"My apologies. I could not find you at your shop, so I was forced to contact you via phone. I hope you can forgive the intrusion."
If visiting in person after investigating Andrew's general location for their first meeting was considered a sign of sincerity, then investigating his real-time movements after already knowing his shop's location would be something else entirely.
That wouldn't be sincerity; it would be an offense.
Therefore, after receiving the Mayor's commission, Von Lycaon chose to go directly to Andrew's Seliana Smithy to look for him.
As expected, he didn't find him there, so he had no choice but to dial Andrew's number.
However, from the other end of the line... could he faintly hear the en-ne sounds of a Bangboo?
"I am calling this time under the Mayor's commission. I wish to bring you some small gifts and, at the same time, facilitate a direct conversation with him. May I take up a moment of your time?"
"The Mayor wants to chat with me directly?"
Hearing Lycaon's proposal, Andrew immediately felt a spark of interest.
Whether it was the incredible investigative capabilities demonstrated before, or the fact that Yixuan had mentioned Yunkui Summit was a partner of the City Administration, everything piqued Andrew's curiosity about the absolute leader of the municipal faction.
After all, the longer one lived in this place and the more one understood this city, the more one could appreciate the gravity of such a position.
In New Eridu—a place where warlords, academic cliques, nobles, capitalist oligarchs, bandits, cults, and other major powers gathered—to be able to make the City Administration completely independent, and even use means to balance and check the other existing powers...
The leader of such a government could certainly not be some simple, benevolent middle-aged man.
Moreover, considering the Mayor's actions and attitude regarding the aftermath of the Umbrella Corporation incident, Andrew felt that, compared to the other two factions, the City Administration was at least passable.
It could be considered giving some face to his early investments.
On the other end of the phone, Lycaon waited quietly for Andrew's reply after issuing the invitation.
He had one very clear point in mind: No matter what, Lycaon did not want to cause any unhappiness for this man who had made such huge contributions to New Eridu twice over.
If Andrew really didn't agree, the only thing Lycaon would do was deliver the items the Mayor had entrusted to him, then go back and report.
Although he didn't want to disappoint the Mayor, he had stated from the beginning that he was merely making an introduction.
Fortunately, that scenario did not come to pass. Andrew, who was equally interested in the Mayor, had no intention of refusing.
He nodded and said, "Sure, no problem. I'll be back at the smithy in a while. You can wait for me in the workshop."
Hearing this, Lycaon instantly let out a long sigh of relief. "I understand, Shopkeeper. I shall await your arrival in the workshop."
As the call ended, Andrew looked up with a hint of apology towards Astra Yao and Evelyn in the dining room.
However, before Andrew could speak, Astra Yao, who had already guessed a bit from Andrew's words, interrupted him in advance.
"Andrew, I want to go to Belle's place first to take a look, and then have some whispers that only girls can hear with her. You can come find us when you're done, okay?"
No excessive questions, no pestering—considerate and perfectly timed.
It was also due to her trust in Andrew.
Seeing Astra Yao speak like this, Andrew, who had already made peace with the situation, nodded directly. "Alright, I'll ask Belle first."
As he dialed his phone, he added, "Don't let the size of the video store fool you. The variety of videotapes at Belle's place is very comprehensive. Basically, she has every tape in New Eridu. You'll definitely be interested."
"Really?! She has everything?!"
"Hurry up, hurry up!"
Accompanied by Astra Yao's constant praise, the three of them first polished off the breakfast Andrew had made with Evelyn.
Even though Evelyn ate without saying a word the entire time, the blush that never faded from her face and the corners of her mouth that unconsciously curled up showed that her mood was actually quite excellent.
Afterward, with just simple disguises, the three were dragged toward the door by the impatient Astra Yao.
Looking at her anxious appearance—like a child being taken out to play—and her extremely perfunctory disguise, Evelyn couldn't help but sigh.
"Miss, because of that concert yesterday, you can no longer just wear sunglasses and call it a disguise like before."
"Eh... no way! I was just a side character in that incident anyway! No one will pay attention to me."
