Chapter 66
I think back to a year ago.
The loans I made last June amounted to about 95,000 MP.
That came to roughly 3,000 MP a day.
Back then, my maximum mana was just under 1,000 MP.
I recovered 2,400 MP a day naturally.
I made up the difference with magic recovery potions.
Back then, my natural mana recovery couldn't keep up with how much mana Guy and the others used, so I drank magic recovery potions to somehow get by.
Normally, I shouldn't have needed to drink potions myself.
Since I was only lending them my mana anyway, Guy and the others should've been the ones to drink them.
But they kept insisting, "They're gross, so you drink them."
It's true that magic recovery potions taste awful.
They taste absolutely vile.
On top of that, if you don't get used to them and build up a tolerance, they cause side effects like nausea and headaches, and taking them repeatedly makes those effects even worse.
Until I got used to them, it was pure hell.
I endured that suffering and kept drinking potions every day.
They'd even forced that pain on me.
During today's duel, Misa was desperately chugging them while trying to hold back nausea.
The bill for making me take them had finally come due.
What I went through was far worse than that.
At least building up a tolerance to the potions was a good thing.
But I'll never forget how, while I was swallowing a potion and fighting back nausea, they spat, "Hey, useless, drink another one! We still don't have nearly enough mana!"
To avoid hell, they'll have to keep drinking magic recovery potions every day from now on.
Whether their bodies can endure that pain is none of my concern.
It's a small thing, but it's part of my revenge too.
Suffer the way I did!
Just as I start to get swept up in my rising anger――Rinka squeezes my hand tightly.
"Thanks."
"No. Are you all right?"
"Yeah."
My anger quickly fades.
I can think calmly again.
MP watched Rinka and me with keen interest.
"I think I get it. At the next collection, the interest will go up by the increase in the amount of mana we can collect, right?"
"That's right~"
"But their repayments are already right at the limit. At this rate, they won't even be able to cover the interest."
"Bingo~"
"And the next collection date is... nine days from now."
"That's right~"
That day would be the entrance to the hell MP had told me about.
"By the way, what are the exact figures?"
"Right now, the interest due every ten days is 114,924 MP. If the new interest starting next time stays at 8%, it'll be 122,511 MP. Their maximum daily repayment is 11,508 MP. At this rate, they'll be short by 7,431 MP~"
7,431 MP.
There are several kinds of magic recovery potions, but given Guy and the others' mana capacity, the most efficient one restores 500 MP per bottle.
That's the one I've been drinking for the past year, and the same one Misa drank during the duel today.
This potion costs 10,000 gold a bottle.
They'll have to drink fifteen bottles to cover the interest.
Five per person.
It might be tough for people who aren't used to drinking them, but nine days should be enough time.
But the real problem is money.
――We can use up the rest of our magic recovery potions!!
Guy had said that during the fight.
They must be almost out of the potions they had on hand by now.
Could they come up with 150,000 gold when they're so broke they can't even afford Repair Liquid...?
Could they manage it by selling their equipment?
Their gear was fairly good to begin with, but from what I saw today, it was battered and hadn't even been properly repaired. Wouldn't it be worth less than a tenth of its original price?
And this wouldn't be the only interest payment.
At this rate, they'd have to keep drinking fifteen magic recovery potions every ten days.
If they sold their gear, earning money from then on would be even harder.
On the other hand, selling their mana recovery bracelets might get them through the short term, but it would leave them with no choice but to go bankrupt.
――No matter what they do, they're screwed.
"So, Master, you have three options~"
"Three?"
"The first is to keep the interest rate at 8%, as I mentioned earlier."
"Right."
"The other two are—"
The three options MP laid out.
I choose one of them.
"—All right, let's go with this one."
"Understood~"
Well, I can't wait for nine days from now――.