Chapter 35 - The Perpetual Motion Machine of Dreams
Holy Calendar Year 1015, May 20th—
The mourning period for Zova had ended, and after a Saturday and Sunday break, it was finally the long-awaited day to return to school.
I had just finished washing my face, brushing my teeth, and putting on my Redrick Academy uniform when a knock came at my door.
“I’m sorry to bother you so early, it’s Fiona. Might I have a moment of your time...?”
“Come in.”
With my permission, Miss Fiona entered hesitantly, wearing a face more grim than usual.
That look... she lost again.
It had already been five years since my strange association with Fiona Seder, the so-called “Debtor Horsewoman.”
And in that time, there had been... a lot.
[Lord Hollow, this is the last time, I beg you—please lend money to this wretched me...]
[Again?]
[Lord Hollow, this is my one and only wish...]
[How many “only wishes” does that make now?]
[Lord Hollow, actually, I have something I want to consult you about...]
[If it isn’t about money, then I’ll listen.]
Yeah. Not a single good memory among them.
Still, after everything, I had gotten so familiar with Miss Fiona’s “ecology” that I could probably earn a doctorate on the subject.
During Zova’s mourning period, the racetrack suspended operations. Instead, the “Grand Elder Cup” was held in grand fashion yesterday...
No doubt Miss Fiona had gone there and, as usual, burned through her cash.
“How much did you lose?”
“...About three hundred thousand gold.”
“And you think you can survive like that?”
“...I cannot.”
“I told you not to touch your living expenses, didn’t I?”
“W-Well, with all due respect...! An old wise man once said, ‘Only after betting the money you truly must never touch does the real horse race begin.’”
“I don’t care who said what.”
Honestly, I hadn’t known it was possible for the words ‘with all due respect’ to lead into anything other than sound logic.
I never imagined it would precede something this insane.
I sighed—half in resignation, half in pity—and Miss Fiona, shoulders trembling, began explaining.
“I-I really tried, you know...? This time I didn’t go after my favorite long-shots. I played it safe, did box betting and quinellas, centered on the favorites. But... it was hopeless. Truly a disaster, through and through... hrngghhh...”
Fake-looking tears dripped down her cheeks.
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”
Ignoring the cheap crying act, I went on preparing for school. Miss Fiona, however, suddenly dropped into a deep bow.
“Oh great Lord Hollow, I beg of you—please lend me money...!”
A full prostration.
How many times had I seen this scene?
Honestly, I’d seen it more often than my own parents’ faces.
And yet—
...Not bad.
Here was my homeroom teacher, one of Redrick’s most popular and beautiful young instructors, prostrating before me and pleading desperately.
That fact alone stirred the original Hollow’s lust.
From deep inside, a fiery heat began to bubble up.
Her personality is rotten... but her face is cute, her chest is big, and her figure is flawless.
But... no.
Absolutely not.
If I laid a hand on Miss Fiona, it would feel like losing in the worst possible way...
More importantly, in the original Ronzolkia story, Miss Fiona was one of the biggest landmines.
Make a mistake with her, and a Bad Ending was practically guaranteed.
Pheww... calm down. Deep breaths. Deep breaths.
Just as I steadied my breathing to banish my impure thoughts, Miss Fiona clung to my legs.
“N-Next time...! Next time I’ll definitely win, I swear, so please have mercy...!”
Through the uniform, I could feel the softness of her chest pressing against me, and the calm I had just restored began to crumble again.
But let me just say this—
There is no such thing as an “absolute” in horse racing...
The weather that day, the condition of turf or dirt, the horse’s form—just a few seconds’ thought brought up countless variables.
If there really were a guaranteed winning method, racetracks would have gone out of business ages ago.
Of course, telling something like that to a hardcore horse junkie like her would be about as effective as reciting sutras to a horse-headed idol.
In any case, any more physical contact like this was poison to the Hollow body.
“Let go. You’re annoying.”
I grabbed Miss Fiona by the collar and lightly tossed her aside. She let out a squeaky “Eek!” as she went.
While she recovered, I sat down in my chair and crossed my legs.
“If you want more funding, then I need results. What about that thing?”
“Here, please inspect this.”
Clearly prepared as a bargaining chip, Miss Fiona produced a thick research report with startling speed.
“Let’s see...”
I flipped through the pages quickly.
“Hm... Not bad.”
“I am honored.”
“And the sample?”
“Right here.”
She handed me a palm-sized white capsule.
“Hmm...”
As I examined the first prototype closely, Miss Fiona began her explanation.
