Chapter 362 - 362: Do You Want to Go Home?

Astra's words carried a barely concealed affection as she gazed at Wise.

"Shouldn't we be a little quieter?"

Wise whispered, causing Astra to flinch slightly.

"Ah! No need... no one heard us, right...?" she replied, quickly glancing around.

When she saw that no one was paying attention to them, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we're safe~"

After their conversation ended, Astra began preparing the accessories Eous would need for tomorrow.

The people and Bangboo she had met today had given her plenty of inspiration for designing the next set of outfit accessories.

As for producing them, that task naturally fell to Enzo, the neighbor next to the video store who ran a Bangboo modification shop.

After returning to Sixth Street with Astra, Wise knocked on Enzo's door several times before it finally opened. Enzo stood there with a paper bag in his right hand.

With the New Year approaching, Enzo had been struggling to keep up with transporting cloth and materials, so he planned to borrow Bagboo from Wise for a few days.

In exchange, he would help produce the Bangboo accessories.

After discussing the order details and pickup arrangements, it was decided that Bagboo would travel back and forth between Starloop Tower and Turbo Remodeling Shop, handling orders, collecting materials, and delivering finished goods.

On the way to Starloop Tower, Bagboo seemed unusually excited, to the point of nearly pulling out its beloved cleaver. Fortunately, Evelyn's gaze alone was enough to keep it in line.

When the finished Bangboo accessories were delivered, both Astra and Evelyn highly praised Enzo's craftsmanship.

The quality was on par with the custom accessories Evelyn ordered through company channels.

Considering the short production time, the result was even more impressive.

They couldn't help but marvel that Sixth Street truly was full of hidden talents.

Due to her schedule, Astra couldn't remain with Wise indefinitely. After saying her farewells, Wise took Eous to the lounge to try on the new accessories.

However, at Eous's insistence, they changed back into their usual appearance before leaving the lounge and heading to the contestant waiting area.

"This is so annoying... I've already run away from home! Run away from home! Do you idiots even understand what running away from home means?!"

Lucy angrily berated the man in the suit standing before her.

"'It's a rare New Year; why don't you bring your partner home for a reunion dinner?' That bastard! Is that what you say to a daughter who left home?!"

"My Lady, Mr. and Mrs. Montefio are only worried about you... Oof!"

Before the man in the suit could finish speaking, Lucy snapped out a thin whip, startling him into immediate silence.

"My Lady, My Lady, there's no 'Lady' here! If I hear 'My Lady' one more time, you're getting the whip!" Lucy threatened.

"Y-Yes... Lady Lucy. Well then, I've delivered Mr. and Mrs. Montefio's message... I won't bother you and your friends any longer."

After saying that, the man hurried away, leaving behind a still-fuming Lucy.

Wise approached her side, and Lucy immediately reacted.

"You jerk... Oh, it's Wise. I thought that guy had come back. Good thing I didn't swing the whip."

"What happened?"

Wise's presence noticeably eased her anger.

"It's partly my fault. I shouldn't have helped Burnice sell a batch of Nitro-Fuel to one of Montefio's subsidiaries. I was only trying to help the Sons of Calydon make some money. I wasn't trying to 'go home'! But my father..."

Lucy clicked her tongue.

"You should watch out for him, Wise. He's the type who takes advantage of every opportunity and is incredibly difficult to deal with."

After giving her warning, Lucy suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Coincidentally, my father also sent one of Montefio's Bangboo to compete in this competition. I ran into one of his idiot subordinates at Starloop. Talk about bad luck. He just won't leave me alone."

"No matter what he says, I'm not going back! If I go home for dinner, they'll start pushing me to inherit the entire enterprise. Then it'll be social balls, political marriages, and all sorts of headaches..."

As she spoke, a thought crossed her mind.

'Hmm, Father seems to approve of Wise quite a bit, so a marriage alliance is probably out of the question. Even so, there are still plenty of other troublesome things.'

"Do you want to go home?" Wise suddenly asked.

"Huh? What kind of question is that?"

Lucy looked at him in confusion.

"I don't miss any of the restrictions from my old life. But Mother and Father..."

Her expression softened slightly.

"I guess their concern for me isn't entirely for their own benefit. We're family, after all. If I can help it, I don't want to hurt them too much."

"Then what do you want to do?" Wise asked.

"Yeah... what do I want to do?"

Lucy reached up and touched her helmet.

A moment later, her eyes lit up.

"Wise, I have an idea. Could you come with me for a bit? I want to discuss whether it's possible with Billy's boss."

"Nicole?"

Wise looked somewhat surprised, but he didn't refuse.

The three quickly found Nicole and explained the situation.

"So that's what's going on. You're in quite a predicament, huh?" Nicole said. "You don't want to go home, but you still want your family to know you care on Gilded Carrot Day. Lucy, your heart is softer than that whip of yours."

"Maybe I just want to avoid trouble."

Unwilling to admit it outright, Lucy gave an ambiguous answer.

Nicole merely smiled.

"You mentioned your dad sent a Bangboo to compete, right? Does Mr. Montefio have a specific reason for doing that?" Nicole asked.

"As expected of you, Nicole. We really do think alike."

Lucy crossed her arms.

"That's right. That man never makes unnecessary moves. He didn't send a Bangboo into the competition for entertainment, and he certainly isn't interested in the prize money."

"It's for promotion."

"Promotion?" Wise asked.

"He's using the competition to promote a new resort hotel franchise Montefio is launching."

Lucy spoke with complete certainty.

As his daughter, she knew her father's personality better than anyone.

"I've been keeping an eye on the competition, and Montefio Canary hasn't been eliminated yet... but it's barely hanging on. Honestly, I'm not surprised. The thing looks ridiculous with those outdated Montefio colors plastered all over it. It doesn't exactly inspire anyone to dream about going on vacation."

"Sounds like it needs a vacation-themed makeover..."

Wise chimed in at exactly the right moment.

Lucy immediately shot him a look.

"Wise! That was supposed to be my line! But... it seems the three of us really do think alike."

She then turned toward Nicole.

"We came to discuss exactly that. You can help us get the right materials, can't you? From what I've seen, this market is extremely hot during the competition. I'm already prepared to pay a premium. If someone's going to make money from this, I'd rather it be you."

After all, Nicole was practically family at this point.

And if the need ever arose in the future, Lucy could always work with Nicole, Anby, Nekomata, and Billy.

This plan would allow Lucy to convey her feelings to her family without returning home while also helping Nicole solve her prepaid bill problem.

It truly was killing two birds with one stone.

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