After ending the call, Austin swiftly grabbed his hoodie, face mask, and a basketball cap. Initially, he contemplated wearing the Koneki Ghoul mask he had impulsively bought, but quickly dismissed the idea, believing it too cringe.
Once he had his attire sorted, he left his room, catching Lester's attention. "You just finished classes, and you're heading out again?"
"Yeah, you should go touch some grass too. Look at yourself; you've been glued to that chair for so long, I'm starting to think you're merging with it." Austin reminded.
"Now you're mocking me without any reservations, huh? Who's the one that's been gaming with me since the beginning of our campus days? Did being in a relationship make you forget things?" Lester countered sharply.
"Love makes people dumb, so I guess your words are right on point," Austin admitted without any sense of shame.
Lester couldn't resist throwing some empty drink cans at him, giving him the middle finger. "Cheesy bastard!"
Austin grinned and left the room.
Gritting his teeth, Lester refocused his attention on his laptop. On the screen, Edith, the beautiful singer with long blue hair, was greeting her fans.
"Edith, you're all I have now..."
...
To prevent regular people from getting frightened by Sonia's appearance, Austin specifically instructed her to only appear on his signal.
After finding a secluded spot on his campus, the lakeside forest, he shared his location with her through Satella.
"Don't do anything inappropriate when you're with her," Satella reminded through a message.
'Who does she think I am? A hooligan?' Austin thought amusedly as he waited for Sonia to arrive.
It didn't take long before he saw the familiar mystical door materializing in front of him. Sonia's figure soon stepped out from the door.
This time, the door didn't immediately disappear; it lingered in existence.
"Good afternoon, Sir Austin~" Sonia greeted him with a melodious tone, bowing respectfully, much like she had done earlier in the day.
"Did you enjoy the meal?" Austin inquired, a gentle smile playing on his lips as he couldn't help but pat her head.
To him, Sonia in her oversized witch hat, behaving with such grace and courtesy, felt like witnessing a child mimicking the actions of an adult.
Sonia closed her eyes, as if enjoying his pat, and beamed at the mention of the meal. "Yes, sir! I ate so much that I feel completely full." Her expression shifted, remembering her purpose for being here. "So, where do you plan to go, sir?"
Austin handed her the business card. "Can you use your teleportation ability to get us there?"
"Andreas Street," Sonia repeated, pulling out her phone to locate the place using Gogo Map.
"Er...I have a terrible sense of direction, so I usually rely on Gogo Map to overcome that shortcoming," she felt the need to admit when she saw Austin shot a curious look at her.
Austin's mouth twitched, but he refrained from saying anything, merely nodding in acknowledgment of her explanation.
Shortly after, she exclaimed, "Alright, I've set the map. Let's go. And please, hold my hand for safety."
As Austin took her small, delicate palm into his, he noticed her ear immediately turning red, and she lowered her head almost instantly.
"What's wrong?" Austin asked, a little bewildered by her abrupt behavior.
"N-nothing!" Sonia replied flusteredly and hurriedly dragged the puzzled Austin entering the door.
...
Am I going blind?
Why can't I see anything?
Austin questioned himself, blinking repeatedly, yet all he perceived was an impenetrable blackness. Usually, his eyesight will work better in darkness. But such a case was not applied here, which he found to be strange.
If it weren't for the subtle warmth he still felt from Sonia's palm, he would undoubtedly be freaking out.
Tick!
Tick!
Whoosh~
He then noticed Sonia's face becoming visible, illuminated by what seemed to be a torch. Strangely, the flame appeared pale-grey, casting an otherworldly hue on Sonia's colorless face.
"Is it normal for me to only see your face and nothing else?" Austin couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, the nature of the Spirit World is similar to that of Outer Space. However, Sir Austin should still be able to locate the stars of Heaven and Infernal. If you can't see them, then perhaps you...err..."
"I'm too weak?" Austin finished her sentence.
"Well... yes," Sonia admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Austin sighed and changed the topic. "Which direction should we go?"
Sonia promptly responded, "This way, Sir!" as she guided Austin with their palms joined.
Based on the sensations he experienced, it didn't feel like he was stepping on anything. Instead, he seemed to be floating the entire time.
Just as Sonia had described, the Spirit World bore a striking resemblance to Outer Space.
After a few minutes, Sonia finally came to a stop.
"We've arrived." Sonia gestured, and the familiar-looking door materialized once again. She began to lead Austin, and as they passed through the gate, he discovered that they were now on some kind of rooftop.
As he glimpsed the familiar cityscape and inhaled the comforting scent, a sense of relaxation washed over him.
Throughout the journey with Sonia, he had been unable to enjoy even the slightest moment due to the lack of scenery, coupled with Sonia's warnings about the numerous dangerous creatures residing in the Spirit World.
"Are we on the top of their building, right now?" Austin asked.
"Yes, we've got a perfect landing~" Sonia confirmed.
"Alright, it's time to teach those money-grubbers a lesson!"
...
"Haha, not only did we score five grand from the original commission, but we also snagged an extra fifteen grand from that kid!" The bald guy laughed.
