"Billy, do they fight like this often?!"
Ling asked Billy beside her.
"Yeah, that's right."
"They argue almost every other day."
"We're used to it."
Billy scratched his head as he thought.
"I see. Then their relationship must be quite good."
Ling thoughtfully stroked her chin.
"Let's get going."
"If nothing unexpected happens, Rui En should be on the floor above us."
Hoshimi Aya looked toward the exposed rooftop of Balai Tower.
"Mm."
Anby nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Cat and Twiggy were locked in a stable squabble, neither willing to yield to the other.
...Inside The Hollow...
At the main entrance of Balai Tower.
"Wow, this place looks so grand!"
"And so opulent."
Hoshimi Aya walked through the main door, admiring the interior decoration with envy.
It was the first time in both her lives she had stepped into such a luxurious-looking place.
She had to admit, it looked much grander than it did in the game.
The only drawback was that it felt a bit eerie.
"Right, but don't you all feel like it's a bit spooky in here?"
Cat hid behind Anby.
"Cat, you really are timid!"
"With Captain Anby here, every crisis will be solved immediately."
"Relax."
Twiggy brandished her dual blades proudly.
"It is indeed a bit cold."
"I feel like my parts are going to rust."
Billy hugged his arms, looking quite chilly.
"Hey, do you guys feel like something is watching us?"
Hoshimi Aya gripped her hilt and walked steadily forward.
"Aya, don't make scary jokes at a time like this."
Ling surveyed the surroundings with an awkward laugh.
"I feel it too."
"There really seems to be a faint sense of being watched."
Anby placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"But, there isn't anyone else here?!"
"It seems there's no one else here besides us."
"Could it be that you guys are mistaken, meow?"
Cat looked around, a little scared.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from behind the group.
It scared Billy, Cat, and Eous into hiding behind Hoshimi Aya, while Twiggy hid behind Anby.
"What the heck?!"
"You scared the life out of me!"
Twiggy wiped at the non-existent sweat on her forehead.
The loudest sound came from one of the two stone statues of Bangboo they had seen upon entering; one had fallen over.
"..."
"This is extremely not right."
Hoshimi Aya stared at the stone statue that had fallen for no reason.
"Indeed, this place exudes a sense of strangeness everywhere."
"We should leave quickly."
Ling stepped out from behind Hoshimi Aya.
"Mm, let's speed up!"
"Ling, just pick the closest route."
"Leave the rest to us."
"Cat and the others are responsible for protecting your safety."
Hoshimi Aya nodded.
"Mm."
With that, Ling started leading the way forward toward the upper floors.
The group proceeded at full speed!
All the Etheralss along the way were instantly dealt with by a single swing from Hoshimi Aya.
Finally, the group stopped on a certain floor of the mansion.
"Anby, Miss Aya, the feeling you sensed earlier, was that Etheralss?!"
Billy pointed at the corpse of a Etherals that was currently dissolving.
"Is that so?"
"Aya, what do you think?"
Anby inquired.
"Probably not."
"That sense of being watched is still there, but I can't pinpoint its location."
As she spoke, Hoshimi Aya looked around.
But she didn't notice anything.
"Manager, which way do we go next?"
"At our current speed, we should arrive soon, right?"
Billy asked.
"Wait a moment, let me check."
With that, Eous entered standby mode.
Meanwhile, Cat stretched languidly, licked her paw, and groomed her hair like a cat.
Twiggy performed stretching movements; in this group, only she and Cat were the weakest.
She had requested to join this operation.
Suddenly, a pair of scissors glowing with red light flew out and stabbed toward Cat.
Fortunately, Anby pulled her away.
"Who?!"
Anby looked vigilantly in the direction the scissors had come from.
At the same time, he moved closer to Hoshimi Aya's position; everyone else did the same.
"Is that... scissors?!"
Ling stared at the flying object in shock.
Hoshimi Aya watched everything silently; this weapon looked a bit like Ellen Joe's.
Could this be their first official meeting with Victoria Housekeeping?!
From the direction Anby was looking, the sound of footsteps echoed.
Seeing this, the group quickly hid behind Anby.
Soon, the owner of the footsteps emerged. It was a Thiren dressed in a sharp suit, resembling a waiter from a high-end restaurant.
It was Lykann, the wolf-man.
"Everyone has extraordinary skills, no wonder you could move unimpeded inside the building."
"But you must stop here."
"Balai Tower is private property, and outside visitors are currently not welcome."
"You all have 30 seconds to explain..."
Lykann looked at the group, waiting, but before he could finish his sentence, a circular saw blade flew down.
It landed right in front of the group.
This incident made Lykann cough awkwardly, instantly breaking the previously serious atmosphere.
Just as Lykann was preparing to salvage the momentum he had lost, the metallic clash of weapons sounded from behind him.
"Shouldn't I have emphasized that weapon maintenance and floor polishing are daily mandatory lessons?!"
Lykann turned around somewhat flustered and addressed the person behind him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lykann, I am truly very sorry."
Corin trotted over to Lykann's side and bowed 90 degrees to apologize.
Then, a yawn sounded from behind Lykann.
"Ellen, it's work time now, you should maintain your composure."
Lykann glanced toward the position behind him.
Meanwhile, Hoshimi Aya maintained a high state of alert.
"The big sister not far behind us, please do not advance any closer."
"Otherwise, I cannot guarantee that my blade won't fall there the next second."
Hoshimi Aya stared straight ahead in Lykann's direction without diverting her gaze.
Hearing this, Anby and the others looked warily behind them.
They saw a mature big sister floating in mid-air, preparing to advance toward them.
"Oh my, I've been discovered."
Lina smiled awkwardly.
She had intended to sneak forward and give the group a surprise.
Afterward, Lina returned to Lykann's side.
The two floating Bangboos beside Lina were busy reattaching the saw blade for Corin.
"Little Corin, hey, Little Corin, it's us!"
Cat greeted them, trying to bridge the relationship.
"Corin, you know them?!"
Lykann asked, confused.
Although that Fox-Haired Person looked somewhat familiar, she shouldn't have appeared here.
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