Miss... you really should get up now. If you keep delaying, you'll be late for rehearsal today.
In a huge room, a blonde girl, dressed sharply and ready to go, looked with some concern at the other girl sleeping soundly on the bed.
Long black hair was scattered across the pristine white sheets. Looking at the person she was supposed to protect, who had already mumbled 'just five more minutes' several times, the blonde girl was at a bit of a loss.
It was like handling something precious; she didn't know where to start. Shouting was out of the question for fear of startling her, so in the end, the blonde girl could only continue to call out softly.
"Eve... just let me sleep for five more minutes... it'll be fine..."
The blonde girl's identity was revealed in that exchange, and the identity of the girl still lazing in bed became self-evident.
It was none other than Astra Yao, who, despite being a newcomer, already possessed immense popularity.
"Miss... I really can't let you. This is already your fourth 'five more minutes'..."
Evelyn silently decided that she'd have to set the deadline even earlier in the future. Resigned, she resorted to offering a reward.
"Miss, if you get up right now, how about I promise to have hot pot with you tonight after rehearsal ends?"
Hearing this, Astra Yao's tightly closed eyes shot wide open. No longer sleepy, she sat up at once and said happily:
"Okay, okay! No take-backs! I want the extra-spicy soup base!"
"You can't, Miss. Have you forgotten that in three days, you have a concert and a signing event? Eating extra-spicy food will affect the condition of your voice."
Evelyn's rejection of Astra Yao's proposal was swift and decisive, causing Astra Yao to pout and protest:
"Eve, you're going back on your word! You promised you'd have hot pot with me! Besides, it's not true that spicy food is bad for your voice. It actually helps open it up!"
Hearing Astra Yao speak with such conviction, Evelyn, who admittedly didn't know much about singing, began to doubt her own common sense for a moment.
If anyone else had said that, Evelyn would have just given them a look like they were an idiot. But alas, this was Astra Yao talking.
However, as a last-ditch effort, Evelyn still insisted:
"You can't, Miss. But after this performance is over, I'll let you try it. If it really doesn't have an effect, then we'll do it your way from now on."
While speaking, Evelyn's movements didn't pause for a second. She organized the day's schedule while looking something up on her phone.
"Yay! Then it's a deal, Eve! Just you wait and see!"
Seeing her bodyguard-slash-manager agree, Astra Yao jumped for joy on the bed before hopping right off, all under Evelyn's instinctively worried gaze.
The energetic girl padded off to the bathroom in her slippers to wash up.
The sound of splashing water followed. The girl quickly finished washing up and padded back to the dining table in her slippers, taking a seat.
While eating the breakfast Evelyn had carefully selected and bought from outside, Astra Yao noticed her good friend was staring intently at a page on the Inter-Knot, scrolling through it. She asked curiously:
"Eve, what are you looking at?"
Flicking through the Inter-Knot's content, Evelyn jotted something down with one hand, her movements never ceasing, while answering:
"Looking for another reliable bodyguard for the upcoming concert."
Hearing this, Astra Yao grew even more confused.
"But don't I already have you as a bodyguard, Eve? Why do we need to find another one?"
At this question, Evelyn first pushed the schedule of another star over to Astra Yao—Monica, a celebrity in the film industry who was also a dazzling, rising star just like her. Only then did she explain:
"On the same day, at the exact same time as your concert, Monica's new movie premiere and her in-person meet-and-greet will also be happening."
While that might seem completely unrelated, Evelyn's next piece of information was anything but.
"A large gang from the Outer Ring has put out the word that they plan to kidnap her before the event."
"That still doesn't have anything to do with us, right?"
Astra Yao tilted her head instinctively, her incredibly smooth black hair slipping from her shoulder and draping over her ample chest.
And that was when Evelyn revealed the real reason she wanted to hire an extra bodyguard.
"Because of this news, Public Security and Fugue Music Company, wanting to prevent such a thing from actually happening, have pulled one-third of the police officers originally assigned to maintain order from all other areas."
"I'm your only bodyguard. This is for your safety, just in case."
Evelyn, whose skills were all geared for offense, wasn't particularly outstanding when it came to protecting people. Her usual method was to strike first and take care of the opponent before they could even attack.
In a situation with zero intelligence, she had no way to eliminate potential threats in advance.
Even asking her hacker friend for help turned up no valuable information, and Fugue Music Company—her employer for her undercover identity—replied that there were absolutely no plans targeting Astra Yao.
But Evelyn still had a vague feeling that something was wrong.
After all, if she were the one carrying it out, and the target was really that Monica, how could the news have spread so widely?
Could it be... simple arrogance?
'I hope I'm just overthinking this.'
She hoped so, but her hands never stopped scrolling through the Inter-Knot.
Hope was one thing, but her past experiences made it impossible for her to entrust everything to something as intangible as hope.
Preparing early and taking preventive measures was the most appropriate course of action.
"You're so reliable, Eve~ Having you by my side makes me feel so safe~"
Hearing Evelyn's arrangements, Astra Yao happily threw her arms around Evelyn's arm.
Being hugged so suddenly, Evelyn instinctively pushed Astra Yao away. Years of habit couldn't be completely changed in just over a month.
But as she pushed, she subconsciously softened the force, and a faint blush crept onto her face.
Astra Yao didn't mind being pushed away at all; after all, she had gotten used to Evelyn's subconscious reactions over the past month.
It should be said that thanks to her persistent efforts over the last month, Evelyn was far more approachable than the 'keep your distance' person she had been at the start. She looked at the Inter-Knot page Evelyn was still viewing and asked curiously:
"Eve, Eve, do you have someone in mind already?"
Evelyn nodded.
"I had a middleman send a request to Phaethon, the Proxy who's recently been hailed as a legend by many on the Inter-Knot. Now we just have to wait for a reply."
"A Proxy? I've heard the name Phaethon, too. She's supposed to be incredible. But why hire a Proxy for security work? Don't they have, like, zero combat ability?"
But this time, Evelyn first nodded, then shook her head.
"Normally, hiring a security company would indeed be more appropriate. But Phaethon is different."
Evelyn pushed the tablet toward Astra Yao, showing her comments about how during various commissions, when faced with powerful enemy attacks, Phaethon would make one phone call and a powerhouse would show up and solve the problem in a flash.
"Aside from her legendary Hollow-diving skills, the other thing is that she recently signed an exclusive agent. This agent... his strength is on a whole other level, completely crushing the competition."
"People used to argue that a Proxy couldn't be a legend because they lack combat power. But ever since this peerless iron wall joined her, no one dares to bring that up anymore."
_____
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