After receiving permission from Furina, Hoshimi Miyabi walked quickly to the corner.
She stood before the weapon rack, looking at the single sword lying quietly on it; it was the only weapon there.
The tsuba was a Bloom lotus, and the scabbard also bore a pattern of a lotus Burning with flames.
Hoshimi Miyabi looked at the sword; a faint flame emanated from it, and the energy contained within was undoubtedly extraordinary.
Just as she reached out to touch it, she was blocked by a barrier.
She turned her head to look at Furina in confusion and asked.
“Store Manager…
I can’t reach it~”
Blinking and seeing the other person’s dazed expression, Furina walked out from behind the bar, stood beside Hoshimi Miyabi, and extended a hand to swipe open a blue screen.
Her gloved finger tapped the trial button.
The next moment, the barrier around the demon blade slowly dissipated.
Furina reached out, took it, and handed it to Hoshimi Miyabi.
Hoshimi Miyabi stared at the sword in her hand for a few seconds.
Just as she was about to reach out and take it, at the very moment she was about to touch it, a sharp sense of pressure surged from Furina’s body.
Hoshimi Miyabi was slightly taken aback.
She withdrew her hand and rubbed her chin, sizing up the White-haired Cat Girl before her.
Something’s not right…
She reached out again to grasp the sword, and the next moment, that sharp sense of pressure struck again.
This time, Hoshimi Miyabi took two steps back.
The fox ears on top of her head stood straight up, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.
It’s not the sword’s problem…
It’s her?
Watching the other person’s startled reaction, Furina was full of questions.
She tilted her head, just about to ask.
In an instant, Hoshimi Miyabi raised the wuwei in her hand and slashed.
A powerful gust of wind sent Furina’s hair flying in the air.
Bang—!
“Wait, what’s wrong with you?
You’re so jumpy…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he saw the person who had been standing two meters away flash right in front of her.
She lowered her center of gravity slightly, and the unsheathed wuwei in her hand was already pressed against Furina’s neck.
And that wasn’t all.
As the perspective shifted slightly, one could see that Furina’s hand holding the sword had rotated at some point, and the hilt of the demon blade had already moved into position to block the sheath of the wuwei.
Nicole and the other two noticed the anomaly and quickly stood up to check.
When they saw this scene between the two, they couldn’t help but freeze.
Cissia was even more exaggerated; her snake tail stood straight like an awl.
“Eh?
What’s going on…”
Confused, Furina slightly shifted his eyes to the left and was suddenly shocked.
When did my hand…
No, when did she slash over—!
That’s right, Furina hadn’t seen Hoshimi Miyabi’s movement clearly, nor had she realized the movement of her own hands.
She had blocked the other person’s probe just like that, without even knowing how.
Slowly, Hoshimi Miyabi returned the wuwei to her waist, then spoke with a hint of apology.
“Apologies, I couldn’t help myself just now.
I hope the Store Manager can forgive me~”
Shaking her head, Furina handed the sword over again.
“It’s fine, I don’t mind…”
Before she could finish speaking, Hoshimi Miyabi saw the opening in Furina’s sword-passing motion and struck again with a tricky slash.
Block—
Rotating the sword in her hand slightly, Furina blocked it accurately once again.
Then, she began to move instinctively, using the tsuba of the demon blade to apply a clever force and deflect Hoshimi Miyabi’s wuwei.
She then surged forward, thrusting the sword hilt toward the other person’s throat.
The moment Hoshimi Miyabi stepped back to dodge, she also swung the wuwei in her hand, pressing it against the scabbard of the demon blade once more.
The scene fell into a stalemate again.
However, through these few exchanges, Hoshimi Miyabi could determine one thing: the White-haired Cat Girl in front of her was an expert!?
“Hey~ what’s going on?
Why are the two of them fighting?
Weren’t they just looking at the sword nicely a moment ago?”
“I don’t know either…
but speaking of which, is the Store Manager really that strong?
Just looking at these two moves, he really hasn’t fallen behind.”
Cissia listened to the conversation among the three, and couldn’t help but recall Furina’s boastful words from yesterday.
“No way, can Furina really go toe-to-toe with Hoshimi Miyabi?”
It was hard to say before, but now it’s definitely not possible.
In those few moves just now, Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t intend to get serious.
Even without unsheathing, the force of her slashes probably wasn’t even ten percent of her full strength; it was mainly to probe.
Moreover, Furina couldn’t use the sword in his hand, at most just fumbling around with it while it was still sheathed like this.
So what Billy said wasn’t wrong; Furina really could trade a few moves with Hoshimi Miyabi, but that was about it.
“They are just probing; I can’t sense any killing intent…”
Anby said calmly, then sat back on the sofa, and with a bit of cunning, picked up the remote control to adjust the direction of the air conditioner.
Hearing this, Nicole lost interest as well.
