Mayor 2: Gathered Crowd and Mr.
Mayor The lock clicked shut.
Warm yellow light spilled from inside across the entryway floor.
Miguel had barely set down the insulated crate when a soft, warm body pressed up against him.
Hoshimi Miyabi wrapped both arms around his waist, her fluffy black fox ears brushing back and forth under his chin.
“Why so clingy today?” Miguel reached up and ruffled the soft hair on top of her head.
“You weren’t here when I woke up.” Her voice came out muffled, her head pressed tight to his chest.
They stayed like that for a while before Miguel patted her back.
“All right.
I need to get to the kitchen and start on the food, or nobody’s eating when everyone shows up.” Miyabi let go and nodded obediently.
Miguel carried the crate into the kitchen.
He took out the red-spotted fish and laid it on the cutting board.
Pale blue Power of Creation flickered at his fingertips, and a ribbon of water peeled the scales away on its own.
He was in the middle of the work when a faint sound came from the doorframe.
Two black fox ears stood up at the edge of the door, twitching every few seconds.
Miguel stopped his knife and looked over.
A pair of crimson eyes had just cleared the frame.
They stared at each other for half a second.
Then the little head whipped out of sight, leaving only the sound of light footsteps retreating down the hall.
Miguel laughed under his breath.
Who would ever guess that the ruthless Void Hunter the whole world whispered about was like this behind closed doors?
If any of her adoring fans in New Eridu ever caught a glimpse, their jaws would hit the floor.
As for why?
For that you had to go back thirteen years, to the Fall of Old Eridu.
On this world’s timeline, the Fall of Old Eridu was the line dividing the old New Eridu from the new, and it left behind more regret and tragedy than anyone could count.
Back then Miguel had been an ordinary man, dropped by the Origin of Creation into a doomed world already sliding toward its ending.
Deep inside Hollow Zero, in that place that might as well have been hell.
There, the “guest” who had come from another world made a choice of his own.
He forced his way in and used the Power of Creation to kick the runaway expansion of Hollow Zero to a dead stop.
He saved Miyabi’s mother, the woman who was supposed to die there.
From that moment on, the course of fate bent hard off its rails.
Not just Miyabi.
Nicole, Hoss — Koleda’s father — and the twelve of the Silver Squad: over those thirteen years he had hauled every one of them out of the mud.
The New Eridu of today no longer carried so many wounds that would never heal.
And him.
Miguel.
New Eridu’s “Savior.” A god who walked among mortals, holding the divine authority of Creation.
And these days, nothing more than a househusband who wanted to build a good life with the girl he loved.
“Miyabi, Wise and Belle should be here soon.
There’s honeydew in the fridge, I cut it this morning,” Miguel called out.
“Okay.” A bright answer came from the other room.
Just as Miguel was about to fillet the fish, the front door went off with a bang.
“Big Bro Miguel!
Sis Miyabi!
We’re here!” Belle’s high, energetic voice cut straight through the house, followed by the slap of small bare feet on the floor as she charged into the living room.
“Whoa!
Sis Miyabi, you look so cozy today!
Hug time!” “Belle, settle down.” There was fondness under the resignation in Miyabi’s voice.
Miguel listened to the racket from the kitchen without breaking his rhythm.
It was the weekend, and everyone had agreed to eat together at his place.
Belle and Wise, that brother-and-sister pair, always came running first.
Less than half a minute later, the kitchen’s sliding door eased open a crack.
Wise slipped in like a burglar and shut it tight behind him.
He let out a long breath, walked to the counter, rolled up his sleeves and picked up a knob of ginger to peel.
“Miguel, I’ll be your prep hand.” Miguel glanced at him and set the cleaned fish in a ceramic bowl.
“Miyabi’s out there keeping Belle company.
What are you hiding in here for?” Wise scratched his head and laughed it off.
“Come on, I just figured you couldn’t handle all of it alone.
Nicole and the others are coming this morning too.
That’s a lot of dishes.” “Don’t try that on me.” Miguel put down the knife and wiped his hands on a towel.
“Astra and Evelyn are right behind them, aren’t they?” Wise’s peeling hand froze.
He stared.
“You knew about that?” “Kid, you so much as lift a cheek and I already know exactly what’s coming out.” Miguel grinned as he said it.
“Why not go show off some of that crowd control our ‘Succubus of Sixth Street’ is famous for?” Wise covered his face with both hands.
“Where does any of that even come from?” “You’ll get used to it.
We’ve got a lot more of these get-togethers ahead of us.” Miguel pushed the washed scallops in front of him.
“Scrub these clean.” Not long after, a shout carried in from the living room.
“Chicken soup, coming through…
oh!
Wrong line!
Breakfast, coming through!” Belle’s cheerful voice rang off every wall in the place.
At the dining table outside the kitchen, Billy was chugging a Starlight Knight collab-edition fuel drink he’d fished out of Miguel’s beverage cabinet.
Ever since he’d installed his eating attachment, he’d developed a real fondness for mooching meals here.
The electronic eyes on his mechanical faceplate flickered.
“Hey, Miguel, that crowd out there is terrifying.
Let me stay in the kitchen and carry plates instead.
All-female roster, and one AI construct sitting in the middle of it?
I swear my chassis is going to overload.” Nekomata had long since crowded up to the counter, fluffy tail held high, nose twitching nonstop.
“Mrow~ It smells so good!
Big Bro Miguel, you bought a ton of fish today, didn’t you!?
I can smell how fresh it is!” Miguel plated the last of the scallops, and pale blue Power of Creation lit up at his fingertips.
With no wasted motion, more than a dozen loaded plates rose and hung steady in midair.
