Chapter Six: Halfway Through Twenty-Four Hours

"A-Ce, do you recognize that person?"

He recognized her, but not in this guise. In his memory, the purple-haired woman was someone rather... wild and uninhibited. For such a person to be in a family restaurant felt slightly discordant, and the idea of her working as a server there was utterly unimaginable. Or rather, no one who knew Duststorm would ever entertain such a thought, just as he could never imagine Shigure Rei imitating a young lady of high status and saying, "Look, look..."

Gongsun Ce weighed his words carefully and said, "I just met her. She said her name is Bismarck Abdullah Hasasentin."

"That's a foreigner's name."

"Although I'm not entirely sure of her origins..." Gongsun Ce wore a meaningful look, "I believe she hasn't had an easy time of it. After all, you see, it's rare for a server to use 'Gah' as an opening line to welcome customers."

Qin Qianbai pointed her fork at the gray-haired young man. "A-Ce is making the exact same expression as Caldecia."

Impossible. It must be your imagination. How could Mr. Gongsun smile like a villain?

Gongsun Ce smirked and pressed the call button on the table. "Server, please bring us the menu."

The purple-haired server walked toward the other end of the restaurant without a word, only to be reminded by the manager halfway there: "Xiao Yun, go take the order at table 4!"

The gray-haired young man hallucinated a bright red anger symbol appearing above her head, which put him in an exceptionally good mood.

"Xiao Yun" walked over reluctantly and tossed the menu onto the table with a sharp *clack*.

"..."

The young lady picked up the menu and said in a calm tone, "Such poor service."

"..."

"Xiao Yun" remained silent. Gongsun Ce nearly burst out laughing.

"When we came yesterday, the attitude was normal. Why is there such a stark contrast today?"

"..."

"Xiao Yun" was doing her best to pretend she was hearing-impaired.

"I think Bismarck is a novice server; let's not make things too difficult for her!" Gongsun Ce said with a straight face, immediately adding, "Do you have any recommendations, Miss Bismarck?"

"...Re-commending... to you, the new items for this season."

Miss Bismarck's words were extremely slow, as if an engine that had been abandoned for over fifty years were struggling to turn over.

"Ash Lantern Salad."

The name of the dish was surprisingly festive, like an appetizer served in the underworld to celebrate the New Year.

Gongsun Ce feigned an evaluation: "I don't see it on the menu. Did you remember it wrong?"

The number of rage symbols on the purple-haired server's head increased to two.

He inexplicably understood how Caldecia felt. Was this what it felt like to prank someone? It was so satisfying!

"...The recommended new item is, Asparagus Durian Pie."

Qin Qianbai held the menu and said, "That sounds interesting. Is it savory or sweet?"

"..."

The purple-haired server was breathing heavily; her ample chest rose and fell, and the young lady's gaze followed the movement up and down.

Gongsun Ce was worried she might pass out from anger, but it turned out that "Xiao Yun's" psychological endurance was better than he had imagined. She gripped the hem of her skirt tightly and said, "I don't know."

"..."

This time, even the young lady was left speechless. The two of them stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.

*Your service attitude is truly terrible.*

*It's a minor miracle the boss hasn't fired you yet. How on earth did you pass the interview?*

The gray-haired young man shook his head and said, "Miss Bismarck Abdullah Hasasentin seems to be a new server; let's not make it hard for her. Could you please help us by pouring two glasses of water and asking another server to come and take our order?"

The purple-haired server turned around without a word, grabbed two empty glasses, and slammed them down in front of the two. The look of forced submission made the gray-haired young man secretly root for her. *Don't give up, Miss Bismarck Abdullah Hasasentin! No one is going to give you a hard time; just pour the water and it will all be over, and you can successfully escape this awkward table! Keep going, keep going!*

Bismarck picked up the pitcher... Finally, she stood before the finish line; victory was in sight!

Just as he thought this, the server slammed the pitcher onto the table with a bang.

The purple-haired woman leaned on the table with both hands, glaring at the guests like a large carnivore about to strike. Only then did Gongsun Ce notice a black, ring-like object tied around Duststorm's neck. The collar hid it well; even standing face-to-face, one wouldn't notice it. Only from this slightly higher angle could he discern its outline.

"Is this your etiquette, Mr. Demon? You really are quite graceful!"

In the end, her anger had taken over, and she had completely stopped hiding her identity. And to think he had specifically played along with her act out of respect.

