Chapter 5

The next day was a holiday in the Lunar City.

The real market was closed. The virtual market of the investment contest was also closed. They said it was for server maintenance and data aggregation, but that meant I really had nothing to do.

News that might affect real trading could be read from corner to corner by noon.

So, having nothing to do, I went outside before noon.

Since I might get taken into protective custody if I wander around during the daytime on a weekday, I’ve been a bit of a shut-in lately, but back when I was at my parents’ house, I spent most of the day outside.

I don’t dislike going outside and moving my body.

Besides, if I stay inside the church, I inevitably run into Hagana.

And Lisa, ever since Toyama’s visit yesterday, has been lost in thought at every idle moment.

I stuffed my terminal into my bag, slung it on my back, tied my shoelaces tight, and went outside from the third floor.

The lunar surface was clear again today, and perhaps because the air had been washed by rain a few days ago, I could see far into the distance.

Laundry was fluttering in the garden area on the third floor, and in the corner flowerbed, the lilies whose numbers had decreased because Hagana pulled them out were blooming.

The scenery reflected in my eyes is so peaceful, yet each person has their own problems and worries.

Thinking about that, I feel a vague terror at the fact that a nearly infinite universe extends beyond the dome.

I fall into a sensation as if I have become all alone.

However, thinking about such things won’t solve anything.

I shook my head, kicked off the roofs and walls of buildings, and started running.

My destination wasn’t decided.

Instead, what I would do was decided.

“Kuhn Company?”

When I asked the stout lady selling steamed buns at the storefront, she asked back while handing a bun to a customer with tongs.

“I don’t know if there’s a shop or not.”

“Ah, they’re delivery only. So, do you have business with them?”

“Yeah. Do you know where I should go?”

The buns filled with minced meat and chopped vegetables cost four Mool each, but they are voluminous and delicious.

While eating one as a substitute for lunch, I was asking the shop lady about Chris’s whereabouts.

“Wait a moment, let’s see, today is a holiday so…”

“If it’s young miss Chris, she was delivering over in 3-chome a while ago.”

One of the customers who came one after another while I was listening told me that.

“3-chome?”

“Yeah. Near the tunnel connecting to the 7th Outer District. On days off, she often hangs around there.”

“Ah, that place.”

It’s my favorite spot with a good view.

The old man who gave me the information bought five buns at once. The lady was constantly putting new buns into the steamer.

“Thanks. I’ll go check.”

“Yeah. Ah, lady, put that big one in for me!”

Listening to the old man’s joking order behind my back, I tried to start running with the bun in my mouth.

It was the lady handing the buns to the old man who stopped me.

“Ah, wait a sec!”

Is there an idiot who waits when told to wait? shouted the thief in the movie.

Ever since leaving my parents’ home, for me, a person on the run, the word “wait” is bad for my heart.

So, hesitating for an instant, I turned around while keeping my feet ready to flee at any time.

Then, the lady was looking at me holding one steamed bun in her tongs.

“If you’re meeting Chris-chan, take this to her. That girl is a little too thin!”

When said by the lady who swelled up like a steamed bun, it was persuasive.

I nodded meekly and received the bun, still steaming heavily, wrapper and all.

“I’ll hand it to her properly.”

“I’m counting on you.”

She didn’t take money, nor did she doubt me. Beside the shop, a stray cat was napping in the sun. I don’t dislike this atmosphere of the Outer Districts. The pretentious guys in the White Belt have beautiful towns, but they lack a friendly atmosphere. Everyone doubts everyone else, and it feels like they are competing in vanity. When people say folks on the lunar surface have dry hearts, they probably mean the guys in the White Belt.

Though, considering the middle and upper-class folks living in the White Belt are all people engaging in fierce competition in Newton City, I suppose it can’t be helped.

However, if wasting away in competition turns you into such boring people, I have to be a little careful too.

Thinking about such things, I ran toward 3-chome as I was told.

The lunar surface is kept at almost similar temperature and humidity throughout the year.

In Earth terms, it corresponds to spring in a temperate climate.

With the temperature and weather described as a perfect balmy day, exercising after eating makes you sweat just a little.

As if to dispel the gloom of being cooped up in my room during the day for trading, I flew, jumped, and advanced through the town with its intense elevation changes. One of the reasons I like exercise, besides learning that keeping your body fit is convenient in various ways, is that while moving, I don’t have to think about unnecessary things.

Flying through the town on a sunny afternoon, cutting through the wind, feels indescribably good. I jumped from building rooftop to rooftop and arrived at the cliff of 3-chome that connects to the 5th Outer District.

To climb up, you have to follow a road that takes a terrible detour.

However, since I couldn’t be bothered to do that, I ran up along the wall like a cat.

Because there’s no end to people doing similar things due to low gravity, traffic signs are set up even on cliffs on the Moon.

Using that sign as a stepping stone, I made one last leap. Just then, a lady riding an electric scooter came through the tunnel from the direction of the 7th Outer District, and looked somewhat surprised to see me jumping up from below the cliff.

Ignoring that as a matter of course, I looked over the 6th Outer District from along the road.

I was told she was delivering around here, but could I find her from above?

Thinking that and straining my eyes, I heard a voice from above and behind me.

“Ah!”

Turning toward that familiar voice, there was Chris sitting on top of the tunnel.

A large package was placed by her side, and she held a shabby terminal in her hand as usual.

Lucky to find her so easily, I thought, and without saying anything, I tossed the steamed bun I received from the shop lady toward Chris.

“Ah, w-wa… wa?”

“From the steamed bun shop lady. She said to eat it.”

“…Ah, eh… haa…”

Chris stared bewilderedly at the package in her hand, audibly swallowing her saliva.

As I always do, I jumped toward a tree growing by the side of the road, used it as a foothold, and jumped up onto the tunnel with a triangular jump.

Chris, who was timidly trying to peel off the wrapper, wasn’t particularly surprised by me jumping up.

Probably, Chris herself does deliveries in a similar way to how I ran here.

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

My question and Chris biting into the steamed bun happened almost simultaneously.

Because of that, Chris, who had stuffed her mouth full of bun, tried to swallow in a panic.

“Ah, my bad. You don’t have to rush.”

