[Two days after getting a house]
Inside the newly repaired building, the sound of tools, hammering, and frustrated Fixers echoed through the halls.
Eridius sat on a wooden chair near the counter, arms crossed, watching workers move furniture and repair wiring that definitely looked unsafe.
Beside him, Alexander calmly sipped cheap canned coffee like this was a perfectly respectable establishment.
It wasn't.
But compared to before?
It looked almost luxurious.
The broken walls had been patched.
The bloodstains were gone.
The smell of death had mostly disappeared.
Mostly.
A flicker of blue light appeared briefly in front of Eridius.
[Host Name: Eridius]
[Gender: Male???]
[Race: Genetic Experiment {Humanin-----}]
[Age: 13 {Locked}]
[Commander Points: 1####]
[Gacha Rolls: 16@@@]
[Rank: General]
[Recruitment: Open {1000 Points}]
[Special Recruitment: 0]
[Specialty: Logistics]
[Supplies: 477]
[Legions/Squads: Alexander Musicians.]
[Total Members: 1]
Eridius stared at the screen for a moment.
Then sighed.
[Eridius]: I still can't believe one million Ahn turned into five food boxes and five mechanical parts boxes.
Alexander lowered his coffee slightly.
[Alexander]: To be fair, Leader… those boxes did repair an entire building.
A pause.
A loud crashing sound echoed from the kitchen.
Silence.
Then—
[Fixer 1]: Stove works now!
Another voice followed immediately.
[Fixer 2]: Fridge too!
A beat.
Then, quieter—
[Fixer 2]: Honestly… I still can't believe we're about to eat food that doesn't contain human remains.
Silence filled the room briefly.
One of the nearby Fixers slowly nodded.
[Fixer 3]: Real meat. Real vegetables.
A pause.
[Fixer 3]: This feels suspicious.
Eridius leaned back slightly.
[Eridius]: Welcome to luxury living.
Alexander ignored that completely.
[Alexander]: More importantly—
He adjusted his gloves slightly.
[Alexander]: My Fixer license should arrive within the week.
Eridius blinked.
[Eridius]: You took the First Association exam yesterday.
[Alexander]: And passed.
A pause.
Then, calmly—
Silence.
Then one of the Fixers slowly looked toward him.
[Fixer 1]: Wait… you're a licensed Fixer?
Alexander gave a polite nod.
The room went quiet.
Another Fixer looked around nervously at the repaired building.
[Fixer 2]: …Why is a licensed Fixer opening a café in the Backstreets?
Eridius answered immediately.
[Eridius]: Because starving to death is bad for business.
Silence.
Then he gestured broadly around the building.
[Eridius]: Think about it. Your office only takes repair and construction requests, right?
The Fixers slowly nodded.
[Eridius]: Which means half the time you're waiting around for work while wasting money somewhere else.
He leaned forward slightly.
[Eridius]: So here's the plan.
A faint grin appeared on his face.
[Eridius]: You repair buildings upstairs. Eat downstairs. Rest here if needed. We sell food, drinks, music, maybe entertainment later—
A pause.
[Eridius]: And when clients need extra work done?
He pointed directly at them.
[Eridius]: We recommend your office.
The room went quiet.
One of the Fixers blinked slowly.
[Fixer 1]: …That's actually not stupid.
[Fixer 2]: Side income…
[Fixer 3]: Consistent customers…
A pause.
Then—
[Fixer 3]: Wait. Isn't this just networking?
Eridius froze.
Silence.
Then he leaned back slightly, offended.
A beat.
[Eridius]: It's capitalism.
Alexander quietly covered his face with one hand.
[Alexander]: Leader… somehow that answer was worse.
Another loud crash echoed from the kitchen.
[Fixer 2]: WE HAVE RUNNING WATER!
The entire room turned toward the kitchen in complete disbelief.
A long silence followed.
Then one of the Fixers spoke quietly.
[Fixer 1]: …This place really is luxury.
Eridius leaned back slightly and pointed toward five metal boxes stacked near the counter.
[Eridius]: Looks like you guys are done. Go ahead and take the rest of the payment.
The Fixers exchanged confused looks before one of them stepped forward and opened the first box.
Silence.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Canned food.
Not scraps.
Not recycled protein paste.
Actual food.
[Fixer 1]: Strawberry milk soup…
Another slowly picked up a different can.
[Fixer 3]: Soft peach…
The last box opened.
[Fixer 2]: Meatball pizza…?
The room went completely silent.
One of the older Fixers stared down at the cans with an unreadable expression.
[Fixer 1]: …I haven't eaten stuff like this even when I lived in a Nest.
A pause.
He let out a dry laugh.
[Fixer 1]: Back then, we'd earn millions of Ahn and still get robbed blind by office fees and taxes.
Another Fixer nodded bitterly.
[Fixer 2]: Paying money just to get work.
[Fixer 1]: Heh… that's the City for you.
The older Fixer looked toward Eridius.
Then toward Alexander.
His eyes lingered there for a second longer.
Careful.
Respectful.
[Fixer 1]: Kid… if you ever need construction work, repairs, or extra hands—
A faint grin spread across his face.
[Fixer 1]: Call our office first.
A beat.
[Fixer 1]: We're only a Grade 8 Office…
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
[Fixer 1]: But we'll give you a discount.
Eridius smiled faintly and gave a small nod.
Beside him, Alexander offered a polite bow.
The Fixers gathered their things and slowly left the building.
The door closed.
Silence returned.
Rain tapped softly outside.
Then—
Eridius exhaled deeply and slumped back into his chair.
