Instant Borrowing, Instant Repayment

"I didn't! It wasn't me! I don't know!"

When Mo Tan was pinned to the ground by an angry mob, he was completely dumbfounded. Leaving reality aside, he shouldn't have done anything heinous in the game. Even if he had done something... it definitely had nothing to do with this character, right?!

So could someone please explain what the hell was going on?!

A few seconds later, the female receptionist who had handled Mo Tan's paperwork a while ago sauntered over from the other side of the hall. She crouched in front of him like a delinquent girl and shot him a furious glare through gritted teeth. "We've finally caught up with you..."

"Um..." Pinned to the ground by a tall ogre adventurer and being rubbed against the smooth marble, Mo Tan said helplessly, "I think there must be some misunderstanding."

Indeed, a scene in which everyone ganged up on him should never have happened to him in principle. At the very least, it shouldn't have happened to the 'current' Mo Tan. In the game, this Lawful Good Mo had never done anything bad. There was no way the style of some Chaotic Neutral personality could appear in him at this moment. No matter how one looked at it, he was an upstanding citizen.

And yet, that upstanding citizen was now being held down by a crowd, while the receptionist from the Anka Market Adventurers' Guild branch looked ready to breathe fire.

"Misunderstanding?" The receptionist sneered. "They've come banging on our door, and you're still telling me it's a misunderstanding?!"

Mo Tan was even more confused. First, he didn't know who had come banging on their door. Second, he had even less idea what this had to do with him...

"Tsk, tsk. Now tell me the truth!" The receptionist smacked her lips, then suddenly raised her voice by an octave. "Why did you let your dog hurt people?!"

Huh?!

Let his dog hurt people? What dog? What people?!

"You don't know?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow and swept her gaze over the large crowd of spectators. "Big guy, yes, you—bring her over!"

After a long while, the sorrowful one-eyed troll adventurer returned, pushing a large iron cage mounted on four wheels.

Inside was none other than...

"Yaya?!" Mo Tan took a close look. Those sharp gray animal ears, the tail drooping listlessly at her side, the two pointed little fangs, and that aggrieved expression—it was the Dog Girl who couldn't speak Common, and whose "woof" even had a distinct accent.

There even seemed to be traces of scorching on her body...

Why was she here too? And why was she locked up?

For some reason, a very familiar feeling suddenly rose in Mo Tan's heart. It was like the feeling he got every time he did something bad while in one of his other (everyone knew which ones) personalities, then returned to his current state.

It was extremely ominous...

"Two nights ago, our branch received two complaints at the same time." The receptionist glanced at Yaya in the iron cage and said expressionlessly, "The complainants were Ms. Molly and the Gulo Couple, the issuers of E-rank quests 17502 and 10308 respectively."

Gulp.

Mo Tan swallowed.

"Wuu..." Yaya's ears drooped too.

"Actually, Ms. Molly gave our branch high praise because the completion rate of the pest-removal quest she issued was extremely high." The receptionist smiled sweetly. "She also demanded thirty gold coins in compensation."

Mo Tan gave an awkward laugh. "Um, why would she demand compensation if the completion rate was so high...?"

"You should ask your dog." The receptionist kept smiling.

Mo Tan turned his gaze toward Yaya.

"Mm... Woof!" Yaya hugged her knees tightly, her tail drawing circles beside her as she mumbled indistinctly, "So many woof... bugs, woof! Scary... very woof!"

She had been "very woof"-scared. That was one way to put it.

Mo Tan's comprehension was pretty good. He immediately deciphered the meaning of Yaya's words without error.

The quest had been to exterminate pests. After being led to the destination, she had seen a great many bugs, and then she had been very woof-scared.

"Exactly." The receptionist spread her hands. "After being frightened, she suddenly began slaughtering things with incredible efficiency. Yes, that's what I mean—she slaughtered every insect, plant, and flower in Ms. Molly's yard, then demolished half the house."

Mo Tan's gaze toward Yaya instantly became horrified.

"Woof... guh..." The Dog Girl's tail, which had been drawing circles, was practically moving fast enough to leave afterimages.

"All right." Mo Tan sighed deeply and looked up. "What happened next?"

They had mentioned two complaints, so this matter clearly wasn't over yet...