“Mugu…”

Chris nodded dutifully, moved her mouth mugu mugu, and swallowed deliciously.

“So, what were you doing?”

When I asked again, Chris poured a drink from her water flask into a cup before answering.

“Umm… studying.”

“Today’s a day off, isn’t it?”

“Ah… yes…”

Even though I said it as small talk, Chris looked down as if she had been doing something wrong.

I continued, a little flustered.

“No, well, it’s not bad, I think it’s fine. Studying means math, right?”

“…Yes.”

“That’s cool.”

“…Eh?”

“Studying has this image of grinding away inside a dark room… so doing it leisurely outside is, like, cool.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie.

When I heard from Lisa that she thinks about difficult problems alone in a place with a good view, I thought she was some solitary artist, but seeing it with my own eyes, the atmosphere was completely different.

Apparently stopping by in the middle of a delivery, there is a large package next to her. She leans against it using it like a cushion, with a water flask placed at hand. Occasionally drinking tea that gives off warm steam, she thinks in front of a balmy day and a scenic view.

I think such a leisurely atmosphere suits a gentle girl like Chris very well.

“Ah… wa…”

However, Chris apparently hadn’t expected to be praised like that; after letting her eyes swim all over the place, she looked down. Still, it didn’t seem like she disliked it. I understood that well from her face turning red in an easy-to-understand way.

“Ah, actually, the bun will get cold.”

When I said that, Chris glanced at the bun, then looked at me as if stealing a glance, and immediately lowered her eyes. Then, she timidly started nibbling on the bun.

She’s like a small animal, and if I don’t restrain myself, I feel like I’d want to be mean to her. Of course, I restrained myself, and knowing Chris was feeling somewhat awkward, I stood nearby and gazed at the scenery from atop the tunnel.

However, Chris seemed to get used to it after a while and started stuffing her cheeks with the bun boldly.

Judging the timing right, I broached the subject.

“So, there’s something I want to ask you a bit.”

“…Fwai?”

Even though she looks quiet, stuffing her mouth full seems to be a habit.

Since there was a piece of minced meat on the edge of her lip, I pointed it out with my finger, and she wiped it off in a panic.

“You seem to get along well with Hagana.”

“…”

The cat at my parents’ house was apparently a hardcore stray that slipped past the surveillance of the orbital elevator’s mass observation device, hid somewhere, endured decompression and low temperatures, and smuggled itself to the Moon, but whenever water hit its face, it made a face like this.

However, while the cat would get angry and pounce once it came to its senses, Chris looked up at me with upturned eyes as if wondering if she was going to be scolded for something.

“So, I want to ask…”

Until then, because I was standing and Chris was sitting, looking at Chris physically from above, I had to look away for the first time.

While thinking there was no need to be conscious of it, asking something like this is still embarrassing.

“Do you know… what Hagana likes?”

Somehow, as a result of thinking about what would be the quickest to solve among the many problems befalling me, this was the answer I came up with.

“…Fwa—”

She started to say, then seemingly remembering the bun remaining in her mouth, Chris closed her eyes, hurriedly chewed and swallowed, took a deep breath, and rephrased.

“You mean, what Hagana-sensei likes?”

“Yeah. You seem to come to the church often. So, don’t you know?”

Chris looked up at me dumbfounded, directing innocent eyes at me as if asking what this person was saying.

I couldn’t look at Chris out of embarrassment, but Chris seemed to have some strange misunderstanding on her part, suddenly turning red and covering her cheeks with both hands.

“W-Umm, for Hagana, sensei?”

“Don’t misunderstand, okay?”

When I brought my face close and threatened her, Chris closed her eyes and curled up covering her head with both hands, but of course, I wouldn’t hit her.

When I straightened up, she opened only one eye and looked up cautiously.

“How should I put it, due to a slight mistake, I did something really bad to Hagana… no, was it bad? I don’t know, but I did something like that.”

“…Something, bad?”

“Various things happened.”

When I said it with a bitter face, Chris looked away a little and said timidly.

“Then… um… it’s an item of apology, is it?”

“To put it simply, that’s it.”

“I see…”

Chris said, and this time looked away with a slightly different feeling than before.

Her profile looking far away as if thinking about something looked terribly picturesque, perhaps because she usually thinks about math problems in places like this. At first glance, you can’t tell if she’s a boy or a girl, but seeing her like this, I feel she might become very beautiful in the future.

After a one-person electric bike passed through the tunnel making a small whirring motor sound, Chris looked at me and said:

“You’re a good person, aren’t you.”

“Hah?”

I reflexively asked back with a strong tone, but Chris flinched only for an instant, and then she was smiling as if tickled somewhere.

“It doesn’t matter if I’m a good guy or a bad guy. Do you have any ideas?”

“Ah… yes. Something Hagana-sensei likes, right.”

Despite looking quiet, timid, and clumsy, she is properly girlish only in these aspects. Maybe I’m just bad with girls.

Either way, being in front of a girl made me feel like a child, and I hated it.

“Hagana-sensei doesn’t really talk about that sort of thing much…”

“Anything is fine. Like something she’s a little curious about.”

“Something she’s curious about, is it…”

Chris started thinking really seriously, but recalling Hagana’s demeanor, I don’t think she talks about those things on a daily basis, so maybe she has no idea.

However, as I watched her silent contemplation without rushing her, Chris suddenly raised her face.

“Ah.”

“Did you think of something?”

“Ah, no, um.”

“What?”

To my question, Chris pointed to the road passing under the tunnel and said:

“Hagana-sensei is there.”

“!”

When I looked where she was pointing, indeed, Hagana was coming up the road.

She was just at the turning point of the slope and hadn’t noticed us yet.

“Keep quiet that I was here.”

Leaving those words to Chris, I slipped through the gaps in the thick trees and jumped down to the opposite side of the cliff.

Chris followed me with her eyes, but eventually Hagana arrived and seemed to call out to her, so she hurriedly turned around.

Hagana came at an annoying timing, but I can just ask Chris for the rest of the story at another opportunity. Or, since she seemed surprisingly sharp, she might tactfully extract what Hagana is interested in right now for me in secret.

