Later
"So, how are you?" Caelus asks Trigger, who's been sitting on his room's balcony. She didn't face Caelus, leaning on the window while crossing her arms.
"Dealing with the higher-ups is a pain in the neck," Trigger says honestly. "Ever since the Legwork family, sans Phil himself, got arrested. The higher-ups were bombarded by calls after calls from some TOPS agents."
"Let me guess, they want to save their reputation to shut down the news about Legwork's arrests with any means necessary?" Caelus asks as Trigger merely nods.
"That was the intended plan, until someone leaked to the InterKnot, and now it spreads like wildfire, becoming today's hot news." Trigger says.
"Which includes my involvement?" Caelus asks as Trigger nods apologetically.
"Your reputation is now widely known by everyone, and it'll attract more people with this recent incident," Trigger says as Caelus sighs.
"That explains how Miyabi knows about that..." Caelus mutters, catching Trigger's attention.
"Miyabi? As in Hoshimi Miyabi?" Trigger asks as Caelus nods. "...how did you encounter her?"
"My attempt to join H.I.A. didn't go unnoticed by H.A.N.D agents masquerading in the game club, and it ended up catching Sector 6's attention, possibly due to my unusual Ether Aptitude despite being human," Caelus explains.
"I see," Trigger mutters, not noticing Caelus raising his eyebrow at her choice of words. "Are you planning on joining H.A.N.D.?"
"That depends," Caelus says. "It wasn't confirmed that I was accepted."
"I doubt you'll get rejected," Trigger mutters quietly, making sure Caelus doesn't hear it. But Caelus did hear it and simply scoffed.
"Nah, I have a feeling I won't get accepted. I mean, I try to reject the offer right on Miyabi's face because Phil didn't get the offer. I'm sure she offered a potential internship for Phil just to hide the fact that I won't be accepted," Caelus says as Trigger turns her head around and shows her look of disbelief.
"Caelus, I know you're loyal, but what you did is borderline idiotic," Trigger exclaims as Caelus chuckles.
"I know, but I'd rather not deal with a possible angry, jealous bunny who has gone through a lot for these few days," Caelus says as Trigger sighs, running her hands down her face.
"Only you would do something like that. Everyone wishes to be offered a job to work alongside Void Hunter, even willing to do anything like selling their organs or even their human rights," Trigger says as Caelus sweatdrops.
"I...am not that crazy," Caelus says as Trigger scoffs in disbelief. She had 'seen' Caelus casually mention how he should explode the mansion to rescue Phil.
"...so, the creature that has been living with you..." Trigger decides to change the subject. "When did she grow so big?"
"...Mem grows when she gathers more memories and embraces the Path of Remembrance more. Being an entity made of memories, it's how she and her kind grow. Now, she takes the form of a Thiren," Caelus says while gently petting Mem, who's been sleeping on the bed soundly, as Trigger gives Caelus a disbelief look.
"...I'm so glad I chose to be petty enough to not provide my higher-ups a full report. They would send me into the mental asylum if I told them this..." Trigger says as Caelus chuckles. It's exactly one of the reasons he decided to just spill the beans.
"Thanks for keeping the whole thing for yourself, and helping me get back Phil from his...sperm donor and his manhole," Caelus says as Trigger chuckles.
"That is an interesting way to describe them." Trigger says before smiling. "But thanks isn't necessary. As a soldier, our main mission is to keep civilians safe."
"Yeah, but you guys weren't being appreciated enough," Caelus says before a purple crystal starts forming on his hand. "I don't have anything to repay you except for this."
"You don't have to..." Trigger says before noticing the glowing crystal on Caelus's hand.
"Trust me, I think you'll like this," Caelus says before gently shoving the crystal into her head. From Trigger's perspective, everything in her line of sight starts to show color, causing her to gasp. Slowly, images start to turn clear before revealing the entire scene of Lumina Square at night.
"I...don't have a way to restore your sight yet, but I remember how you react to the Path of Remembrance. So, I thought you would like to see how the night of New Eridu, and...." Caelus stops when Trigger pulls Caelus into a hug.
"Thank you..." Trigger says softly before smiling at Caelus. "It was beautiful. It's...been a while since I saw something this beautiful."
"...yeah," Caelus says as Trigger lets him go, awkwardly looking away as the light on her visor turns pink. She then recalls what Caelus said earlier.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'yet'?" Trigger asks in confusion.
"Oh, right. Well, you see, there's this Path that revolves around healing called the Abundance."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile
"Damn, we sure earn a lot today!"
Nicole happily counts the money she has earned today after continuing to sell the books. Despite the chaos that has been unleashed by the new readers, she and her fellow Cunning Hares continue with their sales.
Surprisingly, some sane customers had unintentionally promoted the book in InterKnot by reviewing it, and that had attracted more customers to check out their little stalls. In just half an hour, the entire stock has been sold out. They had earned 20 times the budget Caelus had used to pay for the mass-produced.