"Then she darted over to Number 11 Incense Avenue, which was also the Gulo Couple's residence." The receptionist remained utterly calm. "She seemed to be looking for you, but you weren't there at the time, so she..."

No! Don't say it! I don't want to hear this!

Mo Tan desperately wanted to roar those words, but because of the inexplicable guilt in his heart, he obediently listened.

"So she conveniently completed quest number 10308 for you, helping the Gulo Couple 'clear their weeds.'" The receptionist spread her hands. "She completely plowed their yard flat, including twenty percent weeds and eighty percent precious magical plants. As a side note, she apparently intended to demolish the Gulo Couple's house as well, but failed when their stairs suddenly exploded. Then those two goblins captured her, interrogated her, and brought her straight to the branch!"

Nearby, a human ax warrior trembled like a leaf and said, "Those two goblins are completely insane. They nearly blew up our entire branch!"

"Look on the bright side." A tall Dark Elf thief rolled her eyes. "If people like that became adventurers instead of botanists, would any of us still have a meal ticket?"

Not far away, an Orc shaman leaped up in shock. "So they're botanists! I thought they both worked in battlefield engineering!"

"Anyway, that's more or less what happened." The receptionist glared at Mo Tan with a face full of black lines. "The Gulo Couple caused a huge commotion here, insisting on an explanation and demanding three thousand gold coins in compensation from the person responsible. Of course, the actual losses certainly weren't as high as those two goblins who valued money over their lives claimed, but a tenth of that is still quite a lot. And then..."

She glanced at Yaya, who was trembling in the cage, and spread her little hands. "She doesn't have any money."

"Wuu, woof..."

Mo Tan suddenly felt a little ashamed of himself, because he realized that, just now, he had actually wished for a moment that he could be kicked offline...

As expected...

"So, based on the substantial information provided by witnesses near Yangchao Avenue, as well as the adventurers who saw the two of you at the branch entrance at the time..." The receptionist handed a sheet of paper to Mo Tan. "And taking into account that this Half-Orc girl completed the quest for you, you, temporarily recognized as her owner, are requested to pay a total of 340 gold coins in compensation, plus 90 copper coins in food expenses. This girl really can eat."

Mo Tan's vision went black... It had failed. He couldn't faint in the game.

"I..." Mo Tan sighed. "I don't have that much money either."

"You can pay it in full within three days." The receptionist shrugged. "The Adventurers' Guild still carries some weight, after all. Of course, you can also disassociate yourself from this matter. The one who went berserk was this girl, after all."

By then, the crowd had released Mo Tan and even helped pull him up from the floor.

Yaya let out a confused whimper from inside the cage.

"However, she'll have her adventurer qualifications revoked and be placed on the blacklist of most lawful organizations on the continent." The receptionist reached into the cage and stroked Yaya's head, smiling bitterly. "Her life will probably be very difficult from now on..."

"Woof?"

"Good girl. I'll give you a big bone to chew on later."

"Woof!"

Mo Tan was speechless for a couple of seconds, then nodded decisively. "I understand. I'll find a way within these three days. If I still can't gather enough money by the end, I'm willing to accept all the consequences on her behalf."

The math was simple. He was a player, after all. Even if this caused some extremely unpleasant consequences, it was still far better than Yaya, an NPC, losing her place in this world.

One had to understand that organizations such as the Adventurers' Guild, Mercenaries' Guild, Thieves' Guild, and Mages' Guild all belonged to the 'lawful organizations.' Once someone was placed on that so-called 'blacklist,' the consequences for a native of the Continent of Innocence were obvious.

Thus, Mo Tan accepted responsibility for the matter without the slightest hesitation.

At the same time...

You have triggered an event quest: Repayment
Reward: 500 selectable experience points; one random Fine-quality piece of equipment
Failure penalty: -5000 reputation with every lawful organization except Sky Pillar Mountain

Mo Tan knew without looking that the quest objective was naturally to repay Yaya's debt of 340 gold and 90 copper within three days.

Although it felt like the failure penalty had already been maxed out, he couldn't say this matter had nothing to do with him. Mo Tan took it in stride and began calculating whether he could obtain such a huge sum through legitimate means.

Did this world have something like a lottery?