It really was strange. What kind of situation had Duststorm ended up in to be hiding her identity and working as a server in this commoner's restaurant?

Gongsun Ce spread his hands innocently: "Heaven is my witness, Miss, did I do anything rude?"

The young lady shook her head and said, "Look, look, that's an inexplicable expression. A-Ce is just ordering food; it's you who has been unilaterally expressing malice all along."

Judging by the way her mask was trembling, Duststorm was about to shatter her teeth.

"You two... how dare you...!"

Gongsun Ce opened his mouth with 120 percent astonishment: "How dare I what? How dare I order food in a restaurant?"

The young lady chimed in, "A-Ce, you have to understand. Perhaps in Miss Bismarck's country, customers are required to kneel on the ground and hold the menu above their heads with both hands to place an order."

Gongsun Ce nodded solemnly: "So that's how it is; it was my ignorance. Then, according to Miss Bismarck's customs, how should I order?"

"You, you, you..."

"Don't be nervous, Miss, take your time and speak one word at a time," the gray-haired young man comforted her. "What's the matter with me?"

"—Just you wait, Gongsun Ce!"

A piercing scream pierced the eardrums of every customer in the restaurant, and the family restaurant fell silent in an instant. A child eating dessert at the next table was so startled that their spoon dropped onto the floor with a loud *clatter*.

Duststorm, wearing her server uniform, dashed out the door, leaving the two diners to look at each other in speechless dismay.

This time, Gongsun Ce asked sincerely: "...So what was the matter with me?"

"I don't understand." The young lady looked through the window at the fleeing back of the purple-haired woman. "Perhaps this is just a clash of cultures."

***

Ten minutes later.

Because of the unpleasantness that had just occurred, the manager (a stout, middle-aged woman in her forties) gave Gongsun Ce's table a 15 percent discount. The kind-faced woman, originally from Zero Island, served the dishes and chatted away to them: "I'm so sorry that something like this happened... I thought Xiao Yun had grown a bit, so I let her serve customers alone these past two days. That girl, honestly, sigh."

Qin Qianbai propped up a smile with her fingers: "It's not your fault, Manager."

"You don't need to blame yourself." Gongsun Ce asked curiously, "By the way, I feel that... Xiao Yun? She doesn't seem to like this job very much. Why did she come here? If it's inconvenient to say, never mind."

The stout manager waved her hand and said, "What's inconvenient about it? You've seen her many times, haven't you? It's just that thing—children who are punished by their teachers for making mistakes and have to work in the shop."

The two of them exchanged an "Oh~~" in unison, having figured it out.

So Duststorm was forced into social labor and re-education; thinking about it was hilarious.

"It's rare to see someone who looks like they're already in college still going through this routine."

"Who's to say? Sigh." The Zero Island woman said dejectedly, "The first day this child came, she said she was going to blow us all up. I told her that if she used her powers, her head would fall off, and only then was she barely willing to communicate."

...

Come to think of it, this shop had been open in the Thorn District for six years.

The manager who could say "your head will fall off" with such a normal expression was undoubtedly one of the simple and kind-hearted old citizens of this city.

"I couldn't tell you had such a hidden skill."

"Oh, don't be silly, A-Ce! How could I possibly be into fighting and killing? It's all thanks to the equipment provided by the authorities. They call it a restraint collar that explodes once certain conditions are met; modern technology is truly convenient."

After exchanging pleasantries with the two, the woman went back to her business. The gray-haired young man felt like asking for the opinion of the cold-weapon expert across from him—regarding whether the manager was a hidden melee master—but thinking that the answer had nothing to do with his lunch, he wisely let it go.

Gongsun Ce focused on his lunch; today's meal was a pork cutlet set. He used telekinesis to cut the cutlet into small pieces, watching the young lady with trepidation, fearing she might come up with another prank.

Qin Qianbai was staring at his plate, and noticing this, he hurriedly recoiled.

"Qin, Miss Qin?"

"A new order for A-Ce."

Here it comes! Just as expected! An indescribable sense of crisis made his hair stand on end—what on earth was this girl going to do?!

"Fork a piece of pork cutlet and feed..."

At this point, Qin Qianbai suddenly turned her head away.

*Don't.*

*You don't mean to tell me you want me to feed it to Duststorm?! That might cost me my life!*

Gongsun Ce swallowed hard: "Feed, feed what?"

"...Feed the little cat at the door."

The psychic collapsed weakly into the booth.

"Thank you... for showing mercy."

