“Are you messing with me?! Take me to see the adult in your family!”
Veronica grabbed Ashley’s little hand, not letting her run off—just like Ashley had imagined grabbing Veronica’s little black feet in her fantasies. Dreams and reality were indeed opposites.
Veronica wasn’t worried that the Blue-Haired Loli would welch on the bill. A family that could own a Shriek Devil Crow was definitely not ordinary.
Ashley hadn’t expected to be caught like a kid who’d stolen something. She felt utterly embarrassed. If she’d known that being short on cash would lead to this kind of disdain, she would’ve picked a few pockets at the train station even if she didn’t rob a bank. Being a good person and keeping up appearances weren’t compatible.
“Fine, I’ll take you to see the adult in my family,” Ashley said, biting her lip.
The two set off together.
Veronica still held onto her hand. The two lolis engaged in a subtle contest of strength. After sweating, their hands grew hot and slippery, making the mysophobic Ashley even more uncomfortable.
She led Veronica on a winding path, deliberately taking a stretch of gravel road that hurt the feet. Watching the pained, twisted expression on the other girl’s face, she snickered inwardly.
Finally, she arrived at a bulletin board and pointed at the wanted posters on it.
“My whole family is neatly lined up here! Let me introduce you—this is my uncle, this is my Old Ancestor, this is my aunt, this is my aunt-in-law…”
Veronica’s eyes bulged, her jaw nearly dropping to the ground.
After patiently listening to Ashley explain the whole story from beginning to end, she calmed down. The way she looked at the Blue-Haired Loli softened.
“I never imagined you could hunt a Demon Crow all by yourself, process the Cadaver so simply, and you’re still so young… For someone this impressive to be stumped by a mere hundred-pound bill is simply unbelievable.”
“I’ll have money soon,” Ashley said, wiping the sweat from her hands on her skirt. She held her head high without a trace of servility, her gaze firm.
“I can tell you’re different from your elders. You earn clean money, money untainted by blood. You’re a good kid.” Veronica nodded approvingly. Though they were both lolis, she was a few years older and couldn’t help showing the tender care of an older sister toward her younger one.
What Ashley was actually thinking was that once she melted down those two guys’ gold teeth and wedding rings, it should cover a good chunk of the bill.
She couldn’t take those spoils directly to a gold shop for recycling. For one, the source would be suspicious. For another, those two were backed by an organization. If the jewelry circulated on the market, it could easily be traced back to her.
Having grown up in that kind of family, Ashley’s anti-detection skills were top-notch.
The evidence that those two came from some organization was the Snap Cards they carried.
Two thick metal pieces the size of thumbs, held together by magnets. Flick them with your thumb, and they separated with a satisfying segmented feel, producing a crisp snapping sound. It was great for stress relief and could even double as a Morse code device.
The surfaces of the two Snap Cards bore embossed reliefs of Hearts 3 and Diamonds 4, corresponding to codenames and ranks within the organization.
It was easy to imagine this was a hierarchical crime syndicate using poker cards as codenames, with the top ranks being the kings, queens, and suit cards.
Seeing her good attitude, Veronica agreed to give her some time. She even told her not to rush and above all not to turn to crime out of desperation. Ashley was deeply touched.
“How about I wash your feet? Could that get me a discount on the bill?” she asked, seizing the opportunity.
“Why wash them? They’ll just get dirty again soon enough,” the Blackfoot Loli said nonchalantly.
“Nooo! Wash them clean right now!” Ashley nearly broke down.
—
That evening, Ashley dragged her weary body back to the dorm.
She’d been out too long and missed dinner. The cafeteria had already closed.
Fortunately, she had the candied plums Amber had given her. The jam, like purple amber, had solidified in a plump glass jar, sparkling temptingly.
She scooped out a spoonful, dissolved it in hot water, and sipped it slowly.
A wave of warmth flowed down her throat into her stomach. The sugar brought a sense of comfort, warming her body through.
“Hee hee, the only use for a dumb loli is to mooch food off her.”