"All right, then it's settled." The receptionist's gaze toward Mo Tan softened considerably. She lightly knocked twice on the iron cage beside her, and the bars in front of Yaya vanished instantly.

"Woof!" The girl slipped out and quickly ran behind Mo Tan, then woofed softly, "Woof... sorry, caused... trouble for woof..."

Mm, adorable.

Several single men in the crowd nearly had their eyes pop out at the sight.

"Come to the branch and pay within three days." The receptionist gave Mo Tan his instructions, then lowered her voice. "I've saved a few quests for you. The schedule's a little tight, but if you push yourself, you might still be able to finish them. The rewards are pretty good."

Mo Tan could only smile wryly and nod his thanks, but he wasn't happy in the slightest...

After all, Dave still hadn't received the punishment he deserved. When the time came, Mo Tan would have to switch accounts to deal with that matter. Trying to handle both sides at once would be incredibly difficult.

But he had no choice. The fact that they had given him three days was already generous. He couldn't abandon Yaya, and he couldn't let Dave off either, so...

"I'll do my best." Mo Tan gave a bitter smile. "I'll repay as much as I can."

However...

"No need." A sharp voice rang out from the entrance to the first-floor hall. "We'll repay these gold coins."

You have completed the quest: Repayment
You have received 500 selectable experience points
You have received equipment—White Lion Round Shield

Huh?!

Mo Tan was stunned!

It wasn't just him. Even the receptionist in front of him and the surrounding spectators were stunned.

The crowd parted slightly, and three Sylphs resembling green stick figures walked over. The one in front went straight to Mo Tan's side and nodded to him. "I never had the chance to thank you in person, nor did I know how to repay you for saving the people from our caravan. Let us pay this money."

People from the Sylph Caravan!

Mo Tan immediately understood, but he waved his hands at once. "How could I accept that?"

He wasn't pretending. He genuinely felt that he hadn't done anything particularly remarkable and felt embarrassed having them pay this 'huge sum' for him.

"It's nothing." The Sylph with a large bunch of chive-like hair seemed to smile. "It was just a small favor."

With that, he took a turquoise fruit from one of his fellow Sylphs behind him and handed it to the receptionist, who was still busy staring blankly. He said softly, "This Bìlóng Fruit should be enough to offset our friend's debt, right?"

His tone was as calm as could be, and as extravagantly wealthy as could be...

Although Mo Tan couldn't see the item description, his instincts told him that this thing was definitely worth a lot.

"It's enough, it's enough." The receptionist's hand flashed through the air, and the fruit radiating a refreshing fragrance vanished into her pocket. Only then did she force an awkward smile. "But we can't make change!"

Mm, she had accepted the item anyway. Now that she couldn't make change, they could figure out what to do about that themselves...

The Sylph merely shook his head indifferently. "That's fine. Could you arrange a quieter room for us? There are a few things we'd like to discuss with our friend before we leave."

"Room 7 on the third floor, the VIP room, is currently vacant." The receptionist's smile became impossibly sweet. "It's available at any time for our sucker... esteemed guests~"

If Mo Tan's temper hadn't been exceptionally good right now, he would definitely have started complaining!

"Woof..." Yaya tugged timidly at the corner of Mo Tan's clothes and mumbled, "Woof wants... to follow..."

Mo Tan froze for a moment, then turned around... and looked down at the seemingly high-ranking Sylph.

"Of course." The other nodded. "With her language capabilities at this level, the possibility of her leaking secrets is essentially eliminated."

Yaya: "Woof?"

Mo Tan: "..."

Two minutes later, in Room 7, the third-floor VIP room of the Anka Market Adventurers' Guild branch.

"Allow me to introduce myself." As soon as the Sylph from earlier sat down—or rather, hopped onto the chair—he inclined himself slightly toward Mo Tan. "My name is Broken Branch? Xuanyuan. I'm one of my people's elders and the person in charge of this branch of the caravan."

Broken Finger Xuanyuan, really?

Mo Tan naturally wouldn't voice such a thought at a time like this. He merely returned the greeting politely, copying the other's gesture. "My name is Mo. Thank you for your generous assistance."

He didn't waste time with unnecessary pleasantries. Since the other party insisted on helping, continuing to be coy would be pointless.

"Actually, it's like this." Elder Broken Branch didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "I have an unreasonable request..."