“So, how’re we doing this?” Machua asked.

  “Same as always. By the feet. If she knocks her head that’s fine,” I answered.

  “Feels a bit mean to do this the first day back, but if that’s what mami said, then…” Machua trailed off, then suddenly ripped the blanket from mami’s hands.

  “Huh?” She groaned.

  Instantly, we snatched her feet. The two of us glanced at each other and nodded. We pulled as hard as we could.

  “W-wait! I’m awake, I’m awakeeeeee!!”

  Poor mami’s head hit the floor.

  “Argh! Lemme go! You terrible children!”

  “Awake now, mami?” I asked, dropping her leg.

  “That was so much easier with two of us. Wish you were always here for this,” Machua commented.

  Mami quickly got to her feet. “You two! So rude and disrespectful!”

  “We cooked breakfast,” Machua happily interrupted.

  “Omelette and rice.”

  “Ooh, my favourite,” Mami instantly changed her tune. “Forgiven.”

  With all that raucous done, the 3 of us went down and ate our omelette and rice. It was good as always. We had some light-hearted discussion as well about the most random things. Things like which eye colour was the best colour, or some scandals regarding celebrities and Hunters.

  It was at the tail end of our discussion, when we had just finished our food, that mami asked us something I didn’t expect.

  “How about letting me give you two a haircut? I just want to clean the two of you up,” Mami asked.

  The two of us immediately held our hair in fear. We had not cut our hair one single bit over the past 2 years, which resulted in our hair reaching past our shoulders and partway down our back. I remembered saying to mami that I wanted to grow my hair until it reached my ankles. Though, that was just an excuse. The truth was that we only ever liked cutting our hair at one salon in Erelier, ran by mami’s old friend.

  “Come on! Just a quick cleaning up. I won’t actually cut anything! Just some brushing, this is your Hunter application after all.”

  I was suspicious of mami, who didn’t say this in the previous timeline. She just let me go with a smile and a wave. But now that there were two Machuas, she suddenly wanted to cut our hair? What was her plan?

  “…” Machua stared at mami with an untrusting gaze. After careful consideration, she gave her decision. “Okay…”

  I nodded along. Mami probably wouldn’t shave us bald. Probably. She wouldn’t do that. Surely.

  And so, we followed mami to the bathroom, where she set up an impromptu barber’s chair. She set 2 of them up actually and made the two of us sit side by side. The bathroom wasn’t big so we were kind of uncomfortably close.

  “Just hold still. Your hair’s really long, so it’ll probably get in your eyes a bit. So, please close your eyes,” Mami said as she took out a hairbrush.

  Following her suggestion, I closed my eyes. Mami began with brushing my hair. It was slow and gentle, and reminded me of how she used to do this for me back when I was a child. I always had my hair long, but not as long as mami, whose hair reached her waist. I always wanted to emulate her, though that came with the cost that a lot of people assumed I was a woman. Which was fine, as it came in useful at times. I also didn’t mind-

  *Snip!*

  “”MAMI!”” The both of us screamed.

  Our eyes shot open and we looked at ourselves in the mirror to figure out what was cut. We instantly located it.

  Each of us had one long loose side-lock snipped off on opposite sides. I was missing my left one, and Machua was missing her right one.

  “Mami, why!?” Machua screamed with anguish.

  Meanwhile, I just kept staring at the two of us in the mirror. We used to be completely symmetrical, but now, now we had a difference in our appearance. Just one slight one.

  “No one’s going to be able to tell either of you apart if I didn’t do it. And besides, you can just tie that side lock up if you want to look the same again,” Mami responded nonchalantly.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Ugh, cut the other one off, mami! I didn’t consent to this!”

  I lightly grasped the side lock and rubbed it a little. It didn’t look bad, and it was just one small part of my hair. But, most importantly, when I looked at Machua, who had it on the opposite side of me. It really made us look like each other’s reflection.

  “I think I like it, actually,” I spoke.

