"Eat, why aren't you eating, Mona? The food will get cold if you don't eat now."
"Ah... ah, okay, okay. I... I'll eat, I'll eat now."
Mona picked up her chopsticks with a stiff smile, eating the dishes prepared by Durandal and Lumine in small bites.
Having been hungry for many days, Mona would definitely have indulged in the feast of delicious dishes.
But today's situation was different. Durandal and Lumine weren't just here as friends; they were also here as clients, responsible for debt collection.
She had only lived there for less than a month, and the rent wasn't due for a few more days. Generally speaking, she shouldn't be in a hurry; she should be quite relaxed.
But... she had no Mora. She could only take out one Mora from her wallet. Besides that, even if she turned the house upside down, she couldn't find any extra Mora to pay the rent.
Why was this happening? The Astrologist tools and materials in her laboratory wouldn't appear out of thin air. All the instruments in her room were very valuable.
Among them were ancient books from Liyue, astrolabes from Sumeru, and other miscellaneous items. The shipping fees alone for these items cost her a lot of Mora.
The royalties from the "Steam Bird News" was her source of income. Every time she received her salary, she would immediately purchase a large amount of Astrologist materials, with continuous large expenditures, ultimately bringing her life back to a state of destitution.
There was still at least half a month until next month's royalties. Before then, she had no Mora to pay the rent.
She didn't know what would happen if she paid the rent late. Would the landlord kick her out? If she was kicked out, what would happen to the precious research items in her laboratory?
"Um, can I ask? What will happen if I don't pay the rent?"
Mona prepared to probe. She tried her best to appear nonchalant, wanting to gather information.
"We'll directly take enough Mora from you, or we'll take items of equivalent value from your place."
Shenhe gave a very direct and crude method: direct violent collection. With the three of their martial prowess, no one would dare to stop them.
Mona knew she was no match for the three of them, but thinking that her precious research items might be taken, she anxiously stood up from her chair.
"No! You can't do such a thing?!"
"? As long as you give us the rent, of course, we won't do such a thing."
Yes, as long as she paid them on time, they would have no reason to do such a thing.
Since I'm living in someone else's house, isn't it only natural to pay rent on time? What? Do you intend to freeload?
Mona was speechless for a moment. Lumine also seemed to notice something and said, "What? Is it possible that our great Astrologist, Miss Mona, doesn't even plan to pay rent? No way, no way... Is this the great Astrologist? So impressive."
"Wuwuwu~ You... don't interrupt! I... I will, of course, but... but I've had a lot of expenses recently. Can you give me a few more days?"
Mona pleaded in the humblest voice.
As soon as she finished speaking, Mona clearly felt everyone's movements stop. They all turned their gaze towards her, and their eyes... were a little scary.
Lumine: "Oh? So, our Astrologist Miss is broke? Mr. Goth gave you a very low rent. You can't even afford that? Who are you trying to fool?"
Mona: "No, I'm not lying. I really..."
Paimon: "Hmph! Mr. Goth is so nice, giving you such low rent, and you still plan to delay payment. Mona is so bad!"
Mona: "Listen to me, I really..."
Shenhe: "Really... a bad person."
Mona: "Wuwuwu~"
Mona choked, lowered her head, her eyes already brimming with tears, ready to fall at any moment.
She looked at Durandal. She hadn't spoken since the beginning. Surely such a gentle woman could understand her difficulties?
Mona looked at Durandal expectantly. Under Mona's gaze, Durandal took out a report from her person, flipped through it a few times, and handed it to Lumine.
Taking the report from Durandal, Lumine cleared her throat a few times and said, "X day, XX month, purchased a new astrolabe, cost XXXX Mora. Next..."
This was a report detailing Mora expenditures. It must be said that Diluc's influence in Mondstadt was truly vast. With just a small request for him to investigate, he quickly compiled such a detailed report and handed it to her.
The contents of this report were entirely true. Although there were some things Mona herself had forgotten how much Mora she spent on, this report was real.
"Miss Mona, could you please explain? Why do you have money to buy so many things, but no money to pay rent?"
"Because... because all my Mora was used to purchase materials related to astrology."
Mona tremblingly took out a wallet from her person and, in front of everyone, poured out a single Mora from it.
"This... this is all the Mora I have now. Please... please give me a few more days. I will work hard to raise enough money for the rent."
If it weren't for the last shred of self-respect she had, Mona would have knelt before them right now.
