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His father's in so much debt that even selling the boy off wouldn't pay it all back. So what if we kidnap him?

Debt? Are you here to collect debts? Wait, don't tell me you're working for the bank?!

...Mind your own damn business. Now get outta here!

Help! Someone, save me—

Shut your damn mouth—

Urgh... *cough*...

Last warning—let the kid go, and don't make any rash moves. Otherwise, my next bullet won't just be a warning shot!

...Tch, playing hardball, huh?

Let's get out of here. No point risking our lives over this damn brat.

*pant*... *pant*...

What's your name? Where do you live? I can take you back home.

I'm Benny... And you can just leave me at the diner. My dad's there every night, so I can wait for him there.

Is your dad... Leone Theremin?

How'd you know?

I've met him. Oh right, those two people back there were talking about his debt... Were they debt collectors sent by the bank?

Umm... At first, it was just collection letters. Then they started sending people to our house to cause trouble, and my dad chased them out. And this time, the bank probably wanted to use me to force him to pay them back.

But that's clearly a crime...

Who's gonna stop them? There's no police here.

...Can you show me your dad's bills? I might be able to help.

You... Are you serious? His bills are something awful...

I took a gander and... there ain't a whole lot more we can do for the ol' tower this time around.

I already told you, that Laura girl did a great job tidying things up and fixing what could be fixed. But you just had to come out here yourself.

Just wanted to see if there's anything Blacksteel missed, that we could handle.

What, you think they're gonna pay off your loans if you work overtime?

...I can dream, can't I?

You're better off praying for goldbacks to fall from the sky.

I told you, your only lifeline at this point is selling off all the shares you've got in the mine.

No.

I know you blew your life savings and took out loans to get those shares, but—

Hell no.

Then lemme ask you, how much debt is that payment from Blacksteel even gonna clear? I reckon it's nowhere close to even paying off the interest.

How about this, then? Help me with the plant maintenance. We'll be able to keep it running off the fuel that Blacksteel brought.

I also happen to have a few days off. I'll pay you with the money Blacksteel gave me, and that'll buy you some time with the bank, at least.

No Miles, you earned that money. Besides, how's that any different from just giving it away?

Not like this, not like that, sounds to me like you got an excuse to say no to everything. It ain't gonna matter when you're bankrupt and the bank's stealing the shirt off your back.

...There's gotta be a way.

Beer, electricity, security deposit... Everything looks fine, and it's within the range of what I can cover...

What you can cover...? Are you gonna pay off Leone's debt?

If possible, yes.

Dad's more afraid of owing favors than anything else. When my brother passed away, he couldn't even afford a funeral. And when people offered to lend him money, he said he didn't wanna be treated like a beggar.

So he ended up following Uncle Woodrow around outside. Logging, hunting, fincatching... He worked so hard those two months that when he came back his fingers were deformed.

And how much money did he make from all that?

About two or three thousand?

...He'll never pay back his debts like that.

Wait, what... He's still one of the mine's shareholders?!

Forget it. After the mine shut down, he's had to pay all kinds of fuel fees, vacancy fees, and land management fees just to keep his shares... and he borrows piles of money from the bank every year to do it.

Th-That's practically an open wound they're bleeding him dry with. Even if I came in to help him, there's no way he'd be able to pay it off...

If he doesn't dump those shares, he's going to have nothing left.

Not happening. Dad loves that mine more than anything. He'd never dump those shares, even if we both got sent to the frontier for hard labor.

Benny, don't talk about your father like that.

By the way, Jessica, what's gotten into you all of a sudden? Is something wrong? Leone's still a shareholder in the mine, so the bank's not likely to make him declare bankruptcy anytime soon.

I saw someone try to kidnap Benny today... To force Leone to pay off his debts.

Kidnapping?!

They can go after Leone all they want, but to try to kidnap a teenage boy... Have they no shame?!

Benny, you're staying with me for now. When Leone finds out his kid's missing, I'll give him a piece of my mind and ask him what the hell he's doing as a father!

No... Don't tell him. I don't want him to worry.

We've gone way past 'making him worry.' He needs to know damn well the consequences of what he's doing!

I... I still need to go home.

Gah... How can such a stubborn asshole have a kid as sweet as you?

In any case, if he's willing to sell his shares, then that—combined with some tax rebates and preferential policies he never noticed—should be enough to cover the debt.

You sure?

I... I can practically guarantee it.

Alright. Sounds like he just needs a good reminder to stop messing around.

It's finally over...

So, why is the main switch for the entire building located just a hundred steps from the front entrance? Is this also some great prescience from the bank's founder?

...That's ridiculous.

...It doesn't make a lick of sense.

One step, two steps, three steps... There's a desk seven paces out, then make a left turn...

...Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six... Oops, bumped into the lamp.

Fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine...

One hundred.

Excuse me.

...Can I help you?

Is the bank still open? I... I'd like to take out a loan—

Sylvia? Get over here Sylvia, quick. I'd like to borrow some money from the bank. Can I count on you to get me a slightly better interest rate? Oh, I should never have been so mean to you...

What... What are you doing here?

Wait, you... What are <i>you</i> doing here?

I'm sorry, you two, but we're not open for business today.

Seeing the couple stare at each other in silence, Sylvia bows her head and steps away from the bank's gates.

The whole way back, the thick darkness that even the street lights do not penetrate lingers with her, caressing her neck affectionately.

Since her mother passed away, she's left work the same way every day, just like this.

...One thousand eight hundred seventy-seven, one thousand eight hundred seventy-eight. And, home.

Mom, I'm home.

She waits for a long time, but only silence greets her back.

After a moment, she takes out her keys, opens the door, wipes the soles of her shoes on the doormat, and leaves the suffocating darkness in the street behind her.

Convincing Leone to sell his shares? Not happening. Count me out.

Why? Aren't you two friends?

Sure, but we wouldn't be if I forced him to do stuff like that. We've all tried talking to him about the shares, but the stubborn bastard won't listen.

Is there really no way to get through to him?

Nope.

Ugh... And here I was thinking that if only you'd talk to him for me, then...

Then what?

Th-Then, I'd give you this box of chocolates as a thank-you...

Chocolates, huh.

The patisserie back home gave me these when I set out. Said I'd have something to chew on whenever my mouth was empty. And now, this is the last box...

I, um... I'm really, really reluctant to give this away. So, since you don't want to, forget it...

Mm.

(*whispers*) Did he just respond with a grunt? That's different—

If you don't want to help, then, um, no chocolate for you. Err, that came out wrong...

Um...