The next morning, Gabriella ventured out into the bustling city, guided by her nose. 

She was looking for any particularly sweet aromas, the smell of bread or meat, anything that might indicate a place where she could sit down and eat using those credits Lillith gave her.

[I wish I could have found some better clothing but I suppose I have no business being picky at the moment.] 

Her current attire, some ripped, black pants and a black shirt, just felt terribly unimpressive. It wasn't her style. Gabriella had always been fond of turning heads wherever she went and this didn't feel like it would help with that. 

Soon, she did notice a few distinct smells beyond the ever-present smoke. The sudden enticing scents overwhelmed her senses.

As she entered one, promising establishment, the ambient hum of conversations and the clinking of utensils against plates filled the air.

Finding a vacant seat, Gabriella grabbed what she thought was a sheet of paper holding a menu only for a System message to deliver the store's offers instead, its holographic display flickering with an array of tempting choices.

Although the dishes had images attached to them, Gabriella had no clue what they were supposed to be. 

[Byte-Size Noodles? Syntheburger? Relic Koi Sushi? What do these words even mean?] 

A waiter, adorned with odd glasses, approached her table.

"Welcome. What can I get for you today?" the waiter asked, projecting a menu for Gabriella to use. 

"I... suppose I will have the Koi?" 

"That'll be 22 credits. It will be brought to you in just a moment." 

[22. I wonder if that's considered a good deal or not.] 

The same doors Gabriella had just walked through opened as the waiter walked away. 

A familiar figure was there. 

Lillith's eyes widened with a mix of surprise and delight as she spotted Gabriella in the restaurant, their eyes meeting naturally. She quickly made her way over, her excitement evident in her beaming smile.

"Gab! Mind if I join you?" Lillith asked, already pulling out a chair and sitting down without waiting for a response.

Gabriella nodded. 

"You're welcome to."

Lillith sat down opposite her. 

"What did you order?" 

"The koi." 

"The sushi, you mean?" 

"Yes, that." 

"Oh, those are something else! You're in for a treat." 

Gabriella shrugged. 

"It's the first meal I've had since... Waking up. I have nothing to compare it to." 

"Hopefully, it will be far from the last." Lillith put her chin on her hand. "So... What did you think about the bar?" 

"It was different, that's for sure," Gabriella muttered. "The clothes, the atmosphere, the women dancing on those poles... I did not mind it but it was quite the assault on my senses." 

"Yeah, it's... weird. But, it's home," Lillith said. 

She sounded both sad and happy about that. Gabriella wasn't sure what to make of it. 

"By the way-" 

Two individuals burst in through the door. 

"Hands up! This is a robbery!" 

"DON'T MOVE!" A woman screeched. "OR I'LL BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!" 

 Gabriella rolled her eyes.

[Thieves? Are the criminals in this world truly so... blatant? Why would you announce your intentions like that?] 

The atmosphere shifted. The patrons cowered in fear, and the staff frantically complied with the intruders' demands.

However, Gabriella, determined to maintain some semblance of normalcy, attempted to continue her conversation with Lillith.

"You know, Lillith, I was wondering about something you said. You mentioned..." Gabriella began to ask, but she trailed off as she realized Lillith wasn't listening. 

Like everyone else, she was terrified. Her eyes darting back and forth between the two assailants, she clearly was too scared for conversation. 

Gabriella nodded to herself.

The escalating tension in the room proved challenging to ignore. The distraction was too much, and Gabriella excused herself, rising from her seat.

"I'll be right back, Lillith," she said. 

"W-Wait..." 

As Gabriella approached one of the would-be robbers, one of those guns was pointed at her head. 

"Hey, hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Get back in- AGH!?" 

Gabriella grabbed him by his throat. 

She preferred to use her magic to handle situations like these, of course. It felt more civilized to do it that way. But, without being fully accustomed to her new skillset, she decided this would be a better approach for the immediate occasion. 

She lifted him off the ground. 

"W-Whah!? BABE!?" The lady at the back cried out, rushing over and aiming her gun at Gabriella. "LET HIM GO!" 

Gabriella had no desire to do that, though. 

The lady must have sensed this, given that she pulled that tiny piece of metal under her index finger and the weapon exploded. Three other tiny pieces of metal were launched at her in quick succession. 

There was a collective gasp. It was like the entire establishment simultaneously held their breaths. Their shock gave way to genuine awe, and in most of their faces, some horror as well, as the bullets remained hovering in mid-air. 

The lady's hands were trembling as she held the gun. 

"E-Execution...er...?" The lady, having gone from shrieking so loudly Gabriella's ears nearly bled to being so quiet the sorceress nearly didn't hear her, murmured. 

Gabriella then threw the man she'd been holding by his neck through the glass doors. 

The lady ran away, taking a moment to help him get back to his feet before the pair sprinted off around the corner. 

[So noisy.] 

Nonchalantly, Gabriella went and sat down again. Lillith's wide eyes, far less fearful than she had been when they first met but still cautious, remained fixed on her. 

A couple of regular customers ran out as well. 

The waiter who'd asked for her order looked frozen in place. 

"Am I getting my food soon or not?" Gabriella asked, wanting him to run back to the kitchen, which he did. "Thank goodness. Now, Lillith, as I was asking you, are bounty hunters in demand?" 

"I... Uhm..." 

"Lillith, like I said, I have no memory of being one of these 'Executioners'. These people were just irritating, is all." 

"I-I get it." 

Gabriella cast her a sympathetic look, thinking about it from the perspective of someone who had no idea what magic was seeing someone produce flames from their hands for the first time. 

"And uh, yeah," Lillith responded. "I just remembered, t-there's a service, actually!" 

[Ah, now we're getting somewhere.] 

Lillith brought out a peculiar, squared device that projected a large screen. Here, Gabriella saw peoples' images being shown. 

"This is an app that lets you see people and the prices on their heads. You can use this if you want." 

"Bounties?" 

"Yeah!" 

"Where can I get one of these...?" Gabriella asked, pointing at the square-shaped item. 

"This is a phone." 

"Okay, where can I purchase a phone?" 

Hearing that, Lillith hesitated briefly. Before long, she took hers and tapped a few things, taking a slightly long time to answer before she finally said: 

"Take mine." 

Gabriella pulled back. 

"Lilith, I couldn't." 

"No, no, it's fine. Seriously."

"You've already helped me quite a lot. The debt I owe you is perpetually rising. I can't." 

"Gabriella," the nervousness eased away, "that's sweet of you to say, but let's be practical here. I have a job, you don't yet. I can buy myself another one. You can't buy one yet, and you need the app now. Go ahead." 

[... I see, now. The System didn't give me a lot, but it did decide to drop me in the vicinity of an actual angel. What a generous person.] 

Slowly, Gabriella took it. 

"Thank you. Sincerely," she stated, bowing her head a little. "Now... How do I use this?" 

"Oh, right." With a giggle, Lillith got up and walked over, sitting next to her. "I'll show you."