Chapter 30: Lina's Assist (Patreon)

"Well then, we'll be on our way — Ellen's given the Proxy enough trouble here," Rina said with a smile.

She gave a slight bow, then turned and left.

Beside her, Yixuan and Ye Shunguang nodded at Musachi with smiles of their own before following her out of the bookstore.

It didn't matter even if he wasn't an ordinary person. The two of them would hardly cross paths again anyway. As a Void Hunter-tier investigator, she had plenty to keep her busy — so what if Musachi happened to know Victoria Housekeeping Co.?

Thinking it through, Yixuan let her mind settle.

She was a little puzzled with herself, though. Her Dao heart had felt unsteady today, unlike its usual calm.

But then she understood why. The divination had revealed the great matter of her whole life to come — even if it wasn't real, it still concerned her deeply. If she felt no stir of emotion at all upon learning who her future spouse would be, she'd have to wonder if she'd unwittingly cultivated her way to a state of Transcendent Detachment, forgetting all feeling...

...

"That's the gist of it, old friend. I need you to handle this quietly. TOPS has kept their mouths shut tight — even with political pressure from my office, they keep stalling. I suspect they're plotting something in secret. You know how it is: even city government can't force anyone's hand without solid proof. So I have no choice but to ask a Void Hunter like you to look into it."

As he spoke, a headache was creeping up on Mayflower. The scale was crucial, but it still wasn't direct evidence. As for the man they'd captured, he'd "committed suicide" for reasons unknown — the enemy had moved fast and left no loose threads, and Mayflower's investigation had stalled for the time being.

On this point, Mayflower had let his guard down.

He'd planted people inside TOPS — but naturally, they might have people planted inside city government too.

Mayflower hadn't expected the enemy to act so decisively. The man he'd captured had held no small position within TOPS, after all.

But the more ruthlessly they acted, the more certain Mayflower became that they were hiding something.

"Hmm... the exact location of the organization's already been confirmed, so I don't need to worry about my identity getting exposed. I just need to investigate the inside as fast as possible — is that right?" Yixuan asked, confirming with Mayflower across from her.

"Exactly."

"Then let me confirm one more thing — is the matter of the Taixu Sovereign true?" Yixuan asked the most crucial question of all — the very reason she'd agreed to take the job.

"Heh. Old friend, I might not be a good man, but I'm not the sort who'd stoop to any means to get what I want — let alone deceive an old friend. Yixuan, I'm not lying," Mayflower said, letting out a rueful laugh before turning serious.

"I'm not sure exactly what they've gotten their hands on, but this matter is definitely connected to the Taixu Sovereign."

"What's the evidence?" Yixuan asked, not one to take things at face value.

"It's this scale. From what we've examined, its owner was an Ethereal of at least Tier 8. The region where it was found saw an abnormal spike in Ether concentration ten years ago. Based on years of our own investigation, a great battle took place there — and the timing of that battle lines up closely with the disappearance of the Taixu Sovereign ten years back. This Ethereal turned up in the outer fringes of Hollow Zero, in a place it had no business being, and with the timing matching so well, there's a strong chance it's connected to the Taixu Sovereign. If we can get to the bottom of it, we'll finally know what happened here all those years ago."

"I understand. I'll get to the bottom of this," Yixuan said, nodding.

"Then I'll leave it in your hands. Oh, and Rina — this will also need Victoria Housekeeping Co.'s help. TOPS has been especially cautious lately, so they'll notice right away if any government-affiliated investigator makes a move. To be safe, you'll be the one to contact the Proxy for this job."

"Understood, Mayor," Rina said, bowing with a light laugh.

As for who the Proxy would be, Rina had already made up her mind.

Whether by personal feeling or by ability, Rina would choose Musachi either way.

At that moment, Yixuan had no idea that before long, she'd cross paths again with the very man she'd just claimed she'd never see again.

Musachi, for his part, had no idea more work had already landed on him.

