As Billy kept talking, he suddenly realized—he really had heard wrong.
When Sam Li said I would be playing the part, I didn't mean Billy.
I meant Sam Li himself.
Billy had been so excited he didn't even listen properly.
Now that he heard it clearly,
Billy's whole mindset collapsed.
"Oh no—Sam Li, tell me you're not serious! Star Emblem Knight, why didn't you choose me!"
Billy threw his arms dramatically toward the sky, looking like the world was ending.
Nekomata instantly regretted reminding him: "..."
Sam Li sighed helplessly: "..."
Nicole coughed lightly and looked at Billy with pity.
"Ahem, calm down. Sam Li said it's just a promotional video for now. If the main actor is still sick when they start filming the actual movie, they'll definitely have to pick someone new for the full feature."
Billy froze.
"Pick who?"
Anby answered seriously,
"Sam Li."
Nicole fell silent: "..."
Billy slumped even further and let out another dramatic wail.
"Nooo—Star Emblem Knight, why have you forsaken me!"
Seeing that normal comforting didn't work,
Nicole switched to a more direct method.
She walked over and kicked Billy.
"Enough. Calm down—you're disturbing the neighbors."
Billy immediately stopped wailing: "..."
Compared to gentle comfort,
physical methods worked better.
Nicole said seriously,
"Now's not the time to argue about who plays Star Emblem Knight. We're professional agents. We should be thinking about how to make the most Dennies out of this client. As for who plays the Knight—we'll talk about it when we meet the client tomorrow."
Nekomata nodded,
"Exactly. Who knows, maybe the client will regret it the moment they see Billy and beg him to take the role."
Hearing this,
Billy's hope reignited.
"You're right! Once the client sees my handsome face and elegant figure, they'll mistake me for the real Star Emblem Knight and beg me to play the part. Should I pretend to refuse? Or just graciously accept?"
Nicole: "..."
Nekomata: "..."
Anby: "..."
Originally, they had planned to go treasure hunting in the Imperial City Hollows.
But with a commission in hand, they had to put work first.
Luckily,
the filming location for the promo video was also in the Imperial City Hollows.
Nicole secretly calculated if they could do both—finish the commission and find treasure at the same time.
"We can totally pull it off!"
To make this dream happen,
Nicole stayed up all night scouring forums and making detailed plans.
...
The next day.
"Nicole Boss, it's almost time! Wake up!"
Nicole dragged herself out of bed with two huge dark circles under her eyes.
She had spent the whole night plotting and still hadn't figured out a perfect plan.
Guess they'd have to wing it.
Nekomata gasped,
"Nicole, your dark circles are huge."
Nicole yawned,
"It's all for you guys. I stay up all night thinking of ways to earn Dennies to feed a bunch of irregular employees. I must've been cursed in a past life."
Nekomata: "..."
Anby: "..."
There was no time for breakfast.
Everyone squeezed into Nicole's beat-up secondhand car, barely fitting.
"When we've saved enough Dennies, we're getting a stretch limo. No more cramped rides."
Billy drove them toward the Imperial City Hollows.
Half an hour later...
They parked in a free lot and snuck past the Security Personnel into the ruins at the Hollow's edge.
Sure enough,
they found the same middle-aged man from yesterday—the director of Star Emblem Knight.
The moment they met,
Billy excitedly rushed forward.
"Yo! Hi! I'm Billy! Full name: Firepower-Type Territorial Suppression High-Intelligent Tactical..."
Before Billy could finish,
the director shoved him aside.
"Move it. Your job is carrying props. I'm not interested in your long, smelly name."
Billy instantly deflated: "..."
So much for playing the Star Emblem Knight.
Damn it!
Why have you forsaken me, Star Emblem Knight?!
He was just starting to wallow in sadness when he felt a sharp kick on his butt.
"Billy, what are you standing there for? Help move the filming equipment!"
Billy sighed,
"Fate must be jealous of my talent, arranging such a cruel ending."
Nicole slammed a heavy box of tools in front of him.
"After we enter the Hollows, the only way to transport this stuff is by hand. Watch it carefully. If you break anything, we can't afford to pay for it."
Billy sighed again,
"Fate must be jealous of my—"
Before he could finish,
another kick landed.
"Talent my ass! Stop whining and get to work. I've got other plans after this."
"Yes, Nicole Boss!"
...
After prepping everything,
they officially entered the Hollow.
Using the civilian-grade scanners they brought, they checked the environment—just as the rumors said, the Ether levels were very low.
A clear sign of decay.
Everyone breathed a little easier.
As they walked,
the director briefed them on the filming script to save time.
"The plot's simple. Miss Anby here plays an ordinary Outer Ring citizen who falls into the Hollow during a disaster. At the last moment, a tall knight in red armor shows up, quickly defeats the Ethereals, and rescues the civilian. After saving them, the Star Emblem Knight reaches out a hand and says, 'Yo, are you okay?'"
"That's it?"
"That's it. Can you handle it?"
"Of course. If everything goes smoothly, we can finish by noon."
Nicole was confident.
Her team were practically seasoned actors at this point. A simple scene like this would be a piece of cake.
Plus,
Nicole had her own plan.
If they finished filming in the morning,
they could spend the afternoon hunting for treasure—and maybe rake in even more Dennies on top of the commission fee.
Just thinking about it made her grin.
Soon,
they reached the designated filming spot.
At the director's request,
Sam Li changed into the red armor.
Wrapped head to toe in metal, he barely looked human—he looked more like a robot.
In fact,
he looked a lot like Billy.
...