"Why are you being like this? My contract clearly stated that you had to help us level up, and I already paid the deposit."
Iino Miko was almost furious enough to cry.
"That won't do, my lady. This is the one thing we absolutely cannot compromise on," the male player bodyguard said.
With that, he said no more and threw himself back into the battle to grind experience.
The female player bodyguard coldly glanced at Iino Miko as well. Afraid that someone else would steal her monsters, she followed after him and continued grinding monsters for levels.
"How could this happen..."
Iino Miko crouched down, despair and frustration mixed with fear flooding her heart. "What am I supposed to do?"
If her level was not high enough, it meant she had no ability to protect herself at all. Danger would always exist.
"I actually agree with Futada's opinion."
At that moment, a frail-looking boy adjusted his glasses and said, "I don't think we need to become stronger either. Our bodyguards are our own people anyway, so resources should be concentrated more."
"Yeah. Killing those things every day is so dirty. I don't want to do it."
"Can't we just pay money? Look at those important politicians. Do they need to train themselves to be so strong? Aren't they all protected by bodyguards?"
Most of the girls agreed as well.
But Iino Miko could clearly sense the greatest difference between the Inner World and reality.
Her original plan had been to rely on the two bodyguards for protection first, then grind more experience herself and level up as quickly as possible, gaining the most basic means to save her life.
But now, it seemed that the wealth, status, and power of the original world were rapidly being replaced by the powerful strength of the Inner World.
The reason Inner World players accepted their job was merely because they were not strong enough yet and could not temporarily break away from money and power.
And once they truly became powerful, like Tsukikawa Shu, all the money and power of the original world would be no different from trash in his eyes...
Fujiwara Chika had silently watched everything that had happened during this time.
When she learned of these cruel truths, Fujiwara Chika had been unwilling to believe them. She had felt lost and despairing for a time, but now she had somewhat come to terms with it.
But she could not simply sit and wait for death...
She kept looking at the chat window on her system, at that person named Tsukikawa Shu.
Should she send him another message? She hesitated.
The sharp sound of snapping strings tore through the night sky, followed by a blaze that lit up a corner of the horizon.
The lizardman wrapped in rock let out a shrill howl, spewing a long tongue of flame. Yet its limbs were bound by an eerie purple mist, leaving it unable to move.
Immediately afterward, a flaming knuckle duster came smashing down from midair. The flames transformed into a massive male lion, roaring as it tore apart the prey beneath it.
In an instant, shattered rocks and charred chunks of flesh burst apart amid towering flames.
Tsukikawa Shu stood at a distance, eating a freshly roasted sweet potato as he watched the battle.
They were now some distance away from town, and the monsters' levels had reached the 40–45 range.
The wilderness was not barren either. There were all kinds of plants, both familiar and unfamiliar, and Tsukikawa Shu had found quite a few sweet potatoes.
Ever since Goto Hitori and Hiratsuka Shizuka's weapons had advanced to Epic Grade, their combat strength had risen dramatically.
Even a level 45 Rock Lizardman leader could not withstand Goto Hitori and Hiratsuka Shizuka's righteous beating, while the ordinary level 40 lizardmen were beaten into a miserable rout.
At this stage, high-ranked players could already run rampant everywhere with nothing more than a Rare Grade weapon. Epic Grade weapons were simply an existence beyond the normal scale.
[Your contractor Goto Hitori eliminated a lizardman. All members gained EXP +150] [Your contractor Hiratsuka Shizuka eliminated a lizardman. All members gained EXP +150] [Your contractor Hiratsuka Shizuka eliminated the lizardman leader. All members gained EXP +300]
It felt great when the whole party gained experience.
Other than their usual intimate time, after fighting hard for an afternoon and a night, the three of them had reached level 39. If they worked a little harder tomorrow, they could advance to level 40 and unlock the level 40 Goblin Instance.
However, at that moment, Tsukikawa Shu checked his system chat log and found another familiar person.
Fujiwara Chika: "Can I bother you for a moment?"
Fujiwara Chika: "＞︿＜"
"Just say what you want. Stop acting cute," Tsukikawa Shu replied.
Fujiwara Chika: "Um, could I ask for your help?"
Fujiwara Chika: "We hired some players to act as our bodyguards, but the situation has become a little delicate. After entering the Inner World, these people stopped listening to our requests."
Fujiwara Chika explained the general situation of the day in the chat.
Looking at the information she had sent, Tsukikawa Shu could predict what had happened.
A group of players already above level ten naturally wanted to accumulate experience as quickly as possible and unlock instances. Anything that went against that goal would be unhesitatingly ignored.
As for contracts and laws, they were indeed effective in the original world. But the Inner World circumstances described in that contract would not be recognized by a court.
Even now, only a tiny fraction of people knew about the Inner World. Tell others about it, and they simply would not believe it. That signed contract was nothing but a piece of waste paper.
And even if others acknowledged the existence of the Inner World, so what? The legal constraints of the original world would eventually be shattered by stronger power.
