"Here are your slippers, please come in,"
Gabriel mumbled, hurriedly kicking off her own shoes and guiding Haruto down the genkan into her apartment.
Taking in the room, Haruto noticed it was kept reasonably neat and tidy—a sign that Gabriel hadn't fully devolved into a complete shut-in goblin just yet.
She quickly escorted him over to her desk, gesturing frantically toward the glowing monitor.
Seeing the exact scene frozen on her screen, Haruto didn't look surprised in the least. In fact, a quiet, knowing smirk crossed his lips.
"So, let me guess. You're trying to borrow money to buy a microtransaction item for this game?" he asked, pointing directly at the glowing cash shop window.
"Ugh..."
Gabriel felt a fresh wave of embarrassment wash over her, but she nodded solemnly, bringing her hands together in a desperate, pleading prayer.
As her divine panic peaked, a pair of soft, ethereal white wings unfurled from her back, radiating a faint, frantic holy light.
"..."
Haruto's expression twisted into an amused, slightly deadpan stare.
She was seriously ready to sell her soul to "save" an utterly generic NPC intentionally programmed to bait players into opening their wallets.
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh.
Noticing her unwavering, single-minded determination, the gears in Haruto's head began to turn, formulating a brilliant, long-term strategy.
"Ahem."
He cleared his throat, crossing his arms. "I can lend you the funds, Gabriel."
"Really?! Oh, thank goodness! He'll definitely be saved now, and he'll thank you for your generosity!"
Gabriel's golden eyes sparkled with starry-eyed relief, her hands trembling as she reached eagerly toward the keyboard.
"Hold on. Not so fast."
Haruto raised a finger, shaking his head.
"You're the one saving him, not me. I'm merely acting as a private lender. I'll front the cash, but make no mistake—every single yen will have to be paid back."
"I will! I swear it! I'll pay you back the moment my next heavenly allowance drops!" Gabriel promised frantically, nodding her head so fast it looked like it might pop off.
Haruto tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I trust an angel's word in theory. But business is business, especially between neighbors. I'd feel much more comfortable if we drafted a formal contract."
"A contract?"
Gabriel blinked in surprise.
For a moment, she hesitated, before concentrating her divine focus.
With a soft chime, a magnificent, glowing scroll of parchment materialized out of thin air, covered in intricate, traditional kanji seals.
"This is a binding Three-Realm Accord. It carries absolute spiritual authority. You can write your terms right onto the surface."
"Impressive," Haruto murmured, taking the scroll and running a finger along its edge, instantly sensing the faint, supernatural hum of magic radiating from it.
Satisfied that she wasn't bluffing, he pulled out a pen and began drafting the conditions.
A minute later, he spun the parchment around.
"Take a look."
Gabriel leaned in, reading through the brush-painted text:
[1. Gabriel is permitted to request emergency micro-loans from Haruto at any time.]
[2. Each individual borrowed amount must be fully repaid within a strict three-month window.]
[3. The cumulative total of active debt Gabriel may hold at any given time cannot exceed 150,000 yen.]
[4. Should Gabriel fail to satisfy the repayment conditions of clause #2 or exceed the limit in clause #3, she must unconditionally submit to one absolute request of Haruto's choosing.]
"Wait a minute..." Gabriel blinked, her brows furrowing. "Clauses one, three, and four seem completely unnecessary! I only need to borrow the money this one time, and I'll easily pay it back next month!"
Haruto, however, maintained an unflinching, knowing smile. Knowing the predatory nature of gacha and pay-to-win games, he knew this was only the very first step down a very slippery slope.
"Consider it my standard safety net," Haruto said smoothly, shrugging his shoulders.
"Agree to the terms, and the funds are yours instantly."
Gabriel hesitated, casting a sidelong glance back at the monitor where the elderly NPC let out one final, agonizing cough.
That sealed her fate.
Her angelic guilt and gamer pride took the wheel, completely overriding her common sense.
"Fine! I agree to the terms!"
Driven entirely by impulse, Gabriel grabbed a brush seal, stamped her signature across the parchment, and pressed her palm against the glowing seal, sealing the supernatural contract with absolute confidence in her future self.
"Wonderful. Hand over the contract for safekeeping."
After slipping the glowing scroll safely into his jacket pocket, Haruto wore a deeply satisfied grin.
The trap was officially set.
With a few taps on his phone, he transferred the exact sum directly to her digital account.
"There you go. If you ever find yourself short again in the future, don't hesitate to ask."
With a casual wave, Haruto turned and strolled out of her apartment, leaving a wide-eyed Gabriel to dive headfirst into her virtual hero's journey.
Meanwhile, he walked back to his own place, eagerly looking forward to spending the rest of his evening enjoying some well-earned, relaxing company with his favorite bunny-girl senpai.
Ding!
[Ding! Esdeath has sent a trade request!]
Before Haruto even had the chance to turn the knob and step back inside his own apartment, the familiar digital chime of the chat group echoed in his mind, flashing a brand-new notification across his vision.
"Esdeath?"
He blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing his features.
While he had previously granted the Ice Queen access to the group's sub-functions, he certainly hadn't anticipated her initiating a trade request quite this quickly.
And the preview of the trade details instantly caught his attention.
[Trade Content]: Engage in a duel to the death—or absolute submission—with Esdeath. The winner takes everything!
[Ding! Please select your trade terms, Group Leader!]
"A duel, huh?"
Haruto's lips curved into a slow, amused smirk.
Knowing Esdeath's infamous reputation as a bloodthirsty battle maniac and the undisputed strongest general of the Empire, a challenge like this fit her personality to absolute perfection.
Curious, he pulled up her detailed profile interface within the group.
[Name]: Esdeath
[Level]: 34
[Ability]: None
[Possession]: "Demon God Manifestation: Demon's Extract"
At level 34, she was vastly superior to the likes of Prime Minister Honest's loyal attack dogs or general power scalers like Budo.
It was no wonder she held the title of the Empire's strongest warrior. However, what caught Haruto's eye was her listed possession.
"Demon's Extract... The primordial beast's blood that grants absolute manipulation over ice. So the system classifies it as an independent possession rather than an innate ability?"
He had initially assumed Esdeath possessed a natural-born superpower, but the distinction made sense. Still, it didn't change the outcome.
No matter how masterful her mastery of ice was, her output was fundamentally limited compared to his reality-bending capabilities.
In fact, acquiring the Demon's Extract through this system trade would make for a magnificent trophy—and perhaps a rather dangerous, useful gift to bestow upon one of his own women back home if the right opportunity arose.
"Winner takes all, huh?" Haruto muttered, his eyes glinting with a sharp, competitive light. "I like the sound of that."
Completely confident in his absolute supremacy and more than ready to put the arrogant general in her place, Haruto tapped the screen to modify the parameters, deciding to raise the stakes before accepting.
*****
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