Chapter 6: This Is a Scam!!!
"So, Chiya—do you understand now just how great burgers are?"
"Anby… my stomach is about to explode… In this condition, I really can't say…"
Even though Anby could practically hear a wallet wailing in the distance, Nicole had said she'd reimburse her.
And honestly, chances to make Nicole reimburse anything were rarer than scratching out the mythical three golden turds on a daily scratch card.
Most of the time, Nicole's lines were things like:
"This month's bills are piled even higher than last month's!"
"Billy bought more Starlight Knight merch again—can he grow up already?!"
And, most frequently—
"Anby, have you seen my discount coupons?!"
Yes—most of the time Nicole would whip out a whole stack of coupons, then engage shop clerks in a full-blown war of words, biting down hard on every loophole in the fine print until the clerk had no choice but to drop the price to something absurd.
Only then would she finally, smugly and with a hint of pain, pull out her wallet and pay the dennies.
Anby understood Nicole's frugality.
But she still wanted—just once—to feel what it was like to be extravagant.
So sure, on the surface she was "teaching Chiya the greatness of burgers"… but she also had a tiny selfish motive.
If it were her own money, she'd definitely feel the sting.
But making Nicole—who treated dennies like oxygen—bleed a little, and listening to that… wonderful… "wail"?
Anby couldn't resist.
And besides—she wanted to use this chance to fix Chiya's terrible habit of treating energy bars like actual meals.
There were so many times she'd walked into his bedroom and stepped right onto a floor carpeted with empty wrappers.
"Dragonfruit ramen flavor," "Broccoli stir-fried tomato flavor," "Hami melon potato-chip flavor"…
All kinds of packaging covered the floor in dense layers, like tangled traffic.
The only exception was the time Chiya bought a pile of a new flavor called "Fuel Drink Taste."
He ate one, then immediately got drunk and passed out—didn't even make it to the bed.
He just faceplanted on the floor and slept like a small beast, dead to the world.
…But thanks to that one energy bar, Anby got to hug him and sleep for a whole night.
Honestly, it was the most secure sleep she'd ever had—
until Nicole burst in.
Thinking of her ruined "good thing," Anby's face darkened. Her cheeks puffed out like she'd stuffed two tiny burgers inside them.
But just as she was about to feed Chiya another burger, he waved his hands, patted his stomach, and gave her a wry smile.
"Anby, binge-eating is unhealthy. I've told you that a lot."
"Then let me ask you," Anby shot back, "you eating energy bars every day like clockwork—does that count as a healthy lifestyle?"
"That's different!" Chiya widened his eyes. "Energy bars give a huge burst of calories quickly. When I need it, they keep my body going—so I can save more people!"
"But that still isn't a reason to replace normal food with energy bars, Chiya."
Seeing him stay stubborn, Anby could only sigh.
Chiya, meanwhile, crossed his arms and made a clear refusal gesture—he was completely stuffed.
"Let's go find Master Chop," he said. "Wise and Belle are still waiting for me to bring—huh?"
Just as he was about to leave, his phone suddenly received a message from an account.
[Outer Ring God of Fuel Management]:
"Chiya-chan! Can you rush to the Outer Ring right now?! Something BIG happened!!!"
"Something big in the Outer Ring? Why now? Then Wise and Belle's—"
He kept his voice low, but Anby's proximity (and capability) meant she caught every word of his worry.
"Chiya—leave it to me," she said immediately.
"Anby?"
"Let me buy the ramen for you. You go to the Outer Ring right now."
"But I want you to bring Billy and Nicole. The Outer Ring is dangerous."
"Every time Billy comes back from the Outer Ring, he has a few extra marks on him. Those are clearly bullet holes, so I want you to—"
"It's fine," Chiya said gently. "My friends in the Outer Ring will help me."
"Oh, I see."
Anby nodded. Her frown eased, and her eyes brightened. Her lips even started to curve—like something had just occurred to her.
Her tone, however, gained a sharp little edge.
"…Male or female?"
"Both," Chiya said quickly. "I'm leaving now!"
