"Is that so? And then what? Did you guys catch that bastard Hartman?"
Seeing that Lycaon had finished peeling yet another apple, Hugo didn't hesitate this time—he snatched it away and popped it straight into his mouth.
Mm, sweet enough.
Lycaon wasn't annoyed in the slightest. He simply picked up another apple in silence and began peeling it anew.
"As for that matter, we didn't manage to catch him. However, the Ravenlock family has already been wiped out."
"Oh?" Hugo's eyes lit up. Although it was a bit of a shame that Hartman was still alive, at least Ravenlock had been taken care of—that alone was enough to leave him thoroughly satisfied.
"Go on, tell me more."
In a couple of quick bites Hugo polished the apple clean, then—under Lycaon's disdainful gaze—wiped his hands on his own fur and pressed for the rest of the story.
"After we rescued you..."
Once he'd instructed Eous to stay put and wait for the Victoria Housekeeping companions, Lycaon had set off with Geno, following the address they'd learned beforehand from Hugo.
And when they arrived, they happened to run into Vivian Banshee, the one who had saved Hugo.
"You two—please! I'm begging you, save Hugo!"
Her eyes brimming with tears and blood on her face, Vivian Banshee caught sight of Lycaon's prominent Wolf Thirren features and instantly realized who he was. She immediately began pleading with the two of them for help.
"Hugo?! How could this happen? With his skills, he shouldn't have ended up like this."
Lycaon and Hugo had been friends for at least ten years, and in all that long time together he had never once seen Hugo in such a wretched state.
His steps quickened as he hurriedly took the already-unconscious Hugo from Vivian Banshee's arms and began examining him.
"Abdomen pierced through, a bullet in the chest, a fractured leg bone, massive blood loss, and internal organ damage. Hugo..."
Every one of these wounds essentially qualified as fatal. If Lycaon hadn't still been able to feel the man's heartbeat, he would absolutely have taken him for a corpse.
Yet even so, his expression was extremely grim, because under the present conditions there was no way for him to treat Hugo.
"Let me handle it, I've got medicine." Seeing this, Geno immediately opened his Ether Sight and swept a glance over Hugo's condition. Not bad—the degree of Corruption wasn't too severe, he should be able to pull through.
He then fished out from his waist pouch the byproduct serum that Twiggy had prepared for him after her research.
It was similar to what had been used before on Grace and on Twiggy herself, but the side effect was that it would increase one's own degree of Ether Corruption. Still, as long as it didn't reach the point of forming a Core, for Geno it was no more than a mouthful or two's worth of trouble.
"Here, give him a dose!"
With that, Geno stepped over to Lycaon's side and gave Hugo an injection, pushing the entire serum in.
As the serum was injected, Hugo's body quickly began to undergo a strange transformation.
The wounds on his body started to heal rapidly, and the bullets embedded inside him were squeezed out by the growing granulation of flesh.
At the same time, the complexion that had turned so pale from excessive blood loss gradually regained its color.
Witnessing this miraculous sight, both Vivian Banshee and Lycaon showed expressions of astonishment.
'This is... a product of Miss Twiggy's research...?'
'Hugo can be saved!'
Their thoughts ran along different lines, but their amazement was truly one and the same.
And before they could even recover from it, a fresh round of changes began on Hugo's body.
Colorful Fissures emerged from the needle-hole on Hugo's neck and rapidly spread across his entire body.
Vivian Banshee's and Lycaon's expressions once again shifted drastically.
"Alright, now it's my turn." Geno reached out and placed his hand on Hugo's chest. Immediately, those colorful Fissures transformed into ribbons of light and were absorbed by Geno.
As the symptoms of Ether Corruption receded, Hugo—though still not awake—had at least, for the time being, kept his life.
"Phew~ It's all thanks to you being here, Mr. Geno. On Hugo's behalf, let me thank you for your help." "Ah, no need to be so formal."
Facing Vivian Banshee's gratitude, Geno waved a hand to say it was nothing—but he quickly realized something seemed off.
Vivian Banshee knew of Geno's existence. She'd heard about him from Hugo, and even if Hugo hadn't said anything, someone like her, who spent years surfing the web, knew every last one of the rumors and gossip about Geno inside and out.
"Since Hugo is out of danger now, Miss Vivian Banshee, do you happen to know where Hartman has gone?"
With Hugo saved, Vivian Banshee, having calmed down, returned once more to her usual composure.
Vivian Banshee was together with Hugo, so Lycaon figured he could learn a few things from her.
And Vivian Banshee did not disappoint Lycaon. From a pocket beneath the hem of her skirt she drew out a tracking device—one that Hugo had handed to her before the operation.
"These things should be able to help you."
"This device can track the locator planted on that gemstone, and that gemstone is currently in Hartman's hands."
On top of that, Vivian Banshee also handed Lycaon a backup recording of a conversation between Hugo and Hartman.
"Thank you very much, Miss Vivian Banshee. Leave what comes next to us."
Lycaon revealed a satisfied smile, then instructed Vivian Banshee to take Hugo and find the members of Victoria Housekeeping, while he himself would continue tracking Hartman together with Geno.
On the way, Geno felt a little curious about Lycaon's demeanor.
"I just get the feeling you're pretty excited, Lycaon."
"Is that so? Probably because we can finally catch Hartman, the true culprit behind all this."
"I don't really think that's it—I get the sense it's because of Hugo that you..."
Before Geno could finish, Lycaon cut him off resolutely.
"Mr. Geno, such baseless conjecture is a bit too absurd."
On the surface Lycaon had firmly denied it, yet the more he did so, the more Geno became convinced there was something fishy going on.
But seeing through it didn't mean he had to say it aloud. Since Lycaon himself was unwilling to admit the point, there was no need for Geno to be a busybody.
And on the road ahead, as if wanting to avoid the subject as much as possible, both of them noticeably picked up their pace.
Yet in the midst of tracking Hartman's trail, the tracking device in Lycaon's hand suddenly went dead.
Hm, the signal on the device had vanished.
"It disappeared? Could it be the other party discovered the little trick we pulled?"
"No, that's not it. This model of locator is extremely well-concealed, and if he really had discovered we were tracking him, he wouldn't resort to such a crude method to draw our attention."
Lycaon pondered the possibilities behind this, while Geno came up with another, faster approach.
"Let me take a look. Our target didn't leave quickly, so he ought to have left some traces."
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