"I have a proposal."
"That Pompey doesn't look like a good—ptui, ptui, ptui, wrong one."
"That Lucius doesn't look like a good person, does he?"
"You guys lure him out, and I'll take him down with a single strike from a hundred meters away."
"Things won't be so difficult then; it'll definitely be much better."
As she spoke, Hoshimi Aya made a chopping gesture with her hand.
"I agree!"
"I've been annoyed with that guy for a long time."
"With the Second Miss of the Hoshimi Family helping, it should be a breeze."
Lucy gave a thumbs-up in agreement.
Aya was a bit surprised to hear this—not that Lucy agreed with her plan, but that she actually knew who she was.
"That won't do, Lucy."
"What kind of person would that make me?"
"I'm the one who's going to become the overlord; I have to do things the right way!"
Caesar puffed out her chest, sternly rejecting this underhanded plot.
"You idiot, Caesar!"
"It's 'fair and square'!"
Lucy held her forehead, somewhat speechless.
She could even mess up such a simple phrase.
Meanwhile, on Belle and Aya's side.
"Aya, this is their own business, and things probably haven't reached that point yet."
Belle whispered a reminder in Aya's ear, signaling her not to give out such bad ideas.
"Just telling the truth."
Aya gave a cold snort and turned her head away.
Even if she were alone, she could still take care of it stealthily.
Of course, missing was impossible.
She just needed a suitable opportunity.
Over on Caesar and Lucy's side, for some reason, they started fighting.
"Um... what's the situation now?"
Belle watched the two fighting not far away, finding it hard to believe.
She had only whispered a few words to Aya; how did they start fighting?
"It's fine, it's fine. Proxy, don't worry about it. This kind of thing happens once or twice a day."
Pai Pai said nonchalantly.
As if it were just a minor occurrence.
"Right, right, it's fine. As long as you don't get dragged in to be the referee."
"If you're not careful, you'll get scolded by both of them while they're in a fit of rage."
Bernice explained with a smile, seemingly speaking from deep experience.
"In short, it's great to have your help for the Hellfire Ride. Let's all do our best from here on."
"However, it's getting late. Proxy, why don't you stay at our camp for the night?"
"Although the gas station here has closed down, it's still relatively safe since the town is right below."
Pai Pai explained.
Pai Pai then led them to a place to rest, and they stayed for the night.
The next morning.
Aya slipped out of Belle's embrace.
She came out onto the streets of Wildfire Town.
"It feels even more desolate than in the game."
Aya walked along the street, observing her surroundings.
They were all familiar faces, though of course, they didn't know her.
"Hi, Aya."
"I didn't expect you to be up so early."
A familiar voice came from behind Aya. Hearing it, she turned around toward the source.
She saw Caesar walking over, smiling and waving.
"Yeah, I usually get up at this time."
"But Belle might have been a bit tired yesterday; she's not up yet."
Aya nodded a bit stiffly.
"I see."
"Then, Aya, are you free right now?"
"How about we have a spar?"
"After seeing that strike of yours yesterday, my hands have been itching for a match."
Caesar said with some excitement.
After all, she was the strongest around here, so finally meeting someone powerful made her eager to spar.
"...My blade was taken away by Wise last night."
"I haven't gotten it back yet, so let's forget about the sparring for now."
Aya remained silent for a moment before declining Caesar's invitation.
"Ah, I see."
"Alright, alright, next time is fine too."
"By the way, that strike of yours yesterday was so cool. You finished the cut before I could even see it clearly."
Caesar said with a grin.
Just then, another voice spoke up.
"Caesar, she is someone with Void Hunter Level strength."
"And she's the Second Miss of the Hoshimi Family. Although I don't know how she got mixed up with a Proxy like Phaethon."
"But her strength isn't something that can be compared to our minor abilities."
Lucy walked over, addressing Caesar's unrealistic invitation to spar.
"Oh!"
"I see."
"Aya, can you have a fight with me?"
Caesar invited her even more enthusiastically.
It seemed she was spurred on by Lucy's words, making her even more eager.
"Uh... alright."
Aya finally agreed; after all, it would be embarrassing to keep refusing when Caesar was so persistent.
Soon, the three of them arrived at an open area.
"Aya, there are some weapons here, take a look."
"What do you want to use?"
"Still a long blade?"
Caesar brought out some weapons that looked like they had been sitting there for a long time and smiled.
"No, it would be bad if I accidentally cut you and caused an injury."
As she spoke, Aya picked out a standard baseball bat.
"A baseball bat?"
"Aya, are you sure?"
"The feel of this is very different from a blade."
Caesar asked, somewhat puzzled.
"It's fine, I'll test the feel."
Aya dropped the bat on the ground, and it bounced back into her hand.
"Tsk, not bad."
Aya nodded with satisfaction.
This reminded her of a certain phrase.
Rules are meant to be broken!
"Then here I come!"
"Aya, watch out."
After saying that, Caesar lunged forward and thrust her sword.
However, Aya dodged it with ease. Although the speed of the strike was fast, it wasn't enough to challenge her.
Caesar didn't give up after being dodged and continued her offensive.
But no matter how Caesar attacked, she couldn't hurt Aya, failing to even touch the edge of her clothes.
"Aya, this is a spar, not hide-and-seek."
"Can you take this seriously?!"
"This is disrespectful to me."
Caesar was a bit angry; it was obvious she was being toyed with.
"Fine, but I'm not responsible if you get hurt."
Aya's figure flashed, and she appeared in front of Caesar.
In the next second, Caesar was struck in the abdomen by the baseball bat and sent flying, landing in a pile of junk nearby.
"Caesar!!"
Lucy rushed toward the pile of junk.
"Lucy, I'm fine!"
Caesar emerged from the junk pile with a grin.
"But Aya, your strength really is formidable."
"It seems I need to improve myself too."
"I'll strive to reach a level of strength like yours."
Caesar clenched her fists with a determined gaze, as if she had made a firm resolution.
"Whatever makes you happy."
"But I'm not used to sparring; I might not know my own strength."
"Just now... are you okay?"
Aya felt a bit awkward; she had already held back a lot of her power.
She hadn't expected it to turn out like this; it seemed she couldn't use the same force she used when fighting Etheralss.
...
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