"Well now, this is rare. First time I've seen Felt bring friends here."
The old man looked them over and chuckled.
"Old Man Rom, they're not my friends. They're the idiots who owe me money!"
Felt muttered as she strode straight into the warehouse.
"They owe you money?"
Old Man Rom laughed twice. "That's impressive. You don't look like the type to lend money to anyone, Felt."
"Exactly," Satoru Gojo said, nodding along like he'd been personally wronged. "That's what I thought too."
"Seriously, no one asked you. If you're not going to shut up, at least get inside."
The group entered the warehouse.
They called it a warehouse, but the layout inside looked more like a bar. There was a counter, and behind it were shelves that were probably meant for bottles. Right now, though, they were just like the rest of the place, cluttered and packed with random junk.
The towering old man named Old Man Rom swayed his way behind the counter.
Every step made the floor tremble slightly beneath him.
He pulled out a cup from under the bar, poured in a white liquid, then pinched it between two fingers like it weighed nothing and handed it to Felt as if he were offering her a toy.
Felt took it and tipped her head back, gulping it down. "Ugh. When I'm in a bad mood, even milk tastes awful."
Old Man Rom watched her sulky expression, then glanced at the white-haired boy wandering around the warehouse, and the other boy sitting beside Felt, eating something weird. Confused, he asked.
"Alright. Tell me what happened."
"Because you all don't exactly look like something terrible went down."
Rom knew Felt well. If something truly awful had happened, the mood wouldn't be like this.
Even the passcode at the door would've been different.
And if that had been the case, the one greeting them inside wouldn't have been him.
It would've been his club.
"Don't even get me started," Felt said. "Didn't I tell you I got a high-paying job? Someone was supposed to come pick up the goods today?"
"These two ruined the whole thing…"
"It wasn't my fault!" Subaru rushed to defend himself. "I didn't even do anything!"
All that got him was a glare from Felt, and she snatched the corn chowder chips right out of his hand.
Felt stuffed handful after handful into her mouth. The way she crunched down with her teeth clenched, it looked like she wanted to pretend the chips were the two of them and chew them to pieces.
Between loud crunches, she mumbled her way through the rest of the story to Old Man Rom.
Old Man Rom listened seriously, nodding now and then. Occasionally he took a sip of liquor, or let out a low "Mm."
But other than that, he didn't offer advice or commentary.
As the man who'd raised Felt since she was small, he understood her personality better than anyone.
If things had reached this point, it meant she'd already made her decision.
She wasn't looking for someone to tell her what to do.
Right now, all he needed to do was listen, let her vent, and give her space to cool off.
As for the twenty Holy Gold Coins…
That number sounded massive, but he still chose to respect Felt's judgment.
"Ahhhh!"
Felt groaned loudly, collapsing against the counter.
"I really don't want to meet the buyer tonight."
"If word gets out, no one's going to trust me with commissions anymore. I worked so hard building up my reputation…"
"Reputation doesn't matter," Gojo said, somehow appearing right beside her. He leaned in and spoke near her ear. "Now you've got us. From today on, we're the legendary Three-Man Crew of the royal capital."
"Get lost!"
Felt roared like an enraged dragon.
They stayed in the warehouse for a while.
Old Man Rom watched the three of them bicker on and off, the faintest curve touching his lips.
Sure, this whole mess had cost Felt a lot. It was a genuine blow.
But if she truly ended up making two friends out of it… maybe it wasn't all bad.
Growing up in the slums had forced Felt to mature early. She'd long since sworn she'd leave the slums behind.
She wanted to rely on her own efforts and live somewhere better.
That was why, while other kids her age played or studied, she spent her days stealing to slowly build up the money she needed for her dream.
Sometimes she earned a single copper coin.
Sometimes she came back with nothing.
Sometimes she hit the jackpot and got a gold coin.
She'd experienced every kind of result.
Joy, disappointment, bitterness, frustration…
But since she didn't really have friends, all of it had only ever been something she could talk about with Old Man Rom.
Now, watching her argue and blow off steam with these two, he could finally see a hint of the childish side she usually kept hidden.
As time passed, the sky outside gradually darkened.
The promised time with the buyer was almost here.
Felt rested her elbow on the counter, staring blankly out the window.
She just wanted to get this over with already, then go home and sleep.
Not sit here listening to the two idiots beside her squabble.
"Subaru, you seriously ate cup noodles all by yourself?"
"I bought you berry cake, you know. Is this how you repay me?"
"Yeah, you bought me berry cake, and you still managed to drag me into debt too. I'm touched, really."
Subaru held the cup noodles with both hands and hurriedly slurped everything down, leaving not a single drop of broth behind. He looked like he was terrified Gojo would say, Let me have a bite.
After spending the day with him, Subaru was fully convinced Gojo was absolutely the type of person who would.
They were still arguing when a knock suddenly sounded from outside the warehouse.
"Looks like the contact's here," Old Man Rom said, already a little tipsy as he rose to open the door.
"Sit down, Old Man Rom. I'll get it."
Gojo waved him off and started toward the entrance on his own.
"I want to see what kind of person is worth twenty Holy Gold Coins."
"Heh."
Old Man Rom chuckled, then shot Felt a knowing look. She immediately rolled her eyes.
Gojo reached the door and gently pulled the wooden panel open.
Outside…
It was fully dark now.
Bright moonlight spilled down from the sky, coating the ground in silver.
Under that pale light, a shapely, voluptuous figure appeared in front of Gojo.
The newcomer wore an extremely revealing backless dress patterned with purple flowers. The slit at her chest plunged straight down, all the way to her navel.