Chapter 708 - 708: Qingque: With Interest Compounding on This Debt of Gratitude, I'll Never Pay It Off

"Ah, life is wonderful—"

Inside the private residence,

Setsuna sat with girls nestled against either side of him and little catgirl Herta in his lap, gently stroking her head.

"Nya?..."

"Meow..."

Little Herta swished her tail, twitched her ears, and nuzzled against Setsuna's chest.

Compared to The Herta, who devoted herself entirely to research and rarely showed emotion, the catgirl Herta created by Haruhi Suzumiya was much more affectionate.

"Commander, do you really like animal-eared girls?"

Little Herta tilted her head up and asked.

"Mm-hm."

Setsuna pinched her cheeks.

Being able to party every day and pet a catgirl in his spare time was simply wonderful.

"You're much cuter than The Herta."

"Ehehehe..."

Little Herta looked delighted and began purring.

Defeating herself was an immensely satisfying experience.

Although The Herta possessed somewhat greater knowledge, she had never enjoyed an opportunity like this!

"Commander, could you do me a favor? I want to study you."

Little Herta looked up at him.

"Mm. If I get the chance to study you at close range, I'm certain I can surpass The Herta in biological science and supernatural ability research."

"All you have to do is cooperate!"

"Pfft—"

Setsuna laughed and lightly knocked her on the head.

"So that's what you've been thinking about while cuddling up to me?!"

Sure enough, Herta was still Herta. Big or small, science would always be their highest priority.

"I've already let you pet my head and tail! Come on, let's make a deal. Let me study you!"

"It's really simple, I promise! I just want to analyze the Commander's physical structure and the composition of your supernatural abilities..."

Little Herta began acting cute.

"No."

"What if I let you stroke my tail some more?"

"Not enough."

"My ears?"

"Still no. Raise your offer a little. Think about where we are, then think about what Black Swan did."

Setsuna whistled.

"Huh?"

"Whoa, that's too much! Forget it, then. I'm not doing it—"

Little Herta recalled what had happened and immediately made a fuss about leaving.

Setsuna pulled Tingyun into his arms.

"If you don't want to, plenty of others will. Hmm, fox tails really do feel a little nicer to stroke than cat tails."

"My husband..."

Tingyun leaned softly against him.

Her sweet, seductive voice was enough to make his bones melt. Her smooth, silky tail gently brushed across his face, leaving him unbearably tempted.

"Ugh..."

While they were fooling around, suddenly,

Bang—

Grey pushed open the door and entered with an Angeloid, carrying a large box that stood half as tall as a person.

"Commander, I've got a present for you!"

Thump—

She placed the enormous box in front of Setsuna. It even seemed to tremble slightly.

"Hm?"

"What are you doing? What's this?"

Setsuna stopped teasing little Herta and Tingyun, looking back and forth between Grey and the box.

The enormous gift box was decorated with an exquisite ribbon bow and had been beautifully packaged.

It was quite common for the girls to give him presents, ranging from little girls' handicrafts to shipgirls' pastries, figurines, and all sorts of other things. He carefully treasured every one of them.

However, gifts this large were rather uncommon.

"Mio, Pandora, and Haruhi Suzumiya won this while playing mahjong. Mio said she didn't have any use for it, so she decided to give it to the Commander."

"I took care of the packaging and delivery on her behalf."

Grey answered with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, so it's something they won from someone else..."

Setsuna thought nothing of it.

He removed the wrapping, lifted the box's lid, and looked inside.

"???"

"Mmm! Mmm! Mmmm..."

A brown-haired, green-eyed girl was curled up inside the box.

She was completely naked, with her hands and feet bound together using red ribbons. An enormous bow was even tied across her chest, making it look as though she herself were the present intended for him.

Thanks to the packager's questionable sense of humor, the ribbons had also been arranged in a rather suggestive pattern.

"???"

"Isn't that Qingque?"

Setsuna immediately burst out laughing when he saw the tearful girl.

"Why did you pack Qingque into a box and deliver her to me? Where are her clothes?"

"Right here. I packed them separately."

Grey produced a small box and handed it to Setsuna.

"Separately?!"

Little Herta was utterly astonished by the nanomachine girl's complete lack of restraint.

"She was playing mahjong at the recreation center this morning. First, she won a whole bunch of things from little Cheshire, Yoshino, and the others."

"Then she got overconfident and entered the high-level unrestricted matches. Unfortunately... ahem."

