"Ho, truly a rare sight. This is the first time I've seen Felt bring friends here."
The old man looked them over and spoke with a chuckle.
"Old Man Rom, they aren't my friends! They're the guys who owe me money!" Felt grumbled to herself as she marched straight into the warehouse.
"Owe you money?" Old Man Rom laughed twice. "Then they must really have some skill. You don't strike me as the type to lend money to anyone, Felt."
"Exactly, exactly! I think so too," Satoru Gojo nodded, wearing a face of absolute agreement.
"Honestly! If you don't have anything useful to say, shut up and get in here!"
The group entered the warehouse. Calling it a warehouse was a bit of a stretch; the layout inside was more like a tavern. There was a bar counter, and behind it were shelves likely meant for liquor, though they were currently cluttered with miscellaneous junk, just like the rest of the space.
The towering old man known as Old Man Rom waddled behind the bar. With every step he took, one could clearly feel the ground vibrate slightly.
He pulled a cup from beneath the counter, poured a white liquid, and held it with two fingers as if it were a tiny model toy before handing it to Felt.
Felt took the cup and downed it in one go—gulp, gulp. "Geez, when your mood is bad, even milk tastes terrible."
Old Man Rom noticed Felt's foul mood. He glanced at the white-haired youth who was wandering around looking at the warehouse clutter, then at the boy sitting next to Felt who had started eating something strange. He asked in confusion:
"Tell me then, what exactly happened? You don't look like you've been through anything particularly disastrous."
Based on Rom's understanding of Felt, if something truly terrible had happened, the atmosphere wouldn't be like this. The way they exchanged the secret code at the door would have been different, too. In that case, these two wouldn't have been welcomed by him, but by his giant club.
"Don't even get me started. Remember that high-paying commission I took? The one where someone was supposed to pick up the goods today?"
"It's these two guys. They ruined everything for me..."
"It's not my fault! I didn't do anything!" Subaru Natsuki tried his best to defend himself. However, the only result was a glare from Felt, and she even snatched away his bag of corn potage snacks.
Felt stuffed handfuls of corn snacks into her mouth. Looking at her teeth-gritting expression, she looked like she wished she could devour the two of them instead. The girl crunched loudly while giving Rom a muffled, garbled account of what had transpired.
Old Man Rom listened intently, nodding occasionally, taking sips of his own drink, or offering a grunt of acknowledgment. Aside from that, he offered no advice or commentary.
Having raised Felt since she was small, Rom understood the child's personality perfectly. Since things had reached this point, it meant she had already made her own decision and didn't need anyone else's input. His job right now was simply to listen to her talk and let her vent her frustration.
As for the twenty Holy Gold coins... it sounded like a massive sum, but he chose to respect Felt's judgment.
"Argh!!!"
"I really don't want to meet the person for the hand-off tonight."
"Once word gets out, no one will ever give me a commission again. My hard-earned reputation is down the drain."
"Reputation doesn't matter. Now that you have us, we'll be the famous Capital Trio from now on," Satoru Gojo leaned in and whispered in Felt's ear at some point.
"Get lost!" Felt let out a dragon's roar.
They sat in the tavern for a while. Watching the three of them bickering back and forth, Old Man Rom had a barely perceptible curve at the corner of his mouth.
Though this incident was a significant blow and loss for Felt, it might be a good thing if she actually managed to make two friends because of it. Living in the slums, Felt had been forced to mature early and had long since resolved to leave this place behind. She wanted to rely on her own efforts to move elsewhere. Because of this, at an age where she should be playing or studying, she spent her time stealing to accumulate the wealth needed to fulfill her dream.
Whether it was a single copper coin, a day with empty hands, or even a gold coin—Felt had experienced all kinds of hauls. There was joy, disappointment, complaining, and sadness... but since she had no friends, she could only confide these things in him.
Now, seeing Felt vent her emotions by bickering with these two, she finally showed a bit of the childishness that was usually hidden.
As time passed, the sky outside turned dark and heavy. The time for the appointment with the contact was drawing near. Felt propped her elbows on the bar, staring blankly out the window. She just wanted to end this quickly and go back to sleep, rather than sitting here listening to these two noisy guys.
"Subaru, you're eating cup noodles all by yourself?"
"I treated you to berry cakes, and this is how you repay me?"
"Yes, you treated me to cake, and then you didn't forget to include me in a massive debt! It's truly touching, hah!"
Subaru held his cup noodles and tilted his head back, slurping them down greedily, not leaving even a drop of soup. He seemed terrified that Satoru might ask for a bite. After their brief interaction today, Subaru felt that Satoru was exactly the kind of person who would do such a thing.
As they were talking, a sudden knock sounded on the warehouse door.
"Looks like the contact is here."
Old Man Rom, who was feeling a slight buzz from the alcohol behind the bar, stood up to open the door.
"Stay seated, Old Man Rom. I'll get it."
"I'm actually quite curious to see what kind of person was going to pay twenty Holy Gold coins for that thing," Satoru Gojo waved Rom off and headed toward the door on his own.
"Heh." Rom chuckled and winked at Felt, making her roll her eyes.
Satoru reached the door and pulled the wooden frame open gently. Outside, the night had fully set in. The bright moonlight spilled from the sky, coating the ground in a layer of silver-white.
Under the moonlight, a shapely and voluptuous figure appeared before Satoru Gojo. The newcomer wore an incredibly revealing backless dress with purple patterns, with a slit at the chest that plunged all the way down to her navel.