"That's how it went. Afterward, Geno and I came back to the city, and the search for Hartman's whereabouts is still ongoing."
"I see. So why are you here, then?"
"..." Hugo crunched away at an apple, and his sudden question left Lycaon at a loss for words.
He could hardly admit he'd been keeping vigil at Hugo's side because he was worried about his condition.
No, that wasn't what he was thinking at all...
Fine. That was exactly what he was thinking.
"Mm... I hate to admit it, but Hugo, I really did stay because I was worried about—"
Before he could finish, Hugo's brazen laughter reached his ears. Watching Hugo sit up in the hospital bed, doubled over and roaring with laughter, Lycaon's brow furrowed once more.
"Lycaon, oh Lycaon—spare me that fake, two-faced side of yours."
The laughter cut off abruptly. Hugo's face went cold, his crimson eyes locking onto Lycaon's single eye.
"Worried about me? Don't forget—we stopped being those two foolish brats a long time ago. So quit spouting that idiotic nonsense about worrying over me!"
Faced with Hugo's hostility, Lycaon's own face turned cold, and he cast aside every last trace of the sentimentality he'd shown moments before.
"It seems I really am still not mature enough. With someone like you, unneeded concern is nothing but a waste of my time."
With that, Lycaon rose stiffly, his expression hard, and made to push open the door and leave.
Hugo made no move to stop him. Even if some tangled feeling he himself couldn't recognize stirred deep down, right now Hugo felt nothing of it.
Yet just as Lycaon reached for the door handle, the door swung open first from the other side.
"Nya! Nya nya! (Lycaon! Help me!)"
A Bangboo in a butler's uniform, a little handlebar mustache adorning its face, came scrambling toward Lycaon in a panic, as though fleeing from something.
Right on its heels, another uniquely dressed Bangboo charged in—decked out like a Phantom Thief, one eye covered—barreling excitedly after Butler.
"Nya! Nya nya! Nya-da! (You elegant gentleman! Pray, tell this humble one your name! Oh! You simply must become friends with this humble one!)"
"What's going on? Butler, what are you two—"
Lycaon was thoroughly baffled by the sight. He recalled that the other Bangboo belonged to Hugo—Robin, was it?
Meanwhile Hugo sat up in his bed, watching the two Bangboo chase each other in endless circles around Lycaon, the corner of his mouth twitching—he truly had no idea what was happening!
"Nya! Nya nya! (Lycaon! For some reason this Bangboo latched onto me the moment it saw me, acting way too friendly!)"
Hiding behind Lycaon, Butler leaned to one side to watch Robin, who still hadn't given up the chase, and lodged its complaint in a small voice.
"Nya!? Nya nya nya! (Oh!? Butler! So that's your name! How elegant! How gentlemanly! You simply must be this humble one's friend! This humble one has ever so many topics it longs to discuss with you!)"
Yet Robin stayed utterly oblivious to how excessive its behavior had become, still dashing after Butler with a starstruck look on its face.
Unable to take any more, Butler whipped out a frying pan and hurled it, striking Robin square in the forehead. Two big X's flashed in Robin's eyes on the spot—but it recovered soon enough.
"Nyaa! Nya! (Stay back! Don't come any closer!!)"
"Nya! Nya... nya nya! (That hurt! Don't go! Butler... Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler Butler!)"
His nerves finally shattered, Butler bolted once again, fleeing right out of the hospital room.
And Robin gave chase on all fours, calling out Butler's name the whole way.
For a moment, only Hugo and Lycaon remained in the room.
Faced with the scene they'd just witnessed, neither of them knew what to say.
"Sorry. I think I need to get some more rest."
Hugo was the first to break the impasse, then gently rubbed his head—clearly that little display had rattled him more than a little.
"Of course. I'll take my leave, then."
Lycaon regained his usual grace, bid Hugo a polite farewell, and pulled the door shut behind him.
Hugo gazed at the closed door, lost in thoughts unknown, and at last let out a sigh and lay back down.
"Enough already."
After the farce Butler and Robin had put on, the irritation Lycaon had stirred up in Hugo finally settled.
Then, drowsiness began to creep over him.
His body still hadn't fully recovered, and with his chronic low blood sugar on top of that, he slipped into sleep without the slightest resistance.
Here's hoping you won't be in my dreams...
Lycaon.
Back with Geno—after leaving the Hollow, the first thing he did was go find Twiggy and Belle to let them know he was safe.
After all, he hadn't told Wise and Belle, the brother and sister, about everything that had happened earlier—though Twiggy did know.
"So... who's this?"
Eyeing Vivian in her lavish dress, her air faintly haughty, Geno asked.
"Hello. I'm Vivian Banshee, Hugo's companion and a member of the Phantom Thief organization, Mockingbird. And also—"
Vivian delivered the first half rather normally, but midway her tone shifted, her gaze drifting toward Belle at her side and suddenly turning fervent.
"—also Lord Phaethon's most devoted fan of all!!"
At Vivian's zealous declaration, Belle scratched her cheek, a little embarrassed.
"So, um, that's basically the gist of it. We brought the injured Hugo back out of the Hollow together. Rina and the others went to deal with the Ravenlock family, and Vivian tagged along back with us."
Geno badly wanted to ask why Vivian hadn't stayed at the hospital while Lycaon had, but something told him voicing it would set off something bizarre, so he swallowed the question.
Chalk it up to a Mockingbird quirk, he supposed.
"Phew~ So how are things going with the Rebel Soldiers, and with The Exaltists?"
Geno still remembered the intel he'd received from Xiaoren inside the Hollow—that The Exaltists had been spotted fleeing the Rebel Soldiers' base, plotting who-knew-what next.
"There wasn't much about The Exaltists in Xiaoren's report. She only said she'd go look into it—and beyond that, there's one more piece of intel that's even more important."
The one who answered Geno was Twiggy, who had been poring over the intel Xiaoren sent back this whole time.
"The Rebel Soldiers' final camp has been found."
____
👻🔥Walnut-chan ;) — P@tr3on🔥👻
🔥 New history: Becoming a God with a Perverted System, Starting with COTE — live on The_Mikudayo
📚 Tired of waiting? Walnut-chan puts you 40 chapters ahead and keeps the translations coming
Help smash these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 Bonus Chapter (for everyone)