The Art of Debt Collection and Demonic Deception

Subtitle: Even if I stay here, you’ll still have to pamper me with the finest food and drink.

“Hoo~ *clink*.” Qiweiya set down her teacup in the pavilion, her gaze falling upon Lotharia, who was sprawled nearby.

“Lotharia, have you thought of any ways to force them to pay their debts? They can’t just keep defaulting like this.”

Lotharia rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to pull a fast one! Do you really think everyone’s an idiot, that they’d fall for your tricks? It would be a miracle if they paid up!”

Qiweiya pouted in displeasure. “Why not? Do you think everyone is as smart as you? Besides…”

Lotharia looked at her curiously. “Besides what?”

Qiweiya excitedly waved her small fists. “If they don’t give it to me, I can force them! If they give too little, I’ll beat them. If they give just enough, I’ll flatten them! And if they give too much, I’ll torture them to death!”

“Pfft.”

Lotharia was struck dumb. “Cough, cough, what kind of twisted logic is that? Isn’t it all just beating them? And beating them to death if they give too much… What if they don’t give anything at all then? Since they’ll be beaten anyway, they might as well not pay.”

A flicker of delight sparked in Qiweiya’s emerald eyes. “Even better! Then I’ll just keep beating them! *Whack, whack, whack*! I’ll try every single trick I know on them! Hahahaha!”

Lotharia shivered, quickly scooting away as she eyed Qiweiya warily. “You really are dangerous, aren’t you? I should have bought insurance from that Creator God bastard a long time ago.”

Qiweiya looked at Lotharia with a faint, unsettling smile. “What do you mean by that? Do you think I’d mistreat you? I cherish you dearly, you know!”

‘Damn it! Do you have any love for me? It’s clearly pain! F*ck you, you’re practically ready to bring out a full set of torture implements!’

Qiweiya innocently tapped the corner of her lips. “Is that so? ‘Beating is affection, scolding is love’—haven’t I been doing both? So, it’s both pain and love, isn’t that right?”

*Tremble, tremble, tremble*—Lotharia huddled, shaking, against a pillar of the pavilion. “You, you, you! Don’t come any closer! I’ll call the police! You pervert!”

With a strange, eerie smile, Qiweiya stood up and walked over. “Oh, what to do? Lotharia-chan isn’t being good again~ It’s such a bother not having any torture tools on hand right now.”

Lotharia let out a breath and pointed at her smugly. “You idiot, you finally got your comeuppance! Let’s see what you’ll hit me with this time! I’ll just curse you right now… Er—”

Lotharia’s voice abruptly cut off as she stared at the whip of ice elements forming in Qiweiya’s hand.

“What were you just saying? Lotharia-chan, could you please finish your sentence? Qiweiya is just too silly to guess.”

Lotharia, drenched in sweat, let out a dry laugh. “No, no, no! I didn’t say anything! You misheard! Really, you misheard!”

“*Pat, pat*.”

Qiweiya mused, “Is that so? But I can’t control myself anymore; I feel so angry! What should I do?”

“You, you…”

Qiweiya stared, dumbfounded. “Eh? They fainted just from that? I only lifted it a little.”

“My apologies! I have disturbed Your Ladyship’s elegant leisure. I shall take my leave!”

Qiweiya watched the male demon attendant, who had appeared from nowhere, and reached out a hand. “Eh! It’s not what you think!”

****

“So, what exactly is the situation now…?”

Qiweiya was surrounded by the Demon King and the high-ranking demons, who seemed to find security in barricading themselves with tables.

The Demon King wiped a bead of cold sweat. As the saying went, ‘It’s not scary when an S-rank is cultured, but it’s terrifying when an S-rank is powerful.’ This Qiweiya possessed both culture and power. According to the attendant’s report, she was very likely a severe sadist. He had originally planned to summon the Hero to ambush her, but now he had to consider the personal safety of himself and his subordinates.

The Demon King cleared his throat twice. “Ahem, ahem~ Your Ladyship.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Qiweiya’s innocent, sparkling eyes blinked as she gazed at the Demon King.

A powerful wave of guilt washed over the Demon King. Had he gone too far? Using such a sinister scheme against such a cute little girl…

Seeing the Demon King’s hesitation, a minister quickly interjected. “Lady Qiweiya! Would it be possible for us to delay payment for a few days? We simply can’t produce such a large sum all at once.”

Qiweiya’s demeanor abruptly shifted, and she fixed the minister with a murderous gaze. “Are you implying you refuse to acknowledge the debt?”

“No, no, no! We merely require some time. We hope Your Ladyship will be understanding,” the minister stammered, wiping away cold sweat.

