"Oh, I feel so much better!"
"Thank you so much, Tanaka-kun!"
"I never would have guessed a Merchant could have such a useful support skill!"
Suzuki smiled softly, letting the exhausting praise wash over him. Deep within his mind, he could physically feel the faint, invisible tethers connecting him to every single student who had just accepted his mana transfer.
[Loan Shark].
It was one of his most deeply unsettling skills. It allowed him to lend anything he possessed—including pure mana—to another person. But magic always came with a price. If the borrower failed to repay the debt, the system legally authorized Suzuki to forcibly repossess their assets, their skills, or even their freedom to clear the balance.
Naturally, he didn't want to trap his own classmates in crippling debt. But he was a pragmatist.
If he hadn't known the dark, twisted plot of Arifureta, he might not have resorted to such underhanded tactics. But he knew exactly how treacherous this world was. He knew that some of his classmates—especially the bullied outcasts or the arrogant delinquents—were practically ticking time bombs.
Loan Shark, huh?
He had to wonder why his soul had manifested such a predatory skill. Was he genuinely capable of such evil?
No, he didn't think so. He had always tried to treat others with polite, professional good faith. But if someone actively tried to mess with him or threaten his peaceful life? They needed to be prepared to lose absolutely everything. He would ruin them completely. The mana loans were just a quiet, invisible countermeasure. If no one betrayed him, the contracts would remain dormant, and everything would be peaceful.
As for the interest rate on the mana?
Suzuki wasn't a monster to his classmates. He only attached a minuscule 3% monthly interest rate.
Yet... if they kept asking him for mana out of convenience...
Suzuki kept his smile perfectly harmless. To maintain the absurd luxury of his [Subspace Penthouse], the Manager AI required a constant, passive trickle of mana. The more classmates who borrowed from him, the more "interest" he could passively siphon from their recovering reserves to power his air conditioning and espresso machine.
It was a perfectly balanced ecosystem.
"Now then... 1,600 gold coins..."
What should he do with his massive injection of capital?
It was a staggering amount of liquid cash. He could easily hire a formidable mercenary army and violently seize a minor territory. But he wasn't a noble, and he had absolutely zero desire to govern an army. A massive private military would immediately draw the paranoid, aggressive attention of the King and the Holy Church. That was entirely too troublesome.
He needed to invest his capital quietly.
No, he wouldn't buy any more Black Pepper or MSG. Scarcity was the core driver of value. If he flooded the market with his modern spices right now, the exorbitant prices would crash, ruining his massive margins. He needed a new venture.
Hmm?
As he walked down the dimly lit, stone corridors of the castle toward the dormitories, the sound of hushed, desperate voices caught his attention. He paused, leaning slightly against the cold wall to listen.
"Come on, man, can you please lend me some money? Please?"
"Are you kidding me?! You haven't even paid me back for last week's tavern tab! I need to buy new armor, you know!"
"Please, just this one time! I finally convinced the barmaid to go on a date with me! I don't need much! Just five gold coins!"
"Five gold coins is a massive fortune, you idiot! How much do you think our monthly salary actually is?!"
"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?! If I show up broke, she's going to dump me!"
Suzuki's eyes gleamed behind his glasses. He stepped out from the shadows, his footsteps perfectly silent on the stone floor.
"Excuse me, gentlemen."
"UWAAAA!"
The two armored knights practically jumped out of their skin, their hands instinctively flying to the hilts of their swords. But as they turned, they recognized the tall, handsome teenager standing before them.
It was one of the "Heroes" summoned from the higher plane. Specifically, it was the Merchant who had smoothly convinced Captain Meld to let him tour the city earlier that day.
"I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Suzuki said, his smile as warm and harmless as a Golden Retriever's. "It sounds like you need some immediate funding. Would you like me to lend it to you?"
"Eh?! You... you would actually do that?!"
The desperate knight stared at Suzuki in absolute disbelief.
"I don't mind at all," Suzuki nodded gently. "But in exchange, I simply hope that you and your squad will take extra good care of my friends during combat training. They are very new to this, after all."
Ah!
The knights immediately relaxed, their faces breaking into wide, understanding grins. This young Merchant was just trying to bribe them to go easy on his classmates. It made perfect sense!
"Don't you worry about a thing, kid!" the desperate knight laughed, thumping his armored chest. "We'll treat your friends like absolute royalty!"
"Excellent," Suzuki purred. He held out his hand, and a glowing piece of parchment instantly materialized from thin air. "I'm sure you don't mind signing a standard contract, right? There is a small, standard interest rate involved."
"I DON'T MIND AT ALL!"
The knight didn't care about the details. As long as he got the cash for his date, he was happy.
