Chapter 338: The Belated Reinforcements
Wise keenly observed the subtle shift in Miss Miyabi's demeanor. Though her tone had smoothed back into its usual cool cadence after she ended the communication, a faint crease of gravity lingered between her brows. She tried to mask it, her posture stiffening with practiced discipline, but the lingering tension was impossible to completely dispel.
Leaning against the debris, Wise pitched his voice to carry a deliberate, breathy weakness. "Miyabi, are you alright? You look a bit..."
Miyabi shook her head, her silver hair catching the dim ambient light as she flatly dismissed his assumption. "I am fine. It is just..."
She paused. Expressing raw emotion clearly didn't come naturally to her, her gaze dropping to the ground for a fraction of a second before meeting his eyes again. "Just now, I was genuinely concerned about your condition."
"I am fully aware of Yanagi and the others' capabilities," she continued, her voice regaining a fraction of its usual authoritative edge. "They can easily handle the follow-up operations. Your only priority right now is to rest and recover your strength."
That earnest, unfiltered concern made a sharp twinge of guilt prick at Wise's conscience. He realized he couldn't keep playing the fragile victim. Knowing Miyabi's rigid sense of duty, she would absolutely refuse to leave his side. Worse, she might forcibly summon an emergency medical team despite his protests. If a careful Hollow Investigative Association doctor actually examined him, they would instantly discover he didn't have a single scratch on him. Explaining that away would be a nightmare.
Bracing his hands against the rough, cracked asphalt, he began to slowly push himself up. He made sure to grit his teeth, putting on a highly convincing display of physical strain.
As expected, the movement immediately triggered Miyabi's alarm. She closed the distance in a heartbeat, her gloved hands instinctively reaching out to support his shoulders.
"I really do feel much better," Wise said, offering a weak but reassuring smile. His mind raced, rapidly piecing together a plausible excuse for his miraculous recovery. "Now that I think about it, I wasn't trapped inside the Hollow for very long. It was likely just a sudden, mild spike in ether corrosion. Combine that with a bit of... severe exhaustion, and my body just shut down."
He rolled his shoulders, feigning a wince before relaxing. "My physical foundation is actually quite solid. I make sure to exercise regularly. Plus, I always carry emergency anti-corrosion medicine on me. The effects have finally kicked in, so my head is clearing up."
To sell the act, he cautiously stretched his arms and rolled his neck, demonstrating a state of gradual, steady recovery.
"See? Good as new," he added, trying to inject as much sincerity into his smile as possible. "Just a mild aftereffect. I just need a moment to catch my breath, so please, don't worry."
To completely derail her train of thought regarding a medical evacuation, Wise deliberately furrowed his brow. He pressed a hand against his abdomen, rubbing the spot that still throbbed with a dull ache. Injecting a mix of feigned confusion and light teasing into his voice, he asked, "It's just... my stomach feels incredibly sore. It almost feels like I took a blunt elbow to the gut. Strange. Does ether corrosion usually cause this kind of localized physical side effect? You're the expert here, Miss Miyabi. Any ideas?"
Miyabi froze. A sudden flicker of realization flashed across her sharp eyes, followed immediately by a faint, uncharacteristic flush creeping up her neck.
Only now did she belatedly process the logistics of their escape. In her absolute haste to evacuate the danger zone, her singular focus had been on speed. She had completely neglected to consider whether a common civilian Ropemaker possessed the physical fortitude to withstand the violent jostling of her high-speed dash—especially considering the rather... undignified and highly uncomfortable way she had carried him.
She lowered her gaze, deliberately avoiding the amused glint in Wise's eyes. When she spoke, her voice was softer than usual, heavy with absolute sincerity.
"Earlier... the situation was highly critical. In my haste to breach the Hollow's perimeter, I was entirely inconsiderate. I employed an excessively rough method of transport." She bowed her head slightly. "I apologize deeply for subjecting you to such an unnecessary physical burden, Your Excellency."
The sudden use of a formal honorific highlighted exactly how guilty she felt.
