"Ah, Sixth Street! It's so comfortable and familiar, just as I remember!"
Returning to Sixth Street, Belle took a deep breath of the street air. It wasn't as fresh as the Outer Ring, but the familiar scent made her feel like she was home.
Meanwhile, Andrew was parking his new motorcycle in the garage behind her.
After Soldier 11 dismounted from the sidecar, the motorcycle transformed from its Gouram form back into the Pulse Chaser.
Arriving at the back door of the Random Play garage, Belle kicked the door open and yelled loudly:
"Bro! I'm back from the Outer Ring!"
Inside the empty video store, Twentie, sitting on the cash register, waved its hand happily, greeting one of its masters whom it hadn't seen for days.
Just then, Wise poked his head out from the workshop. He glanced helplessly at the back door Belle had kicked aside and said:
"So violent, little sister. As your big brother, I'm genuinely starting to worry if anyone will ever want you."
Hearing Wise bring this up, Belle puffed out her chest, strode over to Andrew who had just finished parking, and pulled him over, saying proudly:
"Your little sister is already spoken for! You should save that worry for yourself, you otaku brother who holes up in the shop all day watching documentaries and arthouse films!"
Hearing this news, Wise's eyes widened in surprise first, then he said in shock:
"No way, what's with your taste? How could you pick someone like him?!"
The sudden remark stunned Belle for a moment. Then, she puffed out her cheeks angrily and said:
"What do you mean 'someone like him'?! You've known Andrew for months, you know what he's like! If I'd known you were going to be like this, I shouldn't have brought back that meal Andrew asked me to get for you. I should've just let you keep eating ramen every day!"
Belle's words were forceful and full of defense for Andrew, but after hearing them, Wise just shot a disdainful glance past her and said dismissively:
"Who said I was talking to you? I was talking to my good buddy, Andrew."
With that, Wise walked over, slung an arm around Andrew's shoulder, and pulled him into a corner to whisper:
"No, seriously, man. How did you end up with someone like her? Are you sure you don't want to reconsider and find someone else?"
Before Andrew could reply, a fuming Belle rushed over and kicked her dear brother squarely in the shin.
"Ow!!!"
It was a good thing Belle preferred to wear comfortable, casual sneakers. If she had been wearing high heels, he wouldn't just be yelping from a kick to the shin; he'd be flat on the floor.
"Hmph!"
With a cold snort, Belle shot her brother an annoyed glare before turning to Soldier 11 and saying:
"Come on, I'll take you up to see my brother's room. You'll be staying there from now on."
Ignoring Wise, who was still sucking in sharp breaths of air, Belle continued:
"As for my brother, he can just sleep on the couch from now on!"
Even Soldier 11, who was severely lacking in common sense, instinctively felt that this was a bit inappropriate.
"Belle, that's not quite right. I think sleeping on the sofa in the workshop is perfectly fine."
Hearing this, Belle waved her hand dismissively and said:
"Don't worry about it. He usually falls asleep on the couch down here after watching movies all night anyway. It's the same thing."
Rubbing his shin, Wise weakly raised a hand and asked:
"What about... my opinion?"
"Hmph!"
In the end, aside from a consoling pat on the shoulder from Andrew, Wise was magnificently ignored by his own sister with another cold snort.
Ignoring her brother's opinion, Belle pulled Soldier 11 along, ready to head upstairs to give her a proper tour of the room—what she could touch and what she couldn't.
The memory of how Soldier 11's ignorance had turned Wise's vinyl record into scrap was still fresh in her mind.
They were her brother's things, after all. Joking around was one thing, but the necessary precautions couldn't be skipped.
After Belle led Soldier 11 upstairs, Andrew prepared to leave through the front door.
Having successfully delivered Belle and Soldier 11 to their destination, Andrew didn't plan on staying. He was about to offer a quick explanation, but Wise just waved his hand dismissively, clearly having anticipated this day would come.
Andrew, who had subconsciously let out a sigh of relief, hadn't made it out the door before Wise suddenly called out to him.
"Wait up, Andrew."
"What is it?"
Unsure if Wise had suddenly changed his mind or what, Andrew looked back at him, puzzled, wondering what he wanted to say.
But Wise didn't dwell on the previous matter. Instead, he brought up something new.
"Yesterday, Shepherd sent over a direct request. It's specifically for Phaethon, and they're asking that we absolutely take it. Want to see if it's something we can accept?"
At Wise's call, Andrew stopped and looked at him with some confusion, asking:
"Shouldn't you be discussing requests with your sister? Why bring it up with me all of a sudden?"
"That's because this request is actually a bodyguard mission. The client's location is outside the Hollows, so you're probably the main target of the request."
Wise scratched his head, explaining the reasoning he'd inferred from the available information.
This type of request definitely required Andrew's approval before they could decide whether to accept it.
"A bodyguard mission? You guys handle that kind of work now?"
"Normally, a Proxy wouldn't really get this kind of request."
In response to Andrew's question, Wise said with a hint of resignation:
"I think it's mainly because your performance in battle has been too eye-catching. Nowadays, aside from the usual exploration requests that require navigation inside the Hollows, we've been getting a lot of jobs that are really just trying to leverage your combat skills."
He scrolled through all the related requests on the Proxy network and, with a bit of helplessness, handed the device to Andrew to look at.
"Honestly, this is the most reliable one of the bunch. After all, Shepherd has been a long-time partner of ours. And also..."
As he spoke, Wise looked a little embarrassed. Clearly, there were other reasons besides the partner's reliability.
"Remember that idol I like, Astra Yao? The client this time is her agent."
As he said this, Wise pulled out a clearly repaired vinyl record from the workshop. The familiar packaging and scars identified it as the same Astra Yao record that had been smashed to pieces.
"Elfy found out that my treasured record was broken and spent the last couple of days painstakingly repairing it for me. So I don't need to buy a new copy of 'Lyra'. In return, I was thinking..."
Hearing that, Andrew understood immediately.
"You want me to get it autographed for you?"
Wise's face lit up with a 'you get me' expression. He nodded and said:
"And if possible, some extra merchandise would be even better."
"But I'm surprised, when did you and Elfy get so close? I remember that record being completely shattered. Is something going on?"
The question made Wise choke and cough lightly. He got a bit flustered and immediately said:
"Don't you go spreading wild gossip! Don't just make things up!"
Seeing Wise's overly defensive demeanor, Andrew knew his guess was almost certainly on the mark.
But he was his brother-in-law, after all. If he said nothing was going on, then he'd just have to take his word for it~.
_____
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