Chapter 50: Vivian: Do You Understand the Taixu Sovereign or Do I? (Patreon)

"Haven't had enough groping yet?"

Ellen shot Musachi a venomous glare as he pushed his luck even further.

"I could play with this leg for a whole year."

Musachi said, dead serious.

The next instant, Ellen, unable to take it anymore, sank her teeth straight into his arm.

"Ow! Since when did you learn to bite people?"

Musachi shook his arm, wincing as Ellen's head bobbed up and down with the motion, her teeth still locked on.

But he quickly took aim at the soft flesh of her waist and jabbed at it with his other, still-uninjured hand.

Ellen let go immediately — turned out she was ticklish after all.

"Hmph."

She sniffed coldly, shot him one more look, then got up and walked away to sit at a nearby table.

For the rest of the afternoon, Ellen ignored him completely. No matter how he tried to tease her, all he got back was a curt, cool "hmph."

Maybe the shop's new business model was finally paying off — quite a few customers came through that afternoon, several young people among them signing up for membership cards after spotting the bestsellers.

"Steady growth, steady growth. Don't tell me I'm actually a business genius?"

Musachi stroked his chin, eyeing his newest members with smug satisfaction.

But trouble soon arrived.

The two kids he'd shooed away yesterday were back again today.

Had their dad spanked them when they got home last night? Had they come back for revenge?

Musachi wondered silently.

"Manager!"

Musachi remembered the boy's name was Cole.

"What's up?"

he asked, still grumbling inwardly behind his standard customer-service smile.

"Manager! Thank you so much! Because of you, I got a little sister!"

"Huh?"

Musachi blinked at the boy's words, stunned.

Wait — did your dad dive back into your mom's Hollow just to stop you moping over wanting a sister, and pull one out?

That's one hell of an impulsive dad.

No, wait — even if that were true, there was no way it could've happened this fast.

Musachi muttered to himself.

"Lingling's my little sister now!"

Cole said happily, holding the hand of the little girl trailing behind him — Lingling.

"I told my dad yesterday that I wanted a little sister. He said finding one by opening boxes in a Hollow would be super hard, but he said even though Lingling isn't my real sister, I could just treat her like one! I thought about it and figured, yeah, that makes sense! So now Lingling's my little sister!"

Beside him, Lingling listened with a bright, happy smile, her big eyes sparkling.

Watching this, Musachi fell into a brief silence.

Girls really did mature faster than boys.

Was this sibling bond really going to stay pure forever?

"Hehe, and my dad even doubled my allowance — from now on, half of it's Lingling's! Big bro, you're such a good guy!"

Musachi went quiet again at the boy's words.

This kid's dad was a real piece of work...

Musachi doubted the man had no ulterior motives, but he clearly cared enough about his kid to put real thought into it.

After waving goodbye to Musachi, the two kids left the shop.

They hadn't even finished the books they'd rented yesterday, so there was no need to rent more — this visit had just been to let him know in passing.

"Come on, Lingling. I've got money now, let's go get something good to eat."

"Brother Cole, I have my own allowance too, you don't have to spend yours."

"No way. My dad said the other half is for spending on you. If I don't spend it on you, wouldn't that make me an embezzler?"

He knew what embezzlement even meant, at that age?

The corner of Musachi's mouth twitched up.

"Fine then. Let's go rent a tape from the video store — I'll use my allowance. Since you're letting me spend half of yours, I'll give you half of mine too."

"Yay! Then I want to watch Starlight Knight! And Mighty Mountain Overlord!"

"Mm-hm, let's rent both then."

Watching the two little ones head into the video store next door, Musachi couldn't help but feel moved.

What good kids.

That little girl already understood she shouldn't spend someone else's money for free — she put plenty of grown adults to shame.

Musachi had seen plenty of people venting about this exact thing on the Inter-Knot.

Like the guy who'd dated a girl for three months after meeting through a matchmaking setup, paying for everything — food, drinks, fun — while the only money she ever spent was a few Dennies on a cup of milk tea, and even then she threw tantrums every single day.

In the end, the original poster couldn't take it anymore and finally broke things off.

Once the two kids were gone, Musachi glanced over at Ellen and noticed a small smile on her face too.

But the moment she caught him looking, she huffed coldly and turned her head away.

Musachi walked over to her; Ellen turned away even further.

Seeing this, he smiled and casually pulled a lollipop out of a nearby drawer.

He came up beside her and held the lollipop right by her ear, peeling the wrapper off slowly, the crinkle of plastic crackling next to her.

She knew exactly what that sound was.

She swallowed hard and steeled her resolve.

A rotten shopkeeper like him wasn't going to sway her with one measly lollipop!

But then the scent of it reached her — a faint, sweet grape aroma.

Her favorite flavor.

A shark doesn't take charity!

Ellen held firm.

Then she watched the lollipop wave back and forth right in front of her, back and forth.

Argh!

Ellen lunged her head forward, trying to snap it up in one bite.

But Musachi was faster, yanking his hand back with a grin.

"Not mad anymore?"

"Still mad."

Ellen puffed out her cheeks.

