So, How Much Do You Need?
So, How Much Do You Need?
"Sacrifice my comrade?! Are you out of your mind!"
The blonde man screams at me.
"Out of my mind," he says. That's hilarious.
I'm currently calmer than anyone else.
I open my mouth and answer with a voice that isn't mine, but from now on, will be.
"Then, did you think I would lend you money for free forever?"
"But you were the one who said you'd bet on my dream!"
"That's right. Which is why I gave you one last chance."
I gave him one last chance.
And the one who failed that chance was.
"It was you, wasn't it? You were the one who kicked away my final act of goodwill."
At my words, the blonde man shuts his mouth, having nothing to say.
But you should know better.
Staying silent because you're at a disadvantage is something only elementary schoolers do.
"Well then."
I continue to drive the nail in.
"I've given you countless chances so far... but it was you who couldn't seize them."
"...Shut up."
"But it's true that you need money for your journey. So, from now on, I'm going to set some conditions."
I raise my index finger.
"Just one. If you leave one person as collateral, I will lend you as much money as you need."
"...."
"Don't even mention going to a bank. What kind of credit do adventurers have?"
As soon as he hears my words, the man squeezes his eyes shut.
As if he can't decide which comrade to leave with a vicious loan shark.
But if they don't have money, their journey ends here.
He should know that better than anyone.
"Now, who will you leave behind?"
At my urging, it wasn't the blonde man, but the pink-haired woman who stepped forward.
"I will be the collateral."
"Oh ho?"
"So please, lend us the money."
It's a tear-jerking scene of sacrifice, but the man is still denying reality.
"No! I can't send you!"
"No. I have to go. You know it too. I'm the weakest in our party."
"But-"
"Healing can be replaced with potions. But that's not the case for others."
The woman smiles faintly at the man.
"We're old friends, aren't we? I'll trust you and wait."
What a tear-jerking scene.
Of course, for me, who knows everything about the future, it's just a scene that makes me scoff.
"...Are you having fun? At our expense?"
"Pardon? No. Of course not. Why would I do such a thing to valuable collateral?"
When I place my hand on the woman's body, she flinches and trembles.
The man beside her just grinds his teeth and mutters.
"This isn't betrayal... I, I just need to work hard and earn money. That's it...."
Yeah, that's all you need to do.
If you borrowed money, you just need to work hard and pay it back, right?
'If you can, that is.'
I pull the woman toward me, as if to show him, and speak politely.
"Since you're leaving such collateral, we have no choice but to be polite as well."
"Ugh...!"
"Damn it...!"
One side with embarrassment.
The other with anger and hatred.
Watching the man and woman whose faces start to flush for different reasons, I curl up the corners of my mouth.
The first step of the plan I've been plotting since I possessed this body.
They've finally stepped right into it.
"So, how much do you need?"
To explain how this plan was made, I have to go back to the moment I was possessed.
+++++
As soon as I grasped the situation, the first thing I did was look in the mirror.
A strange man stood in the mirror.
Jet-black hair scattered wildly, and red eyes sank indifferently.
Through the unbuttoned shirt, you can see a toned torso.
Seeing the mirror, I could tell.
He's handsome.
And has a good body, too.
"But who the hell is this?"
When I spoke, the man in the mirror moved his mouth too.
It was natural, in a way.
From now on, this is the body I have to live in.
It was a fact I barely managed to accept after throwing a fit since morning.
While I'm somewhat happy that I went from an ordinary person to a handsome man with a good body....
"Honestly, I can't say I'm thrilled about it."
First, the world I'm in is a dark fantasy world where it wouldn't be strange if it collapsed at any moment.
Second, why did I have to possess this pushover?
'Danilu Duesbury'
The moment that name came to mind, I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
[Became the Don Quixote of Dark Fantasy]
It's a web novel I used to read occasionally.
A trash novel where the protagonist chases romance in a dark fantasy world... only to face the worst ending of running away right before the boss.
Among the incomprehensible supporting characters, the most incomprehensible one was this Danilu.
A supporting character famous for endlessly pouring money into the protagonist's party.
A character nicknamed 'The Protagonist's Personal Wallet' among readers.
A pushover loan shark who lent money interest-free just because he was "impressed by you!"
To think I would be possessed by that character.
"He doesn't look like the type to do such things at all."
I look at the face reflected in the mirror again.
It's an appearance that screams "I'm a villain."
How could he act like such a pushover with a face like that?
In the original work, Danilu's pattern was always the same.