“That is the portable poison capsule Korotto, developed under your orders. It contains a neurotoxin generated by my Unique Magic, <Hydra>. The small needle on the bottom of the capsule can pierce a target and inject the substance.”
“What about respiratory effects? Also, onset time and duration?”
“As requested, I removed any respiratory hazards, making it a safe poison to use. Against a human-sized target, it takes effect within five seconds and lasts about three hours.”
“...Excellent.”
With this, I no longer needed to rely on Void or crush enemies in flashy displays—this little thing allowed me to subdue targets swiftly and safely.
For someone like me who preferred not to stand out, it was a tremendously useful portable tool.
“Well done, Fiona. As a reward, I’ll grant you additional funding.”
The moment I said that—
“...!”
Her face lit up like a festival firework.
Now then, how much should I give her...?
I activated <Void Step>.
Reaching my left hand into the hidden vault in Void Town, I grabbed three bundles at random and let them drop with a heavy thud-thud-thud before her.
“...!”
Fiona instantly swooped in and gathered them all with lightning speed, clutching them tightly and tenderly against her chest as if she would never let them go.
“There’s three million gold there. And you understand, this is a loan. You will pay it back.”
“Yes, thank you very much! This time, I’ll definitely win!”
“Yeah, I’ll be looking forward to it.”
It had been nearly five years since I first started lending Fiona money.
Perhaps it was time to review her debt situation.
At the beginning, I had lent her sixty million in total: fifty million embezzled from the Ministry of Magic, and ten million borrowed from loan sharks.
Over the following five years, I had provided an additional one hundred and sixty million.
That brought the total to two hundred and twenty million in loans.
And so far, she had repaid seventy million, mostly from the patent income of magical tools she had invented.
Two hundred twenty million loaned, seventy million repaid—meaning she still owed a hundred and fifty million.
Yep. Her debt was steadily, beautifully increasing.
At first glance, it looked like an enormous loss on my part, like my finances had been bled dry. But in reality, that wasn’t the case at all.
I had already recouped the original sixty million, and was in the black by ten million.
Of course, there was a little “trick” behind it.
About five years ago, after bringing Miss Fiona into the household, I had thought things through carefully.
She’s completely drowned in horse racing. There’s no saving her. No chance of returning to society.
It was only a matter of time before she started begging, “Please lend me money,” over and over.
And all of that would only end up as revenue for the racetrack.
That would be such a waste of money...
And I hated waste.
So I made my move early.
“Olvin, I want you to investigate something.”
“At once, my lord. What shall I look into?”
I had Heisenberg’s intelligence network dig into the racetrack Miss Fiona frequented so often.
If my knowledge from the original story was right, the owner here should be tied to organized crime...
And sure enough—the place was rotten to the core.
Human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal animal trades, shady land grabs... the man was filth, through and through.
“Perfect.”
Armed with hard evidence, I went straight to the racetrack and proposed a “peaceful negotiation.”
However—
“““The hell you think you’re doin’, bastard!!”””
The owner’s hired thugs came at me with fists swinging and voices raised.
“Out of my way. Begone.”
With a touch of primitive violence, I crushed them all in an instant.
“H-Hiiiieeee!!”
I cornered the trembling owner against the wall and gently presented his options.
“Now, listen carefully. You’ve got three paths left. One: transfer the racetrack’s management rights to the Heisenberg family. Two: die here in agony. Three: get shipped off to a certain utopia for a lifetime of forced labor. Choose whichever you like best—without regret.”
And so, after a “thrilling three-choice survey,” he naturally chose to hand over management rights to me.
From there, the situation transformed dramatically.
I lent Miss Fiona thirty million → Miss Fiona lost thirty million betting on horses → the racetrack paid thirty million into my coffers.
The money I lent her circled back to me via the racetrack, while only her debt grew.
The balance sheet came out to zero on my end, yet her debt swelled by thirty million.
And thus, the impossible was achieved—Miss Fiona’s debt increased without limit, powered by the dream perpetual motion machine.
Of course, she knew nothing of this.
From now on, Miss Fiona can keep researching magic for me, and on the side, indulge in her beloved horses.
I gained progress in magical research, useful inventions, and patent income.
Miss Fiona got to pursue her passion for magic research and horse racing.
A beautiful, win-win relationship.
In fact—
“Heehee, with three million gold I can do anything! First, some good drinks and tasty snacks... then, hmm, which horse should I bet on next week? With all this capital, maybe I’ll go for a long shot!”
Blissfully unaware of the truth, Miss Fiona beamed with joy. And that was fine. Just fine.
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