The next day.
Sixth Street, Video Store
Hoshimi Aya woke up groggily from bed.
"Huh?!"
"What time is it?"
Hoshimi Aya looked at the empty space beside her and asked doubtfully.
Last night, after having dinner and walking with Hoshimi Miyabi for a while, she returned.
Originally, Hoshimi Miyabi was planning to take her to stay at the Hoshimi Family residence, but Hoshimi Aya refused.
Gaining a sister and a father for no apparent reason was still something she couldn't quite accept.
At least, not that quickly.
This required a period of adjustment.
Although her relationship with Hoshimi Miyabi had eased considerably after their outing yesterday.
She was still hesitant to confront that 'father' directly.
So, when Hoshimi Miyabi suggested it was getting late and the Hoshimi Family home was closer, suggesting she sleep over there, Hoshimi Aya flatly refused.
...
Ten minutes later.
After finishing washing up, Hoshimi Aya came downstairs.
As soon as she entered the secret room, she found Rin connected to Eous, and the computer was displaying Eous's perspective in The Hollow.
"Rin, why didn't you call me if you were going into The Hollow?"
Hoshimi Aya asked doubtfully upon seeing Belle, Billy, and Cat in the screen's view.
If they had called her, wouldn't the agent fee for the client no longer be necessary?
"I saw you sleeping soundly, so I didn't wake you up."
"This mission required Belle and the others to have a Proxy guide them."
"Besides, Belle and the others couldn't afford your commission. Belle immediately refused when she heard your fee needed to be doubled."
Rin waved her hand, her eyes fixed on the screen, the light rings in her eyes flashing.
Hoshimi Aya froze upon hearing this. She hadn't mentioned the commission fee for these past few trips into The Hollow. She had completely forgotten about it.
This was set up shortly after she arrived, and it was the commission fee that Rin and Zhe had unanimously agreed upon, knowing she possessed strength comparable to a Void Hunter Level.
"Fine, I'll go out for a walk."
"I'll bring back something tasty for you."
With that, Hoshimi Aya left the Video Store.
Since it had nothing to do with her, staying there would just be boring.
She and Rin had watched almost all the interesting videotapes in the store.
Moreover, the ones they had bought previously were lost in The Hollow, so there were no new additions yet.
...
Light Reflection Square.
Hoshimi Aya sat in the milk tea shop, listlessly drinking her milk tea.
"Coco, help me pack three more milk teas later."
Hoshimi Aya said, looking at the milk tea in her cup, which was only half full.
"Okay, Aya."
"The usual order?"
Coco asked blankly.
Hoshimi Aya nodded upon hearing this. She liked drinking milk tea, and over time, she became familiar with Coco at the milk tea shop.
A moment later, Coco had packed three cups of milk tea.
After confirming she had finished hers, Hoshimi Aya paid and left with the three cups of milk tea.
She then walked toward another shop, planning to buy another batch of red bean buns.
Although she had bought enough last time, it was a bit too much. One serving should be just right, enough for a small taste.
However, red bean buns weren't only available at Light Reflection Square; Sixth Street also had them. She hadn't known last time, and the ten-minute walk made the buns she bought earlier a bit cold, so she decided to buy them on the way back this time.
...
Sixth Street.
Hoshimi Aya arrived at the shop at the end of the road.
As soon as she entered, she saw a familiar figure: Trigger.
Trigger also noticed Hoshimi Aya, but recalling that they didn't know each other, Trigger smiled faintly, nodded at Hoshimi Aya, and left.
"...Oh, I almost forgot."
"Trigger knew the protagonist first."
Hoshimi Aya murmured as she watched the departing Trigger.
After buying the red bean buns, Hoshimi Aya returned to the Video Store, but just as she was about to enter, she once again felt a faint, elusive gaze upon her.
"Why are you here again?!"
Saying that, Hoshimi Aya quickly turned around. In a dark corner of a wall, she saw a streak of yellow hair quickly hiding.
Hoshimi Aya:...
Ah, Trigger, never mind.
Thinking this, Hoshimi Aya walked directly into the shop, pretending nothing had happened.
"Zhe, you're back too?!"
"It's a good thing; I bought your share too."
When Hoshimi Aya entered the secret room, she found Zhe had returned. She handed one cup of milk tea to Zhe, another to Rin, and kept one for herself.
"Mhm, I thought about it. It's better to keep the sword on me."
"That way, if something like yesterday happens, the situation will be better."
"But since it's a restricted weapon, carrying a sword on the street might attract the attention of the Public Security Officer."
"So I bought a scabbard. It can be carried by hand or slung over the back."
"This way, I won't have to worry about safety issues wherever I go."
As he spoke, Zhe took out a long box and opened it. The Demon Sword lay inside.
After all, they rarely took the subway, so they didn't have to worry about the subway security check.
It was convenient for carrying around, and it could also reduce Hoshimi Aya's contact with the Demon Sword, preventing any loss of control.
Although this made the sword rack he bought a bit redundant, it was ultimately more convenient.
Hoshimi Aya's eyes lit up slightly as she nodded. Although she couldn't hold it by hand, she could at least take it out with her now.
"Aya, even though you bought the scabbard,"
"You still need to leave the sword with your brother normally."
"Don't think you can carry it around just because you have this."
"From now on, you can only carry it when accepting a commission. Don't even think about it otherwise."
"Yesterday was just extremely bad luck. The sudden appearance of The Hollow is an extremely low-probability event; it's impossible for us to be chosen every time,"
Rin said, as if guessing what Hoshimi Aya was thinking.
Hoshimi Aya lowered her head and sipped her milk tea, her ears drooping slightly because of Rin's words.
She had indeed been thinking about carrying it with her whenever she went out, or taking it along.
After all, with her ability, carrying such a box presented no burden.
She could even toss an object weighing nearly 200kg like a sandbag with one hand.
"Oh right, this month's electricity bill seems a bit off!"
"The electricity bill is almost five times that of last month."
"Sister, have you guys been using any high-power electrical appliances?"
As he spoke, Zhe seemed to recall the electricity bill he received early this morning.
Seeing that bill, he wondered if he had misread it.
"No, just the usual."
"I usually wash up with Aya. At most, a little extra electricity was used when drying Aya's ears with the hairdryer."
"But it shouldn't use that much, right?"
Rin walked over to Zhe and looked at the electricity bill, puzzled.
"That's right, this is where I need you, Fairy."
"I suspect it's because of you, causing the HDD to basically run at full speed all day. That should be the reason the electricity bill went up,"
Zhe stated his guess.
"Uh... the repayment pressure this month is a bit high."
Rin's tone dropped upon hearing Zhe's words. The videotapes they bought a couple of days ago hadn't even yielded half their expected profit.
Now they had another mouth to feed. Their Inter-Knot account level was still too low to take on any big jobs.
If it were Phaethon's account from before, it might not have been an issue; they could just take a few more jobs.
But things were different now. Their Inter-Knot account level wasn't high, so they couldn't secure any ideal contracts.
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