Chapter 92: Everyone I Find Is an Acquainted Proxy, Why Can't I Encounter Someone Who's the Taixu Sovereign? (Patreon)

"Well, if it isn't our kind, lovely, drop-dead gorgeous Sister Venus! It's been so long. I've missed you to death~"

Musachi spotted Venus sitting outside the coffee shop with a cup in her hand. He strolled over with a beaming smile, his voice sweet as honey.

"It's only been a few days, and we chat on Knock Knock all the time. What's with the drama?"

Seeing Musachi, Venus couldn't hold back a smile of her own, and she shook her head.

Thanks to Musachi, Venus was now a fairly well-known middleman.

And the reason for her fame was, of course, also Musachi. He rarely took jobs on Inter-Knot himself. The people he knew sent him work now and then anyway, and every one of them paid generously. Yunkui Summit, Victoria Housekeeping Co., Hollow Special Operations Section 6, the military—none of them were short on cash. So any client who wanted to reach Musachi had to go through Venus.

A top-tier Proxy gets treated like royalty wherever he goes. Add the rumors on the street that Musachi and Venus were close, and before long, Venus's business was booming.

Most Hollow Raiders were smart people. They'd always shown respect to a well-connected middleman like her, and they gave her a little face.

So work had been going smoothly for Venus lately.

Of course, plenty of people wanted to get in touch with Musachi, but Venus hadn't lost her head over it. She was careful when picking jobs for him. Anything low-paying or easy, she never passed to Musachi. Those went to the newbie Proxies under her for practice. Only the truly tricky commissions made it to Musachi's desk.

"That's different. As the old saying goes, 'a day apart feels like three autumns.' It's been so long that, to me, decades have gone by. Do you know how heavy decades of longing are?"

"Okay, okay, stop being so cheeky."

Watching his goofy act, Venus pressed her lips together in a smile.

He was so mature on the job, still sitting on a record of zero bad reviews, yet in private he acted like a teenager.

Then again, if you set aside his ten years of sleep, the time he'd actually lived was only a little over twenty years…

Well, twenty-something isn't much different from teens. Calling him a boy was perfectly fair!

"So, what's the commission this time?"

Musachi picked up the coffee beside her with a grin and took a sip before asking.

"A treasure-hunting job with a profit split. The location is an Companion Hollow on Sixth Street. Don't let the 'Associated' part fool you, though. It's pretty dangerous inside. When it expanded, it swallowed a lot of people, so all sorts of remains wander around in there. Rumor says there's even a Notorious Ethereal, so be careful!"

Venus said it with such a serious face, as though a Notorious Ethereal were something truly terrifying.

"A Notorious Ethereal, huh. Mm, I'll be careful."

Musachi nodded and left it at that.

Seeing his reaction, Venus felt he wasn't taking it seriously enough, and warned him again.

"I know you're strong, but Notorious Ethereals are really dangerous! If you run into one, run first, no exceptions!"

"Got it, don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

Seeing she wouldn't let up, Musachi finally nodded and answered.

But hearing Venus call a Notorious Ethereal dangerous, for some reason he felt a bit like laughing…

After all, what level of Ethereal did he usually face? Apart from that very first black dragon, even the weakest ones were level five or six. And now Venus was telling him this Hollow was dangerous because it had a level-four Notorious Ethereal…

Well, that is dangerous, sure. A speed bump can trip you and send you tumbling if you're careless…

Looking at her earnest face, Musachi suddenly found her adorable.

"You really got it?"

"I really got it."

Musachi said with a grin, then patted Venus on the head.

She immediately clapped a hand over her head and glared at him, cheeks puffed out.

"You're getting naughty. I'm the big sister here. How can you pat my head?"

Venus protested, looking thoroughly unconvinced.

"Sorry, couldn't help it. And since you're the big sister, can't you cut me some slack?"

Musachi said, smiling.

"No way! Forget it. Go meet the client first. When you come back, I'm patting yours in return, or I'll be the one taking a loss."

She looked at him seriously, calculating as she spoke.

