Chapter 48: Musachi: This Hoshimi Miyabi is not as cute as when she was a child at all! (5k, begging for first subscription~) (Patreon)

"Ahem. What kind of book is the customer looking for today? Since you happen to be my tenth lucky customer of the day, I'll be running a free-rental promotion just for you — borrow whatever you like for free, and members get twenty percent off, too."

Watching the girl who'd walked in with her eyes fixed squarely on him, Musachi cleared his throat and put on his brightest customer-service smile.

"It's you. The Proxy who tricked me at Delin Hollow — and tricked me again when I ran into you at Lumina Square."

Hoshimi Miyabi stared at Musachi with a blank, adorable expression, her ruby-red eyes locked unwaveringly on him.

Mm. Looks like she really holds a grudge.

"Huh? Lady Hoshimi Miyabi, are you sure you're not misremembering? I've always just been a humble bookstore owner. I'm a model citizen — a thoroughly law-abiding one! I would never break the law! Besides, today's the first time I've ever laid eyes on you. Are you positive you're not confusing me with someone else? I do happen to have a full brother, identical to me, who got lost as a child and I haven't seen since."

Hearing Miyabi's words, Musachi's eyes went wide. He hurriedly raised both hands and said:

"I would never play the same trick twice."

Miyabi looked at him with an odd, blank little expression, a small note of quiet triumph hiding beneath her serious eyes.

"...Actually, it's the third time."

Musachi carefully corrected himself.

"So you're admitting it was you after all?"

In an instant, Miyabi's gaze turned sharp.

"Ahem, you've misunderstood. That's actually a complete idiom — the full saying goes, 'once or twice can be forgiven, but never a third or fourth time.'"

"So you're saying you're planning to trick me a third time?"

Musachi was still splitting hairs, but Miyabi wasn't buying any of it, her eyes locked on him without wavering.

"I wouldn't dare! You're a Void Hunter — how could I possibly dare to trick you a third time!"

"So you admit you tricked me twice already?"

Musachi: ...

Hiss... when did this kid get so sharp?

She used to be so easy to fool, the first two times...

Then Musachi watched Miyabi pull a document envelope out of her bag.

She set it down in front of him.

"What's this—"

Musachi looked at it in confusion, then took it and tore open the seal.

Inside, he found two identification documents.

Ah — so that's how this little girl found out where he lived. New Eridu Public Security must have leaked it!

"New Eridu Public Security leaking a citizen's personal information — I refuse to accept this, I protest! This is privileged-class abuse of power!"

"Objection overruled. I happened to be on assignment here and did a classmate a favor by delivering it. And exposing it won't help you anyway — no one would believe you."

Miyabi said, the corner of her mouth curling into a faint smile.

Does she actually know how popular she is?

Musachi couldn't shake the feeling there was a hint of smugness lurking in her eyes.

"So? What exactly are you planning to do?"

Musachi was out of moves. He let out a sigh.

Never in a million years did he expect to get cornered by a little squirt like this...

The kid's all grown up now, and prettier too — but she's lost every ounce of the cuteness she had back then!

"Let me tell you something first — my investigator's license is about to come through. Trying to arrest me won't get you anywhere. You saw it yourself yesterday: I'm working alongside the people from Victoria Housekeeping Co., chatting and laughing with Grandmaster Yixuan. I've got a legitimate status now. You didn't catch me back then, and it's way too late to try now!"

Musachi said this with a grin, watching Miyabi, a hint of pride glinting in his eyes.

"But you tricked me."

Miyabi said stubbornly, her small face set as she stared him down.

"Wasn't I forced into it by circumstances? I could hardly just let you cuff me, could I? That counts as an understandable exception!"

"But you tricked me."

Miyabi kept staring at him with the same flat, unmoved gaze.

"So did you trick me twice, too?"

Musachi asked, testing the waters as he watched her.

Clearly, Miyabi was deeply fixated on having been deceived — otherwise she wouldn't keep bringing it up over and over.

"I don't lie."

As she said it, Miyabi's eyes drifted slightly to one side.

"My dear lady... so what exactly did you come here for today?"

Musachi was truly running out of options.

Faced with this girl who carried a faint, unsettling robotic quality about her, he genuinely had no idea what to do.

