Sixth Street, Random Play.
Cael woke up early.
So early, in fact, that when he went downstairs to wash up, neither Belle nor Wise was awake yet, and the Bangboo were still charging in standby mode.
“En-nah?!
En-nah-na?!
(What?!
Is it already time to start work?!)”
No.
18 jolted awake on the charging station and looked around in alarm before spotting Cael.
Cael couldn’t help smiling.
“Morning, No.
18.
It’s not time to open yet.
You can keep resting.”
“En-nah, en-nah…
(Thank goodness…)”
In the bathroom, Cael found a disposable toothbrush and toothpaste set neatly aside for him.
There was even a small note beside them, written in elegant handwriting:
For Cael.
Belle had written it.
She really was thoughtful.
He’d arrived too late last night to buy any daily necessities.
If the store wasn’t busy today, he’d need to pick some up, along with a few decent sets of clothes.
As Cael brushed his teeth, he studied himself in the mirror.
His personal information hadn’t changed.
Level 3.
Replay was still at (1/3).
His expression turned slightly grim.
So his cheat ability in this world really was just a Replay that could only be used three times?
What kind of cheat was that?
And getting killed wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience.
After washing up, Cael returned to the store and continued familiarizing himself with the layout, which differed somewhat from the game.
There were four doors downstairs.
One was the main entrance leading out onto Sixth Street.
Another was the back door, which led to the kitchen area, parking lot, and bathroom.
Two rooms were built into the side of the store.
One was a preview room where customers could watch tapes before renting them.
The other was locked.
That was probably where the siblings kept their HDD equipment.
Once he’d gotten a basic grasp of the store, Cael began organizing the videotapes.
Calling it “organizing” was a bit generous.
Mostly, he straightened any cases that looked out of place and occasionally checked their descriptions.
Before long, footsteps came from the staircase.
Belle came downstairs rubbing her sleepy eyes, still looking completely out of it.
She was adorable.
“Uwaaah…”
Belle yawned.
Her hair was sticking out everywhere, completely disheveled.
“Morning, Belle.”
“Morning, Cae—ah!”
Before she could finish, Belle let out a startled cry.
She was probably still half-asleep and mistook the last two steps for one.
Her foot missed the stair completely.
She lost her balance and pitched forward toward the floor.
Belle squeezed her eyes shut in panic and screamed, not even having time to protect her head.
“Belle!”
Cael was nearby.
He lunged forward and reached out with both arms to catch her.
He did catch her.
Just not quite successfully enough to stay standing.
With Cael’s current weak physique, Belle’s momentum pulled him down with her.
Fortunately, the video store had wooden flooring.
Cael only felt a dull numbness across his back.
Belle, on the other hand, had Cael to cushion her fall and was merely frightened.
She landed sprawled on top of him, her messy hair covering his face so completely that he could barely breathe.
“Are you okay?
Did you hurt yourself?”
Cael asked, holding her by the shoulders.
Belle finally processed what had happened.
Her heart was racing from the fright.
“I’m fine!”
She hurriedly climbed off him, then reached down and pulled Cael to his feet, looking apologetic.
“I’m really sorry.
I was still half-asleep and missed a step.
Thank goodness you caught me, or I would’ve taken a really nasty fall.
What about you, Cael?
Are you okay?
Did you get hurt?”
Cael straightened his clothes and waved a hand.
“Don’t worry.
I’m fine.”
Belle finally relaxed.
“That’s good…”
At that moment, a sleepy voice came from upstairs.
“What happened?
Why was there such a loud noise downstairs?
Belle?”
Wise leaned against the railing and squinted down at them.
He’d arrived a few seconds too late to see what happened, but one glance was enough for him to piece it together.
“Belle, you fell down the stairs?”
“I did not!” Belle immediately protested.
“You did.”
Wise continued in the same tone, not asking a question so much as stating a fact.
“And Cael caught you.”
Belle pouted helplessly, effectively admitting it.
Her brother was great in almost every way.
Unfortunately, he was far too observant.
