“Mysty, can you tell me a bedtime story?”

“Hm? Eni, you don’t think you’re too old for bedtime stories anymore?” The girl teased the little boy, who pouted with annoyance.

“I only said it as a joke! Geez!”

“Sure, sure,” the girl chuckled in response. “Then, which story do you want to hear?”

“Hm~ a new one!” Enigma smiled brightly at the girl, his eyes twinkling brightly with hope.

“A new one, huh…” The girl closed her bright golden eyes, thinking deeply with furrowed brows. Enigma was more mature and smarter compared to other kids in his physical age range, so she was free to tell him anything as long as it was not too graphic. “Ah!” After shelving through her mental library, she finally decided on one.

Well, actually, she was just going to make it up on the spot as she goes, ahahahaha~

“Once upon a time…”

“Mysty, why does all your story begin with ‘once upon a time’?”

“Because it happened once upon a time. Eni, do you want to hear it or not?”

“I do!”

“Then shhh.”

The boy covered his mouth with his hands, showing that he won’t speak anymore. Seeing his actions, Mystery nodded in satisfaction before continuing with her story.

“Once upon a time, there was a girl.”

“Is the girl you, Mysty?”

Mystery shot Enigma another look, “Eni…”

“Oops!” The boy quickly shut his mouth once again, blinking innocently at the older girl.

Mystery smiled helplessly. “The girl had a very happy childhood. But, because the medical technology was not very good back then, the lifespan of the people were very short.”

“How short?”

“60 years. Now, Eni, what did I say?”

“I’m shorry~”

“The girl was forced to marry when she was very young. However, she was not unhappy. She loved her new family very much.”

“How old was she when she got married? How old was her partner?”

Mystery sighed exasperatedly, “This story will not go anywhere if you keep butting in.”

“…” Eni clamped his mouth shut with his fingers. He looked very comical with the puckered lips.

“One day, the girl’s family was met with misfortune. The girl blamed herself for the bad things that her family had encountered.” Mystery paused, pointedly looking at Enigma in case he wanted to butt in again.

“…” Enigma batted his large, similarly golden eyes back at her, as if saying, ‘I’m a good boy, aren’t I?’

“…And because of that, she accepted her punishment and lived through nine lifetimes of misfortune to atone for her sins.”

“Huh? But was it really her fault, though?” Enigma tilted his head questioningly, “Is that the end?”

“Eni, you sure catch on quickly, huh.” Mystery rested her head against Enigma’s, patting the boy gently. “Well, perhaps the girl was really at fault, but perhaps she was not. Who knows… and I’m not finished yet. I didn’t teach you to interrupt when adults were speaking, did I?”

“No~” Enigma laughed sheepishly.

“Then don’t~” Mystery pounced on the younger boy, attacking him with tickles.

“Ah~ Mysty, the story! Continue the story~!” Enigma giggled, panting in between.

“Yes, yes~” Mystery stopped tickling him, resuming her story. “The girl, now free from her sins, met a boy.”

“And they fall in love?”

“No.” Mystery rolled her eyes. “The boy also thought that he was as guilty as the girl, so the girl sets out to help him resolve his sin.”

“And then?”

“And then, she brought him to another world where he could finally rest in peace.”

“Is he dead?”

“No. The story is far from over, how could he be dead?”

“Oh, okay.”

“Now listen, Eni. The boy was a very special boy. He had a very amazing gift.”

“Like you and me?”

“Sure. See, the boy is the most special boy that had ever lived. He was very strong and very kind. He helped everyone in the world. Thus, his sins were atoned and he could finally find peace.”

“How did he help them?”

“He saved them, of course. He made eee~veryone as special as he was.”

“Huh?” Enigma tilted his head again, confused. “How can he make others become special?”

“Because he had the gift of sharing~” Mystery laughed, dishing out the anticlimactic ending. “He shared his kindness with everyone, so everyone became as kind and as special as he was.”

“What? In the end it’s just one of those fables,” Enigma huffed. “But what about the girl? What happened to her?”

“Hm? The girl? Oh, she went back to where she came from, of course. She helped the boy spread his kindness, and when everyone was saved, she went home.”

“But why did she help the boy? She didn’t even get anything in return.”

“Silly~ it’s because they’re friends. You don’t help a friend expecting something in return, do you?”

