Kivotos, 7:30 PM, D.U White Bird District, outside the Holy Tower, first floor of the New Defense Office Building, “Angel 24 Hours” convenience store.
‘Hua Ye seems weaker than other students… and seems like the type who can work for a long time as if nothing’s wrong, but once she relaxes, she gets immediately overwhelmed by accumulated fatigue.’
Amid the exceptionally bright lights of the convenience store and the light music playing over the speakers, Sensei thought about how Hua Ye had suddenly looked half-dead just now as he checked out at the counter.
Luckily, when he went upstairs, he noticed that the first floor of the Defense Office Building housed a convenience store that seemed not open to the public.
Back then, based on the still-lit lights, the seemingly hidden sign, and the child inside busy checking inventory and restocking, he deduced the store was still operating.
Now it was a good thing this store was here, and that it sold hot bento boxes and instant coffee.
Otherwise, he and Hua Ye would probably have had to gnaw on whatever was in the fridge.
“O… okay! Two bento boxes, instant coffee, and dessert… that’ll be 532 credits total… P… please swipe your card here!”
Hearing the student at the register call out the total, Sensei instinctively reached for the pocket where he usually kept his bank card back in the outside world.
—There was nothing there this time.
Wait…
Come to think of it… did he even have any money on him now?
Sensei, holding the plastic bag, suddenly froze, cold sweat pouring down.
Damn it…
I forgot my salary only comes in after the first month on the job, and because of certain reasons, I didn’t exchange money into Kivotos currency…
I didn’t even get a card, since I planned to get one at a local Kivotos bank…
He let out a helpless, bitter laugh, once again annoyed at his own habit of acting without considering his circumstances.
So he adopted a slightly pleading tone, holding the plastic bag with the bento and coffee, and addressed the child, who was even shorter than Hua Ye.
“Classmate, can I put it on credit? I’m the new advisor for the Defense Office. This is my Momotalk account. I don’t have any cash on me right now…”
The little girl, who seemed to be standing on a chair to barely get her upper body above the counter, widened her eyes.
She looked stunned and let out a strange sound.
“Huh?! The Defense Office Advisor?!”
Her face showed an uneasy, nervous expression.
Sensei quickly reassured her that he didn’t intend to stiff her, but his first month’s salary hadn’t come in yet, so he couldn’t pay right now.
However, he and another student were really hungry and needed the bento to survive.
The child, whose hair was brushed back behind her ears, revealing a smooth and broad forehead, tilted her head with a conflicted look.
Finally, seeming to understand, she wore a shy and apologetic expression.
“S… sorry! Because the store needs to tally stock and accounts daily… so I can’t offer credit… But! I… I can cover it with my own money first. Once Advisor-sama gets his salary, he can pay me back then…”
Sensei let out a relieved sigh and exchanged Momotalk accounts with the counter clerk.
“AAA Xiaokong – Angel 24 Hours.”
The profile picture was a close-up of this child’s face.
For some reason, the focus was particularly on her forehead, eyes, and thin, light eyebrows.
Maybe it was because the kid was too short, so the photographer had to take it that way.
“Um… my name is Xiaokong… I’m the attendant at the Angel 24 Hours branch in the Defense Office Building… If Advisor-sama needs to pay me back later, just message me directly…”
So it’s a convenience store specially set up for the Defense Office.
No wonder the supposedly confidential Defense Office left the first floor for this store, and the store itself wasn’t open to the public…
But judging by the decor, was this a newly built location?
“Y… yes! Three months ago, after receiving notice from the Federal Student Council, headquarters decided to open a store here to supply everyone in the Defense Office… I hope that from now on, Advisor-sama will frequently visit our chain stores! Angel is open 24 hours!”
The child, Xiaokong, stammered through her lines.
She had just secretly pulled a piece of paper from the register, and now, facing Sensei, she nervously read the lines while glancing at it repeatedly.
Seeing such a young child work so hard, and suddenly remembering the children from the Helmet gang he’d met that afternoon, Sensei thought she was cute but also felt a bit sad.
So he asked,
“Xiaokong, can I ask? A child as young as you, can you work at a convenience store?”
Xiaokong froze for a moment, then quickly glanced secretly at the paper.
Her face went tense, and she stammered nervously.
Clearly, that paper was some kind of Q&A prepared by headquarters, and Sensei’s question just now wasn’t on it.
So she answered honestly.
“Y… yes! Because I’m a middle school student… not graduated yet… so I can only work the counter…”
Sensei sighed again, forcibly suppressing what almost felt like a prejudice inside him, and still asked with a gentle expression.
“Then why does Xiaokong want to work at a convenience store?”
Even before starting his job, he knew that Kivotos was vastly different from the outside world.
Besides the obvious singularity of halos, there were also major differences in concepts and perceptions.
He shouldn’t view the children here through his old lens, or he’d cause big trouble.
Xiaokong hesitated, her face flushed, showing a conflicted and confused expression.
It seemed she was unsure whether to tell a stranger she’d just met, someone who had only been appointed today, why she was working.
Seeing her so conflicted, Sensei decided not to press further.
He said his goodbyes, apologized for asking a strange question, and left the convenience store directly.
Watching Sensei’s figure disappear outside the store, the young child looked bewildered.
“Huh?… Is it strange to work part-time before high school to earn tuition and living expenses?”
Then, from a corner outside the door, another figure darted in.
“Wow! The person on duty today is Xiaokong! Xiaokong, long time no see! Give me one pack, one big pack, one super huge pack of concentrated coffee! Classic flavor! We’re going to be working overtime again tonight… I saw the Advisor-sensei come in just now. What did you guys talk about?”
That person, upon seeing the still-dazed Xiaokong, lunged at her from the store entrance, hugging her tightly like an old friend.
Grinning, she kept stroking Xiaokong’s smooth blonde hair like she was petting a cat, and asked.
Xiaokong first looked tense and confused, instinctively trying to struggle, but after recognizing the other’s face, she calmed down and obediently accepted the petting while in her arms.
“Ah!… It’s Senior Ersi Hemo… Is Senior with the Defense Office now?”
Ersi Hemo nodded with a smile.
If it’s the senior who helped me find a job before, then it should be okay to tell her, right?
Xiaokong hesitated, then roughly recounted her conversation with Sensei.
“N… nothing much, Senior Ersi… The new Advisor-sensei just asked me a kind of weird question… He asked if a kid as young as me could work at a convenience store, that sort of thing.”
Ersi Hemo looked dumbfounded, wearing an expression of disbelief.
“Huh? So Advisor-sensei really is an outsider who doesn’t understand Kivotos. Saving up for high school tuition and living expenses in advance to avoid exceeding your school’s allowance—that’s totally normal, isn’t it?”
Xiaokong nodded too.
Yeah, super weird, asking a question like that.
Super weird, Advisor-sensei, with that look and expression.
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