If some man had pulled a stunt like this and refused to let up, Musachi would have already sent him flying with a solid haymaker.

But confronted with a dazed, adorable little fox-girl, he really was at a loss.

This world was far too unfair to men — the fact that Musachi could hit a man without an ounce of guilt was itself a form of oppression against men!

Well, all right, truthfully he had no guilt about hitting women either — like spanking Remielle, for instance, which he could do without the slightest hesitation.

"Actually, it's about something else. I'm currently undergoing training as a landlady."

Miyabi said, utterly deadpan.

"A landlady? What does that have to do with me?"

Musachi was puzzled.

"This building's ownership now belongs to me. I bought the shop outright."

"Wait, why didn't you say so sooner!"

Seeing the property deed Miyabi produced, Musachi sprang to his feet, grabbed a stool, and set it right beneath her, ushering her to sit down.

It was only then that Musachi suddenly understood what his landlady had meant during that phone call the other day.

So Miyabi had known where his home was all along — she'd simply been too busy to come by until now.

Now that he thought carefully about it, hadn't that call come right around the time he'd just gotten back from New Eridu Public Security?

Was she classmates with the officer who'd helped reissue his ID?

Watching Musachi fuss over her so attentively, the corner of Miyabi's mouth curved into a smile.

"What are my landlady's orders? Thinking of raising the rent? Ah, running a small business isn't easy — this bookstore hasn't turned a single profit yet, boo hoo. I don't even want to be a Proxy doing all these illegal things, but what choice do I have — without being a Proxy, I couldn't even afford the rent."

Musachi said, laying his misery on thick.

"Whether the rent goes up... depends on your attitude."

"My attitude?"

Musachi listened, a trace of confusion crossing his face.

Then, after a beat, he blinked and quickly said:

"Ah, look at that — now that you're my landlady, we're practically family, aren't we? And family doesn't need to stand on ceremony. Ahh, tricking you before really wasn't right of me. Tell you what — I'll grant you one request. How does that sound?"

"Then can you help me find the Taixu Sovereign?"

Miyabi's eyes lit up.

"Uh... that might be a bit... difficult."

Musachi broke into an anxious sweat.

"How about, within my abilities, I grant you one request? Look, I'm just an ordinary Proxy — I don't have anywhere near your kind of power. If you're still not satisfied, you could always just take a swing at me with your blade."

"My blade is for protecting people. It's not for cutting them down."

Miyabi said earnestly.

"Except for evildoers."

she added.

"Our Lady Hoshimi Miyabi is as kind-hearted as she is beautiful — surely she wouldn't make me do anything too difficult."

Musachi said, and then tacked on one more line:

"Oh, and by the way — I have principles. I sell my skills, not myself... unless the offer's too generous to refuse."

Miyabi: ???

"I've decided what I want. I'll be in touch in a few days."

The corner of Miyabi's mouth twitched upward, and she rose to her feet, ready to leave.

"Leaving already? Why not stay for a meal?"

Musachi offered.

Hearing this, Miyabi hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"Never mind. I have to have dinner with someone else tonight."

Miyabi suddenly remembered that her father was dining with the mayor and a group of officials that evening. She hadn't wanted to go, but since last night's Hollow Zero incident still needed follow-up involvement from Hollow Special Operations Section 6, she couldn't very well refuse.

Besides, her father would handle everything that came up at the table — all she had to do was eat, drink, and sit there.

"What a shame."

Musachi said with a smile and a nod, though he was muttering to himself inside.

Guess he shouldn't say things like that to Miyabi — she'd clearly wanted to stay just now. He'd only meant it as a polite gesture...

After seeing Miyabi off, Musachi let out a breath of relief.

He'd managed to muddle through it — thankfully, she hadn't come looking for real trouble.

Still, the girl really did hold grudges. So what if he'd tricked her twice? Why was she so fixated on him over it?

Then Musachi pulled out his phone and opened Knock Knock to message Orphie.

Musachi: You there? Pretty lady?

Orphie: (shy sticker)

Orphie: What's up~ Proxy?

Musachi: Nothing much, just wondering if my investigator's license came through yet. Not trying to rush you or anything — just bored and asking.

