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Bronya fell silent after hearing Seele's story. The weight of those two days—the discarded food, the crystal tear, and the bitter divide between their worlds—hung heavy in the air.
"Hey, what's wrong with that face?" Seele asked, rolling over to look at the silent girl. She acted as if recounting her childhood trauma was as mundane as checking the weather.
"Nothing," Bronya replied, shaking her head and forcing a casual lightness into her voice. "I was just thinking... so that's how you managed to trick him into coming to the Underworld."
"Huh?" Seele huffed, her pride wounded. "He insisted on coming himself! What does that have to do with me?"
Bronya chuckled softly and rolled over to face her. In the darkness of the room, their eyes met, reflecting the faint, ambient glow of the city above. "Seele... you like Kenta."
"!!!"
The words hit Seele like a physical shock. Her heart did a frantic somersault against her ribs. "Cough!! You... you... what are you saying! I—I absolutely do not—!"
The embarrassed girl scrambled into a sitting position, her hands waving wildly as she launched a desperate, incoherent counter-offensive. Bronya watched the display with a quiet smile; in that moment of raw, unpolished emotion, she found Seele surprisingly endearing.
Before Seele could dig her hole any deeper, Bronya's expression shifted into something far more serious.
"Seele, I plan to return to the Upper District. I need to ask Mother for an explanation face-to-face."
Seele froze. It took two seconds for the gravity of the statement to sink in. "Wait... you're going now? Alone? No, Bronya, that's suicide. Cocolia will have you in a cell before you can even open your mouth."
"I've made up my mind," Bronya interrupted, her voice ringing with a resolve that brooked no argument. "Cocolia is my mother. That fact will never change. Whether as her daughter or as a Silvermane Guard, I must fulfill my duty and offer counsel. Even if..."
Seele fell silent. She looked at the silver-haired girl already beginning to gather her things and let out a long, defeated sigh. "I understand, Bronya."
Bronya finished adjusting her gear and turned back, offering Seele a serene, bittersweet smile. "The reason I said what I did earlier... is because I hope you recognize your own feelings, Seele. If something happens to me this time... Kenta... at least I hope the person by his side at the end is you."
"Enough! Bronya!" Seele's shout was sharp, cutting through the heavy sentiment like a blade.
Bronya startled, her hands freezing mid-motion. She looked at Seele, feeling suddenly helpless.
"What do you mean by that?" Seele hissed, her purple eyes flashing with indignant heat. "Are you pitying me? If I'm going to win, I'll win fairly, not through your charity! Do you think Kenta would be happy hearing you talk like he's a consolation prize?"
Bronya opened her mouth, but the words failed her. She hadn't expected the street-tough girl to be the one lecturing her on emotional integrity.
"So," Seele's tone softened, though the awkwardness remained. "You... you have to come back safely. You hear me?"
A brilliant, genuine smile broke across Bronya's face. "Okay!"
Kenta, blissfully unaware of the late-night pact, blinked in confusion as Seele emerged from the bedroom alone. He leaned past her, looking for a certain silver-gray hairstyle.
"Wait. Seele, I know you two had a bit of a 'clash' last night, but you didn't actually... dispose of Bronya, did you?"
Kenta was genuinely anxious. Given the volatile chemistry between the two, he half-expected to find the room in shambles. "Where is she?"
Seele looked away, her voice flat. "She went back. To the Upper District. She left before dawn."
Kenta's jaw dropped. He slapped his forehead with a resounding thud. "Damn it! That stubborn, headstrong girl!"
He knew Cocolia better than most, and while she loved Bronya, the Stellaron's influence was a wild card. There was no telling how a "corrupted" Supreme Guardian would react to a daughter demanding the truth.
"Ah? Did I really sleep through the most dramatic part of the plot?" Stelle asked, letting out a regretful sigh.
"Stop joking around, Stelle," March 7th nudged her. "The mood is literally freezing over."
There was no time for a rescue mission for one. They had to follow the plan. After a final check of their gear, the group hurried toward the secret passage that led back to the sun-starved surface.
"Are you alright, Bronya? I thought... I feared I had lost you to the shadows."
Cocolia looked uncharacteristically frantic, her hands trembling as she reached for her daughter. The relief in her eyes was palpable, a brief flicker of the mother Bronya used to know.
"I'm fine, Mother," Bronya said softly. "Truly. I traveled through the Underworld, saw the reality beneath our feet... and I survived."
But the moment the word 'Underworld' left Bronya's lips, the warmth evaporated from Cocolia's face. Her features snapped back into a mask of cold, distant indifference.
"The Underworld? I see." Cocolia turned away, her voice regaining its glacial edge. "Then report your findings, Commander Bronya. As a soldier, not a daughter."
"Ah! Air that doesn't taste like old pennies!" March 7th exclaimed, spinning around in the crisp morning light.
"Save the celebration for later, March," Kenta said, his eyes scanning the patrols. "Directly storming the Fort is a death sentence. We need an ally. Someone who knows Cocolia's old heart."
He turned toward a familiar street. "We're going to find Serval. She was a close friend of Cocolia's once, and she's one of the few people who might know where the bodies are buried—literally or metaphorically."
The group arrived at the Perpetual Mechanical Workshop. Kenta gave the door a sharp, rhythmic rap.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Who's—Kenta?"
Serval froze the moment the door swung open. "Why are you here at—"
Before she could finish, Kenta moved. With the lightning reflexes of a man who had spent years in the Silvermane Guard, he covered Serval's mouth with one hand and supported her head with the other to keep her from stumbling back.
"Sorry, Serval. Situation's critical. I'll explain everything, I promise."
He moved forward, pressing her back into the workshop to get everyone off the street. Serval's mind, however, took a very different path. Caught in an intimate, high-tension embrace with the handsome former captain, her thoughts began to spiral.
Kenta? What is he—is he finally making a move? Right here? In the shop? What about Lynx?! "Kenta... don't!" she stammered, her face flushed as she prepared for a token struggle. "At least... not in front of the tools..."
But as she looked past his shoulder, her romantic daydream died a sudden, violent death. A group of the city's most wanted criminals were currently filing into her workshop like they owned the place.
"..."
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