The Debt Collector
With an unexpected declaration, the world flipped upside down.
This was Mental Image Manifestation?
Even Elly seemed caught off guard that the debt collector could use it. Her flustered voice cut through the air.
“Mental Image Manifestation? What the…”
“Was the debt collector a 5-Star all along?”
“No way. He must’ve forced it through some artificial means. From the look of things, the recoil kept it from being a perfect domain.”
“Not perfect?”
“Exactly. See? The debt collector himself isn’t even visible inside the domain. You can’t call it his Mental Image Domain if the creator isn’t present.”
I scanned our surroundings after listening to Elly.
The space trapping us looked like a gray concrete solitary confinement cell. A flawless sealed room with no exits—and no sign of the debt collector anywhere.
“I’m not sure if he wanted to lock us up this badly or if this is simply what his domain looks like, but it’s definitely not normal.”
“It really doesn’t seem like one.”
It was literally a cage built to hold someone prisoner. No door, no opponent. The only way out appeared to be smashing the room to pieces.
At that moment, a sheet of paper and a quill fluttered down in front of us.
I peered at the contents.
“...A contract?”
Only the standard template of a contract was written on it.
I swear that to exit this room, I fully understand and promise to abide by all the contents below without raising any objections whatsoever.
In return, I will immediately incur a debt of 100 million credits to Mateo.
Mateo may take anything he wishes in order to collect the debt immediately.
Debtor: [ ] ← Sign here
“So this is the rule of the room?”
“He’s a corpse, so I guess it makes sense that it’s this simple.”
Elly finished reading the contract and let out a scornful snort. But she soon exhaled in clear annoyance.
“This is such a pain. He didn’t even bother using his head. He just focused on forcing us into debt no matter what.”
Trapping us here. Forcing us to take on debt. His Mental Image was specialized in only those two things.
The rule was painfully straightforward: if you want to leave this room, go into debt with me.
Because it was so simple, there didn’t seem to be any loopholes we could exploit to break it.
“Still, it’s a relief that it isn’t a proper manifestation. The intensity doesn’t feel that strong.”
“What? Can you break it?”
“If we have enough mana.”
The implication behind Elly’s words was clear: she couldn’t do it right now. I tilted my head in confusion as she bit her lip.
“Can’t you just use your own Mental Image Manifestation? Isn’t the best way to counter one manifestation with another?”
“...You’re right. It is.”
She nodded at my suggestion that she should simply manifest her own domain to escape. Yet even after a long pause, Elly only hung her head and made no move to act.
“What’s wrong? Is your mana too low?”
At my urging, Elly finally spoke. Head still bowed, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
“...I’m only 4-Star.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’m 4-Star.”
She confessed it with obvious difficulty. Though her voice was faint, it rang clearly inside the sealed room.
Elly was only 4-Star?
That was surprising. She still hadn’t awakened to 5-Star yet?
I nodded, not thinking much of it.
“Oh, really? Then using Mental Image Manifestation to get out is off the table. We’ll have to find another way.”
My casual response—much like noticing a restaurant was closed when you went for lunch—seemed to catch Elly completely off guard. Her head snapped up.
She stared at me with disbelief, as if examining a creature she’d never seen before. I tilted my head first under that intense gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Elly’s lips moved soundlessly for a moment, as if she’d lost her words.
“...It’s nothing.”
Was being found out as a 4-Star that shocking to her?
As I pondered it, Elly’s earlier behavior suddenly made sense. The way she had overzealously tried to keep me in check and insisted Estelle’s help wouldn’t be enough. Could all of that have come from an inferiority complex about being 4-Star?
“You’ll reach 5-Star soon anyway. Why stress about it so much?”
“...What?”
“No, I just mean you seem way too hung up on it. Don’t worry about it too much.”
After all, it was practically guaranteed that Elly would become a 5-Star in the future.
But my words must have struck a nerve. Elly glared at me sharply and raised her voice.
“What would you know about saying something like that so easily! Do you have any idea how high the wall between 4-Star and 5-Star is? Do you know how hard I’ve worked to reach 5-Star?!”
Her voice sliced through the sealed room like a blade. The self-reproach from moments ago had vanished, replaced by a bristling, cat-like ferocity.
“It’s not a wall you can cross with effort alone! Are you pitying me right now? Or are you looking down on me because I’m 4-Star?”
“Neither.”
I shrugged and answered calmly. My serene attitude only seemed to pour fuel on her anger.
“Then what is it! What gives you the right to make assumptions like that?!”
“It’s just… obvious.”
“What?”
I paused for a moment and looked straight into Elly’s furious eyes. Without any lies or pity, I simply told her what I thought.
“You said you’ve poured everything into reaching 5-Star, right? Then the results should show up soon.”
“...What would you know?”
“At the very least, I know you’ll become a 5-Star soon.”
When I spoke with such certainty, Elly’s breath caught.