However, what bothers me is why Hagana came all the way to a place like this. Since she surely didn’t come to look for me, Hagana must have also had business with Chris.

I wonder if it’s about studying, but I don’t understand the reason why Hagana, who is in the position of teacher, would go out of her way to come to a place like this.

I thought about turning back and eavesdropping, but if I got caught, I would have no excuse.

So, I decided to obediently take the long way back to the church.

Lisa wasn’t in the living room; apparently, she was holed up in her own room.

I brewed coffee and opened my terminal.

I made a move to solve one of the problems.

Then, a move for the next problem, I thought, looking over the stocks.

However, the quietness of the church was apparently what they call the calm before the storm, to borrow an Earth expression.

A few hours later, the muffled sound of a phone was heard from afar.

Immediately after that, I heard the sound of footsteps as Lisa ran down from the second floor with tremendous force.

---

It might have been about three hours since Lisa flew out of the church.

The sun had long since set, and since I had only eaten one steamed bun for lunch, I was hungry.

The church was completely silent, and there was no sign of Lisa and Hagana returning.

For Lisa to rush out in such a panic, it must have involved Hagana, but I wondered if she had been taken into protective custody by the police. However, since Lisa’s hobby seemed to be harboring that sort of crowd, I felt she would have been a little calmer if that were the case.

If so, the likely scenario was that Hagana had been found by the parents she ran away from, was about to be caught, fled, and called for help—something along those lines.

So, uncharacteristically, I got a little worried, wandering around the living room and peering out at the street through the gap in the curtains.

It was around then that the sound of a phone rang out in the quiet living room, and I was startled enough to almost jump, pathetically.

If it had been a call to Lisa’s terminal, I would have hesitated, but since it was ringing on the wall-mounted phone, I picked it up around the fifth ring.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Hal?”

Hearing Lisa’s voice, I felt relieved, but at the same time, a wave of irritation welled up because she hadn’t left a single word when she went out.

However, before I could say anything about that, Lisa connected her next words.

“I’ll be back in a little bit, so could you get the bath ready?”

“…Huh?”

“Make it hot. Also, there’s some special cocoa in the cupboard, so please make that. Make it extremely sweet.”

“Cocoa? Bath? Or rather, where are you right n—”

Before I could finish speaking, Lisa hung up the phone.

I stared at the silent receiver and put it back with a forceful slam of anger.

Not only was there no explanation, but why did I have to be ordered to prepare a bath and cocoa?

For a while, I fumed and considered ignoring the request, but eventually, I reconsidered, washed the tub, filled it with water, and set it to boil. Then, just as told, I opened the cupboard to search and found a bag of cocoa that looked high-class just from the packaging, so I made it following the recipe on the back.

It was while I was boiling milk in a milk pan—the aroma was so good that I decided to make a portion for myself and took out an extra cup—that I heard the sound of the door opening and closing from the direction of the chapel.

Thinking good grief, the return, I felt strangely exhausted even though I hadn’t really been doing anything, and sighed as I turned off the electric stove.

“The cocoa you asked for is almost…”

Just as I held the handle of the milk pan to pour milk into the cup, Hagana strode in, cutting across the living room, and practically dove straight into her own room.

Saying she “dove in” wasn’t an exaggeration; the door was slammed shut with enough force to shake the church.

Lisa was frozen in the middle of the living room, in a posture as if she had tried to call out to stop Hagana.

Her usual composure—that dignity of an older woman who is a bit goofy but incredibly reliable—didn’t exist anywhere.

She was so exhausted she didn’t even notice my gaze, and the hand she must have tried to reach out to Hagana was lowered powerlessly.

Then, realizing she was being watched by me, she smiled slightly, looking embarrassed.

I felt like I had seen something I shouldn’t have, and poured the milk into the cup.

“Did you brew it well?”

Lisa directed those words at my back.

That’s not what you should be saying right now, is it? I thought, but I couldn’t blame her for it.

“P-Probably.”

“I see…”

If I turned around, surely she would be wearing a soot-stained smile.

Not wanting to see Lisa like that, I pretended to pour the milk carefully.

“…Oh, are you making two?”

Asked that, I almost spilled the milk.

“Ah, yeah… just in case…”

“Could you give me one?”

At those words, I finally turned around.

And I was shocked. Earlier, because of the shadows, I hadn’t noticed, but diagonally below Lisa’s right eye, it was swollen enough to be visible.

“…W-What is that?”

“Hm?”

At my words, Lisa looked around at her own clothes and pants.

Rather than thinking it was goofy, I watched her with irritation.

“Your face.”

“Ah.”

As if finally realizing, Lisa raised her face and touched it gently with her slender right fingers.

Just looking at it seemed painful, and my face naturally distorted.

“I just bumped into something a little.”

“Just?”

Lisa gave a pained, wry smile as if her petty trick had been seen through, and turned her gaze toward me.

“Hey, can I have the cocoa?”

Normally, if my question was dodged, I would have gotten angry.

Still, in front of Lisa, I couldn’t spin any further words.

So, at least keeping my face fully disgruntled, I stirred the cup I had poured milk into and placed it on the table.

“Thank you.”

Lisa thanked me with a smile and sat at the table. Then, as if she had returned from a freezer, she took the cup in both hands, blew on it many times, and sipped lightly.

It was only then that I realized I had forgotten to put in sugar, but Lisa didn’t mind at all. Or rather, it was doubtful whether she could even taste it.

Her mind was elsewhere.

I intentionally made a loud noise as I slammed the sugar pot onto the table with a clack.

“Sugar.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

Lisa said, and put in just one cube as if uninterested.

Then, as if satisfied with just that, she didn’t lift the cup again.

“So?”

Unable to endure it, I asked. Lisa’s reaction was slow; at first, I thought I was ignored, but slowly she raised her gaze and looked at me.

“What happened?”

I am, so to speak, a freeloader here, and I don’t have any direct relationship with Hagana or Lisa.

However, I felt I had the right to ask.

“Do I have to say it?”

And then, Lisa asked that while laughing a little, like a child.

Rather than getting angry, I actually felt scared.

Still, putting strength into my stomach, I said:

“I made you cocoa, didn’t I?”

When I said it with a straight face, Lisa looked at the cocoa at her hand, and then looked at me again.