Tsukikawa Shu: "At least they're still fulfilling their duty to protect you. Don't ask for too much beyond that."
Fujiwara Chika: "Right now, they're only protecting us because we paid an enormous reward. But I'm afraid this relationship won't last much longer."
Tsukikawa Shu: "So?"
The other side did not reply for quite some time, seemingly still trying to formulate her words.
Fujiwara Chika: "I beg you to invest in me. I need some Experience Cards. Once I grow stronger, I can obtain more resources and repay you."
Fujiwara Chika: "You can treat this as a high-interest loan. I guarantee it in my family's name. I will repay you with both principal and interest. If I can't repay it, you can take my life."
In the temporary camp where the Shuchiin Academy students rested, the other students were already exhausted and asleep.
Only Fujiwara Chika could not sleep through the night. After tossing and turning for a long time, she still clung to a sliver of hope and sent a message to Tsukikawa Shu, that Great Demon Lord.
Now, her fingers trembled as she typed the final sentence.
This was a gamble.
She was betting that Tsukikawa Shu was truly, as the investigation results suggested, someone who at least retained the principles of being human, and would continue to be a passable "good person" in the future.
She was also gambling on her own future. After gaining some levels, could she truly repay the debt through her own ability and luck?
If she won, she could survive in this Inner World with her own strength without sacrificing her body.
If she lost, even her life would belong to someone else. She might even suffer all kinds of humiliation. She could only hope that Tsukikawa Shu was not a beast.
This was the helplessness of the weak. Even for something small, they had to stake everything they had.
And if she could not repay him, and could not bear the humiliation, would she have the resolve to end her own life?
Fujiwara Chika did not know either. In the past, when she had lived in luxury without a care in the world, she had never considered such questions.
Tsukikawa Shu looked at Fujiwara Chika's reply and simply found it rather amusing.
"Has she really started treating me like some Great Demon Lord? Am I that bad?"
If she had not reminded him, Tsukikawa Shu would not have thought that the Inner World could even support something like high-interest loans.
But now, her attitude was at least sincere, and she really had been pushed close to a dead end.
"I hate high-interest loans. And I don't need to invest in anyone."
Tsukikawa Shu replied, "But I can give you Experience Cards, along with a Destiny Contract. Just like before, the things I give you will only unlock if you agree to this contract."
"Consider it a safety net for you."
Tsukikawa Shu did not need Experience Cards right now, and he had a severe surplus of all kinds of equipment. He lacked nothing at all.
After waiting anxiously for a while, Fujiwara Chika hurriedly checked Tsukikawa Shu's reply.
"A safety net..."
The general arrangement was this: Tsukikawa Shu would give her some items, but those items would remain locked. Only after signing a contract with him could she use them.
Immediately afterward, several items appeared in Fujiwara Chika's System Backpack.
[Tsukikawa Shu has gifted you the following items:] [Large Experience Card ×15 (Locked)] [Weapon * Rare: Ice Fairy Handgun (Locked)] [Item * Rare: Special Short Finger Gloves (Locked)] [Class Card: Gunner (Locked)] [Skill Card: Frosty Cold Tide (Locked)]
Along with the items that arrived in her System Backpack came a Marriage Contract.
Only after signing this contract would the items above unlock.
Looking at the things Tsukikawa Shu had sent, Fujiwara Chika did not know whether she felt relieved or grateful. In any case, she inexplicably let out a breath.
Fifteen Experience Cards, along with the three he had given her before, would be more than enough to advance her to level 20. And he was so generous that he had actually gifted her Rare Grade weapons and items, along with a Class Card and Skill Card?
Or perhaps he simply did not care about such things at all, and tossing them away meant nothing to him.
She looked around. Some of the bodyguard players were still awake, vigilantly watching their surroundings.
The female bodyguard Iino Miko had found was wiping down her baseball bat. It was only a Fine Grade weapon, yet she treated it like a treasure. This was her strongest weapon at this stage.
Just how strong was Tsukikawa Shu? Fujiwara Chika could not imagine it.
But looking at these locked items in her System Backpack gave her an inexplicable sense of security...
"No, no, no!"
She suddenly slapped her cheeks.
She could not even use these things yet! How could she possibly feel at ease?
Her actions drew wary looks from the two players standing guard.
"Ahaha... it's nothing, it's nothing. There was just a little bug..."
Fujiwara Chika smiled.
Then, she found a corner where no one was paying attention, opened the contract, and carefully read through its contents.
"..."
After reading it, Fujiwara Chika once again fell into confusion and hesitation.
The contents written in the contract were exactly as Tsukikawa Shu had said: they would bind their destinies and become marriage partners. Moreover, it was even more binding than the laws of the original world.
But... but... ＆
"The benefits are way too good..."
After reading the contract, Fujiwara Chika was stunned by the benefits that would come from binding her destiny to Tsukikawa Shu.
Before you continue