Now it was Wise's turn to be caught completely off guard. He had only intended to crack a joke and lighten the heavy atmosphere. Instead, he had extracted a solemn, deeply formal apology from one of New Eridu's most elite operatives. Suddenly, he felt like a cartoon villain bullying an incredibly honest person.
"No, no, no, Miss Miyabi, please don't apologize!" He waved his hands frantically, his expression a mask of pure panic.
"You are literally my savior! If it weren't for you, I'd still be lying face-down in that Hollow. I can't possibly thank you enough for pulling me out of there, so how could I ever accept an apology from you? If you act like this, who am I supposed to rely on the next time I stumble into a life-threatening crisis?"
His tone was deliberately exaggerated, laced with helpless teasing. By heavily emphasizing his deep gratitude and the obvious fact that she had saved his life, he successfully shifted the narrative, hoping to completely offset her trivial guilt over a bumpy ride.
Seeing Miyabi open her mouth to issue yet another formal apology, Wise ruthlessly pivoted the conversation. He needed to steer their dynamic into much safer, far more relaxed territory.
"Miss Miyabi," he began, his tone casual and breezy. "Look at it this way. We've officially braved a life-and-death crisis together. Strictly speaking, that means we should be considered friends now, right?"
Miyabi studied the bright, entirely unclouded smile on Wise's face. The lingering gloom of the Hollow was nowhere to be found in his expression. She hesitated for a fraction of a second, her disciplined mind processing the concept, before finally offering a small, affirmative nod.
Delighted by his success, Wise immediately struck while the iron was hot. "Since we're friends, it's incredibly boring to keep dwelling on fighting, killing, apologies, and debts of gratitude. Let's talk about something completely different to unwind."
He paused, smoothly slipping into the polished, enthusiastic persona of a dedicated small-business owner. "For example, Miss Miyabi, what kind of movies do you usually watch? My sister, Belle, and I run a video store over on Sixth Street called 'Random Play'. We boast a pretty complete collection."
He flashed a salesman's grin. "If you ever find yourself with some free time, drop by. I'll waive all your rental fees as an ongoing thank-you for saving my life today. How does that sound?"
It was a mundane, everyday topic that clashed violently with the lingering tension of their surroundings. Miyabi clearly hadn't anticipated such a drastic conversational whiplash, leaping straight from the lethal perils of an active Hollow to weekend movie entertainment.
She blinked, momentarily stunned, before actually taking a moment to seriously consider his question.
"I... do not watch many films," she answered honestly. Her voice retained its signature coolness, but the razor-sharp edge it carried on the battlefield had entirely melted away.
And just like that, amidst the cracked pavement and lingering ether static, two people who had just narrowly escaped death began to casually chat.
Wise took the lead, enthusiastically pitching various genres and guiding the flow of the conversation. Miyabi remained a mostly quiet listener, occasionally offering brief, thoughtful responses, expressing a mild preference, or asking a clarifying question about a particular film's plot.
Without either of them fully realizing it, the heavy atmosphere softened. The air between them took on the genuinely relaxed warmth of a casual hangout between old friends. A quiet, unspoken connection—forged in the fires of shared danger and cemented by mutual goodwill—was slowly taking root.
However, this oddly domestic scene appeared incredibly bizarre—bordering on surreal—to the backup squad. Having just survived a fierce battle of their own, they had rushed over in a state of absolute panic after receiving an emergency distress signal.
Screeeech—!
The deafening squeal of burning rubber shattered the quiet atmosphere. A heavily modified, obnoxiously gaudy van, piloted by Piper, tore around the corner. It executed a brutal, smoking skid, slamming to a precise halt in the open clearing just a few yards away.
The side door was violently kicked open. Nicole vaulted out first, her expression fierce, her weapon already drawn. She was immediately followed by the swift, hyper-vigilant figures of Yanagi, Soukaku, and Yuzhen.
Every single one of them bore the heavy, unmistakable marks of recent combat. Their clothes were frayed and scorched, lingering trails of ether energy crackled around their weapons, and a lethal, tightly-coiled tension was etched deeply into their faces. They hit the ground in tactical formation, fully prepared to dive headfirst into a desperate rescue operation or plunge straight back into a bloodbath.
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