Miss Hebe is Slaughtering Her Way Out of the Lostbelt!

She took her mother's doll. "Only this cannot be forgotten." But she had to give up the piano, which her mother loved most.

Toyokawa Shoko, with the man broken by reality, rushed into a world of coldness she had never felt before.

Because she hadn't reached the age requirement, she couldn't take on too many jobs. Even when she occasionally found work, she would be fired within a few days.

Even she couldn't explain why she was doing this. Toyokawa Shoko realized for the first time that not everything in the world had meaning.

In this situation, Toyokawa Shoko's composure vanished like water through her fingers. Her fingers, which once played Liszt's melodies on the black and white keys, were now stimulated by cold water and chemical detergents too early, leaving a light blue mark on the side of her knuckles that could no longer be washed away.

The school she originally attended was too expensive. If she transferred to an ordinary school, she could save on tuition. Unnecessary habits had to be cut, and this would leave enough for daily living expenses.

The sudden change forced Toyokawa Shoko to keep her distance from everyone. Only by doing so could she properly hide her wounds and maintain her last shred of dignity.

Under these circumstances, it was difficult for her to find time to carefully maintain her dreams and hobbies. It wasn't until a friend's message arrived that she realized: Oh, she still had a band.

Toyokawa Shoko tried to recall the past, but she realized that even if she tried to play again, she couldn't produce the melodies filled with dreams.

It wasn't that no one cared about her. When her almost inseparable best friend cautiously probed, Toyokawa Shoko merely brushed her off with a casual excuse. After one or two times, her words became sharp, like swords trying to make her best friend retreat, while also killing off more of the past Toyokawa Shoko.

She knew she had to kill the little girl inside her.

Pity, luck, weakness... these emotions had to be discarded.

Yet, she still kept that hastily organized band aside. Her emotions told her there was no need to leave, while reason urged her to withdraw quickly.

Toyokawa Shoko stumbled forward between a dilemma, while her father was drunk all day, clinging to non-existent dignity in his stupor.

This life had caused Toyokawa Shoko immense pain. She sometimes wondered, how much worse could this all get?

She soon found out.

Time continued to march forward. It seemed like it was about to rain under the light gray sky.

Toyokawa Shoko received a message. The words were earnest, tugging at her clothes like a drenched little beast.

She remembered the girl who played the bass, and seemed to see her face in the words.

For her now, the pressures of life were no longer inescapable. She already knew how to squeeze more time out of the gaps.

Even she hadn't realized that when she saw those messages, a smile like the old days had reappeared on her face.

Her fingers tapped out words on the screen. The message showed as read.

A call from the police station rang out. Toyokawa Shoko's eyes froze. She tremblingly stopped sending and answered the phone.

—Her father had been hit by a car while drunk on the street. Fortunately, his injuries were not serious.

When she arrived at the police station, the officer behind the desk gave her a look of mixed emotions.

Toyokawa Shoko fumbled in her pocket for crumpled bills and sweaty coins. The money was in various denominations, and she counted it several times.

The officer glanced at it briefly, then collected the money, gesturing for Toyokawa Shoko to sign the consent form.

After she signed, the officer tapped the desk and looked at Toyokawa Shoko with a look of veiled sympathy.

"Do you have a payment app?"

"Yes, yes," Toyokawa Shoko replied, caught off guard.

She did have some pocket money. This money hadn't been much in the past, but now, it was still a significant amount.

Toyokawa Shoko had not given it to her father.

"You probably haven't opened it recently, Miss Toyokawa."

Toyokawa Shoko mechanically opened the payment app on her phone's home screen. To her horror, the app was displayed in a "frozen" gray-white.

She frantically scrolled through the pages, but each page was the same. A cold fact lay before her—the debt not only still existed, but it had now fallen upon her.

"Then, what about my dad?" Toyokawa Shoko asked instinctively.

"He doesn't have any debt on him," the officer said, glancing at Toyokawa Seikou with a hint of disdain. In his eyes, the real debtor would naturally not be the young Shoko.

Toyokawa Seikou must have borrowed excessive amounts of money in his daughter's name.

Toyokawa Shoko pulled at the corner of her mouth. She couldn't afford to worry about anything else and dialed the number she hadn't called since leaving the Toyokawa family.

"Hello, Grandfather, it's me."

However, the answer she received from the other end was not what she wanted. The old man told her to go to the Toyokawa residence.

The old Toyokawa family residence.

A statue stood in the clearing in the center of the courtyard. It was a man bearing countless wounds, yet still standing like a mountain, laughing heartily. This was the Otogiyama Ogre King, the faith of the Toyokawa family.

"That man has stirred up a real mess," the old man said, sitting behind his desk. "During this time, those hundreds of accounts have been active, and do you know how much of a financial deficit this has caused?"

"Twenty billion," the old man said before Toyokawa Shoko could speak.

This figure was enough to cripple the entire Toyokawa Zaibatsu.

The most terrifying thing was that these figures came from thousands of different individuals, companies, and organizations... Even the most skilled actuaries could not account for every single transaction.

As long as these debts were not settled, they would continue to diverge, grow, and spread. In other words, the tide of money was enough to swallow the Zaibatsu itself.

As the old man began to feel despair, a turning point appeared.

An actuary clicked the screen as a matter of routine, but he soon realized something was wrong.

A massive cash flow appeared once more, and this time, instead of directly entering the market, it transformed into tens of thousands of portions, pouring into those accounts deeply mired in deficit.

Numbers scrolled, jumping at breakneck speed... If this device used mechanical rollers instead of a touchscreen, scorching sparks would have likely been flying everywhere by now!

The actuary stared blankly, the cigarette in his hand burning down to his fingertips without him feeling any pain. Tears streamed from his eyes.

