Chapter 37: Raising a kitten~

I only borrowed three thousand from my nemesis, yet he wants to give me a hundred thousand—no matter how I think about it, something’s definitely off here.

Keti couldn’t help but swallow nervously, her mind racing through all the possible reasons behind this. 

Hmm…so, is there a chance that…just maybe…

Th-this…

This hundred thousand Denar—isn’t it a High-Interest Loan my nemesis is trying to foist on me?!

I have to admit, it’s possible!

And what if it’s the kind where the interest doubles every single day! 

If I take this money, I’ll never be able to pay it back!

Then the interest will just keep piling up, and in the end, I’d have to sell myself and still wouldn’t be able to repay it.

 When that happens, wouldn’t I have to become a Slave to my nemesis, working like a beast of burden for the rest of my life to pay off today’s debt—ah, wuu~!

Thinking of this, the silver-haired beauty tensed up at once. 

T-this guy is way too devious!

He actually set such a huge trap for me right here. 

Good thing I reacted quickly… 

If I really fell for it…

Keti couldn’t help but imagine that terrible scene in her mind: destitute and penniless, forced to obey her nemesis’s every command, wearing a Maid Outfit with an off-shoulder, bare-waist top and a skirt so short it barely covered her behind, kneeling on the floor, being lashed with a Punishment Whip while crying and scrubbing the ground with a rag…

Hiss—

That feeling, that feeling is just too awful—!

Ahem… 

***

For some reason, a strange sense of panic welled up inside her, but it must just be because she was scared, right?

After a moment, Keti snapped back to reality and glanced over at her nemesis again, her eyes suddenly flashing with determination! 

No, don’t be afraid. 

As long as I don’t take the money, and don’t get tricked into signing any Servant Contract or High-Interest Loan, none of this will happen!

He’s not some underworld boss anyway, just a teacher at the Magic Academy and a Magic Tower member—he’s not that powerful. 

Could he really force me to take out a loan?

So, what I need to do now is just firmly refuse!

“Um…I—I only need to borrow three thousand, just enough to pay off my rent! A hundred thousand is way too much, p-please take it back! I can’t afford the interest!”

“Hm? Ah…little kitten, I never said this money was a loan~”

Facing the girl’s refusal, Lynn shook his head with a sly grin, then placed all the money directly into her palm and said:

“This hundred thousand Denar is a reward for you, little kitten. Think of it as my support. I know you still need to buy materials for alchemy and all that, so it must be tough.”

“I don’t want to see you scrimping and saving, looking all pitiful, or having to pick up bottles or round corners on the street someday. So…you don’t have to pay this money back~”

“Eh?!”

After hearing her nemesis’s words, Keti fell silent on the spot…for a long, long time, unable to process what he meant.

AKE…

Money?!

I—I can’t believe it!

After a while, Keti finally reacted, her eyes lighting up as she stared at Lynn in disbelief. 

Wha…what’s going on?

My nemesis is showering me with gold coins?!

Is this…am I dreaming? 

Is this real? 

This is a hundred thousand Denar, just given to me, and I don’t have to pay it back…pfft, hahaha~

“Le-le-le…le-le~”

***

A moment later, the silver-haired beauty gripped the bills tightly in her hand and started giggling foolishly on the spot.

I can’t believe something this good actually happened! 

Now that I think about it, all the humiliation I endured last night doesn’t seem so bad. 

With a hundred thousand Denar, I can buy so many materials, and I won’t have to worry about food or drink for a long time. 

I can finally live a good life~

If this counts as humiliation, then…please, let this kind of humiliation happen more often!

I… 

I can handle it~

“Pft, you’re happy now, right? Can you forgive me?”

Seeing the girl’s delighted expression, a sly smile flashed across Lynn’s lips. Keti kept nodding dumbly in joy, then patted Lynn’s shoulder and said:

“Mm, Lynn, you really are a good guy. I misunderstood you before. No problem—if you have money, I can meow for you as many times as you want. We’re buddies now, hehe, meow~”

“Mmm~ pfft…that’s a pretty interesting thing to say~”

Savoring the girl’s odd words, Lynn curled his lips quietly. 

After a moment, he tilted his head, then suddenly said:

“So, as long as there’s money, little kitten will do anything, hmm~? In that case, maybe I should reconsider what this hundred thousand Denar is for…How about…treating it as Miss Keti’s ‘keep’ fee~?”

“Uh…what? N-no, that’s not…huh?!”

Wha…what did my nemesis just say?!

Suddenly snapping out of her daze, Keti’s smile froze. 

She stared blankly as Lynn silently took the money back from her hands. 

Her nemesis grinned wickedly, watching the girl’s eyes fill with longing for money and the pitiful look of grievance after he took it away. 

He waved the hundred thousand Denar and teased:

“Well, it does sound like I’m keeping you, doesn’t it~? Alright, I’ve decided—this hundred thousand Denar will count as your ‘keep’ fee, Keti-chan~!”

“If you choose to take this money, little kitten, you’ll have to listen to me from now on, and let me bully you however I want~ And when I say bully, it’s not just about making you meow.”

“After all, if you could earn a hundred thousand Denar by meowing twice, wouldn’t that be a bit too easy~?”

“It’s not easy, not easy at all! How could it be easy?!”

Faced with her nemesis’s sudden price hike, Keti’s face flushed bright red in shame. 

N-no…how could he just change the terms like this?!

Grr…meowing isn’t easy at all!

This guy, he has no idea what it feels like! 

I’m a boy, wearing such a humiliating Cat Ear Hair Ornament is already embarrassing enough, and I still have to act all cutesy and meow at my enemy, wuu…

Th-this… 

Lynn, could you even do that yourself?!

I’ve already swallowed my pride and sacrificed so much—why…why do you look down on my meowing, wuu!

Grr…there’s no way you can expect me to act like a normal girl in love! 

That…that’s absolutely impossible, impossible!

FAL…

After a moment, Keti finally realized—damn it, I’ve been tricked again!

Hiss——

Case closed!

It’s all my nemesis’s scheme again!

That damned nemesis, I can’t let myself be fooled by him anymore. 

Sure enough, all he ever thinks about is getting back at me!