As Caelus, Phil, and Slyboo return to the apartment building, they stiffen upon seeing a PubSec motorcycle parked near the building. Both of them gulp nervously, staring at each other in concern while Slyboo quivers nervously.
Both nervously enter the building while shaking slightly before they see Meilian talking to a familiar figure. Taking a proper look, Caelus immediately recognises the figure, Qingyi. Caelus takes a calm breath, knowing it might not be what they expect. Meilian had mentioned how she and Qingyi are acquaintances.
"Oh, Caelus, Phil. You're back," Meilian turns to face them, causing Phil to stiffen. Caelus, meanwhile, calmly waves at her before looking at Qingyi.
"Greetings, Ms. Qingyi." Caelus greets as Qingyi nods with a slight smile. Phil stares at him in disbelief while Slyboo rushes towards Qingyi and waves at her excitedly, to which Qingyi returns his greetings.
"Greetings, Caelus. I am glad you're able to find this place," Qingyi says with a nod. "I hope you're not having trouble with your...circumstances."
"No, there's no trouble at all," Caelus chuckles lightly. "Miss Meilian had helped me a lot, with her reasonable rent price and even allowing me to work for her in the kitchen. I was honestly surprised by how lucky I am."
"Oh, you let him enter the kitchen?" Qingyi asks the landlord in surprise. "I remember how you always contacted the firefighters to come after your ex-coworkers burnt the kitchen to the ground."
"Okay, I am seriously curious about how they managed to pull it off," Caelus can't help but blurt out. "Just how incompetent they are? I mean, besides trying to catch up with her insane speed, following her orders can't be that hard."
"I am still questioning that myself," Qingyi muses. "My probability calculation program can't even explain how that's possible."
"Don't ask, I am still questioning how I keep finding such co-workers until Caelus comes along," Meilian says while shaking her head. Meanwhile, Phil and Slyboo look confused by the entire conversation for different reasons. Phil is confused at how Caelus casually has a conversation with PubSec officers, especially after what happened yesterday, while Slyboo wonders how humans could easily burn the kitchen to the ground.
"Anyways, let us continue our conversation in the cafeteria," Meilian suggests while gesturing towards the direction of the cafeteria. "I'll go provide some food."
"I would try to refuse, but on my experiences, I know you will keep insisting on my accepting it," Qingyi says in amusement before nodding. "Very well."
"...what can you eat, exactly?" Caelus asks, blinking owlishly. Everyone looks at Caelus in disbelief. "No offense, Miss Qingyi, but it's the first time I've seen a robot like you, and I never got to ask yesterday."
"...you are strange, even among humans," Qingyi says while shaking her head.
"I'm just being curious, what's wrong with that?" Caelus asks in confusion.
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Later
Caelus and Phil can be seen sitting on the same table while looking at Meilian happily talking with Qingyi, who is calmly sipping her cup of oil. Caelus knows that being a robot, they definitely have different preferences when it comes to food, but seeing it himself feels weird.
It didn't help that Qingyi looks and acts like a human, making the scene even weirder. He glances at Slyboo, who is sipping his Ether Electrolyte. The comparison only made Caelus feel even weirder.
"...Caelus, you really need to stop," Phil, who has been noticing Caelus' actions, can't help but deadpan.
"Sorry," Caelus says sheepishly before looking at Phil. "So, what do you usually do during your free time?"
"...nothing much," Phil mutters, holding his cup of tea. "I tend to enter the Hollow to gather more crystals, but...hehe..."
"...don't you have friends to hang out with?" Caelus asks in concern.
"Not really," Phil replies, a hint of sadness in his voice. "Most students tend to avoid me since I'm a target of a group of kids with influential families."
"Geez," Caelus feels a bit bad for the young bunny. "...wanna go out to the square and spend the day?"
"...dude, I'm not interested in you," Phil says with a weird look, earning a forehead flick from Caelus. "H-hey!"
"Don't make things weird! And not to mention, saying stuff like that when people invite you to hang out isn't helping you get a new friend." Caelus says as Phil frowns a bit before realizing what Caelus had said.
"...wait, you mean...?" Phil looks at Caelus with wide eyes as Caelus rolls his eyes.
"Yes," Caelus says dryly. "So, yes or no?"
"S-sure!" Phil exclaims with a slight smile. Caelus holds down his instinct to hug the adorable bunny before helping Phil by pushing the wheelchair.
