Chapter 4: Was Fired from Squid……

The next morning, Olivia was woken up by a harsh ringing sound.

It was like someone had stuffed a frantic cricket into her bedding, buzzing endlessly.

She reached out a hand, fumbled around for a moment, grabbed her phone, and swiped to answer without even opening her eyes.

“Why are you calling me so early in the morning…”

Her voice was soft and syrupy, thick with sleep-induced irritation.

The other end of the line was silent for two seconds.

“Um… is this Mr. Orlando?”

Liya’s voice was cautious.

“I didn’t dial the wrong number, did I?”

Hearing that, Olivia had to wake up quickly, whether she wanted to or not.

Her silver pupils narrowed to slits—

‘Damn it, I went to sleep without eating last night. Now I’m still a four-foot-eleven silver-haired little girl, and my voice hasn’t changed back yet.’

“Mr. Orlando? It’s already nine o’clock. Why does your voice sound different?”

Nine o’clock? Work started at eight thirty.

“N-no, it’s nothing!”

She covered the receiver, trying to lower her voice.

“Ugh… I’ll be there soon!”

Liya paused for a second, her tone now laced with clear worry.

“Should I come over and check on you?”

“No! Don’t come!”

Her voice shot up an octave, even startling herself.

She quickly lowered it again.

“I’ll be there right away!”

After hanging up, she sprang out of bed and dashed to the kitchen barefoot.

She swung open the fridge: half a loaf of bread, a block of butter, a jar of jam, and two limp, sad-looking carrots.

Then she started wolfing everything down like crazy.

When she was a princess in Skyreach City, meals had rules: back straight, cut one bite at a time, no eating directly with your hands.

Now that the old mother dragon wasn’t around, she let loose and stuffed her mouth.

“Whew—that’s satisfying, huh.”

She patted her slightly bulging belly and lay back on the bed, but changing back would still take time.

An hour later.

“Come in.”

The boss’s voice.

Orlando walked in and stood in front of the desk.

“Two hours late.”

The boss said it like he was reporting the weather.

“I wasn’t feeling well last night.”

Well, it was true—using his human bloodline to fight against his dragon bloodline, how could that feel good?

The boss pulled a brown envelope from his drawer and slid it across the desk.

“Yesterday you left Liya alone in the office. When I came in to open up this morning, I found her asleep on the desk.”

Orlando’s hand stopped mid-reach.

He wanted to say, “I told her to leave first,” but he swallowed the words—the fact was, he had left, and she had stayed.

The boss didn’t wait for him to speak.

“The draft was fine, but people aren’t machines. This is your salary for this month; the extra is compensation.”

“Go to HR and handle the paperwork.”

The boss lowered his head back to the documents.

The meaning was crystal clear: you’re fired.

Orlando clutched the envelope, his lips twitching, but in the end only two words popped into his mind.

‘That’s just ruthless.’

The boss didn’t look up—either he didn’t hear or pretended not to.

When he walked out of the office building, the sun was already high in the sky.

He sat down on a bench in front of the building, tore open the envelope, and counted—one thousand Federal Marks, enough to cover next month’s rent.

He stuffed the money into his pocket, leaned back against the bench, and stared at the sky.

The sky was blue, the smoke from the chimneys was black.

He just sat there, from morning until afternoon.

At five thirty in the afternoon, the office building’s doors swung open, and the first wave of off-duty workers poured out.

Liya stepped out, glanced around, and her eyes landed on him.

She hesitated, then walked over quickly with her head down and sat down next to him, leaving a person’s worth of space between them.

“How long have you been sitting here?”

“I don’t know.”

A moment of silence.

Liya’s tail slipped out from under her skirt and swept anxiously across the bench—usually in the office, she kept it hidden tight.

“Let’s go get a cup of coffee,” she said, her voice carrying a tone that said, “If you refuse, I’ll take it back immediately.”

“Sure.”

A table by the window at the café.

Orlando ordered black coffee, Liya ordered milk tea.

“I got fired.”

Liya’s ears shot straight up.

“I didn’t mean to… I didn’t know the boss would…”

“It’s fine, it’s not your fault.”

Her ears slowly drooped, but her eyes were still moist.

Cat-folk were naturally prone to teary eyes—not actually crying, just easily getting wet.

“Then what will you do now? Don’t you have a little sister at home?”

Orlando nearly spat out his coffee.

A little sister?

Oh, she must mean Olivia, his other half.

That little girl who talked tough but could be bought off with a single dessert.

Still, he had to admire her imagination—she’d managed to invent a little sister for him.

But it was a good thing she’d misunderstood.

If she really pressed him, he wouldn’t have been able to explain.

“It’s okay, I’ll just find another job.”

Liya held her milk tea cup, looking at him over the rim.

“Um… Mr. Orlando, good luck…”

Orlando took a sip of his coffee.

It was so bitter he frowned.

Life sure is unpredictable.