“Dear guest, your delivery has arrived.”
Not long after Nangong Xiwang had left, the smart home’s emotionless electronic voice echoed through the room.
Clara opened the door and saw two boxes of hot pizza and a large bottle of cola in the delivery box at the entrance.
“Oh, that fast?!”
Clara thought Nangong Xiwang had ordered it just before leaving, but in reality, Nangong had pre-ordered the pizza on her way home.
Clara felt a bit guilty for always mooching off Nangong Xiwang’s food and drinks, and she thought she should do something to repay her…
So before enjoying the delicious pizza, Clara started cleaning the room.
[Cleaning for psychological comfort?] Nyx asked.
“Something like that?”
While wiping the glass of the night view projection window, Clara muttered, “Miss Nangong has been kind to me. I want to repay her no matter what… How is the manga website coming along?”
[The website is already set up. When do you think we can launch it officially?]
“Who manages the official account of the Dream Witch? We should first send a teaser to the fans of ‘Magical Girl Clara’…”
Clara always believed she was just playing the role of Magical Girl Clara, so she never considered that Clara to be herself.
[The official account and fan group are jointly run by Nyx and Dr. Fran.]
“Huh? It’s you?!”
Dr. Fran was one thing—she was a member of the Dream Witch, so it made sense for her to take on the management as a side job when they were short-handed. But Nyx was just the AI of the Drive Unit…
So she has a job too?
But Nyx continued:
[Therefore, Nyx wants a salary.]
An AI wants a salary?
Nyx’s sudden topic caught Clara off guard.
“…Well, you’d need to apply to President Cexia for that.”
Clara’s first reaction wasn’t to refuse.
After all, Nyx had already demonstrated a high enough level of intelligence.
According to the AI Human Rights Act, a strong AI that can pass the humanity test can be considered a “person” if it is equipped with a humanoid body.
But Nyx once again broke her expectations and said:
[Nyx was just joking. Nyx doesn’t intend to ask for a salary.]
“I can’t tell at all! Who can understand that emotionless tone of yours?!”
Clara still couldn’t figure out what Nyx was thinking.
Just as they were cleaning and bickering, the sound of the front door opening came from the entryway.
Clara turned to look.
A little girl in cute children’s clothing was standing at the entrance, bending over to take off her tall boots.
In casual clothes, was that the form Kamui took after canceling her transformation?
Clara wasn’t sure.
After all, in Central City, not everyone who looks like a loli is a real child. Due to limited educational resources, real children usually study in closed schools on Earth.
As for legal lolis, they were often those who had undergone special body modification surgery or were long-lived species that maintained a childlike appearance even after growing up.
“Good evening, Miss Kamui.”
Clara walked to the entrance to greet her. The latter glanced at the broom in her hand, held her forehead, and asked helplessly:
“Why are you cleaning again…”
“You and Miss Nangong’s living habits are worrying. I just cleaned nine days ago, but now it’s already a mess…”
But Kamui waved her hand and said irritably:
“Forget that for now. Why did you call me here? I came back specially for you. At least give me a convincing reason?”
Kamui went into the bathroom to wash her face and hands.
The sink that was just the right height for Nangong Xiwang required Kamui to stand on tiptoe slightly, as if she had to bury her face in it to wash her hands.
Clara asked from the doorway:
“Miss Kamui, have you considered registering on the Hero Network?”
Kamui wasn’t surprised; she already knew why Clara had come.
She just asked back, “Why? Just because you got a taste of the rewards from yesterday’s quest?”
Kamui patted Clara’s cheek with her wet hand, then walked into the living room, sat down on the couch, opened the pizza box, grabbed a slice, and stuffed it into her mouth.
As she ate the pizza, she explained:
“The taste you got is just early dividends. They’ll disappear sooner or later. As the number of registered heroes increases, the quests available on the Hero Network will eventually be too few for too many.”
“The Hero Network isn’t safe. I won’t go into that cliché topic… That’s true for other heroes, but Clara is different.”
‘If she could get close to the Hero Association through the Hero Network, approach the top-tier hero Alice, and even work her way into the upper echelons, she would gain secrets unknown to ordinary people.’
So Clara continued to persuade:
“Think about it, there are so many heroes in Central City. Too many remain unknown throughout their careers. How easy is it to stand out?”
The old man loli spouted useless platitudes, while the legal loli listened with her chin resting on her hand.
“But the Hero Network offers an opportunity… Even if you don’t register, there’s still the risk of being targeted by criminal organizations or having your identity exposed. Why not take a gamble on the Hero Network?”
Especially independent heroes like Kamui.
Especially independent heroes like Kamui, who have no company backing them. It’s easy for enemies to lock onto their real identities, deal with them privately, or threaten their families to end their hero activities.
Although Clara’s words were not as harsh as Blue Cavalier’s, Kamui still didn’t agree.
“If you want to register, go ahead. I don’t want to…”
Kamui said while eating pizza, cheese pulling into strings from the corner of her mouth.
“Then can you accompany me to register?” Clara asked.
“Why me?”
Kamui opened the large bottle of cola, tilted her greasy mouth to the bottle, and chugged it straight. Her bold eating manner was very fitting for Clara’s image of a magical barbarian.
She even burped afterward.
“Don’t you have other hero friends? Like… the four from the Sigma Series?”
“Huh?”
Clara was surprised. ‘Did Kamui consider her a friend?’
‘On the contrary, Clara had thought of Kamui as just an acquaintance she happened to know, with a strained relationship. The reason she had taken in the drunk Kamui from the roadside before was out of guilt for causing her demotion… So hearing the word “friend” from her now was inevitably surprising.’
‘It was herself who was being petty.’
Clara answered, “The Sigma Series are already registered on the Hero Network.”
After all, they were androids. Registering on the Hero Network didn’t pose any concerns for them.
“I think we both have a one-sided understanding of the Hero Network. With a deeper understanding, maybe Miss Kamui could accept it.”
“…Sigh, just going to take a look isn’t impossible.”
It seemed she was accommodating Clara, but in the end, Kamui agreed.
Perhaps she also knew she had a bias against the Hero Network.
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