"Oh? What is it?" Jane asked, unable to ignore the clear fear on his face as the topic came up.
"W-Well, Sister Jane, I'm telling you, you absolutely can't let anyone know I said this. The higher-ups don't allow this to spread, and..."
"Enough. Stop stalling and speak."
Jane knew his nature well, so her tone turned firm. Seeing there was no escaping it, he quickly got to the point.
"So you're saying that recently, several strange figures have been appearing near the outpost?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, yes! I heard from the other patrol brothers that those things are incredibly fast. They rush past before you can even see them clearly. Sometimes you hear hissing like snakes, or cries like foxes, but how could there be snakes or foxes in this Hollow? Aren't they all Ethereals?"
Jane fell silent, deep in thought. The leadership of the Mountain Lion Gang at this outpost clearly took the matter seriously, even increasing patrol numbers. The man before her was one of those newly assigned.
Ignoring his trembling, her gaze shifted toward the gang members guarding the hostages nearby.
They followed her orders well, even giving the PubSec officer, Seth, three times the usual water. For now, things remained under control.
The guard had mentioned being familiar with the shortcut crevices in this Hollow, which could prove useful. Yet soon, something felt off.
He had only gone to the restroom. The food had been fine.
So why had he been gone for so long?
As expected, moments later, another gang member came rushing over in panic.
"They're gone! The hostages, the guard, that PubSec Officer, all of them! Someone knocked out the bathroom guard. The recruit turned on us and took off with everyone!"
A flicker of surprise crossed Jane's eyes. She hadn't expected Seth to actually persuade someone.
Was that man too naïve, or simply not completely rotten?
There was no point in dwelling on it. To keep things from spiraling further, Jane immediately set out to pursue them herself, leaving the rest behind to receive the Mountain Lion Gang's Leader.
Meanwhile, Seth, the gang member, and the group of hostages had already reached an exit after fleeing some distance.
The gang member was gasping for breath, while Seth, under the effects of a muscle relaxant, appeared strangely calm. By then, two of the hostages had already escaped.
Just as it was the gang member's turn, he hesitated, doubt quietly creeping into his heart.
As the saying goes, hesitation leads to defeat. Not long after, Jane and the gang's leader, Razor, caught up to them.
Even without that brief pause, Razor and his crew would have eventually closed the distance with their superior speed.
In the end, with no other option left, Jane was forced to 'execute' the traitor right in front of Razor.
She pushed him off a tall building.
Seth, witnessing everything, couldn't hold back a cry of anguish. Even as he fell, the man shouted that he wanted to change.
But there was no time to dwell on it. Seth himself was already standing on the brink of danger.
Just as Razor was about to strike, Jane stepped in once more, stopping him while stirring the gang members, buying herself a brief opening.
<<>>
Meanwhile, the siblings who had just left Public Security were holding a citizen's ID card.
"It's finally done. Now we can give it to that old woman. I'm counting on you, Brother."
Belle handed the ID card to Wise before heading toward a nearby mall. After settling on their plan, the two split up for the time being.
When Wise arrived at the agreed location, he quickly spotted the old woman along with two young girls. One of them seemed especially familiar.
"So, that ritual is about to begin again?"
"That's right. We've been preparing this whole time!"
Caesar stood proudly with her hands on her hips, confidence written all over her face. The old woman smiled warmly at her response.
"How nostalgic. The last time I experienced that ritual, we caused quite a bit of trouble for the other side... though he still won in the end."
"The one Grandma experienced was when the current Overlord won, right?" The other girl spoke with excitement, her light yellow hair tied into twin tails, red-tinted sunglasses resting on her face.
Dressed in a black leather jacket, she carried a similar energy to Caesar, her tone lively and full of passion.
Caesar nodded without hesitation.
"He really is strong... but it doesn't matter. No matter who my opponent is, I'll win!"
"In that case, Grandma, can you tell us about the ritual?" The enthusiastic girl raised her clenched fists, her eyes shining with anticipation.
"Of course. But first, I have an appointment with a very enthusiastic young man."
The old woman turned her gaze toward Wise as he approached.
"Ah, and here he is."
Caesar followed her gaze and froze briefly, while the other girl's eyes lit up.
"Oh! What a bright and handsome young man! Hello, hello, my name is Burnice. Are you the one who helped Grandma with the citizen's ID card?"
"Y-Yes, that's me. I'm Wise. I just didn't expect to run into you here, Caesar."
Wise looked at Caesar, who had already regained her composure.
"Ah? Yeah, it's been a while since we last met. Grandma mentioned someone helped her, and from her description, I thought it might be you and Belle."
Caesar smiled, scratching the back of her head.
Then, as if remembering something, she quickly added, "Oh, right! That comic book you gave me before? I've kept it safe!"
She recalled Lucy mentioning how valuable the book was. Yet later, Lucy had casually taken out nine identical copies, which left Caesar unsure about their true worth.
Still, no matter the price, it meant a lot to her.
At that moment, the old woman's eyes widened slightly as she watched Caesar and Wise chatting so naturally. No one could tell what was on her mind.
"Hey, you're the one Caesar kept talking about, right? The one who gave her that comic book? What a coincidence."
Burnice looked at Wise with her mouth slightly open, clearly surprised and curious about him.
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