"Me? I think I'll pass..."
Leaving the black market, You-You waved his hands in refusal when he heard Finis had booked a hotel suite for him too. "I have to sleep in my own bed tonight. I'm very particular about my pillow!"
"It's already late," Zero reminded him. It was 3:15 AM. Even in Sector 11, where the nightlife was most vibrant, the neon lights were starting to dim.
"It's fine. The automated maglev trains are still running. I'm heading back. See you tomorrow, Zero~"
With that, You-You ran off toward the station with a strange urgency.
Zero couldn't help but roast him. "What are you, Cinderella? It's past midnight anyway."
Still, Zero felt bad for him. You-You was his "ride or die" brother. Now that Zero was finally starting to make a name for himself and had luxuries to share, his best friend had turned him down. A luxury suite in Sector 11 was a level of decadence Zero had never experienced in eighteen years.
"Some people are just born for the struggle, I guess~" "Eve" suddenly floated out of his deck, her chin resting on Zero's shoulder. "ヾ(￣▽￣) Forget him, Amano Zero! Let's go enjoy ourselves! We need to celebrate tonight's victory!"
Tonight's victory didn't have much to do with you, though? You were sent straight to the Graveyard by Morphing Jar. Zero didn't say it aloud. Having a Duel Spirit that only he could see was a nice bonus, especially since she didn't cost extra for a hotel stay.
A 24-hour buffet, a hot spring pool large enough to swim in, and fully ergonomic massage chairs—it was 4:00 AM, but Zero wasn't sleepy at all. I've lived a hard life for long enough; why not enjoy this? Let the music play! Let the dancing continue!
"How is it? Are you satisfied, Amano? Wa-wa-wa-wa~"
Leaning back in the automated massage chair next to him, Finis spoke with a vibrating tremor in her voice. She looked like she had just finished bathing, her slender frame wrapped in a pale yellow yukata. Her flawless, porcelain-white legs and feet were exposed, resting on the chair's footstool.
Unlike You-You, this was a 100% genuine beautiful girl.
Zero replied politely, "Thank you for the hospitality, Miss Finis."
Finis smiled softly. "Hehe. I'd prefer it if you just called me Finis."
The girl's smile was beautiful, her voice sweet, and the quiet atmosphere of the massage room at night felt slightly romantic.
[Finis Favorability: 69]
If the system didn't explicitly label her as just a "good friend," a young guy like Zero might have let his imagination run wild. But her intimate gestures, like taking his hand earlier, didn't match the data.
Conflicting data and facts only reveal a cruel truth. Either the system is glitching, or this lady is trying to play me.
Zero became alert. She wouldn't be planning to withhold my pay, would she? If she tried to say the reward was "her own body" or something like that, he would absolutely refuse. He had urgent uses for that money.
"Cough. Finis," Zero said, getting straight to the point. "About the reward..."
"I was actually just about to talk to you about that, Amano." Finis turned her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling.
Called it!
"Amano, are you interested in being my exclusive duelist?"
"Exclusive duelist?"
"Yes! That!" Finis sat up excitedly, leaning in close. She smelled like a faint, elegant floral perfume. "Not affiliated with the Wynn family, but a duelist specifically for me. My personal duelist!"
"I'll give you excellent benefits. Not just the pay, but living and housing conditions that are just as good as tonight's!"
There it is. Zero finally understood the source of the dissonance. The Young Lady wanted to "keep a dog," and she was using a honey trap to do it.
He knew what an exclusive duelist was. In this world, it wasn't a new concept. The wealthy hired powerful duelists to act as their "prestige" or "muscle." In Eden Tower, dueling was everything. In his past life's terms, this was the "Bodyguard of the Campus Belle."
However, a good exclusive duelist wasn't easy to hire. Powerful duelists had their own pride; why be someone's dog when you could reach the top of the tower yourself? And the great families didn't want weaklings. Thus, those who bore the title of "loyal hound" for a family were "Modern Knights"—powerful warriors with their own reasons for service.
Zero knew he didn't have such a reason. Conversely, he also knew he didn't have the kind of strength a major family would normally recruit. Let's be real here. With her status as an illegitimate daughter, Finis had a hard time finding a truly powerful knight. That's why she was coming to him with bribes and dreams. Tonight's duel must have been her test.
"I'll think about it, Finis." Zero didn't refuse, but he didn't agree either. For a slum duelist to become the knight of a Wynn lady—even an illegitimate one—was a vertical promotion. He just didn't know enough about her yet. He couldn't sign a "life contract" like that so easily.
"Alright, I'll give you time to think." Finis lay back in the chair and closed her eyes. "But don't worry, Amano. Even if you don't agree, I'll give you every point of tonight's reward."
"That's a huge help." Zero finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
But Finis added, "100,000 points isn't as much as you think. If you're satisfied with just that, Amano, you aren't man enough." She was worried he'd just slack off once he had the money; she had to keep him motivated.
"It's a lot to me," Zero admitted. "But... it's true that it isn't enough."
"Then do you want a luxury car? A mansion? Or expensive rare cards?"
"No, actually..."
It wasn't a secret, so he told her about his plan to get prosthetic legs for his sister. 100,000 points could get them, but only the cheapest, most basic model.
Finis's eyes snapped open. Her silver pupils, strikingly bright in the dim light, looked at him in disbelief. "You mean you agreed to that dangerous underground duel just to... get your sister prosthetic legs?"
"Yeah."
"Why?" There was a slight tremor of shock in her voice. It was something she couldn't understand. "Why? You're just her brother. Why would you go that far for her...?"
"What do you mean 'why'?" Her confusion was the strange thing to Zero. To him, it required no explanation. "That's what family is for, isn't it?"
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