Mooching a meal

"The Fubuki Group is the biggest and best organization in B-Class."

"As long as you join, I can guarantee you'll rise from C-Class to B-Class in no time. Even A-Class isn't out of reach!"

Fubuki tried to sweet-talk Baicang into joining by tempting him with a higher hero rank.

An ordinary C-Class Hero would surely have dropped to his knees, clung to Fubuki's legs, and called her his queen. Baicang wanted to wrap his arms around her legs too, but not like that.

"With my strength, reaching A-Class is only a matter of time, isn't it? I don't need to join at all."

Baicang looked at Fubuki expressionlessly, then took the chips in front of Mountain Ape and opened them, ignoring his anguished glare.

"What does your Fubuki Group have to offer? Unlike the Tank-Top Organization, you don't have an S-Class Hero backing you up, and you don't have any money either. You all crammed into one taxi to get here, didn't you?"

He glanced at all four of them as he finished.

A faint blush appeared on Fubuki's cool, aloof face, and she lowered her head slightly. The other three averted their eyes too.

Despite Fubuki's dress and coat and her members' suits and ties, the Fubuki Group was actually a bunch of paupers. When money ran short, they all had to go out and work part-time jobs. There was nothing dignified about it.

"Ahem. Then what would it take for you to join the Fubuki Group? Name your terms!"

Fubuki cleared her throat, straightened up, and waved her small hand as she made her bold declaration. Her ample chest bounced along with the movement.

Those definitely aren't B cups. They must be D cups, or even...

Noticing Lily's hostile stare, Baicang had no choice but to look away and think as he ate his chips.

Joining the Fubuki Group would bring plenty of trouble, but it had one advantage: Fubuki herself!

As the younger sister of Tatsumaki, the second-ranked S-Class Hero, Fubuki could use her sister's standing in the Hero Association to obtain plenty of confidential information, couldn't she?

If he made good use of that, he might even be able to influence important decisions. The only danger was Tatsumaki.

Still, as long as he was careful, he probably wouldn't attract Tatsumaki's attention.

Fubuki remained expressionless, as though she didn't care whether Baicang joined the Fubuki Group, but deep down, she wasn't confident either.

The Fubuki Group really had nothing that could sway Baicang. Bringing up her sister Tatsumaki might work, but Fubuki would never do that. It went against her reason for founding the group.

She could only rely on her own charisma. As for whether Baicang would be won over by her...

"I can join, but I have a few conditions."

"Go ahead!"

Fubuki couldn't keep the delight out of her voice. Baicang had already rejected her twice, so she'd thought this attempt would probably fail too. She hadn't expected him to agree.

"Not many. Just two."

Baicang slowly picked up the chips in front of Eyelashes. Seeing his shameless behavior gave Eyelashes a headache and made him want to smack him.

"First, I'll only be an unofficial member. Don't ask me to take part in your regular activities, and I won't follow you around everywhere. You can only come to me for major matters."

"Second, there are some things you'll have to help me with, even if you don't want to," Baicang said, looking straight at Fubuki.

"That's going too far!" Lily finally couldn't take it anymore.

"You clearly don't want to do anything, but you still want to force Lady Fubuki to do things for you!"

Lily pulled out her three-section staff and moved to teach Baicang a lesson, but Eyelashes held her firmly back. Mountain Ape was sweating buckets too, unsure whether to hit Baicang or protect the chips beside Lily.

"That's enough, Lily. Don't make our Fubuki Group a laughingstock in front of Baicang."

Fubuki turned and glared at Lily. Lily had no choice but to put away her weapon and sit back down, though she was still indignant.

"I can agree to your first condition, but not the second. At the very least, you'll have to discuss what you need with me before I can help."

Fubuki didn't know what Baicang meant by these conditions, especially the second one. Was he plotting something unsavory?

Still, Fubuki believed that once Baicang joined the Fubuki Group, she would win him over. He would willingly work for her and put her first, just like the others who had joined with ulterior motives.

"That works too." Baicang didn't particularly care. This way, he would only be a member of the Fubuki Group in name.

"Welcome aboard. Then, in a..." Fubuki was interrupted by the doorbell before she could finish.

Ding-dong~

"Big brother! I'm home!"

Runo dropped her schoolbag by the door and was about to ask Baicang for a hug when she noticed several strangers in the house.

They're wearing suits. Could they be here to sell insurance?

"Brother, who are these people?"

"Oh, they're friends of mine too. They'll be leaving soon." Baicang gave Fubuki and the others a look telling them to hurry up and leave, earning an eye roll from Lily.

"You have a younger sister?" Fubuki looked at Baicang in mild surprise.

"Am I not allowed to have a younger sister? Besides, didn't you say you were leaving?"

Baicang was speechless at Fubuki's idiotic question. He didn't want Runo associating with the Fubuki Group. They were all brainless sycophants, and spending too much time around them would lower her IQ.

"Let's go." Fubuki didn't want to make a nuisance of herself either, so she called Lily and the others over to leave.

As she passed Runo, she noticed the girl run over with a smile and hug Baicang, her face glowing with warmth and happiness. Baicang held Runo with an equally gentle expression, lifting his chip-eating right hand to keep it from touching her clothes.

Fubuki didn't understand why they were still so close and affectionate when they were already this grown-up.

Yet she and her sister had ended up like this. Why?

"Lady Fubuki?" Seeing her stop at the doorway, Lily and the other two looked at her in confusion.

"You three go back first. I have something to discuss with Baicang." After saying that, Fubuki turned and went back inside Baicang's home.

"Is there something else?"

"You said last time that you'd treat me to a meal. Surely you aren't going to fob me off with chips?" Fubuki looked at Baicang and Runo, who were equally puzzled.

"Here to mooch a meal?"

Baicang's words nearly made the thin-skinned Fubuki turn around and leave. He quickly asked Runo to take her aside to rest while he hurried into the kitchen to ply his old trade.

On the tatami in the living room.

Fubuki had stayed on impulse. Sitting beside Runo, she had no idea what to talk about.

Runo didn't know what kind of relationship Fubuki had with Baicang, and she didn't know how to start a conversation either.

Neither spoke. Fubuki and Runo simply sat there blankly, with awkwardness hanging in the air.

"Runo, why do you live with Baicang? Where are your parents?" In the end, Fubuki, the more mature woman, broke the silence and spoke to Runo first.

"We don't have parents. My brother and I met at the Orphanage..."

"I'm so sorry..." Fubuki felt she had touched on a painful subject for Runo.

"It's all right. As long as my brother is here, nothing else matters." Runo smiled at Fubuki, as though simply mentioning Baicang made her happy.

Looking into Runo's smiling eyes, Fubuki felt as though she were seeing her own childhood self.

She had once looked at her sister Tatsumaki the same way.