Money

It was a room, a really familiar room.

"Daniel!" He heard the voice calling him.

"Yes sir!" Ah yes, his professor.

"Daniel, you need to finish this 30 page essay in 5 minutes. You also have a presentation at…" The professor continued to list out all the things he needed to do.

The more he heard it, the more ugly his face became.

"Daniel!" 

—

"Daniel!" 

Snapping his eyes open, he immediately stood up and said, "I'll finish it in five minutes sir!" With a salute.

"..." 

Kazuya looks at him confused.

Realizing this, Daniel immediately put his hand down and cleared his throat.

"Is there something wrong, Kazuya-san?"

"Something wrong with me? You're the one who has it!" Kazuya said while holding his forehead.

It's been a week since Daniel is here and unfortunately, there was no information related to him or his hometown.

There was also no report of a missing person and even in the database, there is no one who has his face.

Kazuya told him this. But surprisingly, he didn't see any despair in Daniel's face and was only greeted by a calm nod.

He was confused why Daniel couldn't be bothered but seeing how he's overworking himself, he thought that it's his way to cope with his situation.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid.

"Anyway kid, I'm going to pick up my daughter again. Here's your salary." After saying that, Kazuya handed him a small envelope.

Opening it, Daniel is surprised, "This… is a lot more than we agreed on." Is this a bonus? But it's too early for that.

"No kid, you finished all your work perfectly. You can say I'm impressed by your dedication and that's why I added a little bonus." Kazuya patted him on his shoulder.

"Thanks a lot." Daniel held the envelope tightly. He finally has his first salary.

"By the way kid, your Japanese is getting good. Are you really sure that you didn't learn Japanese in your life? No one would be able to tell the difference with your accent." Kazuya shook his head. It's been only a week and this kid managed to learn their language during his time here.

He only borrowed some books and practiced speaking by talking to other people while working.

Another reason why he's amazed is how he's able to handle that much work.

"Not in my life." Daniel replied. He himself was surprised that he actually did it.

Since coming to this world, he noticed changes about him, specifically his body.

He noticed that he's less tired than he used to be. Even with his appetite, he rarely feels hungry.

At first, he thought it was just adrenaline. Then it lasted an entire week. He didn't think that adrenaline would last that long.

There's also something that changed him mentally. He still experiences mental exhaustion but it goes less and less to the point that he barely notices it.

Just like what Kazuya mentioned, he managed to learn the language for an entire week. He may have put time and practice for it but he didn't think that it would take him this fast.

Not just that in fact, over the course of the week, he also learned Chinese and Korean. 

Is this his cheat? He isn't some oblivious idiot. He wasn't like this back then. He may be dedicated and focused to what he's doing to the point of overworking, but it doesn't mean that the result would be to his liking.

His body feels that it's always in peak condition so that he's able to do more work than he's normally supposed to have. His mental capabilities also seemed to be enhanced to the point of learning things really fast and not be mentally exhausted about it.

If this isn't his cheat, then he doesn't know what is.

'Learning things really fast and rarely getting tired?' Daniel couldn't help but smile wryly. He didn't know whether to be thankful or cry about it. If this is in his previous world, this 'cheat' is a blessing that he would be thankful for but in the world of Honkai? He hopes that his body is resistant to Honkai Energy.

'Well, two of my problems are solved.' Looking at the money on his hand. He couldn't help but give himself a pat on the back. Language and money, he now has it.

"You're a weird kid." Kazuya fixed his cap, "I'm going now. Take care of the station for me." And just like that, Kazuya left.

Seeing him leaving, Daniel muttered, "Wonder who his daughter is?" She must be very young if her father needs to fetch her at school like that.

"Well, I only have the office to myself now. Should I look for Kiana? I haven't paid her yet." Daniel took a seat in the office chair.

It's been a week since he last saw her, she's probably busy since he hasn't even seen her shadow after he ran away from the restaurant.

"I guess I should go look for her." As he was about to stand up, he heard something in the door.

*Ding* 

The bell near the door rang, signifying someone entering.

"Did you forget something Kazuya…san?" He looked at the door, he thought it was the police officer earlier but instead he was greeted by a surprise.

It was Kiana wearing a school uniform.

"Jerk! I haven't seen you in a while!" Although she said that, there was a smile on her face.

"You're studying at school?" He looked at her weirdly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She came over and narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing, I'm just surprised how you manage to get into a school in such a short amount of time." He was surprised. Maybe that's the reason why she's here in Nagazora? But if he remembers correctly, it was because she was finding her dad.

Huh, that cheat of mine also improved my memory. Daniel thought.

"Hmph, of course. I'm just amazing like that." She looked at her nails smugly.

"So what brings you here?" Daniel rolled his eyes hearing that.

"I haven't seen you for a while. The officer here said that you are busy." Kiana replied.

'Was she visiting me?' Daniel stared at her.

"Don't get the wrong idea, I'm just wondering if you found any information about your home." Feeling his stare, she immediately made an excuse.

"Yeah right," Daniel snorted, "I was about to find you but since you're here then I'll tell you about it." 

"Ehh? Shouldn't we go for lunch?" Kiana said while looking at the clock.

"I guess we should." It's indeed lunch time.