Ashley shared a small cup with Sasha. Its body had shrunk a size, but it was still huge. It lowered its head and drank bit by bit with its slow, heavy beak, looking honest and obedient like an ordinary parrot.
At that moment, Flora pushed the door open. Ashley glanced over and immediately noticed something was off—her expression was dazed, her lips cracked, and a hint of fear lurked in her eyes.
“What happened? Did someone bully you?” Ashley asked.
“No, I’m fine. I just feel a bit unwell. I’ll get over it.”
Flora’s hand at her side clenched into a fist, as if enduring something.
“Flora,” Ashley said seriously, turning her body fully toward her and locking eyes to prevent any evasion. “Tell me, what happened? I remember you were assigned an interview, right? This afternoon.”
Flora’s breathing quickened abruptly, as if bad memories had been triggered. She panicked, her little face turning pale. Numbness spread from her fingertips to her wrists, and her stomach twisted in pain, arching her body like a shrimp.
“Breathe, breathe…”
Ashley hurried over, pulled her to the window for fresh air, and gently patted her back.
She held the half-finished plum sweet water to the golden-haired loli’s lips, and she sipped it in small mouthfuls.
After three sips, she calmed down and told the truth.
It turned out the two reporters who interviewed her that afternoon had deliberately asked sharp, cutting questions to trap her. They insinuated she’d killed on purpose, twisting her words—like when she said, “I was a little afraid of him…” (interrupted) “So you killed him to eliminate your unease. The devil inside you took over again. You’ve done things like this before, haven’t you? You must have abused animals.”
Especially the intern reporter following the female editor—a loli even younger than Flora. Her tiny body fidgeted in the chair, constantly making ‘chi chi chi’ mocking laughs. Her eyes narrowed into crescents, the two eyeballs occasionally rolling ‘gulu’ to one corner. Pinching her voice and suppressing her laughter, she said, “Eh? Is big sis crying? How useless. Bullied to tears by a girl younger than you, hee hee hee. I thought murderers were supposed to be cooler. Looks like big sis is just a worthless small fry among killers, chi chi chi. That’s enough teasing for today. Let’s see… next meeting time… how about next week?”
Even worse, the loli reporter was handling the photos. She kept aiming the camera at her face, and at the slightest lapse, flash—blinding white light. Flora’s vision went white, with prolonged ringing in her ears and nauseating dizziness that nearly made her faint.
Just hearing the description made Ashley furious. Among interns, Amber was way cuter than that one.
Reporters, if not driven by noble ideals, could turn particularly vile.
Ashley frowned. For her, compared to hunting fierce beasts or battling cruel, cunning enemies, dealing with these fly-like pests was far more difficult.
Because they were criminals. Criminals couldn’t get angry, or they’d be seen as malicious. They couldn’t retort, or they’d be accused of contempt for the law. They couldn’t refuse, or they’d be deemed unrepentant.
Of course, she wasn’t helpless. She just needed to find another angle to deal with those two.
“Can you skip next week?” Ashley asked.
Flora shook her head. It was a mandatory task; refusing had severe consequences.
“Next time, I’ll go with you. Remember, as long as one person supports you, that’s enough. Even if we head to ruin together, we’ll do it hand in hand.”
“That’s great! With you here, I’m not afraid of anything!” Flora’s face lit up with joy.
She sipped the plum sweet water, her pale little face breaking into a smile. “It’s so good. Where’d you buy it?”
“Amber gave it to me~”
“Eh?”
Flora’s hand shook, nearly dropping the bowl.
Amber, again Amber.
A wave of irritation surged in her heart. The sweet water moistening her lips turned bitter, hard to swallow.
Fortunately, Sasha comforted her. The Big Parrot paced at her feet, nibbling her finger and rubbing its head against her hand.
“Sasha is so cute,” the loli said, combing the parrot’s feathers with her little finger. But doubt appeared on her face. “It seems… a lot fatter than yesterday.”
“It had a big meal today~”