Furina was her future cash cow, a Fortune Cat!
If Hoshimi Miyabi really wanted to attack, she would definitely have to intervene.
Seeing that both of them sat back down, Billy couldn’t be an exception either, so he just leaned back to sit down.
But it seemed he misjudged the size of the step he had just taken.
He leaned back and fell—he missed the chair—
Clatter~!
On this side, Furina and Hoshimi Miyabi were still in an awkward, stalemated atmosphere.
Hearing the noise, they looked toward Billy simultaneously.
“Ah haha, sorry, I missed my chair…
you guys continue.”
“Ahem, my apologies.
It’s just that I sensed your extraordinary aura, Store Manager, so I decided to test it out.”
Waving his hand, Furina quickly tossed the sword in his hand to Hoshimi Miyabi.
He didn’t want to keep fighting; not far away was his freshly brewed recovery potion.
“It’s fine, it’s fine…
here is the sword.
You can examine it to your heart’s content, but please don’t take it out of the store.”
“Mm, okay~”
Putting the wuwei back at her waist, Hoshimi Miyabi gripped the hilt of the demon blade.
Schwing~
The demon blade was unsheathed, and faint sparks flew out.
Then, gorgeous red patterns attached themselves to the blade, and the sharp edge emitted a slight cold light.
Hoshimi Miyabi leaned the scabbard against the shelf to the side and held the demon blade with both hands.
So light…
lighter than the wuwei…
but—
Swoosh swoosh~
Two crimson sword lights flashed.
Little stars suddenly appeared in Hoshimi Miyabi’s eyes, just like a mischievous child seeing their favorite toy.
She held the sword horizontally in her hands, her fingertips gently brushing across the blade, feeling the surging flame energy it emitted.
It’s so good~ It’s completely incomparable to the one I bought from an old man at a street stall in 12th Street for 10 million denny last time, and it’s not the least bit weaker than the wuwei.
“Store Manager, where did you get this sword?”
“Oh~ it was…
uh, forged by my master.
But after he passed the inheritance 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 heterochromatic and teardrop-shaped, bright as gemstones.
“…In other words, are you also a swordsmith, Store Manager?”
“Mm…
something like that, though my current skill certainly can’t compare to my master’s.”
A swordsmith, good at fighting, cute-looking, and a Catgirl too…
For the first time, Hoshimi Miyabi fell into deep thought.
She sheathed the demon blade and then had an idea.
“Let me formally introduce myself.
I am a H.A.N.D.
Harbinger—Hoshimi Miyabi.”
“Hello~ I’m Furina, the Store Manager of the Suixin Grocery Store~”
Furina responded with a smile.
“Mm…
may I ask, how much is this sword?
I really like it~”
Rubbing her chin, Furina pondered for a moment before speaking.
“This sword is an epic-quality item in the shop.
It’s probably: 7,000 Hydro coins~”
Bang—!
At this moment, Nicole stood up again.
She looked at Furina with trembling eyes and asked.
“How, how much?!
7,000—”
Seeing Nicole’s shocked expression, Hoshimi Miyabi asked Furina.
“Hydro coins…
what are they?
Are they a special currency?
How much are they roughly equivalent to in denny?”
“Hydro coins are the exclusive currency of this store.
In terms of denny, 1 Hydro coin equals 100,000 denny, so 7,000 Hydro coins is 700 million denny.”
Clapping her hands, Furina said in a very calm tone.
“7, 7, 700 million!!!
Boss Nicole, I didn’t hear that wrong, did I~!”
Billy, who had fallen off her chair, stood up again, clutching her head in disbelief…
“You didn’t hear wrong, it is that much…”
Anby was slightly calmer, but there was no need to mention Cissia; after all, the 600,000 denny Furina gave her was enough to buy plenty of delicious food with some left over.
If it were 700 million, wouldn’t that be enough to spend for a lifetime?
Hoshimi Miyabi didn’t feel much upon hearing this, because she knew this demon blade was indeed worth that price, and she was a scion of a prestigious family, so her pocket money was naturally more than she could ever spend.
Besides, she had a job now, and after becoming the strongest Harbinger, her salary and Reward were quite generous.
It’s just that…
a few days ago she had hunted for many techniques and weapons that sounded quite awesome, spending a little money…
Her salary for this month hadn’t been paid yet, and she didn’t really want to ask her father for money.
“Um, Store Manager…
I’m a bit short on funds at the moment.
Could you hold it for me for a while?
I’ll come back to buy it in a few days~”
“Of course, no problem.
And you don’t have to worry; the customer flow in this store is quite low, so there’s no need to worry about it being sold too soon.”
Nodding, Hoshimi Miyabi felt slightly relieved.
She blinked her eyes blankly again, looking at Furina.
“…”
“What’s wrong?
Do you have any other questions?”