I Lent 500 Yen To A Friend And He Gave Me His Sister As Collateral. What Should I Do? V1: Chapter 1 Part 1-The Story Of How My Friend Sent His Sister To Me For A 500 Yen Debt

What in the world is going on here?

I froze, unable to believe the scene transpiring before me, as I blinked repeatedly.

There was a girl.

Her silky black hair fluttered in the breeze as it shimmered in the sunlight.

Her well-shaped eyes, wide open, were looking straight at me.

She had a slender nose.

Her lips were Glossy and lustrous with a hint of red even though she didn’t wear any make-up.

An unquestionably beautiful girl, who looked like she lived on the other side of the TV, was standing in the doorway of my apartment where I lived alone.

“It’s been a long time, Shiragi Motomo-Senpai.”

She called out my name clearly, just like an announcer reading from a manuscript.

Yes, it wasn’t my first time meeting her. Although we weren’t very well acquainted, we do know each other, so I’m not surprised that she knows my name.

Despite this, I still had no idea why she was here. Her visit was so abrupt, and he, who knows her much better than I do, hadn’t said a single word about it.

The girl who was calling me her “senior” was one year below me, and to prove it, she was wearing her high school designated sailor uniform.

Just half a year ──no, about a year ago, summer clothing was something common to see, but it still felt very dazzling.

Overwhelmed by the aura of such a beautiful girl and the youthfulness of an active high school student, I froze, unable to reply, but she smiled and said──

“My brother told me to come here as a form of collateral for a debt. Please take care of me from now on.”

She said such an outrageous thing.

◇◇◇

University students can probably be divided into two different types of categories.

Those who can make good use of their spare time,

[which has drastically increased for those becoming university students]

And those who cannot.

The biggest change I noticed when I transitioned from high school to university was the change to the credit system.

I heard that some high schools utilize the credit system, but the school I went to had no such thing. Instead, we had to follow the schedules that the school set up for us and sit through six or seven hours of classes per day.

On the other hand, the university credit system freely allows the students to schedule their time accordingly to their preferences, up to the maximum number of credits allowed per term.

However, a certain amount of credits are required for graduation, so it’s not entirely in your control. But suppose you’re able to manage your time skillfully. In that case, you can just go to the university every afternoon or take some time off in addition to your usual Saturdays and Sundays.

A year ago, when I was in high school, we were allocated a three-term system. But now, in university, we only have two terms in our first two semesters, and holidays such as summer vacation and spring break have gotten longer.

Surprisingly, the summer vacation that starts in August lasts about two months.

I have no doubt that many people would use these two months to travel, get involved in their club activities, study intensively, or do something that they don’t usually do.

But for me, it’s just a case of having too much free time.

Yeah, I guess I’m the kind of person who doesn’t know how to properly make good use of my ‘increased’ time now that I’m a college student.

“Eh…I wonder what I should do with my summer vacation.”

Lectures were finally over, while students were wasting no time rushing out of the classroom, Miyamae Subaru sighed deeply as he continued to stay seated.

Subaru had been a friend of mine since high school. The first time we talked was simply because we joined the same track and field club. We got along well immediately because I felt strangely comfortable around him with his carefree and easy-going personality like that of a cloud floating in the sky, and maybe he also felt something for me as well, which is why we’re friends today.

And now I guess we can call ourselves best buds.

Saying it out loud is a bit embarrassing, though.

“Say, Motomu. What’re you gonna do with summer vacation? Are you going to go on a trip somewhere or any… HAH!? DON’T TELL ME YOU GOT A GIRLFRIEND!? ARE YOU IMMEDIATELY GONNA FLIRT WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND!?”

“The heck are you on about ‘immediately gonna flirt.’ You look like you just got robbed”

I sigh at Subaru, whose excitement suddenly shoots through the roof.

“I got no money for a trip, and I don’t have a girlfriend in the first place… actually, Subaru, how many times has this happened already?”

I had told Subaru repeatedly that I had no girlfriend.

I was thinking, “just why he’s always,” but… for some reason, the closer we got to summer vacation, the more persistent he became in asking me about it. Like, whether I got a girlfriend and whether I really had none.

“Subaru, you’re persistently asking if I got a girlfriend because you wanna brag about having a girlfriend, aren’t you?”

“EEH!? Me bragging about having a girlfriend!? You jest!!”

Or so he said while his voice was getting lively. His face was getting pathetically sloppy, too.

Subaru recently got a girlfriend for the first time in his life.

I was surprised that he, a typical goofy character who had always talked about wanting a girlfriend whenever he had free time since high school, could get a girlfriend. How should I put it, I was deeply moved, but it was annoying for me to see him boast about having one constantly.

As if wishing for something, Subaru was looking at me with sparkles in his eyes.

I sighed for the umpteenth time at his intense gaze that seemed to telepathically say, “You know what I want you to say.”

“…Subaru, what’re you gonna do with summer vacation. Are you gonna spend it together with your girlfriend?”

“Wha!? Idiot! Motomu, you little!! Don’t just go around asking me something like that~~”

Happiness covered Subaru’s sloppy face.

And my response to that was a stare filled with no emotion.

“We-well, so I’ve been talking with Nanami-chan about going somewhere during summer vacation! But where should we go, I wonder? Maybe we really should just settle somewhere nearby? No, maybe summer beach vacation!? Or maybe go for an overnight stay at a hot spring or something!?”

