Stelle: "Hey, you guys are all ignoring one issue."
Stelle: "The prerequisite for Madam Jade to grant a wish is that there must be collateral of equal value to the wish."
Stelle: "So… what exactly did these people who had their wishes granted pay?"
March 7th: "Oh, that's right…"
March 7th: "We totally forgot because you didn't mention it."
March 7th: "Since the wishes were successfully granted, the price these two paid must have been pretty steep, right?"
Guinaifen: "Looking at how they are, why do I feel like they didn't pay too high a price?"
Qingque: "It's also possible that they think no price is too high compared to their wishes."
....
『 After a couple of Pepeshi left, Hotaru pondered for a while and began searching for the next target.
While walking on the road, Hotaru heard two people whispering nearby.
[ Hey, did you see that? ]
[ That grey-haired person outside… ]
[ Don't look around, drink your wine! ]
[ That person looks a bit unstable mentally… ]
Listening to the mysterious whispers of these two, Hotaru subconsciously looked out from inside the room.
[ Is that… Stelle? ]
Hotaru was stunned, then walked a bit closer.
Following that, she saw Stelle squatting on the bird statue at the head of the airship, muttering something to herself.
[ Chirp chirp, chirp chirp… ]
[ Origami Bird… Hey, little birdie... ]
Stelle squatted on the statue, making strange chirping sounds.
[ Hey, I'm telling you… ]
[ Get down quickly, Everyone's staring at you! ]
March 7th, who was following Stelle, covered her face in embarrassment upon seeing this. 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Qingque: "Hahahaha…"
Qingque: "Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp!"
Qingque: "Stelle, so cute!"
Stelle: "Ah, this…"
Stelle: "Am I being treated like a lunatic?"
March 7th: "Oh my god, just looking at this scene, I feel like dying of social embarrassment!"
Paimon: "Hmm… there are so many cute Origami Birds around this statue."
Paimon: "Is Miss Stelle just playing with these little Origami Birds?"
Paimon: "Why is she being looked at with strange eyes?"
Lumine: "Uh…"
Lumine: "It seems…"
Lumine: "Only Miss Stelle can see the Origami Birds, right?"
Furina de Fontaine: "Eh, it seems that way."
Furina de Fontaine: "In other words, in the eyes of others, Miss Stelle is squatting in a strange position, talking to thin air!"
Furina de Fontaine: "No wonder people think she has mental problems."
Stelle: "Damn it, if they can't see them, it's because they aren't pure enough!"
Stelle: "How dare they think my brain isn't normal!"
Stelle: "So infuriating!"
Hu Tao: "Speaking of which, Miss Hotaru has run into Miss Stelle several times along the way."
Hu Tao: "What a coincidence."
Hotaru: "Perhaps, this is fate."
....
『 Hotaru saw that Stelle was having fun, smiled, and then left.
She continued searching for her target.
A moment later, she found it; it was a mechanical lifeform named Walker.
[ Hmm… yes, you heard me right. ]
[ I've already caught him. ]
[ He's been hiding at the Moment of Sol in Penacony. ]
[ He changed his identity and even infiltrated Paperfold Academy as a professor. ]
[ I've already talked with the Family. ]
[ The extradition work will be left to you. ]
[ …How did I catch him? ]
[ Heh… I had help from a noble person. ]
[ Don't ask for details. ]
[ Twenty-two years… I've been chasing him for exactly twenty-two years, traveled to every corner of the galaxy. ]
[ I didn't expect it to end like this, in this way… ]
[ I'm hanging up now, partner… ]
[ I'm going to have a drink by myself. ]
Walker hangs up the phone, and a drop of fuel seeped out from his deep, metal-constructed eye sockets... those were the tears of an Intellitron 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Asta: "Is this Mr. Walker a police officer?"
Asta: "Listening to what he said on the phone, it sounds like he finally caught a fugitive he'd been chasing for a long time."
Li Sushang: "So, the wish he made to Madam Jade was to successfully catch the fugitive?"
Li Sushang: "That's a really unexpected wish."
Furina de Fontaine: "All three of these people's wishes came true."
Furina de Fontaine: "Does that mean Madam Jade really has the magical ability to grant wishes?"
Welt Yang: "It's too early to draw that conclusion."
Welt Yang: "After all, the wishes of these three could have been achieved through normal means."
....
