Around nine in the morning, the group arrived at Belobog Heavy Industries' base.
They stepped out of the vehicle. Phaga supported Eous, who leaned back against his chest, sitting steadily in his arms.
Before long, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed, drawing everyone's attention.
The newcomer strode toward them in a black-and-white cloak, his hairstyle was wildly unorthodox, standing out as much as the black-and-white cloak draped over him.
Up close, his deep V-neck shirt left his chest bare, muscles corded across his arms as if carved from stone.
"Hello!"
The man raised a hand in greeting, flashing a wide smile as he extended his right hand.
"I'm Anton Ivanov. Just call me Anton."
"Phaga Kunmutu. This is Ellen Joe, from Victoria Housekeeping. We've come under the employment of our Master, Phaethon."
True to her reserved nature, Ellen avoided excessive conversation, standing quietly beside Phaga while holding his umbrella.
That left the introductions to Phaga. Once a background figure, he had gradually grown more confident and now handled social interactions with ease.
He clasped Anton's hand firmly, their palms meeting with a solid smack before they released.
Anton immediately lit up, practically shouting with excitement:
"Oh! So you really are the famous Phaethon! No wonder Cunning Hares said that apart from being expensive, Phaethon is perfect in every other way! You really are incredible!"
Two million dennies—worth every coin!
This was Victoria Housekeeping!
Belobog Heavy Industries had once spent half a day negotiating with a sharp-tongued maid just to secure their reputation, and it had cost them five million dennies.
Yet now, for only two million Dennies, they had not only commissioned Phaethon but even received Victoria Housekeeping as a bonus? What a bargain... wait.
Anton froze. A thought struck him.
Hiring Victoria Housekeeping alone cost five million Dennies. Hiring Phaethon—and getting Victoria Housekeeping included—cost only two million.
Wait… so by that math, Phaethon was shortchanging himself by three million? That couldn't be right…
The realization made Anton sneak a glance at Eous in Phaga's arms. Eous only blinked, tilting his head in confusion.
At the video store, Belle tilted her head and asked, "Brother, what's he talking about?"
"No idea. Maybe he's just... eccentric."
Wise wasn't sure either. Then again, people working year-round on construction sites were bound to be exhausted—given a break, most would grab the first chance to sit.
And if someone still had that much energy after years on the job, it usually meant one of two things:
Either they were still green and running on fresh enthusiasm… Or they weren't entirely well in the head.
And Anton, suddenly hyped up like this? He definitely looked more like the latter.
"Alright, Anton, stop loitering outside. Bring our Proxy in."
A voice called from afar. Everyone turned toward it.
Against a distant wall stood a woman in goggles and long pants, her navel bare. She held a data tablet in one hand and turned her head toward Anton.
"Got it!"
Anton snapped out of his thoughts and spun back toward Phaga and the others. "It's getting late. Let's go inside!"
"Mhm."
Phaga gave a small nod. Ellen bit down and crushed her lollipop, straightening her posture to keep Victoria Housekeeping's etiquette as she followed behind him.
Cradling Eous, Phaga entered alongside her. The construction site was eerily quiet.
They passed through a large gate—and then a calm, shimmering purple filled their vision.
It was a flawless hemisphere, deep violet tinged with black, as though it had devoured all surrounding light.
A Hollow!
"Proxy, our intelligent machines have gone missing inside the Hollow. We need your help."
The same female voice rang out again. She kicked off the wall and strode toward them.
Phaga tilted his head slightly, frowning.
Her voice sounded rougher now than it had a moment ago.
He remembered her name—Grace. Back in Dead End Hollow, the opposing secretary had shouted it in anger.
She hadn't seemed so strange then. But since Ellen and Eous didn't react, Phaga kept the thought to himself.
Eous, however, couldn't resist. Out of habit, he straightened from Phaga's arms, perched on his shoulder, and blinked toward Grace. As Phaga instinctively shielded his back, Eous asked:
"So that's why you haven't been working today? How many smart machines went missing?"
"...Three in total."
Grace hesitated, as though weighing her words. The lingering summer heat left her cheeks faintly flushed.
That was when Ellen noticed—Grace's gaze toward Phaga seemed oddly evasive. Grace finally spoke:
"Maybe it's because we recently upgraded the kids' logic cores. Their IQ jumped significantly, so..."
"Hmm. But does having higher IQ really make them run away?"
Eous tilted his head, his soft, rabbit-like ears twitching in the air and occasionally brushing against Phaga's face.
Phaga turned his head, gently pinching one ear to keep it still. He only meant to stop it from brushing his cheek, but Eous immediately squinted happily and wriggled in delight.
The summer breeze stirred, carrying with it a ripple of warmth neither Grace nor Ellen were prepared for.
Grace and Ellen both froze, caught off guard.
Ellen recovered quickly—she'd spent enough time with Phaga to build some immunity. She shut her eyes, forced down the restless flutter in her chest, and cleared her throat twice.
Grace also snapped back, embarrassed. "Heh, sorry. Zoned out for a second. Let me explain briefly."
She cleared her throat again, then imitated the gruff voice of a certain Bear-Thiren:
"I have a small thought... Our company's intelligent machines are already quite advanced. What if, after upgrading their logic cores, they couldn't stand the repetitive, day-to-day drudgery anymore? That's why they ran into the Hollow."
"That's what Big Ben said."
With that, Grace spread her hands helplessly.
"No way!"
Anton immediately objected, hands planted firmly on his hips. "I refuted that idea the moment Big Ben said it!"
"Our grapplers train their muscles day in and day out. A real bro of passion would never look down on that! Only by pushing through routine, ordinary work can you build true strength—and forge a soul tougher than diamond!"
Uh...
Silence fell immediately.
After a long pause, Eous timidly asked, "Um... grapplers are intelligent machines, right?"
Grace nodded firmly, patting her chest with pride. "Of course! Aren't our kids amazing? They'll keep growing stronger forever!"
Eous, Phaga, Ellen: "..."
Eous scratched his head, while Belle muttered, half-embarrassed, half-impressed: "I… kind of want to clap, actually"
Beside her, Wise rubbed his forehead with a sigh. "Figures. If you can be that cheerful doing construction work, you've definitely got a serious illness."
[Fairy: Suggestion—please complete the commission to locate the intelligent machines in the Hollow as soon as possible. Conserve processing power to create Inter-Knot sub-accounts, to cover electricity costs.]