Dawn spread across New Eridu like a brush dipped in pale gold, carefully painting over the last stubborn stains of night along the skyline.
The wind on the rooftop of Balai Building carried the Hollow's edge—an icy bite that seemed able to seep into the tiniest seams of metal. It tugged at sleeves and hair alike, worrying at everyone's clothes with a restless chill.
"It seems the airship crisis has been resolved, honored Proxy."
Lycaon's low, steady voice broke the morning hush. He stood upright as a statue, silver-gray fur catching the strengthening light with a soft sheen. His deep red eyes followed the massive airship as it corrected its posture and glided toward the building's landing pad—then his gaze dipped to the small figure perched on his leather-gloved forearm.
Ies was standing there on tiptoe, little feet straining, its round hands forming a makeshift "telescope" as it stared into the distance.
"That's true…" Belle's voice came through Ies' speaker, relief unmistakable—yet tangled with a dazed confusion, the kind that comes when events slip beyond your grasp. "But Lycaon… the distress beacon you planted on the airship—who was it actually calling?"
Ies lowered its "telescope," turned around, and its electronic eye flickered as it met Lycaon's gaze.
Lycaon didn't answer right away. He adjusted his stance with practiced elegance, his fluffy tail sweeping the ground as if brushing away dust that wasn't even there. Even on a rooftop that had just seen violence, his mild neatness never quite left him.
"It was sent to… a Public Security officer with an unusual standing within NEPS," he said at last, careful with his wording. "She also has a notable grasp of tea ceremony. She once shared an acquaintance with Lord Qianye, and I had the honor of discussing tea with her for some time. I learned a great deal."
At the mention of tea, a faint, genuine admiration flashed in his eyes—so different from his usual cool precision when dealing with "matters."
"NEPS?!"
The startled cry didn't come from Belle, but from Ruen, newly rescued and still unsteady.
That single word was a key. It unlocked the floodgates of her fear.
Her body visibly trembled; her face drained even paler. She took a half-step back, as if the airship drifting closer were not salvation but a cage sent to claim her. She had hacked the airship—coerced, yes, but guilt didn't evaporate just because the knife had been held to her throat.
Victoria Housekeeping immediately understood why she reacted so violently. Sympathy and grim recognition thickened the air.
Seeing Belle's troubled pause—so troubled even Ies' little ears seemed to droop—Rina drifted closer like a true ghost: silent, graceful, and somehow present before you realized she had moved.
She bent slightly, long silver hair falling with a soft scent, and rested her delicate hands on Ies' smooth metal head. Her touch was almost absurdly gentle—pure reassurance.
"My dear Guide," Rina murmured, her voice airy and warm like a whisper, yet perfectly clear. "Miss Ruen's identity is special to begin with, and now she's been entangled in something as serious as airship intrusion… even if she was forced, even if the circumstances can be explained, you understand NEPS procedure."
She tilted her head, worry placed on her face with exquisite precision.
"If they take her in for investigation—evidence collection, interviews, hearings… once that machinery starts turning, it becomes very, very troublesome. Miss Ruen may not be able to provide you—or us—with the 'assistance' we need for quite some time."
"Y-yeah… that's true…" Belle's voice came through Ies, anxious. Ies tapped at Lycaon's forearm with small, rhythmic tap-tap sounds, the motion leaking Belle's panic and helplessness. "Rina… do you have any good ideas?"
Rina's smile deepened. Perfect as always—yet for the briefest moment, something darker slid beneath it, like shadow under a petal, like red wine clinging thickly to glass.
A spark—greed, or possession—flashed in her crimson eyes. Gone in a blink. But sharp enough to cut.
"In that case…" she drew out softly, her voice turning even gentler, "why not have you, dear Guide, take Miss Ruen and leave this place of trouble first? Tonight has exhausted everyone. And soon… the sun will fully rise."
Her gaze shifted to Ellen, who was yawning nearby as if the tension in the air barely registered.
"Our little Ellen still has to return to school for morning class. Why not let her travel with you—to ensure you both leave safely? It keeps you protected, and it doesn't interfere with her studies. Two birds with one stone."
The suggestion sounded perfectly reasonable.
And then Rina's tone—subtly—turned.
Her attention returned to Belle.
