Chapter 166: Loan Contract

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Loan Contract

was so angry she was at a loss for words, her face flushing red.

Seraphina Sinclair, however, remained calm. She even tilted her head slightly, a hint of perfectly timed confusion in her voice. "Why not? Didn’t you say this was a special discount? Since it’s a ’special’ situation, using a ’special’ method of payment seems perfectly reasonable, don’t you think?"

As she spoke, she glanced at the Sleep Vine Fishing Line on the floor, startling 001 into immediately snatching it up.

Seraphina Sinclair chuckled. "I never said I wanted that, too. What are you so afraid of?"

’Shameless! Brazen! Utterly devoid of decency!’

After searching her vocabulary database, 001 finally found a few choice words. But just as she was about to hurl them out, she met Seraphina Sinclair’s eyes, and all her fire instantly fizzled out.

’Next time... next time, I’m definitely bringing two bodyguards! I’ll show this detestable human what’s what!’

’But for now, I’ll just have to endure it.’

pouted, pulling out her employee handbook to look at it again.

Finally, she muttered resentfully, "It’s not impossible to offer credit... The employee handbook says I can extend a maximum credit line of fifty thousand Black Fog Coins. If you still can’t afford the order with those fifty thousand... human, then I advise you not to be so greedy."

"Not going through the proper channels is blatant robbery!"

"Stealing from a Traveling Merchant... You don’t want to know the consequences."

Traveling Merchant 001’s threat was laced with a sob, sounding more like the whimper of someone who was all bark and no bite.

But Seraphina Sinclair seemed not to have heard her warning about the "consequences." Her attention was completely captivated by the fifty-thousand-Black-Fog-Coin credit limit.

"Fifty thousand?" she repeated, her mind already racing with calculations.

’The Green Flood Dragon Tendon is 36,000, and the Water-Breaking Spear is 42,000. That’s a total of 78,000.’

’I have 27,289.’

’Plus the maximum credit of 50,000...’

’I’m still a little short...’

Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she opened her panel to check.

The number of Black Fog Coins she had wasn’t 27,289, it was 28,189!

Seraphina Sinclair froze for a moment before her expression lit up with understanding. Even her gaze toward Traveling Merchant 001 warmed with a hint of delight.

’This extra nine hundred Black Fog Coins had been delivered to her by none other than this wonderful Traveling Merchant.’

’It seems this was all fated to be...’

Before signing the credit agreement, Seraphina Sinclair raised an eyebrow slightly. "Are there any rules about the repayment schedule?"

stared blankly for a moment, and a single tear suddenly rolled down her cheek. Her body went rigid as she pointed at Seraphina Sinclair. "You’re not... planning on never paying me back, are you?!?"

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’My reputation in this thing’s eyes must have just hit rock bottom.’

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t really care about that. What she did care about was...

’...would this thing hire some weirdos to strong-arm me into paying up?’

The current situation inside the mobile cabin was a standoff of mutual distrust between one living person and one "thing."

At first, Seraphina Sinclair had found the situation a bit strange, but then she recalled her similar interaction with the waiter that morning and began to wonder if she was the problem.

’However...’

’This is a good thing!’

Seraphina Sinclair took a few steps and quietly closed the wooden door to the mobile cabin.

’If it weren’t for the lack of a lock, she really would have slapped another one on this door, just in case the Traveling Merchant tried to bolt before the deal was done.’

Seeing this, 001’s face went pale with alarm. She scrambled back a few steps, carefully studying Seraphina Sinclair’s expression.

When she saw Seraphina sit down crisply on the floor, tap it, and say with great interest, "Let’s discuss how this agreement should be written," 001 finally inched her way over. She pulled a few paper contracts from her pocket.

’Now that’s a rare sight around here.’

"Loans require an approval process, and since you happen to be a Rune Master, you meet the criteria."

mumbled as she handed several A4 pages, covered in text, to Seraphina Sinclair.

She took them and glanced at the title. ’Oh, wonderful. *The Black Mist World Loan Contract - S-Class*.’

’In my last life, I had a mortgage and a car loan. And now, in this godforsaken place, I have to sign a loan contract for Black Fog Coins?’

’Forget the loan for a second—what’s this S-Class nonsense?!’

’I’ve never even seen an S-Class item before!’

’How is a simple loan contract for some Black Fog Coins S-Class?!’

’How demoralizing.’

Seraphina Sinclair raised a hand to cover her eyes, gently rubbing her temples. Only after composing herself did she start to carefully read the contract, line by line.

The most important clause was this: she could borrow fifty thousand Black Fog Coins, but she would have to repay a total of sixty thousand.

Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze locked onto that line of text, her fingertip unconsciously tapping the number on the page.

"Borrow fifty thousand Black Fog Coins, must repay... sixty thousand?"

Her voice betrayed no emotion as she calmly repeated the line. Then she looked up at Traveling Merchant 001, who looked tense enough to curl into a ball. "Twenty percent interest? Do you actually manage to lend anything out at this rate?"

That look made Traveling Merchant 001 flinch as if shocked. She almost leaped to her feet, hastily waving her hands as she explained:

"This is just how S-Class risk contracts are! You have no collateral, and your credit history... uh, you have no credit history at all! The risk is extremely high! The system automatically generated this interest rate! I didn’t set it!"

The more she spoke, the more aggrieved she sounded, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I-is it easy for me to earn a little commission...? I have to live in constant fear... If you die, I’m the one who has to pay back the rest of your debt! I’m taking on a huge amount of responsibility here!"

’So that’s how it works.’

Even with the ten-thousand-Black-Fog-Coin interest, the merchant’s discount was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This was a loan Seraphina had to take, whether she wanted to or not.

She paid no mind to the merchant’s tearful complaints, her finger simply tracing down the page as she continued to read the clauses.

Besides the interest, the next thing that caught her eye was the repayment schedule.

’The repayments were weekly. Ten thousand Black Fog Coins... per week?’

Seraphina Sinclair stared at the number in silence for a moment, but then concluded it made sense. After all, this world was in constant flux, and anyone could die at any time.

’Of course the system would want its Black Fog Coins back as quickly as possible.’

’It didn’t matter if the survivor died; there was always a sucker of a Traveling Merchant to foot the bill.’

Thinking about it that way, Seraphina almost felt a twinge of pity for the creature.

"If you don’t have enough Black Fog Coins, you’ll need to use your possessions to cover the debt. Runes, special items, even food—any valuable goods are acceptable! See? Our repayment terms are very flexible."

Traveling Merchant 001’s sales-pitch expression returned, and she began dutifully advertising her services.

Seraphina Sinclair: "..."

’Any sympathy she had just started to feel for the merchant vanished instantly.’

’She’s both a predatory merchant and a corporate stooge. If I don’t fleece her, who else is there to fleece?’

Seraphina Sinclair checked the contract carefully one more time. After confirming there were no hidden loopholes, she held out her hand to the merchant. "I’ll sign. Pen?"

Like a magician, 001 fumbled in her pocket and, after a moment, produced a black ballpoint pen. She offered it to Seraphina Sinclair with both hands, saying eagerly, "You humans use this kind of pen to sign contracts, and we’ve recreated it perfectly! Now, after you sign this, you absolutely have to stay alive, okay!"