Today was a wonderful day. After giving Kato Megumi a copy of the list, Li Yu felt pretty pleased with himself. Asuna and Yukino Yukinoshita had also added him as a friend.
Once they had all the materials ready, they would contact Li Yu to set up a Magic Array. Aside from Li Yu's labor fee, the most expensive part would be the Magic Stones.
They cost a few hundred at the cheap end and over a thousand for the more expensive ones. With all the other odds and ends, a Magic Array came to a little over ten thousand, nearly twenty thousand in total.
Of course, if you wanted better Magic Stones, there was no upper limit to the price of a Magic Array. It all depended on what quality of stones you were willing to pay for.
After they had settled the details, the bell rang for class. Li Yu spent the rest of the day quietly attending lessons. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, he left school and went to buy the materials he needed.
Asuna, Kato Megumi, and Yukino also set off together to buy the materials they needed. But when women went shopping... they could take their sweet time.
By the time Li Yu had finished shopping and returned home, he still hadn't run into them. He had no idea where they'd gone off to.
Carrying all the materials he'd bought, Li Yu hurried home. But when he saw the place, he fell into thought.
According to his memories, the lease on this place was about to expire, wasn't it? And the neighborhood wasn't all that great. The original owner had been poor, after all, so naturally he'd rented a cheap place.
Wouldn't it be a bit of a waste to set up a Magic Array here? He might as well take this opportunity to move somewhere nicer.
But when he thought of how his wallet was already getting thinner, Li Yu couldn't help feeling a little gloomy.
He checked how much cash he had left and found that after buying the materials, he had barely over a thousand left...
"Tsk, I'm broke!" After looking at the balance of just over a thousand, Li Yu silently opened his friend list, tapped Asuna Yuuki's name, and sent her a message.
Li Yu: [You there? Have you bought the materials yet? If you have time, I can set it up for you now!]
So, he'd have to make money first. Miss Asuna, you probably wanted to enjoy the benefits of your Magic Array tonight, didn't you?
Asuna was out shopping with Kato Megumi and the others when she suddenly received Li Yu's message. She froze for a moment. She... hadn't bought the materials yet.
"What's wrong?" Yukino Yukinoshita asked, puzzled as she watched Asuna. Had something happened?
"No, it's nothing. It's Li Yu. He asked if I'd bought the materials and said he could set up the Magic Array for me now." Asuna replied to Yukino, then started typing back to Li Yu.
Asuna: [Give me a moment. I'm heading back now. Why don't you wait for me downstairs at my apartment? It won't take me long to get back.]
When Li Yu saw Asuna's reply, he immediately sent back an OK emoji. After tidying up, he set out. He could take a look at the apartments while he was there.
He remembered that the apartments near Asuna's place were quite nice. With that in mind, Li Yu headed straight for her building.
Meanwhile, Asuna told the others what had happened. When they heard, Kato Megumi and Yukino immediately decided to go with her and take a look.
They hurried to finish shopping, then followed Asuna to her apartment.
All the materials Li Yu had listed could be bought at the same store. The only thing they chose to upgrade was the quality of the Crystal Cores.
Once they'd bought everything, they headed together to Asuna's apartment. By then, Li Yu was already looking at a unit with the building manager.
The apartments here were a bit expensive, but the surroundings were truly nice. The one-bedroom unit Li Yu was looking at had a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom, and cost over two thousand a month.
It required one month's rent as a deposit and one month's rent upfront. Li Yu didn't even have enough money for the deposit, but he was quite pleased with the place. He'd decided: he was going to rent it.
By the time Li Yu had finished looking at the apartment, Asuna had returned. She also messaged him to ask where he was.
After seeing her message, Li Yu told the young woman who had been showing him the apartment that he'd sign the lease after he finished up.
Then he asked Asuna for her apartment number and went over himself. The unit he'd looked at was right below hers, so they'd be neighbors on different floors.
Li Yu took the stairs straight up to Asuna's door. Just then, Asuna and the others had only just come up in the elevator.
When the elevator doors opened, Asuna and the others saw Li Yu standing there. They all stared in surprise.
"You're fast!" Asuna blinked. Where had Li Yu come from? How had he gotten there so quickly?
"I was looking at an apartment downstairs. If all goes well, I might end up living right above or below you," Li Yu explained simply.
Asuna's eyes lit up. If that was the case, she'd have someone to go to school with from now on.
"That explains it. The neighborhood is quite nice. When are you planning to move in?" Asuna asked as she opened her door.
Li Yu followed her inside and answered, "Maybe later today? My lease is about to expire, and since I'm setting up a Magic Array anyway, I figured I might as well move somewhere nicer."
The furniture and everything else inside Asuna's apartment was much like the unit above. The layout was identical, too; they all had the same furnishings.
Kato Megumi and Yukino Yukinoshita were looking around the apartment as well. It seemed quite nice. It would be comfortable to live here alone.
"Everyone, make yourselves at home. Li Yu, I'll leave the rest to you. Can you set up the Magic Array in the bedroom? I want one that covers the whole room." Asuna stated her request directly.
She would've liked a Magic Array that covered the entire apartment, but on second thought, there was no need. She didn't need one in the living room, too.
After all, she spent more time at school than at home, and she hardly used the living room.
"That's easy. But first, we'll need to move everything out of the room. Then I can set it up." As Li Yu spoke, he looked at Yukino and the others.
Since you're already here, you might as well get moving and clear out the room. You couldn't just come here to watch and expect Li Yu to do it all himself, could you?
Noticing Li Yu's look, Yukino Yukinoshita said nothing. She simply went with Asuna and the others to move the furniture and other things out of the room.
They were all martial artists, so they were naturally strong. Twisting your skull off would be a piece of cake for them. Besides, Asuna had only just moved in and didn't have much stuff.
So the room was cleared out in no time. They put everything in the living room, leaving only an empty room behind.
Li Yu got straight to work. Asuna handed him the materials she'd prepared, and when Li Yu saw the Crystal Cores she'd bought, he was green with envy. It was good to be rich!
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