"Little niece?"
"Huh? What are you mumbling about, roomie?"
Hiness turned her head back in confusion. The moment Hel muttered those three words, she felt an inexplicable shiver run down her spine.
Those words reminded her of some very unpleasant memories.
A woman she regarded as her lifelong nemesis—an utterly terrifying demon with zero sense of personal boundaries, who always loved pinching and kneading her cheeks.
But when Hiness looked at Hel's smiling face, she shook her head and dismissed the thought.
There's no way Little Raike could be that demoness, right?
"Ah—nothing, nothing. It's getting late. Want to go out for lunch?"
Hel hurriedly changed the subject. Hiness, however, looked down at the plate of snacks in her hands and asked in confusion:
"Isn't this enough to eat?"
"So… this is lunch?"
Hel stared at the overly sweet pastries on Hiness's plate. No matter how she looked at them, she couldn't associate them with a proper lunch.
"Of course it is."
Hiness tilted her head and looked at Hel with complete bafflement. Not only her—Leflina and Tina wore the same expression.
As if Hel had just told an outrageous joke.
"So… roomie, do you want a sandwich instead? I think I prepared some."
Hiness suddenly slapped her forehead and dashed into her room. Not long after, she came back carrying several paper bags.
Inside were sandwiches that had already gone cold.
Then, under Hel's dumbfounded gaze, she pulled one out and stuffed it into Hel's hand.
"Here—tuna and ham sandwich."
At the very same time, Hel's main body, sitting in the academy cafeteria, was also staring wide-eyed at the food behind the serving counter, wailing inwardly.
"Damn it—fried fries, black pudding, baked potatoes… what kind of culinary wasteland have I wandered into?"
At that moment, Hel's impression of the Ymir Empire's food culture deepened even further.
Left with no choice, she hastily finished her lunch and returned to her dorm, where she resumed studying the Origin Token.
She studied it until nightfall and still couldn't figure out anything useful.
So she simply went to sleep.
In the middle of the night, however, she suddenly opened her eyes and stared at the empty ceiling.
Did I forget something? Ah, whatever. If I forgot it, it probably wasn't important.
With that thought, Hel drifted back into sleep.
Meanwhile, in Tina's room, she stared at the densely packed market plans she had written, confusion flickering deep in her eyes.
"They said they'd send someone to find me today… the boss didn't forget about me, right?
…Right? He didn't, right?"
The next morning, Tina emerged from her room looking utterly exhausted, dark circles hanging under her eyes.
The moment she stepped out, she saw Hiness, who was energetically tinkering with something.
"Morning, Husky."
Half-asleep, Tina greeted her using Hiness's new nickname. Hiness wasn't offended and immediately returned the favor.
"Morning, Hoarder Mouse."
"Hoarder Mouse? Weren't you calling me 'sis' just yesterday? Husky, you've changed."
Tina was completely baffled by the strange nickname.
"Yeah. Raike said you like stockpiling things like a hoarder mouse. Oh, by the way, do you know Raike? She seems really familiar with you."
"No."
Tina shook her head. With Hel's striking looks, she was sure she'd remember if they'd ever met.
Just as the two were talking about Hel, Hel's door opened.
Yawning, Hel walked out.
"Morning, you two. Have you eaten?"
"Oh, right—I brought breakfast back for you."
Hiness pointed at several plates laid out on the coffee table and cheerfully introduced them:
"Bacon, fried eggs, and toast, plus a cup of piping-hot orange juice. I'm sure you'll like it."
"Yeah, yeah…"
Hel sat down on the sofa and began the arduous task of eating breakfast. Tina also came over.
But when Hel noticed the dark circles under Tina's eyes, she froze.
"Hoarder Mouse… how did you manage to get such intense 'workplace exhaustion vibes' overnight?"
"Huh? Workplace vibes?"
"Ah—nothing. I mean, didn't you sleep well?"
"…No."
Tina sighed helplessly.
"My previous boss said he'd send someone to look for me. I waited in the dorm all day yesterday, but no one came.
I keep feeling like my boss forgot about me."
"Uh…"
Only then did Hel realize what she had forgotten. Judging by Tina's dark circles, she probably hadn't slept at all last night.
"Sigh. My boss is a really good person and trusts me a lot. I just worry that what he said back then was only on impulse—that once the novelty wears off, he'll forget me.
"So to repay my boss, I spent the whole night studying Savant City's newspapers, hoping to find a suitable job."
"So… did you find one?"
Hel took a bite of her sandwich and looked at Tina with interest.
Hearing the question, Tina nodded—then shook her head.
"Given Savant's current market, anything related to magitech alchemy factories has pretty good prospects.
Some manufacturers are also offering decent positions."
"If it's magitech alchemy factories, I'd advise you not to go."
The dorm door opened as Leflina walked in, carrying two paper bags filled with vegetables.
Clearly, she had gone grocery shopping early in the morning.
She set the bags down by the low table, changed into her cashmere slippers at the door, and then walked over to Tina.
"Magitech factory owners don't treat workers like people. In their eyes, workers are just cheap labor.
Even if someone collapses from exhaustion, there are always more workers they can exploit.
If you want to earn money to repay debts, working in those factories won't save you anything—even in a lifetime."
"I-is that so…"
Tina turned pale as she stared at her notebook. It seemed that her entire night of effort had been pointless.
"If you really want to earn money, you could look for work as a private tutor or a copyist.
Those jobs don't pay much, but they're still better than factory work—at least you don't have to worry about your wages being docked for no reason.
However, to find such jobs, besides being a student, you'll need a guarantor or recommendation.
"If you need it, Tina, you could try joining a club first and look for opportunities through that route."