Screwllum watched Zeig's retreating back and said gravely:
"Mr. Zeig, perhaps our final destinations differ, but countless tracks will still intersect and converge along the way. The pursuit of knowledge will always be the greatest aid on the path of Trailblazing."
"Got it, got it!"
Zeig waved his hand dismissively and left Herta's office.
As he walked down the corridor, he began reflecting on exactly what he had done.
He investigated the graffiti with Leonard, mowed down Antimatter Legion, then entered the Simulated Universe with Screwllum and played wingman to help the two of them set up Silver Wolf. That was roughly the sequence.
"By that logic… doesn't that mean I actually have three rewards coming?" Zeig raised an eyebrow.
Leonard's was a given—he had worked the hardest on that one.
Herta's had been agreed upon from the start; she couldn't possibly stiff him just to save face.
And Screwllum's was the extra one added right before entering the Simulated Universe.
"Hiss, that actually sounds pretty good!"
Thinking this, Zeig returned to his room on the Astral Express.
He flopped onto the bed and fell asleep.
Leaving all the good stuff for tomorrow.
"zzzZZZ…"
…
Meanwhile.
On some planet.
Neon lights reflected off Silver Wolf, but right now she was holding her phone horizontally, staring blankly at the screen. Her fingers kept sliding, as if confirming something over and over.
"It's all gone… everything's really gone, not a single thing left…"
"This is too much… too much!!"
Kafka sat beside her and comforted:
"Come on, stop throwing a tantrum. You're not a little kid anymore."
"I'm not throwing a tantrum."
"Yes, yes. So what are you planning to do next? Hack into a nearby company branch and recover the accounts?"
"Sigh. If it was just one or two, fine—but this time they went way too far. Pretty much everything's GG. A branch probably won't cut it. I need to go to Pier Point. And that guy too—he's completely on the space station's side now, even taking a bath. It pisses me off just thinking about it."
Kafka raised an eyebrow:
"Haha, don't take it too personally. But you're talking about heading straight to the Interastral Peace Corporation headquarters—are you sure you want to go alone?"
Silver Wolf's tone was very calm:
"Just me. What, you want to come along?"
Kafka laughed softly:
"That probably won't work. I still have a mission."
…
The next morning.
Zeig showed up early, wearing flip-flops, shorts, a leather jacket, a big gold chain, and dragging an empty burlap sack behind him. He swaggered into the space station like a stereotypical landlord from a movie, immediately drawing sideways glances from everyone.
"What's up with Brother Zeig today? Why's he so happy?"
"He looks like he's here to collect rent."
"Look—he's heading toward Leonard."
Zeig dragged his sack and swaggered right up to Leonard, locking eyes with him.
"Brother Zeig, you're finally here! Yesterday scared the hell out of me!"
The moment he saw Zeig, Leonard got extremely excited:
"I couldn't find you yesterday. Later I heard you left Lady Herta's office and went straight to rest."
Zeig hunched over, raised an eyebrow:
"You don't have anything else to say?"
"Huh? Oh!" Leonard slapped his forehead in delight:
"To be honest, Lady Herta told me to keep investigating because it was all to lure the snake out of its hole! Haha… I never would've guessed she was laying out a trap for that hacker from the very beginning. As a participant, I feel truly honored!"
"Yeah, you're actually pretty highly regarded by Herta."
"Hehe, right? Lady Herta even specifically told me I did a good job! Brother Zeig, can you imagine? I actually earned Lady Herta's approval—this is something I'll remember for the rest of my life!"
Zeig narrowed his eyes:
"So that's all you remembered?"
"Huh? What else is there?" Leonard scratched his head, then suddenly realized:
"Oh! I get it now—Brother Zeig, you're reminding me that I don't have to worry about getting fired anymore, right? Hahahaha…"
Zeig interrupted fiercely:
"I love you! Where's my reward? Huh?! I love you!"
Under such blunt prompting from Zeig, Leonard finally remembered something and hurriedly said:
"Oh~ Brother Zeig, I get it, I get it—hey, don't get so worked up! Do I look like the kind of petty person who would stiff you? To be honest, my salary even got a raise, plus a bonus."
Zeig's eyes practically bulged:
"Stop bragging—hurry up!"
So.
A card was added to Zeig's burlap sack—apparently containing credit points.
"That's it?"
"Hey, Brother Zeig, don't rush—I've still got something good saved for you. We'll talk about it on our phones. It's absolutely worth way more than this!"
"?" Zeig frowned.
"What is it? If you're about to send me some weird website links, forget it—you don't even have more than me!"
"No no no no—it's definitely something good, and it can make big money! Because of my duties and our friendship, I'm naturally entrusting this opportunity to you!"
Zeig hesitated for a moment before saying:
"Don't try to fool me."
"Put a hundred hearts at ease, Brother Zeig—you can completely trust me!" Leonard patted his chest in guarantee.
…
After leaving Leonard, Zeig's burlap sack was still deflated and feather-light, containing only that one card that swayed back and forth as he walked.
The card contributed a tiny bit of weight.
In Herta's office.
Zeig dragged his sack up to Herta and said:
"Hey, where's my reward? Don't you dare welch!"
Herta turned around, frowning as she gave Zeig a very dissatisfied glance:
"I'm busy. Rewards and stuff—go find Asta. Isn't she the one paying?"
"Can your face get any thicker?"
"What? I don't have anything here. I already gave you a puppet before."
"I don't believe you're this broke."
"…"
Herta rubbed her chin, thought for a moment, then said:
"Fine. From now on, whenever you come to test the Simulated Universe, I'll double your pay—how about that?"
"?"
Zeig's eyes widened:
"You'd be that generous?"
"Of course… not."
Herta curled her lip:
"It's only sometimes. When I'm in a good mood, I'll give extra. Alright, that's enough—go find Asta. Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
"…"
…
After leaving Herta's office, Zeig's burlap sack was still feather-light and deflated.
But he had gained an extra perk: sometimes his Simulated Universe testing pay would be doubled.
"She wouldn't be bluffing me, right?"
Half-believing, half-doubting, Zeig headed toward where Asta was.
Along the way, the staff saw Zeig's still-empty, wind-blowable sack and immediately started gossiping.
"I just saw Brother Zeig go into Lady Herta's office—why's the sack still empty?!"
"No idea, but I know Leonard put a card in there. He gave Brother Zeig his entire month's salary plus this bonus."
"Where's Brother Zeig going now? Huh—that's the station master. How much do you think she'll give this time?"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zeig dragged his sack up to Asta.
The two seemed to exchange a few words.
Then Zeig took the card Leonard gave him out of the sack and held it in his hand.
Immediately after.
He suddenly grabbed the sack!
And yanked it over Asta's head!
"?" "What the—?!" "!!!"
"???"
"Huh?"
…
[Hi everyone~ Just a quick note! I just graduated from college, to celebrate, I did a mass release on Patreon for all of my stories. Thank you so much for your support. I'll still be continuing the stories for the foreseeable future.]