"Welcome, heroes willing to give yourselves for New Eridu. Please, come in!"
The man, dressed in a neat suit, bowed respectfully to every visitor as they entered the tent.
The moment word spread that someone was preparing to return to New Eridu to forcibly seize supplies, the city's upper echelons reacted at once. Not only was a dedicated tent set aside as a conference room, but multiple military units were stationed around it, strictly barring any unauthorized personnel from approaching.
Representatives from Section 6, Victoria Housekeeping, the Public Security Bureau, Cunning Hares, Belobog Heavy Industries, and the Sons of Calydon—the current leading power of the Outer Ring—took their seats one after another.
They gathered around a round table, with a holographic projector placed at its center.
Once everyone was seated, Yanagi gave a slight nod and began distributing the prepared documents to each attendee.
Everyone took the papers in hand.
Caesar and Burnice didn't move at all, clearly planning to let others read first and then listen to the summary.
Ellen, without a second thought, pushed her share of the work onto Phaga, then rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes to nap. Phaga smiled indulgently, patted her hair, then withdrew his hand. With one hand idly pinching Eous's ears on his lap, he opened the documents on the table.
They were a comprehensive list of currently scarce resources, along with city locations likely to hold them.
Koleda and Anton scratched their heads, staring at the pages until they felt their brains splitting in two.
Surprisingly, the Cunning Hares side was relatively well-behaved. Even the usually mischievous Nekomata managed to sit still for once, helping Nicole mark key points and jot down important notes.
Over on the Public Security side, the atmosphere felt almost geriatric. Zhu Yuan carefully poured Qingyi a cup of tea. Qingyi took a sip, skimmed through a document in a single glance, then immediately switched into "health preservation mode," clearly waiting for someone else to step up and steer the meeting.
Time ticked by. Those who wanted to read had already finished. Those who didn't want to read hadn't touched a single word.
Yanagi quietly judged the timing. When it felt about right, she lifted her hand and lightly tapped the tabletop.
The crisp sound instantly drew everyone's attention. One by one, heads lifted.
Yanagi cleared her throat, swept her gaze across the room, and spoke in a gentle but composed tone.
"I've looked over the composition of each group. It seems that, aside from our own Section 6, none of you have all your members present."
At her words, everyone glanced around—and sure enough, she was right.
Victoria Housekeeping had only sent Phaga and Ellen.
Public Security had only Zhu Yuan and Qingyi.
Cunning Hares had only Nicole and Nekomata.
Belobog and the Sons of Calydon had each sent their nominal leader, plus one randomly selected "lucky" subordinate.
"My apologies," Zhu Yuan said with a faintly apologetic expression, standing up and bowing to everyone.
"As you all know, the situation in the Outer Ring is complicated right now. The more people there are, the more conflicts arise. To maintain order, all officers are currently on duty. The Public Security Bureau could only spare me and my senior—that's already our limit."
Yanagi was startled and immediately stood up, about to smooth things over.
"Ah! It's fine! Lucy said the same thing!"
Before Yanagi could speak, Caesar—sitting opposite the Public Security representatives as the nominal leader of the Sons of Calydon—suddenly burst out laughing. Se picked up a glass of plain water and drank it like alcohol.
"Our Lucy's practically worked herself crazy. She even dragged Piper and Lighter in as extra hands. Then she patted me and Burnice on the shoulders and said, all serious-like, 'Mm, Caesar, don't meddle in Outer Ring affairs. Go have fun in the city.' Hah! She really believes in me!"
Uh…
Phaga's mouth twitched. He quickly raised a hand to cover his face, afraid he might actually laugh out loud.
The Public Security Bureau probably pushed themselves to the limit just to free up two people.
And you two… weren't you basically sidelined by Lucy?
Phaga shook his head, took a quiet breath, and composed himself. With a faint smile, he said softly, "Our Corin is also staying behind to help the Sons of Calydon."
"As for Mr. Lycaon and Miss Rina, they've gone to assist Mr. Khors with his work."
"Same on our end."
Koleda looked sullen, planting one foot on her chair as she ground her teeth.
"That damned old man! He wasn't even dead, and he hid it from me for all these years!"
"Hmph! Since he still had work to do, I only beat him for thirty minutes this time, then had Ben and Grace take care of him. Let's see if he dares hide things from me again!"
Only… thirty minutes…
Everyone's lips twitched. They exchanged awkward glances, wiping sweat from their brows, thinking the same thing: what a model of 'filial piety.'
