NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 2 - Beautiful Girl in Debt
“Damn. So it’s come to this?”
Two men, giving off an air that obviously says they’re no good, are harshly banging on the door to the room where Kamiyo went in.
In other words, I’ve just witnessed the first page of what will likely be a series of terrible events befalling my classmate. Just like what happened to me in the past.
I was lucky to have someone help me out back then.
But what if there’s no one to help Kamiyo now? It’s almost certain that a worse fate awaits her than what happened to me.
“Damn it!!”
As I make a call to a certain acquaintance, I start walking towards the apartment.
“Kamiyo Karen-chan, right? Yeah, this could definitely work. We could make a lot of money.”
“I don’t remember giving you permission to call me by my name like that.”
“Oh, surprisingly spirited, aren’t you? That’s good. Otherwise, we’d be in trouble if you broke down and died too easily. That would be a problem for us too.”
I can hear the conversation between the men and Kamiyo.
Just as I thought. It’s almost certain now; they’re here to collect on a debt.
Though dressed like salarymen, typical of modern-day debt collectors, I can tell they’re something entirely different by their aura.
Especially one of them; although relatively slim, the other is clearly an intimidation factor.
And from their interaction, it’s probably the final stage.
They probably never thought they’d be able to collect the money in cash.
“You have a sister, right? Erika-chan, was it? She seems promising for the future too.”
“Don’t touch my sister!! ――She has nothing to do with this. If you lay a hand on her, I’ll never forgive you!”
Kamiyo’s loud voice echoes, and I can feel the atmosphere tense up in an instant.
Even from a distance, I can sense a cold, intimidating aura in the men’s voices.
“Then pay up. Right now.”
“…That, I”
“If you can’t pay, you have no right to complain. It’s the same whether it’s your sister or your hospitalized mother. If you want to blame someone, blame your father waiting for you in heaven.”
It’s a cheap, stereotypical threat.
Well, they probably see it as just a part of their job. It’s only natural to have set phrases for sales talk.
…Money, huh?
Life is always like this.
The moment money is involved, the violence of reality is laid bare.
“Hey, let’s go.”
One of the men reaches out to grab Kamiyo’s trembling arm.
But before he can reach her…
“Could you wait just a moment?”
My voice reaches them.
“――Huh?”
An unexpected intruder stops the man’s hand in mid-air.
Don’t look at me with that scary face, damn it. People like you are my trauma.
“Who are you?”
“A friend of Kamiyo’s here.”
As for Kamiyo, she’s looking at me like I’m something unbelievable.
“A friend, huh? Ha ha! What do you think, Karen-chan? What should we do?”
“G-Go away! Please! Now! Quickly!”
Kamiyo yells at me in a panic.
She must be desperate, probably not to involve me in this.
“She says you should go, bro. Could it be that you’re her lover or something? If so…”
“It’s not! It’s not like that at all. He and I have nothing to do with…”
Lover? Me? Kamiyo’s?
“Cut the joke, would you? There’s no way that could happen.”
The words I inadvertently spoke with a stronger tone froze the room for a moment.
What? Why?
It’s obvious that someone like me couldn’t be Kamiyo’s boyfriend.
“Ha ha ha! Karen-chan got rejected. Oh, so, why are you here? Get lost; we’re not free here.”
A gesture from the man as if shooing away an animal.
But it’s you who should leave.
“How much is it?”
“…Huh?”
“So, Kamiyo’s debt.”
The two men look at each other, apparently taken aback by the unexpected situation.
“What are you going to do with that information? You.”
What do you mean, what? It’s obvious.
“I’ll pay it. Me, that debt.”
The atmosphere in the room completely froze.
I think Kamiyo was the most stunned.
“You’ll pay? You?”
The debt collector looked genuinely surprised. Of course, who would expect a fool to suddenly say something like this?
Kamiyo was speechless. Understandable; she must have never expected a classmate to say something so absurd.
“W-What are you talking about!? This isn’t something to joke about… Just go away! Please, go away now!!”
Kamiyo yells in confusion, her voice almost breaking.
I wish it were a joke.
“Ah, sorry, but I’m serious. Can you just be quiet for a bit?”
“What…?”
Ignoring Kamiyo, who’s lost for words again, I walk towards the debt collector.
The young and burly man, presumably there for intimidation, seems unable to keep up with the situation and looks to the slim man for guidance.
The slim man, on the other hand, is looking at me with an expression as if he’s found an interesting toy.
“Ha ha ha! You’re cool, bro. It’s like watching a cheap home drama. I kind of like that, you know?”
“That’s an unexpected hobby. So, how much is it?”
The man opens his mouth without taking his eyes off me.
“Around 1.2 million. By the end of today.”
A straightforward declaration of the amount. 1.2 million, in one lump sum.
“What’s the matter, hero? I know you’re serious. Is your daddy rich or something? Ha ha ha! But, even then, that’s a bit too much for pocket money, isn’t it? Huh?”
He probably thinks I can’t pay. I can even sense some disbelief in his tone.
Well, it’s true that it’s not an amount a typical student can just hand over.
By the way, my “daddy” tried to kill me through abuse, ended up in jail, and I have no idea what happened to him after that, nor do I consider him a family member anymore.
“No, I was just surprised that the amount was less than I thought. With Kamiyo’s potential, she could probably earn that much relatively quickly if she really tried.”
Kamiyo might be able to do it. If she doesn’t mind the means.
Actually, this man probably won’t let her choose the means.
And I normally wouldn’t care what happened to Kamiyo… but this time, the timing of various things just happened to coincide.
“――Hey. You can’t be serious about…”
“1.2 million. I’ll prepare it now. It’s a bit of a hassle to withdraw that amount since it’s what it is. But I’ve already contacted my lawyer friend, so can you wait a bit?”
The smile fades from the man’s face.
It seems that he finally understands that I’m serious about paying the money.
“You expect me to believe that and wait? Enough with the jokes.”
“What good would lying about this do in a situation like this?”
It’s not like I have a death wish. There’s no point in getting involved in this and lying or joking.
Besides, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve already contacted a legal expert who specializes in this kind of thing.
“I have a lawyer friend who’s familiar with money matters. If you don’t trust me, shall we call him now? He’s already on his way here, though.”
“…What the hell are you?”
It’s hard to answer what I am.
“Just a high school student. Her classmate, to be precise.”
I point my thumb at Kamiyo, who can only open and close her mouth like a goldfish at this point.