SMASH or PASS

I saved both of the twins in my inventory after talking with them for a little while.

I opened the system screen.

[Inventory 5/???]

[No.001 | Common | Human | Rose Maren | Stamina Recovery +1]

[No.002 | Common | Catkin | Sable | Agility +1]

[No.003 | Common | Catkin | Silk | Agility +1]

[No.004 | Common | Catkin | Unknown | Agility +1]

[No.005 | Common | Catkin | Unknown | Agility +1]

Five people. Total passive bonus: Stamina Recovery +1, Agility +4.

Agility +4.

The reflexes of four catkin are constantly layered on top of my body.

...I can feel it. I’m clearly faster than two weeks ago. Recovering from a stumble on the stairs now catches at a timing that wouldn’t have caught before. My fingertips react a fraction of a second quicker.

Small numbers, plus one per person. Laughably small.

But four people is +4. Ten is +10. A hundred is +100.

A human with +100 Agility isn’t human anymore.

And the system said unlimited capacity.

I know what lies at the end of this line of thinking. I know, and I keep calculating.

Package discount. Buy a bonded set, 25 percent off.

Why?

Why does the system encourage gathering people who are connected to each other?

Efficiency? Management? Or something else entirely?

...I don’t know. I don’t know yet. But the existence of this discount means one thing.

The system isn’t just saying collect women.

Maybe It’s saying collect the relationships too?

Information like those are useless now but will mean something eventually.

◇◇◇

Next morning.

Numbers time.

On hand: 4.68 gold.

Needed: 23 gold.

Short: 18.32 gold.

Deadline: six days.

"...."

Say I grind Copper quests from morning to night for six days straight. Mix combat and deliveries, the daily ceiling is about 15 silver. Six days is 90 silver. 0.9 gold.

One more breeding contract. 1.5 gold for two days. Remaining four days of quests for 60 silver. Total: 2.1 gold.

4.68 plus 2.1 equals 6.78 gold.

16.22 more to reach 23.

No matter how I run the math, it’s a dead end.

◇◇◇

I stopped by the guild to check the latest high-paying requests.

Escort missions, Silver rank and above: 5 gold. Copper rank not eligible.

Rare material gathering: 3 gold. Gathering site is outside the walls. Copper rank barred from entry.

Special extermination: 8 gold. Recommended rank: Second Tier or higher. I’m at the bottom of First.

All of it beyond my reach.

Rank insufficient. Grade insufficient. Ability insufficient.

Making money requires strength. Gaining strength requires the academy. Entering the academy requires money.

...A perfect loop. No exit.

Well... There is one exit.

It was an obvious one from the start.

◇◇◇

Walking home through the market street.

An unfamiliar wagon caught my eye.

A merchant’s cart. Not the type you usually see around Brannock. It had a crest painted on the body, and cloth covered boxes stacked on the bed.

The person on the driver’s seat was a man.

Mid-thirties. Human. Rare to see a male merchant in this city. At 99 to 1, men are almost always escorted, owned by someone, or used for breeding. Hardly any operate as independent merchants.

Yet this man was unloading cargo alone, no guards, with total confidence.

’Interesting.’

Pixia tilted her head on my shoulder.

"That person reeks of elf smell. He’s definitely trading with the Sylvanneth."

Elf forest, Sylvanneth, trade with races beyond the walls.

A man with connections that let him go outside.

I couldn’t help but feel impressed.

◇◇◇

Back at the apartment, inventory verification.

Summoned Rose, Sable, and Silk simultaneously.

[Active Summons: 3/10]

[Maintenance Cost: 3 SP/hour]

Current cap at my rank is 10. Maintenance is 1 SP per hour per unit. While it was fine on the short-term, it was very expensive long-term.

Three appeared in the room at the same time. Rose was confused, Sable was in a bad mood, and Silk was behind Sable.

"Um, Noel? Who are these people...?"

"Roommates. I’ll explain later."

"We’re not roommates." Sable flattened her ears. "We’re abduction victims."

"I pay the rent."

"You pay rent for THIS? This room isn’t worth shit."

Rose looked at Sable and Silk, Sable looked at Rose, and Silk hid behind everyone.

Chaos.

But the test was done. Simultaneous summon works, up to 10 at once. Passive bonuses stay active even while stored.

I told Rose to go back to her bakery and not tell anyone about this, then I dismissed the twins and sat down.

Now... Do I really have to do this shit?

◇◇◇

I had just one exit.

I knew that from the start.

There’s no way to earn the academy fees on my own in six days. Stack breeding contracts, cash bounties, kill a million rats, whatever I did... I won’t reach 23.

Plenty of people in this city have money.

But only one of them has a reason to give it to me.

Baron Vellmont.

The recommendation letter and the guarantor signature are already in my hands. All that’s left is the gold.

I remember what the Baron said that dinner night.

"We can discuss the funding later. There’s no need to rush."

The man who said no need to rush knew the deadline was two weeks out.

No rush, he said, while rushing me. Everything prepared, laid out on the table, and then that smile: "Please, take your time."

it’s obvious what he’s trying to tell me.

He will most likely force me to marry some or all of his daughters...

Accept, and I become "their property." More than I already am. Deeper. A man bought with gold.

...

I considered the alternatives one more time.

Delay the academy by months? Lose time. In this world, time is life.

Take dangerous quests above my rank? Die. I will literally die at my current level.

Loan sharks? If I can’t repay, I become the product. Debt collectors in this world literally "collect."

All dead ends.

The Baron is the only path, and the Baron knows it, which is exactly why that dinner was "no need to rush."

Old bastard.

"...Fine."

I took a sheet of paper and wrote a message to the Vellmont estate.

I will visit tomorrow.

My pen stopped three times writing that one sentence.

◇◇◇

Pixia on the windowsill was watching me, unusually quiet.

"...What."

"Nothing."

"You look like you want to say something."

"I have nothing to say. It’s your decision."

"...Yeah. My decision."

Pixia swung her legs.

"Hey."

"What."

"When you go to the Baron’s house, take me along."

"What for?"

"Just to watch. I like watching humans make deals."

I figured as much.

"...Do whatever you want."

"Yay~"

Fenra was watching me from the bed. She said nothing. Maybe she understood nothing, or maybe she understood everything.

I turned off the light and got into bed.

Fenra pressed against my back. Warm, soft, a temperature that asks for nothing.

Tomorrow I go to that old bastard’s house, take the money, and become ’something’ of Helena’s in return.