He could always piece things together from the smallest clues.
Sometimes that was useful.
Sometimes it really wasn’t.
Wise looked thoughtfully at the wooden staircase as he came downstairs.
“This is already the third time you’ve had trouble with these stairs this month.
I tripped going up them a couple of days ago too, and I think Eous mentioned before that something about the staircase felt off.
“The design must be flawed.
We should find a professional to come take a look when we have time.”
“Wise, I told you these stairs were weird ages ago, and you insisted there was nothing wrong with them!”
Belle marched over and glared at her brother.
Wise quickly gave her an apologetic smile.
“We didn’t have the money before, so I figured we’d make do for a while.
Hiring a professional to repair the staircase would cost at least a hundred thousand Dennies…”
“Wise!”
Belle was angry.
What if she’d actually gotten hurt?
Where was he going to find another sister as cute, cool, charming, gentle, considerate, and understanding as her?
After the minor morning incident, Belle went to wash up, leaving only Wise and Cael in the store.
“You’re already up this early familiarizing yourself with the place?”
Wise looked at him.
“You’re almost too hardworking, Mr.
Veyne.
Business here usually isn’t that busy.
Belle and I normally don’t open until after nine.
If we open too early, the place is usually just empty.”
Cael picked up a videotape that had fallen onto the floor earlier.
“I just want to get familiar with everything as quickly as possible.
That way, if a customer comes in, I’ll be able to help them properly.
“If someone important came by and left with a bad impression of the store because of me, I’d feel terrible.”
Wise narrowed his eyes slightly with a smile.
Familiarizing himself with the place…
Actually, Wise had woken up the moment Cael came downstairs.
He’d spent quite a while observing him from the upstairs corner.
What Cael said matched what he’d been doing.
He really had been learning the layout and straightening the videotapes.
But…
Wasn’t he a little too comfortable here?
He hardly looked like someone working in a video store for the first time.
Wise admitted that he was already looking at Cael with a certain degree of suspicion.
But so far, Cael hadn’t done anything unusual beyond seeming oddly familiar with the store and possibly recognizing both him and Belle.
He’d even helped Belle that morning.
And Cael genuinely didn’t look like a bad person…
Maybe Wise really was overthinking it.
Still, considering the other business being run behind the video store…
The whole situation was giving Wise a headache.
In the end, he abandoned the baseless speculation.
“Mr.
Veyne, I think you’re giving our little store too much credit.
The most important people who’ve ever come through here were tax inspectors and Public Security officers carrying out routine safety checks.”
Just as he finished speaking, Wise noticed Belle returning after washing up and was about to head upstairs himself.
Then someone knocked on the front door.
“We have a customer this early?”
Belle looked curiously toward the entrance.
Cael was closest to the door, so he walked over and opened it.
A young woman stood outside.
Her posture was perfectly straight.
She had crimson eyes and a cool, unreadable expression, while a pair of fox ears rose from the top of her head.
She was wearing the coat of a municipal Executive Officer.
“Miss Hoshimi?!”
Cael exclaimed in surprise.
It was Miyabi.
What was she doing at Random Play?
Miyabi recognized Cael as well.
A faint light flickered in her eyes, and her usually cool expression softened slightly.
Even her fox ears gave a small, unconscious twitch.
“It’s you.
I remember you.
Your name is Cael Veyne.
You’re my…
fan.”
Apparently, that particular incident had left quite an impression on her.
“Heh.
I’m honored you remembered my name, Miss Hoshimi.”
Cael smiled.
He was genuinely happy to see Miyabi here.
“It seems we have quite a bit of fate between us.”
Miyabi gave a slight nod.
Hoshimi Miyabi?
That Executive Officer who specialized in Hollow operations and usually only appeared on television screens?
Why would someone that important come all the way to a small video store on Sixth Street?
Belle and Wise exchanged a glance.
Both immediately saw the panic in the other’s eyes.
Oh, crap.
Don’t tell me she found out we’re operating as illegal Proxies?!
It really helps the fic grow!