"My good friend, you know I've come all this way to study away from home. I'm bound to run into a few difficulties," Xia Xiu said pointedly.
Croak! Here it comes.
"Croak! Whatever difficulties you have, I'll do everything in my power to help you," Muji asked, taking the hint.
"Oh, I couldn't possibly impose..." Xia Xiu said, putting on a bashful act.
Croak!!!
You squinty-eyed bastard, who the hell are you trying to fool?!
You just want hush money!
"Croak, tell me what's troubling you. I'm all ears." Muji wore a serious expression as he addressed Xia Xiu, whose acting was outrageously overdone.
"Ah, well, I happen to need a breathing technique that can raise my EVE particle limit. Deer College will be teaching us the standard breathing technique in a little while, but when you're studying abroad, you ought to learn something a bit more impressive, right? Otherwise, my comrades in the same Lineage will laugh at me for not making anything of myself out here." Xia Xiu sighed, then gave Muji another pointed look.
Croak! Got it. One breathing technique.
"Croak, I think you have a point," Muji agreed.
"Croak, friends ought to help each other. What do you need? Let me see if I can help," Muji continued.
"Well, I need a breathing technique called the Heavenly Lock Wheel, but I don't know where to find it. I've heard [Dimension Express] handles all sorts of business. You should know where to find this breathing technique, right?" Xia Xiu stated his request.
"Croak~ Please give me three days-no, two days. I'll definitely have an answer for you," Muji replied earnestly.
"Then thank you for the effort, my friend." Xia Xiu smiled happily.
After his friendly discussion with Muji, Xia Xiu turned his attention to Lifenel, who was sitting ramrod straight. Noticing Xia Xiu's gaze, Lifenel inwardly trembled.
"Lifenel, we should spend more time together from now on," Xia Xiu said with a squint-eyed smile.
A ghost from [Haunted Spirit Street], huh? I remember a few ladies at the Haunted House who like handsome ghosts with delicate features and a submissive air. They're all fabulously wealthy, and very generous, too.
For some reason, Lifenel suddenly felt an inexplicable surge of unease.
"All right, it's getting late. Let's head back for today and meet up again tomorrow." Xia Xiu stood and waved goodbye to the two of them. Then he went over to old Philip, picked up his packaged pastries, whispered a few words to the old man, and left the Cafe.
"..."
"..."
Is this guy the devil?!
Muji and Lifenel each read the same thought in the other's eyes. After sitting there for a while, the two fellow sufferers got up to settle their bills and leave.
While paying, Muji glanced at the bill and noticed something wrong.
"Croak! Boss, why is this so expensive? I only ordered one drink!" Muji demanded indignantly.
"M-me too." Looking at the figure on his own bill, Lifenel also questioned old Philip in displeasure.
The old man continued wiping a cup as he calmly told the frog and the ghost:
"That kid who just left told me to split his bill between you two."
"..."
"..."
Fuck! Goddammit!
Muji and Lifenel inwardly hurled curses at that hateful blond brat.
In the end, the frog and the ghost still paid Xia Xiu's bill. Just after they finished paying, old Philip brought out the animal-shaped pastries he had freshly baked and set them before the two.
"Want some? They're delicious."
Old Philip's freshly baked animal pastries were rows of golden retrievers with crisp, tender, golden crusts. The dogs puffed up from the pastry wore their own distinctive sunny smiles.
Why does that dog's smile look so familiar?!
"Croak! Pack up a portion for me." Muji ordered some from the owner.
"I-I'll have a portion too." Lifenel ordered some as well.
"Certainly." Old Philip deftly packed up the dogs and handed them to the frog and the ghost.
"Come again!"
Terra Calendar, 1589.3.5
Today was a day off at Deer College. The college generally followed a schedule of six days on and one day off, and today happened to be the rest day.
Raindrops were still falling from the barrier over Three Portlands, pattering endlessly against the ground. The passersby either opened umbrellas, raised personal barriers, or, like the beastfolk, walked shirtless through the rain.
Oh, scratch that last option. The community safety officers were currently detaining them for violating city appearance regulations.
Deer College.
Beneath the Douglas fir at the fork between Anderson Dormitory and Blackwood Dormitory.
"Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho~"
Xia Xiu was whistling cheerfully, the tune bright and lively.
"Xiu, sorry I'm late!" Camille jogged over from the direction of Blackwood Dormitory, holding a bright yellow umbrella.
Camille was still wearing her Deer College uniform, and her hairstyle was the same as before.
Her hair was tied into a single braid that hung over her right shoulder. The glasses on her face had changed from a pair large enough to obscure her features to small, round ones that perfectly accentuated her intellectual air.
Camille radiated an intellectual beauty. Combined with her ample assets, she looked mature and voluptuous.
"I haven't been waiting long," Xia Xiu said casually.
"Really? That's good." Camille smiled softly.
"Let's go pick up our club members at the observatory. The club application has been submitted and approved by the Student Council, and we've been assigned a clubroom. Since we have today free, I'll take you all to see it." Camille naturally came to stand beside Xia Xiu, smoothly bringing them both beneath her umbrella.
"Mm. By the way, why didn't Ushas come with you?" Xia Xiu walked shoulder to shoulder with Camille toward the observatory.
"Oh, she went ahead to the Cafe." The image of the best friend she had sent off early flashed through Camille's mind, but her answer sounded perfectly natural.
"She's that eager?"
"Yes, she's really looking forward to the club activities."
"Then we'll have to give her more work to do."
"I'm sure she'd be happy to. By the way, I heard you whistling just now. It sounded lovely. Does the tune have a name?"
"Oh, it's a memory from my childhood. That tune is called Binks' Sake."
The two walked in step toward Three Portlands Observatory.
The observatory.
[This is not a fucking Starbucks!]
Inside the Cafe, at the same table as yesterday.
"Achoo~ I keep feeling like someone's bad-mouthing me," Ushas said weakly, covering her nose.
Muji and Lifenel sat on either side of Ushas, the Three-Eyed Girl. Of the three, only Ushas had been forced to arrive early; the other two had come ahead of time after receiving the notification.
Before you continue