Knock-knock-knock~ Knock-knock-knock.
Late at night, Clara was sprawled across her big, soft bed, scrolling through videos on her phone, when a series of knocks sounded at her door.
But Clara paid it no mind. At this hour, even a single-celled organism could guess who it was.
To prevent a repeat of last time's incident, she simply yanked the covers over her head, burying herself completely beneath the blanket.
The quilt muffled the persistent knocking. She kept scrolling through short videos in her cocoon, pretending she hadn't heard a thing.
It wasn't long before the knocking finally stopped.
Hearing the silence, Clara thought Firefly had left. She poked her head and arms out from under the covers, cradling her phone to continue watching her little videos. Giggles of amusement kept bubbling from her lips.
But soon, her laughter cut off abruptly.
Because Clara discovered, to her bewilderment, that her door had somehow been pushed open...
And there stood Firefly, wearing cute bear-print pajamas, holding a pillow printed with a chibi version of Clara's face, right inside the room.
"???"
Seeing the pillow in Firefly's hands, a huge question mark popped up over Clara's head. For a moment, she forgot to wonder how Firefly had gotten in, her attention entirely captured by the pillow.
"Firefly... that pillow..."
"Oh, this?" Hearing her, Firefly casually closed the door behind her, scampered over to Clara's bedside, sat down, and handed the pillow to Clara.
"I went to Pier Point, the IPC's headquarters, a while back, remember~?"
"After I handed over that wanted criminal and was about to leave."
"I spotted a shop selling limited-edition merch. I was curious, so I went to take a look."
"And then I found they actually had limited-edition Clara merchandise for sale!"
"I waited in line for ages and bought up all the remaining stock!"
Finished speaking, Firefly flashed an expectant look, seemingly waiting for Clara's praise.
Clara: ...
So I'm a big celebrity now, huh.
She couldn't help but sigh inwardly, then asked offhandedly.
"So, how much did you spend?"
"Hmm..." At the question, Firefly narrowed her eyes, tilted her head, and fell into thought.
Then, sounding a bit uncertain, she said:
"My attention was all on the merch, so I kinda forgot how much it cost."
"I bought twelve items in total... I think it was over two million?"
"How... how much?" Hearing that number, Clara's face instantly morphed into one of utter shock.
Clara might not know the exact material of this pillow, but it definitely wasn't top-grade stuff.
It wasn't even as good as the pillow she'd bought for a hundred Credits on Pxx...
Probably some mass-produced hundred-Credit junk...
If an item only requires a hundred percent of the principal to yield a ten thousand percent profit, that's just...
That's downright unscrupulous!
Clara's heart railed against the unscrupulous merchant selling that pillow merch.
Selling a hundred-Credit item at a hundred times the price is one thing...
But the key point is...
Dammit, you're using my name to sell it! And I didn't even know!
I didn't get a single cent of it in my wallet...
Unscrupulous! Absolutely unscrupulous!
In Clara's mind, her impression of that merchant had plummeted to rock bottom.
"Firefly, do you still remember where that shop was?" Clara asked with a smile, her tone exceedingly kind and gentle.
"Hmm... yes, I do." Firefly thought for a moment, not noticing the odd expression on Clara's face, and nodded.
"That's good."
Clara sneered inwardly. Next time I go to blow up the IPC, I'll just 'reclaim' all that money while I'm at it...
...
"By the way... how did you get in?"
After the topic of limited-edition merch ended, Clara realized there was another issue.
Her attention had been completely on the pillow earlier. She hadn't paid any mind to the fact that even though she'd locked the door, Firefly had still gotten in.
"Oh, that." Hearing this, Firefly took out a silver-white key.
"I used a key to come in."
"You weren't saying anything for so long, I thought something might have happened to you, so I took the liberty of using the key to open the door."
"..."
Hearing Firefly's words, Clara's lip twitched. If you want to sleep with me, just say so, what's with the excuses?
But that wasn't the main issue right now.
"Where did you get that key? Why do you have a key to my room?"
"I asked Elio for it earlier." Firefly didn't hide it from Clara, answering truthfully.
Clara: ?
"No, I mean, why would they give you a key to my room?" Clara's small eyes were filled with huge question marks.
"What did you say to them?"
"Nothing much? I just said I wanted a key to your room, and Elio gave it to me." Firefly shook her head, her face showing no signs of lying.
"..." Immediately, Clara fell into silence.
"Hmm... maybe Elio thought we have a really good relationship, so they gave me the key." After thinking for a moment, Firefly came to a conclusion.
"What good relationship do you and I have?" Upon hearing this, Clara pouted and retorted.
Even though her relationship with Firefly was indeed quite good, Clara just didn't want to admit it...
"It's not good...?" Hearing those words, the expression on Firefly's face instantly fell. Her eyes grew watery, as if she might start crying any second.
"Uh..." Seeing Firefly like this, even though Clara knew she was putting on an act, she felt a tiny bit unwilling in her heart.
"I-It's... actually, it's kinda good, I guess..."
Clara turned her head away, her face slightly flushed, speaking with a hint of tsundere pride.
"But don't get the wrong idea. The good relationship I'm talking about is just within the Stellaron Hunters. Among all the people I know, you wouldn't even rank... wouldn't even rank that high..."
As if afraid Firefly might misunderstand something, Clara added a line afterward.
"Okay~" Taking in Clara's entire demeanor, Firefly reached out a hand and gently stroked Clara's head.
"Then I'll strive... strive to become the person Clara has the best relationship with in the whole universe~"
"Hmph, well... that'll depend on your performance." Clara gave a light, proud hum.
Firefly chuckled softly. She placed her palm on Clara's cheek, turning Clara's head to face her, her gaze fixed on Clara's pinkish, yet somewhat firm lips.
Then she leaned her own head closer, lips meeting lips, and kissed her.
"You're right, so..."
"I'll do my best..."
Compared to that time in the snowfields, Firefly's kiss this time was incredibly gentle.
"Mmm..."
Blushing, Clara didn't resist. Instead, she closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
Perhaps because they were too engrossed, too relaxed, neither Clara nor Firefly realized.
Realized that outside the door, an ear was pressed against it, quietly listening to the sounds coming from within the room...
...
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