Chapter 58: Musachi: Should I watch a movie too? Wise: ? (Patreon)

"Greetings, Proxy."

By the time Rina walked through the door, the bookstore was already getting ready to close for the night.

Today had been busier than usual, so Ellen had put in a full day's work, and now she sat slumped in her chair, unwilling to move an inch.

If not for the steady supply of lollipops Musachi kept feeding her, she probably would have already dozed off.

"Good evening, Rina. Something up?"

Musachi set the mop aside and gave Rina a cheerful nod.

"The day after tomorrow, there's a commission that needs a Proxy's help—it's related to what happened at Hollow Zero last time."

Musachi hadn't heard much about the Hollow Zero matter since then, only a rough outline from Yixuan.

"After the last commission wrapped up, the Canggang Group's research facility was destroyed, but the aftereffects are still lingering. Because of the high-intensity fighting, Ether became heavily concentrated in that area, drawing large numbers of Ethereals toward it—and the gathering Ethereals only intensified the concentration further. So the government has been arranging cleanup operations this whole time. This commission is part of that effort. The core zone is too complex terrain-wise for the military or ordinary Agents to penetrate, so responsibility has been given to Yixuan of Yunkui Mountain and Miss Hoshimi Miyabi of Hollow Special Operations Section 6. As for the Proxy slot, we've chosen you."

Rina explained with a smile.

Nearby, Ellen and Remielle listened without joining the conversation, glancing over only briefly before losing interest.

"Shouldn't the government have plenty of skilled investigators? I'm surprised they picked me again," Musachi said, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise.

"That's right—the original candidate for this wasn't you, but a senior investigator. However, because of TOPS's retaliation these past couple of days, the mayor decided to appoint you as the investigator for this mission, and he's prepared generous compensation as a form of apology."

"Well, the mayor's not such a bad guy after all. Here I thought he'd just left a former wild Proxy like me to fend for himself."

Musachi smacked his lips and said it with a grin.

Rina simply answered with a smile.

Musachi could grumble about the mayor behind his back, and so could plenty of ordinary citizens—but as head housekeeper of Victoria Housekeeping Co., she couldn't afford to do the same.

When necessary, one had to watch one's words and actions, though these busy days had left even Rina a little on edge.

"No problem, I'll take the commission. Someone's paying, so naturally I'm happy."

Musachi nodded and agreed with a smile.

"I'm glad you're willing."

Rina nodded, and her poised posture loosened just slightly.

Business matters settled, it was time for personal ones.

Rina reached up with a small hand to rub gently at her slightly sore shoulder, then turned with a smile toward Ellen.

"Store Owner, sir, Ellen hasn't been giving you any trouble here, has she?"

The moment she said it, Ellen's eyes snapped to Musachi, a hint of warning in them.

"Of course not. Ellen's very well-behaved with me—whatever I tell her to do, she does. Very obedient," Musachi answered immediately.

Hearing his answer, Rina couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Rina knew perfectly well what Ellen's actual personality was like, and she knew Musachi was surely glossing things over a bit. Still, she didn't say anything—as long as the two of them got along, that was enough; she wouldn't press the matter.

"You really don't trust me that much, Rina?" Ellen said, giving Rina a wounded look.

"It's precisely because I trust you that I'm asking," Rina said with a light laugh.

"I trust that you'll absolutely slack off and cut corners," she added quickly, before Ellen could show any other expression.

Ellen: ?

"Thank you for looking after Ellen all this time, Store Owner. I did send her here to work part-time, but knowing her, she's bound to act willful. Honestly... if she doesn't fix that personality, will she even manage to find a boyfriend someday? Who could possibly put up with it?"

As she spoke, Rina cupped one cheek in her hand, looking a little troubled.

For a moment, Ellen's gaze drifted involuntarily toward Musachi.

Ah, right, there really is one pervert of a store owner who happens to like that kind of personality... I glare at him like he's garbage, and instead of getting mad, he just says it's cute, calls it a 'moe point' or whatever...

At Rina's words, Musachi guiltily turned his head away.

"Look who's talking. Aren't you the same, Rina—"

Just as Ellen was about to fire back, she caught sight of the murderous glint in Rina's eyes and immediately shut up and behaved.

"Oh right, Proxy, have you had dinner yet? If not, I could help out—I happen to be free right now."

Rina pressed her hands together in front of her chest, looking at Musachi with clear anticipation.

Ever since Musachi had proven able to eat the food she made, Rina had looked forward to moments like this. After all these years, Musachi was one of only two people who could actually eat her cooking—the other being Ellen.