Lisa’s face as she burst into a light laugh looked somewhat relieved.

“That’s true. You made me cocoa…”

“I boiled the bath, too.”

“Then, I really can’t avoid telling you.”

Lisa drank the cocoa and sighed.

The silence was long; if it had continued a little longer, I might have suffocated and collapsed.

“Yesterday, Toyama-san came, right?”

“Toyama? Yeah.”

“It’s an extension of that story.”

Saying that, Lisa drank the cocoa. It was a statement that explained nothing, but there is a sense of trust in Lisa that she will explain properly without being urged.

“Yesterday’s talk was, well, how should I put it… a simple demand for debt repayment.”

“Hah?”

I unintentionally raised my voice and asked back.

“We just paid the interest.”

“Right. Toyama-san was also apologetic. That’s why he was extremely polite, right?”

Being told that, it was true that Toyama wasn’t coercive; rather, he was humble and acted apologetically. Moreover, that guy offered prayers to the crucified bearded man in the church chapel. Perhaps he had the self-awareness that he was coming to say something unreasonable.

“I was asked to repay the full amount of the debt.”

“Fu—”

My words cut off there, and simultaneously, the rough economic situation of this church raced through my head.

The debt is 30,000 Mool, and the monthly interest burden is 300 Mool. Of course, I haven’t received the 300 Mool interest I advanced, and it doesn’t look like it will be returned anytime soon.

To be told to suddenly repay the full amount in such a situation—there is no way it can be repaid.

“Why such a thing? was it written in the contract?”

“No. The debt was indefinite term, you see. Toyama-san is always like that. He only lends money to people he can trust, saying it’s fine if they return it someday.”

At a glance, it sounds like a good story, but since he takes interest either way, the circumstances are the same.

“But, Toyama-san also has a financier, you see.”

“Financier?”

“The person who accommodated the initial funds for Toyama-san to lend money.”

“Ah… and?”

“It seems that financier passed away from illness.”

What does that have to do with Lisa’s full repayment?

Rather, since the person he borrowed money from died, wouldn’t that be a happy thing for Toyama?

“The person who gave money to Toyama-san also seemed to be someone he knew from Earth, and lent it on very loose conditions. But, you see, at the same time he passed away, his relative who came from Earth sold the contract for the money lent to Toyama-san to someone else.”

“Ah, well…”

It’s a story I can understand.

“Yeah. I don’t intend to blame those people either, but for Toyama-san, it became a troubling situation. Until now, because it was a loose contract and an old relationship, things were settled casually, but now he’s forced to execute exactly according to the contract. Toyama-san, actually, hasn’t been making a profit at all.”

“I understand that very well. 12% interest without collateral is impossible.”

“Come to think of it, Hal did say something like that… So, because of that, it seems he’s suddenly being told to pay back the money lent to Toyama-san in a lump sum. The total amount is something like 800,000 Mool.”

“Eight hundred…”

That’s a level where you can build a neat little house in the White Belt. If you go down to Earth, whether in Dollars, Yen, or Marks, it should be an amount you can consider a substantial fortune.

“Naturally, there is no way Toyama-san has that kind of money. He’s a person who, if there’s someone in trouble and he thinks they are trustworthy, lends more and more, so he lends to people until there’s no money left in his own house. So, all Toyama-san has on hand are debt contracts. And, the people pressing Toyama-san to return the money say that if he can’t return the cash, they will buy those contracts cheaply.”

“Heh.”

Then, isn’t that fine?

I thought that for a moment and looked back at Lisa, but then thought, Wait.

“That means… the other party of the debt changes from Toyama to those incomprehensible guys?”

“Right. For us too, although the contract says indefinite term, there’s a clause for a contract review every three years just in case. According to Toyama-san, if they find fault during this renewal, it would be bad.”

“Bad?”

“In other words, it means pay up even if you have to dispose of everything.”

“…”

“I don’t know much about it either, but apparently they can forcibly dispose of things through the court. And if that happens, any property will be beaten down to a terribly low price, so even a debt of 30,000 Mool would become a disaster.”

“So, pay back the full amount now?”

“That’s what it means. Rather than panic and sell at a fire-sale price, it’s better to take time and find someone who will buy assets at a high price. Toyama-san really came out of kindness.”

If we believe Toyama’s entire story, I thought, but I didn’t say it aloud.

I myself didn’t think Toyama seemed like a guy who would do such a cunning thing. Of course, there is the possibility he is a dirty adult equipped with tricks and schemes, but if he could do that, I felt Toyama would be dressed a little better.

“But.”

Then, my silent contemplation was interrupted by the way Lisa cut off her story.

“Hagana… that child is very sharp in that way, so yesterday, she seemed to sense that something happened to me. And, it seems she caught wind of that story somewhere…”

“She got furious and barged into Toyama’s place?”

When I asked fearfully, Lisa nodded as if drooping her head deeply.

At that moment, what crossed my mind was the figure of Hagana coming to find Chris on top of the tunnel.

Just as I thought Chris would know about Hagana, Hagana might have thought Chris was knowledgeable about the town. If Toyama is lending money in this neighborhood, Toyama’s predicament should be widely known.

“I received a call and rushed over in a panic, but it was intense… I really caused trouble for Toyama-san… Just being a moneylender makes people tend to think you’re doing something bad even when you aren’t, so if someone who doesn’t know the circumstances saw it, they would think Toyama-san is in the wrong, right? Still, since Toyama-san is also a known person around here, we managed to avoid a catastrophe, but…”

“That injury?”

“Ah, this?”

Lisa smiled wryly and turned her gaze toward the corridor leading from the living room.

And, she said in a truly small, hushed voice:

“The reason the rampaging Hagana quieted down was thanks to this.”

In other words, something Hagana threw in the spur of the moment, or something similar, hit her.

“I understand that girl did it thinking of me. But you see…”

The result is always like this.

It was the same with my clothing store incident.

“That girl seems to always be blaming herself. So, she might think that if there is anything she can do, she will do it no matter what, to any extent.”

It’s the story I heard from Toyama.

“A difficult personality.”

Lisa didn’t deny my mutter.

