"Alright, alright! No problem! I'm sorry—I just got a little too excited there."
Only then did Vivian Banshee realize how rude her behavior had been. She lowered her hands, folding them in front of her and fidgeting with the hem of her dress, looking every bit the bashful young maiden.
"Before anything else, you really should apologize to Corin. You frightened her."
At Eous's words, Vivian Banshee finally noticed the green-haired little maid beside her, whose eyes were now brimming with tears, as though something had badly startled her.
"S-sorry, I got a bit too worked up and blurted out something so abrupt. I'm truly sorry."
"I-it's fine, I—I was just a little surprised. I never imagined Miss Vivian Banshee liked the esteemed Proxy so much."
Hearing Corin say this, Vivian Banshee was on the verge of getting excited all over again—but recalling Eous's words, she forced herself to calm down.
"Of course I do! After all, Lord Phaethon is the gentlest, most considerate, most professional, most adorable, most—"
Seeing that Vivian Banshee was about to launch into another endless tirade, Eous hurriedly talked her down and steered things back to the matter at hand.
"Alright, alright, stop right there. Let's hurry along—there's still a patient who needs treatment."
Eous pointed at Hugo, who had been left off to the side in Rina's care. Vivian Banshee's face flushed an even deeper red.
From the very start she'd made a rather poor first impression on Eous.
'I'm done for! Lord Phaethon won't come to hate me over this, will he?!'
Not for a single moment did she feel sad about Hugo's injuries; instead, all that followed was Vivian Banshee's remorse over her own rude conduct.
What if she'd left Phaethon with a bad impression?!
Fortunately, for the rest of the way Eous didn't hold the incident against her or view her through tinted glasses. On the contrary, she chatted with her quite naturally, like old friends reunited after many years apart and gradually warming back up to one another.
'Lord Phaethon... she really is the best. I could just cry.'
And so the group—Vivian Banshee, along with Rina and Corin—followed Eous's lead, advancing in an orderly fashion toward the exit of the Hollow.
After roughly twenty minutes or so, the group had already left the Hollow.
"Good. Rina, you all head to the hospital first—I'll come find you later."
Eous set off with tiny little steps, meaning to return to Sixth Street first.
"Lord Phaethon's true self! Please, you absolutely must let me escort you back!"
"Calm down a little, Vivian Banshee. You should go with Rina and the others to get Hugo to a doctor first. I'll head over afterward too."
Eous made a gesture of wiping away sweat—and so did Belle, her operator behind the scenes.
It was the first time she'd ever encountered such a fanatical fan, and she really couldn't quite cope with it.
"Understood! Vivian Banshee will wait with eager anticipation for Lord Phaethon's arrival!"
In any case, the outcome had turned out well all around.
Just as everyone was about to part ways, the Hollow behind them suddenly changed.
"Look out!"
Eous was the first to sense that something was wrong, and quickly warned the others.
Rina and the rest reacted as well. Watching the increasingly turbulent Hollow, they hurriedly retreated several hundred meters away.
Then something unexpected happened: the small Hollow they had just left abruptly vanished before their eyes, replaced by a far larger and more chaotic Hollow boundary.
[Warning: The original Hollow has undergone a spatial collapse and has now been absorbed by Crete Hollow. As a result, Crete Hollow's radius has expanded by twenty meters.]
Listening to Fairy's words, Eous broke into a cold sweat in an instant. Had they emerged even a moment later, they would surely have been crushed by the collapsing Hollow by now.
"Oh no! Geno and Lycaon are still in there!"
Suddenly remembering that her two companions were still inside the Hollow, Eous cried out in alarm.
[Scanning the physiological signs of the target designated 'Geno.' Scan complete. The target is still alive and is currently within Crete Hollow. The target designated 'Lycaon' is in the same condition.]
"Phew—thank goodness, thank goodness. They're all right."
Eous let out a sigh of relief, grateful that Geno and Lycaon hadn't met with any mishap.
At the same time, she was puzzled: why had this small Hollow collapsed so abruptly?
In truth, it was because when Geno and Lycaon crossed that small Fissure, the Active Ether Matter on Geno's body had affected the stability of the space.
It was like a small soap bubble and a large soap bubble that, though touching, had not merged into one—but once Geno's active matter, like a toothpick, stirred them together, the barrier between the two bubbles was broken. Yet rather than bursting, they began to fuse together starting from their boundary.
Of course, none of this was known to either Geno or Eous's side.
Inside Crete Hollow.
Just as Geno was still worrying over the safety of Eous and the others inside the original small Hollow, a transmission came through.
"Geno, are you two all right?!"
Hearing Belle's familiar voice come through the line, Geno finally relaxed.
"We're fine. Are you all okay over there?"
"We're all fine too. Seems like you already know what happened."
Hearing Geno's voice, Belle and the others relaxed as well.
"Mm, the Hollow collapsed. Lycaon and I are both fine—we're inside Crete Hollow now."
"Got it. I'll handle the navigation for the road ahead."
In a spot where Belle couldn't see, Geno nodded.
After all, the Carrot he and Lycaon originally had only applied to the previous Hollow, and without a Proxy, pressing forward would be genuinely difficult.
"Alright, I've just sent the latest surveyed Carrot data for your area to your phones. I'll keep scanning for more updates on the situation for you."
With Fairy's help, Belle worked with remarkable efficiency. The map was in hand in no time, and Geno and Lycaon's tracking operation resumed.
Meanwhile, deep within Crete Hollow, Hartman—the target the two were pursuing—was at that very moment striding smugly into the Rebel Soldiers' base.
"Oho, and here I wondered who it might be—if it isn't Mr. Hartman. What wind blows you our way?"
The one stepping out of the Rebel Soldiers' tent was none other than Sarah of The Exaltists, who seemed hardly surprised at Hartman's visit.
"Ah, my dear Miss Sarah, you surely have no idea what a grand gift I've brought for you."
Hartman's expression was one of great delight, but in Sarah's eyes he was nothing more than a clown prancing about.
Did he really believe she knew nothing of what Hartman had been up to?
She was fully aware of how he'd taken it upon himself to make a move on the Sacrifice Core and the Sacrifice Elixir—she simply couldn't be bothered to intervene, since it didn't affect the execution of the plan.
For him to now come leaping right up in Sarah's face, the only possibility was that he'd gotten his hands on something Sarah wanted.
____
👻🔥P-a-t-r-e-o-n: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Re:Zero: Wait, am I Pandora? — new on The_Mikudayo
📚 40 chapters ahead over at Walnut-chan — your support is what pays for the translations
Help us hit our targets:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 free chapter for all