Bai Yu stepped forward, casually tossing the blue d-ark digivice back to Ruki.
Ruki instinctively reached out, catching it steadily, the familiar cool touch on her fingertips. Her gaze moved from the Digivice, complexly, back to Bai Yu's face.
"Can you still walk?" Bai Yu's tone showed little emotion, but his gaze sharply swept the surrounding streets.
"If you can still move, let's get out of here quickly. The battle just now caused quite a stir, and the Digital Field has long since disappeared. If someone gets attracted here, we'll have trouble explaining it."
This Digital Field was only briefly generated because of that Lynxmon's materialization.
Now that Lynxmon had been eliminated, the abnormal data forming the field naturally disintegrated, and the order of the real world quietly reasserted itself.
Ruki pursed her lips. She, of course, understood what Bai Yu meant. In the past, after the Digital Field disappeared, she always chose to evacuate quickly to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Ruki turned her head, looking at the weakly breathing Renamon beside her. Renamon, sensing her gaze, bravely propped up its injured body and shakily stood up.
Ruki quickly reached out, carefully supporting it.
One human and one Digimon began to walk in silence towards the other end of the street, trying to get away from this place of conflict that had just experienced a fierce battle as quickly as possible.
Bai Yu followed leisurely behind them.
The crisp sound of footsteps was particularly clear on the silent street.
After walking a short distance, Ruki seemed to finally be unable to bear the silence. She suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at Bai Yu with a mix of wariness and confusion.
"Why are you still following us?"
Upon hearing this, the casual expression on Bai Yu's face suddenly changed, as if he had heard something incredible. He feigned surprise and retorted, "You ask why I'm following you? You haven't forgotten our bet so quickly, have you?"
The bet?
Ruki was slightly startled, then that brief confusion was quickly replaced by a hint of uncomfortable embarrassment. She certainly hadn't forgotten, but if she really had to fulfill that bet...
Bai Yu took in the subtle changes in her expression, his tone carrying an undisguised hint of disdain. He raised an eyebrow slightly and spoke unhurriedly, "What? Is the 'Digimon Queen' planning to renege? If word of this gets out, tsk tsk…"
Bai Yu deliberately drew out the last sound, the threat in his words unmistakable.
"I'll make sure to spread the word about this."
Ruki's face instantly darkened, and she indignantly retorted in her mind: I'm reneging? You're the one who broke the rules first by snatching my d-ark digivice in the middle of the battle! If not for that, how could Renamon have lost so thoroughly? This despicable guy is now turning around and accusing her.
Although Ruki wasn't someone who cared much about her reputation, she absolutely could not tolerate Bai Yu going around spreading nonsense and ruining her image. That was even harder for her to accept than losing a battle.
Taking a deep breath, Ruki suppressed the surging anger and unwillingness in her heart. Then she looked up, met Bai Yu's playful eyes, and squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth: "I will, of course, honor the bet."
Hearing Ruki say this, Bai Yu immediately smiled and said, "As long as you honor it. For the next month, I'll be living at your house. Don't worry, I'm thick-skinned, so I won't feel awkward."
Ruki's face turned ashen in an instant, and anger practically blazed from her purple eyes as she glared fiercely at Bai Yu.
"No! You can't stay at my house!" She rejected it almost immediately, her tone firm and leaving no room for negotiation.
Before Bai Yu could say anything else, Ruki quickly added, with a hint of barely perceptible urgency in her voice: "I'm not going back on my word. It's just a month's room and board, I'll pay you in cash."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yu raised an eyebrow slightly, a touch of well-placed suspicion in his eyes. He looked Ruki up and down, as if evaluating the truthfulness of her statement.
"Cash? Do you have that much money?"
These words were like a spark, instantly igniting Ruki's suppressed anger. Her beautiful eyes were now filled with undisguised disdain as she looked at Bai Yu.
"Do you know who worries about that kind of problem? Poor people."
The smile on Bai Yu's face stiffened for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.
What's wrong with being poor? Being poor still means I can make money from you.
Bai Yu held up a finger and gently wagged it in front of Ruki: "Since you want to pay in cash, then this is the amount. No bargaining."
To Bai Yu's surprise, Ruki barely hesitated at the amount he quoted. She only frowned slightly, then readily agreed: "Alright."
Now it was Bai Yu's turn to secretly gasp in his heart, 'Rich people, indeed.'
Bai Yu calmly recalled that among the female characters, besides the young lady Mimi, the Makino Ruki in front of him was probably the wealthiest.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Ruki currently lives with her grandmother and comes from a single-parent family; her mother is a popular model with a substantial income. Otherwise, at Ruki's age, it would be impossible for her to attend such an obviously expensive private aristocratic elementary school. In such schools, regardless of the teaching quality, the tuition fees are absolutely an unbearable amount for ordinary families.
About half an hour later, Bai Yu followed Ruki to a residential area.
Just as they reached the entrance of a mansion with a wide fence, Renamon, who had been silent, suddenly spoke softly to Ruki. Then, dragging its injured body, it leaped gracefully onto the high wall, disappearing over the rooftop in a few bounds.
Renamon had gone to find a place to recuperate by itself. This was how Renamon usually was; when there was no need to fight, it generally would not easily appear in front of outsiders.
Ruki turned back and said to Bai Yu, "Wait here for a moment."
After speaking, she pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in.
Bai Yu stood outside the gate, idly looking up at the imposing mansion before him.
The long wall and a glimpse of the exquisite courtyard through the main gate all revealed the owner's wealth. He once again marveled at the Makino family's financial power in his heart. When would he be able to own such a house? No, what he should be considering now is how to make money in this world.
Given his current situation with the Knight's Tool System, perhaps being a carefree mercenary was a good choice.
After all, in this world, troubles were endless, and various world-destroying crises kept popping up one after another. If he truly wanted to be a mercenary, he would definitely not have to worry about finding employers.
Just as Bai Yu was envisioning his beautiful blueprint for making a fortune in the future, Ruki walked out of the mansion, a thick wad of cash in her hand.
Ruki walked up to Bai Yu and handed him the stack of money directly: "Here, we're even."
Bai Yu took the money, feeling its weight. He counted it, and the amount of banknotes was exactly what he had quoted.
She really produced that much, Bai Yu sighed again in his heart.
Although he knew Ruki came from a wealthy family, she was still just a student. That she could access such a large sum of money genuinely surprised him.
Bai Yu didn't know that this was Ruki's allowance for several months, and for the next few months, Ruki would probably have to live frugally.
Having received the money, Bai Yu had no intention of lingering and disturbing them further. He put the money in his pocket, nodded to Ruki, and said succinctly, "Farewell."
Watching Bai Yu's retreating back, a complex emotion flickered in Ruki's purple eyes. She suddenly spoke, asking once more, "Who exactly are you?"
Ruki was now 100% certain that Bai Yu was definitely not a Tamer. His fighting style and the abilities he displayed were completely different from a Tamer's.
Bai Yu stopped and turned around, a faint smile on his face. His gaze fell on Ruki's inquisitive face as he said, "For now, you can call me… Lord Demon King."