“She’s a serious girl. Serious to no end. I wonder why such a girl isn’t rewarded. Truly, where is God and what is He doing?”

Lisa, smiling sadly, looked down and fell silent.

However, unable to endure the silence, I immediately said this.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“Eh?”

“The debt.”

You return what you borrowed. It’s an obvious thing.

But if everything proceeded like that, I would be living in a penthouse in Newton City by now.

“Yeah… what should I do.”

Lisa said, and laughed as if troubled.

If she really had no money to pay it back, I might have gotten angry instead. I might have thought, Go work or something.

But, Lisa has a means to pay. She actually does. It seems if she sells her books, she can repay the debt in no time. Yet, Lisa hesitated before that method and was at a loss.

Lisa loves books as if they were a part of her own body, and moreover, once that kind of book is put up for sale, it seems you can never get it again.

She studied old Earth religions at a university on the Moon, built a relic of the previous century called a church, harbors runaways and those with nowhere to go, and says she likes reading hundred-year-old books written about gods from all over Earth on rainy days.

She is a person who fits the Moon as little as possible, yet I think Lisa is very much an adult. And, if I were to name just one person I could rely on right now, I would probably name Lisa first.

That Lisa, at this late stage, is laughing as if troubled.

Hagana surely must have gone to Toyama and attacked him. And then, she probably pressed him to sell her.

Lisa wrapped both hands around the cup of cocoa I brewed, tilted it slowly, and put it to her lips.

“Your cocoa is always delicious.”

The words she muttered, for some reason, pierced my chest intensely.

“Is the bath boiled too?”

“You told me to boil it.”

“Fufu. Thank you. Then, maybe from now on I should tell you to eat your meals politely over the phone, or to get along with Hagana.”

“Hah.”

Since it was a joke I couldn’t even laugh at, I blew it away with a snort.

Lisa didn’t seem to have expected me to laugh either; she placed the cup down and stood up.

“Thanks for the drink.”

“There’s still another cup.”

“Nn.”

Lisa stopped for a moment, but laughed lightly and shrugged.

“I’ll get fat. More importantly, do you mind if I take a bath first?”

“Ah? Yeah, I don’t really mind but.”

“If you peek, I’ll get angry.”

“I won’t peek!”

I reacted instinctively, and Lisa laughed happily only at this part.

And, leaving that smile behind, she walked toward the changing room.

Her gait seemed somewhat unreliable, swaying unsteadily.

Even after the door closed with a click, I stared at that door meaninglessly. Eventually, after hearing the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing, I looked away as if being watched by a surveillance camera.

My eyes next turned to the other cup left on the sink. It had long since gone cold, and a thin film of milk was floating on it. What will Lisa do after this?

It’s decided what she will do. Without a doubt, she will sell the books. The answer was decided from the start, and the rest was just a matter of when she would make the decision.

Because it’s someone else’s problem, I can say it like that.

I understand that.

That’s why I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Lisa was crying in the bathroom. I heard from the roughnecks back home that the only places an adult can cry are the seaside or the bathroom.

Is there a good solution?

Probably not. If there were, it would undoubtedly have been done already. Otherwise, there is no reason to do something like a slow suicide—harboring guys with nowhere to go for a bargain price while lacking even the monthly interest payments. Any elementary schooler knows that if you can reduce the principal, the debt will eventually disappear, but if you keep paying only the interest forever, the debt won’t decrease.

But, now that it’s come to this, she has no choice but to rely on the last resort.

Lisa will sell a part of her body. It’s better than Hagana selling her entire body. Perhaps that is how she persuaded Hagana. The Lunar City is more survival-of-the-fittest than anywhere on Earth. Since they are forcibly building a town in a place where life cannot live, there is no room to do lukewarm things.

Space is cold and dark.

I wondered, Will Hagana cry? Probably, she will cry, and she will blame herself. If I were in the same position, I think it would be incredibly painful. Because Lisa is a good person, the pain would surely increase by that amount.

Toyama, the old man, said that the reason Hagana cares for Lisa that much is perhaps because Lisa is the first person who ever protected her.

I feel that way too. Because in this Lunar City, worrying about others is something only someone crazy like Lisa would do.

That crazy Lisa’s debt is 30,000 Mool.

I repeated that amount in my mouth.

30,000 Mool?

Staring at the cooling cocoa on the sink, I wanted to curse God if he existed.

30,000 Mool.

How much were my assets again?

---

Before Lisa got out of the bath, I had returned to my room and opened my terminal. On the screen, my trading account was open. Cash balance: 72,610 Mool.

For those working at top-tier companies in the Lunar City, it’s a pittance, but for anyone else, it’s an astronomical sum. I built this up from a principal of 2,000 Mool.

Every day from morning to night, concentrating without eating or drinking, I literally poured my lifeblood into building it. Subtracting 30,000 Mool from this leaves 42,000 Mool. I felt something akin to nausea at that number.

I don’t even want to spend a few tens of Mool, so why is there a need to offer up 30,000 Mool for someone else? What exactly is Lisa to me?

Of course, I owe her a debt of gratitude for saving me from the hands of the police. But that’s all. Even for living here, I am properly paying the price. If so, there is absolutely no reason for me to pay out of my own pocket just because Lisa is in trouble. Moreover, Lisa actually has a way to repay the debt. Sell the old books in her room. That’s all she has to do.

And yet, I couldn’t forget Lisa’s exhausted figure.

I learned for the first time that seeing someone about to let go of something they truly cherish is painful enough to cut into the observer’s body as well. That’s why I couldn’t move, staring at the terminal. I have the means to save Lisa from her predicament right here in my hands. Moreover, handing it over should be logical.

Because Lisa’s books, once sold, are apparently things you can never get again.

However, in my case, that is not so.

If my investment method is truly amazing, and if I can produce results worthy of fulfilling my dream in the future, then offering 30,000 Mool now shouldn’t be any blow at all. If I just keep increasing the remaining money, in a few years, 30,000 Mool will truly become like tissue paper.

I turned my principal of 2,000 Mool into 70,000 Mool, thirty-five times the amount, in three months. If I can believe my power is correct, I shouldn’t feel any hesitation in handing over 30,000 Mool here. Hesitating means either I am a dirty miser, or otherwise, I don’t believe in my own investment skills.

