The girl quickly noticed that Qingyi wasn't breathing, even though she didn't need to breathe in the first place. Still, the sight alone was enough to scare her into tears.
Wise had wanted to explain, but the passengers around them had already turned to stare, and the atmosphere was quickly becoming something he had no idea how to defuse.
Left with little choice, he allowed Qingyi to lean against him for the time being. Carrying her in a princess carry through the narrow aisle of the train car was simply unrealistic, and bumping into other passengers was the last thing he wanted.
As for her original seat, even though no one seemed eager to take it, keeping her close still felt like the safer option.
By the time the subway arrived at Lumina Metro Station, he had somehow managed to calm the panicked girl. After stepping off the train, Wise carried Qingyi the rest of the way to the Public Security building.
The stares from the officers along the way were impossible to ignore, but he endured them in silence and eventually brought Qingyi to Zhu Yuan.
"Senior, you're finally back... Huh? Wise? You and Senior... don't tell me the two of you are...?"
Zhu Yuan stood frozen, clearly at a loss for words. Her gaze remained fixed on Qingyi, who rested comfortably in Wise's arms.
Wise was the first to speak.
"It's like this. Qingyi ran out of power near my place, so she asked me to bring her back here," he explained calmly.
"I see. No wonder I couldn't reach her earlier. It looks like she even disabled her communication module."
Something Zhu Yuan hadn't even noticed had been quietly weighing on her lifted away.
"Please, follow me. The senior charging station is in our office."
Following her lead, they soon arrived at the charging station, which resembled a chair more than anything else.
Wise carefully set Qingyi down, and the two of them waited.
The silence stretched on, and nothing happened.
"Why isn't anything happening? Is it broken?"
Wise frowned slightly, concern evident on his face, while Zhu Yuan stood beside him, equally puzzled.
"We've never had a situation where she completely ran out of power before. How long does the restart take... I honestly don't know. Wise, what exactly did you do to Senior? Why is she in this state?" Zhu Yuan asked, her tone hovering between curiosity and suspicion.
'Why does that sound so strange when she puts it like that...?'
Even so, he could confidently say that, aside from teasing her at the very beginning, he hadn't touched Qingyi after she went limp.
"In situations like this... our smart housekeeper once accumulated too much redundant data. Unplugging and plugging it back in fixed the issue. Maybe we could try something similar?"
"Unplug... unplug Senior... her power supply..."
Zhu Yuan began seriously considering the idea before suddenly snapping out of it.
"Wait, why am I actually considering this? Senior is far more complex than a TV or a Bangboo! Wise, you may have plenty of repair experience, but this is different. What if something goes wrong?"
"The more you explain it, the stranger it sounds," Wise replied with a helpless smile.
"Pfft."
A faint, stifled laugh came from the charging station. Qingyi had been holding it in for a while, but their conversation had finally pushed her over the edge.
"Qingyi, so you were fine all along. You had me worried for nothing," Zhu Yuan said, letting out a long breath of relief.
"My apologies. I was being a little mischievous. I occasionally pretend to be unwell, just to see whether others are paying attention to me."
"And the result?"
"Both Zhu Yuan and Wise care about me very much. That makes me quite happy."
A gentle smile formed on her lips.
"If I've caused any trouble, I can only ask for your understanding."
There wasn't a single thing Zhu Yuan could say in response. Faced with someone of such considerable age, she could only accept that Qingyi was, unexpectedly, quite cute.
Seeing that Qingyi was already fine, Wise was about to leave, but before he could take a step, she approached him.
"Thank you, Wise. Without you, I don't know how long I would have remained stranded out there. As for repayment, let's leave that for another time. Though I suppose the interest has already been collected, hasn't it?" Qingyi said, tilting her head slightly, a faint, knowing smile accompanying her wink.
The meaning behind her words was clear enough. She was talking about those accidental touches during their trip together.
And yet, she didn't seem the least bit upset about it.
"Is that so? Then, see you next time."
Wise gave a light wave and left the Public Security building, sending a quick report to Belle on his way out.
He fully intended to head straight home after that, but just as he turned to leave, a voice suddenly called out to him.
"Ah, it's Wise!"
He paused, turning his head toward the voice.
"Hmm? That voice... is that Soukaku?"
Sure enough, the oni girl was waving at him from a short distance away, already making her way over.
"Soukaku, why are you here by yourself?"
As she closed the distance between them, he glanced around, but there was no sign of Yanagi or any other members of the HSO nearby.
"Yanagi has a meeting today, Chief Miyabi went off to train, and Harumasa seems to have taken another day of medical leave. So Yanagi gave me some pocket money to go buy snacks!"
Soukaku rattled it all off without a second thought, and Wise gave a slow nod as he processed everything.
"Can you manage on your own? Do you want me to come with you?" he asked, gently patting the top of her head.
"Eh? Are you free right now? That's perfect! Yanagi mentioned she wanted to treat you to a meal, but things have been so busy lately that she hasn't found the time. So how about I treat you to some snacks instead?"
Her enthusiasm made it genuinely difficult to refuse, though she clearly hadn't stopped to consider whether her pocket money would be enough to cover both of them.
It might not even be enough for her.
Still, Soukaku was the kind of person who always kept her word. And when it came to Wise, who had always treated her kindly, she had no intention of backing down, even if it meant spending everything she had.
"T-This is all my pocket money, Wise. If there's anything you want, it's all yours!"
"Wait, Soukaku, please don't say things that can be misunderstood so easily!"
He had been perfectly fine teasing Qingyi earlier, but with Soukaku, he had to be careful about appearances.
The last thing he needed was to be mistaken for someone taking advantage of a child and end up back in the Public Security building for an entirely different reason.
As it turned out, he had been worrying about the wrong thing entirely.
After he waved off her offer and paid for everything she wanted to eat, people began to gather around them.
They were all Soukaku's fans.
Snacks appeared from seemingly nowhere, offered up by smiling faces as a loose circle quickly formed around her.
Soukaku hesitated at first, Yanagi's warnings still echoing in the back of her mind, but her resistance didn't last long.
The moment a small trail of drool formed at the corner of her mouth, Wise acted. He caught her little hand just as she lifted it to wipe her face and pulled her cleanly out of the crowd before anyone could react.
They didn't slow down until they had put a good distance between themselves and the fans. After a glance back confirmed no one had followed, they both let out a breath at the same time.
"Phew... thank you, Wise."
Escaping her fans on her own had never been Soukaku's strong point.
Without him stepping in, there was no telling how long she might have been stuck there. And Yanagi had made it very clear before she left, no trouble, and especially no getting swarmed like that.
Things could always go wrong.
"Don't mention it. You're so cute, Soukaku. It's no surprise you're this popular."
"Eh, heh heh~ you think I'm cute too? That makes me really happy!"
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Novels Available:
-> Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street. (Translation)
-> Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives! (Translation)
-> Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White. (Original - P@treon Only Until It Reaches 30 Chapters)
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