Chapter 237: Mommy, can I have some Pocket Money?

Upon hearing Jean’s urging for Auren to use the catalogue, he simply shakes his head. Then he adds a bit of Aura into his fist and bonks the overly excited Jean, who is already leaning forward, trying to open the Unlimited Surprise Discount Second Hand Shopping Catalogue that Auren is still holding in his hand.“Ouch!” she yells, shrieking back and rubbing her head. “That hurts... owwwww. What are you doing?!”

“I swear... you twins, and yes, Joanne, you as well, are you seriously this unbelievably naive?” Auren says, his tone clearly irritated, his frustration impossible to miss. “Do you think I’m taking that risk after everything you just told me? Do you even understand what happens if we are not able to afford the salesman’s prices? It doesn’t matter if we simply decline to buy the items within the allotted time limit or if he shows up and we can’t pay. In either case, he takes the items back with him. And who knows where they end up after that? At worst, he visits random people and tries to sell them. That could potentially expose your Hatsu to others!”

“Would that be so bad?” Joanne asks hesitantly. “I mean... they’re just items... it’s not like the merchant will expose us... probably... or do you think he would talk about us out of anger for rejecting his offer?”

“No... but what if that mystery merchant of yours appears, Joanne? What if he finds something ridiculously dangerous, like a seed from the Dark Continent? If we don’t have enough funds, that kind of world-balance-breaking item might end up somewhere else entirely. You have created something absurdly powerful, and you don’t even realize it yet. Realistically, nothing out of the ordinary will happen, but there is still a chance, however small, that something appears that nobody can control. Poisons, diseases... or even a small living organism. We have no way to control that!” Auren points out.

Both twins sigh, looking genuinely frustrated and disappointed.

Jean sighs. “I am sorry... so we really messed up with our Hatsu... Is it unusable?”

Joanne nods slowly. “Auren is right... we were just having fun and didn’t think about the consequences. I’m afraid it’s simply too dangerous.”

“Of course... not!” Auren replies immediately. “Danger is everywhere. Every mission, every fight, there is always a risk of dying. I am a Hunter; this is nothing special to me. Just because there is danger involved doesn’t mean we should back away from it. What I am talking about is preparation. How do we make sure that we can always accept the merchants’ offers?”

“Uhm...” Jean mutters, thinking hard, before her eyes suddenly light up. “Ah! We just need as much money as possible. You are a billionaire, Auren, right? How much do you even have?”

“Around 200 billion... I haven’t invested it yet, though I was planning to do that... so for now it’s all liquid and can be used. Still, even that might not be enough.”

“200 billion?!” both twins shout at the same time. “Not enough?” Jean asks, looking doubtful. “I could go shopping and spend tens of millions every day for the rest of my life...”

“How can that not be enough?” Jean, she asks, genuinely confused. “You are basically one of the richest people in the world!”

“Tell me the value of a single grain of Nitro Rice,” Auren asks them.

“What was that again?” Jean asks, confused, but Joanne immediately perks up.

“A single grain... wouldn’t be worth much in the regions of the Dark Continent where it grows... but in our world, no, in our lake, it would be worth...” She pauses. “I can’t even estimate it... but certainly far more than 200 billion.”

“So what do we do?” Jean asks.

“Go to mommy, confess our situation, and ask for pocket money... just to be safe,” Auren says, a faint smirk forming on his face.

“Mommy?” both twins ask at the same time, clearly confused.

“She loves me a whole lot. All I have to do is ask, and I’ll not only get a hug and a kiss on the cheek, but everything else I might be interested in,” Auren says jokingly. “Seriously, though. We should involve her. That would reduce the potential risks by a lot.”

She told me about 35 trillion in earnings... it’s the safest choice, and frankly, she’s the only person who has the kind of money I might actually require. Even Pariston won’t have that much. There’s got to be some of that fund left... I hope.

Still holding the Unlimited Surprise Discount Second Hand Shopping Catalogue, Auren leaves his home and heads toward the large administrative building he is more than familiar with. Naturally, the twins follow him closely.

As he walks through the city, he can’t help but notice that everyone smiles and bows at him. Even just passing by, people acknowledge him with respectful and warm expressions.

“Mommy, mommy!” a small girl suddenly shouts excitedly, stepping forward and pointing at Auren. “It’s the angel! The goddess’s angel!”

“Do not point at the Vice-leader!” the mother immediately scolds her child, pulling her back while offering Auren an awkward smile. “Forgive my little girl... she has quite an active imagination... you know how children are with their fantasies.”

Auren smiles faintly. “Little girl, it’s rude to point at people, especially while shouting strange fairy tales. I’m afraid I have to punish you.”