‘Old geezer!’ Qiweiya cursed inwardly. ‘Still trying to fool me? Do you think I’ve been the Origin God for so many years for nothing? Trying to stall for reinforcements? What a perfectly laid scheme—just watch me not torment you bunch of fools to death.’

Qiweiya took a sip of tea, a faint, unreadable smile playing on her lips. “Don’t you know that this God’s time is extremely precious? Yet you dare to try and drag this out further! Do you take me for a charity? Perhaps you won’t understand until I unleash a brutal display, turning a thousand li scarlet with blood in my fury?”

The demons present were startled, quickly scrambling to appease her. “No, no, no! How could we dare to trifle with Your Ladyship?”

“Exactly! Your Ladyship, you don’t understand; we’ve nearly sold our last clothes just to repay your debt!”

“Look at us now, our wives, children, and elders are all living in abject poverty, with the north wind chilling our tattered clothes, all to settle your debt!”

“Yes, yes! Even the small shopkeepers in the city live more comfortably than us now. Please, have some mercy!”

Qiweiya twitched her nose, inwardly scoffing. ‘I’d believe you if ghosts were real~ If things were truly that dire, your kingdom would have long since fallen, and you wouldn’t be here playing this ‘battle of wits’ charade with me. Do you think I’ve never seen the world?’

Qiweiya didn’t expose their lies. “So, how long do you estimate it will take to repay the debt? Ten days? Twenty days? Or perhaps a whole year~”

The demons listened to Qiweiya’s increasingly low voice, their hearts trembling with fear that she would unleash a devastating blow if displeased.

Qiweiya found it amusing to watch these once-intimidating, peak-level demon figures, now cowering in fear from just a few words. It was simply too satisfying.

“Given how well you’ve been treating me with food and drink these past few days~ I can consider reducing some of your debt. I hope you’ll repay the rest as quickly as possible.”

The Demon King and his subordinates were startled. How could this be allowed? If this ‘big fish,’ who had finally come out, escaped before the Heroes even arrived, wouldn’t they have to go through all this trouble again? No, no! They absolutely had to stop her.

The Demon King coughed lightly a few times. “Um, Lady Goddess~ You see, there’s no need to reduce the amount. The humans would laugh at us… How about we keep it as it was originally? We will definitely repay it on time! Without any delays.”

Qiweiya suddenly understood. “Oh~ So you’re concerned about your reputation! Honestly, why didn’t you say so sooner? You made me waste so much breath! No, I’m going to raise the price.”

“Ugh…” The demons were so enraged they felt like spitting blood. They had never encountered such an insatiably greedy god! Weren’t gods supposed to be lofty and disdainful of worldly possessions? Why would she demand even more…? But then, remembering that this loli goddess would disappear in a few days, they calmed down.

The Demon King readily agreed. “Very well. We demons are true to our word. We will add an extra hundred thousand gold coins when we give it to Your Ladyship.”

Qiweiya nodded in satisfaction. “Well said, well said~ It feels a bit awkward discussing such matters among neighbors. Since it’s settled, I won’t say any more! The truth will reveal itself in a few days~”

Qiweiya and the Demon King smiled, patting each other’s shoulders. In their eyes, hidden intentions gleamed.

The demons, observing their feigned cordiality, secretly cursed the old ways of society. At the same time, they were overjoyed at having successfully tricked Qiweiya.

Seeing that the charade had gone on long enough, Qiweiya declared, “In that case, we’ll meet in six days. This is my absolute minimum!”

The Demon King, of course, readily agreed. “Certainly, certainly! We will present it with both hands~ We hope Your Ladyship won’t take offense.”

“Alright, I won’t talk to you anymore. My little darling will wake up, and if she doesn’t see me, she’ll start fussing again~ Farewell.”

“Farewell, farewell,” echoed multiple times.

The hall full of wise ministers and demon generals collectively let out a sigh of relief once Qiweiya had finally left.

“We finally drove away that harbinger of misfortune!”

“Thankfully, His Majesty the Demon King is wise, brilliant, and mighty~ To so easily fool that Goddess of Ice and Snow into circles! Truly impressive!”

From his throne, the Demon King secretly scoffed. ‘These greasy old foxes~ Do they think I don’t know what they’re thinking? If the negotiation had failed, I, the Demon King, would surely have died. Then they would have seized the opportunity to flee, only to return and contend for the vacant throne once Qiweiya was gone! What a clever scheme… But I didn’t expect it to succeed so easily. No, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, I must send someone to keep an eye on this goddess who doesn’t play by the rules!’

For the next few days, Qiweiya faintly felt something unclean watching her. This terrified her, making her believe a vengeful ghost from *Ju-on* had traveled through time to attack, causing her to cling to Lotharia day and night.