Chapter 291

NO．53：Traditional Party A and Party B Relationship

What are you worrying about? My contractor.

I should have said that our cooperation is limited to the sorting of information.

Of course, but in my view, within the terms of this agreement, there should still be some minor conflicts, right? For example, how to establish a connection for the Hei'an badge in a state where even communication is lacking.

... Do you really have a need to evolve? Witch Beast, or rather, Witch Beast.

Do you know me?

I don't, but because you are a humanoid Digimon, your every move, indistinguishable from a human's, can reveal a lot of information.

... Ha, hand over the work to me, contact me if anything comes up.

It is only fitting.

——

Master, have you encountered some kind of fortunate event?

Early the next morning, as Aomo was frying eggs in the kitchen, he was faced with this question.

No need for further questions; the distinct manner of speaking was enough to reveal the asker's identity.

Miura Bourbon, the horse girl who never misses her morning training.

Although there are many residents in the office, only this one gets up early.

Ailisuzhi's schedule depends on how smoothly her experiments go, while Akane Shinjou stays up late regardless of whether her experiments proceed smoothly.

Whether experimenting or playing games, she never goes to bed early, and breakfast is something she misses.

Manchester Chazuo is a horse girl who enjoys the night.

She likes night runs, also likes coffee, stays up late similarly, but at least with the help of an alarm she can make it to mealtime.

Note that this refers to mealtime.

She always arrives right on time.

So while Aomo is busy in the kitchen, she is usually still standing before the mirror, lost in thought.

What a necromancy student sees in the mirror may be some eerie vision, but at least it won't appear right now.

As for that occasional Zhouri Ningjing that pops up by chance… at least it wouldn't ask itself this.

"Rather than saying I encountered a fortunate event, I'd say I crafted something I'm tentatively satisfied with." He turned his head, looking at her expressionless face, knowing his own bore a similar look.

He also knows this subordinate of his quite well, aware of her unreasonable intuition, so it's no surprise she can perceive something.

It's worth noting that, in Aomo's view, intuition is a rapid judgment formed from synthesized experience, making it more orderly, unlike the wild, unfettered nature of spiritual intuition.

Just as he reads Bourbon's poker face to deduce her mood by picking up on subtle, hard-to-detect microexpressions.

But when Bourbon faces Aomo's calm, idle demeanor, her basis for judgment isn't mechanical logic; it's merely a feeling.

A intuition more inclined toward spiritual intuition.

Hard to articulate, yet it definitely exists.

"Fortune's favor is always scarce; happiness is more something we must build ourselves."

"Master, do you want me to relay this to Rice?"

"Let's wait for the right moment to tell her," Aomo said, flipping the egg in the pan, "For those who constantly dwell in misfortune in daily life, mere words not only fail to help, they can even backfire."

"But if you find a moment that lends your words more persuasive power, perhaps you can make her remember it for a lifetime."

"Timing?" Bourbon asked, standing nearby with the induction stove in front and the refrigerator behind, wanting to raise her hand but pulling back.

Regarding the curse of the electrical killer, the current plan is to schedule an appointment two days from now to go to the Divine Blessing Gospel class for confirmation.

Local angels, foreign angels, and angels from other worlds can generally perceive something about abnormalities in fate.

"For example, concrete actions that strengthen one's speaking authority—ideally, they should be an example you set for her," Aomo said while plating food, instructing his subordinate girl on how to overcome her insecure, withdrawn friend, glancing at the light screen beside him before continuing, "The power of words is usually pale, but it can also ride on momentum."

"Seize the timing, seize the occasion."

He said this, recalling the gray-haired girl he had lost contact with after parting at the exhibition hall.

Zhen Jiling, she understands the power of words, and there's no need for her to rely on timing or occasion.

When recounting the past, some people endlessly drone on about trivial stories, achieving nothing but annoyance, while others can tell the same tale with twists and turns that captivate.

This is the talent for storytelling, and also for public speaking; its core lies in 'revealing' and 'concealing'.

Concealment creates suspense, and more importantly, it selects and emphasizes what you wish to reveal, giving words charm.

Even a mundane story can become wondrous thanks to this skill.

Zhen Jiling's mention of 'the prefectural racetrack from four years ago' undoubtedly aroused Aomo's curiosity and attention; even without direct contact, merely through indirect communication he could recall much, given that on the day of the Spring Emperor's Prize, he had browsed the internet, chatted with many people, and posted on Umastagram.

Yet among those many, who could be connected to Zhen Jiling or Karen remains unclear to him, lacking any leads.

We'll set that aside for now; what he wants to express now is that endowing words with charm doesn't necessarily require embellishing speech itself.

You can also do this beyond words—for instance, in a gloomy, frightening setting, even if your horror story is short and dull, it can still evoke unease.

Timing and occasion prove especially important.

"The target of words is the soul, and a suitable setting and suitable atmosphere affect the soul even more profoundly; as people of Jidong, you should understand this better than I do."

"Search judgment: 'air'?" Bourbon asked blankly.

Having a cyber horse girl read the air may be tough for a strong person, but that's no reason to retreat, since she has a friend who requires special care.

"Exactly."

Aomo said, glancing at the small time projected above the toaster, then repeated the egg-frying process, occasionally keeping an eye on the noodles in the pot beside him.

When Chazuo doesn't come to help and Bourbon needs him to take it easy, he gets so busy he has to rely on a mage's hand to prepare the minced meat for scooping and the fried dough sticks.

Fortunately, breakfast preparation is inherently easier than lunch or dinner, and for horse girls, what matters most is still consuming carbs.

Not far away, the large-capacity equipment still waits for the porridge-cooking module to finish its operation.

