"But it seems we arrived late. A Proxy, yet possessing such strong combat power... Is this what a legendary Proxy is like? Then does that mean Belle also..."
"No, Belle is truly just a weak woman, though she can be terrifying at times..." Wise said, his voice trailing off as if recalling something unpleasant.
"Oh, really?"
Caesar looked a little surprised, but a thought quickly followed.
'Could it be that Wise is the brawn while Belle is the brains, just like us in the Sons of Calydon?'
"Since we've found him, let's head back," Lighter suggested.
Hearing this, Caesar seemed to recall something and gave a firm nod.
"Yes, Lighter is right. Lucy couldn't sleep all night because she was meeting Phaethon today."
It seemed Caesar had unintentionally let something rather important slip, something Lucy herself absolutely must not find out about.
"Oh no!" Billy suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
"Hmm? What's wrong, Billy? Is the car broken?" Lighter asked as he adjusted his sunglasses.
"Well, no, the car can still start—it's just..."
Billy pointed toward the passenger seat. It was now dented and deformed, the cushion twisted beyond any reasonable use.
"Wow, the passenger seat is destroyed. Wait, that means this young man actually survived that? Quite impressive," Lighter remarked with genuine amazement.
Standing beside him, Caesar confidently patted her chest.
"Don't worry, these are just accidental losses. You won't have to pay for any of it."
"Uh, thank you very much, Boss, but for now, let's hurry back," Billy said, visibly relieved.
"What's the problem? I'll just take Wise back!"
Caesar pointed to the seat behind her, signaling Wise to climb on, but he hesitated.
"What's wrong? Come on up! Don't you trust my driving?"
"No, it's not that. I'm coming."
Faced with Caesar's enthusiasm, Wise had no real way to refuse. He settled in behind her and instinctively looked for something to hold on to, something to keep himself steady during the ride.
But after a glance around, it became clear there was nowhere to grab except Caesar's waist.
What Wise didn't know was that Caesar had already switched to a bigger motorcycle a few years ago. Her old one could barely fit two people.
"Ready? Let's go!"
The moment she finished speaking, Caesar twisted the throttle. With no time to hesitate, Wise wrapped his arms around her waist, and almost instantly, he felt her body tremble slightly under his touch.
The front of the bike lurched forward and shook, but Caesar quickly brought it back under control as if it were nothing.
'Oh no! I got too excited and completely forgot about this. What am I supposed to do now? It's my first time having a boy hold my waist! His hands are so warm... I can feel it even through the fabric. Why does it feel so thin all of a sudden?' A flood of messy thoughts rushed through her mind.
On top of that, her memory unhelpfully dragged up all kinds of scenes she had seen in manga and novels, like the female lead having to give the male lead artificial respiration for some reason, or accidentally ending up in a situation way too close for comfort...
Just thinking about it made her cheeks heat up, and right at that moment, a prompt suddenly appeared before Wise's eyes.
[Ding! Target Caesar: has increased her favorability toward the host by 5. Her current favorability is now 65. Additionally, 200 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 16900]
As they sped down the road, with scenery rushing past on both sides, Wise found himself with nothing else to do but quietly listen to the surprisingly cute stream of thoughts running through Caesar's mind.
Soon after, the group finally arrived at Blazewood.
When Caesar braked and brought the motorcycle to a stop, Wise inevitably bumped into her back. Luckily, his hands were still wrapped around her waist.
Otherwise, he might have ended up grabbing somewhere he definitely shouldn't have.
"Ah, Caesar and Lighter are back, and Billy and... huh? Why is Wise here, too?"
Burnice looked at Wise with a hint of confusion, but then her eyes lit up as if she had just figured it out. She slapped her fist into her palm.
"Oh, I get it! Boss Caesar finally came to her senses and decided to kidnap Wise to make him her husband?!"
"Idiot! How is that even possible?! We're in the Outer Ring, not some lawless wasteland!"
"Eh heh~" Burnice stuck out her tongue, trying to play it off cutely.
The one who snapped at her was a blonde girl wearing a spiked helmet, with a pair of wild boar tusks decorating her chest and a spiked club resting in her hand.
Her outfit left her midriff exposed, and three small pig Thirens followed closely behind her.
"You're the one who gave Caesar that comic, right? I didn't expect you to be Phaethon. Let me introduce myself. My name is Lucy. No need for my full name, just call me Lucy."
Lucy stepped in front of Wise, her eyes slowly scanning him from head to toe, curiosity clear in her gaze. After all, this was the boy she had heard about so many times from Caesar.
He really was handsome and, from what she'd heard, more than capable too—definitely a good catch.
"Yeah, Lucy, I was surprised too when I found out. Especially since Wise just took down so many Ethereals by himself, he's seriously impressive, like someone straight out of a light novel."
"Wait a second, Caesar, are you trying to..."
"Let me properly introduce us. We're the Sons of Calydon, a biker gang from the Outer Ring. I'm the current leader, Caesar. If you don't mind, how about having a match with me later?"
As she spoke, her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at Wise. Beside her, Lucy covered her forehead, looking completely done with her.
"Idiot! Stop thinking about fighting all the time and focus on something important for once!"
Before Wise could even respond, Lucy had already scolded Caesar, who scratched her head with an awkward smile.
"Lucy, don't rush me. I was thinking we'd settle this first, then talk about the serious stuff. Ugh! Alright, alright, I get it, don't pull out the whip! That's embarrassing in front of guests!"
After that short mess, Caesar turned back to Wise and spoke more seriously.
"Sorry about that, hope you don't mind. Billy should've already told you why we asked you to come. The Sons of Calydon would like your help."
She paused for a moment, then continued.
"As for Perlman, the one you're worried about, his airship crashed when it landed in the Outer Ring. It was completely wrecked. He was lucky to survive, but he's badly injured and still unconscious."
"What?! Perlman is with you?!" Wise blurted out.
"Yeah. Wait, Lucy didn't tell you?"
Caesar looked over at Lucy, confused. Lucy, on the other hand, clenched her teeth, clearly annoyed.
"Caesar, are you stupid?! The negotiation hasn't even started, and you already gave away our biggest bargaining chip?!"
'Love really does make people stupid...' Lucy thought, beginning to understand that saying a little better.
"Negotiation? Bargaining chip? Come on, Lucy, don't say things like that. Taking advantage of someone's weakness isn't how an Overlord should act. Besides, it's Wise. I trust him."
As Caesar said that, she turned and gave Wise a small, confident smile.
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Novels Available:
-> Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street. (Translation)
-> Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives! (Translation)
-> Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White. (Original - P@treon Only Until It Reaches 30 Chapters)
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