The Next Day
It was around nine o'clock.
Hoshimi Aya finally crawled out of the large bed in Belle's room.
Belle's bed was simply too comfortable, making her unable to resist sleeping in for a while longer. Afterward, Hoshimi Aya began to change her clothes.
A short while later, Hoshimi Aya arrived at the garage and began practicing her blade work.
Hoshimi Aya began practicing according to the memory of how she used to swing her blade.
Belle, curious, came over to watch Hoshimi Aya practice.
This practice lasted until high noon. If Belle hadn't reminded her, Hoshimi Aya might have continued indefinitely.
After all, once one gets into the flow, it is easy to lose track of time.
Hoshimi Aya even felt as though she had only just started. From nine o'clock until noon, she had only managed to break a light sweat.
At the same time, Hoshimi Aya felt that handling the blade was much more natural than before.
At least, that was how it felt to her.
...
Noon
After the three of them returned from eating ramen—
"Belle, do you really not need me to come along for this commission?"
Hoshimi Aya looked at Belle and asked.
She had only found out about this after finishing the ramen.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have even known that Belle and Wise had accepted a commission.
"No need. This is just a retrieval-type commission; there basically aren't any powerful Etheralss."
"Ies can handle it."
"As for you, Aya... that would require charging the client a separate fee."
Belle explained.
"A separate fee?!"
Hoshimi Aya asked in confusion.
Shouldn't she just be going along to help out during the commission?
"That's right. Your strength is immense."
"Belle and I discussed it. If your presence is required, we will charge the client a separate fee."
"This will roughly double the original commission fee."
"For these retrieval types, it's impossible for a client to pay that extra fee."
"Because it would likely exceed the value of the item being searched for."
Wise explained from the side, providing the reasoning.
"Exactly, Aya!"
"We've already listed your information on our Phaethon account. The price is clearly marked: double the commission fee, or contact us for a private quote."
Belle explained.
Hoshimi Aya:...
Why did she have an ominous premonition?
"...Can I see it?"
"I want to see the information you posted about me on Inter-Knot."
Hoshimi Aya asked after a moment of silence.
Seeing this, Belle nodded and pulled up their Inter-Knot homepage.
On their homepage, there was indeed a small avatar with information listed under it.
Gold Medal Enforcer: Aya
Introduction: Possesses immense strength. Appearance fee is double the original price (private quotes available).
"...Isn't my bio a bit too short?"
Hoshimi Aya asked the two of them.
In New Eridu, the Etheralss capable of defeating her were all in Zero Void, and they were few in number.
The people who could defeat her were also very few, and basically impossible to encounter—except for Hoshimi Miyabi, of course.
Currently, the only Void Hunter active in New Eridu was Hoshimi Miyabi; there was likely no chance of meeting the others.
"Aya, you don't understand."
"A short bio is naturally meant to create a sense of mystery."
"That's how people will place orders for you. If the commission fee doubles, maybe we can eat delicious food every day instead of just ramen."
Belle said, looking at Hoshimi Aya.
Meanwhile, Wise said his goodbyes to the two of them and left with Ies.
Previously, there were only the two of them. Since Belle needed someone to look after her while synchronized with Ies, Ies used to head to these types of commissions as a lone Bangboo.
But things were different now. With Hoshimi Aya here, Wise could save some time by escorting Ies to the destination Void himself.
"Aya, this is your first time assisting me, so I'll teach you how to operate things first."
"Don't get confused when the time comes. These are very simple; you just need to do as I say."
After saying that, Belle began to introduce Hoshimi Aya to the operations one by one and how she should coordinate with her.
She also taught Hoshimi Aya what to do while she was in sensory synchronization, talking for a full half-hour.
Hoshimi Aya listened obediently, feeling curious at the same time. This equipment was something she had never encountered before, so she listened with extreme focus.
Soon, Wise sent a message saying he had arrived near the target Void.
Seeing this, Belle began operating the equipment. After a countdown of three, two, one, Hoshimi Aya cooperated by pressing a red button.
The computer screen in front of Belle's seat began to flicker, and then an image appeared. The only flaw in the visual was that the perspective was quite low.
At the same time, a figure appeared in the frame—it was Wise.
"Sister, can you hear me?"
Wise spoke to Ies in front of him.
"I hear you, Brother,"
Belle replied, while simultaneously controlling Ies to push away Wise's hand.
"So... so amazing!"
Hoshimi Aya watched the screen in shock.
Even though she knew it would be like this, seeing it with her own eyes was still shocking. It was a completely different feeling from seeing it on a phone!
Right at that moment, a large eyeball flew out from the blade in Hoshimi Aya's hand—it was Tailless.
"Why did you come out?"
"Go back, quickly!"
Hoshimi Aya said to Tailless.
Belle was also confused by Hoshimi Aya's sudden dialogue, unsure if she was talking to her. She turned her head to look.
Belle's eyes met with a large eyeball that had two horns and was emitting a faint red glow.
Belle:...!!
"Aaaah!"
Belle was startled by Tailless and screamed.
The Ies in the video feed also let out a scream and stumbled, falling to the ground.
"Belle! What's wrong?!"
"What happened on your end?!"
Wise helped Ies up and asked with concern.
With Hoshimi Aya there, he could first rule out the possibility of Belle being in danger; she must have been startled by something.
"It's nothing. Tailless appeared suddenly and accidentally startled Belle,"
Hoshimi Aya's voice came through.
"Tailless?"
Wise asked in confusion, not knowing what Hoshimi Aya was referring to.
He hadn't seen Tailless yesterday, so he wasn't clear on the matter.
"Brother, I saw it again!"
"It's that large eyeball with demon horns and a red glow that I told you about yesterday!"
Belle explained.
Wise grew even more confused. He couldn't imagine what such a thing looked like. Was that really something that could exist?
"Forget it, Brother."
"Just wait until this commission is finished and come back to see for yourself."
"I'll go finish the commission first."
After saying that, Belle controlled Ies to walk toward The Hollow.
After all, the commission was the priority. This thing wasn't going anywhere anyway. It wouldn't do to take too long on the commission; if the item they were looking for was eroded by Ether, it would be bad, and they might not get paid.
Meanwhile, Hoshimi Aya had already persuaded Tailless to go back inside the blade. Appearing so suddenly was indeed a bit frightening.
...
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