After getting Furina’s permission, Hoshimi Miyabi quickly walked to the corner.
She stood before the weapon rack, gazing at the single blade resting quietly upon it, the only weapon there.
The tsuba was a blooming lotus, and the scabbard also bore the pattern of a lotus engulfed in flames.
As Hoshimi Miyabi looked at the blade, a faint fire radiated from its surroundings, and the energy it contained was bound to be extraordinary.
Just as she was about to reach out and touch it, she was stopped by a barrier.
Turning her head in confusion, she looked at Furina and asked.
“Manager…
I can’t reach it~” Blinking, Furina saw the other’s stunned expression, walked out from behind the counter, stood beside Hoshimi Miyabi, and reached out to swipe a blue screen into existence.
Her white-gloved finger tapped the trial button.
The next moment, the barrier around the demon blade slowly dissipated, and Furina reached out to take it down and presented it to Hoshimi Miyabi.
Hoshimi Miyabi stared at the blade in the other’s hand for a few seconds.
Just as she was about to reach out to take it, the moment she was about to touch it, a very sharp sense of pressure struck from around Furina.
Hoshimi Miyabi froze slightly.
She withdrew her hand, rubbed her chin, and sized up the white-haired cat girl before her.
Something’s not right…
She reached out again to grasp the blade, but the next moment, that sharp sense of pressure struck once more.
This time, Hoshimi Miyabi took two steps back.
The fox ears on her head stood straight up, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.
It’s not a problem with the blade…
It’s her?
Seeing Hoshimi Miyabi’s startled reaction, Furina’s face was full of question marks.
She tilted her head, about to ask.
Suddenly, Hoshimi Miyabi raised the sheathed Tailless in her hand and swung it.
A powerful gust of wind sent Furina’s hair flying in the air.
Bang!
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?
Why are you so jumpy…” As the words fell, the person who had been standing two meters away suddenly appeared before her.
Hoshimi Miyabi lowered her center of gravity slightly, and the sheathed Tailless in her hand was already pressed against Furina’s neck.
But it wasn’t over yet.
With a slight shift in perspective, Furina’s hand holding the blade had rotated at some unknown moment, and the hilt of the Burning Lotus had already moved into position to block the scabbard of Tailless.
Sensing something unusual, Nicole and the other two quickly got up to investigate.
When they saw the scene, the three of them were stunned.
Cissia’s reaction was even more exaggerated, her snake tail standing as straight as a nail.
“Huh?
What’s going on…” Confused, Furina rolled her eyes slightly, looked to the left, and suddenly jolted.
When did my hand…
No, when did she swing at me?!
That’s right, Furina hadn’t seen Hoshimi Miyabi’s movement, nor had she realized what her own hand was doing.
She had somehow blocked the other’s probing strike without even knowing how.
Slowly, Hoshimi Miyabi slowly returned Tailless to her waist, then spoke with a hint of apology.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself just now.
I hope the Manager will forgive me~” Shaking her head, Furina handed the sword over again.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind…” But before she could finish, Hoshimi Miyabi seized the moment when Furina handed over the sword and launched another tricky strike.
Clang!
With a slight twist of the sword in her hand, Furina accurately blocked it again.
Then, she instinctively took action, using the pommel of Burning Lotus to apply a clever force and deflect Hoshimi Miyabi’s Tailless.
Immediately after, she closed the distance and thrust the hilt of her sword toward the other’s throat.
The moment Hoshimi Miyabi stepped back to dodge, she also swung Tailless, pressing it against the scabbard of Burning Lotus once again.
The scene fell into a stalemate once again.
However, through these few exchanges, Hoshimi Miyabi had already deduced one point: the white-haired cat girl before her was a master!?
“Hey~ What’s going on?
Why are those two fighting?
Weren’t they just looking at the sword normally?” “I don’t know either…
But speaking of which, is the Manager really this strong?
Judging by these two moves alone, she’s not losing at all.” Cissia, listening to the conversation of the three beside her, couldn’t help but recall Furina’s similar boasting from yesterday.
“No way, can Furina really go toe-to-toe with Hoshimi Miyabi?” Maybe in the past, but definitely not now.
In those two moves just now, Hoshimi Miyabi hadn’t even been serious.
Even without drawing the blade, the force of her swings was probably less than one-tenth of her full strength, mainly intended for probing.
Besides, Furina couldn’t even use the sword in her hand, at most just holding the sheathed blade like this and playing around with it a couple of times.
So Billy was right after all, Furina could indeed spar with Hoshimi Miyabi for a couple of moves, but that was all.
“They are just testing each other, I don’t sense any killing intent…” Anby spoke tonelessly, then sat back down on the sofa, even cleverly picking up the remote to adjust the air conditioner’s direction.
Hearing this, Nicole also lost interest.