She seemed to forget everything she’d been about to snap at me. Her mouth hung slightly open as she stared at me blankly. She searched my eyes desperately, trying to read something in them.
Had she seen it?
The venom drained from Elly’s expression in an instant. Then she burst into disbelieving laughter.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
After snorting, she let out a long sigh and spoke.
“...There is one way to get out of this room.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. The foundation of any debt relationship is a contract, right? In that case, I have a way to take it on instead. I know a bit about contract magic myself.”
Elly picked up the contract and quill from the floor and began muttering something like an incantation.
"One, wipe away the tears within the ash."
"Two, bind the promise with threads of moonlight."
"Three, give me your sigh."
"In return, I shall lend you the brightest of nights."
⟨ CONTRACT RESET ⟩
The letters on the contract began to disappear.
I swear that to [ ], I fully understand and promise to abide by all the contents below without raising any objections whatsoever.
In return, I will immediately incur a debt of 100 million credits to [ ].
[ ] may take anything he wishes in order to collect the debt immediately.
Debtor: [ ] ← Sign here
“Done.”
“What did you do?”
“I reset the contract conditions so it can be formed with someone other than the debt collector.”
“What changes with that?”
What was the point of changing the contract partner? I tilted my head, and Elly let out a long sigh as if she really didn’t want to say it.
“...It means I can take a Mental Image from you.”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
Take a Mental Image from me?
I could understand that much. But how would that let us leave this room?
Elly’s following explanation cleared up my confusion.
“The reason I can’t manifest—can’t use Mental Image Manifestation—is because my own Mental Image is too weak to form a world.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s not something to brag about, but aside from that one flaw, my vessel is already ready for 5-Star. So if we solve that problem, I should be able to manifest.”
In other words, she was going to borrow my Mental Image and manifest it in her place?
It wasn’t an entirely ridiculous plan. I nodded at Elly’s surprisingly sound idea.
“I see. So that’s what the contract is for—taking my Mental Image?”
“Yes. In theory, it’s possible. The only problem is that the contract requires you to owe me some kind of debt.”
“Debt? Do I need to borrow money?”
“...That’s the thing. I don’t have 100 million credits on me right now.”
Ah. Since the contract specifically mentioned 100 million credits, that exact amount of debt was required.
But if we couldn’t create debt with money, then what?
“Judging by how the debt collector created debt by hitting and then healing, the conditions aren’t that strict. Anything that gives you some kind of benefit will probably count as debt.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure. Can you use healing magic or something?”
Was she planning to copy the debt collector and forcibly heal me?
That sounded painful. I didn’t like the idea.
As I thought that, Elly—who had been speaking so fluently—suddenly turned bright red and began to stammer.
“Unfortunately, no. So, um… that is…”
“Yeah?”
“So… Ah, ugh. Ah! Right, it’s no big deal. I really don’t have any weird intentions. If you think anything strange, I’ll kill you.”
“...What are you going to do?”
The way she kept taking deep breaths to steel herself suggested she was about to suggest something serious.
What kind of proposal would make her react like this? I tilted my head in confusion, and Elly, her face flushed crimson, finally spoke carefully.
“...With my body.”
“Your body?”
“With my body. I’ll make you owe me a debt using my body.”
“Owe a debt with your body…?”
Make me owe a debt with her body.
Hadn’t she just said she couldn’t use healing magic?
As I pondered that, one possibility rose in my mind.
“...For real?”
“Ugh, I don’t know! What’s faster and simpler than that right now! Or what, are you saying my body is so pathetic that touching it wouldn’t even feel good?”
“No, that’s not it.”
My eyes naturally drifted to Elly’s figure. Honestly, it wasn’t a body with tremendous value.
But.
It wasn’t bad either. Small things had their own charm, after all.
“You’re agreeing, right? No weird comments about this later, got it? This is really the only choice!!”
“Y-yeah.”
Perhaps to hide her embarrassment, Elly quickly revised the contract.
I swear that to touch her breasts, I fully understand and promise to abide by all the contents below without raising any objections whatsoever.
In return, I will immediately incur a debt of 100 million credits to Elly.
Elly may take anything she wishes in order to collect the debt immediately.
Debtor: [ ] ← Sign here
“Hurry up and sign!”
At Elly’s urging, I quickly wrote my name on the contract.
Chains appeared, linking our necks together before vanishing.
“The contract is now established. So…”
Elly squeezed her eyes shut and stood before me.
I spoke to her in a slightly awkward voice.
“Um, Elly?”
“Just do it already!”
“Don’t you need to move your hands if I’m going to touch them?”
“...Ugh!”
Elly had instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around her chest to cover it. At my words, her face burned even redder as she glanced down at herself.
“...You do it!”
“Huh?”
“Y-you move them! Like a man should! At least do that much!”
Apparently too embarrassed to move her own hands, Elly shouted at me. Her expression management was clearly failing. Without a word, I did as she asked.
