Two hours later.
The simple banquet at the Hollow Special Operations Section 6's cafeteria came to an end.
Aside from Belle being a little absent-minded, everyone else was quite happy.
Although it wasn't some grand restaurant, the food tasted very good. After all, this was the cafeteria of the Hollow Special Operations—its monthly meal budget alone could match an average person's monthly salary outside.
Afterwards, everyone built even deeper camaraderie, further solidifying the bond forged in battle.
Thus, with hosts and guests alike satisfied, the gathering came to a close and people dispersed.
The Sons of Calydon returned to the Outer Ring to prepare for the upcoming Tour de Inferno. Belobog Heavy Industries headed back to their construction site—at the moment they had two major projects underway, and manpower was in short supply.
Wise drove the video store's car, while Belle squeezed into the Cunning Hares' vehicle, making the already cramped space even more hopeless.
One back seat somehow forced in Sol Mercer, Belle, Anby Demara, and Nekomiya Mana—with Baal in tow.
Sol sat in the middle, quite thoroughly flanked on both sides.
"Sol, how good can a person's hearing even get? Can you really hear someone whispering from more than ten meters away?"
Belle, troubled and exhausted by her thoughts, asked Sol with a weary voice.
She still held onto a tiny bit of hope—hoping Miyabi hadn't heard everything she had said.
"As good as it needs to be. The limits of the human body are beyond imagination," Sol said casually, lips lifting slightly. "Especially someone who practices swordsmanship—their focus makes their hearing sharper."
Thinking about Belle trembling from fright just now—so cute—he couldn't help but want to laugh again.
Belle finally connected the dots and ground her teeth. "Did you know Miyabi was eavesdropping and deliberately teased me?!"
Sol put on an innocent expression. "Don't accuse me. You were the one who said all that; I didn't guide you."
"So you were trying to laugh at me!"
Belle took one look at Sol's face and instantly confirmed his true motive. There was absolutely no universe in which this man was innocent.
"Don't say nonsense. I'm not taking that blame."
Sol's thoughts shifted a little. Next time, it seemed he needed a different method to watch the fun.
"Forget it, what's done is done." Belle sighed helplessly, giving up the struggle.
Seeing this, Sol instead comforted her. "Don't worry too much. We're all adults and have worked together many times. Miyabi won't give you trouble."
"Actually… when Miyabi spoke to me at the end, I already knew she wouldn't make things hard."
Belle tightened her grip on her hands and muttered gloomily, "I just feel embarrassed. Talking behind Hollow Special Operations Section 6's back and getting caught by the person involved is superembarrassing!"
Especially since Miyabi was also her friend—now she didn't even know how to act around her.
Just thinking about it made her want to claw the air in frustration.
"No one can help you with that; it's on you."
Sol spread his hands on the thighs at his sides, indicating his helplessness.
"I'm not expecting you to help with that." Belle lifted the hand Sol had placed on her thigh, brought herself closer, and said with sparkling eyes, "But you're so strong—can you make me strong too?"
If she had strength herself, she wouldn't have needed everyone's protection this time. She could strike first—smash an Ethereal until it cried!
Being a Proxy was nice, but being a strong agent clearly offered a wider world.
"Hm?"
"Nya?"
Anby and Nekomata both looked at Belle strangely.
Even Nicole turned her head from the front passenger seat, staring straight at Belle.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Belle was completely confused.
She just wanted to get stronger. What was wrong with that?
"It's nothing. Just surprised that the legendary Proxy is thinking of switching careers."
Nicole turned back, though her ears remained perked.
Anby and Nekomata exchanged flickering glances without explaining.
They themselves had already grown stronger with Sol's help—apart from certain mysterious items, the biggest improvement strangely came from… being together in those trembling moments. Incredibly odd.
But something like that was impossible to say out loud.
"So weird…" Belle muttered under her breath, then ignored them and turned back to Sol. "So? Is there a way to make me stronger? I'll do anything!"
Anything?
