The next day, the sun rolled over New Eridu's skyline like Helios driving his golden chariot—blazing, merciless, and thorough. Any leftover coolness from the night evaporated on contact, and even the shaded corners of Sixth Street had nowhere to hide as dust and heat shimmered up from the pavement.
Inside the video store, the high-powered AC was running at full blast.
Ever since they'd taken in Fairy, the shop's electricity bill had ballooned several times over. At this point, Wise and Belle had stopped caring about "normal" power consumption—turn it on if you need it. No ordinary appliance could compete with Fairy's appetite anyway.
"Mmnh… ahhh… morning, bro…" Belle shuffled out, rubbing sleepy eyes. A few stubborn tufts of her dark-blue hair were sticking up at odd angles, and an extremely suspicious little yellow speck clung to the corner of her eye.
Wise's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. His gaze locked onto that speck with sniper-grade accuracy.
"Any news from Belobog Heavy Industries?" Belle asked, voice still thick with sleep.
"Not yet." Wise looked away from the computer monitor and pushed up the cheap, bargain-bin glasses he'd bought online. "Anton asked for your Knock-Knock ID yesterday. We'll probably hear something soon…"
Then his tone shifted—cool, investigative.
"Putting that aside… Belle, did you wash your face? There's something… in the corner of your eye."
"There is not!" Belle exploded instantly, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Her emerald eyes went wide; her drowsiness was gone in a single heartbeat. "You're lying! I wiped my face properly—hard—like, a bunch of times!"
In most cases, a sane person would de-escalate.
But Wise was not "most people." This was the same man who could arrange personal items into perfect geometric layouts. Expecting him to ignore any form of "uncleanliness" was about as likely as Robin suddenly stopping her crush on Butler and Xugeya.
"…Fine." Wise's lips moved as if he wanted to provide a more clinically precise observation—but the moment he saw Belle's fist tightening, knuckles whitening, rational self-preservation seized control.
Knowing full well that his pathetic combat power was basically on par with his sister's, Wise executed an immediate strategic retreat.
Right then, a crisp notification chime rang from Belle's waist like a choir of angels.
"Belle, check the message," Wise said quickly, eager to change the subject. "It might be from Belobog—"
"It is from Belobog!" Belle whipped out her phone, thumb flying. Her brows knit in confusion, then relaxed. "Uh—this profile picture… how do I put it? A plain company logo. That's so Anton: simple, direct, zero frills…"
She read on, eyes brightening.
"Koleda's decided to recover the prototype? Whoa. That's insane initiative!"
Wise loosened his shoulders as Belle's attention dove fully into the screen. He'd barely finished exhaling when Belle snapped her head up, eyes blazing with excitement, arm shooting into the air like a commander declaring a campaign.
"Alright! Brother! Let's move!"
"Uh… should we wait a bit?" Wise leaned back reflexively, caught off guard by the sudden burst of energy. "You were up all night yesterday. Are you sure you're okay?"
"How do you know I stayed up?!" Belle stared.
Wise's lips twitched again. "Your Knock-Knock status was 'online' the whole time until after midnight. What do you think?"
"Ugh… fine. But it's okay!" Belle slapped her flat chest with a crisp thwack, then bent her arm and tried to squeeze out something resembling a biceps curve. Her face scrunched with effort.
"My body is super tough! Wanna bet? If we arm-wrestle, I might even win!"
She flashed a radiant, high-energy grin that was… completely unconvincing.
Wise could only sigh, muttering ancient wisdom to himself—endure a moment and the storm passes; take one step back and the sea grows wide—and silently sat back down at the computer, fingers already flying as he pulled up the complicated HDD interface.
"Wait—no!" Belle's eyes narrowed. "How do you know the time so precisely? You stayed up too, didn't you? And what's with those cheap, ugly flat-lens glasses? You didn't have those before! Brother, you definitely did something shady last night—spill it! Did you secretly online shop?!"
"Ahem." Wise coughed. "The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed."
No way I'm telling her I stayed up trying to snag Yao Jiayin concert tickets… failed… and the only consolation prize I got was these glasses.
Black Swallow Construction Site—Old Ruins.
Under the scorching sun, the site felt even more lively. Rebar jutted upward like the ribs of a colossal beast, stabbing into the ashen sky. Dust and the sour tang of oxidized metal hung in the air.
"Chiyah, didn't you just come here this month?" Belle's voice cut through the noise. "Your massage service should've been over ages ago, right? So why are you—"
Her eyes instantly locked onto a certain unmistakable, stubbornly upright cowlick in the crowd—and beside it, Xugeya, standing dead silent with his back to the world in full "master-of-the-mountain" mode.
Belle's eyelid twitched.
Then her gaze swung—like a searchlight—toward Anton, who was doing his absolute best to present nothing but his broad back to her.
She folded her arms, voice low and chilly.
"Anton. What is this?"
"…," Anton's big body stiffened like he'd been welded in place. In front of the Proxy girl he'd basically adopted as "one of the bros," the always-loud, always-straightforward man had suddenly lost the ability to speak.
He didn't turn around. His neck was rigid, eyes glued to a nearby handcart full of sand—an utterly ordinary piece of equipment—as if its rough metal surface contained the deepest secrets of engineering.
"'A man's silence can be deafening.'" Belle took a step closer, emerald eyes narrowing with dangerous amusement. "If I remember right, you were pounding your chest and saying that yesterday. So what's this now? You can't even turn your head. This is your 'manly' behavior?"
Belle's tone grew heavier, displeasure congealing into a visible pressure.
Anton looked like he wanted to crawl into the handcart and disappear.