『 [ Their wishes did indeed come true… ]
[ But I still don't quite understand how she did it. ]
[ What does collateral mean? I should go back and ask… ]
After inquiring about the situation of all three people, Hotaru decided to head to the Bonajade Exchange again.
Soon, she returned.
[ So, you're back, Miss Samuel. ]
Jade saw Hotaru return, and a smile appeared on her face.
[ Yes, I found the people you mentioned. ]
[ After visiting the Bonajade Exchange, their wishes did indeed come true. ]
[ But I still don't know what you wanted me to see. ]
[ They all look so… fulfilled. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Mona: "Fulfilled?"
Mona: "Will they really be fulfilled?"
Mona: "I don't believe the price they paid to have their wishes granted is insignificant."
Mona: "Unless Madam Jade is a philanthropist."
Venti: "Ehe, since Madam Jade goes by the name Madam Bonajade."
Venti: "Maybe she really is a philanthropist?"
Aventurine: "Philanthropist?"
Aventurine: "Pfft, hahahaha…"
Aventurine: "Interesting, extremely interesting!"
Aventurine: "This is the first time I've heard Madam Jade called a philanthropist."
Jade: "Ha, indeed."
Jade: "I am not some philanthropist who does good deeds without asking for anything in return."
Jade: "Next, let's take a look at what price they paid."
Jade: "I believe after seeing this, you will truly understand the essence of the Bonajade Exchange."
....
『 [ Don't be anxious, this step is just to make you believe that the Bonajade Exchange is genuine. ]
[ Next, I will tell you the price they paid. ]
[ Dell is a wealthy heir who pursued his crush, Dorothy, to no avail. ]
[ To capture her heart, he made a deal with me: he mortgaged all his assets in exchange for a gift that would definitely move Dorothy. ]
[ With the IPC's intelligence and network, this was easy. ]
[ But Dell will soon be kicked out of the dreamscape for not being able to pay the room fees, and whether he can escape a life of poverty after that… ]
[ Depends on his own efforts. ]
[ I hope that necklace can keep their relationship from ever breaking. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Ah???"
Stelle: "Used all his assets to exchange for a necklace that could move his crush??"
Stelle: "This…"
Silver Wolf: "Hehe, don't know how to comment, right?"
March 7th: "It sounds like it should have been a very romantic story."
March 7th: "But thinking of the expensive price, plus Dell's ending…"
March 7th: "Why do I feel like this is a tragedy?"
Lumine: "Without all his assets, having become destitute, can Dell really continue to capture Dorothy's heart?"
Lumine: "After all, looking at the previous situation, Dell doesn't understand Dorothy at all."
Lumine: "Relying on tricks to successfully confess feels very illusory."
Hu Tao: "Tsk tsk tsk, personally, I don't think much of this couple."
Hu Tao: "I always feel like Dell's outcome will be all for nothing."
Hu Tao: "Losing everything down to the last penny, it can be called bankruptcy!"
Furina de Fontaine: "So… so miserable!"
Furina de Fontaine: "Is it really worth paying such a price?"
Navia Caspar: "Logically speaking… love is priceless."
Navia Caspar: "But… that is based on the premise that the two have a love like a sworn oath…"
Navia Caspar: "And Dell and Dorothy only seem to have one-sided pursuit, not a mutual, willing journey together…"
Navia Caspar: "In that case… it seems like Dell just got hot-headed."
Hanabi: "Heehee, the more you can't get, the more you lose your mind~"
Hanabi: "I hope this poor little Pepeshi won't starve to death on the street when he's kicked out by the Family~"
....
『 Jade did not pause and immediately spoke of the second person.
[ Stacy, a gambling addict, hoped to obtain unparalleled good luck from me. ]
[ But she had no assets to mortgage, so I took away something else: all her close relationships. ]
[ From the moment she walked out of the Bonajade Exchange, every casino in the interstellar space would remember her name, while her parents and siblings would cut ties with her, and Stacy would never be able to make a true friend again. ]
[ She will gain infinite wealth through luck, but will never be able to use that wealth on the people who matter. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
March 7th: "Eh… regarding this one…"
March 7th: "Is this the true display of Madam Jade's unique ability?"
Stelle: "Always winning when gambling?"
Stelle: "Madam Jade can really make someone have such good luck?"
Paimon: "But… but this price…"
Paimon: "Isn't it a bit too high?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "For those who have family and friends they care about, it is indeed high."