I had resolved that if I couldn’t fulfill my dream, living would have no value.

And yet, here I was, legs trembling before a situation that was like declaring I couldn’t fulfill my dream on my own.

If I can’t cough up 30,000 Mool just like that, it’s a lie. I’m a liar.

In front of the terminal, I clenched my fist.

Grinding my teeth at my own spinelessness, I wanted to cry.

Am I small fry after all? Am I just a humble guy with only the ability to pick up petty change while struggling?

I cursed myself with such words.

I raised my face and looked around the room aimlessly. I almost thought the correct answer might be somewhere in the room.

No, I know the correct answer. I just lack the guts to take the step.

And when my gaze turned toward the boundary with the next room, I remembered Hagana.

Hagana has the courage to take a step. She has the courage to ask to be bought. Moreover, it’s not some sheltered idiot saying it, but a human who was truly sold from Earth saying it. A human who knows what being sold means has the courage to step into that hell once more. Hagana surely thinks that as long as she can help Lisa, she doesn’t care what happens to herself.

But there is no way Lisa would accept such a method. Compared to Hagana’s frustration, how luxurious is this hesitation of mine? I remembered the exchange in the living room where I tried to approach her to make up.

“We are living with all our might. We are different from someone like you who was born on the Moon…”

That one phrase from Hagana strikes my chest once again.

Am I truly living with all my might? Am I doing everything I can?

It was at that moment.

At that moment, I remembered the investment contest.

“…The prize money.”

I jumped to the Economic Institute’s homepage, logged in, and looked at the contest overview again.

Prize money is awarded to top placers. First place is 200,000 Mool. Second place is 50,000 Mool. Even third place gets 20,000 Mool, and fourth and fifth get 10,000 Mool each.

If I can take second place, it’s a huge success. Even third place is quite grateful.

But what struck my chest even more than that was the existence of the investment contest itself.

I raised my face again and looked behind me. There was a wall separating me from the next room.

Beyond that, Hagana must surely be crying. Blaming herself for being unable to do anything for her precious Lisa, she must be crying.

Even when thanking me, she haggled forcefully to the point of clumsiness. And when I told her it was terrible haggling, she got angry enough to kick my shin and cry.

Even if some of it is naturally her personality, Hagana has no leeway. For example, even if she can teach math to her students, she can’t change the economic environment surrounding them, nor can she help whether they can advance to higher education.

Hagana believes she is tossed about by only such things, brought to the Moon, ran away from home, and after ending up at Lisa’s house, saddled her with debt.

Math can apparently solve problems beautifully.

However, Hagana remains unable to solve a single realistic problem. According to Toyama, she can’t even break the eggshell to become a chick.

For such a Hagana, the investment contest was, after all, a big chance.

If I can use Hagana’s power, I can help Lisa, and I can clear up the misunderstanding with Hagana. Moreover, if everything goes well, everyone can be happy.

Whether Hagana’s ability is truly amazing enough to handle financial engineering, or whether she would cooperate for my purpose, didn’t matter.

I understood that there are things in this world where simply doing it is correct, without worrying about the details.

I grabbed my terminal, flew out of the room, and headed for the living room. The living room was empty and silent; Lisa wasn’t there. I immediately turned back, ran down the corridor, went up the steep stairs, and headed for the second floor. Through a window on the way, I saw a light on in Lisa’s room.

Without hesitation or knocking, I opened the door to Lisa’s room.

Lisa, who turned around in surprise, was in the middle of taking several books from the shelf.

Her hair was still wet, and her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Her figure looked just like a lost girl on a rainy day.

I don’t want to see such a face on Lisa.

So, to the stunned Lisa, I thrust the terminal screen.

“…?”

“There is a way.”

Lisa sniffled like a child.

“I want you to persuade Hagana.”

“Eh?”

“I want to borrow her talent.”

I explained everything to Lisa.

Ten minutes later, the two of us were knocking on the door of Hagana’s room together.

---

When we knocked, Hagana didn’t come out.

“Hagana, are you awake?”

Lisa asked in a small voice. If she was tired from crying and sleeping, we could just wait until tomorrow morning. No matter how painful things are, if you get through the dark night, things usually work out somehow. In that case, she would be calmer tomorrow, and it might actually be better to bring up the conversation then.

I thought so, but after knocking and calling out, Lisa gently brought her ear close to the door.

And in that instant, her expression changed. It was as if she had heard a terribly unpleasant sound, like metal rubbing against metal.

Before I could ask, Lisa put her hand on the doorknob and turned it slowly. It was such a quiet way of opening it, as if even a trivial impact might hurt something inside the room.

“…”

The door opened slowly, and the light from the corridor entered the dark room. Although Lisa opened the door, she didn’t try to enter the room immediately. I thought it suspicious for a moment, but I soon understood the reason. Hagana’s room, which was even more bleak than the room I was renting, was completely pitch black.

However, even within that pitch-black room, there was a place where the darkness was even denser.

It was black. A black blacker than darkness. An unpleasant taste spread in my mouth, to the point where I didn’t know what to say or think.

In the corner of the room, Hagana was hugging her knees and crying.

“Hagana.”

When Lisa finally called her name, Hagana trembled like a terrified child.

“Hagana, I have something to talk about.”

At Lisa’s words, Hagana shrank her already slender body, hugging her knees desperately as if trying to shrink even more, and seemed to press her face against them. That appearance felt closer to crying in anger than crying in sadness.

Shrinking her body, shrinking more, as if wishing she could just disappear—such anger could be felt.

“Hagana…”

Lisa said softly and advanced slowly. Since it wasn’t a large room, she soon stood in front of Hagana.

Hagana’s body trembled, and then, changed shape.

Even though I thought she couldn’t get any smaller, she pulled her legs in closer, lowered her face more, and then tried to cover her head with the arms that were hugging her knees.

“…rry…”

“Eh?”

“I’m so… rry…”

Hagana was trembling enough that even I, standing at the entrance of the room, could tell.

Lisa’s profile stiffened more strongly than if any abuse had been directed at her.

Lisa was also angry.

But she wasn’t angry at Hagana.