“Mmph…”
To summarize my impression… well.
There was potential.
I’d leave it at that. I wasn’t sure if this was truly worth 100 million credits, but I definitely couldn’t say that out loud.
“That’s enough! How long are you going to keep touching?!”
Elly pulled away, her face beet red, and summoned the chains to fulfill the contract by yanking on them.
“Ugh, why isn’t this…”
It didn’t seem to be going as planned. She struggled, tugging at the chains with effort.
At the same time, a message window appeared before me.
Mental Image Share Requested. Will you share it?
— Specify items to share
It looked like I could choose which Mental Image to send her. But what should I send?
Anything related to Last Shion was better kept hidden. On the other hand, sending just any Mental Image could be dangerous if Elly couldn’t handle it properly.
Was there a suitable one?
As I searched for something to send Elly, a vision from my future sight appeared before me as if recommending it.
It was fanart depicting a possible future for Elly. If it was this kind of Mental Image, she probably wouldn’t have trouble handling it. After all, it was a depiction of herself.
I immediately decided to share this post with her.
“Ugh?!”
The moment I chose to share it, the chains that had refused to budge were yanked straight out of me.
A gasp of wonder escaped Elly’s lips as she received my Mental Image through the contract.
“This is…”
Was she seeing herself painting?
Elly’s eyes reflected somewhere far away. Then they gained purpose.
“...Manifestation.”
Elly reached out as if trying to grasp something. Another eye overlapped with her own. It was a geometric-patterned eye, just like the one Estelle had shown when activating her Mental Image Manifestation. But unlike Estelle’s, Elly’s eye glowed with rainbow light.
And the world her eye illuminated was a vast canvas.
Not just dull gray fog, but a wide canvas filled with vibrant colors.
A brilliant rainbow.
A vast meadow.
Baby lambs frolicking peacefully.
It was a world like a scene from a fairy tale.
Within that painted world, the artist quietly lifted her brush and drew a door leading outside.
“Let’s go. That’s the exit.”
Following Elly’s guidance, I opened the door drawn on the canvas. The dull gray world collapsed in an instant.
“Ugh…”
With the contract ending, the rainbow glow in Elly’s eyes faded and they closed. While she groaned from the headache caused by forcing a manifestation, I looked for the debt collector.
I had run out the moment we left his Mental Image world, but it was already too late.
“Damn…”
The debt collector had already rotted away and vanished as if he had never been there.
Looking at where he had disappeared, Elly spoke as if she would handle the cleanup herself.
“I’ll report what happened today to Lady Estelle. She’ll come up with countermeasures soon, so until then, don’t stick your head into the tiger’s den like you did today.”
“It’s not like I wanted to…”
Elly shot me a look that clearly said she thought I was lying. Then her lips moved as if she had something more to say.
“What?”
“...And thank you. For helping.”
After giving me that short word of thanks, Elly disappeared into the mist without waiting for my reply.
Once she was gone, I let out a long sigh and dragged my exhausted body out of the alley.
I should head back and rest for today. A lot of insane things happened.
Please, let tomorrow be an easy day.
#
Back in her room, Elly flopped down on the bed and recalled everything that had happened today.
“......”
Had anyone ever believed in her potential so blindly?
Even Lady Estelle wouldn’t trust me this much.
Why did that man believe without the slightest doubt that she would become a 5-Star?
Elly sank deeper into the bed with those thoughts.
His first impression had been the absolute worst.
But thinking about it now, maybe he wasn’t so bad. Perhaps he really was the man Lady Estelle had taken an interest in.
“Ugh…”
A mortifying memory flashed through her mind. Elly shook her head vigorously to banish it, then recalled the Mental Image the helper had shown her.
“...It was really beautiful.”
Did she look like that to him?
Or rather, did one need such a clear Mental Image to reach 5-Star? If so, would she never be able to reach that realm in her lifetime?
“......”
To advance from 3-Star to 4-Star, an ability user had to compromise with reality. Manifesting a Mental Image exactly as it was proved incredibly difficult, so they attached conditions to draw it out.
The debt collector they had faced today had compromised by limiting his power to what his hands could touch and only through contracts.
In Elly’s case, she had reached 4-Star by compromising to only draw mist from her Mental Image.
After making such a compromise, could she never reach that beautiful landscape?
You said you’ve poured everything into reaching 5-Star, right? Then the results should show up soon.
“...I really hope that’s true.”
What came to mind at the end of those thoughts were the man’s words from today. Whether they were sincere or just nice to hear, he was the first person who had ever said such things to her.
The cleaner had called him pure.
Those words suited him perfectly.
“......”
Why was she thinking about that annoying man again?
Elly shook her head to clear her thoughts of him. Just then, a message arrived on her phone.
“This is…”
She was in luck. It was a report that they had found traces of the grimoire she had been searching for. If she could obtain this grimoire, it might help her reach 5-Star.
With that thought, Elly typed her reply.