Capítulo 2079: Chapter 300: Nine Out, Thirteen Back

“High-interest loans?”

The wizard wearing a fox mask raised a finger and quickly waved it, repeatedly denying: “No, no, no, how can you use such a discriminatory term as ‘high-interest loans’? This is called financing, or as everyone prefers nowadays, ‘venture capital’… it’s entirely a win-win situation of mutual consent and benefit, commonly known as a win-win!”

Saying this, he raised both hands, making a hooked finger gesture.

A cold laugh came from the Sin Bearer beside him.

Only this time, perhaps because of the earlier Cat Orb from the Black Cat, he kept his mouth shut the whole time, unwilling to give any hints.

The Black Cat pondered, then jumped down from the tree and slowly strolled over to Mammon.

“So what are the terms of this financing of yours?” It squatted in front of the fox, tail wrapped around its feet: “Let me make it clear, I have no money!”

Mammon only heard the first sentence of the Black Cat’s words, ignoring the rest, and with a wave of his hand, three parchments surrounded by different flames appeared before the Black Cat.

One parchment was encircled by a silvery-white flame, one by a golden-yellow flame, and another by a greenish-blue flame.

“These things always have their precedents!”

The fox mask slightly tilted upwards, making the smile on it appear even brighter: “According to custom, our assessments are divided into three levels: Silver Horn level, Golden Bean level, and Jade Coin level.”

A short, piercing laugh from the Sin Bearer reached the Black Cat’s ears. When it looked over suspiciously, the duck egg mask nonchalantly turned the other way, making the Black Cat feel it should reward it with another Cat Orb, perhaps even the size of a cat’s paw!

“Silver Horn level!”

Mammon gave the Sin Bearer a dissatisfied glance, slightly raising his voice, then turned back with a softened gaze: “Silver Horn level means you borrow Silver Horns from us, with an agreed loan term of one year. Repayment methods include the ones I mentioned earlier: equal principal and interest, equal principal, interest due with principal, lump sum repayment with principal and interest, and so on…”

“How much can I borrow? Can the agreed term be shorter?”

The Black Cat pulled at its ear, suddenly showing some interest—though right now it didn’t have any funding needs, having a store in Beta Town meant unexpected situations might arise in the future, so it wasn’t a bad idea to learn more now.

The fox mask smiled broadly: “No rush, no rush, take your time… whether it’s Silver Horns, Golden Beans, or Jade Coins, you need to borrow at least ten… which means at least ten Silver Horns, or at least ten Golden Beans, or at least ten Jade Coins… as for the agreed term, you’re naturally allowed to repay early, but of course, there’s a small prepayment penalty. You must understand, after all, every fund has its costs, occupying time for nothing warrants a small penalty, it’s perfectly reasonable.”

Thus saying, he rubbed his fingers together lightly, exuding a highly mercantile demeanor.

The Black Cat flicked its tail, sweeping away a large-headed ant slowly crawling nearby.

“How about the interest?” It asked, putting on an air of maturity.

“You need to first decide which type of loan to choose, so we can draft the appropriate contract, dear guest.” The fox also got into the role.

“These options…” The Black Cat lifted its tail tip, pointing at the three floating parchments in front of it: “Specifically, how are they different?”

“Silver Horn signifies that you succeeded in tonight’s assessment.” The Sin Bearer suddenly explained briefly beside, which immediately incurred Mammon’s displeasure.

“That’s a misconception.”

The fox mask’s tone turned cold, albeit with some reluctance. It still grudgingly offered an explanation: “Silver Horn only indicates that you didn’t fail tonight’s assessment… ‘not failing’ and ‘succeeding’ are entirely separate concepts.”

“And as for Golden Bean level loans,” the fox mask suddenly turned enthusiastic again: “…Golden Bean means Mammon will remain neutral in any future meeting of the Seven Sins, and will not harm any interests of Lord Kannai without cause, and in suitable circumstances, will support all of Lord Kannai’s agendas!”

“As for Jade Coin level, it means from now on, Mammon will only obey Lord Kannai’s orders in the Seven Sins, placing Lord Kannai’s interests as the top priority… for this, even engaging in a fight with that wolf cub Samael isn’t out of the question!”

The Black Cat listened to the distinctions among these loan types, a faint stir in its heart.

If it’s merely to go through the motions, just borrowing a few silver dimes would suffice; but if one wants to leverage the Seven Sins to achieve something, at least ten golden beans are needed.

As for Jade Coins, the Black Cat didn’t have the courage to squander an entire year’s scholarship on that.

“If I borrow ten copper coins, does that mean I failed tonight’s assessment?” The Black Cat jested, telling a very cold joke.

The fox accompanied the laugh, without a hint of commentary.

“Ahem,” the Black Cat cleared its throat, straightening its posture: “Then make it ten golden beans… ten golden beans, and you’ll support my proposals in suitable circumstances, right?”

“Such matters require specific issues to be dealt with specifically, dear guest.” Although slightly disappointed, the fox still responded with a genial smile.

The Black Cat waved its paw: “Then ten golden beans… what’s the interest?”

“Ten golden beans lent for a year,” the fox suddenly pulled out a small abacus from its bosom, calculating with crisp clicks: “According to custom…”

“Wait,” the Sin Bearer pinched his nose, reluctantly speaking: “I remember the assessment clearly offers a three-month loan period option, why isn’t it available with you?… Don’t glare at me like that, I don’t want to help this cat either! Duty compels me!”

Mammon shot a particularly disgruntled look at the Sin Bearer.

Then he plastered a smile, looking at the Black Cat: “The annualized rate for a three-month loan is higher… for instance, borrowing the same ten golden beans, with an annual rate you’d pay one golden bean interest, but taking a three-month rate to borrow for a year means you’d pay four golden beans in interest…”

The Black Cat nodded repeatedly, feeling it did make sense in a way.

“But you don’t need to borrow for a year, y’know.” The Sin Bearer offered a chilling reminder from the side.

The Black Cat immediately awakened: “Don’t talk to me about rates! I can’t calculate them!… Just straight up tell me, ten golden beans, borrowing for three months, how much interest? And then for a year, how much interest? Lump-sum repayment with principal and interest!”

In his simple money consciousness, avoiding borrowing money is naturally best. If he must get involved in this sort of affair, repaying it all at once surely can’t be wrong.

Mammon looked at the Sin Bearer filled with resentment—the Black Cat believed if looks could kill, the Sin Bearer would have died eight hundred times over by now—then after clattering away on a small abacus for a while, he slowly spoke: “According to custom, borrowing for three months is a nine out of thirteen return. You borrow ten golden beans, repay me thirteen golden beans after three months… If it’s for a year, there’s no up-front cut, a monthly rate of ten percent, and you’d return twenty-two golden beans…”