"So, how long until my next mission?" I asked when we reached Aquaria's apartment.
"You made it through your last mission fairly quickly, so we still have twelve hours before we drop into the world," Aquaria said as she waved her card in front of the door, but instead of opening and flashing green like it did last time, it just flashed red.
"Uh-oh! Looks like someone hasn't paid their rent! Too bad, let's go to my place!" Grimora cheered, raising her staff in the air to make a small explosion above us that made my ears pop.
"Huh? You can't pay? How do you pay?" I asked, and Aquaria sighed.
"I have to pay here, but I am a few weeks behind on rent. It will be fine once I get back. I will work out another deal with the local Magistrate to get another extension," Aquaria sighed, and Grimora patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry; I just talked to them before my last mission to get an extension! Let's go to my place!" Grimora cheered again, but I put up my hand.
"Just wait," I said and then turned to Aquaria. "How much are you owning? I am going to need to find a place while you are gone, so I can just house-sit for you until I get back, right?"
"I owe too much. When it gets like this, and we get locked out, it is because we are millions of Mana in debt. I owe over 7.5 million Mana," Aquaria said, and then went over and pushed her thumb to the same scanner she had waved her black card at.
[9,799,562 Mana Overdue]
Aquaria flinched back as though she had just touched fire, but that was a lot more than I had expected so it was a reasonable reaction.
"Woah! Do you just like... never pay your rent?! How is it so high?!" Grimora exclaimed, and Aquaria looked away.
"I failed my last mission, and I just got more debt!" Aquaria growled, but I pointed at the scanner. I had already checked my card, and there was over 14 million Mana on it.
"Do I just tap my card there to pay?" I asked, looking at Aquaria. She just stared at me like I was talking in another language. I turned to Grimora, but she really didn't look much better. "Did I say something wrong?"
*Cough!* "Umm, how do you have so much money?!" Grimora demanded, coming over and grabbing me by the torn shirt. "I got minus 7 million from that!" She snapped, and I patted her head, which instantly calmed her down.
"To get paid the big bucks, you gotta have the big nuts!" I laughed, but both girls just gave me a look that said they didn't think I was funny. "Fine, I just threatened Jim and told him that I would not be paying for the damages on any missions that I was requested to do by him or other officials," I explained, but both women had gone deathly pale.
"You wha?!" Aquaria asked, her mouth hanging open even after.
"I grabbed Jim by the back of the neck and told him that if they were going to send me on CCS missions, then they would be flipping the bill. I am sure Jim is famous enough to afford it, or there is some fund to pay for it," I said, and both girls facepalmed.
"You really have no clue, do you?" Grimora asked, and Aquaria just shook her head.
"No, he doesn't. He didn't become a divine being the same way we did, and he has been here for less than a week. I guess it makes sense that he doesn't know, but I don't understand how he is still alive," Aquaria said to Grimora, and I was starting to feel like I was missing something.
"Wait, just who is Jim?" I asked, but then put up my finger. "Wait," I said, and then turned and tapped my card to the scanner, and the red light became green, making the door open. "Let's talk about how stupid I am inside because I feel like that is what is coming."
"You are not wrong," Grimora said as she walked by me and into the building. I turned, and Aquaria was still standing there, but she was fidgeting with her hands and looking at the ground.
"Are you okay?" I asked, walking over to her. Maybe I had overstepped with paying just now?
The moment I got close, she grabbed my shirt and buried her face into my chest. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her and stroked the back of her blue hair. I guess this is more shocking for her than anything.
"I didn't want you to do something like that," She said quietly into my chest.
"I am sorry if I overstepped, but you have done a lot to help me. It is also pretty clear that you are a hard worker," I said, pressing my face into the top of her head.
"No, I just didn't want you to think that I was using you," Aquaria said, and then I kissed the top of her head and then pulled back from her.
"It was my choice to do it. We could have gone to Grimora's, but I will take care of her rent once I get back from our mission," I explained, but Aquaria looked confused.
"Why?! I am sure you worked very hard for that Mana! People don't just give it away!" She exclaimed, and I laughed.
"What am I going to spend it on? As long as you don't mind, and Grimora, I will just be a house sitter for the two of you while you are gone. What do I need my own place for? Not like I am broke anyways," I said with a shrug and then motioned to the building with my head. "Should we go inside to finish this? I am still really curious to know why you are both up in arms about Jim," I said, and Aquaria's eyes went wide, and then nodded, pulling away and then grabbing my hand to drag me into the building.