"Eh? Yes! No problem! Feel free to come to me if anything comes up in the future. As long as I can help, anything is fine."
Corin was a little stunned by Wise's words, but after a brief pause, she nodded happily.
Still, saying that anything was fine sounded risky.
If he asked for something unreasonable, would Corin really go along with it?
Wise was not completely sure, but judging by her personality, it did not seem impossible.
"Then it's settled. I can't let an opportunity like this slip by when it involves a capable girl like you," Wise said with a gentle smile.
"C-Capable... I'm not that amazing..."
Clearly flustered by Wise's praise, Corin looked away, her face slowly warming, before the two of them exchanged contact information.
Since it was already late, Corin even suggested taking Wise home. He turned her down, saying his family would worry if she returned too late, and told her to go back first.
Then, Wise quickly returned to the video store. The moment he walked in, he saw Belle waiting, already showered, dressed in pajamas, and sitting on a chair.
"You're finally back, dear brother. So, which girl was it this time?" Belle said, her gaze sharp with a familiar, knowing suspicion.
"Why do you assume it's because of a girl right away?" Wise replied with an awkward smile, fully aware he didn't have much ground to deny it.
This time, though, he had genuinely just been helping someone.
Did that still make him look untrustworthy?
'Considering everything that happened before, maybe I deserve it,' he thought.
"Hmph, brother, you've got some nerve saying that. Next time, at least wash the perfume off yourself."
Belle rolled her eyes at Wise. Even without getting close to him, his guilty look told her she was probably right.
"Now that you're back, I'm going to my room. I ordered ramen and left it in the kitchen. If it's cold, just heat it up," she said, making an annoyed face before adding, "Your clothes and towel are in the bathroom too. Be quiet later, don't wake me."
Just as Belle finished and started heading upstairs, Wise reached out and rubbed her head, feeling a quiet warmth spreading through his heart.
"Thanks for waiting for me. I'm really glad you're here, Belle."
That gentle, honest smile of his hit Belle harder than anything else, instantly washing away her exhaustion.
Looks like tonight would be another sleepless night.
"Okay, okay, stop it with the cheesy lines. Go eat, take a shower, and sleep early. We've got a commission from Belobog Industries tomorrow, so you better rest up."
She said it with a flushed face before fleeing upstairs as if she were running away from something. Wise did exactly as she told him, then made his way into his room.
Belle was already there, clearly not asleep. The instant Wise lay down next to her, she pounced on him, the quiet room quickly turning lively with intimate sounds.
The next morning, Wise woke up early, feeling well-rested, and received a message from Ben.
He also learned about the whereabouts of the final Smart Machine. Thanks to its ability to move through various environments within the Hollow, it had escaped deep inside.
That explained why Belobog Heavy Industries could not find it before, but at least its general location had finally been confirmed.
As usual, the next step was asking Fairy to plan the route into the Hollow. With artificial intelligence taking care of navigation, the workload became much lighter.
Once the route was confirmed, Belobog Industries crew would handle transporting Eous to the Hollow.
"Wow, long time no see! I missed you so much! How is it? Did you miss me too, my dear little baby? mwah, mwah, mwah!" Grace immediately scooped up the Bangboo Wise was controlling, pulling it into her arms as she hugged it tightly and showered its head with kisses.
A second later, a system panel appeared in front of him, confirming that she had finally been added as a favorability target.
[Ding! New favorability target detected.]
[Name: Grace]
[Gender: Female]
[Charm: 96]
[Unique Trait: A knowledgeable older sister type who has a fondness for machinery.]
[Hobbies: Passionate about mechanical engineering and all things related to machines.]
[Current Status: Happy and excited.]
[Current Favorability toward Host: 100]
[Evaluation: If the master uses a Bangboo body to attack, the target will not resist at all.]
[Inner Thoughts: Wise like this is super cute. Way too cute! If only he could stay like this...]
"Grace, watch yourself. Wise is still right here, this isn't very appropriate," Seeing Grace's overly enthusiastic behavior, Ben spoke up from the side to persuade her.
She listened, but it was obvious she had no intention of taking it seriously.
"Huh? But Wise didn't say anything. Don't worry, I know how to behave, mwah!"
After they arrived, Wise quickly realized this Hollow was different. It felt emptier than the last one, the Ether concentration was stronger, yet there were barely any Ethereal around.
There were usually only two reasons for this. Either the Ethereal were all gathered somewhere else, though they should have noticed the commotion.
So the only real answer was the presence of a powerful Ethereal taking up most of the Ether, just like the Dead End Butcher from before.
Fortunately, the group did not encounter any special danger before finding the Pile Driver named Friday. Once it spotted them, it immediately tried to flee without saying a word.
After being stopped, it suddenly started shouting its identity.
"Name: Illuminator of Judgment. Ordered by the mentor to guard this place and stabilize the seal."
Koleda immediately called it chuunibyou. That said, she could not recall ever having such a phase herself.
Did it come too early and fade away by now? Or was it because of her lack of paternal affection, leaving no room for something like this?
Either way, everyone treated it as just another malfunctioning machine, no different from the last two, and chose to retrieve it by force.
Once Ben restrained the Friday that was struggling to escape, Grace finally passed Wise, who she had been holding, to Koleda.
Koleda took him with an obvious look of excitement.
[Ding! Target: Koleda has increased her favorability toward the host by 10. Her current favorability is now 60. Additionally, 200 Emotional Value has been obtained.]
[Current Emotional Value: 14400 ]
"Hey, don't be afraid, just leave it to me. I actually like kids with wild imaginations, but we'll talk about it later," Grace said, stepping toward the Friday with a clearly villain-like presence.
Friday immediately began resisting with all its strength.
"No, stop, don't come any closer!!!"
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