“Gwah!” Tina gasped as Nacht’s hand pierced her chest all the way through to her heart. “What—?!” she said, but that was all she could manage. Perhaps due to the arm that had been shoved through her chest, she was finding it incredibly difficult to speak. Nacht’s pale skin was stained red with Tina’s fresh blood, but she didn’t stop there. Her hand took hold of the Marionette Heart in the girl’s chest and ripped it out in a single motion. “Aghhh!” Tina cried, coughing up blood as Nacht quickly retrieved a potion from storage.
This was no ordinary potion. This was the highest quality healing potion Nacht had—a Special Potion. They were purchased from the game’s real-money shop. Nacht kept a few hundred on hand for raid bosses or special events.
Real World Online was designed with several mechanisms to prevent players from endlessly spamming healing items. Potions came with cooldown timers or side effects. Even if they had them on hand, most players would avoid using more than one or two potions unless they were in truly dire straits.
Nacht poured the potion on Tina’s wound. The effect was immediate. As soon as the liquid touched the gaping hole in her chest, the damaged area began to glow with a soft light. It was like time itself was flowing in reverse. Before she knew it, Tina’s chest was as good as new, and not just on the surface. Her agonized breathing eased. The impurity had been exorcised from her body. Even her lost blood was quickly replenished. And most importantly of all, to Tina’s great shock, her missing heart had somehow regrown. She felt it beating in her chest, just like it used to do.
Tina blinked, uncomprehending. “What...?” she said. “How...?”
“Let’s just say I wanted to see what that potion does in this world,” Nacht said. “Looks like it properly restored all your missing body parts.”
“Ah ha ha...” Tina laughed giddily as she looked up at Nacht with unfocused eyes. “So you were using me as an experiment...” It was like she was dreaming. No magic in the world could restore a missing heart. If Tina had merely suffered a mortal wound to the heart and immediately received care from a high-level priest, it was at least possible that they could cure her, but Tina’s heart had been absent for almost a month. And yet, there it was in her chest, beating once more.
Nacht shook her head fondly. “Well, Tina,” she said, “you’ve been saved. It went well too, if I do say so myself. Now, let’s talk price.”
“What...?” Tina said, bewildered.
Nacht grinned. “I used a very rare, very precious concoction to save you, you know,” she said. “I might never get my hands on another one of those things. You may be a priestess with the church, but you don’t think I’m going to give you that potion for free, do you?”
Nacht wasn’t lying. Once upon a time, that potion may have cost a mere three hundred yen, but in this world, it was a very precious thing. She might never see another one—aside from the ninety-nine she still had in storage.
“I-I... B-But... Please!”
“Your wish was for me to drive away the demons, restore the city to its proper form, and put an end to the war, right?” said Nacht, smiling with feigned innocence as she bore down on Tina.
“Y-Yes...” Tina said. “B-But I don’t have much money...”
“Well,” said Nacht, “I’m not unreasonable. I’m the one who decided to use the potion, after all. I’ll give you a discount.” Tina swallowed. Perhaps there was some hope for her finances after all... “I believe I remember a case of a potion being sold for three hundred platinum in Estoll,” Nacht went on. “It was said to be a panacea that had cured a prince who was mortally wounded in a training accident in the blink of an eye. The potion I gave you was much more potent than that one, of course, but never mind that.”
Incidentally, two gold coins was the average yearly salary paid to a knight. As a priestess supported by the church, Tina’s income was about the same. The church had done very little for her since she was granted the title of Dragon Priestess. She could make more working as an adventurer.
One platinum was worth ten gold. It would take thirty years for her to pay back such an enormous sum.
Tina collapsed, coughing up blood for some reason despite having definitely been healed already. “P-Platinum...” she muttered, looking up at Nacht like her soul was actively departing her body. “Th-Three hundred...” Truly, she had sold her soul to a devil.
“Hey, no worries!” said Nacht, grinning playfully. “If you don’t have the money, you just gotta work for it!”
~ ‡ ~
“And so,” Nacht concluded, “Tina’s gonna be my slave until she’s done three hundred platinum’s worth of work.”
“I-I see...” Aisha said, looking well and truly embarrassed. “I can’t believe I jumped to conclusions like that...”
“I can’t believe you used me as a human guinea pig...” Tina said, shivering.
“Don’t worry!” said Aisha, smiling with relief. “Mistress is a kindhearted person. It’ll be okay!” Aisha meant those words. She knew that money—even on the scale of platinum—meant very little to her mistress. She was certain that Nacht was simply using the pretense of debt to get Tina to listen to her requests. But it would be a lie to say that Aisha had no source of anxiety. “But if you’re some harlot thinking to repay Mistress with your body, you had best beware!”
“N-No! Never! I mean...we’re both girls!”
“Then there’s no problem!” Aisha chirped, beaming cheerfully at Tina like the matter was settled.
“I don’t really need the money anyway,” said Nacht. “I’d much rather you spend it on making sure all those kids have good food to eat. So, Tina, you’d better work for it. You can start by showing Aisha the way to her friend’s house.”
Tina knew the place well. It was the mastermind’s home base—the one she had invaded only to be broken and defeated. Nacht herself had other plans, but Aisha would need assistance. That was the reason she had introduced her to Tina.
“W-Well, in that case, of course! Leave it to me!” Tina immediately busied herself collecting her armor and sword, but Nacht gave her a quizzical look, stopping her.
“You’re just there to show the way, Tina,” she said.
“Huh?” Tina said, suddenly feeling very confused. “B-But we’re attacking the demon woman’s mansion, aren’t we?”
“No,” said Nacht. “Aisha’s going to see her friend.” Tina looked at her, utterly puzzled. “Well, either way, the hard part’s gonna come after everything’s over.” Nacht nodded to herself, seemingly convinced of something the other two didn’t understand. Tina and Aisha cocked their heads curiously to the side.
“All right,” Nacht said, not explaining anything. “I should get going. Good luck on your end, Aisha. I believe in you.”
And so, as if guided by fate, the two had come here. An invisible force was seemingly holding their hands.
“Where is Izuna?!” Aisha repeated.
“Haah...” Analissia sighed. “I just can’t have a calm conversation with you, can I?” With shockingly little resistance—so little that Tina and Aisha were momentarily taken aback—she gave way. “Izuna is in the room in the far back. Do as you wish.”
Aisha didn’t know what to make of Analissia’s words. The last time they had met, Analissia had been so determined not to let Aisha get close to Izuna that she was prepared to kill. What could have caused this sudden change?
“I’m not stupid enough to try to lay my hands on you,” Analissia said. “Do as you wish. If Izuna decides she would rather be with you, I won’t stop her.” Analissia was being extremely cautious when it came to Aisha. “Ah, but I do have a request. If Izuna does go with you, tell her one thing for me,” she said, and she gave Aisha a message in a voice utterly devoid of emotion.
Aisha was stunned. She nodded her head and ran off through the house. When she was gone, Analissia turned her gaze to Tina.