Enigma tilted his head the other way, frowning. “Hm… I don’t know. I don’t have any friends.”

“Oh, that’s true. I’ve never seen you play with any of the other kids in the district, too.”

“That’s okay! All I need is you, Mysty.” Enigma flashed a sweet smile to Mystery, hugging her tightly. “I’m not lonely because you’re here!”

“Oh my, how sweet~” Mystery squealed, hugging him back. “Now go to sleep, Mr. I-don’t-need-any-friends.”

“Yes~”

With a goodnight kiss on the cheeks, Mystery tucked Enigma to bed. Perhaps because he had been asking too much questions and tired himself out, he was quick to fall asleep. Within moments, his breathing evened out and Mystery was finally alone.

Mystery did not need to use her divine sense to see if he was really asleep. She stared at him for a few moments, then sighed. Ah~ the things I do for friendship, she thought.

After ensuring that the house was safe and the security system was active, Mystery quietly left the penthouse she shared with the little boy.

Mystery waved her hand lightly, producing a dark-coloured cloak with a hood. Putting it on, she concealed her presence and aura. In this way, neither people nor the cameras could detect her.

She headed directly to the nearest pawn shop with practiced ease.

Fang’s Pawn Shop was open for 24 hours straight and it was located in a slightly obscured area. It was the perfect place for underhanded dealings to happen, and many people who wanted quick money without being asked any questions about the items they were pawning would go to the store.

“I’ve come again~” Mystery silently appeared in front of the shop owner who was close to falling asleep on the counter, jolting him awake almost immediately.

“Mystery!” He stood up with his hand under the counter, reaching for his gun, but after seeing the familiar face, he relaxed. “You startled me,” he huffed.

“Sorry, sorry~” Mystery laughed. “How rare to see you falling asleep at this time of the night, Fang Fang.”

“Yeah. I recently got into this game that was just released a few days ago, and it’s been taking so much of my time. It’s really fun.”

“So even someone like you also likes games, huh?” Mystery tilted her head in amusement.

“’Someone like me’? Hey, I’m just a normal middle-aged man, okay?” Fang Xiu glowered at the young-looking girl who kept talking down on him. Although he knew that the mysterious girl was probably much older than she looked, it still did not give him a good feeling when she acts like an elder in front of him.

What ‘normal’? Mystery almost laughed out loud. The fact that the man was a veteran soldier who had retired with the rank of major general was an open secret. Such a high-ranking fellow was definitely not normal nor weak. That was also why no one dared to cause trouble in his store even though his pawn shop held many expensive items.

Seeing Mystery’s expression of holding back a laugh, Fang Xiu harrumphed. “So? Is it the usual again today?”

“Yes.” Noticing that the man did not want to continue the conversation any further, Mystery produced a stack of gold ingots and arranged it in front of the shop owner.

“The exchange rate is about this much,” Fang Xiu flashed his bracelet to Mystery, showing a series of numbers.

Mystery cocked an eyebrow, “Oh? The price is lower today.”

“Don’t blame me; blame the market. I don’t decide when the price goes up or down,” he replied with a shrug. Although she said it was lower, the amount still reached seven figures which was more than what the average person could earn in their lifetime.

“Thanks to you, there’s an influx of gold, so the price went down.” Fang Xiu smirked as he transferred the sum to the girl’s bracelet.

“What, so it was my fault?”

“No, no. The gold industry should thank you instead, for increasing the stocks.”

The two chortled. Gold was always in demand, especially for the wealthy and famous. It was one of the few ways they could use to flaunt their wealth, and its value was universal. That was why Mystery chose to sell the almost limitless amount of gold in her inventory for finance.

“Thanks for doing business with me, as always.” After finishing the large transaction, Fang Xiu’s eyes were curved into crescents as he smiled widely. He was always very satisfied when the little tycoon came over. Thinking back, it had already been eight years since he met this girl who kept producing gold endlessly to sell to him every month. Thanks to her, he also had a steady income and could live comfortably.

“Since your gold is always high in quality, I’ve already got plenty of buyers.” He told her. She was not really interested on where the gold end up going, so she simply replied with a noncommittal sound.

“I’m going home now~”

“Come again,” Fang Xiu bade her farewell as he watch her disappear into the dark night.