“No... please, Vice-Leader, I beg you, spare her and punish me instead. It’s my fault,” the mother pleads, clearly panicked.

“No,” Auren says, raising a single finger and sending a small fragment of Aura above the mother and daughter. A moment later, a light shower descends upon them, gently dousing them with tiny raindrops.

“That should be enough. Don’t do it again,” Auren says, before continuing on his way.

Behind him, the child happily dances in the light rain, giggling without a care.

“I hate annoying children,” Jean mutters next to Auren, while Joanne simply smiles.

“You are so kind, Auren. That was a nice thing to do,” Joanne says softly.

Five minutes later, they casually arrive in the administrative building, without being asked to justify their visit. In fact, several of her assistants welcome Auren and personally guide him straight to her office on the highest floor before excusing themselves.

As soon as they enter, Rakshala immediately greets them. She is wearing a formal dress, which immediately catches Auren’s attention, especially since she is not wearing her visor. Something that seemingly grows more common every day. She briefly hugs each of them before guiding them toward a tasteful, well-decorated table with multiple chairs.

“Come in, my dear children. I was just preparing some tea anyway. Please, sit down,” she says softly. “It won’t take long. By sheer coincidence, I happened to brew too much.”

Auren glances at the table and immediately notices four empty teacups already prepared.

He sighs.

“Just say that you knew we were coming...” he mutters quietly.

Rakshala only smiles gently, offering no reply.

A few minutes later, after Rakshala carefully, seemingly with all the time in the world, prepares the tea and fills their cups, she sits down next to Auren, while the twins sit on the other side of the table, across from them.

“Now, I hear congratulations are in order, girls. I was also told that my son believes it would be prudent to take all necessary precautions before continuing to experiment with your new Hatsu,” she says, lifting her cup slightly to smell the aroma before taking a small sip. “I am quite interested in seeing this Unlimited Surprise Discount Second Hand Shopping Catalogue first-hand. Won’t you show it to me?”

Meanwhile, Auren, Jean, and Joanne can only stare at her in stunned silence.

Don’t tell me... she... she... she heard everything!

Auren’s face immediately sours as he realizes that Rakshala already knows everything that happened.

She must have listened in with her Hatsu when we were talking... maybe she even took a look. She can see through her target's eyes and listen through her target's ears, and worst of all, nobody will even notice....

“Uhm, I... I am a little confused. You see, Lady Rakshala, we finally came up with our Hatsu, it’s called... wait... you already know about it?” Jean asks, speaking politely, clearly intimidated by Rakshala.

“Yes, my child, you see, I share a special connection with my son over here,” she says, smiling innocently before glancing at Auren. “I already gave you the hug, and I’ll save the kiss on the cheek for later. We can focus on the matter at hand now. How can I help you?”

It was a mistake to make that joke...

“Since you so rudely listened in on our earlier conversation, I don’t need to explain anything,” Auren says, crossing his arms. “I was asking if you have some money we can use as a last resort. I figured there is a small, but potentially devastating chance that their salesmen offer something extreme that we won’t be able to afford with just my money, and which could end up in someone else’s hands and cause changes to our world we can’t control. Tell me if my analysis is wrong, and I’m just being overly cautious.”

“On the contrary, my dear child,” Rakshala says. “I’m glad you are being so responsible lately. You are incredibly reliable and dependable. You’ve made your mommy very proud.”

“Can we cut that out?” Auren asks, sighing.

“In essence, everything you said is correct,” Rakshala continues. “If the items are not purchased, then it stands to reason that the price of the Hatsu, money in this case, will have to be passed on to someone else. That makes it quite important to have sufficient funds available to acquire these items. Though the chance of something appearing on that level still seems extremely low.”

“But... Lady Rakshala... we can’t pay you back...” Joanne mutters, shyly looking at her.

“You don’t need to pay me back. If something appears that requires that level of investment... then I—no, Hollow Blade, would want it as well. Like my son, I am quite interested in your Hatsu.”

She then stands up, takes a small case of cards, and places them on the table.

“I can access 8.1 trillion Jenny. I assume that should significantly reduce the chances of not being able to afford an item.”

Jean’s eyes nearly pop out as she hears the number.

This will probably end up being some random garbage... I just know it. But even the smallest possibility is enough to worry both Rakshala and me. This Hatsu is more troublesome than I thought.

“Now then,” Auren says, placing the catalogue on the table. “I guess I should open it?”

“Go ahead,” Jean says, barely able to hide her excitement.

Auren opens the catalogue, and it automatically flips to a double-page spread.

Auren, Jean, Joanne, and even Rakshala all stare at the page with interest.