“All right, stop crowding in here.
Come help me get all this to the table.” Miguel clapped his hands.
Wise followed him out with two cold dishes, eyeing the floating plates, and clicked his tongue.
“Miguel, you use a power like that to carry dinner plates.
If any of the Ethereals you killed could see this, they’d never rest easy.” “I’d say you’re right about that.” Miguel answered with a smile and led the three of them out of the kitchen.
The spacious ring of sofas was already packed wall to wall with girls.
Morning Star sat at the far left, the deep blue jacket of her uniform pressed sharp.
She was fixing Belle’s crooked collar beside her, emerald eyes full of warmth.
Since moving to Sixth Street, the big sister who was forever fussing over rookie Proxies had grown closer and closer to Wise and Belle.
And with a “special rate” apartment from Miguel, Sixth Street’s landlord, the pressure on her finances had eased more than she could say.
Sitting down to eat with everyone at his place today, her face carried a lot more easy smiles than usual.
Beside Morning Star sat New Eridu’s star songstress, Astra Yao.
Astra had come in a loose, casual sweater, and she was leaning in to whisper with Morning Star.
“Morning Star, is Wise this…
dense at home too?” Astra kept her voice down, her gaze traveling over the sofa to where Wise had just set down the dishes.
Morning Star coughed lightly, cheeks pinking.
“He…
yes, he’s like that most of the time.
I saved him a slice of cake yesterday and he turned around and gave it to Belle.” The two of them looked at each other and sighed at the same moment.
Neither gave an inch in their quiet competition over Wise, but faced with a Wise who spent most of his life in NPC mode, the girls’ united front was remarkably solid.
Evelyn leaned against a nearby pillar with her arms crossed, watching her young mistress chat away happily with her rival, and shook her head.
Her violet eyes swept over the loaded table and came to rest on Miguel.
For her and Astra both, the correct word for him these days was “boss.” After all, once Evelyn and Astra left Tigo Entertainment, they’d accepted Miguel’s invitation and joined Starfield Entertainment, the company he had founded.
Since signing with Starfield, their pay had doubled and they even had spare afternoons to go mooch food at a friend’s house.
Evelyn had never once forgotten what she owed him for that.
Dead center on the sofa, Miyabi sat straight-backed.
Her black fox ears flicked now and then, a clear sign of how good her mood was.
Nicole was tugging excitedly at her arm, swiping across a terminal screen with her other hand.
“Miyabi, look, look!
Last month the Cunning Hares’ revenue hit another record high with Trigger and the others running the business!!!” Miyabi looked at the numbers on the screen and nodded.
“Impressive.
Though you donate most of the profit to the orphanage.
Do you keep enough to live on?” “Absolutely!” Nicole thumped her chest.
“This boss has achieved financial freedom!
No more scraping by like a dozen years ago.
After we eat, how about we go check out that new clothing store at Lumina Square?” “Sure.” Miyabi agreed without hesitation.
The two of them were on far easier terms than any outside rumor would have you believe.
Back in the early days, the little fox Miyabi and Nicole had put each other through plenty.
Now, with Miguel brokering peace and the sisters of the Silver Squad backing them as a think tank, the Cunning Hares had become one of the most reliable civilian outfits in New Eridu.
Nicole, one of the first friends and employees Miguel had ever worked alongside, was as close to Miyabi now as a real sister.
Warmth and easy laughter had clearly become the standing mood of Miguel’s living room.
Then, before long, Miguel’s voice cut through the chatter.
“Food’s ready.” Everyone stood and gathered around the huge, long oval dining table.
That table was a reward Miguel had earned from an achievement quest.
It looked like plain woodwork.
In fact it was a fully automatic marvel of domestic engineering.
As people took their seats, the edge extended half a meter on its own, fitting every last person perfectly.
A faint hum came from underneath, and the steamed fish, which had cooled a little, snapped back to the exact temperature it had been coming out of the pot.
“Whoa!” Belle held her chopsticks with her eyes shining.
“No matter how many times I see it, this table of yours is amazing!
Whatever dish you want, the top just turns it around to you.” “Eat your food.
You’re about to drool.” Wise dropped a big piece of fish into her bowl.
The mood around the table warmed up fast.
Everyone ate and talked at once.
Nekomata went straight into demolition mode, and Billy kept pace beside her without falling a single bite behind.
Miguel ladled out a small bowl of red bean porridge and set it in front of Miyabi.
In the white porcelain bowl, the beans had been simmered until they burst open and turned soft, threads of steam curling off the surface.
Ever since she tried it three years ago, this had been her favorite dessert after honeydew.
Miyabi didn’t reach for her spoon.
She just turned her head, those crimson eyes fixed straight on Miguel.
“What is it?” Miguel ladled out a bowl for himself.
“Not in the mood for something sweet today?” She shook her head, her voice small.
“You hadn’t served yours yet.” Warmth spread through Miguel’s chest.
This little fox was getting better and better at looking after him.
He was about to answer when the phone in his pocket started buzzing.
Bzzz.
Bzzz.
Miguel put down his spoon and pulled it out.
The name lighting up the screen caught him off guard.
Mayflower.
[Author’s Note: Setting supplement.
“Starfield Entertainment”: the entertainment company Miguel founded and funded.
Its management is a think tank headed by Trigger of the Silver Squad, and its roster of signed artists includes, but is not limited to, Delusion Angel and Astra Yao.
It took in the overwhelming majority of the performers who walked out of Tigo Entertainment after the Star Ring incident came to light.
The company itself is heavily capitalized, its headquarters sits near Lumina Square, and it has gradually secured a solid foothold in New Eridu’s entertainment industry.]