"Sampo, what are you up to this time?" Seele shot him a sharp look.
"Ah, looks like Boss Seele's about to blow up. I'll make myself scarce. You guys take your time chatting."
As if frightened, Sampo tossed a quick line to Nolan before slipping away in a flash.
Rather than being scared, Nolan suspected the guy was just using the opportunity to wrap up his "tour guide" job early, earning two hundred Winter City Shields in less than an hour.
Still as sly as ever.
"That guy…" Seele rubbed her forehead helplessly, then turned her gaze to Nolan and the others. "So, what are you here for? If it's nothing, then please leave."
She clearly didn't seem very welcoming, probably because they had come from the Overworld.
"Seele, they haven't even said what they're here for yet," Natasha said, somewhat exasperated by Seele's bluntness.
"Hmph."
Seele crossed her arms, making her chest look slightly more pronounced.
"I understand," Bronya said. "I am Bronya, commander of the Silvermane Guards. I've come to ease the conflict between the Overworld and the Underworld."
"You're the commander of those guards?" Seele stepped forward, glaring at Bronya through gritted teeth. "Tell those people to get out of here. What gives them the right to leave whenever they want and then come back like it's nothing, trying to take over the Underworld again?!"
"…"
Bronya didn't know how to respond. The Silvermane Guards in the Underworld had been deployed by her mother, not under her own command.
She knew her mother had done it for the stability of the Underworld, but she hadn't expected it to worsen the conflict instead.
"What do we do? It looks like they're about to start arguing," Charlotte said, clearly unsure how to handle the situation. It was someone else's business, so she had no reason to interfere, but she couldn't just stand by either. So she turned to Nolan for advice.
"…Hmm, let me think."
Rubbing his chin, Nolan fell into thought.
The current situation was that Cocolia had lifted the blockade and sent support troops to the Underworld to deal with dangers like Fragmentum erosion. She likely had no intention of reclaiming control over the Underworld.
After all, after being cut off from the Underworld for more than a decade, suddenly trying to take it back the moment the blockade was lifted… if it were him, he wouldn't accept that either.
As the Supreme Guardian, Cocolia couldn't possibly not understand this.
Even so, the people of the Underworld still didn't welcome the Silvermane Guards, and naturally assumed they had come to reassert control.
The main reason was that Cocolia had never clearly explained her plans for the Underworld to its people.
But it had only been a few days. She was probably still working things out.
Using the "Waymark," Nolan relayed the situation and asked Cocolia for her thoughts.
"My intention is for the Overworld and Underworld to govern together," Cocolia replied in his mind. "If they remain divided, it will be far too difficult to develop Belobog or deal with the Fragmentum."
Although the Stellaron had now been sealed and the Fragmentum would no longer expand, what already existed still remained. The crisis in Belobog wasn't over yet.
It was simply more manageable now.
Nolan nodded slightly. Cocolia's reasoning made sense, but from the looks of it, the Underworld wanted to govern itself and had no desire for the Silvermane Guards to interfere.
After all, from the perspective of the Underworld, they were unlikely to trust those who had abandoned them before. Rebuilding that trust would be a long-term effort.
"So what exactly would this 'joint governance' look like?" Nolan continued to ask.
"The Silvermane Guards would mainly be responsible for dealing with Fragmentum monsters, while management of the Underworld would be entirely left to its own people."
Cocolia explained her idea.
"Sounds pretty reasonable." Even with his limited understanding, Nolan felt the plan was quite good. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Just so happens I've met the leader of Wildfire. I can pass this idea along and see what she thinks first."
"Do you have some kind of plan?" Cocolia didn't think Nolan would bring this up without reason.
"I think I can offer a condition that their leader won't be able to refuse."
Nolan smiled.
He had originally only come to the Underworld for a bit of sightseeing, but now that he understood how deep the conflict between the Overworld and Underworld ran, he felt he had to contribute in some way.
Seeing Bronya caught in an awkward situation, Nolan spoke up:
"Miss Seele, you're a member of Wildfire, right?"
Hearing his words, Seele, still somewhat irritated, shifted her attention away from Bronya and looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"What, you've got a problem with that?"
She had quite a reputation in the Underworld, so she wasn't surprised that Nolan knew who she was.
"Of course not. I also understand that Wildfire is currently maintaining order in the Underworld, and the Supreme Guardian is aware of this as well.
"So the Silvermane Guards are only here to help deal with dangers like Fragmentum erosion. They have no intention of opposing you.
"How about this? You let the Silvermane Guards carry out their duties as normal, and cooperate in helping restore harmony between the Overworld and Underworld. In return, I'll help you with something."
Nolan proposed.
"I already said it, the Underworld doesn't need your interference!" Seele replied angrily, clearly uninterested in his proposal.
"Hear me out first." Nolan shook his head and continued, "When I arrived in Boulder Town, I noticed that quite a number of residents seem to have lung problems. That should be caused by mining, right?
"I can treat them."
As he spoke, a golden Windwheel Aster formed in his hand, which he then let drift down onto a patient lying unconscious in a nearby bed.
Almost instantly, the patient's complexion improved.
"How did you do that?" Seele's face showed clear surprise.
Natasha quietly stepped forward and examined the patient, only to find that they had already fully recovered.
"I assume, as the ones managing the Underworld, you wouldn't refuse such a condition?"
Nolan looked at Seele.
Though he appeared to be addressing her, the offer was actually directed at Natasha, the true leader behind Wildfire.
As a doctor, there was no way Natasha could refuse such an offer.
Sure enough, before Seele could say anything, Natasha asked:
"To what extent can you do this?"
She herself possessed basic healing abilities, otherwise the Underworld, with its shortage of medicine, wouldn't have held on this long. But one person's strength was still too limited.
If this young man from the Overworld could cooperate with her, there might be a chance to cure most of the patients in the Underworld.
"All of them, of course. I can heal every patient in a short period of time," Nolan replied with a smile.
After all, for him, it was an extremely simple task.
(End of Chapter)
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