[Your balance is insufficient. Please top up in time!]
On her computer screen, a game interface popped up with that alert. Sporting dark circles under her eyes, Gabriel felt like punching the screen into pieces.
"I just put money in, didn't I?"
Grumbling to herself, she tried topping up again.
[Top-up failed. Your bank card balance is insufficient!]
This time, Gabriel really felt like dying.
"What the heck? How could it all be gone already?"
She muttered under her breath while checking the account balance:
[Your balance is 0.00!]
Her wallet was empty!
Not long ago, she had borrowed tens of thousands from Rei Ao, yet now everything was used up—completely spent!
Where did the money go?
Gabriel racked her brain, coming up blank.
At last, her gaze fixed on the game.
The answer was right in front of her eyes. Yet very soon she shifted her gaze away.
As the saying goes, you can never wake up someone who's only pretending to sleep...much like Gabriel at this point. She would rather believe she spent the money on snacks than on a game.
Saving a world (a game world) is hardly a waste, right?
But there was a dismal fact she couldn't avoid:
She wanted to continue throwing money at this game, but she was out of funds.
Even her part-time wages only covered basic food and living expenses. If she wanted a big chunk of cash to burn on a game, there was only one quick method.
"Borrow money from Rei Ao?"
She already had a well-trodden path for that. Except that, every time, Rei Ao's "conditions" seemed scarier than the last.
Gabriel lowered her head, glancing at her bare feet propped on the chair.
Expressionless, she murmured, "Let's trouble you guys again... This will be the last time."
Raphiel had just finished her bath and emerged from the bathroom.
Her soft call made Gabriel, who was about to head out, freeze mid-motion. Seeing the rarely-seen scenario of this "modern-day shut-in" going outside, Raphiel was rather surprised.
"Gab-chan, where are you going so late?"
"Me...? I'm, uh, going out to throw away the trash."
"If that's so, shouldn't you be carrying a trash bag?"
Raphiel cocked her head.
Gabriel's hands were empty.
"Ah, oh right, I forgot!"
Gabriel, feigning realization, rushed back to her room, grabbed a garbage bag, and sprinted out.
The smell of a lie was suffocating. Raphiel pursed her lips. Whenever Gab-chan was lying, that pointed to her mood sinking further into laziness.
"What were you doing in Emilia's room?"
Rei Ao, just stepping out of Emilia's bedroom, was confronted by a suspicious Mai. Given her grasp of Rei Ao's nature, plus his look of total satisfaction, it was impossible not to suspect he and Emilia had just gone at it.
"I was just helping her with a small favor."
"Oh? I doubt it was a favor for no reason. Isn't it some kind of deal?"
"Mai, as expected, you're basically the tapeworm in my gut," he said, right on target.
She gave a scornful look. "Ew, who wants to be a tapeworm? That's gross. But I know your usual nonsense. So, what's the deal? Did you just make Emilia my new sister?"
No one could blame her for thinking this. Mai knew all too well that any attractive woman in Rei Ao's presence would sooner or later become her "sister." She didn't really mind if it turned out to be Emilia. After all, they had lived together and got along with one another, so Mai was open to it.
Rei Ao shook his head slightly. "I haven't 'claimed' her."
He wrapped an arm around Mai from behind, guiding her sweetly toward the living room. Futaba, Tohru, and a few others were there. So they all took seats, with him in the middle.
Leisurely, he said, "I actually got kicked out by Emilia."
That private, verbal "deal" of a kiss had certainly satisfied him. Plus, Emilia herself had let him fondle her bra-less figure, so naturally he hadn't held back. Even though she wasn't endowed, her body, shaped by years of battles, was quite springy.
Most importantly, Emilia was sensitive. He'd done nothing more than those touches, and she'd ended up soaked. The flustered combination of tension, excitement, and physical pleasure etched a deep impression on Rei Ao.
After all that, he ended up being kicked out. Emilia felt too embarrassed to face people.
"How dare she do that to you? I'll go teach her a lesson!"
Tohru tried to get up in a huff.
The doorbell rang at that moment.
Futaba: "I'll get it."
"No need, I'll do it—this visitor came looking for me." Rei Ao already knew who it was, and also guessed her purpose. Not long ago he had said he hadn't fully enjoyed messing around with that "yandere." Now here came a juicy morsel right to his doorstep.
He opened the door to find none other than Gabriel, looking awkward. She had finally decided to come borrow money, almost having been discovered by Raphiel; she definitely didn't want Raphiel knowing about her shady dealings.
With dead-fish eyes, she stared at Rei Ao. "Hey. Lend me some cash."
"Ha, you really act like you're the big shot here. Someone hearing your tone might think you're a loan shark out collecting debts," Rei Ao teased, but didn't mind. "How much do you want this time?"
Gabriel originally planned on "the usual twenty thousand," but she suddenly reconsidered. If she borrowed a large chunk at once, she wouldn't have to worry about it for a while. After all, whether once or twice, she'd just be giving him a...foot service, right? She might as well go big.
So she changed her tune: "one hundred thousand. I need one hundred thousand!"
He eyed her knowingly. He was well aware of her little plan, but didn't expose it. Casually nodding, he agreed. "Sure, one hundred thousand is fine."
For him, that was just a trivial sum. He didn't care about money at all, and if paying it gave him some amusement, that suited him.
Seeing how readily he agreed, Gabriel felt she should've asked for even more.
"Could I change it to a bigger sum?"
"Sorry. Anything beyond that would require a separate, second deal."
Gabriel was about to cry. "Next time I'll definitely ask for more! Actually—there shouldn't be a next time..."
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