He genuinely wasn't in a hurry about it; it was only Miyabi's visit that had jogged his memory, prompting him to ask.

Orphie: Huh? Oh, Proxy, hold on, let me check for you. We've been out on missions the last couple of days, so I handed it off to our commander for help. Let me go find out~

Orphie said, then turned to Seed beside her and asked, "Seed, have you seen Sister Isolde?"

"Isolde went to a meeting this morning — she should be back by now. Try her office~"

"Okok~"

With that, Orphie headed off toward Isolde's office.

Isolde's office.

At that moment, Isolde sat in her chair, rubbing her temples.

The Hollow Zero situation had kept her busy lately, and ever since the incident there the night before, the Obol Squad had been run ragged.

"Damn it, it makes my blood boil just thinking about how these people paper everything over! Those TOPS bastards — after all these years they still can't change their filthy ways, pulling a stunt like this behind everyone's back. I'd love to line them all up and shoot every last one! And those sons of bitches in the military, being all wishy-washy about the whole thing — I knew someone was quietly in bed with TOPS!"

Magus sat on the sofa. Despite wearing a face identical to Orphie's, the words coming out of her mouth carried far more venom than anything Orphie would ever say.

If anyone ever mixed up Orphie and Magus and made the wrong kind of joke to the wrong one, they'd probably end up beaten black and blue.

"All right, Magus, settle down. Things are getting better — that's enough for now."

Isolde said with a sigh.

"You're way too soft on this. If it were up to me, I'd have already blown those bastards sky-high!"

Magus said, clearly displeased.

"I'd love to end it once and for all too, but I still have you all, and my retired friends, and the Obol Squad. If I were completely alone in this, I'd probably go to extremes myself. But things haven't reached the most dangerous point yet, have they?"

Isolde shook her head, saying it with a note of helplessness.

After all these years dealing with Magus, that temper of hers still never failed to give Isolde a headache...

At that, Magus rolled her eyes and said nothing more.

Sometimes she wondered — if, ten years ago during the Fall of the Old City, she and her squad hadn't been saved by the Taixu Sovereign, and had instead ended up as sacrifices for those bastards at the top, would Isolde have turned extreme herself?

After all, Magus knew Isolde's temperament well enough. The woman looked gentle on the surface, but underneath she was no helpless decoration — her reputation among the military's upper ranks over the years was hardly a spotless one.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have spent all these years climbing to her current position by holding those men's dirty secrets over their heads.

She was only a colonel, and yet her actual power was absurdly outsized — otherwise she wouldn't have gone to this morning's meeting as the military's representative.

One could say Isolde was one of the newly risen power players within the military over the past decade.

Just as the two of them were chatting, a knock sounded at the office door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and the first thing to appear was Orphie's small head, peeking inside.

Finding only Magus and Isolde in the office, she smiled and stepped in.

"Sister Isolde, Sister Magus."

she called out sweetly.

"What is it, Orphie? Something you need?"

Magus's expression softened somewhat the moment she saw it was Orphie.

Magus doted on Orphie, her own clone, without reserve — her sharp temper always mellowed a little around her.

"Sister Isolde, remember I asked you to help process an investigator's license for me? How's that coming along? No rush at all, of course — if you're too busy, it can wait."

Orphie said, tacking on the same kind of hedge Musachi always did.

"Oh, that? Sorry, I've been too swamped these past couple of days and haven't gotten around to it. But don't worry — I've got a banquet tonight, and I'll just pass it along to them there. Someone will see it through."

Isolde said with a smile.

On the desk in front of her sat a document envelope.

Orphie had already handled all the paperwork herself; all Isolde needed to do was put in a word and lend her face to confirm it.

"Oh, oh, it's fine, no rush at all, Sister Isolde. If you're busy, another couple of days is fine too."

Orphie said with a smile.

"Our little Orphie never asks me for a single thing. Now that I finally get the chance to help, don't you think I should do it up right?"

Isolde teased.

"Still, it sounds like this Mr. Proxy has really impressed you all — otherwise Orphie wouldn't be this eager about it."

"Wait — is this Proxy a man or a woman?"

Magus suddenly cut in from the side.

