Morpheus waved off Nanami's offer. "No need. I don't have much going on at home anyway. Might as well keep you company here."
Nanami Aoyama's cheeks flushed briefly at his words, but she quickly realized he didn't mean it that way and suppressed the blush. Pulling out her phone, she said, "How about I give them a call?"
"Go for it," Morpheus nodded.
Nanami dialed the number, but no one picked up.
She tried a few more times, still no answer.
Morpheus wondered if something had happened to the guy.
This crossover world was a chaotic mess—yokai, vampires, mechas, gangs, superpowers, evil spirits, urban legends. It was practically a free-for-all.
An ordinary person living in this world could easily meet a bad end if they weren't careful.
With the calls going unanswered, Nanami had no choice but to inform the convenience store manager.
The manager, upon hearing the situation, told her not to worry—he'd find someone to cover Morpheus's shift right away.
About half an hour later, another employee finally showed up to take over.
Morpheus was officially off the clock.
After experiencing the convenience store grind, Morpheus found himself thoroughly uninterested in the job.
So, as he clocked out, he casually mentioned to the manager that he was quitting.
The manager didn't try to stop him, agreeing readily.
As the saying goes, if you won't work, plenty of others will.
In this day and age, there was no shortage of people willing to take a job like this.
Nanami, however, was shocked to hear Morpheus was quitting. "Morpheus-kun, aren't you an exchange student? Don't you need the money for living expenses? Why quit?"
Morpheus replied calmly, "Because I've found a new way to make bank. How about it, Aoyama-san? Wanna join me? I can pay you ten times what you make here."
Nanami's eyes widened. Ten times her current wage was no small amount.
Her hourly pay at the convenience store was around 800 to 1,000 yen.
Ten times that would be 8,000 to 10,000 yen per hour.
That was insanely high.
Even employees at big corporations didn't earn that much.
Her curiosity piqued, she wondered what kind of opportunity Morpheus had stumbled upon to offer her such a salary.
Could it be…
Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she said earnestly, "Morpheus-kun, you can't get involved in anything illegal."
Morpheus rolled his eyes. Where was her mind going? Did a Dimension Lord like him need to resort to illegal work to make money?
For him, making cash was child's play.
"Relax, it's not anything illegal. Our work will not only make money but also help people."
Nanami murmured, "Make money and help people? Could it be…"
Her cheeks flushed again.
Morpheus, catching her reaction, couldn't help but quip, "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm pretty sure you've got the wrong idea."
"Is that so?" Nanami stammered.
"Absolutely," Morpheus said, exasperated. Were high school girls' imaginations always this wild?
After a while, Nanami calmed down and asked, "So, can you tell me what this work is?"
Morpheus was about to answer when an orange-haired girl walked into the store.
She was… strikingly endowed.
Very strikingly endowed.
Morpheus had always thought Erina Nakiri's figure was impressive, but compared to this girl, even Erina fell just short.
What's more, this girl seemed to be around the same age as Nanami and Erina—clearly a high schooler.
Were high schoolers these days all this well-developed?
Was it some kind of nutritional surplus, all pooling in one place?
Nanami noticed Morpheus's gaze shift to the newcomer and let out a small huff.
Sure, she and Morpheus weren't dating, but they were in the middle of a conversation, and now his attention was hijacked by this girl.
Didn't that imply this new girl's appeal outshone hers?
Or that her own charm paled in comparison to this orange-haired, well-endowed stranger?
It might be true, but as a bona fide high school girl, Nanami couldn't help but care about such things.
Naturally, she felt a bit miffed at Morpheus's behavior.
Morpheus caught her huff and gave an awkward chuckle, pointing at the orange-haired girl. "You just asked what our work is, right? Well, I'll tell you now."
"Our job is to help people like her with their troubles."
The orange-haired girl, overhearing the conversation as she entered, tilted her head in confusion when Morpheus pointed at her.
Anyone would be baffled if a stranger suddenly pointed at them, claiming they'd solve their problems.
The orange-haired girl was no exception.
"Troubles? Me?" She said, bewildered.
Her expression wasn't denying she had troubles—everyone had their share, after all.
Naturally, she had her own.
For instance, her chest was so large that it jiggled with every step, making her shoulders ache.
But she didn't believe this random guy could help with such a minor issue.
Nanami glanced suspiciously between the girl and Morpheus. "How can you tell this pretty lady has troubles?"
The girl had walked in with a smile, her steps light, showing no obvious signs of distress.
At least, Nanami hadn't noticed anything.
She had reason to suspect Morpheus was just making things up.
"Oh, I know exactly why," Morpheus said with a grin, his eyes catching the evil spirits and miasma clinging to the orange-haired girl.
"You must feel exhausted, don't you?" He said, approaching her. "Even though you haven't done much, you feel uncomfortable all over, like something's weighing you down, right?"
Though the girl couldn't see the spirits, they were relentlessly entangling her, burdening her significantly.
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
If you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (removespace)