Wise didn't understand why Belle would run back to her room in such a hurry. Could it be her period? Perhaps.
As he thought, Wise's eyes peered over to the system menu, where it displayed Belle's inner thoughts.
-Target Inner Thoughts (Belle): What's going on? Why do I suddenly feel like Wise has gotten so much better-looking? He seems even more charming, handsome, tall, responsible, and good-tempered... Such a perfect brother, I really want to- No! Why am I starting to think that way about Wise again? I... I should help Eous recharge first. -
Belle constantly reminded herself not to think about it; clearly, it's anything but working. Once Wise appears in her mind, Belle is nearly impossible to calm herself down.
I'd never been particularly impressed by Wise before, so why had he suddenly changed so drastically today? Could it be that I hadn't noticed before? Or perhaps, as the saying goes, a young man's growth often happens in a flash.
Belle is still lost in her own thoughts, but Wise is the one who has difficulties calming down now.
Is this really what's going on in Belle's head?!
Wise felt a little skeptical, but considering her behavior just now, it didn't just seem out of place. Don't know what that ellipsis meant, but it was clearly not something he wanted to know.
Okay, I gotta calm my nerves... Belle is grown-up now, after all, and it's completely normal for her to have... funny thoughts.
Besides, that alone doesn't prove anything, does it? At most, it can only mean that the increased Charm Level has a greater impact on Belle.
Wise convinced himself with this thought, and then he noticed the system prompt again.
-Individual Target Detected: Belle. Mood Swings increased towards the user. Reward has been sent. -
The system's robotic voice is still cold as ice, but the reward is hot enough.
Wise stopped dwelling on his thoughts and focused on the system's reward.
-Talent: Bullet Time (Rank B) Increases the user's awareness and reaction speed by five times for a short period of time (The specific duration depends on the user's ability)-
Well, it's a decent ability, but are innate abilities so easy to acquire? Could it be because Belle has a strong affinity for me?
Wise thought as he left his room and went to Belle's room next door, knocking gently on her door.
After knocking, some strange noises were heard from inside; the door opened a few moments later.
Belle's cheeks flushed slightly, and upon noticing it was Wise, her gaze shifted deliberately elsewhere, her fair thighs pressed together.
"Eh-it's you, Big bro, uh, what's up?"
Belle looked a little uneasy, but Wise didn't think too much about it, simply assuming Belle was acting this way because of her period.
"Oh, nothing, I just came to check on you. Are you feeling alright? Get plenty of rest during this time, and don't even think about sneaking some ice cream in your room."
Hearing Wise's warning, Belle felt a little shy and pouted, "I see. You're such a nag, big bro. I'm not a child anymore. How could I do something like that?"
"Okay, good to know. Go downstairs and watch some TV while I get dinner ready." Wise ruffled Belle's hair and, before she could react, went downstairs first.
That was a bit of a playful act, and Belle knew that.
"Bro! You're messing up my hair!"
But the only response from Wise was the sound of footsteps fading away downstairs. Seeing this, Belle could only reach out and smooth her hair before following him downstairs.
It seems like it has been ages since big bro ruffled my hair like this. It feels... it feels pretty good actually...
Wise, on the other hand, hadn't been paying attention, so he had no idea what his sister was thinking. After all, the inner thoughts displayed on the system panel were presented Live. So there's no going back once he misses something.
Wise headed put directly after going downstairs, why? Their video store doesn't have an interior kitchen, of course.
There was a ramen shop next door anyway, so even without a kitchen, there was no need to worry about food. If the urge to cook for oneself ever struck him, he could definitely borrow the kitchen next door. After all, they were long-time customers and neighbors, so General Chop would definitely agree to let him borrow his kitchen occasionally.
"General Chop, two servings of ramen, you know the favor."
Wise found a seat at a random spot after arriving at Waterfall Soup.
Upon hearing this, General Chop greeted him warmly.
"Ah, it's you, Wise. Two servings of ramen, eh? I'll make them right away, please wait." Then he watched as General Chop swung his two robotic arms with dazzling movements, completed the process of making two servings of ramen.
As he handed the ramen to Wise, General Chop gestured for him to come closer, then whispered, "I just heard something interesting from the other customers. There seems to be another hollow that opened up at 14th Street. I'm not sure if that's true, but I wanted to let you know in advance."
Wise was stunned by this, a hollow opening on 14th Street? Why does it sound so familiar? Speaking of which, Nicole seemed to have mentioned yesterday that she had something to do today. Could this be the start of the main storyline?
Wise pondered this internally, and General Chop saw this. He spoke again, "I don't know if it's true. After all, there are no official announcements about it as of right now. This is just hearsay."
"Oh, it's fine, thank you, General Chop, for telling me. I'll be heading back now."
"Come back often when you have time!"
After leaving Waterfall Soup and returning to his video store, Wise went straight to the room on the first floor.
He immediately spots his sister, shoes off, sprawled on the sofa, her feet swinging casually, the remote in her hand, changing channels on the TV.
Upon noticing Wise's return, Belle immediately sat up straight.
"I brought some ramen!"
"Awesome!"
Belle casually slipped her fair, tender feet into her shoes and walked towards Wise.
But walking with shoes like that was incredibly dangerous. Sure enough, before she'd taken a few steps, she tripped and fell, sending the top of her shoe flying off her foot.
"Ah!"
"Careful!"
Wise, who had just put his ramen down, saw this scene, a look of panic and worry on his face. He quickly stepped forward to support Belle.
Belle naturally fell into Wise's arms, while Wise maintained the posture of holding Belle's wrist with one hand and holding her waist with the other.