### Chapter 38: Temporary Addition to the Night Hunts
“Um… What’s the employee welfare like in your Night Hunts place? How much do you pay?”
Night Star asked with interest.
Claire raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit silent for some reason.
“The employee pay comes from the proceeds of the commissioned tasks; the more commissions you get, the more money you make. It’s possible for you to become filthy rich overnight.”
“Shocking! No guaranteed minimum wage? You’re such a heartless capitalist!”
Night Star looked shocked.
Claire twitched her smile, adjusted her monocle, and smiled. “If you get a big assignment, you could even retire rich.”
“Bullshit! If there are no assignments for a long time, aren’t you just making us work for free?!”
Seeing Night Star stand up and slap the table in excitement, Claire’s eyebrow twitched again.
You’re looking for trouble, right?
Why does it feel like a brash new job seeker?
“You seem to misunderstand. Our Night Hunts members are just simple employees. There are no contracts binding them. They can leave as soon as they achieve their goals. Just like that girl over there.”
Claire pointed at the long-haired black girl who was secretly eavesdropping nearby.
“That’s Li Xia He, a passionate traveler. But due to financial pressure, she temporarily joined the Night Hunts. Once she saves enough for her travels, she’s free to leave.”
Seemingly hearing Clare’s introduction, He Li Xia nodded seriously.
“Exactly what the big boss said, the money here is easy to come by. Sometimes, you can even slack off without any trouble, although there is the occasional mortal danger, of course.”
Of course, this life-threatening risk was enough to scare away many people.
Only He Li Xia, who loved nothing but traveling and adventure, didn’t care about the risks.
Claire then pointed to the black-haired young man still wiping glasses.
“Xiao Mo is from Huaxia. You can tell by his face he is capable despite not being a Star Holder. He can handle complex information and put things in order very well. As for why he’s here, he just happened to learn about the existence of Stars and Star Eclipses and became interested. So I recommended him. If he decides to leave one day, I won’t stop him.”
Night Star nodded thoughtfully.
So, someone who’s just curious about supernatural forces. That’s surprisingly common.
Night Star felt it was fine if ordinary folks got involved too. After all, the Night Watcher Base had a bunch of ordinary employees who could contribute in ways Star Holders couldn’t.
Then Claire pointed to the yellow-haired, green-eyed woman, Noa.
“As for the other member, I found her potential and offered her a way to earn money. She can leave whenever she earns enough.”
Now, it was Night Star’s turn to be puzzled.
“But what happens when they finish their purpose and leave? Do you all just disband?”
“Not at all. In the Free Country, reputation is key. As long as we have a good reputation, attracting new members won’t be a problem. Completing commissions is one way to build our reputation. The more they complete, the better for me.”
“Mmm, I see.”
So, you can join easily and also quit easily. Sounds quite nice.
Like today, getting intel for free and then finding a good excuse to bail. Genius!
From then on, Night Star started whispering to Kuang Yubai next to her.
“Kuang Yubai, how about we join the Night Hunts temporarily? Since they have a mission to protect Qing Liao Songstress, we can help as a cover. We’ll ride along anyway, so we can gather info on the Free Country.”
“Suit yourself. If you think it’ll make you happy, go for it. I’m always here for you.”
Night Star had the means to be adventurous, and with Kuang Yubai by her side, even more so. Not to mention the scary little Lian hanging around as a mascot.
Even if she caused some major trouble, she’d have the support of the Rising Sun Theater Group behind her, no worries.
At least for now, there’s nothing threatening the Rising Sun Theater Group.
Except for that mysterious Star of Origin thing.
After getting Kuang Yubai’s agreement, Night Star decided to help protect Qing Liao alongside the Night Hunts.
It was a golden opportunity to quickly get insight into the dark world of the Free Country and give the Rising Sun Theater Group a feel for its performance environment.
Imagine what would happen if the environment was a mess.
Maybe observation first?
“Hm, we’ll join you guys for now, but after we complete the mission to protect the Qing Liao Songstress, we’ll be out.”
“Absolutely.”
Claire warmly welcomed competent collaborators.
He had a gut feeling that these two star-holders were something special.
Regardless of their connection with Qing Liao, if they were truly powerful and had worked together before, they would maximize their benefits sooner or later.
Either way, whatever gets the job done is fair game.
Keeping a business face, Claire looked at the two girls.
“Can I have your names?”
“Uh, I’m Night Star,”
“I’m Kuang Yubai, nice to meet you.”
They weren’t worried about revealing their real names. Besides, Night Star had run out of good nicknames and the [Existence Interference] power could tamper with memories.
For now.
—
Meanwhile.
On the other side, the Order of Sequence.
Silvia and White Princess Kanata returned to the church to report on the day’s events.
Despite the outcome of the fight – Silvia had crushed the exosuit-wearing man who stayed behind to clean up after the others had fled.
The man held his own with a tough exosuit, but Silvia had dispatched him quickly with her blade. His giant laser cannon was sliced into pieces beyond repair.
Unfortunately, Silvia could only catch him. The rest got away. Tracking them down afterward was beyond her.
This made Silvia very upset. Her failure to totally overpower the criminals was a sign of her inadequacy.
White Princess comforted Silvia, who was clearly bummed out.
“Alright, don’t dwell on this. We can deal with them another time. How about having tea with some other friends instead?”
Silvia breathed out, deciding to take White Princess Kanata’s advice and relax a bit.
“Good idea.”