Boothill: "Son of a nice lady, what if this person is a loner? Wouldn't that be a massive win for them?"
Stelle: "Indeed, maybe this Stacy doesn't care about so-called family and friends."
Stelle: "After all, she only has gambling in her eyes, she's a veteran gambling addict!"
Seele: "I think a gambling addict doesn't deserve to have friends or family affection."
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "I agree with that completely."
Aventurine: "Ahem… how come I feel like I'm being targeted for no reason?"
Dr. Veritas Ratio: "That just means you're in a hurry to identify yourself with them."
Lumine: "Mr. Aventurine, don't be anxious, you are fundamentally different from this kind of gambler."
Lumine: "After all, you gamble with your own life, while Stacy gambles with money."
Lumine: "The nature is still different, right?"
Silver Wolf: "Gambling with life… hilarious."
Silver Wolf: "That's a high-end player of gambling."
Silver Wolf: "The level is several tiers higher than this, Stacy."
....
『 [ As for Detective Walker—he spent twenty years trying to capture a heinous fugitive, but could never catch a glimpse of him. ]
[ In utter despair, he found me. ]
[ His collateral was his own storage system. ]
[ Soon, his memory as a detective will be erased, he will completely forget who he is, and he won't remember what sacrifices he once made. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "Holy cow!"
Stelle: "Willing to abandon himself to catch a criminal?"
Stelle: "So selfless?"
March 7th: "It can be seen that capturing this criminal had already become the detective's life obsession."
March 7th: "Therefore, no matter what the price, he had to achieve this wish."
Qingque: "How to say this…"
Qingque: "The wishes were indeed fulfilled."
Qingque: "But the price paid is also not small, making it hard to judge whether it's worth it…"
Himeko: "Whether it's worth it or not, I'm afraid only these people know in their hearts."
Himeko: "As bystanders, we cannot judge."
....
『 [ An interesting phenomenon, isn't it? ]
[ I satisfy some people's desires and grant them favors. ]
[ And these favors soon return to me, accompanied by even greater desires. ]
[ And when people see others' desires satisfied, they themselves will produce equal desires, endless and infinite. ]
[ In the end, I can fish out what I want from this whirlpool. ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Dan Heng: "So that's how it is…"
Dan Heng: "Just as Miss Hotaru said before."
Dan Heng: "Madam Jade is more like a lender than the proprietress of a so-called pawnshop."
Welt Yang: "Taking the granting of wishes as a loan, and then quietly waiting to collect rich interest…"
Welt Yang: "Heh, it seems this is the meaning of the Cornerstone of Jade."
Furina de Fontaine: "I didn't expect… Madam Jade's pawnshop has such deep layers."
Furina de Fontaine: "Why does it feel like fishing?"
Hu Tao: "I feel like people who enter Madam Jade's pawnshop will eventually fall into an irredeemable death loop…"
Lumine: "Wait, no wonder Mr. Aventurine said he was afraid of being eaten dry by Madam Jade when he was on the phone with her before."
Lumine: "So that's what it meant!"
Jade: "Heh, this makes me sound like some terrifying witch."
Jade: "However, in the end, everything was done with mutual consent."
Jade: "I just grasped the human nature of these people, that's all."
....
『 [ And patience happens to be one of my greatest strengths. ]
[ So now, do you understand what you have to pay, Miss Samuel? ]
[ Or should I call you… ]
[ The remnant of the Glamoth Iron Cavalry—AR-26710? ] 』
『 ....』
—✦Omniscient Viewer's Chat Lodge✦—
Stelle: "???"
Stelle: "No way… this is Hotaru's code name, right?"
Stelle: "She could even investigate this??"
Hotaru: "Although I'm not very surprised."
Hotaru: "But I still want to say, the IPC's intelligence network is truly powerful."
Silver Wolf: "Play is play, trouble is trouble, don't mess with the IPC."
Silver Wolf: "To be fair, with the scale of the IPC dominating the universe, its true power is ridiculously strong."
March 7th: "This string of code… I really can't feel any warmth in it."
Furina de Fontaine: "It gives me a sense of déjà vu of Mr. Aventurine's slave code."
Furina de Fontaine: "They are both proofs of having been disregarded in the past."
Hu Tao: "A soldier defending their home doesn't even deserve a name. Is this something humans would do?"
Qingque: "The inhumane Glamoth Empire is like that."
....