"Clack, clack, clack."
Accompanied by Hoshimi Miyabi's hurried footsteps, the crisp sound of leather boots tapping against the ground pierced the silence of the street ruins.
The gray-white walls had begun to peel, and the signboards of various shops that once lined the street were now covered in a thick layer of dust.
The street beneath Hoshimi Miyabi's feet was one she had visited with her mother when she was young.
Back then, this place was just like any other street in New Eridu—ordinary, yet incredibly lively.
But now, after the Fall of the Old Capital, only desolation remained.
The glass display windows, once meant to showcase goods, had long since shattered, their scattered fragments reflecting specks of light on the ground, evoking an inexplicable sense of bleakness.
On the road, which had seen no maintenance or repair, jagged cracks remained. The potholed traces of battle stood as testament to the efforts the Defense Force had once made here. But many years had passed.
The traces of humanity that had once splattered forth had been thoroughly worn away. In the shops today, only a mess of furniture and decorations remained, silently recounting the events of that disaster.
Inside a Hollow.
The property that everything gets corroded and transformed by Ether means that humans who die here eventually turn into Ethereals after some time, leaving no corpses to be found.
This causes all traces of what was once a living being to vanish completely, as if they never existed.
This was the scene Hoshimi Miyabi saw all along her path.
Rather, such a scene was completely commonplace within a Hollow. As a Void Hunter for many years, she had long since grown accustomed to it.
But right now, it made her unconsciously quicken her pace.
After all, everything here kept awakening memories of the past, of her childhood.
She had lost someone incredibly important to her in the disaster that erupted in Hollow Zero back then, so she knew exactly how painful that felt.
It was precisely because of that experience that she became even more determined not to let the people around her perish in a Hollow again.
The very purpose of her striving with all her might to become stronger over these years was to prevent such situations from arising. Yet this time, she had once again watched helplessly as such a situation unfolded.
Even though she always maintained trust and confidence in her companions, she never imagined Andrew would ultimately choose such a... reckless way to complete all this.
Now, with no response from Andrew after the deed was done, Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't help but worry.
If he had been seriously injured because of that move, or even...
Thinking of this, Hoshimi Miyabi's heart filled with increasing regret.
Her own strength was still far too lacking.
If only she had been sharp enough to discover the core of the extra Ethereal larva inside Nineveh at the start... Or if she could have slashed out one more time when the accident occurred during that charged strike...
Then none of this would have happened, and Andrew wouldn't have needed to take such a risk to forcibly stop Nineveh.
Just like during the Fall of the Old Capital.
If she hadn't been helpless due to her youth, delaying their escape... If she could have killed the appearing Ethereals at top speed...
Would her mother have been able to avoid sacrificing her life to Wuwei to buy her that slim chance of survival?
But in the end, "if" is just "if."
Hoshimi Miyabi had undergone years of self-cultivation to resist Wuwei with her own will when it went berserk. Her mind had long since matured, passing the stage where she would be dominated by emotions.
With things already having happened, she knew clearly that regret would do nothing but slow her down in finding Andrew.
So, regardless of the thoughts in her heart, she never slowed her pace by even half a step.
Fortunately, because Nineveh had constantly attracted Ethereals earlier, the area that used to host countless Ethereal settlements was now completely silent.
Along the way, apart from Hoshimi Miyabi's footsteps, no other Ethereals blocked her path.
As Hoshimi Miyabi crossed another spatial rift, the scene before her finally changed from the desolate streetscape of the abandoned city. It was a ruin. A complete ruin formed after immense power had destroyed everything.
The original buildings had been torn into shreds of wreckage by the massive force generated upon impact, blasted away in all directions. Under that unparalleled might, with the center as the origin point, the upturned ground had been pieced together to form rings of layered, raised earth.
The outermost layer of ground had been lifted to a height fully twice as tall as Hoshimi Miyabi.
But even with such a massive ring, there was a gap smooth as a mirror.
It was a line.
A line extending from the center to who knows where in the distance.
Even a distant high-rise had been split in half by this line, blocking Hoshimi Miyabi's desire to see exactly how far this slash extended.
Looking down, Hoshimi Miyabi could only see boundless darkness.
If she remembered correctly...
According to the map of this area provided by Phaethon, the position of that circular crater was supposed to be a skyscraper, right?
But looking at the surrounding buildings, which were riddled with holes from the debris blasted outward, it was self-evident where that former skyscraper had gone.
