"Oh, by the way, Belle, I accepted commissions from the toy store owner and General Chop, so I might be a bit busy tomorrow. I'll leave the store to you," Wise said while eating, suddenly remembering it during dinner.
His cooking had improved quite a bit recently. At the very least, he could confidently say it tasted much better than before.
"Alright, I'll take care of the store tomorrow then. By the way, which agent did you decide to contact to enter the Hollow?"
Belle took a bite, and the moment the food touched her tongue, her eyes lit up in surprise.
"Mmm! This is amazing! Brother, did you try a new recipe? It tastes completely different!" Belle looked at the dishes on the table, which didn't seem any different from usual, her curiosity piqued about what had changed.
"Oh, that? I just adjusted the heat and seasoning a bit. As for the agent, I already have someone in mind," Wise said between bites.
"Hmm? Really? Let me guess… who could it be? It's hard to tell… Oh, it must be Anby from Cunning Hares, right?"
Belle narrowed her eyes slightly, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips.
"Cough, cough... We've worked together many times, and I know Anby's strength and skills well. We can trust her completely," Wise continued.
"Is that so? You really know her skills, huh?"
Belle kept that expression, standing up and tilting her head slightly while keeping her eyes locked on Wise. Her tone carried a clear, unspoken meaning.
"Belle, seriously, can't you just be a good little sister and think about your Brother for once?"
"Think about you? You mean when I pretend not to notice my dear Brother enjoying his little hobbies while restocking movies for the store? Is that what you're talking about?"
Her blunt words made Wise cough in surprise.
"Cough, cough… wait, since when did you know?"
"I've known from the start," Belle replied calmly. "If it weren't for the fact that you also care about me, Brother, I wouldn't have let it slide so easily."
Belle lightly tapped the table a few times with her left index finger, while her right hand propped up her small face, making her look like she was negotiating a deal.
"Alright, enough joking around, Brother. You should rest early after dinner. I'll take care of the dishes. After all, you have a date tomorrow, don't you?"
When Belle said that, Wise could clearly sense a faint hint of resentment in her tone, though he couldn't quite understand why.
'Is she worried I'll start ignoring her once I get a girlfriend? No way... Belle doesn't seem like the type to care about that.' He let out a quiet sigh.
'Whatever it is, I'll find a chance to talk to her later. If I leave it like this, it'll only cause problems.'
But as it turned out, trouble came faster than he expected.
Later that night, after washing up and lying in bed, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Anby.
(T/Note: The use of | | represents phone messages.)
| Anby, are you free tomorrow? |
| Yes! |
The reply came the moment he sent the message, complete with an exclamation mark.
'Why was she so fast? Was she just checking her phone by chance, or had she been waiting for my message this whole time? Surely it couldn't be the latter.'
><
Meanwhile, Anby lay on her bed, her room a mess of countless sci-fi tapes and books, with a trash can overflowing with hamburger wrappers. A half-eaten hamburger sat on her nightstand, clearly what she had been snacking on earlier.
But at this moment, she didn't care about the food at all. Her cheeks were flushed, and her heart raced as she stared at her phone, eagerly waiting for something.
Why is Wise messaging me so late? And specifically asking if I'm free tomorrow, could he be inviting me on a date?
Just then, another message arrived on Anby's phone. She opened it eagerly, only to find it wasn't what she had expected.
| Because I have some commissions, I wanted to ask for your help. Is that okay? |
| …It is, but shouldn't you be discussing this with Nicole instead? |
'So it's about commissions? I thought it might be… never mind. This is normal. A date… it's still not the right time,' she thought, feeling a hint of disappointment.
><
On the other side, Wise noticed the subtle disappointment in Anby's reply. To ease her mind, he quickly added.
| Since it's just a small commission, it'll only be you and me. I'll talk to Nicole about it later. |
| Just the two of us… okay. What time do we leave tomorrow? |
The disappointment in Anby's words gradually faded, and she seemed to brighten up.
| Let's set the time for nine o'clock. I'll wait for you at the store. |
| Mm, okay, I understand. |
Finally, Wise sent Anby one last message.
| Okay, good night then. |
| Mm, good night. |
With the Emotional Value jumping by over 200, it was clear the girl was extremely happy, bringing his current Emotional Value to 996.
Additionally, since Susie's favorability had reached 88 points, W-Engines were now available for sale in the store, though the prices were quite expensive.
A four-star W-Engine cost 800 Emotional Value, while a five-star one went for a full 1,600 Emotional Value.
However, these weren't urgent purchases for Wise at the moment, so the prices didn't matter.
Besides those, the shop also offered snacks, ingredients, books, music, and records from the Old Civilization era, all relatively cheap.
If needed, new video tapes for the Video Store could be sourced here later, since the Emotional Value required weren't significant.
Wise put down his phone and was about to sleep when he suddenly felt something crawl onto his bed and slip under his blanket.
Feeling a soft body pressing against him, he lifted the blanket and asked, "Belle, why are you still awake? And what are you doing here?"
Lying on him was none other than Belle, sticking out her tongue and making a face, her slightly rising and falling chest pressed against his, causing it to deform a little.
"W-Woo, I watched a horror movie earlier and now I'm too scared to sleep alone. I can't sleep... can I stay with you?" she asked in a cutesy tone, pouting as she looked up at him.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You can sleep here, just not on top of me."
"Yay! Big Brother is the best! Then I'll sleep like this," Belle said happily, snuggling closer.
After that, she completely ignored him, simply lying on top of him with her eyes closed, refusing to move no matter how much he protested.
Helpless, Wise had no choice but to let her be. Belle wasn't heavy, so it didn't bother him at all.
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