"As for Rina's… 'additional' assistance…" She leaned in a fraction, dropping her voice into the intimate cadence of a private transaction. "Could we ask that Lord Qianye's—ah, pardon—could we ask that you leave your personal contact information with Rina alone? Later, when things are quieter, we can speak at length… privately. What do you say?"
"Huh? But—" Ies waved its little hands, confused. "Don't we already have Victoria Housekeeping's contact information?"
"Oh, that." Rina flowed into the reply without a pause, smiling as if nothing in the world were more natural. But her words were a scalpel, drawing a line with calm precision.
"That is Victoria Housekeeping's official external channel. It represents the organization's will, not Rina's personal correspondence. As you can see, Victoria Housekeeping's true leader is Lord Lycaon. Rina is merely one member. So for… more private matters—friendship, personal exchange—it is better to keep such things separate, don't you agree?"
She wrapped "private contact" in the ribbon of "friends."
Across the rooftop, Corin and Ellen both frowned.
Corin twisted the hem of her maid skirt, glancing between Rina and Lycaon, violet eyes full of confusion. Ellen stopped licking her lollipop. Her shark tail gave a small, watchful sway.
Both of them had caught the scent under the flawless smile—something quietly trying to claim what should not be claimed.
Rina, however, behaved as if she felt none of it. She continued smiling, perfectly poised. Because she knew: Belle—who had stood at Qianye's side for years—surely carried secrets about him that Rina had never obtained.
And the more of those secrets she could hold—
When the Mayor finished putting out fires and finally moved to erase Lord Qianye's wanted status, it would mean closing distance faster, stepping closer sooner.
After all…
Lord Qianye… you wouldn't want those secrets to leak out, would you?
Lycaon remained silent. Neither approving nor denying—only watching. His wolf-red eyes stayed on Rina and Ies, deep enough to drown in. The only giveaway was the smallest turn of his silver-gray ears, angling outward a fraction as he listened for every tremor in the air.
"Well—okay." Belle's voice came through Ies. Whether convinced by Rina's logic or simply desperate to get Ruen away before NEPS intervened, she chose the fastest path out.
Then she forced a laugh, scrambling for another topic to smooth over the awkwardness.
"Oh—right! Ellen, you're still a student? I honestly didn't expect that."
"What do you mean?" Ellen answered lazily, and yawned again. "Of course I'm a student."
She tilted her head, genuinely puzzled.
"When I'm at your… place, haven't you ever noticed my uniform?"
"Y-your… place?!"
Ies froze. Its round body immediately erupted into frantic, meaningless gestures—arms flailing, feet jittering—like a malfunctioning toy. Even its speaker hissed with faint distortion.
Belle, somewhere on the other end, had panicked.
Rina's perfect smile stiffened for one single heartbeat—then returned. The stiffness didn't completely leave.
Lycaon let out a breath so soft it was barely a sigh, lifting a gloved hand to press briefly against his forehead.
Corin nearly bounced in place, hands fluttering in the air, not sure how to stop Ellen from continuing.
"Oh." Ellen blinked, watching everyone's reactions. "I guess I said something… kind of bad."
She paused, then delivered the worst possible "fix" in a flat, lifeless tone.
"I was joking just now. Wasn't it funny?"
It was the verbal equivalent of screaming THIS IS NOT A SECRET into a megaphone.
"H-ha… yeah." Ies' reply came out dry and hollow. "Super funny."
It flailed even harder.
"Anyway, Lycaon! Since everything's settled, I'm taking Ruen and leaving! Thanks for your help!"
Before Lycaon could even fully respond, Ies had already hopped off his arm, grabbed Ruen by the wrist, and practically dragged her toward the rooftop exit—little legs pumping at absurd speed, the two of them fleeing like rolling balls.
"…Ah. Understood." Lycaon's reply landed half a beat late, still calm. "Victoria Housekeeping remains at your service at any time."
He performed the courtesy expected of the head butler, then turned his gaze to Ellen, who was preparing to follow.
"Additionally, Ellen—wait."
Ellen stopped, lollipop still in her mouth. She glanced back, languid as ever.
"Boss, what is it? If I don't go after them, what if they get lost? This area's kind of complicated."
