"A single piece of candy to buy me off? Dream on."
Saying this, Ellen retracted her tail while giving Hoshimi Aya a glare.
If this had been a man acting this way, she would have already slapped him with her tail.
Hoshimi Aya:...
"Hmph! You don't seriously think I enjoy being touched, do you?"
"I definitely don't like it."
After speaking, Hoshimi Aya pouted and turned her head away stubbornly.
After all, being publicly embarrassed like that naturally brought out a bit of her temper.
"Aya, Ellen probably doesn't like it when people touch her tail."
"Maybe you shouldn't just touch it casually."
Ling chuckled awkwardly.
At the same time, she wondered if she had led Hoshimi Aya astray; Hoshimi Aya wasn't like this before.
Moreover, the usually introverted Hoshimi Aya actually took the initiative to touch someone else's tail—this was too abnormal.
"...Ling, I want to eat fish."
"If you can't touch it, you can at least eat it, right?"
Hoshimi Aya was silent for a moment.
Just as Hoshimi Aya finished speaking, a voice came from beside her: "Childish."
"Alright, Miss Ellen, please stop provoking Miss Ya."
"And Miss Ya, please stop trying to touch Miss Ellen's tail."
"Can't everyone just take a step back?"
Corin interjected, trying to mediate.
"Corin, she wanted to touch my tail."
"Don't I have the right to refuse her?!"
Ellen said while chewing the candy in her mouth.
"Tch, as if I want to touch yours anyway."
Saying this, Hoshimi Aya puffed out her small mouth. Although she was being a bit unreasonable, if she didn't act this way, she didn't know how long it would take under normal circumstances to get to touch the tail.
Speaking of which, when she first got into this game, it was advertised as an 18+ game, and she even got into it through a somewhat risqué video featuring Ellen.
But on the launch day, it turned out to be 16+, yet she was still captivated by Ellen's charisma, appearance, and personality.
However, it was a bit regrettable that she pulled the wrong character when summoning; this was quite frustrating, as she didn't get Ellen.
But later, she saw that woman whose invincibility was practically written on her face the moment she appeared—Hoshimi Miyabi.
These were the only two people who had attracted her through sheer strength; the previous one was the Asura of the Shinobi World.
"Alright, Aya."
"If I don't touch it, I won't touch it then."
Ling walked to Hoshimi Aya's side to comfort her.
At the same time, she found it somewhat amusing; Hoshimi Aya had once again refreshed Ling's understanding of her.
Getting this upset just because she couldn't touch a tail.
Upon hearing Ling's words, Hoshimi Aya hummed in response, but she was thinking about how to quickly close the distance between them. Otherwise, constantly acting unreasonably to touch the tail wasn't a sustainable plan.
If she did it too often, it would easily cause Ellen to become disgusted, making any future opportunities even slimmer.
...
About half an hour later, Lykann returned to their location.
Seeing this, Ling also returned to the Video Store, as she still needed to lead the way...
Inside The Hollow.
The group returned to the spot where they had encountered that special Etherals earlier.
"Rope Master, Lina and I just monitored several exits of the building."
"The rebel bandits are still guarding the building, showing no signs of moving."
Lykann reported while looking at Ling, who was still online.
"It seems they still need to use the rooftop to achieve their objective."
Ling pondered. Besides this, she couldn't think of any other reason for this group to remain there.
"Precisely. However, the team members responsible for perimeter security have lost contact, so they will surely strengthen their defenses."
"This operation will likely involve direct confrontation with them."
"We must break through the enemy's defense line in the shortest possible time to rescue Miss Rain."
Lykann considered.
"It's fine, I can handle all those people."
"It won't take much effort."
"At that time, you all just need to focus on rescuing her from the side. The front line can be left to me."
Hoshimi Aya interjected.
"Understood. Then, I will handle the task of leading the way,"
Ling nodded in agreement.
Fairy then spoke up to remind them, having already analyzed all the data inside the building and capable of real-time monitoring of data changes within.
The group nodded and set off.
Along the way, Hoshimi Aya and Eous advanced side-by-side. Any Etheralss resembling speed bumps were dispatched by Hoshimi Aya within a few strikes.
Soon, the group arrived at the rebels' location.
However, it was still resolved in just a few moves, taking only a matter of seconds.
"It seems we haven't found Rain's figure."
Hoshimi Aya sheathed her blade while surveying the surroundings. Around Hoshimi Aya, corpses of rebels lay scattered on the ground.
Ling and Lykann's group had just managed to catch up.
"Miss Ya, your speed is too fast."
"Corin didn't even get a chance to help."
Corin gasped slightly.
The others were in a similar state.
"Hoo~ These guys should just be cannon fodder. The wheel is probably with their leader,"
Lykann panted.
They had used up all their stamina rushing here.
"What is this..."
Ling discovered a box next to the corpse of one of the rebels.
Upon seeing this, Corin immediately rushed over and opened it, while Lykann carefully placed Eous on his arm.
"This is a military-grade G03 multi-band signal transceiver, with powerful output,"
"Paired with appropriate multimedia equipment, it can even support intelligence personnel accessing high-security information systems."
Lykann explained to Ling.
Hoshimi Aya, standing nearby, found a spot to sit down. She understood every word they were saying, but when strung together, she couldn't make sense of it.
"Lykann, you even know about things like this? What exactly do you people do for work usually?"
Ling was somewhat shocked.
This was equipment even she didn't understand, yet Lykann recognized it instantly.
"Please excuse me, Miss. This is just some common reserve knowledge for household staff,"
Lykann smiled.
"R-Really?"
"However, it can now be confirmed: the enemy kidnapped Rain precisely because they value her hacking abilities."
Ling mused.
Just then, Ellen discovered a manifest and handed it over to Lykann and Ling.
"Isn't this for the Court's exclusive airship?"
Ling looked at the document in her hand, puzzled, not understanding why these people would possess such paperwork.
"...!!!"
"They captured Rain to alter the patrol route of the Jin Court Airship."
Hoshimi Aya suddenly realized something shocking upon hearing Ling's words.
But as soon as she spoke, she received a call from Billy.
Fairy initiated the transfer for her.
And the reality was exactly as Hoshimi Aya had stated: the Jin Court Airship's predetermined route had been tampered with.
The airship was flying directly towards the location of Balai Tower.
It wouldn't take long before the airship crashed straight into The Hollow.
"Ling, Rain should still be inside that building."
"We need to hurry; perhaps we can find Rain in time for her to change the route back to normal before the airship arrives,"
Hoshimi Aya thought, recalling the plot.
She remembered that in the end, it was Lykann who jumped onto the airship to stop it from crashing into The Hollow.
The reason for jumping onto it instead of having Rain change the route was because by the time they found out, it was already too late; there wasn't enough time, so that was the only option.
Now that she was here, she should be able to find them ahead of schedule.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.