Mother lightly scolded Kaede for playing around before heaving a deep sigh. Her scary aura vanished as a sad expression crossed her face. "It looks like that'll take time to repair."
Her gaze scanned the entire house, looking at the damages it received as her eyes flickered with a mix of sadness, anger, and resignation. I didn't miss the pensive look on her face either.
"The repair costs... I guess it'll increase now since there's a lot of damage to the entire city... *sigh*"
"Oh, so that's what you're worried about?" I quickly smiled, seeing that it was actually money that Mother was troubled about.
After all, we're not that wealthy. I guess with how chaotic times are right now, repairing this damage would be more than double the original cost of the house itself. Even if Father took out loans to fill up the rest, it's doubtful if they could handle such a large bill.
"I actually... No... Nothing." I almost blurted out that I have two million dollars in my newly created bank account. However, I suddenly had the idea that surprising them later would be the better choice. After all, I don't have proof of it on me, as the bank details were still in Toki's hands.
*BRRRRRRRRRRT*
Speaking of the devil, just as I had her name in mind, my phone rang. It was none other than Toki who was calling me. I didn't wait around and quickly picked it up.
"(Hello, Mahiro? You're at your house right now, right?)"
As usual, her opening remarks make me think that she has a hidden camera stuck on my body or something. There's nothing of the sort, though, since I already checked. I sighed lightly before answering. "Stalking me again, I see... Well, yes, I am. Why ask?"
"(The damage to your house is pretty light, but it'll take at least a week to repair. I'm here to offer a deal.)"
Light? This is light damage, you say? Well, seeing how some houses were literally turned to powder, then I guess ours, which was still standing, can be said to be "lightly damaged."
"And the deal? If it's another gangster deal, then count me out." I quickly stated my baseline.
"(Did I ever scam you regarding deals? I didn't, right? Anyway, the story is simple. You work for me, crafting for a week, while I provide the money for your house's repair and temporary residence for your family. Deal?)"
I squinted my eyes at hearing such a favorable deal. Hearing this makes me think that there's a pitfall hidden somewhere.
"(It's not a booby-trapped offer. I'm actually offering this to you as an apology.)"
Ignoring the way she read my mind, her words quickly caught my attention. "Apology? Why? What for?"
"(You recall the Blast Wands?)" Toki hinted, her voice tinted with pride but mixed with an apologetic tone. "(Well, long story short, we used it for the attack against the monsters. Now, all the mages who saw its stats were bugging us to sell it to them.)"
"... Aaaaand?"
"(... And as of now, you're the only one who can successfully make it. I tried asking our manufacturing department, even showing a video of your entire crafting process, but they couldn't do it.)"
Isn't that a little unreasonable? Crafting the wand was so simple, though. "Are you sure they're professionals?" I asked, filled with doubt.
"(They were well-known master smiths and craftsmen before the entire nanomachine fiasco. But probably due to that, they can't cope with the methods of crafting using unknown materials and possessing unknown properties.)"
Well, they have mastered their crafts for a long time, after all. Prejudices and muscle memory work too well for them, probably getting in the way of their crafting. Switching to something that is mostly still undefined is definitely harder for them compared to mine.
"I see..." I closed my eyes for a bit, trying to weigh the pros and cons, but I still had insufficient information to come to a conclusion. "For one week, how many wands do I need to make...?"
A short chuckle echoed from the other side of the phone before she answered.
"(Don't worry, we've taken your pace in crafting one wand and limited the orders to 100 of them. You can do that easily, right~?)" Her voice rose at the end as if she was taunting me.
"One hundred? I see... I refuse then. Bye!" I quickly replied and said goodbye, but didn't really put down the phone.
Toki seemed to have noticed that too and just laughed lightly. Her next words made me realize why she sounded so confident that I would accept the offer.
"(Really? That's too bad. Anyway, I just got information that your address was leaked to the mages. In a few minutes, they'll probably reach there. Goodluck!)"
"F*ck you! Why would you? Argh!" She completely got me!
If I don't accept the deal, then the mages will definitely flock here and bug me to make them one of those wands. If I agree, then I will be stuck in her workshop until I finish all 100 wands that she wants. Either way, it's hell.
I turned to my mother and my sister and then sighed. If I don't agree, then they'll get dragged into the chaos. "Alright, miss blackmailer. I agree. So? How are we going to reach you?"
*BEEEEP!* *BEEEEP!*
Just as I asked, the loud sound of a car's horn echoed, prompting the three of us to turn toward the gate. There, a long black limousine was parked. At the rear window, there's a familiar face peeking out, waving at me while a phone is pressed against her ear.
"(Come down here now. I'll take you to the facility.)"
"Is that... Miss Todoroki?" Mother mused with a slight hint of surprise.
Although she shouldn't have met Toki yet, she knows her already. What a surprise, really. Kaede was frowning deeply as she looked at the limousine. With a strong glare, she pointed at Toki and asked.
"Who's that? Your girlfriend?"
Her voice was filled with anger and irritation, but I couldn't even guess why she would feel like that toward a stranger. Is this a confirmation that she's really a brocon and is just wary of other women fluttering around me? I guess not.
"She's Toki, a friend," I explained with a flat tone. However, as if to mock my attempt, Toki's voice suddenly echoed loudly from my phone. I didn't turn the speaker mode on, though.
"(Hello, I'm Todoroki Katarina. It's a pleasure to meet you, sister.)"
Her words were extra effective, as Kaede's brows furrowed and the corner of her eyes twitched. Before I could move out of the way, she had already grabbed the phone out of my hands and talked into it while glaring at the person sitting in the limousine.
"Don't call me [Sister], you little brat. I'll flatten you to the ground if you do that again."
"Kaaaeeeeede?"
Mother's words quickly brought her back to reality. Her fierce expression and angry countenance quickly vanished as her face turned teary and her entire body shook in fear. She threw my phone out of reflex as she used both hands to cover the top of her head.
"No, Mom, I didn't! It's a misunderstanding!"
This time, Mother didn't bring down the iron fist of love; instead, she just sighed and reprimanded her. "Apologize to Miss Todoroki later. She's the one who saved Mahiro from the boss monster before, you know?"
Seeing her act meekly, which honestly doesn't fit her, I chuckled lightly. I put the phone, which I managed to catch in time, out of speaker mode and placed it against my ears again. "You too, don't joke around too much," I warned.
"(I wasn't kidding though? Want to go out with me officially?)"
This girl... Is she just joking again, or is she being serious now? I have absolutely no idea. "Enough jokes, we're coming down."
I gave up on guessing and just slammed the phone, cutting the call. Mother was seemingly able to hear our conversation, as a faint teasing grin was on her face. I didn't comment, and I just jumped down the destroyed wall and landed on the lawn in one go. Mother and my sister... Did the same.
After landing, we walked to the gates and reached for the doors of the limousine.
Inside, Toki was holding a wine glass filled with a transparent white liquid; the content slushed around as she ushered us in. "Please enter. Don't be shy."
Before Toki was a transparent table, so I moved to the other side and sat at the long chair, lining up the right side of the car. Mother and Kaede sat on the opposite side, looking around with curious gazes.
"By the way, there's another matter that I need to apologize about."
Just as we were settling down, I felt the tug of inertia pull me sideways as the car started cruising. Other than that initial movement, the rest was smooth, as if we weren't in a vehicle but instead resting inside a bar.
"The Staff of Destruction... Was also used during the previous monster attack."
"...!"
"..."
"...."
Hearing the staff's name—the one I made on a whim that was supposedly worth billions—I flinched. I wonder why Mother was acting surprised after hearing the name of the staff too. Anyway, I have a bad feeling about this.