The 30 Million Debt Was Completely Paid Off Too!

Then, two months passed—

At noon that day, I was lying on the bed in the inn where I was staying.

Under the bed, Nyankoromochi was eating dried meat. Of course, it was top-quality dried meat.

Considering Nyankoromochi’s contributions, this much was cheap.

“Nyankoromochi, is it good?”

Even when I spoke to her, Nyankoromochi did not answer. She ignored me and silently kept eating the dried meat.

…Though it was true that, somehow, her expression while eating looked satisfied.

Apparently, she seemed a little happy.

I reached out from the bed and stroked Nyankoromochi’s back.

Her smooth fur felt nice.

Without paying any attention to me, Nyankoromochi kept eating the dried meat without any reaction.

At that moment.

Knock, knock.

A light knock rang out.

“Ios, are you there?”

“I’m here. Come in.”

Misha opened the door and came in.

Normally, she would stride into the room, talk to me, hug Nyankoromochi, and make a lot of noise, but that day was different.

She was standing at the entrance with a quiet atmosphere about her.

…Though I could understand that feeling too.

“Is it over?”

When I brought up the topic, Misha laughed, nishishishi!

“Yeah, it’s over!”

“I see…”

I nodded again and again, then said,

“I’m glad.”

It was over.

The debt repayment that is. The 30 million gold debt we had borrowed had been completely and cleanly paid off, interest included.

“Only five months, huh. That was fast.”

“The people at the Academy were surprised too.”

The monster ore boost had been amazing, after all…

We had ended up selling the ore for 80% of its value, but it felt like the money piled up regardless.

The reason we sold it for 80% was because we had it sold through Piptat Magic Academy. It was not as extreme as the alchemy stones, but it was not something an individual could get their hands on one after another. If we kept selling them to the Adventurers’ Guild, we would be suspected.

We asked the Academy to sell them to multiple dealers, so we paid 20% as a handling fee.

“Have you tried going outside?”

“Not yet.”

There, Misha showed a slightly embarrassed expression, then continued.

“I was thinking of going now, but Ios, do you want to come with me?”

“Of course. I’ve been waiting this whole time.”

When I answered that, Misha’s face brightened in an instant.

“As expected of you, Iosss! You get it!”

“Hey, Nyankoromochi. You’re coming too, right?”

“Meow.”

Nyankoromochi, who had finished eating the dried meat, meowed pleasantly.

Misha, Nyankoromochi, and I left the inn and headed outside Piptat.

Because Piptat was an important base even within the kingdom, it was surrounded by walls.

The gate connecting it to the outside was open, and people were freely coming and going.

“Well then, shall we go?”

“What happens if you go outside while the ‘Compulsion’ is still on you?”

“Ah, my body explodes.”

Then Misha, in a cheerful voice—

“Hidebu!”

let out a strange scream.

…Was she trying to express an explosion…?

“Do you really explode?”

“Nishishishi! Kidding, kidding. There are all kinds of penalties, you know. I secretly tried going out of the city before.”

“How was it?”

“A headache.”

“A headache?”

“It was kind of like, hmm, my head hurts a little, maybe? But as I gradually got farther away, it turned into, ah, this is seriously no good, so I panicked and went back.”

“That sounds rough.”

“Well, it was better than exploding♪”

Misha laughed cheerfully, then,

“Let’s go!”

she said, and briskly walked out through the gate. Nyankoromochi and I followed after her.

We crossed the gate.

On the other side, there was not a single building. A lush green land stretched on and on, far into the distance.

We had come to Piptat in winter, and now it was spring. The pleasant sunlight and wind felt good.

After walking for a while, Misha began spinning around happily.

“Ahahahaha! Nice, nice! This is the ultimate high!”

“Is your head all right?”

“That’s mean!?”

“No… I didn’t mean it that way—”

“Of course I know thaaat!”

Misha stopped moving, spread both arms, and looked up at the sky.

“This is great! My first time outside in five months!”

It certainly looked a little fresh.

Even without the “Compulsion” spell, we probably would have stayed in Piptat the whole time.

But being bound by magic never to go outside and staying put of our own free will felt different.

There was nothing left binding us.

A sense of liberation like the wide-open sky filled our hearts.

“Wa, ta, tatatatatata!?”

Misha let out a strange voice and flopped down onto the grass. Since she had been spinning around, it seemed she had lost her balance.

Her pointed hat flew off, drifted softly, and fell to the ground.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow~…”

“You’re getting too carried away.”

I looked down at Misha and said that.

With light steps, Nyankoromochi hopped onto Misha’s fallen stomach.

“Ooooh! Nyankoro-chan! Are you comforting me~?”

Misha laughed while rubbing Nyankoromochi’s throat with her fingers.

After she had settled down for a while, Misha looked up at me while still lying there and asked.

“Hey, hey, Ios. Ios-san, the man with an annual income of 200 million.”

I burst out laughing.

“No, no, 200 million? That’s an exaggeration.”

“It’s not an exaggeration, actually!”

Misha laughed, nishishishi! then continued.

“When we sold the ore for 80%, our earnings for one month were 17 million, right? So, if you turn that into annual income?”

“Since you multiply by 12—”

…

If I multiplied by 10, that was 170 million?

Hmm?

And then, multiplied by 2 was 34 million?

Hmm?

If I added them together—

…………

…………

…………

“…204 million!?”

It was a ridiculous amount of money.

Even if I split it fifty-fifty with Misha, that was 100 million—seriously…?