  Looking at Machua, who looked back at me now, I felt that this was right. We shouldn’t look exactly the same, even though it was funny. The two of us, us two Machuas, we weren’t exactly the same person. We had our fundamental differences, even outside of regression. The last year for the two of us were far too different for us to be considered the same. Our appearance reflecting that made all too much sense.

  Machua stopped her outburst, then sighed. “I mean, if Machi likes it, it’s fine I guess. We can try it out for a bit.”

  “I’ll buy you two cake later. Promise.”

  “The new organic strawberry shortcake from Diamant Brioche,” Machua ordered. “The one in the mall that has its strawberries sourced from out of City. And I won’t let you use my friend discount.”

  ‘Since when did we have a friend discount at Diamant Brioche?’ I absentmindedly thought.

  “What!? No friend discount? That’s 40% off! I’ve been taking advantage of it for so long to get lava cakes! Machu!”

  ‘Holy shit, 40% off!?!?’ My eyes grew wide and I turned to the two in complete shock.

  “No. If you wanna say sorry, you have to mean it,” Machua folded her arms like she was the mother in this situation.

  “How about if we go clothes shopping later? Just the three of us? We can dress Machi up,” Mami begged.

  “Hey!”

  “Nope! We’d just go to your store and then you’re gonna use owner’s discount. Cake. Strawberry. Diamant. Brioche.”

  “Uuuu… You’re so cruel to your poor mother. Your poor mother who had to raise you all alone after having her first child stolen from her.”

  “That’s not even real!”

  “How dare you! Machia is-“

  I suddenly remembered we had a thing to do. “Hey, hey, it’s getting close to the time. We’re gonna be late.”

  “Oh shit! Sorry, mami, we’ll argue later. Get us that cake and I won’t be angry anymore! Bye!”

  Machu dashed out the bathroom, leaving me behind.

  I went to walk out and then awkwardly stared back at my grieving mother. “I’m sure you can do it, mami.”

  I gave her a thumbs-up before leaving. As I walked out of the house to an energetic Machua, I could almost hear mami wailing in the background. Well, that’s what you get when you don’t ask for consent. Though, if there was one good thing to come out from this, it’s that I was going to get that organic strawberry shortcake from Diamant Brioche. For free!

  Though I did have to wonder how we got a friend discount in this timeline.

  ———————————————————————

  The Hunter’s Bureau is a government-run organisation that manages all the comings-and-goings of all hunters in their respective City. While nominally, it is considered that each Hunter’s Bureau works in unison, in reality, each are only beholden to their own government. Generally, they collaborate well with other Hunter’s Bureaus, but when push comes to shove, it can be difficult to get help from other Cities. And with the entire issue of roaming monsters, if a City did need emergency help, they weren’t likely to get it quick enough.

  Despite the name, not all Hunters belong to the Hunter’s Bureau. The globally enforced Mandatory Hunter Service dictates that every person who awakens an Aspect has to work as a Hunter for a period of 4 years under the Bureau. A person may undertake this service when they turn 18 but may delay it until they turn 25. If a person is caught dodging the draft, then they are typically forced to work for a decade straight. After those years of service are up, a Hunter is free to continue work, either under the Bureau or under private companies that have the authority to employ Hunters. These private companies are called Guilds and must undergo many regulations in order to be given the approval to employ Hunters. The Erelier Protection Guild is technically a Guild, but it works extremely closely with Erelier’s Bureau and receives tax money, to the point that it might as well be another section of the Bureau. Though, due to Lemuel’s actions, it’s earned a lot of respect and freedom for itself.

  There was a 3rd option, however. Working as a freelance Hunter. This meant not receiving a salary, but in exchange they had a lot more freedom in their work, provided they could find them. Out of Erebus Squad, half of them were freelance. Captain Galas and his older sister, Sienna, were both freelance Hunters. Lemuel, of course, was one of the pillars of the EPG, and Reina did go to work under the Hunter’s Bureau.

  “Um… This seems like a lot…” Machua muttered, staring at the endless words on the document she was on.

  “Just sign your name at the bottom.”

  “Actually, hang on! Why aren’t you doing any papers!?” Machua pointed at my empty hands.