"....."
Suzuki stared at the heavily armed, theoretically elite soldier for a long moment, genuinely baffled by his utter stupidity. "Very well. Please sign right here."
"You got it!" The knight practically snatched the glowing quill and scribbled his name.
"You don't want to read the fine print first?"
"Nah, it's fine! You're a Hero, right? I trust you, er..."
"Tanaka-kun."
"Right! Thanks, Tanaka-kun!"
"You're welcome." Suzuki suppressed a heavy sigh, effortlessly sliding five heavy gold coins into the knight's eager hand.
Why was it so incredibly easy to trap people in debt here? He didn't mind, of course. The more people who owed him, the better his defensive network became. "By the way, what exactly is your rank?"
"Me? I'm a Royal Knight of the Heiligh Kingdom!" the man said proudly, polishing his metal chest plate.
"I see." Suzuki leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. "That's a highly prestigious job. But... why are you so desperate for money? Shouldn't the Crown be paying you a massive salary for risking your life?"
"Of course they don't!" the knight practically cried, instantly launching into a bitter, impassioned rant.
"Ah..."
As Suzuki listened, the cold, corporate reality of the fantasy military set in. The Royal Knights were a tragic, exploited product of a deeply toxic corporate culture.
Yes, they looked awesome. They wore shining heavy armor, fought in disciplined formations, and were bound by strict, romantic codes of chivalry. But because of that "chivalry," they were paid a low, fixed monthly salary regardless of how many horrifying monsters they slaughtered. They couldn't form a union, they couldn't negotiate for hazard pay, and they absolutely did not receive overtime bonuses.
They were glorified, overworked security guards.
"When exactly do you plan on paying me back?" Suzuki asked politely.
"Next week! The moment our monthly stipends are disbursed, I'll pay you back in full!"
"Take your time."
As Suzuki handed over the cash, the other knights in the hallway watched in stunned silence. Seeing how effortlessly the handsome Merchant parted with massive sums of gold, they looked at each other, gulped nervously, and slowly stepped forward.
"Um... Tanaka-kun? Could we... maybe borrow some money too?"
Suzuki didn't reject a single one of them. His smile remained flawlessly gentle as dozens of glowing contracts materialized from his palms. "Of course. But do you mind signing a contract and accepting my standard interest rate~?"
"Yeah! Absolutely!"
Suzuki completely understood why the knights accepted the terms so eagerly. He only asked for a 3% compounding monthly interest rate. To desperate soldiers used to dealing with the extortionate 50% weekly rates of the local criminal syndicates, 3% sounded like absolute charity.
But Suzuki wasn't trying to bankrupt the knights like he was the fat Guildmaster.
He was using the low interest rates as a psychological leash. This was his ultimate crowd-control mechanism. He was designing a massive network of permanent dependency and a steady, untouchable stream of passive income.
As long as a knight's signature remained on an [Absolute Contract], it acted as a permanent, invisible debuff. If the King or the Pope ever ordered the Royal Knights to arrest or attack Suzuki, his skill would automatically register the action as Assaulting a Creditor.
The knight's muscles would instantly paralyze, and their mana would aggressively drain to zero.
By lending out a few hundred gold coins, Suzuki was essentially purchasing the absolute loyalty of the Kingdom's entire private army. He didn't want them to pay off the principal. As long as they made the minimum monthly payments, they remained permanently chained to him.
Once he secured the military, he would expand his predatory lending to the working class, the minor merchants, and the city's intelligence brokers.
Ah... a week is entirely too long to wait...
Suzuki couldn't wait for the seven days to pass so he could watch the fat Guildmaster completely despair as Suzuki legally seized his entire operation. At the same time, he genuinely hoped the fat man brought as many wealthy, corrupt noble friends as possible into the spice deal. The more aristocrats who defaulted on the contract, the faster Suzuki could seize the Kingdom's assets.
Humming a soft, cheerful tune, Suzuki finally arrived at the heavy wooden door of his assigned private quarters. He reached for the handle, completely satisfied with his day's work.
Knock. Knock.
He paused, glancing over his shoulder. The soft knocking hadn't come from inside his room, but from the door right next to his.
"Yes?" he asked, stepping back.
The heavy door slowly creaked open.
"C-Can we stay together tonight, Suzuki?"
Shizuku stood in the dimly lit doorway. She had discarded her dirty school uniform for a simple, incredibly thin white nightgown that clung softly to her curves. Her long black hair was loose, cascading over her bare shoulders, and her usually fierce eyes were incredibly soft and deeply vulnerable as she looked up at him.
---
Shizuku is good.
I like a ponytail.
Kaori is also good, though.