| Alright, I'm calling to say we've got something set for this afternoon. If there's no problem, bring Anby and meet us there. |
After Nicole finished speaking, she hung up immediately. Nekomata let out a quiet sigh of relief, then shot Wise a look that mixed embarrassment with irritation.
She was obviously blaming him for messing with her tail during the call, nearly getting them discovered by Nicole.
But that wasn't what disturbed Nekomata the most. What really left her shaken was everything that had happened last night.
Too many unexpected things had happened at once that she couldn't even wrap her head around it.
As she recalled those moments, Nekomata's small face flushed, her thoughts spiraling into a tangled mess.
When she had woken up, Nicole's call had made her anxious, leaving her no time to think about any of it. But now that her mind had settled, one question surfaced clearly.
'What exactly is my relationship with Wise?'
Wise noticed the change in Nekomata's expression and the turmoil written all over her face, immediately understanding what she was worried about.
"Nekomata…"
"Wise?"
"I really like you. Same as Belle and Anby. So please, stay by my side from now on."
"Nya!!!"
Seeing Nekomata's excitement, Wise knew that words alone couldn't fully convey how he felt.
He reached out and gently continued stroking her ears and tail, only stopping once she was finally satisfied.
"Hmm, did Nicole call just now?"
Anby's eyes fluttered open, her eyes only half-open and still heavy with sleep. She looked so cute that Wise couldn't resist taking a picture.
"Yes. Nicole said there's a commission this afternoon, nya," Nekomata replied while stretching, though her attention was clearly on Anby, her expression tense.
After all, she was the newcomer here. As for Belle, she was still fast asleep.
"Wait… something's wrong!"
The moment Nekomata looked at Belle, a sudden thought struck her, sending a shiver through her body.
Anby simply nodded after hearing her words, her expression calm. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she leaned in and gave Wise a good morning kiss right in front of Nekomata, silently staking her claim.
That expression made it clear she had already accepted and approved the situation. Both Nekomata and Wise let out quiet sighs of relief.
Glancing at the time, they realized it was already afternoon. If they didn't get moving soon, they might miss the commission.
Wise got up first to make lunch, while Anby and the others quickly got dressed and finished their morning routines.
Meanwhile, Belle calmly responded to the questions Nekomata had been holding back.
Once she understood everything, Nekomata gave a small nod. It seemed her worries had been unnecessary.
When it was time to eat, Belle was the first to take the seat to Wise's left. Nekomata, noticing this, wasn't planning on fighting Anby for a seat.
But just as she was about to sit across from them, Anby quickly pulled her to Wise's right and sat herself right on his lap.
It seemed a bit illogical, yet somehow, it made some sense.
After lunch, Anby and Nekomata left first, leaving Belle and Wise alone in the video store.
Wise waited for the right moment, then spoke in a slightly heavy tone.
"Belle, about our income and expenses for this month…"
"Brother, let me explain. Those things I bought online…"
Before Wise could finish, Belle hurriedly started explaining her purchases, her anxious rambling giving him a headache.
"Stop, Belle. That's not what I want to talk about."
Even though she had bought plenty of strange things, Wise could understand. Besides, the expenses themselves weren't that significant.
"Because our Inter-Knot account needs to be rebuilt from scratch, this month's income isn't very good. The video rental business is doing about the same, but the main reason our income dropped is the electricity bill."
As he said that, both of them quietly turned their eyes to the computer screen. Fairy, which had been displayed just moments ago, was now nothing but an ellipsis.
"Fairy, explain to me why you're using so much electricity!"
Belle stared at the electricity bill Wise handed her. The number was impossible to miss. It was five times higher than last month.
[|…I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about.|]
"She always plays dumb at moments like this. With her running the HDD at full power all day, the bill going up was bound to happen."
They knew that if things continued like this, their short-term income and expenses would definitely fall into deficit.
Wise even started wondering if he should exchange Emotional Value for some Dennies, or go back to his old profession as a novel author.
That idea made him think back to when he first started writing online.
Back then, he had nothing better to do and just wanted some extra money, so he made an account in secret and started writing novels.
Since he'd read tons of great works in his previous life, and most novels from the old civilization were gone after its collapse, his stories ended up becoming surprisingly popular. Some even got adapted into comics.
Later on, between the Hollow Zero disaster and his life as a Proxy spent clearing his teacher's name, Wise had no choice but to set writing aside.
That so-called temporary pause had stretched on for several years. Even now, a handful of loyal readers were still urging him to update.
The main reason was simple. A shojo school romance novel had never been finished and had remained on hiatus ever since.
At the same time, Belle's expression darkened after hearing Wise's words, likely from the mounting pressure of this month's loan repayments.
"Sigh, I really feel like going next door and wiring up some electricity…" Belle said, rubbing her temple.
"Uh, you're joking about that now? Is that the influence of the Cunning Hares? There's really no need to take that kind of risk just for money."
"Yeah, yeah. We're close enough to sleep in the same bed, so how could I not be influenced?"
As Belle said that, a mischievous smile crept onto her face, and the glance she shot at Wise was loaded with meaning.
"Cough cough. Anyway, you don't need to worry about our income and expenses. The real reason I came to talk to you is because someone on Inter-Knot specifically named us and posted a high-value commission," Wise said, quickly changing the subject.
"Eh? A high-value commission? How high?" Belle played along, asking with clear curiosity.
"Hey… that's not the point."
Wise rubbed his forehead in resignation, while Belle responded by sticking out her tongue.
Naturally, she knew this kind of situation was unusual. She was simply curious.