Sol glanced at Belle's unimpressive chest, rubbing his chin. "There's definitely a way. Let me think about it when we get back—I'll tailor a plan just for you."
Right now, he had a huge pile of purple-card rewards in his system space. Aside from the especially useful ones he had taken out, the rest were just gathering dust.
He could pick out one or two at random, and it would be enough to strengthen Belle several times over.
"Then I'll trouble you! I'll acknowledge you as my teacher—serve you tea and water every day! And once I learn, I'll treat you well too, don't worry!"
Belle first thanked him, then slapped her chest proudly. "And no matter what the training plan is, I won't say no, not even once!"
She had already begun fantasizing: Sol personally training her, practicing through winter cold and summer heat, climbing the path to become a powerhouse like Miyabi.
It would definitely be exhausting—but the pain that came with growth was exciting!
"Taking me as your teacher? You've got an imagination."
Sol chuckled.
But with Belle saying it so sincerely… he was starting to feel a little interested.
Turning Belle into a well-behaved little disciple… that sounded fun.
Given Belle's sincerity, he decided to teach properly.
He proposed a card set: blue quality [Swordsmanship Notes of the Cloud Knights], purple quality [School of Taixuan Manual], and gold quality [Edge of Taixuan].
He had already absorbed these cards, but passing the knowledge on was easy. Since Belle was calling him teacher, he'd actually teach—no cheating by directly giving her cards.
The blue card wasn't as good as Yanqing's swordsmanship, but it was more than enough for Belle, who lacked even the physical strength of March 7th.
Then, with the purple skill from the Honkai system, [School of Taixuan Manual], Belle could advance further.
Finally, passing her the golden skill [Edge of Taixuan] from Fu Hua of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers—this set would let Belle roam New Eridu as a first-class Void Hunter.
However… that would take time.
"In the future, you'll definitely be proud of having a disciple like me!"
Belle lifted her chin with great confidence.
Sol extended his hand toward her, grasped Belle's hand, squeezed lightly, and said casually, "Let me check your bones first—see your talent."
Hmm. What he felt was… quite something.
Her skin was smooth and silky, the same familiar soft feel.
But inside, her bones…
Oh. Osteoporosis.
"How is it? How's my talent?"
Belle blinked at him expectantly.
She was the legendary Proxy Phaethon—clever and intelligent.
She simply hadn't focused on combat before; otherwise she'd be a little genius too.
"Your future poses no threat to me in terms of strength… but you will ruin my reputation in the education world."
Sol looked grim, already imagining being labeled a useless teacher. "Also, you have osteoporosis. Maybe lay off the snacks."
With Belle's talent, even with him being a Sword God-level teacher, reaching the point of manifesting Taixuan Sword Qi… would take a few hundred years.
He instantly compressed the plan to only teach the blue card [Swordsmanship Notes of the Cloud Knights]. The purple and gold couldn't be taught—she'd have to cheat by direct fusion.
Osteoporosis?
And saying she would ruin his educational reputation—wasn't that just calling her trash?
He checked her talent and this was what he got?
Belle felt deeply insulted—her chest practically puffed from anger. "Sol, if you want to say I'm bad, just say it. No need to go in circles!"
Anby snickered. "Hehe."
Nekomata laughed until her stomach hurt. "Nya-haha!"
Nicole nearly collapsed over the dashboard. "Ohohoho!"
The three, who had been worried about gaining another rival for Sol's attention, instantly let go of every ounce of concern.
"Hahahaha! Boss Sol, you're too funny!"
Billy, driving, burst into loud laughter.
Suddenly the Cunning Hares' vehicle filled with joyful noise.
Belle felt overwhelmed by their noise. She leaned close to Sol's ear and hissed, "I don't care. Even if I'm your disgrace in the education world, you're not ditching me."
"Fine, fine, I'll make sure you succeed, alright?"
Sol patted Belle's thigh to calm her.
Helping her grow strong? No problem.
Not to mention he still had a warehouse full of purple cards—he could power her up whenever.
And if that didn't work… he was even willing to sacrifice a bit of his purity to help Belle become stronger.