Even I can somewhat understand looking at Hagana’s state. In the corner of a pitch-black room, covering her head, trembling visibly. She should understand that no matter how angry Lisa gets, there’s no need to be that frightened. Even that Chris surely wouldn’t be this frightened.

Hagana had walked a life where, if she made any mistake, she had to tremble in the corner of a room covering her head.

Hagana didn’t raise her face, and didn’t seem to recognize Lisa as Lisa. Desperately, beyond words, she repeated “I’m sorry.”

What Lisa is angry at is the many misfortunes that have befallen Hagana. What Hagana is frightened of is all the misfortunes that have befallen her until now.

Lisa crouches down in front of the frightened Hagana. Hagana senses it and pulls back, trying to retreat even though there is no place left to go.

Lisa gently grabbed Hagana’s thin wrist, and then wrapped her hands around Hagana’s trembling fingers.

“Hagana, it’s okay. It’s okay.”

Lisa rested her head on Hagana’s head and repeated it like a whisper.

It looked as if she was repeating “It’s okay” as many times as Hagana apologized.

“Have you calmed down?”

She said it truly gently by Hagana’s ear.

Her profile even looked like she was happily laughing, teasing her somewhere.

Hagana was sobbing hic hic. Lisa never rushed her.

Eventually, Hagana’s small head moved. From beyond her messed-up bangs, Hagana directed eyes that looked like they were about to melt away.

“Hagana, do you recognize me?”

Lisa asked.

Hagana stared at Lisa intently with a face exhausted from sobbing.

Then, after starting to shed large drops of tears again, she slowly nodded.

“Right. Good girl.”

Lisa said, and hugged Hagana as if cradling her head.

“I’m so… rry…”

Hagana said it again, but it wasn’t something somewhat infantile like before.

It was something clearer, with shape.

“Yeah. To be honest, Hagana’s elbow really hurt.”

It seems the injury on Lisa’s face was from Hagana’s elbow hitting her. It must have been quite a force.

“That said, that was like an accident. I’m not angry.”

“…But…”

“Going to Toyama-san’s place without thinking about the consequences is certainly not admirable. Nor is what you did there.”

“…”

Hagana gets stuck for words, but that is a little different from being frightened anymore. The atmosphere of Hagana wanting to make some excuse under Lisa’s arm is transmitted even here.

Because of that, Lisa, hugging Hagana, was laughing as if a little troubled.

“But, Hagana did it for me, right?”

Lisa hugged Hagana’s body again, then asked.

The small girl dressed all in black nodded in Lisa’s arms as if pulsing. As if trying to make new blood flow faintly into a body that had completely frozen solid.

“I am happy about that feeling. Very much so.”

Hagana raised her face, and Lisa accepted that expression directly with a smile.

Hagana, who had started to calm down considerably, looked like she was about to cry again, and Lisa pulled her head to her chest as if to protect her.

“Hagana, Hal is by the entrance of the room. If you cry too much, he’ll find out.”

“Guh.”

I could tell she flinched in Lisa’s arms.

You’re using me as a pretext like that? I glared at Lisa, but Lisa looked at me sideways and winked lightly. Reluctantly, I hid beside the entrance.

“So, you see, Hal says he has a few things to talk to you about.”

“…, …”

“Eh? Don’t say such things.”

It didn’t reach my ears, but Lisa seemed to hear something.

She probably said something like, “He has nothing to talk to me about anyway.”

“I heard you said all sorts of terrible things about Hal?”

“…”

“Hal was very hurt, you know.”

When we talked about the investment contest and how Hagana’s math talent might be used for trading, I also told Lisa everything about being made a fool of for being Moon-born.

Of course, she’s free to think I’m a scum who hangs around without working. However, putting my pride aside, if the misunderstanding remains, this plan won’t even be able to start sliding.

Still, at Lisa’s words, I sent a cheer in my heart saying, “Tell her more.”

Hagana should learn a little more that her words hurt others.

“Besides, Hal says those are all Hagana’s misunderstandings.”

“Liar.”

Clearly, only that word was audible.

Following that, I could also hear Lisa laughing lightly.

“Hagana is surprisingly childish too, isn’t she.”

“Guh…”

Lisa is good at poking people’s pride.

“Maybe, I won’t have to sell my books.”

“…Eh.”

“Thanks to Hal.”

From the sound of clothes rustling, I know Hagana must have raised her face.

Additionally, I could almost hear the sound of her frowning at Lisa’s words.

“Hal seems to have been working properly. No, I wonder if he’s working… I don’t really know, but anyway, he was earning money. And a huge amount at that.”

“…Is, is that so?”

“Yes. I was surprised too. Because it was such a huge amount, Hal seemed too scared to mention it. Well, that makes sense. If Hagana can’t trust Hal, Hal can’t trust Hagana either. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

When I peeked lightly into the room, Lisa was combing through Hagana’s hair with her fingers as if wrapping her cheeks, while Hagana had a stubborn face.

“But Hal said he’s willing to give me the money he worked so hard to save, depending on the circumstances. Money as much as 30,000 Mool, you know?”

At Lisa’s words, Hagana makes a pained face.

Hagana was convinced she couldn’t prepare that money with her own power and had no choice but to sell herself.

“But, as you can see, Hal has a pretty solid personality. He says there’s a condition.”

“…”

“That is, to borrow your power.”

“Eh.”

Hagana was clearly surprised, opening her eyes that looked like they were about to fall asleep while having her hair combed by Lisa.

“Do you understand? Hal wants to borrow Hagana’s power.”

“…My, power?”

“Yes. Hagana’s math power.”

If Hagana was literally bought for that talent and brought from Earth, that offer becomes very delicate.

But I have absolutely no intention of saying I want to buy your power.

Lisa also confirmed that point strongly.

“Actually, he wanted to say it much earlier. But because Hagana shouted with such a menacing look or kicked his leg, he couldn’t say it.”

“…”

Hagana pouted like a child and looked down.

When Lisa laughed, she raised her gaze while still looking down.

“I think it’s a condition that couldn’t be better. Hagana. What you are best at is being needed.”

It saves Lisa, not only that, it’s useful for me, and probably above all, it saves Hagana herself.