[Eridius]: …That was stressful.
Alexander glanced toward him.
[Eridius]: Alex, if we hadn't mentioned your Fixer exam—
He pointed toward the now-closed door.
[Eridius]: They probably would've killed us and sold our organs for extra cash.
Alexander blinked once.
[Alexander]: Is the Backstreets truly that severe?
Eridius stared at him.
Then slowly nodded.
[Eridius]: If you didn't look strong enough to break people in half, we'd already be dead.
A pause.
Then a faint grin appeared on his face.
[Eridius]: Though showing them how casually you killed those Rats definitely helped.
Alexander lowered his eyes slightly.
[Alexander]: …That was unfortunate.
[Eridius]: "Unfortunate" isn't the word I'd use.
Alexander adjusted his gloves quietly.
[Alexander]: I simply dislike seeing others suffer.
Silence.
Eridius stared at him for a moment.
Then—
A pause.
[Eridius]: You're either going to become the nicest Fixer in the City…
Another beat.
[Eridius]: Or the most horrifying one.
Alexander considered that seriously.
[Alexander]: Ideally, both.
Silence.
Then Eridius slowly leaned back in his chair.
[Eridius]: …Yeah, that's somehow worse.
A pause.
[Eridius]: Honestly, that saying about everyone smiling in the City being completely insane is starting to sound believable.
Alexander calmly adjusted his gloves.
[Alexander]: I will take that as a compliment.
[Eridius]: You shouldn't.
A flicker of blue light appeared between them.
The system opened.
[Alexander von Dufrode li Hulu]
[Talents {3/5}]
[Noble]
[Fluffy Ears Lover]
[Kind Heart]
[Skills]
[Instrument Fighting Lv.6]
[Cooking Lv.4] → [Cooking Lv.5]
[Violin Playing Lv.5] → {Refitting} → [Instrument Playing Lv.3]
[Singing Lv.4] → [Singing Lv.5]
[Management Lv.5]
[Cleaning Lv.2] → [Cleaning Lv.4]
[Gathering Lv.5] → [Gathering Lv.6]
[Thick Skin Lv.6]
[Nimble Lv.7]
[Strength Lv.7]
[Coffee Making Lv.3]
[Presence Concealment Lv.2]
Eridius nodded slowly.
[Eridius]: Nice. Looks like the café work actually leveled some things up.
Alexander glanced toward the kitchen.
[Alexander]: Repeated labor creates efficiency.
A pause.
Then, quietly—
[Alexander]: Though I still believe the coffee machine is actively attempting to murder me.
[Eridius]: That's normal. It means the machine accepts you.
Alexander stared at him in silence.
Eridius ignored that completely and opened his own status.
[Eridius]
[Skills]
[Heavy Bones Lv.2] → [Heavy Bones Lv.3]
[Blade Skills Lv.2] → [Blade Skills Lv.4]
[Lead Stomach Lv.6]
[Drug & Poison Resistance Lv.3]
[Thick Skin Lv.3] → [Thick Skin Lv.4]
[Nimble Lv.3] → [Nimble Lv.4]
[Strength Lv.3] → [Strength Lv.4]
[Presence Concealment Lv.4] → [Presence Concealment Lv.5]
[Mind Lv.3]
[Cooking Lv.2]
[Coffee Making Lv.4]
[Management Lv.1]
[Cleaning Lv.2]
[Engineering Lv.1]
Eridius rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
[Eridius]: Looks like training with you really does help, Alex.
Alexander gave a small nod.
[Alexander]: Shared work improves shared growth.
[Eridius]: More importantly—
He pointed proudly at his status screen.
[Eridius]: My coffee is now professionally terrible instead of amateurly terrible.
Alexander lowered his head slightly.
[Alexander]: I noticed.
Silence.
Then—
Eridius stretched lazily against the chair.
[Eridius]: Well… now we wait for the Fixer Association to deliver your license.
His gaze drifted slowly around the repaired room.
The café.
The house.
Their new base.
A small smile appeared on Eridius's face.
[Eridius]: …Not bad for our third day in the Backstreets.
Ding.
The sound of the front door opening echoed softly through the café.
Both Eridius and Alexander immediately looked toward the entrance.
Their first customer.
For a brief moment—
Both of them smiled.
Then froze.
The atmosphere shifted instantly.
Black coat.
Yellow hive-like patterns woven into the fabric.
Black hair with a single golden streak.
And a smiling woman standing calmly at the entrance like she already owned the building.
Behind her stood two masked men in dark trench coats.
Silent.
Still.
Watching.
Eridius felt his stomach tighten immediately.
Alexander's posture straightened almost imperceptibly.
The woman glanced around the café with visible amusement before her golden eyes settled on the two of them.
Then she smiled wider.
[???]: Well, now… a new café outside the Nest?
Her voice was elegant.
Warm.
Wrong.
She stepped inside slowly, heels tapping softly against the floorboards.
[???]: I think I'd like some black tea.
A pause.
Her eyes narrowed slightly in playful amusement.
[???]: And perhaps a dish or two.
The two masked men silently moved to stand behind her like shadows.
Then—
The woman tilted her head slightly.
Still smiling.
[???]: So do hurry.
A beat.
[???]: It would be rather rude to keep a Arbiter waiting—
A tiny pause.
Then she laughed softly behind one hand.
[???]: Ah… my mistake.
Her smile sharpened slightly.
[???]: A lady, I meant.
Silence filled the café.
Eridius didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Only one thought echoed through his mind.
[Eridius]: …We're going to die.
[Chapter End]