Of course, not everyone reacted that way.
At the very least, Nicole didn't think Koleda had done anything wrong.
She just looked surprised. "Huh? So that old guy I ran into on the street yesterday—the one reeking of alcohol and wrapped in bandages—was your father, Koleda?"
Koleda turned her head and glanced at Nicole. "What about him?"
"Oh, I just thought he looked suspicious. We were all out together when he suddenly grabbed Billy and said he needed Billy to cooperate with his research." Nicole waved her hand, briefly explaining.
Phaga felt something was off and immediately asked, "And then?"
"Well…"
Nicole tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling as she tapped her chin in thought. "He tried to drag Billy away. I grabbed Billy and wouldn't let go. He pulled, I pulled, and we ended up stuck like that."
"But then, all of a sudden, a white-haired wolf Thiren dropped down from the sky carrying six briefcases."
"He opened them, and the light inside was so dazzling. I don't know why, but I just froze!"
"When I came to, there were six briefcases full of dennies at my feet. But Anby and Billy were both gone!"
Nicole clasped her hands together, eyes wide. "Isn't that amazing? I can't remember what happened at all!"
"Uh…"
Under everyone's gaze, Nekomata scratched her head.
Even her normally dark-toned face flushed a little red. She twirled two fingers in front of her chest and muttered softly, "It was obviously you, Nicole. You got dazzled by the dennies and pushed Billy toward the old man yourself. Anby said she felt uneasy, so she followed along…"
Oh. So that's how it was.
The onlookers were instantly stunned. Even Soukaku—arguably the least mature among them—gaped in disbelief.
She didn't even notice the grilled tumbleweed slipping from the corner of her mouth as she murmured, "Do we really mean that little to her…?"
The moment she said it, the entire group burst out laughing.
Nekomata's face turned even redder. She shrank into the corner of the table, desperately wishing everyone would stop looking at her.
Only Nicole kept puffing herself up, slamming the table stubbornly. "Who says that?! Those six briefcases were heavy, okay?!"
Pfft—
Anton finally failed to hold it in and burst out laughing.
The very next second, Koleda shot him a glare.
Anton immediately shut up, straightened his back, and sat properly—full of masculine dignity.
"Wait."
Phaga frowned. Something about this still didn't sit right. His gaze shifted between Koleda and Nicole as he asked, "So according to the two of you… Billy and Grace are currently under the same roof?"
Nicole and Koleda exchanged puzzled looks, then turned back to him. "Is there a problem?"
"No… no problem."
Phaga's lips curved slightly, but he didn't say anything more.
...
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Outer Ring.
"Haha, don't run, my little robot! Relax—I actually like you. After I tear you down, I'll put you back together properly!"
The moment Grace laid eyes on Billy, her pupils practically bloomed into hearts. Drool slid uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth.
She suddenly produced a screwdriver from who-knew-where and locked onto Billy, chasing him relentlessly.
Billy spun around and bolted, shouting in panic, "Hey, who are you?! I don't think I know you!"
"It's fine, it's fine. We'll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Come on, my little robot—hey! Ben, put me down!"
Billy ran, Grace chased—but halfway through, she suddenly felt someone grab the back of her collar. Ben hoisted her into the air, and no matter how hard she kicked, she couldn't move an inch.
"Grace, calm down. We're here to work. We still have serious business."
"This big bear is right."
Anby walked over, holding Billy by the hand. She nodded blankly, her voice flat and emotionless. "We still have serious business to handle. Even if you want to dismantle Billy, you'll have to wait until after we're done."
"Anby, is that really okay?" Billy exclaimed, eyes wide.
"There's nothing wrong with it. Companionship is important. Making concessions once in a while is acceptable," Anby replied.
Billy's eyes widened even further, his voice shooting up. "I'm the one who has to make the concession?!"
Anby shook her head, ignoring his protest. She turned to look toward a nearby staircase, where three figures were slowly descending from the shadows.
Lycaon and Rina guarded the left and right, while a white, mummy-like figure completely wrapped in bandages was held between them, descending step by step.
Anby raised an eyebrow and said coolly, "You said you could push Billy's performance to its absolute limit."
"That's right!"
The white mummy cracked his eyes open slightly. Though his voice was weak, it carried an intense, almost feverish excitement.
"Only by perfecting the supreme masterpiece forged from Lost Technology can we gain another advantage in our struggle against the vampire clans!"