"Yes, yes, ma'am."

Musachi nodded, then suddenly remembered something.

"Sister Venus has been busy lately, huh? Sometimes I see your posts on Inter-Knot. Lots of newbie Proxies say you're beautiful and kind-hearted."

Musachi stroked his chin and smiled.

"You're quite popular~"

"It's all thanks to you. Ever since you got famous, I've had more and more work. It's tiring, but I'm pretty happy. Hehe, I can buy three of those little cakes I love at once now!"

She held up three fingers with an adorable smile.

"Whoa, that's so lavish! Aren't you going to save anything?"

Musachi stared at Venus in shock, as if looking at some rich lady.

"Sis, I don't want to work hard anymore. Look…"

"Enough with the nonsense. Don't you earn more than I do? Those big shots you work with, I probably won't get a single word out to them in my whole life. One job's pay from them is worth a month of my salary!"

Venus looked at him, amused.

"Alright, alright. Here's the client's contact info. Get in touch with them."

Venus said with a smile.

"Roger that!"

Musachi gave her a salute and turned to leave.

But just then, Venus called out to him again.

"Wait."

"Any orders?"

Musachi looked at her curiously.

"I have a lot of newbie Proxies under me now, but you're the only little brother your sister has, you know."

She scratched her cheek, a bit embarrassed, then looked at him shyly.

"Don't read into it! I just said it offhand!"

"What a coincidence, you're the only sister I have!"

Musachi said with a grin.

Then he waved and left.

Well, she really was the only sister he had.

Yixuan was his mom, Hoshimi Miyabi was his little sister, Remielle was his wife, Beli was his cook, Round Shark was his little girlfriend, and Rina (Alexandrina Sebastiane) was his head maid…

After a glance at the agreed time and place, Musachi headed for Sixth Street.

[I'm here. Where are you?]

He messaged the client on Knock Knock.

[I'm by a utility pole on the street corner. White top, black skirt, purple hair. That's me.]

The reply came quickly.

Musachi looked toward the utility pole on the corner.

And there he saw a familiar figure.

Over there, Vivian was looking at her phone and glancing around. Then her gaze landed on Musachi, and their eyes met.

For a moment, the air turned awkward.

"Why is it you? Shopkeeper? Are you here on business?"

"Nope. I'm here to find a purple-haired beauty of an Agent in a white top and black skirt."

Musachi held up his phone with a strange look. On the screen was the message Vivian had sent.

Staring at it, Vivian had no comeback.

She'd just been short on money lately and wanted to go down into a Hollow to earn some. How had she ended up running into the bookstore owner of all people?

What kind of coincidence was this?

If she had luck like this, why couldn't she bump into Lord Taixu Sovereign on the street instead?

Vivian grumbled to herself…

"I never expected the Proxy who took the commission would be you, Shopkeeper."

Vivian was speechless.

"On Sixth Street, you can go without a life, but never without a job!"

Musachi gave her a thumbs-up and grinned.

"Who doesn't have a hidden identity? I never expected a bright, pretty high schooler like you to be a Hollow Raider…"

"Okay, we can talk about that later. You know my terms, right, Shopkeeper? In that case, let's get to work."

Vivian said helplessly, then pointed at the Hollow nearby.

"Mind if I ask something? I'm sure it's fine, but you look so delicate."

"Don't worry. As long as we don't meet a really powerful Ethereal, I'm fine, and even if we do, I can run."

Vivian said with a smile.

She was confident in her own strength.

In this world, strength can't be built through training alone.

Talent matters too.

Take Round Shark, for example. She barely trained at all. With that lazy personality of hers, Musachi suspected that if they ever got together, he'd be the one doing all the work while she lay in bed. Yet her strength was anything but weak.

Her extremely high Ether compatibility let her nap inside a Hollow and walk out fine, and her shark Thiren physique gave her the edge when fighting Ethereals.

Vivian was the same. She looked delicate, but her strength was no joke.

She seemed light as a feather, but anyone who underestimated her would get a nasty surprise from the rapier hidden in her parasol.