"Ah, never mind, we just had dinner. So, next time. Next time," Musachi said hastily, seeing the eager look on Rina's face.

He could handle it himself, sure, but there was still Remielle to think about in the store. If Remielle ate it, she'd probably end up in the hospital on the spot.

Even if it didn't come to that, an upset stomach was practically guaranteed...

Though it did occur to Musachi—if his stomach got upset from it, did that technically count as losing weight?

"What a shame," Rina said, sounding disappointed.

She then turned to Ellen. "Come on, Ellen, I can drop you home while I'm at it."

"Oh, coming!" Ellen said, grabbing her bag and heading straight out.

Still, Ellen couldn't help grumbling to herself—did they really need to come all the way over for something this small? Couldn't they have just discussed it over the phone?

But she glanced at Rina and didn't dare ask.

Though Rina was usually kind and gentle, as head housekeeper of Victoria Housekeeping Co. she still carried a certain amount of authority over Ellen.

"Finished. Not bad, not bad—the effect's pretty good," Musachi said, unable to help smiling as he looked over the day's earnings at the counter after Rina left.

Just today's revenue alone had come to a full three hundred thousand Dennies!

That was already enough to cover a month's rent!

Three hundred thousand a day meant three million in ten days! Nine million in a month!

Who says my bookstore can't make money!

Musachi laughed smugly inside his own head.

Of course, he knew perfectly well this was only thanks to the event boosting sales. Still, he'd already decided to keep the event running—from now on, every Saturday, he planned to hold another one, basically as a promotion.

He'd even already picked a name for it: Crazy Saturday!

Besides the usual promotional gimmicks, Musachi also planned to add a few other sales pushes.

Like discounting the books on a particular shelf, for instance.

Beside him, Remielle watched Musachi's expression, and even though he hadn't said a word, she could guess exactly what he was thinking.

She just sighed.

This foolish store owner—he could earn several times more money just from taking a single commission, and yet he still got excited over the bookstore turning a profit.

Musachi glanced at Remielle and raised an eyebrow.

"What's up, my esteemed store manager?"

Remielle walked over, smiling as she looked at Musachi.

"Nothing, just thinking making money is a little too easy now."

Musachi smacked his lips and said it with a grin.

"Weren't you just fretting a while back about getting the bookstore to turn a profit?" Remielle said, smiling as she watched him gloat.

"That was then, this is now. Can't compare them."

"Please. If Cecilia hadn't helped you come up with the idea, you wouldn't have made anywhere near this much today," Remielle said, rolling her eyes and leaning against a nearby bookshelf.

"Careful, don't knock the shelf over," Musachi said, glancing at her and giving a warning.

Remielle: ?

She glanced at the shelf against the wall behind her, and her smile turned strained.

You're seriously trying to provoke me right now, aren't you?

Sometimes Remielle felt that living with Musachi was more trouble than it was worth.

This bastard could be so infuriating when he wasn't being normal...

"Hey, Cecilia's helped me out so much—should I give her some shares or something? With a business mind like that, plus helping out at the store, I honestly feel a little guilty," Musachi said, stroking his chin as he considered it seriously.

"Shares? Why not just say you want to make her your wife and co-owner while you're at it? Then you'd never have to worry about running the bookstore ever again," Remielle said, shooting him a sarcastic look.

"Whoa, there's a way to do that?" Musachi said, clapping his hands at hearing this.

"So you're agreeing to it?" Remielle asked, turning to look at him.

"Agreeing to what?"

"To making Cecilia your wife and co-owner."

Musachi tilted his head, explaining.

"What good does my agreeing do? Isn't that up to what she wants? Besides, you and I are just employer and employee—you don't need my permission for anything you do!" Remielle said flatly, puffing out her cheeks.

"Really now?" Musachi said with a teasing grin, looking at Remielle, who seemed a little jealous.

"Of course it's true. What else would it be?"

"Then how come I remember someone kissing me just a few days ago?"

Musachi was referring to something that had happened one night not long before.

"Did that happen?" Remielle blinked, looking utterly blank.

"Of course it did. Or should I refresh your memory?" Musachi said, grinning at Remielle.

As he spoke, Musachi waved her over with a hand.

"Refresh it how?"

Remielle looked at him, puzzled.

"Like this—"

As Musachi spoke, he suddenly stood up, grabbed Remielle by the shoulders, and pulled her toward himself. Even with the counter between them, it did nothing to stop him from closing the distance—then, looking at her startled face, he didn't hesitate for a second before leaning in and kissing her.

