"Hey, beautiful big sister? Do you offer any discounts? Subsidies? Loan of any sort? I am running a little short on funds. Can you please help me, please?" Raiden put on his best impression of a cute puppy, hoping to melt the receptionist's heart. He only ended up looking weird instead.
"Well, we don't really do any discounts here, ya know. All of the eggs we sell here at the Alliance are the ones that are best of the best. So the price is always higher, but the quality is guaranteed. Tell you what, we do give out loans, let me check and see how much you are eligible for."
The girl started typing away on her keyboard quickly, pulling up information. After looking at it for one minute, the girl paused, stunned by what she read on the screen.
"Well, how is it? Am I eligible for something? Anything?" Raiden asked in a eager voice.
"....It indicates that you already have a 100 Million Credits Loan that you need to pay off. You can't take any more loans until you settle that debt. Tell me honestly, are you trying to fool your big sister? If you have taken such a big loan, why are you lacking in money?" She questioned with a suspicious face.
Looking at her, Raiden knew it was time to act. Acting exaggeratedly, he clutched his chest in pain and squeezed his eyes with all his might to produce two drops of tears. Ignoring the looks from nearby people, he started speaking dramatically.
"To tell you the truth, sister, life has been very cruel to me. I originally had a very happy family, and I was enjoying my life in bliss. But maybe the Gods were envious of my happiness. My parents were Gold-level Battle Masters, and they bought a farm for their retirement."
"But before they could pay it off, they left this world, saddling me with the debt. In the last 6 months, I have been working 3-4 part-time jobs to support myself and my cute little helpless sister. I am not able to sleep at night, thinking about that massive debt. Due to tight financials, I even had to drop out of education and find ways to earn money so I could send my little sister to a university."
"I spent all the money I had, and now I am counting on the Terra Beast to help me earn some money. And now, I can't even afford one. I have...no other choice left. I will purchase two bottles of poison and give one to my sister before taking one myself, hoping to die a honourable death! This world holds no place for us!!"
Hearing his words, the girl behind the counter grew frightened.
"Brother, cute little brother, don't be so hasty! This big sister here will support you!" She stood up from her chair before pulling Raiden into a hug across the counter, burying his face in her chest, effectively cutting off all supply of oxygen, causing him to struggle.
The girl, who thought he was feeling too emotional, continued to hold him there in an iron grip. After a moment, when she felt that his body stopped moving around so much, she let him go, giving him a chance to breathe again.
Gasps.
While Raiden was taking in so many big breaths, the girl spoke again in a sincere tone. "Don't worry so much about everything, brother. You have become a Battle Master now, and you will definitely have a better life in the future. This big sister here will support you!!" After thinking for a moment, she sat down again and pulled up an old diary and pen from a drawer. She wrote something on it before tearing out the piece of paper and folding it carefully.
"Give me your phone." She demanded.
Looking at her serious atmosphere, Raiden silently handed his phone to her.
The girl, who was in thought for a moment, hesitated for a second before making a decision and tapped her phone on his.
Ka-Ching~
"Here, take this paper and go to Merchant Avenue, 48th street, Shop No. 123. You will find Old Man Tobias there. Give him the note I have written, and tell him Aria sent you. Aria Stormwind. He will help you pick a good first Terran that will help you earn money. As for the money, consider it an investment in your future. You can pay me back once you have made it big." The girl said, patting her chest again, indicating her support.
Hearing her words, Raiden felt moved and ashamed at the same time. He told his sob story to earn some sympathy and maybe a discount from her. He never expected her to introduce a place to buy Terran as well as give money to him, a total stranger.
He looked at his phone and was shocked at the amount of money she had transferred: 10,000 Credits.
"Sister Aria, I don't need so much money. Please take it back. It's more than enough that you introduced me to a place. Please take the money back." He spoke in a heartfelt voice.
Hearing his words, a smile came onto Aria's face. To be honest, she regretted her impulsive decision to give him so much money. It was equal to a whole month of her salary. She felt like maybe she fell for a scam or something. But now, hearing his words, her worries were eased.
"Don't worry so much! Your sister is not lacking such little money. I don't take back gifts anyway." She spoke with the airs of a true tycoon.
"But it is too much money, I really don't need it."
"No, you do!"
"No, I don't!!"
"No, you do!!"
"No, I really don't!!!"
"No, you really, really do!!!"
After doing this back and forth for a while, both of them felt a little tired, Raiden specifically. He had never met anyone who wanted to give money to strangers like this.
"Fine, alright, I take it. I promise to pay back 10x money once I earn my first batch of gold. Thank you. Really." With that, Raiden took a deep bow towards her.
Aria, on the other hand wore an expression of triumph.
"Alright, I will wait for that day! You don't need to be in a hurry. Go do what you have to do. First visit Old Man Tobias."
"Alright, I am leaving. But before I go, can I have your contact details?" Raiden asked.
"Sure, here you go." She tapped her phone against his, sharing her contact details.
Satisfied, Raiden turned around and started walking towards the exit.
Before leaving, though, he paused for a moment before turning around and asking a question loudly.
"By the way, Sister Aria, since you are older than me, and you are giving me money to support myself, are you considered my 'Sugar Mommy' now?"
Aria felt crimson when she heard his words, and felt the eyes of everyone in the guild turn to her.
"You ungrateful brat, are you asking for a beating?! Wait there!!"
Laughing, Raiden fled the place, feeling a little more happier now.
His next objective?
Getting His First Partner.