Even with his trump card in mind, Alexandre didn't make his decision right away. He spent a good half hour walking casually around the store, thinking over the long-term consequences of what he'd been offered.
Borrowing money would certainly save him from having to spend all his money and survive off nothing. More importantly, he kept coming back to the fact that investing more in equipment and items right away would give him a massive advantage over the other first-year students.
But when it came to paying back his loan…
Well, Alexandre felt confident about his ability to disappear if it turned out that he couldn't actually pay off his loan. He'd had a lot of experience hiding in plain sight! Moreover, there was always the possibility of selling body parts if necessary. After all, his [Immortal] skill made that only a temporary setback.
Alexandre had considered selling his body parts before, but had wanted to remain discreet and not reveal his identity before becoming a proper Hunter. Besides, he really hadn't needed much money in those days.
Now things were different. The Pip-Boy and Aurora had opened the door to incredible power.
Alexandre eventually decided to pull the trigger on the loan, but first he decided to take precautions. "I'll be back in a bit," he told Owen, then left the store and returned to his room.
Once inside, he switched out his modified Pip-Boy with the unit that the academy had given him. Hopefully, this would minimize the chance that Own and Terra Corp would discover he was using a modified Pip-Boy, which would get him into quite a lot of legal trouble indeed.
Finally, Alexandre returned to the store and said confidently, "Alright, I've made my choice, Owen!"
Owen eagerly raised his eyebrows. "At your service, sir! What is your decision?"
Alexandre pretended to hesitate for a moment longer, wondering if doing so would lead to him being offered an additional benefit to seal the deal.
Owen said hastily, "As a general rule, students borrow $200,000 over twenty years at a rate of 13.2% per year. First payment not due until a whole year out!"
Alexandre was shocked. This was a real scam. A Hunter who borrowed that much would need to pay almost $29,000 a year. They'd need to not only do well in school, but also make money in other ways simply to be able to pay back such a loan! However, this factor didn't bother Alexandre at all.
He said, "I'll take the maximum limit for a Hunter student! One million dollars."
A shocked Owen replied, "Wow, a million! You love taking risks! Of course, higher principles mean higher rates. For a million, the rate starts out at 22.7%. Over how long do you want to take it out?"
Alexandre replied, "Over thirty years. But on condition that the first payment is due in three years' time, when I graduate from the academy!"
Owen winced. "I'm sorry, sir, but we only lend to Hunter students. Another service is available to confirmed Hunters, and with your position, I'm unfortunately not able to offer you a plan that would roll your account over at graduation."
This was perfectly logical, so Alexandre wasn't too disappointed. Alexandre surely wasn't the first person to think about disappearing altogether when he left the Academy and was given his passport back! Until he graduated, Alexandre was practically in prison—his Pip-Boy could even be used to track him on Hunter Island.
Alexandre finally replied, "Very well then, a first deadline in two years!"
Owen took a moment to calculate percentages in his head, no doubt greedily thinking about his commission. "Alright," he said at last, "I can offer you a rate of 23.2% if you want the first installment due in two years."
Alexandre replied, "Sold!"
Owen took one last look at Alexandre. He'd been feeling as though something was off during their whole conversation. He guessed that Alexandre didn't actually plan on paying off his loan. Well, that wasn't Owen's problem. The way Terra Corp operated, they wanted all students to take as much of a loan as possible.
Owen passed over some paperwork. After Alexandre signed it, Owen said, "Thank you very much! Now all I need is your fingerprint, your bank account number, and your Hunter number!"
Alexandre replied with surprise, "My Hunter number!?"
Owen replied, "Yes, the number on your Pip-Boy. Don't worry, it's just to fill in the form."
Moments after all the information had been collected, Owen said, "That's it, the money has been transferred to your account."
Alexandre was surprised by the speed of the process. He opened his bank application and, indeed, saw a balance of $1,100,000 in his account.