"Mm—"

The sudden assault left Remielle unable to react in time; she could only stare wide-eyed at Musachi, their gazes locked for a long moment.

Seeing this, a hint of amusement crept into Musachi's eyes. Before she could recover, he pressed the advantage further, and in an instant his tongue gently parted her lips.

...

A long while later, their lips finally separated, and the two of them slowly drew apart. Musachi looked at Remielle with a satisfied smile.

"So? Does it ring a bell now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow with a grin.

"If I said it still doesn't, would you make me remember again, Store Owner?" Remielle said, stepping back with a perfectly composed expression, as if nothing at all had just happened, smiling as she spoke.

"Of course I would! In for a penny, in for a pound! If the patient still hasn't recovered her memory, I wouldn't mind trying another little combo," Musachi said, leaning in toward her again.

"All right, all right, I give up, I'm scared of you..." Remielle said, raising her hands in surrender at the sight of Musachi looking ready to go again.

If she didn't surrender now, he really might do it again.

She'd managed to keep herself in check during that first little test just now, but if he tried again, Remielle honestly couldn't guarantee that the two of them, both worked up, wouldn't end up going all the way today...

Seeing this, Musachi chuckled and let the matter drop.

...

The next day, the bookstore opened as usual.

Musachi looked at the shop, quiet and empty once more, and couldn't help but feel a little wistful.

"It's like it was all just a dream~ but I still feel moved, even waking up~" he sang softly.

"Oh, please. If the store were busy like that every single day, you'd be complaining instead," Remielle said, rolling her eyes at him.

"...True enough," Musachi admitted, nodding as he listened to her.

Honestly, running a bookstore wasn't much of a moneymaker—the margins were thin, the profits small.

It was only because Musachi was doing it just for fun that he didn't care about any of that. If the store got busy every single day, he'd probably have to start hiring staff...

The whole morning passed with barely any customers, and now it was already lunchtime.

Musachi checked the time, then waved a hand at Remielle.

"Come on, let's go get a bowl of ramen at General Chop's place. We'll skip cooking today."

Remielle nodded at that.

So they closed up the shop and headed off toward General Chop's ramen stand.

"Oh? You two are here for ramen too, Belle, Wise?" Musachi said cheerfully as a greeting when he arrived and spotted Belle and Wise already sitting on stools, waiting for their food.

"Hey, it's Musachi. Didn't feel like cooking for lunch, so I figured I'd get ramen instead," Belle said with a smile.

"Ah, I see," Musachi nodded, then turned to look at Wise.

"Not often I see you out here, Wise," he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Ha ha... is that so?" Wise laughed awkwardly.

"Of course it is. My brother goes out with his friends every single day, and it's never just a meal—he has to go catch a movie too! Leaving his poor darling little sister all alone at the store while he goes off to have fun. Really, it's outrageous," Belle complained.

"Right, right... totally outrageous," Remielle chimed in to back her up.

"But didn't I stay behind today to keep you company, Belle?" Wise said, offering a weak defense after his little sister's tirade.

"Oh, and this counts as keeping me company? If anything I should be thanking you for not going out and leaving me alone at the store for once," Belle went on, still scolding him.

"All right, all right, my bad. Next time we restock, I'll let you pick out several of the movies you like, how's that?" Wise sighed helplessly, signing what amounted to an unfair treaty.

"That's more like it. And while you're at it, why not watch a horror movie with me again?"

"Let's not—you know I can never bring myself to watch horror movies, have mercy on me..." Wise said, shooting Musachi a plaintive look as he spoke.

"Wait, why bring me into this?"

"Hee hee, Musachi, that movie you gave me last time—I rewatched it with my brother, and he literally jumped out of his seat from fright. I've got it on video, you know," Belle said, pulling out her phone and opening the recording app.

"What!? When did you record that? Give me the phone!" Wise blurted, having had no idea Belle had recorded any of it. This absolutely could not get out—otherwise, wouldn't his whole reputation be ruined?

And on top of that... he suddenly remembered—among the female Agents he knew, quite a few were pretty tough, no-nonsense types, and several times when he'd taken them to watch arthouse films, they'd dozed off out of boredom. If they ever found out he was scared of horror movies, he'd be doomed—they'd probably drag him to horror movies every single day, and even flip up the armrest between the seats just so he'd have somewhere to hide.