"Once we're inside, Shopkeeper, just lead the way. Our target is a place called Morning Dew Manor. Before the Hollow swallowed it, it was a collector's private residence. The Hollow expanded so fast that they couldn't evacuate the collection. Plenty of Hollow Raiders have searched for it since, but the space inside is warped and the place is hard to find. Right now, though, the Hollow is in a stable period, so the space isn't shifting like usual. Once we find the manor, we can go in and stock up. Profits split fifty-fifty."

Vivian said with a smile.

"No problem. Just guiding? The easiest kind of commission. I love it."

Musachi nodded with a smile.

For Musachi, guide jobs were his favorite. No hassle, and he still got a cut at the end.

It couldn't be easier.

For other Proxies, though, this kind of job was a real pain. They were notorious for being troublesome and low-paying.

Setting aside ordinary guide jobs, the destinations of these ones were basically deep in the Hollow, and the whole point was that you could run into an Ethereal and get ambushed at any moment.

And the payout afterward was unstable, too.

"By the way, you just bought books from me, and now you're taking a job. Running low on allowance?"

As they walked, Musachi couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

With a regular client, Musachi would never pry, but he and Vivian were fairly familiar, so a little chat to pass the time was fine.

"Yeah. I bought a lot these past couple of days. If I don't earn some money, I won't have enough for living expenses."

Vivian nodded frankly, not embarrassed at all.

"I see. But do you have to earn your own living expenses? What about your dad?"

Musachi noticed the quality of Vivian's clothes and assumed she was some young lady from a rich family.

"I don't have a dad."

Vivian shook her head.

"Hm?"

Musachi frowned, sensing something was off.

"Then what about your mom?"

"I don't have a mom either."

Smack!

Musachi slapped himself in the face.

I deserve to die, damn it!

"What's wrong?"

Watching Musachi suddenly go haywire and slap himself, Vivian was confused.

"No, it's nothing…"

Musachi shook his head.

"Alright, no more chatting, Shopkeeper. This Hollow is really dangerous. If we meet an Ethereal, please stand behind Vivian."

Vivian glanced around the area and said with concern.

"Don't worry. If there's an Ethereal, I'll warn you. At least for now, it's safe around here."

Musachi smiled.

Seeing that, Vivian was a little surprised.

Musachi seemed very familiar with conditions inside the Hollow.

"Mm."

Vivian nodded lightly.

After twenty minutes of walking, Vivian saw a huge mansion in front of them.

With Musachi leading the way, Vivian hadn't met a single Ethereal the whole trip.

Even she was a bit stunned.

It wasn't her first time in this Hollow.

The Ethereals here were extremely dangerous. If she weren't short on money, Vivian wouldn't have come at all, because it was such a hassle.

But what surprised her was that, with Musachi leading, they hadn't run into one Ethereal the entire way.

"What luck… Not a single Ethereal."

She pushed open the mansion's door and looked at the dusty rooms inside. Vivian fanned the air with her hand and frowned.

"Since I'm the one guiding, of course there aren't any. I steer clear of whatever I can."

Musachi said with a smile.

"We're lucky. There's good stuff right as we walk in."

Vivian's eyes lit up as she looked at a glass display case ahead.

Just inside the door stood four glass display cases.

Three of them had been smashed. Two had lost their contents, and the third had been shattered so badly that what remained was worthless.

Clearly, an Ethereal had been in here before.

But right now, there was no Ethereal in sight.

As far as Musachi could sense, the mansion held no danger.

"Go ahead, it's safe."

Musachi said with a smile, seeing Vivian's wary posture.

"If an Ethereal suddenly shows up in a place like this, it'd be hard to deal with."

Vivian said.

"Relax. There are no Ethereals here. My special ability lets me sense where they are."

"No wonder we didn't meet any on the way."

Vivian looked at Musachi in surprise.

"Just trust me. If there's an Ethereal we can't avoid, I'll tell you."

"Now I get why everyone on Inter-Knot raves about how good you are. That sense of security means so much to a Hollow Raider."