"So, you really don't have any money? Is that right?"
Lumine picked up Mona's Mora, tossed it in her hand, and said.
"Then there's nothing for it. We'll just have to take something of equivalent value from your home to cover the rent. Don't worry, the rent is very cheap. With the price of those things you bought, any one item will do."
"No! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't do this, I beg you, don't take my things."
Seeing Lumine and the others about to take her things, Mona, finally unable to bear it, pounced forward, hugged Lumine's thigh, and looked at her with tear-filled eyes.
"Don't make it difficult for me, Mona. I'm just an Adventurer who wants to complete a commission. If I can't collect the rent from you, I won't get my Reward."
"But... but those materials are really important to me. How about... how about you lend me some money to pay this month's rent? When my manuscript fees come in next month, I'll pay you back. How does that sound?"
"Are you asking me for a loan?"
The turn of events was somewhat beyond Lumine's expectations. She had only intended to tease Mona, but she didn't expect things to develop in such an interesting direction.
She gestured with her eyes for the others not to reveal the secret for now, wanting to see how the plot would unfold next.
"Yes, we're good friends, aren't we? You trust me, I'll definitely pay you back. As long as I buy a little less astrology material next month, I can pay you back."
"Then what about next month's rent? You can't just borrow money from me every time rent is due, can you? Where's your pride as an Astrologist?"
That kind of thing, it disappeared the moment I met you all. No one dares to maintain so-called self-respect in front of a God; that's an act of courting death.
Lumine pretended to ponder, and under Mona's expectant gaze, she nodded.
"Alright, I agree. Not just this month's rent, but I can help you pay all future rents. However, you need to draw up a contract with me, a contract that ensures you will definitely pay back the money."
Although this wasn't within Liyue's territory, Lumine was friends with Zhongli, and there was a God present. With Durandal as a witness, Mona couldn't breach the contract even if she wanted to.
"If you violate the contract and don't pay back the money, then you must obey my commands and fulfill my conditions, understand?"
"Understood, I will fulfill your requests."
Since they were all girls, Mona wasn't worried that Lumine would make her do anything strange, so she signed the contract without hesitation.
"Good, the contract is now officially in effect. As agreed, I will pay this month's rent for you. You don't have to worry about rent for now."
"That's great."
Mona breathed a sigh of relief. It was truly wonderful that her precious materials had survived.
"Oh, by the way, I have something I want to show you. I think you might be interested."
Lumine took a very special document from Paimon's hand and showed it to Mona.
"What is this? This is... a deed?"
"That's right, a deed must be drawn up for property purchases. I processed this at the Knights of Favonius today. I have to say, connections are great; the documents were handled in no time."
Because of her status as an honorary knight and her acquaintance with Jean, the Knight handling these matters gave her special treatment, and the process was completed within a few hours.
Mona still didn't understand why Lumine was showing her this deed and asked, puzzled, "You bought a house in Mondstadt? Congratulations to you all?"
"Don't be so quick to congratulate us. Can't you find the address of this house familiar, as if you've seen it somewhere before?"
The house address is familiar? Mona re-examined the house address and found it was indeed familiar, just like the house she was currently living in... No! Isn't this the house she was currently living in?
"You bought this house!?"
"That's right. But it wasn't me who paid for it, it was Durandal. We each have half ownership. So... your landlord is no longer Mr. Goth, but Durandal and I."
Mona gradually understood everything. Although she didn't understand why they suddenly bought this house, they hadn't kicked her out, which meant they would continue to let her live there.
But... since you are already the landlord, why did you deliberately tell her you were here to collect rent? Why did you make this contract with her?
"Sorry, I just wanted to scare you a bit, but I didn't expect you to suddenly make such a suggestion, and I couldn't resist making a contract with you."
Lumine smiled, picked up the contract, and said, "This contract already has your name on it, so you have to obey it obediently. Otherwise... you'll have to follow my commands and fulfill my conditions."
"You... you..."
She was tricked. The reason this person did all those things was to make her sign this contract. Her goal was the breach clause in the contract.
Even if the contract was signed, Mona had a high probability of violating its contents. Once violated, Lumine would have the right to make her abide by the breach clauses.
Originally... as a fellow girl, she didn't have to worry about what Lumine would do to her, but now she was starting to panic.
This person was even more malicious than she imagined. What would such a malicious person do to her?
"You... you're so despicable!"
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