This caused a trace of worry to rise in Hoshimi Miyabi's heart.
For Andrew to cause such a scene upon landing, it definitely wasn't something that could appear purely from a natural freefall under gravity.
Undoubtedly, he had used his full power to ensure a one-hit kill on Nineveh. But what was the cost?
Just like a person striking a steel plate with all their might—the stronger the person, the more force they can exert, and the more obvious the deformation of the steel plate.
But the reaction force they receive will also be correspondingly more powerful.
It's like an ordinary person punching a hard object with full force; at most, their fist becomes red and swollen. But if a boxer uses their full force, bone fractures or breaks can occur immediately.
So, what about Andrew, who caused the scene before her?
Especially when she looked through the gap and saw Andrew's figure standing motionless in the center of the circle, alarm bells instantly rang in Hoshimi Miyabi's heart, which had been suppressing her worry. Without any hesitation, she flashed forward, leaping onto the ruins blocking her view to look at Andrew in the center.
This action allowed her to clearly see Andrew's condition.
His originally neat casual clothes had developed large scorch marks from friction with the atmosphere during the fall from an altitude of several thousand meters, making his attire look tattered and extremely wretched.
The goggles he wore on his face had only the frames left under the impact.
Seeing that tattered appearance, damaged beyond use, the reason why Isolde and the others at Scott Outpost couldn't contact Andrew and lost his position became perfectly clear.
But that rising and falling chest undoubtedly indicated that he was still very much alive.
However, just before Hoshimi Miyabi could breathe a sigh of relief...
The moment she saw Andrew's current state clearly, her heart leaped into her throat once again.
Although there were no visible injuries on Andrew's body...
The tip of Icebrink, Andrew's sword, was deeply inserted into the ground. His hands gripped the hilt, supporting his somewhat powerless, leaning body.
It was as if he would have collapsed completely without the support of the hilt.
Andrew's head hung low, his eyes slightly closed, but his brows furrowed slightly from time to time, indicating an unspeakable pain.
Seeing him in this state, Hoshimi Miyabi immediately called out in worry:
"Andrew!"
Hearing Hoshimi Miyabi's voice, Andrew finally opened his eyes and turned slightly to look around, confirming the source of the sound.
But just this slight movement made Andrew suck in a cold breath uncontrollably.
"Hiss..."
After recovering for a moment and realizing the arrival was Hoshimi Miyabi, Andrew forced the corners of his mouth into a smile.
Trying his best to keep his lower body motionless, he raised a hand toward Hoshimi Miyabi and spoke with some difficulty:
"Yo, Miss Miyabi."
Seeing that Andrew was at least responsive, Hoshimi Miyabi couldn't help but breathe a slight sigh of relief.
He still had a reaction; at least the worst-case scenario she anticipated hadn't happened.
But the next moment, she flashed directly to Andrew's side with impatience, asking with immense concern:
"Andrew! You... How is your condition right now? Which parts are injured? I'll contact Isolde immediately to send someone to help treat you!"
Saying this, she grabbed one of Andrew's hands resting on Icebrink's hilt, letting him lean on her slightly.
However, for Andrew, this was a bit baffling.
Wasn't he just legs-numb from landing too hard? Where did this talk of injury come from?
But, to be fair.
Looking at Hoshimi Miyabi, whose usually expressionless face now revealed such immense worry, the contrast made her look incredibly cute right now.
So much so that although Andrew was confused by her words, he couldn't suppress a sudden desire to tease her.
He cleared his throat lightly. Then, with a tone that was eighty percent truth (derived from his legs being too numb to move) and twenty percent acting, he spoke feigning weakness:
"Cough, cough, Miss Miyabi. I'm afraid I'm done for momentarily. There is probably only one method left that can cure me now."
Hearing this, the already worried Hoshimi Miyabi immediately spoke impatiently:
"What method?! Please tell me, as long as it's something I can do, I will definitely do my best to accomplish it!"
Hearing this, Andrew's eyes lit up for an instant before he forcibly concealed it.
Subsequently, he continued to maintain his previous tone and said:
"Is that so? That's truly great."
"This method really can't be done by anyone other than you. It's a huge help that you're willing."
Hearing this, Hoshimi Miyabi's expression immediately became very serious. She nodded with incomparable earnestness.
"I will definitely do my best."
At the same time, she began speculating in her heart about the task Andrew would entrust to her that only she could do.