Vivian said, impressed.

"If you're short on money, you could buy a few fewer books, you know."

Watching Vivian happily pick up a Bangboo art ornament and tuck it into her bag, Musachi couldn't help saying.

"No way! I have to buy Lord Taixu Sovereign's books!"

"If they were official, licensed merchandise, sure. But hardly anyone in New Eridu even knows what Taixu Sovereign looks like. It's all bootleg stuff. Buying it is pointless. At best it counts as fan-made works…"

Musachi scratched his head.

"It's not the same! I don't have any other hobbies. For me, buying Lord Taixu Sovereign merchandise satisfies a psychological need."

"What fan fever… Maybe your idol isn't as great as you imagine. He's a man, after all. He probably has all the flaws men have…"

Musachi's mouth twitched.

"Impossible! Lord Taixu Sovereign is perfect! Who understands Lord Taixu Sovereign better, you or me? I've collected so many accounts of his deeds over the years! He fears no danger, he destroyed The Exaltists, and he made a huge contribution during the Fall of the Old City! Lord Taixu Sovereign is absolutely incredible!"

Vivian puffed out her cheeks and said:

"Shopkeeper, we've known each other a long time and I count you as a friend, but if you slander Lord Taixu Sovereign again, Vivian is going to get angry!"

"Uh… sorry, I was just talking."

Musachi shrugged and answered helplessly.

Fan fever, huh…

Musachi looked at Vivian and scratched his head.

He tried to recall what exactly he'd done back then to leave such an impression on her.

"Can you tell me why you like Taixu Sovereign so much? Did he save your life once?"

Musachi was genuinely curious.

"Mm, more or less. When Vivian was little, I had no fixed home for my own reasons, and then I wandered into The Exaltists. If it weren't for Lord Taixu Sovereign, I'd probably still be trapped in there. He wiped out The Exaltists, and that's why Vivian is who she is today!"

The Exaltists, huh…

Musachi fell into thought.

He had indeed smashed one Exaltist base that did human experiments, and he had seen a child there.

But that child wasn't the Vivian of today. Musachi remembered a little red-haired girl who'd been crying, begging him not to kill her father.

Still, he hadn't thought much of it. Your dad hurt this many people, so what, keep him around for the New Year?

So he knocked the little girl out, killed her father, and reported the place to the police.

Never mind. He couldn't remember any more, and he couldn't be bothered to try.

"Let's go. We've searched this mansion about as much as we can. What a haul this trip was."

A smile spread across Vivian's face. She shouldered her backpack and smiled at Musachi beside her.

This was her easiest search ever, danger-free from start to finish. What a blissful haul!

No wonder so many people on Inter-Knot said Musachi was amazing…

"Come to think of it, Shopkeeper, your Inter-Knot name is Taixu. So you must be a Taixu Sovereign fan too, right?"

Am I… a fan of myself?

But seeing the hope in Vivian's eyes, Musachi didn't say anything. He just nodded:

"I am, actually. I'm from that era, after all. I grew up hearing about Taixu Sovereign…"

Sometimes Musachi wondered whether New Eridu's publicity about him had gotten a bit too ridiculous.

Did they really think I was dead and could just promote me however they liked…

"So you're a fellow stan!"

Vivian's eyes blazed with light.

"When you said bad things about Lord Taixu Sovereign earlier, I thought you were an anti-fan! Hehe, so you like him too. Then we're good friends!"

As she spoke, she even stood on tiptoe to pat Musachi on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I was just talking. I really do like Taixu Sovereign."

Seeing that, Musachi had no choice but to go along with her.

Even as he said it, he scratched his own head.

Me, a fan of myself? Isn't that kind of weird?

"Hehe, once I'm back, I'll recommend some stuff to you. You'll definitely love it!"

All the way, Vivian chattered away, going on and on about everything she believed Taixu Sovereign had done.

Not wanting to spoil her mood, Musachi could only nod along.

But as he listened, he grew more puzzled.

Wait, did I actually do any of this?

