(Volume VII: Leisurely Demon Lord Life: New Eridu Edition)
On the second floor of a seemingly unremarkable video store on Sixth Street.
The blare of an alarm clock suddenly pierced the morning quiet, causing Mo Wang, who was sound asleep, to stir slightly.
But in the next moment, he sensed something was off.
He felt his hand brush against something soft and squishy.
Mo Wang opened his eyes to see the silly sleeping face of his younger sister, Belle. A trail of drool was trickling from her mouth, soaking the pillow he had just washed two days ago.
He contemplated the situation for a full three seconds, then reached out a villainous hand and pinched his foolish little sister's nose.
"Ngh... can't breathe..."
Belle's brow furrowed, but even so, she showed no signs of waking up.
"Hmm? Still not waking up, huh? In that case..."
Seeing that Belle was still out cold, Mo Wang breathed on his right hand, instantly coating it in a layer of frost.
Then, with a wicked grin, he pressed it against Belle's stomach.
"S-so cold!"
It took Belle precisely 0.01 seconds to bolt upright in bed.
"What are you doing, Brother?! Putting something so cold on my tummy... what if I get a stomach ache?"
Clad in her pajamas, Belle was on the verge of tears from the icy shock. She sat on the bed, legs tucked under her, rubbing her little tummy. With her blue hair and dazed expression, she looked exceptionally cute.
"You have the nerve to ask me what I doing? You can start by explaining why you're in my room, sleeping so comfortably on my bed?"
Facing his silly little sister, Mo Wang grumpily pinched her nose.
"W-well... maybe it's because your room is just so comfortable, I couldn't help myself," Belle said, scratching her head sheepishly.
"Tch. You just didn't clean your room, so you decided to crash here instead, didn't you?"
Mo Wang knew his sister's personality all too well.
"And you definitely stayed up all night again, didn't you? Spill it. What was it this time?"
"Ahaha, what are you talking about, Brother? I have no idea what you mean." At Mo Wang's question, Belle's eyes started darting around the room.
Heh.
Mo Wang knew exactly what had happened. She had probably found some new drama or game, stayed up half the night, and then found her own room too messy to bother with, so she just crashed in his bed. She was a cute, energetic girl, but her room was a disaster zone. He had no idea where she picked up that habit.
"You need to stop staying up so late. I told you, it's not good for a pretty girl's skin."
"I'm going downstairs to make breakfast. You get some more rest. We have to open the store later."
After grumbling at Belle, Mo Wang prepared to head downstairs to make breakfast.
"Hehe, you're the best, Brother~!"
Seeing that he wasn't mad, Belle immediately flopped back onto the bed.
Looking at his now drool-soaked pillow, Mo Wang couldn't help but shake his head.
"Looks like I'm washing my pillow again today."
"Mmm-hmm! Mmm-hmm~ Mmm-hmm!"
The moment Mo Wang got downstairs, a few little cuties from the corner pounced on him.
"Good morning, Eous, and Number 18, Number 06."
Being hugged by the three little cuties instantly brightened Mo Wang's mood. Compared to his foolish sister who only knew how to take over his room, these sweet little Bangboos were his true treasures.
"Good morning, Master. According to system diagnostics, your mood today should be excellent. I propose you give me a hug of love as well."
However, Mo Wang's good mood instantly soured at the sound of a mechanical voice from the side.
Looking at the large single eye on the room's monitor, his heart skipped a beat.
"Fairy? Why didn't you shut down last night?" Mo Wang asked, his hands trembling as he stared at the lit screen.
"Because Belle did not issue a shutdown command while she was sleeping, Fairy has remained on standby until this morning."
Fairy's words pierced Mo Wang's little heart like an arrow. He clutched his chest and staggered onto the sofa.
"BELLE! GET YOUR BUTT DOWN HERE!"
Mo Wang could no longer contain his fury, his roar echoing from the sofa.
...
"I'm sorry, Brother~ I'm really, really sorry."
Ten minutes later, Belle sat at the dining table, pitifully nibbling on the fried egg Mo Wang had just made. The little Bangboos at the side looked on helplessly.
"Who knew Fairy didn't even have an auto-shutdown function? I'll be careful next time."
Seeing Mo Wang was still angry, Belle quickly apologized, shifting all the blame to a certain artificial idiot.
"Negative. It was Belle who made me stay up to snipe concert tickets last night. This is all Belle's fault."
Fairy, however, was not one to be trifled with and immediately threw the blame right back at Belle.
"What?! Fairy, you betrayed me! You promised you wouldn't tell!"
Seeing the artificial idiot betray her without hesitation, Belle's eyes widened as if she were looking at a traitor.
Across from them, Mo Wang held a cup of coffee, his hands shaking uncontrollably. Watching his sister bicker with the AI, he felt like his life was a complete and utter failure.
Mo Wang stared blankly at the ceiling, wondering how his life had turned into this.
His former self: the world's number one Proxy, for whom a hundred thousand a month was just pocket change. He'd work when he had a mission and lie in bed playing games when he didn't. Life was so carefree.