Unfortunately, with the kimchi, they couldn't achieve self-sufficiency in the rush and had to rely on outside purchases—but that does give Bourbon something to help with.

Although I don't particularly like this culture, it's undeniable that it has merely gone to some extremes.

Aomo said, turning his head to glance at the Bobang being pressed and packaged: "The basic theory of cultural development is always universal; the concept of atmosphere is something unavoidable in dealing with people, whether East or West, it's the same."

Confirm writing into the mission log, difficulty rated 【professional】.

It's okay if you're not an expert; believe that even if it's just Hard, your intuition can find you a shortcut.

Of course, after finishing pressing the pickles, go call Suzi together with Chazuo; drag her up even if you have to, let her eat breakfast before continuing to sleep.

【A novel app that has run stably for years, comparable to the old-version chase-worm app that everyone uses, huanyuanapp.】

Okay, but what about Miss Qian?

Ensuring your three meals are stable is part of the trainer's job; moreover, Xintiao doesn't need to go onto the Saichang. Of course, she indeed has a potential stomach issue this way; you can try calling her, and if she doesn't wake up, just forget it.

Yes, Master; then, Meipu Bobang, prepare to sortie.

But there's no need to be so serious…

Watching the girl simply wash her hands and then dash out of the kitchen, Aomo's words obviously couldn't keep up with her speed.

But the horse girl's hearing has always been good, just as he could hear Chazuo's footsteps when she went downstairs, Bobang could still hear his dissuasion.

But his unchanged step cadence clearly went unheeded.

So saying, the power of words is truly pale.

Such feeble dissuasion would be better spent laying a floor in the office, then stipulating that no one may damage the floor to restrict the horse girl residents' exertion.

Let them do it then……

Indeed, even if they really laid a floor, it's hard to guarantee no accidents; when the time comes, there'd be no reason to point fingers at the girls, so Aomo quickly gave up.

Then, in this kitchen where only he remained, he briefly sorted out the finger-pointing on the light screen that had been going on before.

There's quite an interesting group of familiars, contractor.

Wasn't it said to contact again if there's something?

Busy plating the dishes, yet it didn't hinder glancing at the light screen where the witch beast, not chibi but similarly reduced in proportion, appeared.

Aomo glanced at the quiet Molisen beside him, unsure whether to lament the increase in desktop pets or to lament that Molisen actually behaves quite properly in the presence of strangers.

Even the art style is no longer chibi.

But that handsome face, reminiscent of appearing in a shoujo manga, doesn't really suit the witch beast's aesthetic, possibly because it reminded one of the blood-sucking demon beast.

For now, she and Molisen each occupy one side of the screen, looking quite like a Chu River Han boundary.

But everyone knows who would win if they fought.

Moreover, not being a familiar, rather speaking in terms of work content, I am the familiar……

Regarding trainers to horse girls, the former simultaneously encompasses the roles of coach, nutritionist, and friends; put bluntly, trainers are just doing odd jobs at the academy, and in terms of priority, horse girls are more important.

However, in terms of industry demand, trainers are the ones in short supply.

Ha, is that really how it is?

Don't laugh; by that reckoning, you're also my familiar.

Aomo emphasized this work-food chain with a cold face, while the witch beast utterly indifferent said: "Aren't we equal under contract? I appear now just to obtain remuneration."

You really intend to evolve?" Aomo frowned, "You can't evolve on your own, can you?"

One must symbolically collect some compensation for the contract to be truly established." The heavily made-up witch cracked the corners of her overly elongated mouth.

That appearance, which embodies the etymology of witch and hag, alluring yet bizarre, reminded Aomo of the Eastern Commerce reform.

That little witch admired the strong and mature appearance of a witch, not knowing how she would evaluate the witch beast.

Although witches and witch women have inseparable cultural roots, in terms of performance, the little witch's evaluation will probably be about half-and-half.

Aomo's attitude toward this is likewise the same.

Since you value contracts so much, you might as well evolve into a female demon.

The adverse effects caused by the witch are still somewhat pleasing to the eye, while the hag's bizarre performance can only be said to be far from general aesthetics.

The overly gorgeous lipstick and eye makeup always make him wish the other would remove their makeup.

At least switch to something more plain, which makes it easier to display the other's underlying beauty.

But coming to think of it, Digimon appearances are always uniform; just as Xiangyu Yamei knows, the measurements of the Celestial Maiden Beast roughly apply to the vast majority of Celestial Maiden Beasts, and to have them display individual differences—even just a change in physique—is extraordinarily difficult.

Most of the time, they're just like copies, with hardly any difference in temperament.

If there is to be any obvious major change, it will likely be directly defined as a subspecies-like new race, such as the difference between Tyrannomon and Gigantimon, which lies only in the iron-pumping muscle appearance and more belligerent changes, as well as skill upgrades in the process.

A witch beast without heavy makeup, after researching and improving one or two new skills, ought to be renamed a new category.

Oh dear, isn't this precisely the direction you, as contractor, need to strive toward?

If you just want to win back a city, that's about enough; have you settled the information I had you organize?

Of course… not yet, at least half a day? The digestion of those data.

Digestion? I hope you can focus on classification, rather than ingesting code you've never learned.

Whenever this happens, I can't help but feel that communicating with you is really convenient.

Also, whenever this happens, your expression doesn't look very happy.

I don't deny that the witch's little secret also doesn't want to be discovered, don't you think?

Indeed, but I think this perhaps isn't related to a broad sense of mental barrier; it's merely because you've seen a glimpse of some direction from me.

Boring, I'm going back to organize the data.

Looks like I don't have a chance to invite you to dine, Miss Witch.

The witch beast, hearing that, turned back before crossing into the data slit, glaring at him fiercely with cat-like sapphire eyes.

He merely smiled and waved, seeing them off.