Qin Qianbai's face remained as expressionless as usual. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but he felt a trace of anger in her gaze.

"There are many times when I think that A-Ce is actually a much bigger idiot than he realizes."

*If you say so, then so be it.*

***

After finishing their meal, the two went to the door to feed the kitten, then took a bio-parrot (at the young lady's request, no pigeons today) to the Fixed-Wing District, and arrived at the Ultra-Stability Building, which used to be a dating spot for Shigure-kun.

To others, this looked a bit like a date; was his good neighbor planning to play some romantic prank? Thinking of this, Gongsun Ce grew even more vigilant. Assuming a girl liked you and acting inappropriately was a huge taboo; this must be some terrible idea from that woman, Caldecia, and since he had used his agile mind to anticipate this development in advance, he would never step into such an obvious trap!

Gongsun Ce and the young lady stepped onto the third floor of the building, and he said with utter confidence: "What other orders? What other schemes? Bring them all on! Mr. Gongsun will not be defeated here; I shall seize my survival through my own wisdom and strength!"

"Look, look, that's an expression of someone angry because they're an idiot. Stand still and let me punch you."

"Why are you angry?!"

Gongsun Ce crouched down, clutching his stomach.

"Then, this is the next order for A-Ce." Qin Qianbai looked down at him from above, "Pick out an outfit I like."

This order sounded easy enough to complete... Gongsun Ce was just about to agree, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized something was wrong.

"Wait, an outfit you like?" He scratched his hair in confusion, "How would I know what kind of clothes you like?"

"That is, the problem A-Ce needs to solve."

How was he supposed to solve this? Was he supposed to ask for opinions one by one? Heavens, if he walked through every clothing store on the third floor, he wouldn't finish even if the building closed at night!

Gongsun Ce immediately made a decision: seek outside help.

"I understand, please wait a moment, just a moment! I'm going to the restroom and I'll be right back!"

Without waiting for the girl to reply, Gongsun Ce ran toward the restroom on that floor as if he were flying. He hid in a stall, carefully confirmed no one was following him, and then pulled out his phone to seek help.

Who should he turn to for outfit matching issues? Shigure-kun, that suit-wearing man who wore the same outfit 365 days a year, probably couldn't help much; finding Caldecia would be no different from seeking his own death; Big Brother... directly ruled out. There was only one person he could think of now...!

He dialed the idol's number and said nervously: "Hey, hey, Qiluo? Are you free right now?"

"Ah, Gongsun Ce! I just finished my work in the lab; I have the rest of the day to myself!"

The voice on the other end sounded very surprised. *Great, Qiluo sounds like she's in a good mood today; this is in the bag!*

"That's great, Qiluo! I wanted to ask for your opinion on something. It's about women's clothing. You know, I'm not very familiar with these things."

"Ah-leh-leh-leh, clothing... you, you specifically called to ask me?"

Halfway through the sentence, Qiluo's voice jumped up several octaves.

"This is your field of expertise; I think I can only ask for your opinion today."

He couldn't exactly write a letter to the knight asking about outfit matching.

*Huu... huu...* Qiluo on the other end of the line took two breaths.

"Gu... I must be overthinking it. What does Gongsun Ce want to know?"

The psychic replied solemnly: "Information on clothing styles... no, that's not quite the right way to put it. It should be, information slightly related to personal privacy."

"Wuaah?! Per, personal privacy?!" Qiluo's speaking speed became unstable. "Co, co, could it be, the, the three measurements...?"

"That would be too rude! Is that the kind of man Mr. Gongsun is in your eyes, someone who would casually bring up such topics?!"

*Does Qiluo actually know the young lady's measurements... Come to think of it, with her keen eye, she could probably report the exact numbers at a glance. Standing next to her, one would have almost no privacy. How terrifying.*

"That's true, Gongsun Ce is a gentleman."

"Of course. But this question is a bit hard to ask others... I thought about it, and I could only ask you."

"I'd be happy to~" Qiluo said lightly, "What does Gongsun Ce want to know?"

Gongsun Ce cleared his throat and asked seriously.

"It's just... do you know what kind of clothes Qin Qianbai likes?"

The other side of the phone went silent for a second.

"I just remembered, I still have work this afternoon; I have to go help out now." (Deadpan)

"Don't! Don't abandon me at a time like this!"

"Ah, the Doctor is calling me, bye-bye Gongsun Ce." (Deadpan)

"Qiluo—!!"