Chapter 246: Chapter 4. Get the Base
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"This house is in your care now."
"Mm, leave it to me."
Cyd tossed the keys in his hand and waved to a couple.
"You're making your companion face it alone, after all," Cyd tossed the keys to El-Melloi II. "You sure are ruthless, huh?"
Cough cough!
"I could have just used a suggestion to make them give up the house," El-Melloi II coughed awkwardly. "For them, it was just a spur-of-the-moment decision to go on vacation and temporarily leave the house to a trusted relative."
He had used a similar method ten years ago, moving into a couple's house through suggestion.
I wonder how they're doing now?
"Come on, you're a Lord. It's embarrassing to rely on suggestions to freeload like that." Cyd waved a flyer in his hand. "I was actually planning to take you to this hotel. Rumor has it that due to a past terrorist attack, the prices are relatively cheap."
"But even that's beyond what I can afford," El-Melloi II's mouth twitched. "Speaking of which, how did you manage to pay for that couple's long trip?"
"I merely diverted funds that would have been wasted anyway," Cyd smiled mysteriously.
At Chaldea, meanwhile...
"Oh, oh, oh, miss Mari!" Roman stared at the screen with flushed cheeks, watching a cute white-haired girl. "I have to send a gift for this!"
Roman immediately clicked the payment button without hesitation.
[Insufficient balance.]
Staring at the four glaring words, Roman fell silent. He tremblingly opened his wallet—just as he feared...all his cards were gone.
"Wahhh! C-chan, you can't do this! How did you figure out the password!?"
Roman clutched his head in agony. There was no bank in Chaldea where he could report his card stolen. In other words, all he could do was watch helplessly as someone—likely a white-haired someone—used his salary.
Unless...he could figure out a way to send gifts to Melly the moment his salary hit his account.
"C-chan, don't underestimate my love for Miss Mari!"
Roman clenched his fist, eyes burning with determination.
"Oh, by the way, make sure Roman's salary is paid a day earlier. He's been working hard too. Ahh, as expected of Little Marie, she's such a sweet child. I bet she's got that proud look on her face right now...Ah, the call got cut off." Cyd shrugged and hung up the phone, a small smile playing at the corner of his lips.
"Was that Miss Olga Marie?" Gray, carrying clothes, tilted her head.
"Yes~" Cyd chuckled, sitting on the sofa and turning on the TV with the remote. "Gray, just treat this place like home for now. Relax and take off that cloak."
"I'll try," Gray nodded but showed no intention of removing the cloak. "By the way, where's the laundry room?"
Cyd glanced at the clothes in Gray's arms, all men's clothing. Whose, it wasn't hard to guess.
Gray, you're not El-Melloi II's maid.
Cyd wanted to say this, but Gray would probably just reply that she was doing it willingly.
"Gray, there's a washing machine here," El-Melloi II emerged from the bathroom, having taken off his suit and now wearing an old white T-shirt.
"Master, I think it's better if I hand wash them. I'll make sure they're spotless," Gray clutched El-Melloi II's clothes, unwilling to part with them. "What if the washing machine malfunctions? You'd lose your only few sets of clothes."
"Don't worry, it won't malfunction. Take it easy where you can," El-Melloi II said as he picked up a box and placed it next to the TV.
In the end, Gray reluctantly stuffed the clothes into the washing machine, then sat on a small stool, hugging her knees, and stared mournfully at the spinning machine.
"Hahaha, you've been out of work." Add, from his cage, as usual, couldn't help but tease her.
Expressionless, Gray stopped the washing machine, threw Add inside, and restarted it.
"Waaaahhh!"
Click—
El-Melloi II skillfully turned off the TV, which had been playing boring news, and hooked up the game console, lying down in front of the screen and starting to play.
"Hey..." Cyd was speechless. "What about your work?"
"I've already located all the cards," El-Melloi II waved his hand. "I'll take care of them tonight. By the way, want some rice crackers?" He pointed to a plate of rice crackers next to the game discs.
"You're not quite the workaholic I remember," Cyd squinted.
They had been roommates for a few days in the past, though briefly. El-Melloi II had been the type to bring work home, and Cyd had never seen him this relaxed before.
"You're slacking off on the job, aren't you?" Cyd raised an eyebrow. "And you even brought a game console and discs."
El-Melloi II fell into an awkward silence, his button-mashing slowing down noticeably.
"Can you really call it slacking if it's just passing the time?" El-Melloi II replied guiltily.
Sure, he might have accidentally left some unfinished files back at the office, but that didn't mean he was here to slack off! He just needed to kill time during the day!
"Whatever. I'm going to visit the neighbors. Want to come?" Cyd held up a bag of fruit he'd bought earlier with Roman's card, shaking it.
"We're only staying for a few days anyway," El-Melloi II muttered. "No need."
"You just don't want to put down that controller," Cyd rolled his eyes. "What about Gray..."
Stare...
Gray, still sitting on the stool, stared intently at the washing machine.
If any problem arose, she would immediately retrieve her master's clothes, demanding that she hand-wash them as proof that she should have done it in the first place.
So please... something go wrong!
"Waaaahhh! I'm so dizzy!"
Add was still screaming.
Cyd quietly exited the bathroom.
Looks like I'm going alone.
"Doorbell, doorbell... Ah, here it is." Cyd pressed the button lightly and took a step back so the person on the other side could see him through the peephole.
Click—
The door slowly opened, revealing a young boy with orange-red hair.
"Who are you?"
"Hi~ I just moved in next door," Cyd waved the bag of fruit in his hand. "I came to say hello."
"That's really kind of you," the boy hesitated but took the fruit anyway.
"Come in and have a seat," the boy said, opening the door wider. "I just made some snacks. If you don't mind, feel free to take some with you."
"Thank you so much," Cyd smiled lightly. "Sorry to trouble you."
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