"A man, of course! The Proxy is a really good person, and skilled too — even Sister Trigger couldn't stop praising him!"

Orphie said, a trace of admiration on her face.

She'd heard from Trigger herself what had happened that night afterward — if Musachi hadn't stepped in, Trigger would likely have come away badly hurt.

"What?! A man?"

Magus suddenly roared.

She fixed her eyes on the face identical to her own:

"Wait a minute, Orphie — you're this worked up over this Proxy, you haven't gone and fallen for him, have you? Let me tell you something, you're still young. Don't go giving your heart away so easily — it's way too easy to get taken in!"

Magus lectured her earnestly, the words pouring out with genuine concern.

"Sister Magus! I don't mean it like that! The Proxy really is a good person — sure, he's handsome and gentle too... but that's not what I meant at all! And besides, the Proxy isn't a liar!"

Orphie said, her face flushing red.

"You've met him exactly once and you're already this far in his corner! Where is that little punk! I'll knock his head clean sideways! Setting his sights on my Obol Squad, is he!"

Orphie could have sworn she saw flames pouring out of Magus's mouth, like some kind of raging dragon...

"All right, Magus, don't overthink it. She's only met him once and figures he's someone worth working with long-term — it's nowhere near as outrageous as you're making it sound. And besides, there's no way anyone falls for someone after a single meeting, is there?"

Isolde said, sounding a little helpless.

"Heh..."

Magus shot Isolde a glance, gave a short, mocking laugh, and said nothing more.

She only muttered to herself, inside.

Really, no one? Is that so?

Who was it that hadn't forgotten that person in ten whole years, still devoting herself to the search even now?

But Magus didn't dare say it out loud — an angry Isolde was a terrifying thing, and Magus knew better than to provoke her.

"All right, all right, big kid and little kid — I've got a banquet to get to tonight, so I won't stay and chat any longer. Magus, behave yourself at home, and don't go stirring up trouble."

Glancing at the time, Isolde casually picked up the document envelope and rose to her feet, heading for the door.

She hadn't even opened it, in the end — to Isolde, this was nothing more than a trivial matter. She had far too much on her plate to bother looking into every little thing.

It was just some Proxy, after all.

"Orphie, tell me about this Proxy of yours. Oh, and where's Trigger? I haven't seen her all day."

After Isolde left, Magus turned to Orphie.

Time flew by, and it was already five in the afternoon.

Remielle really wasn't coming home for dinner that night — according to her, the three little ones wanted to treat her to a meal to thank her for her guidance these past few days.

Though Remielle had accepted payment for the lessons, it had been at a purely friendly, nominal rate.

"Hm? The store got renovated?"

When Ellen got out of school and arrived at the shop, she couldn't help but look surprised at the new shelves that had gone up.

"To make the bookstore profitable, changes are only natural!"

Musachi said, grinning.

"Wow, you've stocked up on so many bestsellers. This one — My Shopkeeper Turned Out to Be a Retired Void Hunter — is one of the recent hits. Lynn and Ruby were talking about the plot all day."

Ellen looked over the books on the shelves, clearly taken aback.

Then her eyes lit up as she turned to Musachi:

"Master, as an employee of the shop, does that mean I can read whatever I like from these shelves?"

"Someone's being extra sweet today, huh? You usually just call me the pervert manager. Though I recall you're not exactly a book person — am I wrong?"

Musachi raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

"You don't seem to mind when I call you the pervert manager, either. Aren't you actually enjoying it a little?"

"Hiss... fair point..."

Musachi couldn't help but doubt himself for a moment.

Am I actually a pervert?

"As for reading, I really don't care for it much, but all my friends are reading this one — if I don't, wouldn't I stick out from the group a bit?"

Ellen scratched her head, then expertly opened her mouth and caught the lollipop Musachi tossed her way.

Musachi's desk drawer was now permanently stocked with lollipops these days — anyone who didn't know better might mistake him for some kind of creepy uncle.

Just then, Ellen suddenly remembered something and turned to him:

"Oh right, I have a parent-teacher meeting tomorrow. I'm counting on you!"

Ellen said, pressing her palms together and looking at him pleadingly.

"Leave it to me. It's just a parent-teacher meeting, right?"

Musachi said confidently, thumping his chest.