In her heart, she was already prepared for the impending hardship.
For this companion she acknowledged, no matter how dangerous the place Andrew needed her to go, how dangerous the thing she needed to do, or how precious the materials needed, she would definitely do her best to achieve it for him!
Meanwhile, looking at Hoshimi Miyabi's ears, which were twitching slightly out of subconscious reflex, Andrew spoke with utmost seriousness:
"Since that's the case, then let me touch your ears."
"Okay, leave it to me! ...Eh?"
Caught off guard.
Hoshimi Miyabi's originally stern expression became a bit blank again in this instant. Simultaneously, a cute, confused sound couldn't help but escape her mouth.
Although she didn't understand why Andrew wanted to touch her ears, the resolve she had made and the promise she had given made her subconsciously extend her head forward.
Feeling Andrew's large hand constantly stroking her ears...
The warm sensation constantly transmitting from her ears, along with the slight itchiness from the caress, caused Hoshimi Miyabi's cheeks to involuntarily flush with a trace of red.
Honestly speaking.
The texture of Hoshimi Miyabi's ears was simply too stunning.
It was unclear whether it was natural beauty, or if, as a member of the Hoshimi family, she was dragged into maintenance even if she wasn't conscious of it herself—or perhaps both.
The moment Andrew touched the ears...
He had originally assumed that since the ears were always standing upright, they would feel somewhat hard. But upon actually touching them, he felt only incomparable softness.
Her silky hair allowed the fur on her ears to maintain an equal level of sleekness, and the fluff inside the ears brought a warm, fuzzy sensation while being delicate.
Fortunately, his final shred of reason stopped Andrew from giving in to the impulse of sticking his finger inside the ear to search for fluff.
Feeling the tactile sensation constantly returning from his hand.
Andrew dared to bet that in all of New Eridu, no plush toy's texture could compare to Hoshimi Miyabi's ears!
None!!
Rub, rub, rub, rub.
After this continued for a good while, the strange sensations constantly coming from her ears and the doubts in her heart finally made Hoshimi Miyabi unable to resist asking Andrew:
"Andrew, how is your injury? Is this really helping you?"
Rub, rub, rub, rub.
Since his greatest wish had been achieved, Andrew stopped pretending and spoke quite frankly:
"Oh, I just landed too hard earlier... so my legs are currently too numb to move, that's all."
Rub, rub, rub, rub.
Saying this, to prevent Hoshimi Miyabi from continuing to worry, Andrew added soothingly:
"Relax, just let me recover for a little while longer and I'll be fine."
Feeling the hand on her head still constantly kneading her ears...
Although she finally breathed a sigh of relief in her heart after hearing Andrew's words, the subsequent confusion still made Hoshimi Miyabi ask with some puzzlement:
"Then, what does this have to do with rubbing my ears?"
"The connection is huge."
Speaking of this, Andrew showed not a hint of panic at being exposed. Instead, he spoke full of nonsense with utter righteousness:
"You have to know, maintaining a happy mood can accelerate the recovery speed of injuries. And right now, this action perfectly keeps my mood happy."
Although such nonsense wouldn't be believed by anyone else, Hoshimi Miyabi chose to—believe it without hesitation.
"There is actually such a method to accelerate injury recovery?"
She nodded very seriously after revealing a look of realization, then said with a face full of earnestness:
"Understood. Since that's the case, then until your legs fully recover, Andrew, let's maintain this state."
But speaking to this point... inexplicably, despite there being no one else around, Hoshimi Miyabi suddenly felt a trace of shyness, and her face inevitably flushed red.
Subsequently, she tried hard to suppress the shyness constantly rising in her heart and whispered softly:
"However, please be a bit gentler when you rub. Right now, this is slightly..."
"Right now, rubbing like this is slightly... itchy."
"Hiss..."
Seeing the shy expression Hoshimi Miyabi revealed, the extreme contrast made Andrew suck in a cold breath instantly.
Although his brain was constantly telling Andrew to quit while he was ahead, his hand petting Hoshimi Miyabi's ears wouldn't listen to him.
Since things had come to this, he might as well pet until he was satisfied first.
Looking at Hoshimi Miyabi, who showed absolutely no intention of doubting him even like this... even Andrew, who had actively deceived her at the start, couldn't help but feel his conscience receive a prick of condemnation for a moment.
But condemnation aside, Andrew's hand rubbing the ears didn't stop for a single instant.
____
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