In New Eridu, inside the Cret Hollow, the three members of the Cunning Hares advanced cautiously alongside Phaethon, having just finished a fight.
Anby's nose twitched. Her body went rigid for the briefest instant—so quick it could've been mistaken for nothing—yet it didn't escape Billy's eyes.
"Anby. Something up?"
"…The air around here feels heavier."
"Yeah," Billy added. "Even my visual sensors feel like they've lost a bit of resolution."
"That means we've already—right, Proxy?"
Nicole absentmindedly rubbed her chin as she voiced her guess, then looked toward the round, scarf-wearing Bangboo. She knew Belle could hear them from inside.
A beat later, she got an answer so perfunctory it almost sounded like an insult:
"Huh? Ah… yeah, yeah—sure. What you said, Nicole."
Nicole's eyebrow twitched.
"Phaethon—what did I just say? You weren't listening at all, were you?! The moment we entered the Hollow today, you've been spaced out. Is this how you treat an old client?"
Inside the Bangboo, Belle's expression tightened.
"Brother—can you hear me? The HDD link's unstable."
"I hear you. Let me check…"
A burst of keyboard clacking followed. Then Wise's voice came through—serious, with a note of confusion.
"Strange. There really is an error message in the HDD backend."
While Eous stayed silent, Billy—keenly aware that time inside a Hollow was worth its weight in Denni—grew impatient.
"Boss? Are we moving or not?"
Wise could only drop the line of thought and chalk it up to Ether interference.
"Everyone—Hollow activity seems to be affecting the HDD signal. Stay close!"
"Mm. Little doctor, I'm heading out."
"Yeah, yeah, go already," Chiya said, waving her off. "I'll think about you every day—so you'd better take care of yourself. No more serious injuries, got it? And did you bring enough supplies?"
Jane's smile deepened, soft and bright.
"You asked something kind of adorable this time."
Chiya shut his mouth, scratched his head, then pressed a hand lightly to his chest.
"I don't know why… I've just got this bad feeling. So…"
"Okay, okay, I got it." Jane leaned in, voice gentle—almost teasing. "People think cats are hunters and mice are prey, but…"
"…who's the hunter and who's the prey isn't always so clear."
"One day, the spectators who think they can lounge in safety… the hands in the shadows who think they can harvest everything from behind the curtain…"
"…they'll be stabbed by a small blade that slices the drape open."
"And then they'll be dragged into the sunlight and roasted alive."
Chiya flinched. "Ugh. There you go again, saying weird stuff."
Jane's eyes curved. "Oh? I learned those 'weird lines' from you, you know."
"Edgy little Bangboo—Chiya-chan."
"Shut up!!!"
Chiya threw his tiny hands at her, trying to shove her away with all his might.
It did absolutely nothing—other than make the "valley" of her figure wobble slightly, as if mocking his effort.
Then, the familiar pressure returned—but this time it didn't last long.
Just a dragonfly's touch.
Her forehead dipped, hair brushing lightly against his ear.
"Before we part… one last hug."
Jane spoke softly. In her eyes, reluctance and hesitation flickered—only to vanish the moment she let go, replaced by something firm:
a resolve to protect, to carry burdens, to keep walking with a stubborn faith in a better tomorrow.
She raised a hand in farewell and turned her back, stepping out of the alley.
"Want me to walk you to the metro?"
Jane paused.
Then came her quiet refusal, accompanied by a barely audible step against the pavement.
"Next time. If you do that again…"
…I won't be able to make myself leave.
Chiya stood there, dazed, watching that slender—yet unshakable—back recede, dissolve into sunlight, and disappear around the corner.
Beside him, Amillion (who'd been silently observing) lifted its round little hand, tapped the cross-shaped plate on its forehead, and tugged at Chiya's pant leg.
"Ehn-nuh… (Chiya, stop staring.) Ehn-ehn! (You still have things to do!)"
"…Sorry, Amillion."
