"Nicole, he appears to be a sentient Ethereal," Belle stated. "One capable of communicating with other Ethereals."
Anby added, her tone grim, "There was a case where an investigator in a Hollow encountered an Ethereal that could mimic human speech and behavior. The moment the investigator 'rescued' his fake teammate from the Hollow, the monster revealed its true form."
"The city paid a terrible price. In the end, the crisis was only averted when another investigator sacrificed himself to push the Ethereal back into the Hollow."
Billy sighed in exasperation. "Anby, Ethereals die the instant they leave a Hollow. Are you sure you're not talking about a movie? Oh, wait, I know! That new horror flick that just came out!"
"That incident resulted in a long list of casualties," Anby said seriously. "I read through the whole thing."
"That's called the credits!" Billy slapped his forehead.
"Alright, Anby," Belle interjected. "The guy just helped us. We can't just kill the donkey the moment it's done grinding, can we?"
Hearing Belle's words, Anby finally lowered the blade from Forrest's neck.
This little sister is much more reasonable, Forrest thought, before a delayed reaction hit him. Wait. We can't kill the donkey right now*? Does that mean it's fine to do it later? Why is such a cute girl so devious?!*
"Hey, friend, you okay? That's just Anby's personality, don't mind her," Billy said with a chuckle, trying to smooth things over.
Forrest simply brushed off some non-existent dust from his shoulder. "It was a mere trifle," he said with an air of nonchalance.
His comment stunned Billy, who immediately pulled Anby aside to whisper with her.
Billy's voice was too low for Forrest to hear, but Anby's reply came through crystal clear.
She nodded. "I agree. And I still sense he's a conscious Ethereal. I shall go and finish him!"
"No, no, no!"
Billy quickly grabbed Anby's arm. She'd just had a blade to the guy's throat; doing it again was a bad idea. What if he called that Dullahan back? They'd be in deep trouble.
Forrest couldn't be bothered with them anymore. Who could stand having a weapon held to their neck every five minutes?
He walked over to the Bangboo and Nicole. He hadn't forgotten that he still needed their help to get out of this Hollow. He'd been stuck inside for so long; he was dying to see the outside world.
He remembered a key part of the game's setting: you couldn't stay in a Hollow for too long. Otherwise, even people with Aetheric aptitude would turn into monsters like the Ethereals.
"I don't want to be a buzzkill," Belle said, her voice suddenly grave, "but it's too early to celebrate. Nicole, listen to me calmly."
"It's that bastard's fault. He deleted the backup escape data I had prepared for leaving the Hollow!"
The color drained from Nicole's face. "You mean... we're trapped?" she asked, her voice filled with despair.
"After all we went through... to finally make it back to the start, only to find out it's the end..."
Billy, overhearing this, was overcome with gloom. "Dammit! And I never even got to have dinner with my dear Monica... What a cruel world... But I guess it was a decent life!"
"Calm down. There might be another way," Anby offered, trying to console them.
"Um, you don't have to be so pessimistic," Belle said. "Just because we don't have a Carrot, doesn't mean someone else doesn't, right?"
Belle's gaze, followed by everyone else's, landed expectantly on Forrest, who was busy munching on a slice of watermelon.
"Uhh..."
Forrest scratched his head. He didn't get why they needed a carrot in this situation. Were they hungry?
He casually tossed the half-eaten watermelon rind on the ground. "Do you guys want a white one or a red one?"
"White or red what?" Billy asked, confused.
"Aha!" Nicole exploded. "I knew it! So you're the one who's been leaving watermelon rinds and banana peels all over the place! You're the reason I slipped and almost got killed fighting that Ethereal!"
Furious, Nicole charged forward, ready to beat Forrest to a pulp.
Watching the two massive white rabbits on her chest bounce and jiggle as she stormed toward him, Forrest could only silently chant, form is emptiness, emptiness is form.
And since form is emptiness, he reasoned, there's no harm in taking a little peek, right?
He'd heard rumors that miHoYo had nerfed Nicole, making her... assets smaller. But from his current perspective, they were still enormous. The chasm was as magnificent as ever. He noticed a single mole just above it, which made him realize this was clearly a woman of great... ambition. Her future was surely limitless!
It would be unwise to make an enemy of her.
"Nicole, calm down!" Belle intervened. "What's past is past. Right now, getting a fresh Carrot is the key to our escape."
Nicole shot Forrest a glare. "Hmph! Fine. I'll listen to Phaethon."
Eager to defuse the tension, Forrest reached into his pockets—simultaneously purchasing a daikon radish and a carrot from the System shop.
"Here, the carrots you wanted," he said, holding them out. "Guaranteed delicious. You can tell how fresh they are just by looking. So, are you planning to eat them raw? I'd recommend cooking them first, they'll taste better."
"Oh, for heaven's sake!" Billy slapped his face with a groan. "Dude, we need the latest map of the Hollow, not actual vegetables!" He sighed dramatically. "Maybe we really are trapped... My dear Monica, if there's a next life, I'll still..."
"Are you trying to be funny?!" Nicole snarled, raising her suitcase again.
"That joke was colder than mine," Anby commented dryly.
"I have one more idea!" Belle quickly interjected. "But I'll need your approval, Nicole."
"I approve!"
Nicole immediately froze, then snatched up the Bangboo and started rubbing it against her cheek affectionately.
"I knew I could count on you, Phaethon! A normal Proxy would have been totally clueless by now."
"You agreed awfully fast!" Belle squeaked.
She continued, "That hacker said the contents of the safe have a value similar to Rosetta Data. With it, we should be able to freely enter and exit the Hollow."
"If that's true, we can use it to get out of here! If you're willing to let me open it..."
"I agree! I already told you I did!" Nicole said without a shred of hesitation.
"Huh? Can you really agree so easily? What are you going to tell the client?!"
Nicole scoffed. "This is a life-or-death situation! If I don't make it out, who's gonna deliver the damn safe to him anyway? Open it! I'll take full responsibility for any problems!"
Hearing this, Belle didn't hesitate. She walked to the safe.
"You already know the password, don't you?"
"That's right!"
Belle input the code and the safe clicked open, revealing a device that looked like a memory card.
"However... I have no idea what's actually stored on it. Forcing a read could have serious consequences..."
"Wait a moment. There's something I don't understand."
Anby's voice cut Belle off. All eyes turned to her.
"Your main body is outside the Hollow," Anby stated, her gaze sharp. "You could have just left us. Why did you risk coming back to help? Do you have some other motive?"