"I'm here, as written in our contract." To start with, Kasuka met Beatrice's gaze with steadfast composure, not losing any ground. "So? What shall I help you with today?"
"You're a bit late, but I can make exceptions as this is the first time it has happened." Beatrice responded as she wrote some words inside her notebook. "Now, lay down on it." Beatrice pointed somewhere.
As she said that, Kasuka followed Beatrice's finger and saw an operating table with many sharp tools made for surgery waiting right at the sides. "...You're kidding?"
"Does it look like I'm playing with you? You said so yourself, 'I'll take care of all my family's physical burden that'll be inflicted on them otherwise.', no?" Beatrice snorted and turned around. "Better be quick, the faster we finish the more I can get done today."
Looking at the adult's back, Kasuka couldn't help but laugh at herself. Truly, the adults in Kivotos aren't reliable at all.
Instead, they are the source of the children's suffering, if she were to say.
"...Alright." Without further hesitation, Kasuka got on a stool and laid down on top of the operating table. Suddenly, her limbs were cuffed onto the table, preventing any form of strained movement from being done.
Before Kasuka could say anything, her mouth was gagged using a clean cloth.
"Mmm! MMM!!!" Kasuka uselessly flailed, but it's no use. She can't move anything.
"That'll prevent you from hurting my ears." Beatrice put on a pair of white rubber gloves and a mask. "I don't usually take things into my own hands... but you're special. Be grateful."
---
30 minutes. 30 minutes had passed, Kasuka still hadn't come out of Madam's office.
Hiyori had waited every single minute, counting them down second by second until now, not missing a single beat.
It'll be great if Kasuka could come out soon, that'll put her heart at ease. After all, the longer someone was in the presence of Madam, the more they lost their sense of reason.
Whether it was due to the pressure she gives out or something else, everyone who had ever laid gaze onto her said the same thing.
Creak
"...!" And finally after what felt like an eternity, the door opened slightly. Hiyori almost let out a noise after her concentration was cut off due to the sudden change.
Fortunately, she caught herself.
With her eyes, she couldn't see anyone coming out of the door, but with her ears... she could hear the soft footsteps slowly making its way out the door with an unsteady rhythm.
As if... right, as if they were limping.
Eventually, a streak of brown appeared from behind the doors, her face clear of any signs of physical abuse.
None of her clothes were ripped, meaning she didn't have to fight anything.
In fact, she looked... healthy.
'She really just met Madam and did nothing?'
It didn't sound plausible.
There had never been a case of Madam calling for someone and nothing happening to that person.
At the very least, their face would've been covered with bruises and small cuts, one that needed immediate treatment otherwise it'll catch an infection.
But Kasuka...
'She's walking it off.' That was the conclusion Hiyori reached.
A mere bluff. In case there was anyone nearby, Kasuka was acting tough, just to not make anyone worry.
Even if the chances are practically zero, she's still acting tough, even with no audience to witness it.
That limping sound, there's no way she misheard it.
Hiyori, the teal haired girl who was also a natural coward, had the talent of a sniper in the making.
Being able to mask her presence, heighten her senses, capture even the most minute detail, all are the qualities of a sniper.
...Simply put, there's nobody else in the Arius Squad who was as talented as her in terms of sniper-like qualities.
Although her personality does clash with her capabilities sometimes, that doesn't mean her talents are overwritten.
She hasn't discovered it yet, but she has some monstrous talent.
Perhaps in the future, Saori would've discovered it and it would lead to her training Hiyori the way a sniper would be trained.
But for now, none of that matters.
Because Hiyori has reached her peak at this moment, erasing every hint of her existence and erasing her presence to the point of formlessness.
By this point, nobody could see where she was, nobody could tell someone was watching their every move.
It'll be like the wind had passed through their clothes, they wouldn't pay any attention to it.
And she watched as Kasuka darted her gaze around before heaving a sigh of relief.
But that did not mean she would stop the act.
She walked away confidently, not even a hint of weakness was shown in her steps.
"..."
And just like that, Kasuka was gone.
Hiyori's gaze moved away from the now nonexistent back, reaching the closed door of the Madam's office.
"I..." A single word escaped her lips, but the sentence was never finished. The rest of the words... was lost to herself.
Unknowingly, her heart had tightened to the point that it's getting hard for her to breathe.
"I...!"
---
'...What is this? Why are the points still coming in?' Kasuka pondered as she walked slowly to capture the essence of Arius District. The source of her bewilderment was...
[50000 Points Gained.]
This single panel of points gained.
"...Well, whatever! Free points are free points!" Thinking that the System might've made a mistake, Kasuka decided to just ignore the source of such a large amount of points!
After all, she already confirmed last week that she couldn't farm any points from Beatrice! The only people she could consistently milk was the Arius Squad!
The amount of points gained was so consistent to the point that the points she spent to upgrade her halo had returned back like it never disappeared!
Kasuka turned her head happily as she hummed.
[Points Remaining: 421,540]
"Hmm~ Hmm~" In her joy, Kasuka began skipping unknowingly towards her home.
Not knowing what kind of disaster she had left behind... Well, she'll probably think of it as an extra profit she had accidentally made.
What? She accidentally planted a rotten tree?
What can it do? Bite her in the ass? Heh, that'll make the amount of points she gained sky rocket!
What is there to fear when she has both Pain Control and Self Healing Constitution?
Nothing~