Prologue

Tap tap tap—

"My lady, I think that we should go to Erivan. The capital city would provide us with a better business opportunities."

A thick baritone voice interrupted the tapping sound as a tall grey-haired man ,wearing a butler's uniform, walked into the room while carrying a silver tray containing a tea set.

Tap, tap, tap,

"Oh-ho? Did you think that I didn't consider that already?"

A reply to his suggestion came from a small figure hidden behind a sturdy mahogany desk where towering stacks of files were barely fitting the space available on it.

"Pardon me for my ignorance. My lady's foresight had always been beyond what this 'middle-aged' servant could grasp."

The butler's next words fell on deaf ears as the addressed lady kept moving her pen without even raising her head to look at him.

Tap, tap, tap,

"You simply want me to go, Filbor-old-man." (Filbor-Ossan)

"Middle-aged ma—"

—Tap, tap, ta—

Filbor,by that time, was already in the middle of putting the last bit of sugar in his lady's favourite cup of tea when the tapping sounds had stopped abruptly.

"Although, you knew that you would get caught, yet you would still persist and barge in while nagging like an old woman every single time..Spare me the useless introductions OLD man."

"My lady is certainly wise despite her lack of decorum."

The butler unaffectedly closed his eyes as he gently put the silver spoon back on the tray and held the cup of tea by its saucer.

"Old man..this lady—"

"If only this great lady of mine would abide by the rules of etiquette for once. "

"Yup I'm great, thank you...But no— "

"My poor lady, calling herself a lady but she's the one who should be acting like one in the first pla—"

Suddenly a random book was thrown at the back of Filbor's lowered head, however,the old butler's left hand blurred then caught the object between both of his thumb and index finger in a single breath before finally turning around with the cup of tea in his right hand and walking towards the lady as if nothing had ever happened.

"—place, also my lady, you once said that knowledge is sacred, when will you learn to act upon your own words and stop throwing these precious books at this feeble middle aged servant?"

Tap, tap, tap

However, what came in response to that was the tapping sound of the pen. Knowing that the lady resuming her work wouldn't produce any more replies this time, the butler didn't press on it any further and simply put the hot cup on a small high table beside her chair.

"Your tea my lady."

Yet again, on his way to the bookcase the pen's taping stopped.

"Filbor"

"yes my lady?"

"Go, prepare."

Two simple words were uttered yet,at such an unexpected order, the butler unconsciously let go of the book that he was about to store in the bookcase and slowly turned to look at the now smiling lady.

"Old man, You actually didn't want me to go, right?"

The more the smile painted on the lady's pale face reached her ears, the more her eyes got drawn into a beautiful arc, and the more the butler's face changed its color.

And after a short period of silence, only the sound of the lady sipping her tea was heard. The simple act had instantly washed all the previous exchange away, almost as if it was just an illusion, and eventually, the old butler's face turned ashen.

======================================================

Japan,

Tokyo 2xxx,

5AM,

Today was supposed to be about me going out on my usual job hunting quest.

Whether it would be successful or not, I will leave that for another time.

I Woke u— no I didn't actually sleep since I stayed up playing a newly released game all night long,watching cute cat videos and binge watching my favourite anime in-between my gaming sessions.

Well, as one can see, I've been obviously too busy to work.

Yet, I didn't think I could postpone this call of duty that is 'working', anymore than this.

Why ?

Well, because I'm about to run out of my money.

Awawawawa

Money.. Money.. And money..

They once said that 'Money cannot buy you happiness' but,the little money that I had so far had brought me more than this so-called happiness..

In this world, even going out on dates requires money! How utterly stupid!

How can someone be happy when they're about to die from hunger, one of our primal needs!

Ah!!!! I don't even have enough money to eat more or less to spend it on dates!! I'd rather play date sim games!

Okay! Calm down me!

Honestly, I'd rather spend mine on my personal needs, from rent to bills to food to games, novels, etc..since it goes hand in hand with my own happiness, it is a win-win situation where I'm both satisfied and happy.

Well,I've been living this way for years now. Thus money is currently needed for me to live a happy life without work for the rest of this year.

My usual plans tend to go like this:

Plans:

New year = Work for six months

Rest of the year=Happiness time

I would work in multiple part-time jobs in order to fulfill such a DREAM of LEISURE!!

Whilst I was busy thinking about my future survival, I wore my one and only working outfit and my favourite long coat, then walked towards the front door with a bottle of water in one hand and a pair of almost worn-out high heels in the other.

Well, I'm going to keep seeking this happiness of mine until my hair turns grey even if I had to do this overexerting temporary work!

I slowly wore my high heels,turned off the lights in my one-room apartment and walked out to the dark alleyway.

I should go to Mr.xxxx's restaurant first..then Mrs.xxxx coffee shop...then..

—————————————————————————————————————

After hearing the sound of the door locking successfully, I put my keys in my coat's pocket and turned around.

Well...

Just as I turned around I momentarily stood there.

Even as I lost the feeling of the water bottle in my hand, I kept staring motionlessly at the sight that came into view.

A few seconds ago, I could swear that I saw the usual gloomy alley that I lived in…

Yet, what is this?

An endlessly stretching pitch-black darkness..

There was nothing else but darkness everywhere..

I instinctively took a step back,

Everything was normal when I first walked out,right?

Two steps back

I saw the sketchy love hotel's colorful sign moments ago,right?

Three steps back,

And I could feel a cold sweat running down my back,

Fourth step ba—

My high heels met their ultimate end after meeting a random rock I presume and as a result, I fell straight on my butt. However, I didn't even take a moment to pray for my broken heels as the door that I was consciously seeking and was supposed to be there moments ago, had also magically disappeared.

To conclude, I was in the middle of nowhere without any way out.

My brain worked as fast as it can after that one specific thought had come into the picture, to the point that one would be able to see the materialized smoke coming out of my head, and in this situation, that wouldn't be unrealistic either.

And all of a sudden, the most unbelievable thought had struck my mind like lightning and I managed to utter the first few words I would never have imagined myself saying out loud.

"T-Tru.. Wh-what about tru-truck.. ku-kun?"

Those irrelevant fine words were the trigger to my brain cells's anonymously voted decision: to automatically shut itself down and protect its host from any further self-destruction.