Meanwhile, inside Musachi's bookstore —

Dinner was long over. Ever since Ellen had started working there part-time, the bookstore's hours had stretched a little further, now staying open until nine at night, giving Ellen a bit more time on the clock.

As for whether it was dangerous for a girl to walk home at night?

Musachi could only say that Ellen was the danger itself.

Anyone foolish enough to cross her would find out exactly what a sweep of her tail felt like.

That tail could slice an Ethereal clean in half.

Ellen usually didn't like people touching her tail — not because she disliked the feeling, but because she was simply too strong. Even the lightest brush of it could break bones.

"Chubby Shark~ We're here~"

Just as Ellen was yawning through her drowsiness, three little heads popped up in the doorway.

Spotting Musachi, they stuck out their tongues playfully, then nodded a greeting.

"Excuse us~"

The three of them filed in one after another.

"Your friends?"

Musachi glanced at Ellen beside him, and she nodded.

"They came to do homework and talk some things over. You don't mind, right? There aren't any customers anyway."

"Don't say something so cold with that little mouth of yours. Too sharp — I can't bear it."

Musachi clutched his chest.

"Can't help it. Guess that's what happens when you've got a mouth full of fangs..."

Ellen bared her teeth at Musachi, flashing a row of sharp points, then trotted off to the table nearby.

Besides Musachi's own counter, the shop had two small tables — just the right size for the four girls to sit together.

Seeing this, Musachi didn't say anything more. A few girls in the shop would only add some life to the place, after all.

"Excuse us!"

The three girls nodded a little stiffly, then stole a few extra glances at Musachi.

He's kind of handsome! Chubby Shark's been hoarding him this whole time and never said a word!

"So, have you all figured out what you're going to tell your families?"

Once seated, all four wore serious expressions. Then the blonde girl, Ruby, spoke up.

"I should be fine. I passed."

Lynn, the girl with long straight black hair, scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed.

"I didn't pass, but my score's higher than last time. You know how my parents are — they always split the difference. If I fail just once in a while, they chew me out. But when I fail every single time and then suddenly come close to passing, they don't scold me at all — they actually encourage me."

Ruby and Ellen stared at the other two, whose eyes held a faint hint of smugness, utterly disbelieving.

"You two, with those honest faces of yours, actually studied in secret!? Didn't you say you hadn't studied at all?"

They were talking about their midterm results. Before the exam, Ruby had asked if the others had studied, and they'd all claimed they hadn't. And yet these two honest-faced traitors had gone and studied behind everyone's backs!

"Waaah, I can feel my butt about to get a beating. My mom is definitely not letting this slide..."

Ruby wailed, face buried against the table.

"Chubby Shark, what about you?"

Ruby turned a pleading gaze toward Ellen beside her — at least you're still good, you didn't betray me...

For some reason, Ellen couldn't help feeling that look was a bit rude...

"I don't know what to do either..."

...

"How nice — this pure friendship between girls..."

Remielle watched the four of them huddled over the table whispering loudly, and couldn't resist a comment.

"Jealous? Too bad, you're already old," Musachi said, glancing at Remielle, his mouth running away from him.

Which promptly earned him a furious punch from Remielle.

"Okay, okay, we should get going. It'll be dark soon if we don't leave now. Ellen, good luck at work~"

Lynn glanced at the time and said to Ellen beside her.

"Be careful walking home at night, Chubby Shark. If anything happens, call me — Super Ruby will come save you from the bad guys!"

Ruby waved cheerfully.

Ellen watched them all leave, then let out a sigh.

Lycaon definitely wasn't coming.

Ever since that one time Ellen had made him go to a parent-teacher conference, Lycaon refused to go again no matter what — even using the excuse that his contract fees were too expensive...

As for Rina, she would go, but every time she came back afterward, she'd have this terrifying smile on her face.

It was only at times like these that Ellen would remember Rina was, in fact, the head maid of Victoria Housekeeping Co.

Just as Ellen was at a loss for what to do, something suddenly occurred to her. She turned her head, eyes lighting up, and looked at Musachi beside her.

Musachi: ???

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