"Here, the people have put in so much effort to make this world a little bit better."
"If all their hard work is stripped away in the blink of an eye, that would be far too cruel."
"What do you take the IPC for, March?"
Topaz shook her head helplessly with a smile.
"Don't forget, we are the same as the city builders here — we are all practitioners of Preservation."
"…"
Stelle's gaze turned strange.
Sister, are you really the same as the city builders?
It's hard to say about you for now, but your subordinates really don't look like it… No—
They don't look like it at all!
A practitioner of the Path of Preservation has "silencing witnesses" hanging off their lips?
What does that say?
It says they've done this kind of thing quite a lot, it's almost become a habit, or it has already become a verbal habit.
Combined with the absolutely negative overall impression of the IPC right now, Stelle found it hard not to suspect whether Topaz's words came from the heart or were just an act.
You may know a person's face, but not their heart.
The experience of walking a long distance with the mastermind behind the scenes on the Luofu had deeply taught her this truth.
…That damned Phantylia.
"No matter what, the solution we propose will definitely take the well-being of Belobog's people into consideration."
Topaz's attention was on March 7th and did not notice Stelle's momentary strange expression. She declared confidently:
"If I can't even do this much, then wouldn't my behavior be no different from the unreasonable bunch that is the Legion?"
March 7th: "So what you mean is… we don't need to worry? But Bronya, she—"
Topaz: "Don't worry. Miss Bronya is a person with great wisdom. She will definitely understand."
"Besides, if you want me to answer your previous question directly, the answer is: no matter what you do, it's useless."
"Owing money and repaying it is only natural. There is no such thing as showing mercy."
"No matter what obstacles I encounter, I will definitely complete the Jarilo-VI project."
March 7th's little face drooped: "Suddenly there's a sense of overwhelming pressure. So scary."
"Uhehe, so yeah, I suggest you two stop putting too much thought into this matter."
Topaz laughed heartily:
"Instead, while you're still here, why not enjoy the lively atmosphere before the festival more—"
"Ah, a colleague is looking for me. I'm really sorry, I'll take my leave first. Let's meet again if fate allows."
Topaz was swift and decisive.
The little raccoon spirit and the little entanglement-of-fate spirit were left standing there staring blankly.
"Sigh, what should we do?"
March 7th rubbed her temples, her little face scrunched up into a ball.
"We chatted for so long but made zero progress at all. Think of something, quick."
She pulled Stelle to find a spot to sit down and pondered hard.
Half an hour passed, and they were still looking at each other helplessly.
Stelle cleared her throat and spoke first.
"Plan A: Keep pestering her persistently. With my silver tongue, maybe I can persuade her."
March 7th: "…Really? But I don't think Miss Topaz looks like someone who will waver."
Stelle sighed: "Actually, what she said also makes sense. When standpoints differ, both sides have their reasons. That's the most headache-inducing situation."
"Even so."
March 7th showed a difficult expression, her tone conflicted.
"I still feel bad for Bronya. Even though I also think what Topaz said is reasonable, the problem facing Bronya is very real too."
"Then let's execute Plan B—"
"What?"
"Do it thoroughly — Hah—!"
Stelle's eyes suddenly turned sharp. She abruptly pulled out the Flame Lance from her ticket space and swung it heavily, her cheeks tensed up looking extremely fierce.
"All evil shall eventually be brought to justice! To resolve Belobog's debt crisis, we must kill and silence them!"
"Eh?!!!"
March 7th instantly widened her eyes, her voice rising sharply.
"No way, are you serious?"
"Of course— I'm not serious." Stelle curled her lips.
With a flick of her wrist, she neatly put the Flame Lance away, her face saying "I'm not an idiot."
"Topaz is just an IPC executive. Even if she and all the IPC employees here turned into corpses, it wouldn't solve the debt problem."
The root of the problem isn't with Topaz.
"From Topaz's standpoint, as a wage worker she has her own difficulties. She does whatever her superiors say."
"Yeah, in the end, Miss Topaz is just carrying out her work principles."
March 7th also sighed, then her tone shifted.
"Taking a step back, from the Astral Express crew's standpoint, opposing the IPC is definitely unwise… Ahh!!"
At this point, she seemed to be hit by an enormous headache. She frustratedly messed up her own pink hair.
"The interests and relationships involved are way too complicated and too difficult to handle!"
March 7th shouted in frustration.
"No one taught this kind of stuff in school… Huh?"
She suddenly froze, tilted her head, and scratched the back of her head with a puzzled face.
"Now that I think about it, did I attend school before I lost my memory?"
"Probably not."
The corners of Stelle's mouth curved into a teasing smile as she looked March 7th up and down.
"If you had gone to school, you wouldn't be such a beautiful, delicate, cute, and charming Little March."
"Ah? Why?" Several question marks popped up above March 7th's head.
"Nothing… Just kidding… Cough cough, time to play our trump card."
"Trump card? What trump card do you have? Why didn't you use it earlier?"
"Because this trump card is called shaking— Hmm?"
Just as Stelle grabbed her phone, preparing to contact Leon, she found her phone suddenly vibrating.
"Seele?"
She glanced at the message the other party sent.
[Seele: Stelle, I heard from Bronya that you returned to Belobog?]
[Seele: If you have time, reply. It's urgent!]
[Galaxy Baseball Girl: Message.]
Beside her, March 7th, who was sticking close to Stelle, saw her still playing around abstractly and couldn't help but give her a light elbow.
However, Seele seemed to have no time to match the humorous wavelength.
[Seele: A group of strange guys suddenly came to the Lower District. Not only did they occupy the Great Mining Area, they even drove the workers out!]
[Seele: I asked Bronya, and she told us not to clash with those guys for now.]
[Galaxy Baseball Girl: …You probably already clashed with them, right?]
Otherwise, why would Seele contact them?
She wasn't the type to express missing her friends.
[Seele: Yeah. Wildfire and the Silvermane Guards fought with them. Those people's weapons are too advanced, flashy and powerful. We couldn't block them at all.]
[Seele: I really had no choice, so I thought of messaging you for help.]
[Galaxy Baseball Girl: Hold on, we're coming right away.]
Stelle put away her phone.
"March, change clothes. Get ready to fight."
"Huh?"
"Stop huh-ing. IPC people ran to the Lower District and clashed with the Silvermane Guards and Wildfire. Seele is asking us for help."
Stelle pulled her toward the museum restroom.
"Our outfits are quite expensive. If they get ruined from fighting, it'll hurt so much."
"Indeed!"
Ah Xian directly projected himself into the protagonist, gnashing his teeth.
He knew the IPC weren't good people!
"Damn it. They were just saying they would consider the well-being of Belobog's people earlier. Not a single word from these IPC capitalists can be trusted!"
March 7th was filled with indignation.
Stelle snorted coldly.
"Trailblaze Heroine steps forth in anger — the IPC lackeys tremble in fear!"