If money had a God who ruled over it, then at this moment, that God was using his fingertips to tip the scales of fortune.

A mysterious entity had acquired all the debts in one go.

If the former Toyokawa Zaibatsu had to face a tsunami from the entire market, then at this moment, that tsunami had only one wave left—though this wave was as high as Mount Fuji, damn it.

The old man was completely convinced. He realized that the Toyokawa family seemed to have fallen into a trap, and he was utterly defeated by such a terrifying opponent.

Toyokawa Seikaku was absolutely not qualified to let the other party do this, nor was he.

What the opponent wanted was only the Toyokawa Zaibatsu—the old man had thought so just a few days ago.

But that was not the case.

"The other party is named 'Lord of Blanckug,' and he is the Toyokawa family's biggest creditor right now."

"Lord Blanckug has waived the interest that would have accrued on this sum, but he requires you to go to Albion to work for him." The old man seemed to be struggling to expel the blockage in his chest. "I agreed."

Toyokawa Shoko stood silently in place, her already scarred heart shattering once more.

But she said nothing, nor did she shed a single tear.

That weak self died long ago, she constantly reminded herself.

"What about Dad? And the Toyokawa family?" Toyokawa Shoko asked. "If I take on this debt, will all of you be alright?"

The old man hesitated before nodding.

"Alright. I'll go."

The clouds in the sky descended gloomily, and thunder rumbled in the far distance.

Blanckug, Silent Bookstore.

Hebe woke up from the hard plank bed and saw more text appearing on the dark green screen.

A new card had quietly appeared on the desk.

["Fearless Forgetting" Toyokawa Shoko]

[Toyokawa Shoko cannot prevent everything she cherishes from being lost, just as fresh snow cannot conceal Abydos, thus the more she loses, the more suffering she endures. However, among many puppets, her soul is the most resilient, and moreover, for history, even governance is like playing with dolls. In the dim sea of Blanckug, the puppet will find a path to break free from all shackles. (This person is en route to Blanckug)]

Abstract brushstrokes on the pale blue card depicted a girl wearing a mask, seated under the moonlight.

"Ugh..." Hebe was speechless, the corners of her eyes twitching slightly.

She rubbed her hands together, manipulated the mouse, and clicked on the "Fearless Forgetting" card, dragging it into the semi-transparent square.

—Let me see!

55 A Fox Spirit possessed her!

The torrential rain was like the end of the world. Toyokawa Shoko stumbled out of the Furukawa Garden. She didn't bring an umbrella and rushed into the rain just like that.

It was hard to say how much of her mind was thinking, It would be fine to just die like this.

The gray city was soaked by the downpour. Pedestrians bustled past, not casting a single look of pity her way. This was somewhat fortunate for Toyokawa Shoko; for her shattered heart at that moment, even a gaze that was too warm would be enough to crush her precarious self-esteem.

The downpour fell from the clouds, and lightning struck the city's rooftops like heavy fists. Toyokawa Shoko walked along the road, sometimes swept forward by the crowd, and sometimes disoriented by oncoming vehicles, moving backward.

At the intersection, she finally stopped.

She could almost swear never to ask anyone for help again, nor to make a wish to anyone she could trust.

But before that, before that—

Toyokawa Shoko, in a voice barely audible even to herself, mumbled in struggle:

"Whoever it is, please save me, save me..."

What flowed down Toyokawa Shoko's cheeks was either rain or tears. Grief and despair flickered across her face, and suffering surged within her body prematurely, making her shrink inch by inch.

All despair was almost like emptiness, but in the midst of nothingness, Toyokawa Shoko heard the chiming of a bell in her ears.

"Who are you?" Toyokawa Shoko suddenly straightened up again.

"As you can see, I am the Lord of Blanckug." Hebe looked around from Toyokawa Shoko's perspective. "Why aren't you carrying an umbrella?"

Toyokawa Shoko didn't know how to answer the question. After all, she never imagined that her most disheveled moment would be seen by her future employer.

If she had a choice, Toyokawa Shoko would rather have fainted right then and there, but her spirit was too resilient.

"...I don't have money," Toyokawa Shoko gritted out.

She had just paid her bail, her savings were frozen, and after the sudden blow at the old mansion, she had fled. As a result, she didn't even have enough money on her to buy an umbrella.

"I'll lend you some."

"No!" Shoko Toyokawa reflexively refused.

"Then what should we do?" Hebe's tone became playful. "Why don't you borrow one from the convenience store?"

My creditor is surprisingly easy to talk to, Shoko Toyokawa thought to herself.

Of course, Hebe's eyes didn't miss this subtle thought as she watched Shoko Toyokawa head toward the convenience store.

Her disheveled appearance saved Shoko Toyokawa the trouble of having to persuade anyone; she successfully borrowed an umbrella.

The large black umbrella unfurled, shielding her from the incessant rain falling from the sky.

"...Are you still there?" Shoko Toyokawa asked tentatively.

"I'm here," Hebe replied.

Shoko Toyokawa took a deep breath. Just as she was about to say something, her phone suddenly began to vibrate at a set interval.

She took out her phone to turn off the vibration and saw the read text displayed on the screen, her expression instantly stiffening.

It was already very late, and she had broken her promise again… and soon she would be breaking it permanently.

If only someone could take my place—no, I can't.

This weak emotion flashed through her mind for just a moment.

Only I, only I can say those words.

Shoko Toyokawa followed the path from her memory to the meeting place. It was a place where they had once shared joy, sweat, and dreams. She used to go there filled with anticipation every time, but now she felt as if she were walking on a road to hell.

I have no choice but to do this.

A chill gradually seeped into her body, and Shoko Toyokawa sneezed several times in a row, her vision blurring.