"Geez, to think many people are willing to spend so much money to buy slops," Nekomiya mutters as Anby slowly leans into Nekomiya's ears.
"Cipher still had to feed the kids living in the Amphorean Sewage," Anby whispers into her ears, causing Nekomiya to tremble while tears threaten to escape her eyes.
"WILL YOU STOP WITH MORE CIPHER DEPRESSING FACT!!? I STILL HAVE YET TO MOVE ON!!!!" Nekomiya meows.
"Keep slandering Caelus' works, and you will suffer~" Anby says in a blank tone while waving her hand ominously. Billy watches their interaction and shivers.
"Anby sure can be cruel..." Billy mutters before noticing the Phaethon walking out of the Video Store, looking mentally exhausted. "Hey, managers! How was your day!?!"
"Tired. I think both of us had unintentionally dug too deep into a big conspiracy," Belle mutters as Nicole notices Belle and chuckles nervously.
"H-hey, Belle, still-!?" Nicole clamps her mouth shut when Belle turns and glares at her, hard. "I'll just keep my mouth shut."
"... Is it me, or did you guys get more money than your usual commission?" Wise points out. "Did you guys get into bigger trouble again? Another gang war?"
"Nah, nothing like that," Nicole denies it. "This is the money we got from an honest work."
This causes the Managers to stare at Nicole with a dry look. The Cunning Hares? Doing an honest work? It was like saying the world no longer has Ether.
"Hey, I was being serious!" Nicole says defensively after noticing Phaethons' unconvinced look. "Caelus had commissioned us to help him sell his novels."
"Okay, now you guys are pulling our legs," Belle says accusingly. "That guy doesn't look like he could write a convincing story."
"Well, why don't you try and take a look?" Nicole asks as she pulls out the first copy Caelus gave to her to mass-produce the book. Belle takes it and starts reading it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Few Chapters Later
"WAAAHHH!!!" Belle wails as she furiously wipes the tears off her face.
"..." Wise silently wipes his tears while comforting Belle. "Okay, so he does know how to write a good story..."
"See? Now, you see how we could earn so much money," Nicole brags. Billy, Anby, and Nekomiya stare at her dryly. She dares to brag after lying about how the story was good enough to attract customers, then reveals how she had zero confidence and had to resort to sex appeal.
"Yeah..." Wise nods. "So, how much of the debt will you pay us back?"
"...eh?" Nicole froze, along with the rest of the Cunning Hares. They have forgotten they have debts after earning so much money in just a day.
"Did you forget the debt you had to ask for our services? You should know we need to earn a living as well," Wise says as cracks start forming around Nicole.
"...." Without a word, Nicole starts to count the dennies, now with a much gloomier expression. Meanwhile, the rest of the Cunning Hares joined in, sharing a similar expression as their leader/boss.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile
NEPS
A tall, bulky man with slick blonde hair can be seen silently walking into the prison, his hand gripping something. The officers nearby salute him as he passes them by, not noticing the frown on his face.
This man is Justin Bringer, the senior officer of the New Eridu Public Security. He was once hailed as the 'Hollow Hero' by the residents of New Eridu for his supposed heroic actions during the fall of Eridu. He was still respected by his peers for his past heroic deeds, including Zhu Yuan. But he has a secret that the public doesn't know.
He is an Exaltist.
He has been one since the day of his heroic deeds. No one knows about this, and he made sure no one, except his fellow Exaltists, knew about this.
Right now, he's on his way to visit the Legwork Family, who are also part of the Exaltist. But he wasn't there to rescue them.
As he approaches the cell containing the Legwork Family, he glances at the officers following him and dismisses them. Without a word, he enters the cell, facing both Legworks and scowls. He has never seen such a pathetic sight in his life: a husk of a man who is crippled for the rest of his life, and a whore whose face is completely deformed and whose entire teeth are missing.
The medical teams had done everything to heal their weird injuries, but no matter what they did, it didn't work. Not even prosthetics.
"The Creator had shown their ways to you, and you failed," Bringer says.
"Bringer..." Mr. Legwork mutters shakily.
"The Overseer has a message for both of you," Bringer says as he reveals two syringes in his hand. "You two have failed miserably. But the Creator was benevolent enough to let you two redeem yourselves, through Refinement."
"..." Neither of them says a word, earning a scoff from Bringer. He honestly believed they didn't deserve this salvation, but he must carry out the Overseer's order. Without any more words, he stabs both syringes into the couple.
Then, they start twitching like crazy before they scream in pain. Blood starts oozing from their eyes and ears, shocking Bringer. The scientists in the Exaltists had done so many tests that they were convinced the vials should definitely 'refine' them, not doing...whatever this is!
Light started to emit from both of the couple's eyes before their body inflated like balloons and exploded. Bringer was sent flying through the cell's door and crashed into another door, his body covered with burn marks, wounds, and bruises. The nearby officers start panicking before they approach Bringer and call the medic.
To be Continued