Furina was Nicole’s future money tree, a lucky charm cat!
If Hoshimi Miyabi were to truly make a move, she would really have to stop her.
Seeing both of them sit down again, Billy realized he couldn’t be the exception, so he leaned back and prepared to sit.
But it seemed he had misjudged the size of the step he’d just taken.
As he leaned back to land, he fell off the stool— Clatter!
On the other side, Furina and Hoshimi Miyabi were still in an awkward stalemate, and after hearing the noise, they both looked over at Billy.
“Ahaha, sorry, I fell off my stool…
please continue.” “Ahem, my apologies.
I simply noticed the Manager’s extraordinary aura and decided to test it.” Waving her hand, Furina quickly tossed the sword in her hand to Hoshimi Miyabi.
She did not want to fight the other person any longer, for her freshly brewed recovery potion was right there.
“It’s fine, it’s fine…
the sword is yours.
You may examine it all you wish, but please do not take it out of the shop.” “Mm, okay~” Tucking Tailless back into her waistband, Hoshimi Miyabi gripped the hilt of the Burning Lotus.
Snikt— The demon blade was drawn, and faint sparks flew out, followed by a gorgeous red pattern adhering to the blade, its sharp edge emitting a faint, cold light.
Hoshimi Miyabi leaned the scabbard against a nearby shelf and gripped the Burning Lotus with both hands.
So light…
lighter than Tailless…
but— Swish, swish— Two flashes of crimson blade light flickered, and stars suddenly appeared in Hoshimi Miyabi’s eyes, like a mischievous child who had seen a toy they’d been longing for.
She held the sword horizontally in her hands, her fingertips gently stroking the blade as she felt the surging flame energy it emitted.
How wonderful~ It’s completely incomparable to the one I bought from the old man at the Sixth Street street stall for 10 million Dennies last time, and it’s not even a bit weaker than Tailless.
“Manager, where did you obtain this sword?” “Awooh~ It was…
well, forged by my Master.
But after he passed down his legacy to me a few days ago, he left~” Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi’s ears twitched.
She looked at the white-haired cat girl before her, whose eyes were teardrop-shaped and heterochromatic, shining like jewels.
“…So, does that mean you are also a swordsmith, Manager?” “Um…
something like that.
But my current skill level definitely can’t compare to that Master’s.” A swordsmith, skilled in combat, cute, and a cat girl…
Hoshimi Miyabi fell into deep thought for the first time, she sheathed the Burning Lotus and then made up her mind.
“Allow me to formally introduce myself, I am a HAND Hunter, Hoshimi Miyabi.” “Hello~ I am Furina, the Manager of the Serendipity General Store~” Furina replied with a smile.
“Um…
may I ask how much this sword costs…
I really like it~” Rubbing her chin, Furina thought for a moment before speaking.
“This sword is an Epic-grade item in our shop, it is roughly 7,000 Wish Coins~” Bang—!
At this moment, Nicole stood up again, her eyes trembling as she looked at Furina and asked.
“H-How much?!
7,000—” Seeing Nicole’s shocked expression, Hoshimi Miyabi asked Furina.
“Wish Coins…
what are they?
A special currency?
Roughly how many Dennies are they equal to?” “Wish Coins are the exclusive currency of this shop.
In terms of Dennies, 1 Wish Coin is approximately equal to 100,000 Dennies, so 7,000 Wish Coins would be 700 million Dennies.” Clapping her hands, Furina spoke in a very calm tone.
“7…
7…
700 million!!!
Boss Nicole, I didn’t hear that wrong, did I?!” Billy, who had fallen off his stool, stood up again.
He covered his head with both hands, his face full of disbelief…
“You didn’t hear wrong, it’s exactly that much…” Anby remained somewhat calm, but Cissia’s reaction went without saying.
After all, the 600,000 Dennies Furina had given her was enough to buy a lot of delicious food, with some left over.
If it was 700 million, wouldn’t she be unable to spend it all in a lifetime?
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t feel much, because she knew this demon blade was indeed worth this price.
She was also a scion of a prestigious family, and the allowance in her hands was naturally so much that she couldn’t spend it all.
Moreover, she had a job now.
After becoming the Strongest Hunter, her salary and remuneration were quite generous.
It’s just that…
a few days ago, she had just bought many cultivation methods and weapons that sounded quite powerful, spending a little money…
Her salary for this month had not yet been paid, and she didn’t really want to ask her father for money.
“Um, Manager…
I am short of funds, could you keep it for me for a while, and I will come back to buy it in a few days~” “Of course, no problem.
Also, you don’t need to worry; our shop has very few customers, so you don’t have to worry about it being sold off too early.” Nodding, Hoshimi Miyabi felt slightly more at ease, and then she blankly blinked again, looking at Furina.
“…” “What is it?
Do you have any more questions?”