The protagonist's party comes, explains their situation, and he sighs but ends up lending them money. Even when the deadline passes, he lets it slide.
Then eventually, in the latter part of the story, the protagonist disappears, and he ends up on the streets because he couldn't get his money back.
This idiot poured money into them until he reached that point.
"Let's see, the date."
Looking at the calendar, it seems I've already met the protagonist's party.
And at a point where I've already handed over quite a lot of money.
If I were to faithfully follow the original work, it would be right to lend them money here, but....
"Why should I do that?"
I ask Danilu in the mirror.
What on earth did you like about that guy so much? Was it worth emptying your assets for?
'Now, let's think.'
The original protagonist, Quixote.
He is, just like his name, a person like Don Quixote.
A person who endlessly dreams and chases ideals.
In this pitch-black world, he must have looked like white hope.
He actually has quite a bit of skill. And achievements, too.
The problem is that his talent isn't enough to cover this dark world.
"Wake up, Danilu. Shouldn't you distinguish between ideals and delusions?"
In the process, Quixote couldn't read the room and ran forward using the suffering of those around him as fertilizer.
"And how did it end?"
I close my eyes and recall the contents of the novel.
The highlight and climax of this novel. The showdown between the protagonist Quixote and the Grand Duke of the Abyss!
They were two people who should have clashed swords and spears with their names honorably on the line, but.
"Quixote ran away."
Is the ending of the guy who carried everyone's sacrifices really just running away?
"Decided."
There's no reason to follow the original story in the first place.
If so....
"The question is, what do I do now?"
I tap the table with my fingers, keeping a rhythm.
Until a decent idea comes to mind, or perhaps until an idea that could be the answer emerges.
"Aha, that's it."
A pretty good idea came to mind.
"If you're frustrated, you have to run it yourself, what else can you do?"
Fortunately, the final boss of this story isn't an unbeatable evil.
It's a being with a physical existence that can be killed if you face it with courage.
If so, why not just kill it?
"Quixote, along with your comrades."
That's what the final boss mentioned in the novel.
'Your comrades couldn't fully display their potential because they were sacrificing themselves for you.'
In reality, their talents were the best on this continent.
A saint candidate, a magic tower successor, a half-demon.
Just hearing their titles, they were all incredible people.
So, what if.
"What if I could take them all away and raise them myself? What if I could get stronger and fight alongside them?"
Not a bad choice.
Since the world ends if we don't overcome it anyway, a conscientious choice might be meaningless.
You need to be alive to keep your conscience.
And honestly speaking, it was quite annoying.
Acting all cool, only to run away at the end?
"Master, excuse me."
As I was happily badmouthing Quixote, a woman's voice came with a knock.
The instinct of Danilu remaining in my brain told me.
The owner of that voice is the mansion's head maid.
"What is it?"
"A guest has arrived. Someone named Edel, a cleric from a party, is requesting a meeting."
She came at a good time.
I was planning to meet her personally anyway.
"Let her in."
"Yes, Master."
Whiskey, a cigar, a glass roughly prepared for receiving guests.
I pour whiskey into the glass and sit in the chair.
After the moderate sting of the whiskey goes down my throat, the door opens, and a pink-haired woman enters.
The woman bows her head as if she has no shame and offers a greeting.
"Hello, sir. I am the cleric Edel Weiss."
"...."
"It's nothing else, but I've come to see you because I have a request."
Edel Weiss.
The party's cleric and one of the next saint candidates.
And the childhood friend from the hometown that Quixote cherishes the most.
As soon as I put down the whiskey, Edel let out a voice that was barely audible.
"W-we, our party... failed this expedition."
"Oh my, what happened?"
"...Due to our lack of virtue, we have suffered such losses-"
"I am."
Flinch! Edel's body trembled.
Is it because I put my hand on her shoulder? Or is it because of Danilu's smile, which feels chilling even when seen in a mirror?
Maybe it's both.
"Asking if you need more money."
I prepare to execute the plan I've set up in my mind.
For that, I am currently wearing the kindest smile possible and giving her a chance.
"Y-yes, we need it. We need to pay for everyone's medical bills and prepare for the dungeon exploration...."
"As much as you need. Can't I afford that much money?"
"Thank you so much. To be indebted to you again like this-"
"Instead."
I ask myself one last time.
Will I really break this story and move according to my plan?
...No matter how many times I ask, the answer is the same.
YES.
I might become an immoral human being who steals other people's women and comrades, but what can I do?
"What can a weak person protect, customer?"
"Y-yes?"
So.
"This is the last chance I'm giving you."