Morning.
"Knock, knock, knock, Sister Cipher, time to get up."
"Ugh... I'm getting up..."
Ten minutes later... "Sister Cipher, are you up yet?"
"I'm up... I'm up..."
Another ten minutes later... Lauren opened the door and helplessly rubbed her forehead as she saw Cipher, still sound asleep in the dark, hugging her blanket on the bed.
'She's not fully awake at all... She said she'd get up right away, but twenty minutes have passed already...'
Lauren muttered to herself. After casually turning on the lamp, she strode towards the sleeping Cipher, intending to shake awake this lazy cat-girl.
However, when she actually reached the bed and clearly saw Cipher's sleeping face, she was momentarily stunned.
Cipher was lying on her side on the bed, her cheek deeply nestled in the soft pillow, appearing completely defenseless to the outside world.
Her lips were slightly parted, emitting an extremely faint and even breathing sound.
And with her breathing, a few strands of silvery-white hair, clinging to her smooth forehead and slightly flushed cheek, gently rose and fell.
Most striking were the pair of fluffy cat ears on top of Cipher's head.
At this moment, they were completely relaxed and drooping, with only the softest downy hairs at the tips gently trembling.
As for her tail, it had quietly emerged from the edge of the blanket, unconsciously coiling around the corner of the quilt.
At this moment, Cipher exuded an aura of cuteness and laziness from head to toe.
"So... so cute..."
Lauren couldn't help but let out an exclamation. Perhaps afraid of waking Cipher and thus ruining this beautiful scene, Lauren didn't even realize that her voice had instinctively softened considerably.
However, even though her voice was lowered, Cipher's hearing was not to be underestimated.
Upon hearing the words "so cute," she groggily opened her eyes and looked towards her bedside.
And so, she saw Lauren standing by her bed, staring blankly at her.
"!"
"I'll get up right away."
At this moment, Cipher instantly woke up, and her memory returned, making her recall her two previous unconscious declarations of "I'm getting up right away."
Her movements were incredibly swift. In just a few short seconds, Cipher put on her outerwear and boots, transforming from a "lazy cat" back into the diligent "trickster cat."
"I'm so sorry, Enna, for making you call me for so long without getting up."
"Ah... no, no, it didn't delay much time..."
Standing by the bed, Cipher awkwardly scratched her head and apologized to Lauren.
Lauren, after realizing what was happening, shook her head like a rattle-drum, saying that she didn't mind or similar words.
However, her disappointed expression was clearly visible on her face.
"Sister Cipher, we'll be going out to do a mission after we eat. You should eat something too."
After saying this, Lauren hurried out of the room, leaving Cipher a little bewildered.
"Why is she in such a rush?"
She scratched her head. Although she wasn't quite sure what was going on, she followed Lauren out.
Upon arriving in the living room, Cipher immediately saw Jasmine and Ethan sitting on chairs, both holding something resembling a glow stick. They were lowering their heads, putting a jelly-like substance from inside into their mouths.
"What... what are you two eating?"
Looking at this obvious non-food item, Cipher hesitated for a moment, then asked the two.
Jasmine looked up and saw it was Cipher. She didn't immediately explain but reached into her satchel.
Immediately after, she took out an identical "glow stick" and handed it to Cipher.
"This is an energy bar, the most common food in the Pit Bottom District. One bar can cover half a day's nutritional needs."
Taking the energy bar, Cipher looked at the green glowing object in her hand and fell into hesitation.
This thing didn't look edible at all... But Jasmine and Ethan were eating it, which meant it should be fine, right?
Thinking this, Cipher imitated their actions, squeezed out a bit of the jelly-like substance, then extended her tongue and cautiously licked it.
Hmm? It tastes sweet?
The expected strange taste didn't come; instead, it was a honey-like sweetness.
Seeing that the taste wasn't odd, Cipher directly squeezed out some and ate it.
After savoring it in her mouth, she came to a conclusion: the taste was exactly like concentrated honey syrup!
"It's quite tasty... Is this what you all eat every day?"
Cipher asked Jasmine while eating the energy bar in her hand.
"Yes," Jasmine nodded. "Because one energy bar only costs one credit point, and two credit points can satisfy a person's energy needs for an entire day, it's also the cheapest food in The Pit Bottom District."
Hearing this, Cipher froze. She suddenly remembered the conversation she had overheard earlier at the entrance of the cult house.
'Funding is short... even maintaining the basic expenses within the Spark Team is a struggle...'
Because the house had surprised her so much, she had forgotten about the Spark Team's funding shortage. If Lauren hadn't tried so hard to speak up for her at the time, she might not even have been able to join the team.
So, after organizing her thoughts, Cipher turned to Lauren and asked:
"Enna, your... uh, financial situation, it seems not so good?"
Lauren, who had just picked up an energy bar and was about to eat it, paused. She hadn't expected Cipher to suddenly ask such a question. After thinking for a moment, she replied:
"Cipher, you don't need to worry... The reason we often eat energy bars is simply because they are very cheap and have no side effects, which is why we eat them so frequently. After all, besides getting tired of them if you eat them for too long, they really don't have any drawbacks."
She thought Cipher was asking this question because of the energy bars, so she tried to find a reason to dispel Cipher's suspicions.
But Cipher had heard their previous conversation and immediately saw that Lauren was deliberately avoiding her question.
Cipher frowned, finally deciding to just be direct.
"Actually, I have very good hearing. I can hear even very faint sounds."
Lauren tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what Cipher was trying to express by suddenly saying this.
But immediately after her next sentence, Lauren fell into a daze.
"So, that conversation you all had at the cult entrance about whether or not to take me into the team, I actually heard all of it!"