  The receptionist we talked to a minute ago chirped, “Oh, that’s because Mr Purin’s paperwork has already been handled for him.”

  “By who!?”

  “Let me see… Ah, one Elize Macworth from the Erelier Protection Guild. She’s even waived all of your physical exams.”

  “Hah!?” Machua exclaimed almost comically while turning to me with an incredulous face.

  “I asked her to fill it in for me while registering. I thought I might as well ask.”

  “Ah… Ugh. I should’ve asked Lemuel to do it for me…”

  “He’d probably be too busy to do it.”

  For some reason, Machu gave me a tired expression.

  “Go on, finish it. Sign the bottom.”

  “…Yessir…”

  ———————————————————————

  “Haaah….Haaaaah…….”

  Machua was already collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. Her clothes were already wet with sweat, and this was only the first set of exams. She really hoped that it wouldn’t be intensive, so she didn’t think to pack a change of clothes.

  “I-I thought I was in shape,” she muttered.

  “You are. Hunter is the most physically demanding job after all.”

  Machia sat on a chair, casually scrolling through the news on his phone. The two were currently in a well-furbished rest area filled by only a few people. Big Hunter exams were typically held twice a year, and it was in those times where the Hunter Bureau would lower the application fees. This made it uncommon for people to apply outside of those time periods.

  For those who had mandatory service, the Bureau offered free classes that one could take that would auto-qualify them for a Hunter, which allowed them to skip the exams. Those without Aspects would have to pay a fee to take them. Machua didn’t want to take the time to do them though, which resulted in the current situation of her lying on the ground, gasping for air.

  “But-but… There’s no way…”

  “Well, it’s supposed to be an exam even S-Rank Hunters can take, so don’t feel bad. A lot of Hunters retake the exam to get a measure on their current capabilities. You’re not meant to finish, not anywhere close,” Machia explained with a snark.

  “That’s so mean…”

  “Here, drink up,” Machia said, tossing a can of tea at the woman on the ground.

  Machu barely managed to catch it where she immediately began drinking. She finished it all in one go, without even breathing. Machia couldn’t even blink as he watched the drink he so carefully procured go down the drain like that.

  “Savour the taste a little more, damn it! It’s limited edition!” Machia suddenly stood up said.

  “Wah?” Machua recoiled in shock and checked the can.

  Looking at it again, Machua could tell that the design of the green can of tea was very elegant. There were foreign characters written on the front, with a background of a mountain with a golden dragon circling above it. She located the english translation for its name and began reading aloud.

  “Everclear Jasmine Tea steeped in water from-“

  “The springs of Mount Huanglong! Mount Huanglong is way too dangerous for most people to go to, so spring water is rarely collected there. The company who makes this only sends out a squad once a year, and the water is too magical to even be dimensionally stored, so they have to do it the old-fashioned way! Only 100 cans are sold a year!”

  Machua quickly tuned out Machia’s yapping as she checked out the info on the can. She couldn’t help but feel as if it was familiar somehow. Soon, she found the reason why.

  “Oh, it’s from the Dias Group.”

  “Yeah. The Group that owns the mall we always go to. Can you see how precious this is? A can costs-“

  “Isn’t this…” Machua interrupted. “I think I’ve tasted this before.”

  “Wha- There’s no way. I was only introduced to this by a friend of mine who loves tea. And he didn’t even do that until, uh, a few months ago.”

  Machua tapped on her phone for a little bit. After a while, she responded,” I think I should be able to get some later. Once I do, we can try it together.”

  “As much as I don’t believe it’ll taste the same, maybe it will be a cheaper alternative, so I’ll look forward to it.”

  All of a sudden, a bell rung.

  “Looks like that’s you. Next up’s the magic test. Just do as you feel. Don’t feel bad if you do bad, I’ll teach you a bit once we start working.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Machua groaned as she slowly began sitting up. Machia reached his arm out for her to grab, to which she did so. He pulled her up quickly.

  “Kay. Let’s do this.”

  “You’ve got this Machu.”