the kind used for strong liquor.
It was just the right size for MP, so I’d bought it at a general goods store.
After a while, the two of them seemed to have settled down quite a bit.
Little by little, they started chatting.
“You were so cool today, Rento-san!”
“I was completely captivated by you, Master!!”
I wasn’t exactly unhappy to hear them praise me.
“This should mean Rinka won’t be in any danger now.”
――From now on, you are not to come within five meters of me or any member of my party. You are not to attack us in any way.
Those were the terms of the duel’s pledge.
I had Creditor Protection, so I could handle things no matter what.
There was a chance those guys might lash out and target Rinka, so I had to bind them with the pledge.
“Thank you for looking out for me!”
“No, no. This was my problem to begin with. I can’t let you get dragged into it.”
“That should teach those worthless pieces of trash...”
“I hope they’ll learn from it.”
I had no intention of going easy on them even if they did, but it still made me feel a little better.
“Still, they were absolutely awful. They were just as despicable as the guys who used me as bait!”
“That’s what trash debtors are like... Their only value in life is repaying their debts. Once they’ve paid them off, they can die.”
The two of them launched into a tirade against those guys.
For a while, insults flew back and forth.
I didn’t join in, but I listened to them badmouth those guys, feeling a weight lift off my chest.
And then――once the conversation had died down, I asked MP about something that had been bothering me.
“Hey, why did these numbers go up?”
When I checked my status, it looked like this.
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【Loan Status】
・'Sky-Cleaving Sword':
Amount Lent: 2,678,078 MP
Collectible Amount: 1,435,837 MP → 1,531,394 MP
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The collectible amount had increased by nearly 100,000.
It hadn’t changed as of yesterday.
When I checked just now, it had suddenly gone up.
Those guys were desperately making repayments every day.
I thought the amount could go down, but not go up...
“Oh, that? I forgot to explain it properly...”
MP bowed their head.
“Yeah, what do you mean?”
“Please look at ‘Collectible Mana’ under ‘Forced Collection’ on your status...”
“Yeah.”
I did as MP said.
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【Collectible Mana】
・Mana lent at least one year ago (monthly cutoff)
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“Um, could this ‘monthly cutoff’ part have something to do with it?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s calculated monthly.”
“Uh, okay...”
“As the description says, mana becomes collectible one year after it’s lent.”
“Yeah.”
“But keeping track of every single day would be a hassle, so we divide it into monthly periods.”
“Right, right.”
“We started collecting this month, on the tenth day of the sixth month.”
“Ah, it’s already been that long.”
Yesterday was the thirtieth day of the sixth month. And today is the first day of the seventh month.
It’s been three weeks since I was driven out. It felt like a short time and a long time all at once.
“So at first, the mana lent by the end of the fifth month last year was collectible.”
“Ah.”
“And now it’s the seventh month. The 95,557 MP lent during the sixth month last year has become collectible too.”
“Ah, I see... So basically, every time the month changes, the amount I can get back increases.”
“That’s right.”
“And in the end, once a year has passed, all 2,678,078 MP lent will become collectible.”
“Correct!”