"Anby, sorry—making you do this again."
"Not a problem! And, Ch—"
But Chiya was already jogging away.
Anby reached out as if to catch him—then stopped, fingers curling back, and let out a small, defeated sigh.
"This time… I didn't say it again."
"Anby, you really are an idiot…"
"Recommending things to Chiya all on my own… getting moved all by myself… it's just self-satisfaction."
"…But did Chiya forget something this time?"
(Xugeya: What about me?!!!)
"Whatever. Ramen first."
"Belle's is the black-bowl pork-bone ramen… Wise's is the black-bowl cold mixed noodles…"
Anby walked toward the Koi Ramen Shop.
But to her surprise—
Belle and Nicole, who should've still been haggling somewhere, were already standing at the entrance together.
Both were smiling.
Belle's smile was smug satisfaction—like she'd finally gotten payback.
Nicole's smile…
was not friendly.
Seeing Anby hesitate at a distance, Nicole simply shouted across the street:
"ANBY! YOU IDIOT! GET OVER HERE!"
"…Nicole, promise you won't hit me."
"Fine!"
"And you won't dock my pay."
"..."
"Nicole?"
"…H-hey—don't walk away!"
"Fine! I won't dock it!"
"I, Nicole, am NOT that petty!"
Belle smirked. "Nicole, there you go lying again. Billy's tears still haven't dried."
"Who knows how a robot can cry that much?! No tear ducts, but his tears leak like engine oil—won't stop!"
"Anyway—that's not the point!" Nicole snapped.
"Anby, what did Chiya leave to do?"
"He said something big happened in the Outer Ring. He went to check it out."
"The Outer Ring?! (The Outer Ring)!!!"
Belle and Nicole shrieked in perfect sync, then stared at each other, fell silent, and—
Belle propped her chin. "Wait, Nicole, why are you so shocked?"
"You're the one who should be shocked!" Nicole yelled back. "The Outer Ring isn't under New Eridu's control—it's a mess!"
"And YOU too, Anby!"
"Why didn't you make Chiya wait and let us go with him?!"
"I told him," Anby said. "But Chiya said… his girlfriend there would help him."
"GIRLFRIEND?!!"
"…Oh," Anby added. "And boyfriend."
"WAIT—BOYFRIEND?!!"
Meanwhile…
"Achoo! I should've brought a jacket. The motorcycle Caesar gave me is fast, sure—but my body can't compare to theirs… achoo!"
"And Senior Qingyi—seriously, even though I have a license, she still said I'm a kid secretly riding a parent's bike…"
"If Teacher were really here…"
Chiya didn't know why he suddenly felt cold, but chalked it up to the wind from riding his "Chiya Special Edition" motorcycle, emblazoned with the Sons of Calydon emblem.
After passing the checkpoint, the steel forest fell behind him.
Endless yellow sand, rolling tumbleweeds, and a highway that seemed to go on forever replaced the city—a monotonous rhythm.
Luckily, Chiya had ridden this road more than once.
With the wind brushing his ears, the outline of the familiar Wildfire Town appeared in the distance.
But as he got closer, his pupils shrank—
Two familiar figures were sprawled on the ground, unmoving.
Like dead salted fish.
"Caesar! Lighter! What happened?!"
He stopped the bike and sprinted over—
but as he neared, a familiar smell slammed into his nose like a charging bison.
At the same time, the unnatural flush on their faces became obvious at close range.
Then—
a warm embrace wrapped him from behind. Soft arms looped around him, pinning him in place.
"Ehehe~~"
"As expected, Chiya-chan… only this gets you to come more often…"
"Burnice! What are you doing?! Let go of me!"
"Ehehe. Lucy went into the city today~"
"No one's coming to save you."
"I got Caesar and Lighter drunk too."
Feeling the "kitten-kneading" struggle in her arms, Burnice licked her lips without thinking, her gaze turning even more dreamy.
She lowered her head and breathed hot air into his ear.
"Alright. Now…"
"Chiya-chan… can you meow for me… just a hundred million times… okay…?"
Join here to read ahead.
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