Grey projected a contract of indentured servitude.

"Not only did Qingque lose everything she'd won, she also ended up throwing in her Xianzhou assets and travel allowances."

"She seemed eager to keep playing, so I suggested that she could put her wagers on account and repay them after she won."

"Consequently, Miss Qingque offered herself as collateral, agreeing to work in the Starsea Empire to repay her debts."

"Unfortunately, her luck doesn't seem to have been particularly good. Based on the stakes she lost, she'll need to work in the Starsea Empire for 27.62 million years to repay everything. So I brought her here."

As she spoke, Grey double-checked her calculations.

"Oh, wait. If we include interest... the repayment period will probably extend beyond ninety million years, since her wages will barely cover the interest payments."

"Huh?"

"What the hell?! Is this indentured labor?!"

Gudako spat her drink all over the floor.

Once the principal grew sufficiently large, compound interest would turn the loan into a debt that could never be fully repaid, forcing the debtor to work for the rest of their life.

"Miss Qingque owes more than twenty million years' worth of debt?! Who on earth was she playing against?"

Tingyun was dumbfounded.

"With the wages paid by the Divination Commission, twenty million years would be enough to buy an entire Xianzhou!"

"Mio, Pandora, and Haruhi Suzumiya."

Little Haruhi came bouncing over, threw herself into Setsuna's arms, and stuffed a pile of little trinkets into his hands.

Her expression practically screamed, Praise me! Praise me!

"That game was way too easy! I'm giving everything I won to Big Brother Commander!"

"No wonder."

Setsuna covered his forehead.

Winning against those three would have been nothing short of a miracle.

What they were competing over at that mahjong table wasn't skill or luck at all. It was their ability to rewrite reality.

They could give themselves Heavenly Hands every single round while simultaneously transforming their opponents' tiles into complete garbage. Forget Qingque. Even if Fu Xuan had played, she probably would have emerged with nothing left but her white pantyhose.

"Unfortunately, Diviner Fu was too cautious. She personally played two rounds, lost both, and promptly gave up. Otherwise, I could've gotten you a matching pair."

Grey sounded immensely regretful.

"Then how did Qingque manage to lose so much?!"

Tingyun still couldn't understand.

"Pandora deliberately altered her tiles halfway through and let Qingque win a few rounds. Qingque thought she'd finally gotten the hang of it, so she kept going all in."

Grey shrugged.

"What?!"

The girls couldn't help reflecting that there was a reason the Witch of Vainglory was called a witch.

"..."

Setsuna lifted the ribbon-bound Qingque out of the box and examined her for a while. The longer he looked, the harder it became to suppress his laughter.

"Have fun playing mahjong?"

"Ugh... They cheated..."

Qingque trembled and whispered miserably.

"Who the heck just rewrites reality like that?! Th-That's... that's against the rules, isn't it?!"

"You're the one who wanted to play at the high-level tables and participate in unrestricted matches. You were outmatched, so accept your losses."

Grey crossed her arms.

"Tch."

Qingque's gaze toward Grey grew increasingly resentful.

She suspected she'd fallen victim to an elaborate gambling scam.

First, she'd gotten a taste of victory playing against the little shipgirls. Then she'd been tempted by the enormous potential winnings at the high-level tables, lost absolutely everything, and even gambled herself away.

Not long ago, she'd been dreaming of achieving financial freedom and enjoying a carefree life without ever having to worry about food or clothing again. Now she was facing more than twenty million years of work just to repay her debts.

This time, the Commander's debt of gratitude really would keep accumulating compound interest forever. She would never manage to repay it.

"Lord Sacrosanct, could you possibly show some mercy and let me off the hook?"

Qingque tentatively asked.

"Fu Xuan, what do you think?"

Setsuna smiled at Diviner Fu, who had been standing silently nearby.

"Lord Sacrosanct, this is Qingque's personal problem. It would be inappropriate for me to interfere."

"Hmm. If she genuinely settles down and works diligently, and manages to correct that lazy habit of constantly slacking off, so much the better."

Fu Xuan shot Qingque a sharp glare. She felt that this girl had thoroughly disgraced both the Xianzhou Alliance and the Divination Commission.

In the future, she could use Qingque as a cautionary example throughout the Xianzhou, warning everyone to cherish their lives and stay away from gambling.

"Ha."

Setsuna beckoned an Angeloid over.

"Someone, get Qingque dressed."

"A girl forced to sell herself because she can't repay her debts... I like this scenario."

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