“Don’t care…”

Despite the fact that I have no idea what Subaru is fantasizing about, I still couldn’t help but be taken aback when I saw that excited face of his.

I’ve known Subaru’s girlfriend, Takashi Nanami, for a while now. Due to the teacher’s requirement that we both pick up a second foreign language, we eventually ended up in the same class, where we became well acquainted with one another. We’re just ‘usual’ friends, but just knowing that she and Subaru are boyfriend and girlfriend makes me feel…a little awkward.

“Will Nanami still be attracted to me if I suddenly ask her to stay over!? Aahhhh, but it’ll feel like I’m being too greedy!”

“No clue. Just ask her. And then she’ll pull away from you.”

“Cold!? Oh, I know! How about this, Motobe, you ask her for me.”

“What?”

“Because if I ask her, she might think I’m a slutty pervert. If worst comes to worst, I might even get dumped!”

“Then I’ll be forced to ask Mr Hasabe about staying over at the spa, and you know how troublesome that can be.”

“It’s fine; you’re not dating Nanami-Chan.”

What the hell is wrong with this guy? His brain is a field of flowers.

The current Subaru was so annoying that I couldn’t help but feel this way.

However, afraid that he would keep bugging me about this more and more, I decided to change the subject.

“I don’t know, Subaru. When are you going to pay back the 500 yen I lent you the other day?”

“What?”

“What’s with that reaction? You’re acting as if you’ve never heard of that before.”

About a month ago. I lent 500 yen to a snotty brat who kept complaining about leaving his wallet at home. I remember very well at that time; he openly made a fuss out in public, which irritated me a ton.

“Well, I’m not going to force myself to try and get back the 500 yen.”

I only asked this question because I remember it from time to time, but I’m not really in any need of money at the moment.

I started living on my own when I entered university, so I can’t say I’m well-off, but thankfully my parents sent me money, and I have a part-time job. I don’t have any hobbies that require a lot of money, and I don’t have to worry about things such as 『where I’m going to go with my girlfriend』, like Subaru, so I’ve been able to save up little by little every now and then.

In the case of the 500 yen I lent Subaru, I think it would be much more energy-consuming to try and collect it back from him, so I think it would be much better for me to leave things as it is for now.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait! Of course, I remember! I borrowed 500 yen from you! And I haven’t paid it back yet!”

For some reason, Subaru suddenly became impatient.

What a strange reaction, but isn’t it okay if you remember it…?

“But that’s right…the 500 yen…I’m sorry.”

“Subaru?”

“The 500 yen…I-I spent it all yesterday…I don’t have anything else on me now…”

“Wait, you don’t even have 500 yen with you right now?”

I was a little taken aback by the whole situation.

Even though he lives alone, he’s on the verge of falling off a cliff?

“W-wait, that’s a little too misleading! It’s just that after deducting rent, my cell phone bill, and many…other things, I couldn’t pay back the money, or how should I say….”

“Then it’s okay; you don’t have to return it.”

“No can do! If I do that, that will ruin the name of the man known as Miyamae Subaru! There’s no way I’d be able to face my parents!”

“Then don’t lend money from me in the first place.”

Subaru’s family is quite wealthy, by the way. Since I’ve been to their place a few times, I can confidently say that they live in a fairly large house, though I’ve always compared it to my own family, which is just an ordinary salaried family.

But if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t be able to face the fact that I’m struggling to pay someone 500 yen.

“But I’m sure you can just ask your parents to pay for your rental fees. I mean…it’s only 500 yen, you know?”

“YOU WANT ME TO KNEEL DOWN TO MY PARENTS AND BEG FOR 500 YEN? WHAT ARE YOU, A DEMON? NO WAY, ARE YOU THE DEVIL!?”

“N-No, since when did I say anything of that sort….!”

Subaru frantically approached me, forcing me to correct his words quickly.

Why the hell am I being blamed now…perhaps he’s too pumped up right now…maybe that’s why.

“Anyway, I’ll pay you back! I’ll pay you back, but it…may take a little while…”

“Alright.”

“Yeah, I knew you’d want it back pretty soon…..”

“No, no, I think you misunderstood-“

“It’s understandable why you’re upset! Then I have no other choice.”

“Listen.”

It made no sense for me to say anything else to Subaru because he had flipped a strange switch and was now completely lost in his world.

My gut feeling told me that he would say something troublesome, but based on my past experiences, I realized that forcing him to stop would be more problematic, so I let him continue.

“In exchange for waiting for me to pay you back, let me offer you a form of debt.”

“A form of debt?”

A form of debt. In other words, collateral.

Wait, is 500 yen even enough to be called a debt….?

“Hey, Subaru. I lent you 500 yen.”

“I know! It’s the most important thing; it’s so precious that it could even be worth more than my life! Get ready to enjoy it!!!”

Ah, he’s hopeless. He’s probably just trying to brag about something in the name of paying off his debts.

No one would be that stupid to offer something even more precious than his/her life for a measly 500 yen.

“….I’ll be looking forward to it then.”

After that, the conversation was over.

Well, these ‘collateral’ things and stuff are just one big dumb talk. It’s not something I need to keep in mind.

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Colored Illustrations

ToC

Chapter 1 Part 2

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TL notes: Will release the next part fairly soon [23 to 25Nov]

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