Leonar walked slowly, an evident scowl of frustration plastered on his face. The discomfort in his muscles hadn't diminished one bit since leaving the gym, and the faint smell of sweat clinging to him made him feel even more miserable.
His clothes were sticky, worn-out, and worst of all...
He stank.
Spotting the entrance of a hotel across the street, a thought crossed Leonar's mind:
'I could take a shower and rest there for a while, but… I don't have a change of clothes...'
Clicking his tongue, Leonar muttered:
"I need new clothes. I can't keep going like this."
Although he wasn't thrilled about the idea of shopping, on second thought, having fresh athletic wear—light shirts, flexible pants, and maybe some decent sneakers that didn't make walking so painful—didn't sound so bad.
'Yeah, not a terrible idea...'
Leonar slipped his hand into his front pocket to check his current funds.
But then he froze.
"It's not there…" Leonar whispered.
He double-checked, patting every corner of his pockets in a rush. His hunter ID and the gym papers, along with the fine, were still there… but the money, that cursed money, was nowhere to be found.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Leonar yelled, drawing the attention of some passersby.
With a furrowed brow and a face turning redder by the second, he began shouting internally:
'Eleonora! ELEONORA!'
Inside his mind, Eleonora's familiar voice finally answered, though she sounded groggy:
"Why are you making such a fuss?"
Leonar let out an incredulous huff, clenching his fists.
'What do you mean 'why am I making a fuss?!' My damn money's gone!'
It took Eleonora a couple of seconds to process his words before she replied, sounding unbothered:
"And why does that worry you?"
Leonar stopped dead in his tracks, staring into the void as if trying to contain the explosion of emotions threatening to erupt.
'Why does it worry me?' Leonar repeated, his voice trembling with a nervous laugh as he ground his teeth. 'Eleonora, money is important!'
Eleonora fell silent for a moment, seemingly pondering his words.
"Oh… Was it that important?"
Leonar ran his hands down his face and let out a long sigh.
'Let me rephrase. What did you do with the money in my pockets before I handed you control of my body?'
Eleonora hesitated.
"Hmm… Let me think…"
'There's nothing to think about! You need to remember! Because if you really lost it, I swear to—'
"Why are you so worked up over some papers?" Eleonora interrupted, sounding genuinely curious.
Leonar paused, closing his eyes tightly as he took a deep breath.
'Papers? Eleonora, those green pieces of paper are money! It's what humans use for everything: food, clothes, shelter… everything.'
"Oh." Eleonora seemed to mull it over for a moment before adding, "They didn't talk much about that when I learned about humans…"
Leonar stared at her incredulously within his mind.
'What do you mean they didn't talk about that?!'
Eleonora sighed, sounding slightly offended by his tone.
"I learned a lot of things, but money wasn't exactly a priority."
Leonar groaned in frustration, pressing a hand to his forehead.
'Unbelievable. This is unbelievable!' Leonar thought as he ran both hands through his hair. 'Fine, can you try to remember? Do you recall what happened to my money?'
"Well, if you mean those green papers, I put them in your back pocket. They were bothering me."
Heart pounding, Leonar quickly checked his back pocket and, to his immense relief, there was the money.
"Thank God… I almost had a heart attack, Eleonora."
"See? It wasn't such a big deal," she replied, her tone carefree, almost amused.
"Of course, it was a big deal!" Leonar snapped, still frowning. "Listen, this is all the money we have right now. We need it for food, clothes, and a place to stay while we earn more. Every time you borrow my body, you need to treat it as if your life depends on it."
"Okay, got it…" Eleonora responded casually, though Leonar wasn't entirely convinced by her tone.
Shaking his head, Leonar began counting the money. His initial relief quickly turned into panic again.
"Wait a second!" Leonar said, double-checking the bills. "This isn't all of it! Before paying the hotel, we had more than 700 dollars, and now… there's only 300!"
Eleonora responded in an innocent tone:
"Oh, that. I think I gave some of that money to a couple of guys who approached me. They said something about fixing a door and gave me a paper."
Leonar stared at her in disbelief within his mind.
"What…?"
"They said it was important and that they'd take care of everything…" Eleonora sounded completely unconcerned, as if it wasn't an issue at all.
Leonar let out a nervous laugh, swallowed hard, and replied:
"Eleonora… Are you telling me you paid strangers for 'repairs'?"
"It seems that way."
Leonar stood silent for a few moments before releasing a long, heavy sigh.
"We're screwed… completely screwed."
Eleonora didn't respond immediately, as if trying to process his reaction.
Finally, she softly said:
"I don't understand why you're so worried."
"Because we're on the brink of ruin!" Leonar exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air before collapsing onto a nearby bench. "You need to start taking money seriously!"
Eleonora stayed quiet for a moment before replying, her tone slightly more serious:
"Alright. I'll try to take it more seriously."
However, her casual tone still left Leonar unconvinced. He let out a bitter laugh, placing a hand over his forehead.
He looked at the bills in his hand, a mix of disbelief and resignation washing over him, and muttered:
"I'm doomed..."