"And now?"

Musachi popped the lollipop into her mouth.

The sweetness spread across her tongue, and the corner of Ellen's lips visibly curled into a happy little smile.

"Still mad!"

she huffed softly.

"What a shame. I was planning to cover all your lollipops for the whole month."

Musachi sighed with feigned regret.

Then he felt her arm slip gently around his.

"Not mad, not mad anymore."

Ellen laughed sweetly, her usually cool little face now breaking into a goofy, adorable grin.

"That's more like it."

Musachi said, sneaking another feel of her leg through its black stockings.

This time, Ellen only shot him a mild glare and said nothing.

Well, since he'd already touched it once, once more didn't really matter...

That's how Ellen talked herself into it.

"Hey, come to think of it, your high school life is really something, Ellen. On the surface, just an ordinary high school girl — but secretly working for Victoria Housekeeping Co.... and popular at school on top of that."

Musachi stroked his chin, teasing her. Given how formidable she was on the job, he often forgot she was still just a high schooler.

"It's fine, really. I just don't want my friends to know about my job, it'd be too much trouble... Besides, don't you have two identities too, Manager? On the surface, a bookstore owner, but really a Proxy. Having two layers to yourself isn't exactly rare in New Eridu, is it? For all we know, some random person sipping coffee on the street could secretly be a fixer, and the siblings running the video store across the way could be the legendary Proxy Phaethon."

Ellen mumbled, pulling the lollipop from her mouth with a soft pop.

Musachi's eyes followed the sound, catching sight of her glistening lips.

Her mouth must taste sweet now, after all that lollipop.

he couldn't help thinking.

But he'd only just gotten away with touching her leg today — best not to push his luck any further.

Just as the two of them were laughing and chatting, the shop door opened again.

Musachi turned to look, raising an eyebrow.

The newcomer was a young girl.

She had gorgeous, long violet hair, its ends curling into a few large drill-shaped ringlets.

A purple bow sat atop her head, and a single streak of white ran through her bangs.

Her ruby-red eyes swept over the shop the moment she stepped inside. She wore an exquisite, adorable little dress with a bow tied at the chest.

Her slender legs were clad in black tights patterned with thorny vines, and she wore round-toed leather shoes that gave her a rather cute look overall.

"Pardon the intrusion."

she said politely, folding up her parasol; her pale, delicate hands showed clearly defined knuckles, the veins faintly visible.

"What can I help you with today?"

Musachi said with a smile, walking over to the counter and looking at the exquisite, lovely girl before him.

Her looks were stunning, every bit a match for Ellen's.

"Excuse me, do you have a book called The Ethereal Records of Taixu?"

Vivian said, a hint of anxiety in her eyes.

She'd already checked so many bookstores, but the book was so popular right now that everywhere else had sold out.

Just as she was about to give up and head home empty-handed, she'd spotted a bookshop on the corner of Sixth Street and decided to try her luck.

"The Ethereal Records of Taixu?"

Musachi blinked, then recalled that the title was indeed on his stock list.

The book was apparently written in the first person as the Taixu Sovereign — meaning himself. Billed as a novel, it was really just his own past exploits dressed up with some artistic embellishment.

Things like "The Taixu Sovereign Storms the Exaltists Alone" or "The Taixu Sovereign Forges an Alliance with Yunkui Mountain," that sort of thing.

Musachi himself couldn't stomach reading it — way too cringe-inducing — but the author's prose was apparently quite good, so the book had become a genuine bestseller.

Countless readers were eagerly awaiting the next installment.

"Is this the one?"

Musachi said with a smile after searching the shelves.

"Yes, that's it! What luck — I checked bookstores all over New Eridu and they were all sold out. I never expected you'd have it here. I guess small shops really do have their perks!"

Uh...

Musachi clutched his chest, feeling as though he'd been stabbed straight through.

This girl was so pretty — how could her words cut so deep?

Beside him, the shark girl couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Oh, sorry, sorry, that's not what I meant! I meant your shop is a hidden gem, yes, that's it!"

Vivian hastily backpedaled.

"It's fine. Everything's looking up."

Musachi said, forcing a smile.

The most painful thing, really, was dying in total obscurity. By comparison, having a customer stop by to say a few words — even hurtful ones — was already pretty good.

"Would you like to buy the book, or rent it? If you'd like to rent, you can sign up for a membership here."

Musachi said, handing the book to Vivian while cheerfully pitching his new business.

"Buying, of course!"

Vivian said, as if it were obvious.

Then something occurred to her.

"Manager, what's this membership thing you mentioned?"

she asked, curious.

"A membership means — well, on top of other perks, once you have a membership card you get a five-percent discount on books bought here~"

Musachi said eagerly, pitching his membership system.

"I see... Well then — Manager, sign me up for a membership card, and give me three copies of The Ethereal Records of Taixu!"

Vivian said, one hand cutely planted on her hip, the other holding up three fingers.

"Three copies? Isn't that a bit much? Besides, with a membership card, you could just rent it for free."

Musachi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Not too much at all. Three books — one to read myself, one to spread the word, and one to keep as a collector's copy. Just right. As for the membership card..."

