"Hmm..."
'Huohuo' blinked at the words. Right, Huohuo and Qingque hadn't met yet in this timeline.
In her memory, the two of them had shared voice lines, but it seemed it was still too early for that connection to have formed.
"This girl is named Huohuo; she's also from the Luofu. As for her profession, it involves some confidential matters, so I won't divulge the details."
"The Boss's names are always so cute~ Is the Boss planning to go play with this foxian named Huohuo later?"
Qingque completely ignored the second half of the sentence. She wasn't one to pry—anything involving 'confidentiality' sounded like a magnet for trouble.
"Something like that, though I'm not sure if I'll have the time."
"Take me with you! I want a vacation!"
Qingque didn't care about status, but she cared deeply about her time off.
It didn't matter who the person was or what secrets they held; nothing would stop Qingque from using the Boss's influence to bluff a vacation out of the Master Diviner and the General.
"Given your current situation, can you even manage to get leave approved?"
"Well, that's because you're here, Boss! In the whole wide world, you're definitely the biggest deal! If I push back the work of two of my clones and only handle the affairs of one household, I can still manage."
"..."
'Huohuo' thought about stopping Qingque from using her name to skimp on work, but eventually decided against it.
Look at how much the poor kid was struggling.
The fact that she had to leave a clone behind just to take a vacation... she didn't even seem like the old Qingque anymore.
At that thought, 'Huohuo' let out a sigh. She reached out and patted Qingque's small head, wearing an expression of profound pity.
"...Boss, what's with that look?"
"No, it's nothing. I just feel you've had it rough. How about I ask for some extra leave for you and let you go have some fun at Penacony?"
"The Planet of Festivities? But I remember the cost of living there is incredibly high."
"True, but I have acquaintances there who can waive your bill. And besides, just put everything on the company tab and report it to the IPC. Problem solved."
"Is that... appropriate?"
Qingque offered a subtle, complicated smile at her Boss's casual suggestion to exploit the company.
She knew the IPC was probably itching to spend money on them—in fact, if Qingque actually wanted to be corrupt, the IPC would likely encourage her to take even more.
But then again, the current "old-timer" Qingque still had a bit of a conscience. She wasn't quite ready to go full-on corporate embezzlement just yet.
"I appreciate the Boss's kindness, but I'll pass on the Penacony vacation for now. I'll go once the business here at Celestial Sparrow Entertainment is running smoothly."
"Whoa—you actually have a sense of career ambition?!"
Seeing 'Huohuo's' exaggeratedly shocked reaction, Qingque's face turned slightly red. She puffed out her cheeks and glared back.
"What do you mean! That's called a sense of responsibility! Besides, I've always been the type to slack off only after the work is done. How can you say I lack ambition?"
"Alright, alright. I'll give you a reward when the time comes."
'Huohuo' gave Qingque's round cheeks a playful squeeze before saying:
"I'll be taking my leave now. Go on and ask for your vacation."
"You bet, Boss! Safe travels~"
Qingque beamed instantly.
She knew the Boss was genuinely giving her a break, which was why there was no mention of making her tag along.
Once she got her leave approved, she could head straight to the parlor to play tiles and truly unwind.
Watching Qingque wave goodbye, 'Huohuo' gave a light chuckle and vanished from the office.
--+--
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Inside an unknown, remote Delve.
Huohuo was trembling as she slowly explored a deserted alleyway, clutching her command flag tightly.
This Delve had decayed even more thoroughly than Aurum Alley over time, leaving behind vast stretches of no-man's-land.
Huohuo's mission today was to investigate recent rumors of a haunting. According to Hanya's deductions, an evil spirit might be nesting here, so she had sent Huohuo to take a look.
"Ugh... s-so scary... Eek! D-did something just pass behind me?!"
"I've seriously had it with you. That was just a gust of wind! Can you pull yourself together? I don't get it—you have the most powerful one right on your back, so what exactly are you afraid of?"
The Heliobus attached to Huohuo's tail was clearly annoyed and impatient.
"B-but being scared is just being scared... I-I can't help it... And it's all Mr. Tail's fault for eating my tail in the first place, that's why I'm so jumpy..."
Huohuo pouted, whispering a small complaint about how her tail spent every day picking on her.
"Huh? What's that got to do with me? You're just a coward!"
"..."
Huohuo gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath, wanting to snap back but fearing that making too much noise would alert whatever was lurking.
Just then.
Whoosh.
A breath of air, sounding almost intentional, brushed past Huohuo's ear.
The poor girl jumped straight into the air. She spun around on the spot with her eyes squeezed shut, swinging her command flag wildly and aimlessly in the direction of the draft.
As she flailed, she wailed at the top of her lungs:
"Aaah! Help!! Mr. Tail, save me!!"
