At Hare's House, the all-purpose agency…
As usual, Nicole wore a look of deep concern as she flipped through the account book, calculating the month's income and expenses.
"Ten thousand Dennies, twenty thousand Dennies, twenty-five thousand… Ugh! Someone, explain to me why there were so many expenses last month!"
She hadn't even finished adding everything up, yet they were already running at a deficit.
And if she totaled the entire month's spending, the debt would increase by over a hundred thousand Dennies.
Old debts remained unpaid, and new ones kept piling up.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before a mob of creditors gathered at Hare's House, demanding repayment.
Just thinking about it gave her a headache!
"Anby, get me a glass of ice water—I need to wake up… Anby? Anby?! Where'd she go? Billy! Get me some ice water!"
Nicole called out several times, but no one responded.
Nearby, Billy remained completely oblivious, glued to the TV. His attention was locked on Star Emblem Knight Imitation Contest, a variety show he was watching with intense focus.
Then, suddenly—
The screen flickered, cutting to a breaking news broadcast.
"This just in—an emergency report."
"According to our reporters, personnel have arrived at Twelve Points Street and successfully halted the Hollow's expansion. Residents watching at home, please contact any friends or relatives in the area. If anyone is missing, report it to the Public Security Bureau immediately…"
Billy's favorite show had been interrupted.
He flailed his arms in outrage. "Twelve Points Street?! That place doesn't even have a decent gun shop! Who would willingly go somewhere that boring?! Are they done yet?! Give me back my Star Emblem Knight Imitation Contest!"
He practically lunged at the TV, hugging it like he could force the broadcast back to normal.
He wished he could drag the emergency news announcer out of the screen himself.
"Billy! What are you yelling about? You're making a racket! And where's Anby? Why is she missing again?!" Nicole's voice came from behind him.
Billy hurriedly set the TV back down. "Anby said a new cinema opened up on Twelve Points Street and that she was going to see a movie there. Wait… Twelve Points Street? Hollow disaster?!"
His eyes widened as realization struck.
"Nicole, boss! We've got a huge problem!"
Billy shot up from the floor, completely forgetting about the TV show. He bolted toward Nicole like his life depended on it.
"Nicole, boss—"
"I heard you. I'm not deaf," Nicole snapped. "If you yell any louder, do you want me to die and leave you with all of Hare's House's debt?!"
Billy rushed to explain, "Anby went to see a movie at the Twelve Points Street cinema! And the news just said there was a Hollow disaster there! She hasn't come back yet—what if she fell in?!"
Nicole froze, then grabbed Billy by the collar.
"What did you just say?"
Billy repeated, "Anby might have fallen into the Hollow…"
This time, Nicole heard him loud and clear.
She let go of Billy and immediately pulled out her phone to call Anby.
It rang a few times—no answer.
Then, an automated voice: "The number you are trying to reach is currently outside the service area."
Most likely, the Hollow was blocking the signal.
Nicole grabbed a suitcase beside her and turned to Billy. "Anby might be dead, and you're just standing there?! Move!"
Billy finally snapped back to reality. He rushed to his locker. "Wait for me! I need my gun!"
They had to hurry and save Anby.
There wasn't even time to do his transformation ritual.
Billy grabbed his gun and sprinted outside. "Nicole, boss! Is it just the two of us? Should we find a professional Proxy to help?"
"Of course we should."
There was no time to waste.
But just as they burst out of Hare's House, ready to head toward Six Points Street to find help—
They saw a familiar figure walking toward them.
Anby.
Nicole and Billy both froze.
"Anby?! You didn't fall into the Hollow?!" They spoke in unison.
Anby blinked. "I did. But I got out."
Nicole: "???"
Billy: "???"
They stared at her, completely baffled.
Anby walked past them into Hare's House and casually began recounting her day.
"So, here's what happened. I was in the cinema watching a new release when the Hollow disaster hit Twelve Points Street. I stayed behind to save a little girl, which made me miss the best evacuation window… At first, I planned to just wait for rescue, but then I met an actor with a Bangboo and followed him out. Oh, right—his name's Sam Li. I even treated him to a burger."
She recounted the whole thing with complete seriousness.
Of course, she conveniently left out the part about charging the bill to Hare's House.
Nicole and Billy exchanged a look.
They had so many questions.
"A radish-carrying actor? Hold on—why would an actor have a radish? Anby, you didn't run into another weirdo, did you?"
Anby shook her head. "He's not a weirdo. If I had to describe him… he's more like a bird-walker. Even though he doesn't have a bird, he always carries around an empty birdcage."
Nicole: "!!!"
Billy: "…"
Walking around with an empty birdcage—if that wasn't weird, what was?
Still, at least Anby had made it back in one piece. That was what mattered.
Billy let out a dramatic sigh. "What a scare! Anyway, I still haven't finished Star Emblem Knight Imitation Contest…"
He didn't even bother putting his gun away. He dashed straight to the TV, turned it back on, and eagerly resumed watching his show.
Meanwhile, Anby plopped onto the couch and started snacking, completely at ease.
Nicole, however, was far from relaxed.
Seeing the two of them so carefree, she was instantly reminded of their crippling debt, and her frustration boiled over.
"Hare's House is on the verge of bankruptcy, and you two have the nerve to sit around watching variety shows?! Anby, Billy—do you have nothing to say for yourselves?!"
Her sudden outburst startled Billy.
He quickly blurted out, "Uh—uh, I guess I could start buying cheaper gun oil? Maybe save on bullets…?"
Nicole shot him a glare before turning to Anby. "And you?"
Anby paused for a moment, then said matter-of-factly, "New Eridu wasn't built in a day, and neither was our debt problem! Right now, our financial struggles are seriously dragging Hare's House down. The bigger our debt, the worse our reputation. The worse our reputation, the fewer clients we get. The fewer clients we get, the bigger our debt. The bigger our debt, the worse our reputation. The worse our reputation, the fewer—"
"STOP!" Nicole cut her off before she could loop herself into oblivion. "Anby, it's not that bad! We're going to expand Hare's House into something great! We have a bright future ahead of us!"
Now that the motivational speech was out of the way—
It was time to face reality.
"There's gotta be a way to fix our debt, reputation, and business all at once, right?"
The three of them sat side by side on the couch.
Nicole looked at Billy.
Billy looked at Anby.
Anby looked at Nicole.
For a long moment, nobody spoke.
Then—
Anby suddenly put down her snack. "I've got an idea."
Billy perked up. "What is it?"
Nicole immediately leaned in.
Anby took a moment before explaining, "If we can't fix all three problems at once, then let's start with one. We need to break this cycle and create a new one."
Nicole raised an eyebrow. "What kind of cycle?"
"Explain." Billy nodded eagerly.
Anby continued, "Hare's House has a terrible reputation. But if we hire a new employee, they can help us bring in more business. More business means less debt. Less debt improves our reputation. A better reputation attracts more clients. More clients mean even less debt, which boosts our reputation further… And just like that, we create a new loop."
A sustainable cycle.
A plan to turn things around.