"But there's no need to come to us for something like this, is there? There must be some hidden reason!"
Belle looked at Ellen in front of her, thinking that she couldn't possibly be doing this just to spend time with her brother, could she?
They had clearly already passed the honeymoon phase where they wanted to be together every moment.
Though what Belle didn't know was that their "honeymoon phase" was still ongoing, and there was no telling how long it would last.
"I need a Proxy who can communicate between the Hollow and the outside world. Only you two can do it," Ellen said after a small sigh.
"I knew it! It's a big commission with a hidden reason behind it!"
Belle happily clenched her fists, while Wise, standing beside her, asked with concern.
"Ellen, can you tell us specifically who you need to contact inside and outside the Hollow?"
"Ruby, Lynn, and Monna."
"Uh... It's them?"
Wise was slightly surprised. He had assumed it was related to work, but it turned out to involve her classmates instead.
Ellen then explained the actual reason.
"I need to discuss our group project topic with them. It's an assignment that usually happens before the final exam."
"Wait, wait, wait! Of course we know what a final exam assignment is! But what does that have to do with the commission?" Belle still looked confused.
In reality, Ellen had already arranged to discuss the final project topic with her three best friends today, but an unexpected commission had appeared.
To handle both matters at the same time, she came to them.
"I'll leave my phone in the shop. When the group chat starts, just answer it and hold the phone's microphone close to your own mic so you can relay the conversation to me."
To ensure a stable internet connection during this time, Ellen specifically asked Fairy for assistance, and Fairy readily agreed.
"Then it's settled. I'll go rest on the second floor for a while. Call me when it's time to leave."
Ellen then went to Wise's room, casually lay down on the bed, and pulled the blanket over herself.
Not long after, Ellen and Wise entered the target Hollow together.
She checked the time and said, "They probably won't start discussing things for a while. Let's retrieve the data first."
The two traveled through the Hollow, and no Ethereal was able to stop them.
After retrieving the first piece of data, Fairy's voice suddenly rang out.
[|"Ellen's phone is ringing. Connect and relay?|]
"Connect."
As Belle's words fell, Ruby's voice immediately came through the communication channel.
"Nom Nom Shark, can you hear me? Eh? Why is it black, Nom Nom Shark? Ellen? Ellen—?" Ruby raised her voice, and Ellen, afraid of being exposed, immediately responded.
"I'm still at my part-time job, so I won't turn on the camera. Also, don't call me that nickname, or else..."
Ellen's tone was slightly embarrassed, and she shyly glanced at Wise beside her.
Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind.
Instead, he was only thinking internally about whether he should use that nickname the next time they were together.
Would Ellen get angry?
"Alright, alright, I won't call you that! But Ellen, you don't seem to be short on money at all, so why are you still working part-time every day?" Ruby asked curiously.
"It's precisely because I'm always working part-time that I don't lack money."
"Genius!"
Ellen's straightforward reply left Ruby speechless for a moment.
"Should I also consider getting a part-time job? Recently, I can only eat bread for lunch..." Ruby pondered for a moment.
"If you didn't buy scratch cards every day, you wouldn't be in this situation."
Lynn mercilessly exposed the reason behind Ruby's predicament, yet Ruby remained completely unbothered.
"How can that be? I've seriously considered it. The probability of achieving financial freedom through my own efforts is much smaller than winning through scratch cards."
"Sigh... so self-righteous..."
Lynn felt there was something wrong with Ruby's logic, but she couldn't find a way to argue against it.
"That makes so much sense... Where do you usually buy them?"
No sooner had Ellen finished speaking than Monna joined the conversation, clearly dissatisfied.
"What sense?! Let's discuss the topic! Stop talking about other things!"
"Okay..." Ellen replied lazily.
Even inside the Hollow, she rarely looked completely serious.
"Who do you want to interview?"
"A PubSec Officer. It's more feasible and less likely to go wrong."
Coincidentally, Wise happened to know someone who matched the person Monna wanted to interview.
"Wait, wait, wait! That's so boring! I want to find the luckiest person in New Eridu! Interview her about her scratch card secrets!"
'Hmm... What Ruby said... wasn't that Burnice?' Wise thought, then shook his head.
"I think it would be better to find a psychiatrist and ask her how to make her friend face reality."
Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be someone suitable for that.
Would studying criminal psychology work instead?
Since he was also connected to the communication channel, Wise inevitably heard part of their conversation.
At that moment, Ellen nodded in agreement.
"Mm-hmm, I agree."
"It's me, right? It's obviously me!"
Ruby's confidence was inexplicable.
"Ellen, this time we absolutely won't let you randomly pick one out of three."
"Yes, especially no counting in your head to decide."
Monna and Lynn, as Ellen's close friends who had known her for a long time, understood her habits very well.
"Ah, was I found out?"
"Yes, it's quite obvious."
Lynn, confirming Ellen's words, nodded.
Monna sighed after hearing this.
"I've had a feeling about it for a while, but I didn't expect it to actually be true."
"Eh? Really? I thought Ellen agreed with me more often because my suggestions were better!"
Good heavens, so Ruby's confidence earlier came from the fact that she had never realized the truth?
"Ellen, I thought you understood me best. I thought we were the best in the world, Ellen..."
"My boss is here. I'm going to mute my mic for now. I'll listen with headphones."
Apparently finding the situation difficult to handle, Ellen chose strategic evasion.
"I've already muted Ellen's microphone on this side."
"Okay, thank you. We can continue with the commission."
"Compared to the commission, I'm starting to worry about your final project..."
Wise looked at Ellen beside him.
She remained completely calm, speaking in a tone that showed no concern at all.
"No problem. It's like this every final exam. Let's continue to the next location and retrieve the data."
As the two continued forward, Ruby was still insisting on her suggestion through the communication channel.
The result was, predictably, rejected by the other two.
They thought they could muddle through, but after collecting the second piece of data, Ruby's voice suddenly became much louder.
"Ellen! You've been muted and haven't typed anything in the group chat. Are you even listening?!"
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