"?"
Tail was startled by Huohuo's sudden freak-out.
From his perspective, absolutely nothing had happened. There was no wind, and nothing had approached. Huohuo had simply entered a state of pure panic out of nowhere.
"Hahaha, no way! You got spooked by absolutely nothing? Hahaha! You're killing me!"
"Life preservation! Survival! Aaa—huh?"
Hearing Tail's confused mockery, Huohuo gradually calmed down after swinging at shadows for a long while.
She opened her eyes cautiously. There was nothing in front of her but Tail's flickering green flames. Not a single soul was in sight.
Listening to Tail's laughter, Huohuo's eyes welled with tears, and she grew genuinely angry. And in her anger, she... well, she stayed angry for a second.
"Mr. Tail, that's too much... scaring me again!"
"Hey, don't go throwing accusations around. This Great One didn't do a thing. You scared yourself and now you're pinning it on me."
"You did too! If you hadn't purposely blown air into my left ear, I wouldn't have been scared."
Huohuo indignantly condemned Mr. Tail's prank; after all, it wasn't the first time he'd intentionally spooked her.
But this time, Tail froze. His tone suddenly turned grave: "Wait. I didn't do anything. Kid, tell me exactly what you felt just now!"
"..."
Tail's sudden shift to seriousness terrified Huohuo even more.
She shivered violently, hugging her command flag close as she stammered with a forced smile:
"M-Mr. Tail, this really isn't the time for t-that kind of joke..."
"Crap!"
Tail hissed a curse. Then, with a bang, the green flames expanded rapidly, illuminating the surroundings and forming a protective ring around Huohuo.
Unlike the bewildered Huohuo, Tail was now fully on guard.
Huohuo wasn't the type to make up stories, and her reaction just now had been too genuine. Tail didn't think she was hallucinating, but he had indeed felt nothing.
Something was wrong. There was something truly troublesome in this place!
"Kid, if you're sure someone blew in your ear, message your superior right now and tell her to send reinforcements!"
Because Tail couldn't sense even a trace of an aura, he didn't dare be careless. If he could find so much as a shadow, he'd pick a fight first and ask questions later, but the problem was that he sensed nothing at all.
The place felt completely empty.
"M-maybe we should just retreat... I-I'll throw all the talismans I have at once."
Huohuo was stunned by Tail's reaction. She never expected the Great Mr. Tail to be this rattled.
Though she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and hide, seeing Tail drop his usual attitude made her realize that whatever they were facing was anything but simple.
Just then, a gentle voice drifted into her ear:
"It's no use. Tail is quite powerful for a Heliobus, but if even he can't sense anything, your talismans won't work either."
"Huh? Then... then what do I do... I-I don't know how to fight... gasp—"
Huohuo's face had instinctively crumpled into a sob, but as she spoke, her eyes caught the flickering light of Tail's flames. Her voice cut off abruptly, and her entire body went rigid!
Weren't she and Tail the only ones here?! Then what was that voice??
There was a second person here??
No, if even Tail couldn't sense them, then the other party wasn't human, nor a Heliobus. Then... then that meant it was a real ghost—!!
"Heh~"
"Eeeeeeek!!!"
Just as that thought crossed her mind, Huohuo heard a light chuckle followed by another puff of air against her ear.
Her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed on the spot.
"Wait, what?!"
Seeing Huohuo faint, 'Huohuo' was genuinely surprised. Doesn't this girl watch horror movies all the time?? How could she be scared witless that easily?!
She quickly revealed her form, reaching out to catch the unconscious, white-eyed Huohuo before she hit the ground.
"Get the hell away from her!!"
Tail finally saw the opponent manifest. Ignoring everything else, he unleashed an explosion of green fire, surging toward 'Huohuo' with overwhelming power.
However, after the flames completely engulfed the target, Tail's heart sank to his stomach.
The attack he had just unleashed—whether on a physical or spiritual level—had zero effect.
Because the seal on his tail hadn't been removed, he wanted to forcibly take over Huohuo's body to fight for her life, but he was pinned back by a power so immense it was impossible to resist.
He could only watch helplessly as the little girl fell into the enemy's arms.
Before Tail could say another word, the "Fake Huohuo" across from him gave him a teasing smirk:
"You talk a big game about hating her, but you're the one who cares most about Huohuo, aren't you? You knew you were no match for me, yet you were ready to trade your life to save her."
"Hah—?!"
Tail's voice cracked.
As a Heliobus, he was far too proud to admit that after being forced to be a little girl's tail, he actually cared for her.
Even an enemy wasn't allowed to slander his professional reputation like that!
"Don't you dare insult my dignity as a Heliobus!!"
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL