Caelus's thought processes were just too... jumpy, with a heavy admixture of the absurd. Even Topaz — who chased deals across the Galaxy and dealt with all manner of people on the daily — found it hard to keep up.
She kept getting that same disorienting feeling, as though she were facing that bunch of Masked Fools.
After hanging up the phone, the crown of Topaz's head was prickling with pins and needles, and it took quite a while for the twitching at the corner of her mouth to stop.
She'd been so busy snarking and trying to chase down that ghost-like train of thought that the questions about the 'Aether Frontline' project never even got brought up.
Not a big deal — Caelus had invited her over to his place for dinner that evening.
Belobog's Grand Guardian Bronya would also be present then. Face-to-face communication would be more convenient, and it would also bolster her own positive image.
"Even though someone else is treating tonight, Numby, you probably won't be used to the food around here. Want to grab a little something to line your stomach first?"
"Squeak~"
The Warp Trotter crouching by Topaz's feet stood up, stretched its little chubby legs, and nodded — it really was quite the cute sight.
...
Goethe Manor, the Grand Guardian's Palace.
"Done. From here on, we just sit back and wait for the IPC officials from the Market Development Department to come collect on the debt."
Seated in the chair that belonged to the Grand Guardian, Caelus leisurely swung his crossed leg.
"Huh? Just sit around and wait? We don't do anything?"
Haxxor Bunny pinched her chin between her thumb and forefinger. Her blue-tipped gray ponytail flicked in a small arc as she tilted her head, her little expression mildly puzzled.
Her current hacking level might still be a step or two behind the Stellaron Hunter Silver Wolf's, but gathering intel over the Interastral Peace Network was no problem at all. The Market Development Department's methods were brutally cruel — the 'Katica-Aweijin Annihilation' was just one prime example.
"Of course not."
Caelus crooked his fingers and rapped his knuckles against the desktop with a loud thump-thump:
"Comrades, don't forget — we came back to celebrate the Solwarm Festival! We haven't even made one round of the food street yet!"
"What time is it, and you're still thinking about food?"
March 7th puffed out her cheeks, raised her little fist, and bonked Caelus on the head.
"Fine — then don't eat any later."
Stelle promptly swept March 7th's portion of the budget into her own wallet.
"Who said that~?! This young lady is gonna eat Auntie Gertie's sun pancakes. Ever since we left Belobog, I've been missing the taste of those griddle cakes."
Because Caelus was here, no matter how dire or grim the situation might be, it was bound to get resolved — from the Mother of Deception Cocolia, to the Rinnegan Phantylia, to DanteMon...
Even though he was usually slacker-ish, an abstract troublemaker, and prone to going off the rails, when it mattered most, just having Caelus around was enough to fill March 7th with a brimming sense of security.
"Are you really sure it's no problem?"
Bronya still felt a touch of unease.
The Solwarm Festival was an extremely important holiday in Belobog. The celebration was supposed to be spent in joyful, festive spirits — but ever since Topaz had come knocking in the name of the IPC, Bronya had been fretting nonstop about the debt issue.
Forget the celebration — she'd barely even handled her routine official business.
"Relax, relax~ As long as I sacrifice my body, deliver scrub-balls to the rich madams, and use the Promoter on Herta and the little rich madam, all of Belobog's problems will be solved!"
Caelus's tone was solemnly tragic yet unwavering, and a faint air of melancholy and surreal nonsense drifted through the hall.
March 7th, White Seele, and Little Duck — long accustomed to Caelus's off-the-rails talk — had no reaction whatsoever.
Pure little White Seele blinked, then asked softly in a gentle, sticky-sweet voice, "Brother Caelus, what's a Promoter?"
"It's a tool that, when used, can raise one's position."
Caelus's expression was completely serious as he said this.
"There's actually such a thing?"
Miss Haxxor Bunny's voice lilted up at the end, completely failing to comprehend.
What was the operating principle? Was it scientific?
Considering Caelus had already laid hands on unscientific gadgets like the Magical Girl Transformation Device, the Ultraman Transformation Device, the Fusion Earrings, and the Universal Synthesizer, Haxxor Bunny was honestly starting to suspect that her own brother-and-Sensei's true form was a certain chubby Blue Robot Cat. So fine — she'd provisionally take his word for it.
