Inside the Black Goose Construction Site's office, Koleda sat perched on her custom elevated chair, meeting everyone at eye level.
She proceeded to fill Geno in on what they'd actually be doing once they entered the Hollow.
The short version: Bai Zhi Heavy Industries had commissioned the Proxy siblings to locate a prototype intelligent construction mech — developed under the lead of Koleda's father — that had gone missing somewhere inside the Hollow.
Given that the search area was deep within the Hollow, and the prototype's exact location was unknown, that was precisely why Wise and Belle's help was needed.
"But hang on — you two are Proxies, right? Since when do Proxies specialize in finding lost things?"
Geno looked between the two siblings, genuinely puzzled after hearing the full story.
Guiding people in and out of Hollows was one thing — that was squarely in their wheelhouse. But detective work? Since when?
"Just the two of us would never be enough, sure — but don't forget, we have a very special helper back home."
[Affirmation: Correct. That would be me — Fairy, the greatest AI detective in history!]
Eous, standing at Belle's side, suddenly spoke up. The outburst caught everyone off guard — and then they all got a look at Eous standing there with her little hands planted on her hips, and Geno's expression shifted into one of total comprehension.
"Oh. It's you. Well, that explains everything. That explains absolutely everything."
The moment he saw Fairy, it all clicked. When it came to finding things, who in the world could possibly be better at it than her?
He'd had her help out at his studio before, precisely because he'd recognized just how formidable her information-sorting capabilities were.
With Fairy on the job, tracking something down inside a Hollow would be trivial.
"What an absolutely remarkable little one! Come here and let big sis give you a proper hug! Mmph?!"
A striking woman standing beside Koleda — dressed in simple work overalls, a pair of goggles pushed up on her forehead — suddenly snapped. Stars practically exploding from her eyes, she snatched up a screwdriver and a wrench and launched herself straight at Eous.
Koleda, seeing it coming, immediately threw her arms around the woman's waist and hauled her back — otherwise she'd have already tackled Eous to the ground and done lord knows what.
"Er — Grace, calm down. This really isn't very polite."
"Ben! Don't just stand there talking! Get over here and help!"
The Bear Thirren she'd called out to was Ben Bigg, Bai Zhi Heavy Industries' accountant. And the woman Koleda was currently restraining was Bai Zhi Heavy Industries' chief engineer: Grace Howard.
Worth mentioning — Grace was Koleda's sworn elder sister.
After a brief and thoroughly chaotic scramble, the Bai Zhi crew managed to get Grace under control.
"My apologies — as you can see, our engineer is an absolutely incorrigible machine fanatic. Please forgive her if she caused any offense."
Ben rubbed at his slightly patchy head with an apologetic expression, offering the explanation to Geno and the others.
That easygoing, gentle manner was completely at odds with what Geno had been expecting. He'd braced himself for something like the king of beasts — and instead got this.
"Ahem. So that's the situation. In any case, we're more or less ready to go — we can head into the Hollow whenever you're set."
Koleda cleared her throat twice and steered the atmosphere back on course. Beside her, Anton and Ben snapped to attention and stood in line like perfect soldiers — the spitting image of subordinates being dressed down by a lion queen.
Still the king of beasts, really. Just… more of the den-mother variety.
Geno thought that to himself and glanced again at the top of Koleda's head. Those little bear-ear hair clips really did say it all.
And with that, the meeting was fully concluded.
As everyone began filing out of the office to head to the worksite and collect the smart machinery units, one particular figure caught Geno's eye.
"Manato?? That's — that's Manato, isn't it?!"
"Hm? Geno?! What are you doing here?"
Geno stared in disbelief at Komagino Manato — dressed in black work overalls, hard hat on his head, shouldering what looked like several bags of cement at once.
"Someone you know?"
Belle tilted her head. Someone Geno actually knew?
Ben glanced at the uniform Manato was wearing — not a Bai Zhi uniform — confirming at a glance that he was a temporary hired hand.
Geno nodded at Belle's question and made the introduction.
"This is a new friend I made in Weifeidi — Komagino Manato."
Manato took the opportunity to drop the cement bags off his shoulder onto the ground and greeted the group.
The thud those bags made when they hit — and the cloud of dust that billowed up after — made it very clear they were anything but light.
"Actually — Manato, what are you doing here?"
"Me? I'm working here."
Working.
And just like that, a spark of clarity flashed through Geno's mind — and it all came back to him. Every single piece of it.
Why the name Bai Zhi Heavy Industries had felt so naggingly familiar.
Why Manato had turned up here of all places, saying he was working.
It was because, back when Geno had been in Weifeidi, he'd heard Yuzuha mention it herself.
Manato picked up some summer holiday work at a construction site — Bai Zhi Heavy Industries, I think it was. Because of that, A-Yue and A-Qing have been staying at my place lately.
In his memory, Yuzuha's tone had been perfectly matter-of-fact — clearly this was far from the first time Manato had pulled something like this.
"I see — so it all connects. You've been away from Weifeidi these past few days because you've been here."
"Yeah, I've been eating and sleeping at the worksite the whole time. Why? Did something happen back in Weifeidi? Don't tell me — did something happen to A-Yue and A-Qing?"
A-Yue and A-Qing were two young orphans Manato had picked up — or perhaps more accurately, who had picked Manato up. They were like younger siblings to him, blood relation notwithstanding. Manato taking on outside work was almost certainly to cover their school fees and living expenses.
"Nothing like that — A-Qing and A-Yue are both fine. It's something else entirely."
Geno had been about to launch into a longer conversation when he remembered he still had things to actually do. He turned back toward the others, who had been watching this little reunion with great interest.
"Sorry, everyone — got a bit carried away catching up with a friend. Let's get moving. Manato, we'll pick this up after I'm done."
Running into Manato here had been pure coincidence — but Geno wasn't about to let that make him forget he had real business to take care of. The reunion could wait.
"No trouble at all. Since he's someone you know — why not have him come along with us?"
Watching Geno and Manato interact had apparently flipped some kind of strange switch in Belle. She was visibly buzzing with excitement.
If Wise hadn't grabbed her by the arm, she probably would've already been crouched on the floor clutching her nose, losing her mind.
"Well, we don't have any objections — an extra pair of hands never hurts. Whether this young man is willing, though…"
"I'm willing — it's just that I've still got work left to finish up here."
Manato had been ready to say he was absolutely in without a second thought, but he'd glanced down at the stacked cement bags and scratched the back of his head with a grimace.
Not that a small problem like that was any obstacle at all for Bai Zhi Heavy Industries.
____
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