"Nya! Who is talking? Is the train car speaking? And with such a cute female voice!"
The sudden voice startled Nekomata and made her take a step back. She obviously knew the train car could not talk, but her impulsive comment only left the person on the other side even more confused.
"Huh?"
"Miss Train Car, we are in a hurry. Could you move aside a little so we can pass?"
Nekomata always had a talent for turning serious moments into comedy. Her playful teasing was entertaining, but if she kept it up, the person on the other side might start questioning their own sanity.
"Alright, Nekomata, cut it out. You are going to scare the young lady on the other side," Wise said in a slightly scolding tone.
Right as Wise finished speaking, the girl beyond the train car finally spoke.
"Um… are you an investigator from the Hollow Investigative Association?"
"It is common etiquette to introduce yourself before asking someone else's name, young lady. You know that, right?"
Wise heard the soft, timid voice coming from the other side and gently adjusted his tone, careful not to scare the girl speaking to him.
"Eh, oh, is that how it works? I am very sorry, I did not know that. Um… my name is Corin Wickes, and I work for a home service company…"
- Corin[1] -
Corin? If he remembered correctly, she was from Victoria Housekeeping. And if he wasn't mistaken, she was the girl whose gentle looks hid an unbelievable amount of strength.
Within Victoria Housekeeping, every member seemed to embody a trait taken straight from a horror film, and Corin was the one who resembled Frankenstein the most.
Ellen was also part of that organization. As a side note, Victoria Housekeeping was known for offering particularly high salaries.
While Wise was lost in thought, Corin kept talking on the other side.
"Gemini, Rh-negative blood, I like cleaning, and my citizen ID number is…"
"Uh… you don't have to go into that much detail. By the way, why are you in a place like this?"
Fortunately, Nekomata spoke up before things went too far. If they had stayed silent, Corin might have even ended up revealing the color of her underwear.
"Just now, a very dangerous Ethereal passed through here. My companions and I got separated while trying to avoid it. And I don't have any 'Carrot' data with me. If you two are investigators, you must know the way out of the Hollow, right? Please, can I come with you?"
Her slightly pleading tone made it hard to refuse, so the group paused to discuss.
"So she's just an ordinary person lost in the Hollow. I still don't understand how a home service employee ended up here. But… what do you think? Should we help her?" As Nekomata spoke, she glanced at Wise.
She genuinely wanted to help this weak little sister, but after all, Wise was the Proxy. Whether they helped or not ultimately depended on his decision.
"Although I really want to help her, we don't have the ability to break through this train car. Naturally, we can't just go over and take her with us."
Wise raised his voice deliberately so Corin on the other side could hear him.
"T-That… I'm very sorry. I overheard your conversation without permission… May I ask, if I can get you all to the other side of the train car, could I then go with Investigator?"
"Nya? You have a way to get us across?"
"Yes, just wait a moment. I'll be ready soon."
"Hmm? Is she going to crawl under?" Nekomata asked, confused.
Because Corin's voice sounded so young, she assumed the girl was actually going to try squeezing through the narrow gap under the train car.
However, she quickly realized she was wrong. Not long after she spoke, a violent mechanical roar burst from the other side of the train car, like a massive chainsaw coming to life.
A moment later, a sharp saw blade tore straight through the outer wall of the car. Wise reacted instantly and pulled the cat out of the way.
Even if he hadn't stepped in, she probably could have dodged the attack on her own. Still, Nekomata's favorability toward him jumped by 10 points, bringing it up to 50.
After the blade tore through the side of the train car, it whipped around a few more times before ripping open a crooked passage.
A large chunk of metal hit the floor with a heavy crash, and the startled Nekomata instinctively wrapped her arms around Wise again.
This time her grip was gentler, and Wise found himself noticing the soft warmth of her body pressed against him, even if it still could not compare to Nicole's.
"Hoo~ Good, my apron didn't get damaged."
As the dust settled, they turned toward the voice. A small girl with matcha colored hair was brushing dirt from her clothes while checking herself over to make sure everything was still intact.
What drew their attention most was the chainsaw beside her, taller than she was. Fresh marks along its edge made it clear she had used it to cut open the train car.
"Ah!"
Just then, she seemed to finally notice they were there. She stopped fussing with her clothes and quickly bowed.
"F-First time meeting you, Investigators. I… came crawling here."
Corin's fluffy twin pigtails drooped as she bent forward, and her eyes landed directly on Wise.
"Eh? So the one talking to me earlier was this Bangboo? Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to question your identity as a Bangboo…"
She bowed again in apology, clearly flustered. As she straightened up and watched Wise walk toward her, a strange feeling welled up inside her. She suddenly wanted to pick him up and press her cheek against him.
'No, absolutely not,' Corin warned herself.
That would be way too rude. But the urge didn't disappear right away. Before she could push it aside, Nekomata beside her spoke up with the same puzzled tone.
"Are you really a home service company employee? Then why are you in the Hollow? And why are you carrying such a big chainsaw, nya?"
"I'm sorry, um… our company handles a lot of different tasks, and we also deal with Hollow related cases…"
Corin clearly did not want to say anything more and quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, Investigator, you are in a hurry too, right? I can help. If you take me out of this Hollow, I will do anything. Please, please!"
Wise looked at Corin, who was squatting in front of him with a pitiful expression, and for some reason he felt a small flicker of guilt.
"Since Corin helped us earlier, I think we can take you with us. But you cannot say anything unnecessary along the way, alright?" Wise said in a calm voice.
"Mm-hmm!" Corin nodded eagerly.
With the decision made and time running short, they knew they had no time to waste.
"T-That... Investigator, if you are in a hurry, I can c-carry you."
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