"The Proxy is not reckless," Lycaon said, cool and analytical. Yet a faint ripple—something complicated—passed through his eyes like a stone disturbing still water.
"She may panic briefly from sudden information shock, but she will not lose basic judgment. She and Miss Ruen will stop somewhere ahead—somewhere relatively safe—to wait for support."
His words carried confidence in Belle's capability. But his brow tightened, and his tone sharpened slightly.
"Ellen. What I truly want to ask is this—why did you do that?"
He meant the "slip" that nearly exposed Belle's connection to Random Play.
Ellen pulled the lollipop out of her mouth. Her sleepy expression tightened into rare seriousness.
"Boss… we're going to have to come clean sooner or later. The Proxy's identity. Their relationship with Doctor Qianye. Those secrets can't stay buried forever."
She paused. A colder edge flashed through her red eyes.
"And also… something felt off."
"Off?" Lycaon's confusion gathered like a cloud. Rina and Corin both looked over. "What did you notice?"
Ellen's gaze moved toward the exit where Belle and Ruen had disappeared.
"When we were talking about Doctor Qianye—how worried we are, how we want to find him—I felt like… the Proxy was listening, and cooperating, and doing everything right."
She searched for the right word.
"But sometimes… in tiny moments… there was this flicker. Like—enemy energy."
She landed on the term, even though it sounded severe.
"E-enmity?!" Corin blurted, clapping both hands over her mouth. Her violet eyes were wide with disbelief. "Ellen—are you sure? The Guide… would feel that toward us?"
She couldn't understand it. They had fought side-by-side. Belle had seemed friendly.
Ellen nodded, fully serious.
"It was faint. Hidden well. But my instincts aren't wrong. It felt like guardedness—rejection—especially when Rina kept pressing about where Doctor Qianye is."
"…I see." Rina fell quiet, slender fingers touching her lower lip.
Ellen's words dropped into her mind like a pebble into a lake, sending ripples outward. A thought surfaced—one that even Rina found unsettling.
Could it be that the Proxy also… held feelings for Lord Qianye that weren't merely familial?
No. That was ridiculous. They were blood. Weren't they?
She forced the thought down hard.
But a seed, once planted, does not truly vanish. It simply waits.
Rina's gaze drifted toward the direction Belle had fled, and something complicated settled behind her eyes.
She lifted her head, about to ask Ellen exactly when she had sensed that "enmity"—what expression, what second, what tell—
Only to realize Ellen had already shoved the lollipop back into her mouth.
A watery shimmer rolled over her body.
"Sleepy Shark—Wake!"
The next instant, Ellen was gone—an arrow of motion, a trace of cold current, a blur sprinting after Belle and Ruen so fast it left only an afterimage behind.
And at the very same moment, the airship—once distant—crossed the final stretch. Its massive shadow swallowed the rooftop landing pad like a mountain lowering itself from the sky.
The engines' roar was deafening. Wind blasted across the platform, whipping clothing and hair into frenzy.
On a high observation deck along the airship's side, a figure stood clearly outlined against the dawn.
A fox-kin woman—tall and straight-backed—her fox ears twitching subtly in the wind. She wore a crisp uniform with a distinctive haori layered over it. Arms crossed, she stood against the gale without yielding an inch, her gaze sharp as a blade as she looked down at Victoria Housekeeping on the rooftop.
There was judgment in that look. Curiosity. And the silent pressure that belonged to a true apex predator.
"…Hoshimi Miyabi." Lycaon lifted his gaze, silver hair streaming in the engine wind. His red pupils tightened. His voice dropped into something heavy and wary.
"New Eridu's youngest Void Hunter. Chief of Section 6…"
The weight behind his words sharpened.
"Why is she here? And why… is she arriving aboard this airship?"
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 147)
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 (Chapter185)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter105)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter215)
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Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 185
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 170
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/1
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 206
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 190
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/23
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 106
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 125
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 105
I Can Copy Unique Skills 90
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 90
My Harem Is Indescribable 80
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 86
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 81
Still playing traditional Honk 65
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 65
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 57
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 45
Transmigrated as Sukuna 59
Checking In in Demon Slayer 59
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 73
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 45
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 36
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 40
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 60
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 30
Why did they assign me to Uma 35
MYGO Beauties 43
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 30
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 31
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