'Massive Debt' Scenario

"You pay back what you borrow. That's common sense, ain't it!? Huh!?"

"Fweh… b-but I didn't borrow… this much, uu…"

"There's this thing called interest! It's common sense! The money I lent your father — if I'd used it for something else, I could've made a profit! Since I lent it to him, paying interest is only natural! This ain't no charity, y'know? You get that!? Huh!?"

"Fwehhh…"

In a debt collector's office, surrounded by three rough-looking large men, the girl stiffened.

Scary. They had scars on their faces, probably former adventurers. Men who wouldn't hesitate to use violence. Scary.

Please don't yell. Her mind was going blank. Scary. Scary.

Don't glare at her. Scary. It felt like she'd be bitten. Spit was flying. Scary. Smelly. Scary.

"Now, now, calm down, Guild Master."

"Huh!? But this brat's old man ran off without paying!"

"But yelling at her won't make money appear, will it?"

"Hmph, that's true. So, how's she gonna settle this?"

"We'll have her work."

"Work… ah, that's right, that's a fine idea!"

"Now then, young lady. It might be a bit tough, but would you be willing to do a job we've prepared for you? … Young lady? Hellooo? Are you listening? Oh dear, can't hear us?"

Scary, scary, scary.

They're saying something. She wanted to run. Right now, from here. She wanted to go home.

But no, that was no good — she'd been kicked out because she couldn't pay rent anymore. Can't go back. But she wanted to. She'd be hit. Scary.

Her father who drowned in alcohol and beat her was gone now. Her mother had disappeared long ago. But her home was gone too. She'd been caught right when she tried to run, and now she was here.

Scary. She wanted to go home. Scary. Scary.

"—Will you offer?"

"… Fweh?"

"Will you offer everything to the spirit?"

That voice reached the girl's ears. Unlike the yelling men, it was a gentle voice.

So, she answered "yes" without thinking. She had answered.

"I wanna start right away, so default's fine I guess."

The next moment. A wind blew.

 

＊　＊　＊

 

"Wha!? Hm? T-this girl, her appearance just changed a bit…?"

"Fool! Wait. Don't touch her! Keep your distance. Get in front of me. Don't surround her."

"Y-yes sir, understood."

"Listen, don't say anything unnecessary. I'll do the talking…"

The men calmly assessed the situation. Seeing the halo on her head.

They were well-informed merchants. Of course they knew what it meant.

Spirit-possessed. If you valued your life, do everything possible to not get involved. They were monsters whose principles and values differ greatly from humanity.

But. Spirit-possessed hold immense power, which means they could bring great profit if used well.

This merchant's judgment was swift.

He ran the calculations in his head. Fail and suffer great loss, or death. Let her go and lose about one person's debt. Succeed and make a fortune.

First, observe. The girl opened her eyes… No killing intent. No hostility. Not yet, for now.

Survival came first. Even if she defaulted, it wasn't worth his life.

Treat her as a valuable customer, an unpredictable one. Respond appropriately with that mindset.

"Ahem, well. I said some threatening things, but I'd like to sort out the situation first. Would that be alright?"

"Mm, ah, yeah, sure."

Saying that, the girl sat quietly. She seemed mentally stable enough to listen at least.

Good, thought the merchant, settling in to continue.

"Your father ran off leaving a huge debt. The total is about 10 gold coins — 10 million zeny."

"10 million!? That's probably an insane amount!"

The girl spoke as if entertained, and the merchant frowned, wondering if she understood it was about her.

Ah, no. Maybe she just didn't have common sense. Right.

"By this country's laws, you've inherited that debt. Because you were used as collateral for multiple loans. Got that?"

"Ohhh… so that's how it goes. I'd love to refuse, but if it's the law, can't be helped. My old man sucks."

"Indeed. I agree with that."

Got her, the merchant's eyes lit up.

This Spirit-Possessed seemed to have enough common sense to respect the law.

They could negotiate. However. Being able to negotiate didn't mean she'd agree.

"Someone like you, working in the pleasure district for 10 years would easily pay it off. If some rich merchant or noble took a liking to you, you might pay it back even faster."

"Sexy stuff!? Like, lewd stuff!? Wait, nobody told me about that!?"

"Ah, aah! But that would be cruel for a young lady, wouldn't it!? My heart aches for your circumstances! So, I'll give you some time!"

Seeing the girl's reaction, the merchant hurriedly continued.

He conveyed that he was an ally. Not an enemy. When he did, the girl who had started to rise sat back down to listen.

"I'll waive the loose change, take no interest. You can pay in installments."

"Oh. So I just pay back an even 10 million!"

"Indeed, indeed. Just pay us. Ah yes, how about trying to pay 1 silver coin — 10,000 zeny — in the first week? If you can earn, we'll increase the payments, but first let's see how it goes. Alright?"

"Hmm, but how am I supposed to earn?"

"R-right! Good point. We're betting on your talents here, but yes… how about trying to gather things in the forest? We'll buy what we can, and we can buy almost anything. Oh, we'll accept payment in goods too."

Spirit-possessed were said to hold great power. In that case, just gathering from deep in the forest should easily net 10,000 zeny.

For now, one week of observation. If she earns, good. If she simply doesn't know the value of things and fails to earn, he could teach her what's valuable. If she doesn't survive and dies, that's fine too. At least he'd survive. Can't be too greedy.

Anyway, let's see if she can survive a week in the forest.

"Okay!"

"Then please wear this anklet. This lets us track your location, so we can send someone to buy from you."

"Feels like being monitored."

"… Perceptive. This is called a debtor monitoring anklet. You can take it off once you've paid in full."

"Hmm, well, whatever. I am a debtor after all."

The girl obediently put on the anklet. Being honest rather than hiding it seemed to have worked.

The merchant breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, where's this forest?"

"Ah. We'll take you there. Hey, escort her by carriage."

"Y-yes sir."

"Thank you very much!"

And so, the merchant gained a connection to a Spirit-Possessed.

When they secretly watched from hiding after dropping her off, she'd apparently cleared a section of forest and built a house in an instant…

The merchant went limp with relief, grateful his judgment to remain friendly hadn't been wrong.