Chiya snapped back to himself. He looked down at the dissatisfied Bangboo, smiled, scooped it up, and scratched its little head.
Thanks to Old Man Dewey's generous instruction over at Lumina Square, and Uncle Enzo's upgraded plug-ins for Amillion, Chiya had become exceptionally good at calming his partner down whenever it got upset.
(That included a certain "Gold-threaded Elegy" who shall remain unnamed.)
"Ehnnuh (Fine. I'll forgive you this time. But we're running low on medicine—so…)"
"Yeah, I know." Chiya's voice sank. "We still have a few days, but we should plan ahead."
"If my medical skills were better… I could actually cure him…"
It was a doctor's curse: failing to cure a patient didn't just feel like incapacity—
it felt like guilt.
Amillion fell quiet. Its combat skills were strong enough to startle Anby, strong enough to make Billy yelp "I was wrong! I was wrong! Stop elbowing me!" and strong enough to silence Ethereals forever.
But compared to its strength, its words were powerless.
So it did the only clumsy thing it could: reaching up and patting Chiya's head, trying to comfort him.
"Ehn-nuh… (Chiya…)"
Chiya wiped the corner of his eye. Sunlight curved across his lashes, catching a glint of wetness like crystal.
"Sorry. I'm doing it again—self-pitying." He forced a small smile. "Sorry, Amillion."
His teacher used to say he was simply born with a body that cried easily.
Wise and Belle had comforted him too: it wasn't a sin. No one chooses how they're born—no one knows whether they arrive carrying a gift or a curse.
But what truly changed him was something he'd read long ago in an old, battered manga.
On those rough, yellowed pages, a stern middle-aged man barked coldly at a young martial artist standing before a waterfall:
"What is that face? That look—those tears—what are they?"
"Can your tears save this world?!"
After that, Chiya tried his best not to cry.
It didn't work very well.
He returned to the present, saw Amillion still worried, and let out a breath.
"Okay, okay. If that's the case…"
"We'll head out in a bit."
"Cret Hollow. After the last 'paired Hollow' incident, I don't know why, but HIA's been moving way too slowly."
"Maybe this time… we can 'pick up' something good again."
"Ehn-ehn! (Picking things up! Picking things up!!!)"
"Then we'll stop by Wise and Belle's first." Chiya adjusted his grip on Amillion. "Hopefully they're not busy…"
"Don't—block the way!"
"Enemies behind us too!"
"Flank!"
"Oi—Anby! Watch it!!! Your blade nearly bit into my chest! Sparks are flying everywhere!"
"Sorry." Nicole's tone was clipped. "My head's felt heavy since earlier, and I'm annoyed for no reason."
"Billy, shut up!"
After smashing an Ethereal's skull with her suitcase, Nicole panted and shot a look at the Bangboo marching in silence ahead of them.
"Hey! Are you sure this is the right way?!"
No response.
"Seriously—what's with the boss? Just walking forward without saying a word, not even trying to avoid fights."
"Proxy!"
Anby, swinging as she spoke, tossed out a guess with maddening calm.
"Angry? Because Nicole haggled when paying the deposit?"
"Oh! So that's it?" Billy chirped.
"No!" Nicole snapped, cutting them off hard.
She narrowed her eyes at Eous.
"Something's off. From the moment we entered the Hollow, she hasn't been guiding us at all."
"…Did something happen outside?"
The instant that thought landed, Nicole strode up, spread her arms, and blocked Eous's path.
"Hey—did you run into some kind of—"
Eous lifted its red eyes.
And Nicole's question died in her throat.
At that moment, this Bangboo felt like it held none of the familiar soul she knew—
only cold machinery.
As Nicole froze, she saw the Ethereals reflected in those eyes.
"Hey! Don't go!" Nicole barked, but her warning was useless.
She clenched her teeth.
"Damn it—cover it! Protect the Proxy!"
"Seriously! Why are we so unlucky today?!"