In the end, thanks to Wise's desperate resistance, Belle didn't manage to get her wish of playing the video after all.

Still, Belle shot Musachi a wink.

The meaning was clear: once her brother left, she'd find a chance to show it to him later~

Musachi nodded gravely in response.

"Oh right, Musachi, how'd yesterday's event go?" Belle asked curiously, turning to him.

"Not bad, actually. The store's finally not running a loss this month—way better than before. Makes me wonder if I really have no head for business at all. Now that I think about it, if it weren't for Cecilia, yesterday's event probably wouldn't have worked nearly as well..." Musachi said, sounding a little self-doubting as he spoke.

"Do you even need to say that?" Remielle chimed in at just the right moment.

Musachi shot her a glare for that, and Remielle just stuck out her tongue in response.

"Looking at it that way, the event's had a pretty good effect on the store..." Belle mused. Then her eyes lit up as she turned to Musachi.

"In that case, Musachi, want to team up for the next event?" Belle said, smiling as she looked at him.

"Team up how?" Musachi asked, curious.

"Like, if a customer signs up for a membership card at my place, they get a discount signing up at yours too. Or, we could offer a bundle—one card that works at both our shops! What do you think?" Belle said, thinking it over with a smile.

"That could actually work. Some customers who aren't tight on money might get a sudden impulse and sign up for both our cards at once, just because they're looking at a stack of discount coupons," Musachi said, nodding. This Belle sure had a sharp head on her shoulders!

"What does Manager Wise think?" Musachi asked, turning to Wise, not forgetting that he was technically the store manager too.

"Oh, forget about my brother. He's out having fun every single day while I run the shop alone. If he dares object, I'll start going out every day too, and let him find out what it's like managing the store solo!" Belle said, glancing at Wise as she spoke.

Wise had no objections to that—or rather, he didn't dare have any.

Because everything Belle said was true.

Still, Wise glanced at Belle, then at Musachi, and back again.

Something felt off. Very off.

His little sister was a good kid, sure, but she'd always been sensible and kept things in proportion—so what was going on this time? Volunteering to propose a partnership out of nowhere...

As far as Wise could recall, his sister and Musachi didn't have all that much interaction—aside from the usual greetings whenever they ran into each other, they'd only ever watched one horror movie together, as far as he knew.

Then something clicked in Wise's mind.

Wait. That horror movie!?

Wise suddenly remembered—while his sister had more nerve than himself and could tolerate horror movies a bit better, she still wasn't exactly fearless.

Sometimes when she dragged him along to watch one, they'd end up huddled together on the couch by the end of it, clinging to each other.

That disc that had been corrupted by Ether—he himself had been scared out of his mind watching it, so there was no way Belle came away from it completely unfazed!

And that disc... she'd watched it together with Musachi!

Which meant—there was a real chance that Belle, out of fright, had jumped straight into Musachi's arms at some point!

As he spoke, Wise studied Musachi carefully out of the corner of his eye.

Hmm. Good-looking, solid build, a good sense of humor...

Now that he thought about it, that really did seem like exactly his sister's type, didn't it?

Damn it. Was he really about to get his sister poached right out from under him?

Musachi, for his part, couldn't possibly miss the intense stare Wise was giving him.

He turned his head to look back at Wise, then asked, weakly, "...Am I supposed to go watch a movie too?"

Wise: ???

"My sexual orientation is perfectly normal," Wise blurted out after a stunned pause.

Musachi visibly relaxed at that. "Oh good, mine too."

"Pfft—" Belle, watching the odd exchange between Musachi and her brother, couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.

"What are you two even doing! Don't make something like that sound so funny!"

"It's mostly that Wise kept staring at me so intently, and combined with those mysterious rumors about how much he loves movies, I couldn't help but let my imagination run," Musachi said weakly.

There was a legend on Sixth Street that the video rental shop's manager, Wise, had some kind of mysterious ability: if you went into a movie theater with him, once you came out, your favorability toward him would somehow have been raised sky-high!

Honestly, Musachi had never really believed rumors like that, but with Wise staring him down so intently today, he couldn't help letting his mind wander in that direction...

"Don't worry, my brother only takes women to the movies," Belle explained with a smile, shooting a fierce glare at Wise as she said it.

Quite a few of New Eridu's top-tier Hollow Raiders had surprisingly close relationships with Wise, especially the female members of their teams.

By the logic of light novels, a Proxy handling logistics like Wise was supposed to be the kind of character who got kicked to the curb easily—so how in the world had this guy ended up so popular?