"Miss Meilian, we're going out to explore the square," Caelus says as he walks away. "Be right back in the evening, probably."
"Alright, you kids take care!" Meilian says as they both walk away. Qingyi glances at them in silence. "Oh, that boy finally got a friend. Perhaps they could help each other..."
"You really care about them," Qingyi points out. "One thing I don't understand, why? They're not your flesh and blood."
"Ah, even being older than anyone else, you still have yet to fully understand humanity..." Meilian says with a smile. "Caring for others is not limited to only your flesh and blood; sometimes it is for friends, lovers, and even strangers. People can care for others just because they want to....too many people feel apathy towards their surroundings, and we didn't need more of that."
"...I see," Qingyi says with a frown. Then, out of nowhere, her system starts flashing images of her alternate self, which sends her to a state of shock. Meilian notices this and manages to snap her out of it.
"W-what's going on?" Qingyi mutters in confusion and uncertainty, holding her head.
"Are you okay?" Meilian asks in concern.
"I...I'm fine," Qingyi says while rubbing her forehead, and she tries to drink the remaining oil from the cup. To her surprise, the oil on her cup ends up frozen and hits her right on her face. As it falls, the 'frozen' oil shatters.
"....oil wasn't supposed to turn solid upon freezing..." Qingyi mutters in disbelief as Meilian goes to grab a cleaning tool. "No...how does the oil freeze in the first place? What is going on?"
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Meanwhile
Caelus and Phil are currently in the phone store. After hearing Phil's lack of phone and concern over the budget, Phil led Caelus to a store where they sold cheap phones.
Caelus had told him that it isn't necessary, but Phil insists by stating it could help in emergencies, and gaining access to the internet or even Inter-Knot for news. After telling the 19th reason, Caelus finally relents.
"Here," Phil says as he shows Caelus the phone model. "I recommend this new model, large memory storage, great camera, fast software updates, lightweight and durable, and having a tech that has a higher resistance towards Ether corruption."
"...are you suggesting this to drain my entire budget?" Caelus asks in a deadpan manner.
"How much budget do you have?" Phil asks curiously before Caelus whispers '2 million' into his ear. "2-!? Where did you get that much from?!"
"Can you lower your voice?!" Caelus harshly whispers, causing Phil to cover his mouth. "As for your information, I gather the Ethereal Core Fragments along the way to save your ass."
"...how much Core Fragments did you even get?" Phil asks curiously, while thinking, where did he keep all of those? In fact, he still hasn't figured out how Caelus kept his baseball bat!
"Not worth discussing, and how much does this phone cost?" Caelus asks curiously. He would rather not explain it, given how he had threatened the slimeballs from the black market to sell each fragment twice the average price.
"...99,900 Dennies," Phil admits as Caelus raises his eyebrow.
"...that's twice our monthly rent," Caelus mutters.
"To be fair, it's the latest model," Phil explains.
"... I'd rather find a cheap one. If I buy this, I'm slowly losing my urge to buy shits," Caelus says as Phil stares at him weirdly before nodding.
"Well, we got this model..."
After looking through some models, Caelus decided to buy one with basic emergency functions, average-sized memory storage, a good-quality camera, a long-life battery, and high durability. The model reminds him of his Samsung phone, which he got not long before he got isekai'd.
"So, any place you would like to go?" Caelus asks Phil curiously.
"You're asking me?" Phil asks in surprise. "I thought you had a plan."
"I have lived outside New Eridu for most of my life," Caelus replies. "You think I have a 'plan' regarding hanging out in a city?"
"...fair," Phil mutters before pondering a bit. "...arcade?"
"Sure, which way to go?" Caelus asks, expecting one in Lumina Square. He can't rely on game knowledge since Lumina Square is much more expanded here. Phil pulls out his phone and opens the navigation app.
"Sixth Street." This made Caelus freeze. Yeah, perhaps he can't casually disregard his game knowledge.
"There's no arcade in the Square?" Caelus asks in confusion.
"Nope," Phil says. "Besides, given how much you would rather not spend much money, going to Sixth Street would be ideal. You can buy supplies, eat food, buy a cup of coffee, a music disc, a videotape, and even toys for cheap prices there. Also, I...don't like the Square too much..."
"...does it have to do with your fellow students living here?" Caelus guessed.
"...yeah," Phil nods, slightly surprised how easily he could guess.
"Alright, then," Caelus says with a grin. "Sixth Street it is."
To be Continued