(A few days after the Vision Corp debacle.)
"HOLY SHIT!"
A piercing scream shattered the comfortable silence that had blanketed Random play, startling a certain gray-haired proxy.
Wise, who had been minding his own business, rushed down to the staff room to see what was wrong.
Briskly opening the door, he quickly scanned the room and immediately found the source of the commotion sitting on the couch.
"Huh? Belle? What happened?"
His sister turned to him with a hollow gaze, her features ghastly pale.
"Uh... Belle?"
She gaped idiotically, fumbling over her words as she responded.
"T-this... This has to be a typo, r-right...?"
Belle took a shaky breath as she double- and then triple-checked the sheet.
Wise tilted his head in confusion.
"Typo?"
Belle nodded slowly and handed him the paper.
Wise flashed her a quizzical look and scanned it quickly, realizing that it was their electricity bill.
As a video store, they naturally paid a rather hefty electricity bill, especially considering how much power the HDD system needs to run.
But...
There seemed to be something a bit about this one.
Wise tore his eyes from the paper and looked at his sister.
"Hey, Belle?"
"..."
"Do you think they might've sent this to the wrong address?"
Belle shook her head with a blank expression.
"I quadrople checked the address on the notice, and I can unfortunately confirm that it's for us."
Wise's expression darkened as his eyes darted between Belle and the titanic sum the city was asking for.
"Hey, Fairy? How much jail time would we get if we committed tax evasion?"
"Master, I suggest you just pay the bill."
Both Belle and Wise slowly turned their heads toward the AI, their fists clenching tightly.
"PAY IT???!!!!"
Belle slammed her fist down on the computer desk and snatched the electricity bill out of Wise's hands, bringing it before the monitor Fairy was currently occupying.
"WE'RE MAKING ONE THIRD OF WHAT WE USED TO MAKE, AND BECAUSE OF A CERTAIN AI, OUR ELECTRICITY BILL IS 20 TIMES HIGHER THAN WHAT IT WAS BEFORE!!!"
Fairy held her silence as Belle let out another roar.
"WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FIND 2 MILLION DENNIES, HUH?!!! IF YOU COULDN'T ALREADY TELL, WE'RE LIVING IN THE LAP OF POVERTY!!!"
Unable to hold back her anger, Belle gripped the paper so hard it crumpled in her grasp.
"GAHHHHH YOU PIECE OF JUNK!!! BECAUSE OF YOU, I'VE BEEN EATING CANNED FOOD FOR THE PAST WEEK!!!"
"..."
Despite being one of the most advanced AI's on the planet, Fairy could not offer up a compelling rebuttal in the face of her master's righteous fury.
Wise let out a sigh and smiled bitterly.
"Belle, there's nothing much we can really do. Let's just consider this a business expense and dip into the Video store's funds."
He patted his sister's shoulder reassuringly, and while it had
Belle shot another murderous look at Fairy.
"I swear, if you weren't an AI program, I'd be getting escorted out of this room in handcuffs."
Wise sighed and shook his head lightly.
"Belle, there's no point in getting this worked up. We couldn't have predicted Fairy would drive up our bills by this much."
He shrugged.
"Worst case scenario, we could always 'borrow' some of our neighbors' electrical wires."
"... I've truly underestimated your genius. I hope you can forgive me, brother."
Wise chuckled softly.
"Still, I think it'd be a good idea if we started grinding our account level back up, especially since business has been a bit quiet recently..."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Lemme go check the interknot real quick, then-"
Belle whipped out her phone, about to check the app, but a message on her notification board caught her attention.
"Huh? What's this?"
She clicked on the message badge and opened the commission, briefly skimming through the details.
Though Belle quickly stiffened as she saw the payment details.
"... Hey, Wise? Does the commission seem a bit odd to you?"
Belle handed her phone to Wise, so he could check the details for himself.
"The pay is amazing- it's just that they didn't really specify what they wanted done. The only thing they made clear is that we'd be contacted privately if we accept."
Wise nodded slowly, a hint of skepticism clouding his features.
"Hmm... Our account level is too low to have anybody specifically ask for us- especially with an offer like this."
Wise's expression contorted with a complicated look.
"If we were still at the top of our game, this commission would be a no-brainer.... But now- not so much."
Belle couldn't help but let out a sigh.
"Hah~ I wish the Inter-knot was a bit less anonymous, it'd make things so much easier..."
Wise shrugged.
"The anonymity is what made the Inter-knot what it was in the first place. There's no real way to get any info on clients until you meet them in real life."
"Negative. The assigned commission contains hidden identity-related info."
Wise and Belle glanced at the AI.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"The account was created on the day before the commission was published. Its user avatar is a low-resolution ground photo with no clear subject. The same image could not be retrieved from the internet, so it is plausible to presume that it was taken by the user."
Fairy was quickly proving her utility.
"According to data analysis of the city's street view and terrain materials, this photo was taken at the verge of the Janus Quarter, which is currently part of the construction site for the old capital metro renovation project."
Wise thought for a moment.
"Wait, really...? If I'm remembering correctly, Belobog Industries was the one who won the bid for that project after Vision got outed."
He thought a bit harder.
"And... Ordinary citizens shouldn't be anywhere near the construction site. Could the commission have been posted by someone from Belobog?"
"That seems to be the case, master."
Wise and Belle exchanged glances.
Even though they hadn't exactly had the greatest experience with construction companies, surely Belobog would be different... Right?
"... Huh. Maybe we won't have to borrow the neighbor's electrical wires after all."
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"Uh... I'm sorry, but is this supposed to be a joke?"
Before the young Void Hunter was a little girl with red hair- Notably, one who wore an eyepatch.
Koleda hesitated as she read over the contract Illya proposed once more, much to Illya's exasperation.
You see, after the vision scandal, Illya had not had a single day of rest.
Between sorting out the construction of Sixteenth Street, managing the finances of the Cunning Hares (because he no longer trusted them to do it themselves), and sparring with Miyabi nearly every day—Illya had found himself with more work than he had in years.
He hadn't even been able to touch a game in weeks and was beginning to feel withdrawal symptoms, so Illya really wanted to get this done as fast as he could, especially since the next installment in one of his favorite game series was coming out soon.
Illya tried not to let his irritation show.
"It's not a joke, Miss Koleda. I'm being completely serious."
A practiced smile tugged at his lips as he regarded the young lady.
Koleda gave him a look riddled with skepticism.
"Right...."
She sighed.
"Look, it's not like I don't wanna believe you—but unless you're a Thymefield or a Mayflower, I doubt you got the funds for something of this scale."
Illya's expression didn't change.
"I understand your wariness, but I assure you, if there's one thing I'm not lacking in, it's funds."
Reaching into his pocket, Illya pulled out a small envelope and handed it to Koleda.
"Please. Open it."
The red-haired girl eyed Illya warily as she gingerly undid the seal.
"... What?!"
Koleda's eyes widened as she pulled out a pitch-black card with gold embellishments accenting its corners—a card that she immediately recognized.
Koleda's expression began to contort with disbelief.
"Y-you-"
"Ahem. Let's get back to business, shall we?"
Illya calmly shook off her shock and gestured towards the contract, attempting to direct her attention back to the paper.
"I'm sure you've already read my proposal, but I would like to vocalize my incredibly simple terms."
Illya pointed at her—
"You build."
Then pointed at himself.
"I pay."
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(A/N: There should be a bonus chapter tomorrow, but if it's late, just know that it's cuz I fell victim to Honkai TFT