Ben was trying to compress his massive frame into a corner shadow, nearly achieving invisibility.
Grace stood off to the side, arms crossed, visor hiding her eyes—her mouth faintly curved like she was watching something entertaining.
Seeing the situation spiraling, Koleda took a deep breath. The tiny CEO stepped forward with surprising bravery, planting herself squarely in front of Anton. Her crisp voice broke the tension.
"Ahem! Belle!"
Koleda puffed herself up, trying to look imposing. "I don't know why you're so angry, but bringing Chiyah in was my decision—last night. If you want to blame someone, blame me!"
Her small hands clenched tight around the handle of her work hammer.
"Koleda." Belle's gaze sharpened. "You know Chiyah's actual job is being a doctor, right?"
Koleda nodded hard enough that the animal-ear hairband on her red hair trembled.
Belle narrowed her eyes further, like a cat judging prey.
"Then why did you drag him into a dangerous operation? His body isn't like mine—I can operate remotely through Eous. He has to enter the Hollow in person. If something goes wrong, what then? Who takes responsibility?"
Chiyah looked like he wanted to say something.
Belle's eyes flashed with a warning so sharp it made him immediately fall silent.
Because yes—Belle was lying.
Chiyah could also use HDD tech to avoid worst-case scenarios when entering a Hollow in person.
But Belobog didn't know that.
So no matter what Koleda's real motive was for dragging him into this, as Chiyah's "sister" and—cough—future… something… Belle had to test Belobog right here, right now.
Even if the cooperation so far had gone well. Even if she genuinely respected them.
Alright, Belle thought. Let me see what kind of answer you give.
And what answer would Belobog Heavy Industries give?
"Please rest assured!" Koleda straightened, face flushing with urgency. "I swear on my position as CEO of Belobog! I swear on Belobog's honor—my doctor will not come to any harm inside the Hollow!"
She whipped her head around, eyes blazing at her crew.
"Anton! Ben! And… Grace! Say something!"
"Oh! Absolutely!" Anton seized the lifeline like a drowning man. He spun around with a huge grin, flexing hard for emphasis. His biceps bulged like two slabs of rock, gleaming under the sun—an almost insulting contrast to Belle's earlier "biceps."
"Belle! Leave Chiyah to us! I, Anton, swear on these muscles—if danger shows up, we'll be the wall in front of him!"
Ben stepped out from the corner too, tall frame bringing an undeniable sense of weight. He pushed at the bridge of his nose out of habit—despite not wearing glasses—then cleared his throat.
"Proxy, please don't worry. Personally, I'm not fond of the word 'bet.' It's not rigorous."
He paused, eyes steady.
"But I can guarantee this on Belobog's credibility: we will not allow Doctor Chiyah to suffer any mishap in the Hollow."
Anton and Ben had both made their stance clear—strong, direct, firm.
And then the scene fell into a sudden, awkward silence.
All eyes drifted to the last person.
Grace.
She still leaned against a bare concrete pillar, arms folded, black hair tied low. Her visor concealed most of her expression; only her elegant jawline and emotionless, pressed lips showed.
She said nothing, as if the heated conversation had nothing to do with her.
Koleda opened her mouth, looking at her expectantly. The light in her face dimmed, inch by inch, into unmistakable disappointment. Her fingers twisted unconsciously around the hammer strap.
The ice in her heart had softened a little after Chiyah's comfort last night—but that didn't mean she'd magically let go of Grace's opposition, or of Grace still defending that missing father.
Just as the silence thickened to the point of suffocation, Grace finally moved.
Slowly—gracefully—she straightened away from the pillar.
Behind the visor, her gaze seemed to lock precisely onto Koleda.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it had a cold, cutting clarity—like a precision instrument's alert tone—slicing through the air.
"Short stuff," she tilted her head slightly, lips lifting into a faint curve that carried no warmth at all. "You said something wrong."
"Huh?" Koleda blinked, completely lost. "Grace, what are you talking about?"
Grace stepped closer. At 170 centimeters, the pressure she gave off in front of Koleda's small frame was even sharper.
Her words landed slowly, clearly, with the unmistakable weight of a declaration.
"Chiyah isn't yours."
Her voice was calm—but it hit like a boulder dropped into a still lake.
"He's independent and free," she continued evenly, "like a bird in the sky."
She paused, as if confirming the absolute truth of it, then ended with a flat, final question that shut down argument.
"Understood?"
Koleda froze.
Grace's expression didn't change. The same cold composure. But something underneath her tone—something sharp and resentful—flickered and was gone.
After landing that small blow—after venting a bit of the bitterness in her chest—Grace shook her head lightly, then let out a soft laugh.
With casual familiarity, she pulled Chiyah into her chest, deliberately teasing his cheeks as his face flushed bright red.
"Relax, Belle," Grace said, still smiling. "Hand him to Belobog. Nothing will happen."
"…Fine," Belle said, then her eyes snapped sharp. "But right now—let go of him, Grace! You dairy-cow!"
"D—Dairy cow?!" Grace recoiled, scandalized. "What a shameless nickname! Belle, have you gone bad? If Eous stays around a you who loves giving people weird nicknames, he'll turn into a bad kid too!"
Not far away, the claw machine Hans blinked its electronic eyes and looked toward the boring machine and the pile driver beside it.
"They were talking just fine," Hans asked innocently. "Why are they suddenly arguing? Big Brother Anton is having a hard time."
"Idiot!" came the blunt reply.
"This is love!!!"
"Huh?!!" Hans' eyes widened.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter108)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter82)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter144)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 99
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 95
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 99
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 92
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 47
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 44
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player 43
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