Chapter 74: Silvermane Guards: Bronya Seems to Have Gotten Smaller. Was She Padded Before?
Leon, Silver Wolf, and Firefly strolled down the frost-kissed streets of Belobog. It did not take long before the rhythmic clanking of heavy armor signaled the approach of a Silvermane Guard patrol.
"Miss Bronya."
"Miss Bronya."
The armored guards halted by the roadside, snapping into crisp, respectful salutes as Silver Wolf passed by.
Silver Wolf blinked, her bubblegum pausing mid-chew. It took her a split second to realize they had completely misidentified her.
Her mind raced back to earlier. When she had casually used Aether Editing to slice through Belobog's archaic firewall and pull up local data, she had indeed noticed a girl who looked strikingly similar to her... Good grief, these grunts actually thought she was the Supreme Guardian's heir.
Opting for the path of least resistance, Silver Wolf kept her expression perfectly blank, offering a stiff, practiced nod in return.
As the trio walked further down the snow-paved road, the guards broke their rigid posture. Their hushed whispers drifted through the crisp air.
"Eh? Lady Bronya looks a bit different than usual."
"Idiot, her clothes are different. She is not in uniform."
"Yeah, but... her height seems shorter. And her, uh, size seems smaller too."
"Hmm... was she padded before?"
Given Leon's enhanced senses, not a single syllable of that exchange escaped his ears. Firefly and Silver Wolf heard it loud and clear, too.
Leon bit the inside of his cheek. His shoulders trembled slightly as he fought a losing battle against his own amusement.
Silver Wolf's deadpan expression cracked. A holographic emoticon—ξ†(ᗜ‸ᗜ)†ξ—seemed to practically manifest above her head in sheer annoyance.
Firefly just blinked, tilting her head with a soft, confused (｡・́ω・̀｡) expression.
"If you want to laugh, just laugh. Do not hold it in," Silver Wolf muttered, shooting a helpless, withering glare at Leon and Firefly.
"Hahaha... sorry, I am a professional," Leon gasped, pressing a hand to his chest. "I usually do not laugh."
He paused, his lips twitching violently. "...Unless I really cannot help it!"
Leon finally broke, his laughter echoing down the quiet street.
"Wha—What is going on here...?" Firefly murmured, still a step behind the punchline.
"Sigh. The daughter of this frozen popsicle stand's leader looks a bit like me," Silver Wolf explained flatly. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled up a holographic projection of Bronya Rand and swiped it over to Firefly.
Belobog's network security was practically prehistoric; digging up the future Supreme Guardian's profile had taken Silver Wolf less time than blowing a bubble.
"Wow, you really do look alike!" Firefly's eyes widened as she studied the glowing image. "It is like an older Silver Wolf."
"So that is why those Silvermane Guards said... she was padded before..." Leon chimed in, his lips curving into a wicked, highly amused arc.
"Eh?! Is that what it means?"
Firefly finally connected the dots. A furious blush rushed to her cheeks, painting them a bright crimson as she realized the implications of the guards' gossip.
"Hmph..."
Silver Wolf turned her face away, crossing her arms. She was not genuinely upset. It was not like her gaming account had been banned, so what was there to actually care about? Mere height and figure stats meant nothing in the grand scheme of the universe.
"Let us drop the subject," Silver Wolf declared, decisively steering the conversation into safer territory. "That game you made is pretty good, but there is way too little content."
She blew a bubble that popped with a soft snap. "I have already completed all the achievements across several timelines, and I even dug up the hidden Easter egg Stelle left on the Space Station. When will you update it?"
Just like that, the master hacker launched into a relentless offline update request.
The group eventually ducked into a cozy, warmly lit local restaurant to escape the Belobog chill, claiming a booth near the back and ordering a spread of hot meals.
Firefly sat quietly near the window, a gentle, satisfied smile gracing her lips as she took small, deliberate bites. She was completely immersed in the simple joy of the warm food, yet she remained strictly disciplined, careful not to overeat. A feeling of fullness would only place an unnecessary burden on her fragile body.
"As for updates, I will have to wait until this Trailblaze mission wraps up, at the very least," Leon replied, leaning back against the booth. He swirled the drink in his glass, a teasing glint returning to his eyes. "Though, if you do not mind, I could always code that little street encounter from earlier into the next patch."
"I think that is completely unnecessary," Silver Wolf deadpanned, her mouth twitching.
This scoundrel. Did he want the entire player base mocking her stats?
"Do not worry, it will just be a hidden Easter egg. Extremely high difficulty for ordinary players to trigger," Leon chuckled lightly. He then shifted his gaze to the girl beside him. "Firefly, how about we put the scene of our first meeting into the game?"
"Eh? Let us not include that part... it is way too embarrassing," Firefly shook her head quickly, her blush returning in full force.
