The best part? Zane didn't have to pay a commission fee.
"Zane, if something goes wrong in Hollow Zero, you won't get to see me again—no, you won't even get to see Eous..."
"Just think, Panta left all alone at the video store... how sad would that be?"
Still getting no response, Belle upped her game, cleverly bringing up Eous and Panta to sway him.
On the side, Wise rubbed his forehead helplessly, his expression darkening. Since when did Belle get this good at manipulation...?
"Fine. I'll go."
Zane gave her a nod. Honestly, he'd already planned on tagging along—but Belle's whole performance...
"Woohoo!"
Belle jumped up with joy. After her little celebration, she decided to check in with "The Shepherd" for more details about the upcoming mission.
It wasn't her first rodeo—Belle had seen this kind of incident before. Powerful "independent investigators" was just a nice way of saying they were trying to win over strong Proxies...
With nothing else on his schedule, Zane hung around the video store for a bit, then, as agreed, headed next door to the cat café with Nekomata.
He spent some time there, sorting out details and picking the café's name. In the afternoon, he made his way to the Public Security Bureau.
While training with Qingyi, he also stopped by Zhu Yuan's desk to register the business license and get the other paperwork approved for the café.
Inside the Janus District Public Security Bureau...
"The House of Tanuki?"
"Why that name?"
Qingyi glanced at the official certificate Zhu Yuan handed Zane, tilting her head curiously.
A cat café taking in strays... what did that have to do with tanukis?
"Oh, that..."
Zane blinked, popped a snack Qingyi had set out into his mouth, and explained while chewing.
"The café's not just mine—Nekomiya Mana's the co-founder. We took a character from each of our names."
"But 'Leaving Cat' sounded weird, so we went with the homophone 'Tanuki.' It rolls off the tongue better..."
Qingyi frowned slightly at the explanation.
Nekomiya Mana?
She remembered the name from the Vision Industry incident—the catfolk girl who tried to sacrifice herself to protect others. Zhu Yuan had even followed up with her during the investigation...
But...
Mana was a girl.
She shot Zane a look, pursed her lips, and slowly relaxed her brow—but her gaze turned sharper.
Was this guy just messing around with girls all over the place?
He definitely needed a wake-up call...
Zane, oblivious, continued munching away without noticing Qingyi's shift in mood. He just felt... oddly cold for some reason.
When training time rolled around, it was more of the same: no powers allowed, just one-sided beatdowns. Zane had to suffer in silence.
They said they'd ease up after yesterday! Why did it feel like Qingyi was going even harder today?
By dusk, Seth once again witnessed a familiar sight—Officer Zhu Yuan carrying a box of medical supplies.
After getting the rundown, he finally understood who the medicine was for.
"Why does it feel like Qingyi-senpai has a grudge against Zane? That can't be right... I thought they got along."
Puzzled, Seth returned to his work.
...
"My senior clearly doesn't stick to her word. Guess I better stay prepared in the future, or else..."
Outside the House of Tanuki, Zane walked toward the café, registration papers in hand. It was already starting to take shape.
With nowhere else to stay, he and Nekomata had agreed that he'd use the room above the café as a temporary home.
No one else was using it—might as well.
But just as he was about to head in, he spotted a white-haired girl standing outside and came to a stop.
"You waiting for me?"
He eyed Soldier 11 with surprise. What was she planning?
He figured after their last little threat session, they wouldn't run into each other again so soon...
Soldier 11 nodded, then drew her long blade and activated her goggles. Her expression was dead serious.
Zane got the message.
"Wait a sec—I never agreed to be your sparring dummy."
He'd just thrown out the term "whetstone" as a figure of speech, but Soldier 11 took it way too literally.
Also, they had just fought last night. How the hell had she recovered so fast?
Soldier 11 said nothing. She raised her arm and pressed the ignition switch on her sword.
Ignition fluid flowed.
No talking.
Just fight.
Zane's eye twitched. His expression darkened.
Who the hell had ever forced the Fire Picker into a corner like this?
Fine. He'd beat this kid down so hard, she wouldn't even think about trying again anytime soon!
"Same place!"
...
"She looked like she lost, but why does it feel like she's not done? Wait... she's not gonna show up again tomorrow, is she?"
That blend of humiliation and stubborn pride.
It was unreal.
Zane raised a hand, spinning a pair of orange goggles on his finger.
His brow furrowed. Something about all this felt... off.
So Soldier 11 was this kind of person?
You could call it strong-willed.
Or just plain hard-headed.
"Well, let's see what her plan is. Worst case, I'll just sit this one out and have Anby fight her instead!"
Zane wasn't exactly the type to back down, and soon enough, he had a fun idea.
There had to be a link between Anby and Soldier 11.
And he was genuinely curious.
What would it be like when those two met?
"Damn, forgot about that. I need to buy a comms device... Not being able to reach her is kind of a pain."
He walked into the cat café. The cats were already used to his scent, and once he turned on the lights, the room filled with cheerful meows.
Aside from a few night owls, most of the cats were already inside.
The café had a small cat door, so there was no worry about them getting trapped when it closed.
Stray cats loved exploring. Even Tinnibu would use the small door to visit his friends.
Though cleanup was always a bit of a hassle when they came back in.
Of course, that was Nekomata's job.
Standing in the café, Zane refilled the food bowls and watched the kittens gather around him.
"Alright, tonight's our first night together. So be good, for—"
"Meow—"
A small white kitten suddenly leapt into his arms—the one he'd rescued.
Zane took a step back to catch it, holding the affectionate ball of fluff in one hand, ready to scold it—when a wave of feline shadows pounced on him all at once.
"Hey, hey, wait up!"
That's not how you snuggle!
Within seconds, Zane disappeared beneath a pile of cats.
From atop the café's high shelf, a little black cat sat elegantly, licking its paw, amber eyes watching the chaos below.
That's right.
It was all part of its master plan...