Like back when Hollow Zero expanded, supposedly he cut down a million-strong Ethereal tide with a single sword…

Where would a million Ethereals even come from back then? A few thousand at most, right?

And then there was the Taixu Sovereign legend about being gifted from childhood, and the Mayor declaring that this child would surely grow into a great man.

The thing is, I hadn't transmigrated yet when I was little. How did the Mayor praise a rolling log?

"Hold on."

Just as Musachi was chiming in now and then, he suddenly frowned and stopped Vivian.

"What is it?"

Vivian looked at him in confusion.

She saw Musachi gazing at the sky.

Then Vivian looked up as well.

One look was enough. High above, an Ether Singularity was opening, and then… a huge figure dropped from the sky.

"Looks like we're pretty lucky. The Hollow's space suddenly shifted and delivered a Dead End Butcher right to our faces."

"Musachi, get behind me. It's getting dangerous here."

Vivian eyed the Dead End Butcher gravely.

To her, a Dead End Butcher was a very troublesome opponent.

"Forget it. Since we're fellow stans, I, a non-combat Proxy, will make an exception and step in just this once."

This Dead End Butcher was no pushover. By Musachi's senses, it was about to break through to level five. Even if Vivian could beat it, she'd likely get hurt.

"Are you sure that's okay?"

Vivian frowned.

"Of course."

As he spoke, a deep crimson greatsword slowly appeared in Musachi's hand.

Seeing it, Vivian's eyes went wide.

Where did that sword come from?

"It's getting late. Let's finish this fast."

Musachi watched the Dead End Butcher, which had spotted the two of them and charged toward them with a roar, and raised the greatsword high.

"Don't! That's a Notorious Ethereal! It's dangerous!"

Hardly had Vivian finished speaking when the blade burst into raging flames, and the searing white light made her squint.

"Slash!"

Musachi held the sword in one hand, and as the Dead End Butcher swung its road sign at him, he gave a soft command.

The next instant, Nirvana in his hand melted the road sign with ease and struck the core on the Ethereal's head with pinpoint precision.

"Boom!"

In a flash, the blaze engulfed the Dead End Butcher, and its huge body toppled backward under Musachi's powerful blow.

By the time Vivian opened her eyes, the fight was already over.

"This…"

Looking at the Dead End Butcher with its core shattered, unable to hold its shape any longer, Vivian's eyes went wide.

He'd taken down a Notorious Ethereal with such ease. That strength… wasn't that a bit too absurd?

"Having a few self-defense tricks is normal for a Proxy, right?"

Seeing Vivian's astonishment, her mouth hanging slightly open, Musachi couldn't help saying.

"It's a Notorious Ethereal… and you beat it so easily."

"Just luck. That Ether Singularity dropped it from the sky, so it was already hurt. That's why it was easy. If it had been a normal Notorious Ethereal, there's no way I'd have taken it down this easily."

Musachi said earnestly.

"I-is that how it is?"

Vivian said, not quite believing it.

Could a fall from that height really leave a Notorious Ethereal badly injured?

"But what about your greatsword? How did you pull it out?"

Vivian was still curious. Where exactly had he been keeping such a huge sword?

"Don't dig into that. It's like how girls can pull all sorts of things out from under their skirts. Boys can do the same."

Musachi said seriously.

Th-they really can?

Vivian hesitated. Why could her own skirt only hold a few hover units…

"Alright, let's head out. It's getting late, and this trip has been a great haul. You've got a channel to sell all this, right?"

Seeing her troubled, Musachi simply changed the subject.

"Mm-hm, don't worry, I have my own channels. Once it's sold, I'll send you your share. We did well this time. Conservatively, each of us should net two million Dennies."

A smile spread across Vivian's face.

A normal run into a Hollow earned her a few hundred thousand Dennies at most. This time she'd made this much.

And it was all thanks to Musachi. Without him, her search could never have gone this smoothly.

Between the Ethereals she'd have to guard against and the corruption she'd have to endure, getting even half of this would have been a good result.