"Indeed, it is best to leave it out," Silver Wolf agreed, her tone shifting to something more professional. "Not many people know Firefly is also a Stellaron Hunter yet. The company's wanted posters all use Sam's image."
Keeping Firefly's true identity under wraps was a tactical necessity.
"Alright, then let us forget it," Leon agreed readily, waving a hand to dismiss the idea.
The table fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, save for the clinking of silverware. Then, Silver Wolf set her fork down and looked up, her expression unusually serious.
"By the way, Firefly's Entropy Loss Syndrome... you know about it, right? Is there a way to cure it?"
She had been watching Firefly out of the corner of her eye. She noticed how the girl clearly wanted to keep enjoying the delicious spread but actively restrained herself out of fear. It tugged at something beneath the hacker's detached exterior; she genuinely wanted to help her companion.
"Oh, why bring that up suddenly..." Firefly blinked, a little taken aback. She offered a reassuring smile. "I am fine. Didn't the script say? The Watchmaker's Legacy can greatly alleviate Entropy Loss Syndrome."
"You should be able to solve this," Silver Wolf said, ignoring Firefly's deflection and staring directly at Leon.
"That is right. The Watchmaker's Legacy can temporarily restore your physical condition to a healthy baseline, making you feel as if you were just born," Leon explained, his voice losing its teasing edge, replaced by a gentle, steady cadence. "But it cannot fundamentally cure your Entropy Loss Syndrome at the genetic level."
"Even so, I can get rid of the life support medical pod and move around freely like a normal person," Firefly said softly. "Although this improvement is not permanent, and it cannot completely resolve the ultimate crisis brought by the syndrome..."
She looked down at her hands, her eyes clear and unburdened by despair. "But for me, it is already enough. Please do not be sad for me; it is not that unbearable... and I already feel much better now just being here."
"Actually, I can cure it."
Leon chuckled lightly, the sound warm and absolute. He casually raised his right hand.
A brilliant, shimmering green light blossomed from his palm. Countless ethereal threads of energy extended outward like glowing veins of life, drifting across the table and gently connecting to Firefly's chest.
Firefly gasped softly as her entire body became enveloped in the same shimmering green aura.
Along her pale cheeks, faint, glowing green cracks began to manifest—the cruel, physical evidence of her Entropy Loss Syndrome, usually hidden away beneath her skin.
But under Leon's absolute control, the destructive energy was reversed. The shimmering cracks began to seal, fading away at a visible, rapid speed. The fractured genetic code was being rewritten, stitched back together by a power that defied the natural laws of the universe.
A few seconds later, the emerald light dissipated into the air like glowing dust motes. Everything in the quiet restaurant booth seemed to return to normal.
"I am..."
Firefly stared down at her hands. She flexed her fingers. An unmatched sensation of lightness and absolute comfort washed over her, as if a suffocating, invisible set of shackles she had worn since birth had suddenly shattered.
"How do you feel? Are you better?" Leon asked gently, lowering his hand.
"Thank you... really, thank you so much," Firefly whispered. She looked up at Leon, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a deep, unspeakable emotion. Tears threatened to spill over her lashes.
"Do not get emotional just yet. Let me verify," Silver Wolf interrupted, immediately activating her Aether Editing. A holographic screen popped up over her wrist as she ran a deep, invasive scan of Firefly's physical and genetic condition.
The data streamed across her eyes.
"Entropy Loss Syndrome... it is really gone. Leon, you guy..."
Silver Wolf lowered her wrist, genuinely shocked. Entropy Loss Syndrome was a terminal, irreversible decay. If it were truly that easy to solve, the Stellaron Hunters would have moved heaven and earth to cure Firefly ages ago.
But Leon had just raised his hand and completely eradicated it?
'Even Yaoshi, the Aeon of Abundance, is not as absurdly broken as you, right?' she thought, staring at him like he was a glitch in reality.
"Why are you looking at me with that expression?" Leon raised an eyebrow, a familiar, wicked smirk returning to his face. "If you want to grow a bit bigger, I am not unable to help."
"Who wants you to make me bigger?!" Silver Wolf exploded, instantly furious. She gritted her teeth, her cheeks puffing out.
He just was not going to let that joke die, was he?!
"Th-Does this mean..." Firefly suddenly stood up from the booth. Her voice trembled violently, and her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I will not ever need to go back to that medical pod again? I can live like other people... truly, genuinely live?"
"Far more than that..."
Leon stood up and pulled Firefly into a warm, reassuring embrace.
"From now on, you can enjoy delicious food without worry. You can run in the sunlight, and experience any life you yearn for... as you please, without restraint."
She was a girl Leon adored, after all.
Within his vast capabilities, casually rewriting the laws of biology to cure her Entropy Loss Syndrome was not just easy—it was perfectly natural.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]