Pela, on the other hand, was more concerned with that hint of sorrow.
Caelus's love for the Grand Guardian Bronya was just so deep!
To pay off Belobog's debt, he'd actually have to sell his body and be forced into servicing rich madams — and mind you, Belobog still owed Caelus a massive debt of its own!
Was there anything she herself could do?
He really — I'm bawling!
Was there anything she could do for Caelus and Bronya? Even just the tiniest bit!
Bronya lowered her head. Her bangs covered her gray-misted eyes; she pressed her red lips together and clenched her pink fist tight.
"There's nothing I can do..."
Her focus was likewise on that faint thread of sorrow. Bronya felt waves of pain stabbing through her heart — she really was a deeply unqualified Grand Guardian.
From the very beginning — the shortages of food and supplies, the Stellaron disaster, the catastrophe Mother had brought down, the Eternal Freeze blizzards that had shrouded the entire planet — every single one of those crises had been weathered with Caelus's help.
Now Belobog had finally set foot on the road to revival, and the fate of the people was about to be transformed — only to run headlong into this kind of trouble. And on top of that...
Once again, it was Caelus's power they had to lean on to get through.
"All right, all right."
Could it be that lately he'd been walking even deeper down the Elation Path?
How was just a touch of emotional embellishment making people believe him to this extent?
Caelus reined in his acting, switched emotional gears, and tenderly ruffled Bronya's head, leaning in to whisper softly in her ear:
"Consider it a loan from me to Belobog — and as the Grand Guardian, you're the one on the hook to pay it back, hm? And if you can't pay the debt off... kekeke~"
Bronya locked eyes with those golden irises for several seconds, drew in a deep breath to suppress her emotions, and reassumed the dignified bearing of the Grand Guardian. Her pretty face took on the gentle, alluring charm of a wife:
"Mn~"
She knew Caelus was joking. That sum of money could buy out an entire planet, including every single female between the ages of 5 and 35 on it — straight-up unlocking Planetary Harem Paradise Mode.
Short of recruiting every single parallel-world Bronya to repay it with their bodies together, how could that debt possibly ever be cleared?
Little Duck — outwardly mature, graceful, and bewitching, yet whose inner core was mildly emotionless — had an unusually strange expression on her face. She tilted her head and shot a glance at Pela, who was practically standing at attention, saluting and bellowing "Loyalty!"
Are you keeping a lover here, or breeding a death-warrior corps?!
"Come on. Take a break. Let's go out and wander the streets, get some fresh air. These past couple of days have been pretty maddening, haven't they?"
Caelus called on Bronya and Pela to join the strolling party as well.
The Solwarm Festival was actually still in its warm-up phase. The day after tomorrow was the real day of nationwide celebration.
"What about Seele? Call her along too."
Stelle was munching on snacks she'd dug out of the desk drawer.
"Isn't Seele right here?"
Haxxor Bunny tilted her head in confusion, pointing at White Seele as she asked, baffled.
"I mean the Seele without a surname."
Stelle passed a snack over to Haxxor Bunny to munch.
Haxxor Bunny froze for a second. Her first reaction was, weirdly, curiosity over why Belobog would have such a strange surname.
Then a second later she snapped out of it. From hanging around Stelle and Caelus too much lately, her brain was getting yanked off-track by these two.
Haxxor Bunny opened her mouth and bit into the snack, her gaze sweeping over Little Duck and Rand-Duck. Being a sharp one, she quickly put it together and immediately perked up:
"Seele's parallel world isotope?"
"Mm."
White Seele nodded obediently, her little face turning slightly pink, as if a bit embarrassed: "The 'Seele' here is a lot older than Seele, and at first there was a little misunderstanding between them, so... she's Seele's big sister."
"Oh — I see."
Haxxor Bunny seemed to grasp the situation. Just going by age alone, she should also be calling Breast Duck and Rand-Duck "big sister," but since they were parallel world isotopes, calling them sister felt strange.
Two Seeles addressing each other as sisters — there had to be some backstory there. She'd ask when she had a chance later.
Conveniently, that was yet another topic she could use to deepen her bond with Seele!