—

In a restaurant, two figures were seen sitting down.

They were picking orders from the menu. Well, Daniel does, Kiana is staring at him for some reason.

"You're not gonna pick anything?" Daniel looked at her confused.

What's wrong with her? He imagined that she must be more hungry than he is.

"It doesn't bother you at all!" She stood up from her seat.

"Can you calm down and tell me what you mean?"

"This." Kiana spread her hands and gestured everywhere before landing at him.

"What's wrong with it?" Did she hit her head or what?

A vein popped in her forehead, "You told me that the police have no idea about you. You can't go back to your home and you don't even have an identity."

Oh yeah, he did tell her that.

He didn't really want to talk while eating so he gave her a summary of what happened in the entire week. After saying that the police had no clue about him, she became like this.

"What can I do? It's not like I can fly to the other side of the planet and be done with it." Daniel shrugged. That wouldn't work at all. 

Unless he has some train that can go to other worlds.

"And you're not bothered by this?" Kiana went back to her seat and asked helplessly. She can't believe that he didn't even have a reaction to this.

"I am but would it change anything?" He replied as he handed her the menu.

"Stop asking and just order. I got my salary today so I'll be paying you back." He continued with a smirk.

"I see…" She took the menu reluctantly. She knows the feeling of being lost to an unknown place.

He must be pretending to be tough. Kiana thought.

"Hmph, then I'll take this one." Kiana showed him.

"Are you sure?" Daniel raised his eyebrows in surprise. 

It was the ramen with egg that he bought.

"Yes, are you going to order now or what?" Kiana replied with a glare.

"Sure, don't regret it." Is she feeling bad? He's not gonna lie, she thought she's gonna rob his wallet dry.

Well, if she orders the same amount of food she did back then, he should be able to handle it. His bonus is not for show.

After handing down their order, they talked a lot about trivial things. Well, more like she's the one who talked about her week.

Apparently, she has a letter that allows her to go to a prestigious all girl school. 

'Come to think of it, who gave it to her?' That's one of the things that he's curious about. How did Kiana manage to enter a prestigious school? It's not like he's doubting her but he's sure that she didn't get in because of high grades.

"And then there's Mei-senpai." Kiana said the name with stars in her eyes.

"Who?" That name sounds familiar.

"She's a senior in my school. She's so beautiful. It must be fate that we meet." Kiana then added her own nonsense.

The more Daniel listened, the more weird he felt. Is this what they called… Yuri?

One sided Yuri that is.

"Hey, are you listening?" Kiana's voice snapped him from his thoughts.

"Yes, yes. You met this beautiful girl in your school and now you're head over heels for her but sucks for you, she's straight." Daniel replied seriously.

"What did you say?!" Kiana was furious hearing that. She thought that he would support her.

"You already know what I'm saying." Daniel shook his head. He can't understand her infatuation with that girl Mei….

"... Kiana, is the Mei-senpai you're talking about, named Raiden Mei?" 

"Huh? How did you know?!" Kiana exclaimed with surprise.

'He's only been here for a week. How could he know Mei-senpai?' Kiana rarely uses her brain.

This is one of those times.

"She's the daughter of the famous owner of Massive Electric Corp, even someone like me would've at least heard her name." Daniel rolled his eyes. What he said is true, Raiden Mei is well known in Nagazora so it's not rare for people to know her.

Of course, seeing her is another matter. 

"Wait, Massive Electric Corp?" A question mark popped in Kiana's head.

"It's a company here in Nagazora. The most well known." What the hell has this girl been doing in the past week?

She doesn't even know the literal figurehead of the city.

"So she's like a princess?"  Kiana asked with stars in her eyes. 

"Technically yes, but—!" Daniel's words were cut off when Kiana suddenly held his hand.

"Daniel, you're my friend right?" Kiana asked with a rarely serious voice.

Daniel was surprised. What happened to her?

"Yeah…" He's the first one he ever met in this city, it should go the same for her so yes, they are friends.

"Can you help me get together with Mei-senpai?"

"..."

Daniel was speechless. Is this girl aware of what she's saying?

"Here's your order." The old lady placed their orders.

"Thank you." Daniel said in Japanese.

The old lady smiled hearing that before taking off.

Kiana looked at him with surprise.

"You know Japanese?"

"Yesn't and could you take off your hands now?" Kiana looked at her hands holding his before immediately taking it back and glaring at him.

"Back on topic, what you're saying is impossible. From what I heard, she's a reserve lady and has a lot of bodyguards around her. There's also the most important thing…" 

Daniel dragged his words.

"What? What?" The first two problems are already hard for Kiana so what's the important part?

"She's straight." Daniel smiled at her.

"..." Kiana looked at him blankly before raising her fork.

"Try it you twerp!" Daniel stood up.

"You kids! Don't play at the table!" They heard the old lady's shout.

"Sorry!" Daniel and Kiana both went back to their seats.

"Hmph, just you wait. I'll definitely make Mei-senpai fall for me." Kiana swore before digging in her meal.

"Sure you do." He replied casually. Although it sounds sarcastic, he's sure that it would happen.

After all, that's what happened in the original work.

With that topic out of the way, the two continue eating their meal peacefully.