Billy: "Boss Nicole, there's one more thing. Your dad's so amazing, so why did you come out here to work as a Hollow Raider?"
Nicole: "However amazing he is, I can't just stay home doing nothing, can I? He even told me before to get out into the world more and make something of myself!"
Anby: "So Nicole was specifically instructed to become a Hollow Raider?"
Nicole: "Not exactly. I changed careers over and over and spent ages figuring things out before choosing Hollow Raiding as the job that suited me best.
Things like the low barrier to entry, no real education requirements, and lots of fast money. All you have to do is take on that 'tiny little bit' of risk."
Anby fell silent for a moment. "...It certainly has no entry or education requirements."
I don't get it. Do you need to take tests for entry qualifications and education to become a Hollow Raider? But if Nicole says there are requirements, then there are. Still, even if there are, they couldn't possibly be low.
Disbelief covered Billy's face. "Uh... fast money?"
If the money comes fast, why are the Cunning Hares in the red every day?! Oh, most of it goes toward supporting the orphanage. Never mind, then. At least Boss Nicole still pays our wages as usual.
Nekomata: "Being a Hollow Raider is dangerous too, isn't it, Nicole?"
"Hey, risk and reward go hand in hand. I've been in this business for ages. What difficulty couldn't we get through?"
As Nicole spoke, he stroked Nekomata's head, thinking how nice those cat ears and that fur felt.
Anby: "Nicole, has your father never given you any financial support since you first set out on your own?"
Hearing that, Nicole seemed to remember something. His hand paused in the middle of petting the cat, then he pretended nothing was wrong and said:
"Y-yeah, he really hasn't given me any financial support these past few years. Just that little bit of startup funding I got at the very beginning."
Billy: "So there was startup funding... Boss Nicole, how many Denny did you get back then? It must've been quite a lot, right?"
"Well..." Nicole's mind raced, then he brushed it off and skipped straight past the question:
"It wasn't much, just enough to get by... Oh, right, I have five uncles too. You didn't know that."
Anby: "Then what are Nicole's uncles like?"
Nicole: "They're all really impressive, and they're a lot like Billy in many ways."
Billy rubbed his chin and asked:
"Boss Nicole, is one of your uncles called 'Uncle Red'? I remember that not long after I joined, you kept calling me by the name 'Uncle Red.'"
Nicole: "Yes, that 'Uncle Red' you're talking about is one of my uncles. He's also the one who's most like you. I mixed you two up plenty of times."
At that moment, Nekomata raised her hand and asked, "Nicole, what are your other uncles called?"
Nicole counted on his fingers as he replied, "The others are 'Uncle Blue,' 'Uncle Yellow,' 'Uncle Black,' and... uh, 'Second Uncle.'"
Nekomata nodded, then continued asking, "What about your other relatives, Nicole? Don't you have any brothers or sisters?"
Nicole: "Nope. Counting me and my dad, plus my five uncles, that's everyone in the family."
Billy copied Nekomata and raised his hand. "Boss Nicole, how old were you when your dad adopted you?"
Nicole: "Let me think... probably... seven or eight."
Hearing that, Nekomata said with some surprise, "Nicole, were you an orphan too, just like me?"
Nicole: "Yeah, I was adopted from an orphanage."
"Nicole, you probably had another identity before you started out, didn't you?" Anby also raised her hand and asked:
"Like an important person in a movie who hides their identity, taking on a new one so they can successfully and plausibly fit into the life of someone they fell in love with at first sight."
Billy: "Oho, I didn't think Anby watched that kind of movie too!"
Anby: "That's nothing to be amazed about, Billy. I just occasionally sample different genres of film."
"I didn't expect you to ask about that..." Nicole stood up, quite interested in revealing that identity too, and said with a smile:
"I do have another identity! Dad arranged it for me under his name. Wait here, I'll go get my picture from back then. You're going to be absolutely shocked!"
With that, Nicole went into his room to look for it.
Now only Anby, Billy, and Nekomata remained in the living room. Nekomata asked Anby and Billy:
"Oh, right, I forgot to ask. Do you know who Nicole's father is? From what you were saying just now, it sounds like there's a lot more to this."
Anby: "There's certainly a lot more to Nicole."
Billy: "If you hadn't asked, we'd have forgotten you didn't know. Ahem, let me tell you all about it..."
While Billy explained things to Nekomata, Nicole rummaged through his room, though she had somewhat forgotten where she had put it.
"Huh? Didn't I put this thing in the cabinet? Why is it on the desk?"
Nicole held the "Insurance Ball" that she always carried when going out-the iron ball that had taken several attack helicopter missiles for her not long ago.
She clearly remembered putting it in the cabinet when she got back, but now it was on the desk. Had someone moved it?
But neither Billy nor Anby had the nerve or the spare time to sneak a look at this thing. Nekomata had only just arrived, and she'd been by her side the whole time...
Oh, I almost forgot Amillion. That playful little guy probably dug it out in secret. As long as it isn't lost.
"What?!! Nicole's father is a Void Hunter?!!"
Nekomata's shocked cry reached Nicole's ears from the living room, startling her into dropping the Insurance Ball. Instinctively, she grabbed back and forth in midair with both hands, but it still ended up falling onto the bed, leaving even her feeling awkward.
"Ahem, I remember putting it in the drawer..."
Nicole stopped thinking about it. Only after quite a while did she find an old newspaper among a pile of bills showing deficits and IOUs, then she walked out.
What she didn't know was that after she had just left, the Insurance Ball on the bed began to move.
The Insurance Ball rose and floated in the air. Then part of its originally smooth shell caved in and changed shape, revealing a round mechanical eye resembling a surveillance camera.
It activated its stealth mode and flew back to the spot where it had been spying for so long, on the ceiling outside the bedroom door, continuing to spy on every move made here.
Seeing Nicole come out, Nekomata hurried over and asked excitedly, "Nicole, Nicole, a Void Hunter! They said your father's a Void Hunter! Is that true?!"
"Never mind whether that's true for now. Everyone, come take a look at this!"
Nicole held up the newspaper in her hand. The three of them gathered around curiously, huddling together to read and examine it closely...
Nicole tilted her head up and said confidently, "Well? Pretty, right!"
But her answer was three faces filled with disbelief.