Vivian looked at Musachi with a hint of a smile. "I'll be counting on you, Manager, to set aside three copies of The Ethereal Records of Taixu for me every time new stock comes in! As a member, I should get at least that much of a perk, right?"

This little one was pretty sharp...

"Of course you do. If a valued member asks, I'll definitely set some aside. That much I can do."

Musachi said, nodding.

Perhaps because she'd gotten her book, Vivian's mood improved considerably.

So she sat right down in the shop, unable to wait, and flipped open a copy to start reading.

Watching this, Musachi couldn't help but smile.

"Hmm... so the new volume really does push into the Exaltists arc — the Taixu Sovereign goes undercover for thirty days, finally meets the Exaltist Overseer, and cuts him down..."

A light novel wasn't very long, so Vivian quickly reached the climactic part of the story.

But it was getting late by then, so Vivian decided to finish reading at home.

"Is this book really that good?"

Ellen asked, unable to hide her curiosity.

"Of course it's good! This is the Taixu Sovereign's own story! There aren't many legends about him that have survived, but I'm sure that wherever I can't see, the Taixu Sovereign has done even more incredible things. What the author's written here is just a small fraction of it! Take this volume, where he infiltrates the Exaltists — the real events must have been even more sweeping and spectacular than this!"

Vivian gushed happily to Ellen, as if she'd found a kindred spirit.

"Is it possible... maybe the Taixu Sovereign didn't actually think that much at the time? Maybe he just stumbled in after getting recruited by the Exaltists, realized they were all bad people, and killed the lot of them?"

Musachi's mouth twitched at Vivian's description.

He couldn't help but recall how he'd actually wiped out that branch of the Exaltists.

Thinking back on it, he remembered that the whole thing had really just been a coincidence — he'd only just regained consciousness and entered New Eridu at the time.

With nowhere to go back then, he'd been dragged along by some Exaltist believer without really understanding what was happening. Musachi recalled that branch had been running some kind of human experiments; furious, he'd killed the branch leader and a bunch of the cultists on the spot. But that time, he hadn't killed the Exaltist Overseer — that only happened later, during the Fall of the Old City.

Afterward, he'd called the authorities and had the people trapped inside rescued.

He later heard that the branch leader had been utterly deranged, even using children as test subjects.

Damn it, even Dai-Shocker knew to protect kids!

Of course, the real reason Dai-Shocker didn't harm children was mostly because Kamen Rider was a kids' show and had to avoid letting scenes like that make it to air.

"No way!"

Vivian's expression turned serious at Musachi's words.

"Lord Taixu Sovereign is a great man! He's kind-hearted, and he despises evil with a passion! An evil organization like the Exaltists — Lord Taixu Sovereign must have wanted to wipe them out the instant he laid eyes on them!"

"Maybe. I don't really know much about the Taixu Sovereign, but like you said, plenty of it's probably been dressed up for artistic effect. Maybe a lot of what he actually did wasn't nearly as dramatic as the official reports or the novel make it out to be."

Musachi muttered inwardly.

Sometimes Musachi glanced at the novels or news reports about himself, and honestly, the things they claimed he'd done were so exaggerated he couldn't even remember doing them that way.

It felt a bit like writing an essay, then taking a reading comprehension test on it — and somehow failing to get full marks on his own work.

"Manager, if you don't understand the Taixu Sovereign, I'd suggest you say less. Lord Taixu Sovereign is a noble man, a great man, a man above petty vulgarity! He's a hundred times greater than people imagine — no, ten thousand times! And besides, if you don't understand him, you shouldn't even be part of this discussion. Do you know the Taixu Sovereign better, or do I?"

Vivian huffed coldly, leaving Musachi a little flustered.

Was he really that great? He hadn't known. Was there perhaps another Taixu Sovereign out there, and he himself was actually just a fake?

Musachi couldn't help but sink into a bit of self-doubt.

"Ahem, sorry, Manager. The Taixu Sovereign is my idol, so I got a little worked up. But if you've never personally received his kindness, you really can't understand this feeling."

Vivian said, looking a little embarrassed.

She felt she'd said a bit too much just now.

She really couldn't help it — every time the Taixu Sovereign came up, she just had so much to say.

After all, the Taixu Sovereign had once saved her from the Exaltists' den of horrors back when she was a child. Even though she didn't even know what he looked like.

"My bad, my bad. I shouldn't have speculated without knowing better."

Musachi said, apologizing with an odd look on his face.

What was this — apologizing to someone about his own life, because he didn't know enough about himself?

Well, whatever. Seeing as she was a member of his shop, and his own little fangirl, he'd let it go.

"It's getting late. Bye, Manager. Let me know when the next shipment comes in, okay? Counting on you~"

Vivian smiled and pushed the door open, leaving.

Then Musachi noticed Ellen next to him, stifling a laugh.

He could tell this little one was thoroughly enjoying his embarrassment.

Musachi rolled his eyes at the sight.

"Alright, let's clean up. We're closing early today — time for us to head out too."

"Mm-hm."