If math ability proves effective in trading, Hagana will find a way to earn money by herself. That is the same as obtaining a tool to solve many of the things Hagana has suffered from by her own power.

“Hagana.”

At Lisa’s call, Hagana slowly raised her face.

“What… do I do?”

“What? Umm…”

Lisa also gets stuck for words.

Hey hey, I think, but since Lisa is ignorant about such things, I suppose it can’t be helped.

“Hal!”

Lisa raises her voice.

I reply while sitting with my back against the wall beside the entrance.

“What!”

“Explain it to Hagana.”

Lisa said, and I started to lift my hips, then stopped.

“Is it okay for me to go over there?”

Hagana wouldn’t want her crying face seen by the likes of me.

To that question which included such self-deprecation, Lisa laughed slightly.

“What do you think? Hagana.”

Lisa asked, and Hagana seemed to whisper something in her ear.

After a secretive exchange, it was Lisa who answered.

“Can you give us ten minutes?”

“Hah?”

When I asked back, Lisa said something to Hagana and then stood up.

Then, poking her face out of the room, she looked down at me and said:

“A lady needs to prepare, you see.”

“…Is that so.”

“Wait a little, okay.”

I shrugged my shoulders while sitting, and tried to go to my own room thinking good grief.

To that back, Lisa called out.

“Hal.”

“What is it.”

“Thanks.”

To me who turned around, Lisa said that and withdrew her face.

I stayed still for a while in the posture of having turned around.

It’s not like any problem has been solved for now.

Still, several gears that were creaking and looked like they were about to break at any moment had somehow engaged.

I don’t know if they will turn well.

However, in my chest as I returned to my room, there was something fluffy.

Ten minutes later, I was called by Lisa and went to the living room.

---

“I’m sorry.”

That was the first thing said to me the moment I returned to the living room and faced Hagana across the table. It was so abrupt that I forgot to breathe.

Traces of crying still lingered around Hagana’s eyes, and her lips were pursed in a tight knot that hinted at her stubbornness. Her gaze was averted, fixed intently on the table.

Still, my ears had definitely, clearly heard, “I’m sorry.”

Turning my head stiffly like a rusty machine to look at Lisa, I saw she was smiling with satisfaction.

“I apologized.”

When Hagana finally opened her mouth, those were the words that came out.

Lisa’s smiling face twitched, but I actually felt relieved by those words.

“I heard you.”

When I said that, Hagana finally looked at me.

It was her usual glaring look, but it lacked the sharpness of a wary stray cat.

If anything, she looked like a stubborn child desperately putting up a front.

“Well then, Hal, you’re okay with this too, right?”

“I’m fine with it.”

I answered with a shrug.

“Then, could you explain the details? I didn’t really understand it well with just one explanation either…”

Seeing her embarrassed smile, I suspected she really hadn’t understood it.

However, if that was the case, it meant Lisa had trusted me even without fully understanding what I said.

“It’s not complicated. If we win the investment contest, we get 200,000 Mool.”

When I said it point-blank, Hagana’s eyes widened until they were perfectly round.

“You know stock investment, right? It’s a simulation of that. We compete with others, and whoever makes the most profit wins. First place prize is 200,000 Mool. Second place is 50,000 Mool.”

“In other words, we just need to place in the top two?”

“Even third place pays 20,000 Mool, which I’d be grateful for.”

Lisa pursed her lips slightly and urged me on with her hand, as if to say, “Continue.”

“But I don’t know anything about stocks.”

It was Hagana who interjected. She was glaring at me with apparent resolve, but I could see the anxiety underneath.

Noticing that incongruity, Hagana seemed truly precarious and fragile.

“You’re smart, aren’t you?”

However, it seemed she still had enough strength left to handle my banter.

“Smarter than you.”

“Hagana.”

Lisa chided softly. Hagana choked on her words with an “Ugh” and looked at Lisa.

Then, she looked at me.

“Smarter… than… Hal…”

“Then there’s no problem. The rules are very simple.”

“Really?”

It was Lisa who asked.

“Basically, you buy cheap and sell high. Simple, right?”

Lisa and Hagana glanced at each other, then looked back at me in unison.

“That’s really all there is to it. Of course, there’s also the method of selling high and buying back cheap. But that comes later. The core of the matter lies elsewhere.”

While talking, I fiddled with the terminal and brought up a list of stock information.

It was the most famous company on the Moon, Emerald Industries.

“If you boil stocks down, the root is simple. Whether it’s tomorrow, the day after, or just a few minutes from now—if you can guess whether this company’s stock will go up or down in the future, you can make a profit.”

I rotated the screen around and placed it in front of Lisa and Hagana.

Lisa looked like she got a headache just by glancing at the numbers and graphs, but Hagana stared at it like a cat peering into a mirror.

“There are several clues.”

Leaning forward, I turned the terminal halfway back toward me.

Hagana looked at me, then at the terminal.

“First…”

“Hal, why don’t you come over here?”

“Hm…?”

“It’s hard to explain from over there, isn’t it?”

Lisa said, standing up from her chair. She walked around to the opposite side of the table—my side—and sat next to where I had been.

“I’m really hopeless with that sort of thing.”

Lisa spoke with heartfelt aversion. For an eccentric who came all the way to the Moon to study the history of religion, the Lunar City’s greatest alchemy might not suit her tastes.

“You should listen anyway.”

Saying that, I got off my chair and went around to the seat Lisa had occupied just a moment ago. For a moment, I worried Hagana might object, but she ignored me completely, staring intently at the stock information. The white light of the screen reflected in her pitch-black eyes, shining like gemstones.

I sat next to her and turned the terminal toward us.

Drawn by the movement, Hagana’s face leaned in like a cat.

Hagana finally noticed my presence, but after a brief glance, she immediately returned her gaze to the screen.

“Listen, okay? Stocks have prices. They are traded from nine in the morning to five in the evening on weekdays. If many people buy, the price naturally goes up, and if many people sell, it naturally goes down. It’s the same as a vegetable or fruit market.”

“Obviously.”

“Right. But predicting that ‘obvious’ thing is the hard part.”

Hagana turned her wide eyes toward me, staring like a cat brimming with curiosity.

“Why?”