She, Haxxor Bunny, was wholeheartedly devoted to her own Seele!
The unsurnamed Seele's official post was Captain of the Grand Guardian's Honor Guard, and she'd been dispatched by Bronya to keep tabs on those not-particularly-rule-abiding IPC employees Topaz had brought.
After Topaz had issued the Employee Code of Conduct, almost every single employee had settled down and toed the line.
One clause even stipulated that every employee was obligated to pay (market rate × 1.5) for any local lodging, dining, and public transportation expenses. That portion of cost would be classified as business travel expenditure and reimbursed in a unified manner by the department.
Even "prohibition on disturbing or interfering with the work of the Mole Faction" was written into the code.
Seele had nothing left to keep watch over.
She'd known for a while that Bronya had invited her good friends back to attend the festival, but seeing everyone return still made Seele both pleasantly surprised and overjoyed. She fiercely scooped Little Seele up into a hug.
Caelus sniffed his nose. Aside from the soft warmth and milky fragrance, he could also catch a special scent on her — one reminiscent of the sea.
Looks like 'big sister' had been using the body wash he'd bought for her this whole time.
The Grand Guardian going out shopping was a bit too attention-grabbing. No matter which stall they stopped at, the owners refused to take her money, and as she moved around with Stelle, Caelus, and the others, more and more residents kept tailing along, until eventually it reached the point of disrupting traffic.
Everyone then decided to split up and either pair off or wander solo to bring the attention down.
"Bronie, want to come with me to the Herta Space Station for a bit?"
Caelus looked at Haxxor Bunny, whose gaze kept drifting toward Seele but who was hesitating about whether to follow along because 'she herself' was being dragged off by Big Seele, and asked with a smile.
"Eh, Herta Space Station? You're leaving Belobog?"
Haxxor Bunny had only taken her first step before she stopped in her tracks.
She knew about the Herta Space Station — she'd committed it to memory back when she first looked up information on the genius Herta.
"What for?"
Haxxor Bunny's gaze swept over the two flavors of ice cream in Caelus's hand. After a slight hesitation, she chose strawberry.
"It's been a while since I've heard Herta begging me. Going to give a listen."
The vanilla ice cream he popped into his mouth sent a chill rolling off his tongue — the genuine article: unmelting Eternal Freeze ice!
"And while I'm at it, I'll grab you the authentic Punklorde Mentality."
The Punklorde Mentality that Haxxor Bunny had been practicing Aether Editing with previously was a copy-data version Herta had fabricated — the same as the one Silver Wolf had found in the Simulated Universe.
At Haxxor Bunny's current stage, the genuine Curio could still provide an amplifying effect on her Aether Editing.
"Best brother! Thank you, Sensei~! Sensei is the best! I love Sensei the most! RUA~"
Haxxor Bunny's pink tongue, mid-lick on the ice cream, paused.
All the lines that followed were said by Bronie. Saying them was bad enough — but she actually went and kissed Caelus. Granted, only on the cheek!
But... aaaaah!
Miss Haxxor Bunny let out a marmot-shriek inside her heart!
The body was originally Bronie's to begin with, and the first kiss belonged to her body too — so on that front, she had nothing to complain about. But did it have to be at this exact moment?
Or was it that Bronie had been moved by Caelus's attitude toward the other two of herself? And so she was taking advantage of the moment the other two weren't around to dig the corner of the wall straight out?
Haxxor Bunny was absolutely standing on a united front with Bronie, but...
A finger swiped across the corner of her mouth, picking up a dab of cream that had stuck there. Haxxor Bunny watched, lips slightly parted, as Caelus placed the cream into his own mouth. In her heart, she sucked in a sharp breath.
Whatever 'she herself' said, whatever 'she herself' did, she had to swallow it down even if it broke her teeth. They'd already kissed — so an action like this couldn't count as too intimate, right?
Miss Haxxor Bunny was forced to endure Caelus's 'doting' smile as he stroked the top of her head.
That smile, rather than the smile one wears toward a student who adores them, was more like the smile one wears while petting a little pet rabbit.
For the sake of Punklorde Mentality and 'her own self,' Haxxor Bunny declared that she would endure it!
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