Inside Random Play in Sixth Street, Janus District, Wise and Belle sat in silence as the playback ended.
The hacker who had invaded their system spoke with smug delight—even through the voice filter, the satisfaction was unmistakable.
"I have to say… I'm moved. The Proxy and the Hollow raiders…"
The door swung open.
"You guys busy? Huh?" Chiya stepped inside, then blinked. "Why aren't you saying anything? I thought I heard someone else just now."
He scratched at his little cowlick, puzzled.
Then Wise suddenly thought of something—his eyes lighting up like a switch flipped.
"Chiya! Perfect timing!"
"Wait—who's that? Phaethon! Answer me!"
The hacker's voice tightened with panic. The plan was shifting under his feet.
But no one paid him any attention. Belle rushed in too, words coming fast.
"I remember—you have the same permissions as us, but your data is separate! Chiya! No time to explain—log in!"
"Huh? Oh—okay!"
"What—no, wait! That's impossible! The connection I cut—how can it be restored?!"
"No—this isn't a restore. This is an override."
"A complete overwrite with brand-new data!"
"Phaethon—are you insane?! If you do this, your account will disappear completely!"
Wise and Belle chuckled.
"I think you've misunderstood something, Mr. Hacker," Wise said lightly. "An account is important, but…"
"…virtual data will never be more valuable than real lives."
"And you might want to listen. Do you hear sirens outside?"
"…W-what did you do?"
"Just doing our civic duty," Belle replied brightly.
"Municipal elections are coming up. The city's been calling on citizens to report dangerous elements like Proxies and Hollow raiders."
"They even set up a hotline."
"Answer me!" the hacker snarled. "What did you just do?!"
He was spiraling now. At this point, even an idiot would realize he'd been cornered. But resentment forced the question out anyway.
"More precisely," Wise said, voice icy, "while 'kicking you off' the account…"
"…we also submitted accurate information about a certain Inter-Knot account that's about to 'disappear,' via that hotline."
"After all… we needed to vent a little too."
Wise watched the hacker sink into despair—like a beast trapped in a pit, already tasting capture.
All the anger they'd swallowed, all the frustration that had sat like sludge in their chests, washed away in one clean sweep.
"Eat that, you high-tech bastard!"
"So that's how it is… so that's how it is!" the hacker raved. "You'd throw away Phaethon's identity just to win—damn it! Damn it!"
"Loser, stop wailing," Belle shot back. "And we didn't throw away Phaethon's identity."
"We just threw away an account."
"T-this isn't over! You'll—"
"Ah… finally, peace and quiet," Wise muttered.
The moment Chiya finished logging in, the hacker didn't even get to finish his final threat before he was forcibly kicked out.
The HDD snapped back to its familiar interface.
Even Wise—the famously "robotic" one—couldn't hide his excitement. His fist clenched tight.
Belle outright launched herself at Chiya in the chair, pressing her head and chest into him like a weaponized hug.
"Chiya! Thank god you came! HDD is completely under our control now!"
Chiya didn't really understand what had happened, but seeing the two of them so happy, he smiled.
A smile as sweet as honey-laced gelato—
and it hit Wise and Belle like a shockwave.
"Glad I could help…" Chiya blinked. "Belle? Wise?"
"Ah! N-no, it's nothing!" Belle squeaked.
Wise scolded himself viciously:
Wise, what were you just thinking? Chiya is your little brother! You swore you'd be a lifelong single-push for Kiana!
Belle also berated herself internally:
Belle, what were you just thinking? Nicole and the others are still inside the Hollow! At least wait until you've rescued them—then doing it in person will feel way better!
They tried to skip past the topic.
Then a voice from the Hollow side "helped" them skip it—Nicole's voice, utterly unlike her usual composure.
It was filled with the hopelessness of someone who'd given up and embraced the abyss.
"I want to be Chiya's dog!!!"
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 50)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 50) Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 50)
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