But ever since this terrifying, electricity-guzzling thing, whose power consumption rivaled Ai-chan's, had come into his home, not only was his old account gone and his assets wiped clean, but he had to start his reputation from scratch.
Gone were the days of lavish feasts; now he had to focus on running this video store. And on top of that, he had to watch his electricity meter spin backward every day.
And his sister was a professional at making his life harder.
Why was it that among all the Mo Wangs, the others got to cause trouble all day, while he was the only one struggling to make a living? Why?!
Mo Wang wanted to cry but had no tears.
He had a sister, a house, and was the owner of a small shop. He was a somebody on Sixth Street and was even making a comeback in the Proxy business, having already clawed his way back to the top in just a few months.
But still, Mo Wang really wanted to cry!
Even though his income was gradually returning, the damn electricity bill was getting more expensive by the day. Anyone who didn't know better would think he was running some shady operation at home. Even crypto miners probably didn't use this much power.
"Heh, you two managed to rack up several thousand on the electricity bill in one night. You're both real talents," Mo Wang said, numbly looking at last night's bill. It was a good thing he'd modified the meter himself, or it probably would have exploded by now.
"Hehe, it won't happen again. You're the best, Brother~"
Seeing that he wasn't angry anymore, Belle immediately clung to him like a sloth.
"Honestly, you're not a kid anymore. Why do you still act like one?"
Mo Wang flicked her forehead good-naturedly. Fine, he was angry, but what could he do? It was his adorable little sister who did it. He had no choice but to put up with it.
He never thought he'd end up becoming a legendary sis-con after coming here. He was completely powerless against his cute, clingy sister.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Just as he was about to say something, a knock came from the video store's main door.
"Hmm? What's going on? Someone's here to rent a video this early?"
Hearing the knock, Mo Wang and Belle looked at each other.
"Brother, that familiar knock... it couldn't be..." Belle's ears twitched. The familiar force and timing were all too recognizable.
"I know. It's that person, isn't it?"
Mo Wang's face twitched, and he reluctantly pried Belle off him. The knocking grew more frantic. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were trying to break the door down.
When Mo Wang finally opened it, a pink-haired girl appeared before him.
"Hey, hey, Proxy, you finally opened up! Quick, quick, let me hide!"
Nicole and her crew's faces lit up with joy when they saw him.
However, the moment he saw her, Mo Wang's expression turned to one of disgust. To their utter shock, he slammed the door in their faces.
"Belle! Quick, help me move the sofa! The plague has come knocking!" Mo Wang yelled to his sister, as if terrified the person outside would get in.
"Wait, Proxy! It's me! Your most loyal old friend, Nicole! Billy, Anby, and Nekomiya are here too!"
Hearing they were about to be barricaded out, Nicole started pounding on the door frantically.
"Heh, I know it's you guys. If you're here to pay me back, I'll let you in. Otherwise, get lost."
Mo Wang felt not a shred of sympathy for her plight. In fact, if he could, he'd be laughing out loud right now.
"Hey, Proxy, have you no heart?! Don't you feel any sympathy for your old client in danger?" Nicole yelled, getting more desperate.
"Nope. My old clients don't owe me over a hundred thousand for months on end."
If it had been last year, Mo Wang might have taken pity on her. But ever since she had not only skipped out on her debt but also saddled him with Fairy, he wanted her as far away from him as possible.
"Heartless! So heartless, Proxy!" Nicole gnashed her teeth outside the door.
"Crap, Boss! They're catching up! What do we do?!"
"Nicole, I... I can't run anymore. How much longer do we have to go?"
Billy and Nekomiya panicked as they saw their pursuers closing in. Being part of the Cunning Hares meant going hungry three days out of nine, which they were used to.
But being chased from a Hollow all the way to Sixth Street by both creditors and enemies... even they couldn't handle it. If they didn't find a place to rest soon, they were done for!
"Hahaha, Brother, maybe we should just let Nicole in?" Belle said with an awkward laugh, hearing the commotion outside. Even she was annoyed with Nicole, but they were still friends. If not for Nicole, at least for Anby and Nekomiya.
"Heh, if you want in, pay me back. Are you going to pay or not? I'll give you ten seconds to decide."
"Ten, nine... four, three."
"Hey! What happened to the numbers in the middle?! I'll pay, I'll pay, alright?!"
Hearing the murderous tone in his voice, Nicole finally caved.
The moment she surrendered, the door finally opened. The Cunning Hares saw it as a beacon of hope and rushed inside in a frenzy. The ones in the back even trampled Nicole in their haste.
"We're... we're saved."
Seeing Mo Wang close the door behind them, they finally let out a sigh of relief. The feeling of surviving a near-death experience was almost too much for them.
"Hehehe, that'll be a total of one hundred twenty-three thousand, six hundred. Will that be cash or card, my dear members of the Cunning Hares?"
However, before they could even catch their breath, Mo Wang was standing behind them with a sinister grin, cracking his knuckles.
Seeing the dark shadow looming over him, a cold sweat broke out on the Cunning Hares' backs.
Crap, we forgot there's another creditor in here.
Wasn't this just jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire?