While Hoshimi Miyabi was leading the members of Hollow Special Operations Unit 6 to investigate the C97 Hollow,
at that moment,
in the New Eridu metropolitan area, inside Lumina Square,
Nicole, unusually generous, led the members of Hare's House to invite their client, Soldier 11, and Proxy Belle to a nice meal.
They had originally planned to go to the co-branded Knights of the Star Emblem restaurant,
but due to the objections of Soldier 11, Belle, and Nekomata, Nicole changed the plan and picked an even fancier restaurant instead.
They ordered a table full of delicious dishes.
Soldier 11 was genuinely surprised.
"I had heard the boss of Hare's House was notoriously stingy, but it seems the rumors might be false."
Hearing this,
Nicole quickly explained,
"Slander! Total slander! Those guys on the forums are the worst. They love to slander Hare's House."
On the surface, Nicole acted generous,
but looking at the table full of expensive food, she felt a pang of regret deep inside.
She truly regretted it.
She should have listened to Billy and gone to the Knights of the Star Emblem restaurant instead.
At the side,
Anby said with a serious face,
"Nicole said that military people are tough to deal with, so you have to lure them in with good food and keep them around until the final payment comes in..."
Before Anby could finish,
Nicole, like a nimble rabbit, jumped next to her and covered her mouth.
"Don't spout nonsense! There's no conspiracy here. Anby is just blending movie plots into reality again. Please, don't mind it, haha, just ignore it..."
As she spoke, Nicole pushed Anby back into her seat,
grabbed a drumstick from a nearby plate, and stuffed it into Anby's mouth to shut her up.
Anby said nothing more.
Nekomata glanced at Nicole, then at Anby and Soldier 11, her eyes lighting up.
She even took the initiative to help Nicole explain,
"That's right! Nicole isn't stingy at all! She even said she would pack some mackerel for me to take home after the meal. Right, Nicole? See how generous she is!"
Nicole raised an eyebrow. "Huh???"
Did I ever say that?
But to save face in front of Soldier 11,
Nicole quickly smiled and said,
"Exactly! Hare's House is the most humane agency in New Eridu! Plenty of mackerel, hamburgers, and gun oil. And if you ever retire, you're welcome to join Hare's House as an employee."
Unexpectedly,
Soldier 11 nodded.
"I'll remember that."
After this,
Nicole hesitated for a moment before moving on to business,
"So, about the remaining balance for this commission, when will it be paid?"
Soldier 11 glanced at the time and said after a moment's thought,
"I've already contacted my superiors. The balance will be transferred soon. No need to worry."
Hearing this,
Nicole beamed with joy.
"That's wonderful! With this commission, we can finally pay off our debts!"
Billy also relaxed and added,
"Once the debts are cleared, I'm getting triple the firepower. No more worrying about running out of ammo!"
Nearby,
Anby quietly gnawed on her chicken drumstick,
seemingly unconcerned with the debt or Dennies.
Just like Soldier 11 had said.
Halfway through the meal,
Nicole's phone suddenly rang.
She picked it up and saw the message she had been waiting for:
The transfer from Dennies had arrived.
Seeing this,
Nekomata hurried over.
"Nicole, is that the bank? Let me see... ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand... four hundred fifty thousand Dennies?! Wait, that's fifty thousand more than expected?"
Based on the contract,
the advance was supposed to be 150,000 Dennies, and the balance 350,000 Dennies, totaling 500,000 Dennies.
Counting carefully,
they had already received 100,000 Dennies earlier, and now another 450,000 Dennies—
clearly 50,000 more than agreed.
Nicole shoved Nekomata away.
"There's no extra! It's always been this much!"
Nekomata quickly fell silent. "..."
Soldier 11, who clearly knew about it already, explained calmly,
"You inhaled toxic gas inside the Abandoned Skyscraper. Even if you're fine now, there might be future side effects. I requested a 50,000 Dennies medical compensation fee from the Defense Force for you."
Upon hearing this,
Nicole's eyes lit up with joy.
After so many years as an agent,
it was the first time she'd seen a client pay for medical expenses.
Normally, agents had to pay for their own injuries!
What a rare thing!
As expected of the Defense Force—rich and generous.
Since Soldier 11 had already given it,
of course Nicole wouldn't refuse.
"Now that's how it should be! If you have more commissions in the future, just contact us. Here's my number."
As she spoke,
Nicole immediately saved her contact information into Soldier 11's phone.
Meanwhile,
Billy spoke up loudly,
"Boss Nicole, Soldier 11 said there might be side effects! What if it's something crazy like a love sickness? I haven't finished watching Oh~Sweetheart yet..."
Billy jumped up,
acting like the sky was falling.
Nicole shoved him back into his seat.
"Quit shouting! There's no such thing as side effects like falling in love! This is a public place—calm down."
Though she acted unbothered on the surface,
Nicole turned her head seriously to Soldier 11 and asked,
"Soldier 11, be honest—there won't be side effects that make people hate Dennies, right?"
Nekomata chimed in,
"Or side effects that make cats hate mackerel?"
Anby stayed silent,
picked up a hamburger from the table, and started eating without a word.
Seeing Nicole and Nekomata getting paranoid,
Soldier 11 kept a serious face and said solemnly,
"To tell you the truth, the side effect is terrifying... it'll make you crave hamburgers and other junk food."
Nicole: "????"
Nekomata: "!!!!"
Billy let out a breath of relief.
"Thank goodness! If it's just hamburgers, that kind of side effect won't bother me."
Anby was speechless. "..."
This so-called side effect
was complete nonsense.
After the meal,
even though Nicole now had hundreds of thousands of Dennies in her account,
she still winced in pain when she saw the bill.
So expensive.
Such an overpriced and underwhelming place—
better not to come again.
After paying the bill,
Nicole had just returned when she saw Soldier 11 staring at Sam Li.
The next second,
Soldier 11 suddenly spoke up.
"Golden-winged warrior, are you interested in joining the Obol Squad of the Defense Force?
With your strength, you could definitely become a core member."
Nicole's eyebrows twitched. "?????"
What's going on here?
Trying to poach him right in front of me?
Nicole rushed over in three quick steps.
"Excuse me, I've already signed a long-term contract with Sam Li.
Unless I fire him, no one is taking him away."
...