"Boss, is it okay to rough up our original client like that? I heard his family is wealthy. What if they come storming into our office?" The one with sunglasses voiced his concern.
"It's fine," the guy with cigarettes spoke nonchalantly. After taking a long drag, he continued, "The one who pays us fifteen grands more likely comes from a wealthier family. Do you think it's wise to offend him instead?"
"Oh, you're right, boss. You're so smart. I didn't think of that before," the man with sunglasses scratched his head.
"That's a given! If I'm not smart, I won't be a bo-" his words were abruptly cut off as the electricity in their office suddenly went out.
The boss immediately narrowed his eyes and set his cigarettes down.
"Boss?" The bald guy asked warily.
"Go check outside." The boss ordered.
The bald guy rose from his couch and walked to the door. Just as he turned the handle, the door unexpectedly hurtled towards his face.
Caught off guard, he had no chance to avoid it and was sent flying alongside the door, crashing into one of the desks and immediately losing consciousness.
"You fucker!" The man in sunglasses reacted swiftly to the commotion.
However, his flurry of kicks and punches met only empty air. The lack of light became a significant hindrance to him.
Just then, a subtle shift in the air alerted him to a presence behind, but before he could react, it was too late. Austin had seized the nearest laptop, bringing it down forcefully on the man's head, smashing it.
Katcha!
The laptop shattered into pieces upon impact, and the man crumpled, losing consciousness
All of this unfolded in mere seconds.
The boss, though unable to see anything, sensed the sudden silence among his subordinates after the commotion. It could only mean they were either killed or losing consciousness.
Realizing this, he discreetly opened his drawer and yelled to buy himself some time. "Who are you?!"
"Haven't you figured it out yet? This is a robbery!" Austin purposely roughened his voice.
'Robbery?' The boss almost couldn't resist letting out a curse. A gangster himself, yet here he was, facing a robbery. If word got out, his reputation would surely take a hit.
"Give me all your money, and I'll spare your life. Quick!" Austin demanded coldly.
"O-okay, okay! But I don't have cash at the moment," the boss stammered in response.
"Who are you trying to fool? There's a safe deposit there. Go open it! If you dare give me another excuse, hmph!" Austin warned, his tone stern and unwavering.
"Fine, fine! I'll open the safe. Just don't hurt me."
After a moment, the boss made another plea. "Can you give me some light? I keep pressing the wrong numbers. I'm getting old; my eyesight isn't what it used to be."
"You've got a lot of excuses, don't you?" Austin's tone remained stern.
The boss gulped nervously at Austin's response. Yet, a wave of relief washed over him when Austin added, "Fine, I'll give you some light. My phone flashlight should do, right?"
"It'll do!" The boss responded eagerly.
As Austin approached, the boss silently grinned. 'Fool! You're still a thousand years too young to rob me!'
Sensing his opportunity had finally come, he swiftly turned around, unleashing a barrage of gunfire with the pistol he had secretly grabbed from his drawer.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
He only stopped firing when he finally ran out of ammo.
'That guy should be dead, right?' The boss was halfway through heaving a sigh of relief when he saw a pair of cold eyes staring at him, just right beside him.
"Y-you..."
...
"Fifty grand. Not bad at all," Austin exclaimed as he counted the cash. He couldn't believe how smoothly they pulled off the heist. And how he enjoyed the process.
Stealing someone's belongings and resorting to violence was something he expected to dislike, but to his surprise, he found himself enjoying it.
"Let's split it down the middle. Here's your share," he said, handing over twenty-five grand to Sonia.
"I get a share too?" Sonia exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course. It was thanks to your teleportation ability that we could get here fast."
"Oh, you're truly my lucky charm, Sir Austin. This is the first time I've ever held this much money," Sonia said, her eyes sparkling with emotion. She seemed so moved that tears threatened to spill.
"With your teleportation ability, I figured you'd be raking in cash easily," Austin remarked, puzzled by her reaction.
"My master is incredibly strict. I can only earn income through tasks assigned by my senior sister or trusted parties like Lady Alysia. Most of the payment goes straight to my teacher, leaving me with next to nothing. So, this is the first time I've actually gotten some money for myself," Sonia explained.
"You're so pitiful. Well, now you can use that money to buy yourself some food and snacks," Austin said, patting Sonia's head.
Sonia nodded appreciatively.
After a brief moment of hesitation, she gathered her courage and pulled out her phone. "Uhm, Sir Austin, can I ask for your phone number?"
"Sure," Austin agreed without hesitation. With Sonia's teleportation ability, he saw no reason to refuse.
After entering his contact information in her phone and his as well, Sonia smiled brightly. "Thank you for today, Sir Austin! This is genuinely one of the happiest days of my life. Please reach out whenever you have a task for me. Bye-bye~"
Austin waved, watching as Sonia disappeared through the door.
He stood still for a moment before closing his eyes. His consciousness sank, and soon, he entered the familiar, mysterious space where all the sin runes gathered.
Now, in addition to the five runes he initially possessed, there was one more—an additional rune: the Greed Rune.
"Everything went according to plan," Austin stated with a satisfied smile.
"Now, only the Wrath Rune is left for me to claim."
--------------------------
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