Seeing her reluctant sophistry, Evelyn had to continue, "Don't say that, Miss. The monster invasion brought a massive amount of traffic, and your popularity has skyrocketed at the same time. With your identity combined with Andrew's physique, it would be very easy to expose Andrew."
Hearing that it involved Andrew, Astra Yao immediately stopped her stubbornness and obediently put on the mask and hat she had prepared in addition to the sunglasses.
However, just before leaving, Evelyn suddenly thought of something and looked at Andrew.
"By the way, Andrew, I've tried my best to get you the maximum compensation for this DGA Entertainment commission. Remember to check it later."
Since it was DGA Entertainment's money, it would be a waste not to take it. It was with this mindset that Evelyn had fought hard for it before mentioning it.
Andrew nodded directly in response. "Okay, I'll keep it in mind."
The three of them set foot on the road back to Sixth Street.
To avoid being conspicuous, Andrew didn't wear his armor, and his weapon was wrapped in cloth. Riding his motorcycle in 'Dynamic Tracker' mode, he didn't attract anyone's attention along the way.
On the contrary, Astra Yao attracted quite a bit of attention even with her disguise.
Fortunately, even in its 'Dynamic Tracker' state, Andrew's bike had impressive speed. Proceeding at full throttle, he didn't let anyone get a clear look at the people on board.
At the same time, he once again took Astra Yao for a joyride.
Evelyn, on the other hand, took the original designated car and proceeded slowly, aiming to distract the fans camping downstairs. She would get off near Sixth Street, shake off any potential stalkers, and then come directly to the video store.
Relying on the Dynamic Tracker's extreme speed, Andrew and Astra soon arrived in the garage of Random Play.
It had to be said, the location the siblings chose for this video store was truly perfect.
It was accessible from all sides; the main road was right at the entrance for a quick getaway, while the garage had two doors leading to the main road and a back alley respectively, allowing for both a swift exit and a covert evacuation perfectly.
This allowed Andrew to bring Astra Yao into the video store very secretly, without being in anyone's line of sight.
As the back door of the video store slid open, the one welcoming them was Belle, whom Andrew had contacted in advance.
After he explained the situation to Belle, she had been waiting here impatiently for Andrew and Astra Yao's arrival.
Moreover, when she heard that Astra Yao wanted to chat with her, she immediately expressed great welcome.
Not having seen each other for more than two days, thoughts of longing surged in his heart.
But just as Andrew prepared to reach out and greet her, he found that Belle had already bypassed him, excitedly grabbing Astra Yao's hands and shaking them vigorously.
"Astra! I'm your fan! Your music is super good!"
Looking at Belle acting completely like a fangirl, Andrew helplessly covered his forehead.
However, in a place Andrew didn't notice, Belle exchanged a glance with Astra Yao and instantly realized the other party's purpose for coming here. Seeing the cunning look in Belle's eyes, Astra Yao also immediately understood her thoughts.
Astra Yao couldn't help but secretly rejoice in her heart; her previous guess was indeed correct.
After returning a knowing look, and just as Evelyn pushed open the front door of the video store, the two of them moved swiftly.
Under Evelyn's somewhat dazed gaze, the two of them tacitly pushed Andrew out of the video store together.
Looking at Andrew standing at the door, Belle spoke decisively, dragging nothing out.
"With Eve protecting us, what follows is a tea party that only girls can attend! Andrew, you go to the smithy and attend the boys' tea party!"
Watching the two who, despite having met for less than two minutes, seemed like they had become fast friends...
Andrew, having been pushed out the front door, felt a bit helpless.
Can friendship between girls develop this quickly?
Completely unaware of where the main reason lay, Andrew had no choice but to shake his head and walk towards his smithy with a sigh.
Inside the video store, watching Andrew's receding figure, Belle looked at Astra Yao beside her, affectionately hooked her arm, and skipped the superfluous questions.
"Andrew must have told Astra where he actually came from, right? So, Astra has realized it too?"
Astra Yao nodded immediately upon hearing this.
Evelyn, who had just entered, looked baffled, completely unaware of what the two were talking about.
Seeing Eve, whom she thought had just started to get a clue, looking confused again, Astra Yao had to speak up and explain it to her.
