"Sparkle, if I tied you to a chair and tickled your feet for a full system hour, would you blame me?"
Clara walked up to Sparkle, wearing an extremely "kind" smile as she posed the question.
"Uh… no, of course not…"
Seeing the smile on Clara's face, Sparkle's heart gave a nervous flutter. She had a feeling that if she so much as uttered the word "blame," Clara would instantly snap and punish her severely.
"Then pay up for the service. One hundred million credits, please."
Hearing that, Clara rubbed her hands together expectantly.
Sparkle: ?
"Wh-what do you mean? What service fee? What hundred million credits?"
Sparkle was clearly baffled. A hundred million credits? Why would she owe a hundred million credits?
"Huh? I gave you a full system-hour foot massage. Don't I deserve a little compensation for my hard work?" Clara retorted.
"You know who I am—a member of the Stellaron Hunters. Even across the universe, our reputation and prestige are top-tier."
"Someone of my stature personally massaging you—charging a hundred million credits for that, is it really too much?"
"Not too much… I guess?"
Sparkle's mind was screaming, Not too much, my foot! You call tickling someone with a feather for a system hour a "massage," huh?
Want me to give you a massage too?
"Then pay up. I accept any payment method~"
"Uh…"
Hearing this, Sparkle shrank back slightly.
"Hmm?"
Watching Sparkle's reaction, Clara narrowed her eyes, her smile turning increasingly dangerous.
"You… wouldn't be trying to skip out on the bill, would you?"
"No, no…"
Under Clara's intimidating glare, Sparkle forced a weak smile.
"It's… it's just that I don't have that much money right now…"
"No money? Then go earn some. Borrow it."
"Having no money isn't an excuse."
Clara crossed her arms and let out a cold snort.
Then, she helpfully offered a suggestion:
"You can borrow it from me."
"Uh… no thanks."
Hearing this, Sparkle quickly shook her head. A gut feeling told her that if she borrowed that hundred million credits from Clara, the rest of her life would probably be ruined.
Sparkle took out her phone. Just as she was about to contact some "friends" to borrow money, she suddenly noticed Silver Wolf standing nearby.
Her eyes darted around as she considered whether to use that one favor from Silver Wolf here.
Forget it, she's not getting off that easy.
Remembering how Silver Wolf had toyed with her for a full system hour, little Sparkle gritted her teeth in fury.
Damn that silver-haired brat—I'll make you pay dearly!
After pondering for a moment, Sparkle opened her phone and tapped on a chat window labeled "Old Achy Legs Uncle":
Send Me Fun Stuff: You there? Lend me a hundred million credits.
Not long after Sparkle sent the message, Old Achy Legs Uncle replied with a few texts.
Old Achy Legs Uncle: ?
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Holy mother of God.
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Long time no see, and you've taken up gambling now?
Sparkle: Cut the crap. Just tell me if you have a hundred million credits. If you do, transfer it over now.
Old Achy Legs Uncle: My dear lady, we don't even use credits here. You think I'd have any?
Old Achy Legs Uncle: So what on earth do you need it for? A hundred million credits?
Send Me Fun Stuff: Massage.
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Yikes…
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Show some restraint, will you?
Send Me Fun Stuff: ? It's not what you think.
Send Me Fun Stuff: I just got scammed.
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Scammed? Oh please, who in the universe doesn't know the esteemed Miss Sparkle? Who would dare scam you?
Send Me Fun Stuff: Clara.
Old Achy Legs Uncle: …
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Oh crap, how did your idea of 'fun' lead you to that ancestor?
Old Achy Legs Uncle: Never mind, let's just block each other. Otherwise, she might think we're connected and track me down through the network to finish me off.
Send Me Fun Stuff: Wait, give me the money first!
[Old Achy Legs Uncle has enabled friend verification. You are not yet friends. Please send a friend request first. The other party must verify you as a friend before you can chat. (Click to send friend request.)]
Send Me Fun Stuff: ****, ****, *****.
[Old Achy Legs Uncle has enabled friend verification. You are not yet friends. Please send a friend request first. The other party must verify you as a friend before you can chat. (Click to send friend request.)]
"Dammit!"
Sparkle, staring at the chat log on her phone, cursed out loud.
...
"Um… that…"
"Respected, kind, beautiful, and lovely Lady Clara, can I owe the money for now? Meow~"
After asking around, the scattered amounts she managed to gather didn't even add up to a fraction of a hundred million…
Left with no choice, Sparkle resorted to using her charms on Clara, putting on a cute act and making an adorable kitty-paw gesture.
If it were anyone else, they'd probably have melted at Sparkle's cuteness. But who was Clara? How could she possibly succumb to mere beauty?
Her eyes icy, hands on her hips, she shot Sparkle three sharp words:
"Not allowed!"
"I… I only have thirty million. The rest…"
"The rest, keep borrowing."
Clara showed no regard for their past friendship, offering not an ounce of leniency.
"I… I can't borrow any more…"
"Borrow from me. Aren't I your friend?"
"What's our relationship? If you borrow from me, of course I'll lend it to you."
Clara flashed a smile, walked over to Sparkle, and slung an arm over her shoulder like a good buddy.
"So… are there any conditions? What are your terms for lending the money?"
"Conditions? Why would there be conditions?" Hearing Sparkle's question, Clara put on a slightly offended expression.
"As good pals, best buddies, close sisters—you borrowing from me, how could there be conditions?"
"Really?"
"Listen, would I lie to you?" Clara patted Sparkle's shoulder, her face full of sincerity.
Sparkle: …
It's a saying known across the universe: the words of a Masked Fool cannot be trusted.
Now here was a Masked Fool right in front of her, claiming she wouldn't lie. Should she believe it? Or not?
The conclusion was pretty obvious, wasn't it?
But Sparkle didn't seem to have many options…
She didn't want to use that one favor from Silver Wolf here, so… after thinking it over, she had no choice but to agree to Clara's proposal…
Even though this choice would likely make her future self regret it, if she didn't make it, she'd regret it right now.
So, Sparkle chose to let her future self deal with the regret.
What does future me's regret have to do with present me?
"Please lend me the money. I need seventy million."
"Sure thing~"
Seeing Sparkle agree, Clara's smile returned to normal. She opened her phone and transferred seventy million to Sparkle's account.
"Alright, now you can pay me the hundred million."
"Okay…"
Watching the seventy million appear in her account, Sparkle fought back the heartache and transferred a hundred million to Clara.
"All… all done. Can I go now?"
After handing over the hundred million, Sparkle didn't want to stay a second longer…
"Go ahead, go ahead~ Remember to work hard and earn more money~"
Sparkle: …
"Okay… okay…"
With that, Sparkle hurriedly made her escape…
…
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