Yesterday, when Andrew revealed his identity as a transmigrator and explained the conditions of his original world, Astra Yao had immediately realized.
That wasn't actually Andrew's self-restraint; rather, it was the worldview he had formed over so many years in that world before coming here.
Self-restraint is easy to talk about, but the formation of a worldview is deep-seated and not so easy to handle.
And what followed next was the 'Operation Change Worldview' plan targeting this very point!
Pushing open the door to the Seliana Smithy.
The familiar layout, the shop swept spotlessly clean, the neatly stacked goods, and Twentie sitting happily on the checkout counter as usual.
Ever since he took over this Bangboo from Belle and hired it to help watch the shop, Twentie had been incredibly happy.
Its work attitude was so serious that Andrew felt a bit guilty, unable to resist giving it a raise several times.
Now, its salary was nearly ten times that of other working Bangboos.
However, since a Bangboo's wages were usually just a few Ether batteries, even ten times the amount was actually much cheaper than hiring a human employee.
Today, however, it looked as if it were facing a formidable enemy, staring dead-fixed from its chair into the workshop, looking like a cat with fur standing on end, ready to pounce at any moment.
The door connecting to the workshop, usually tightly closed, was currently half-open.
It was as if to allow the serious Twentie to keep staring at the guest, ensuring he wouldn't touch anything else.
Although Lycaon was waiting inside the workshop, he maintained an elegant posture, standing ramrod straight in the absolute center of the room, not moving a muscle.
With the sound of the shop door opening, and upon discovering the visitor was Andrew, Twentie immediately hopped down from its specially elevated Bangboo chair with a thump-thump.
It scurried quickly behind Andrew, hugged his pant leg, and immediately began to tattle.
"En-ne! En-ne en-ne! En-ne!! (Boss! That man who had Belle gather a big gang to help out last time, he suddenly ran over here again today saying he was looking for you! I kept an eye on him for you!!)"
Lycaon, though expressionless, had his tail drooping dejectedly under Twentie's vigilance.
He didn't know why, but this little Bangboo was extremely stubborn.
Once it decided on something, no matter how he explained, it wouldn't change its mind. In the end, Lycaon could only stand in the open space in the middle of the workshop to show he was no threat, which finally allowed the little guy to recover slightly from its stressed state.
For some reason, this little guy was extremely wary of anything that might pose a threat to this place.
Its posture of loyal protection made even Lycaon sigh with emotion.
Andrew looked at Twentie hugging his calf, rubbed its round head with a bit of amusement, and soothed it as it unconsciously squinted its eyes in comfort.
"Don't worry, he's just here to deliver something to me. No need to be nervous."
"En-ne? (Really?)"
"Of course."
Hearing Andrew say this, Twentie finally began to relax gradually. It let out a sigh of relief, then scurried on its short legs to apologize to Lycaon before relaxing and returning to its seat.
Andrew then looked at Lycaon, who was still standing in the middle of the workshop without moving.
Compared to the Mayor's support which carried an agenda...
As someone who had supported what Andrew did from the very beginning, and could be said to have provided help in his hour of need—allowing for the current Silver City and the land where the Ancient Tree was planted—Andrew was very grateful to him.
He first motioned for Lycaon to enter the inner part of the studio, then said with a hint of embarrassment,
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
Rubbing Twentie's head again, Andrew continued, "Ever since I took him in and saved him from wandering and working odd jobs, he has placed great importance on this place. So, whenever something involves this aspect, he tends to get a little emotional. Please forgive him."
Hearing this, however, Lycaon immediately understood why Twentie was so serious.
He immediately agreed, "Do not take it to heart. This job must be very important to him, so I fully understand. As for waiting, this is actually the most relaxing way to search."
The two arrived inside Andrew's room.
Without discussing other matters, Lycaon first maintained the same proper movements as last time, took out the item he brought, and placed it in front of Andrew.
____
New Story: Stardew Valley: What Do You Mean They All Became My Servants
🔥We're handing out that '25% bonus' that makes your wallet smile. 😄
✅ Read up to 40 chapters in advance (all stories)!
✅ Access exclusive posts and updates first!
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody
🚀 180 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters on ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan