Chapter 84 79 - The Incoming Storm

Later

"Sorry about everything..."

Yanagi can be seen standing in front of the door, looking awkward while Caelus scratches his left cheek, and Phil looks embarrassed as the previous incident is carved into his brain.

"I-it's fine..." Phil mutters as Yanagi nods before she looks at Caelus, who seems confused by the stare.

"...I'm sorry for...complaining about the book," Yanagi mutters awkwardly, and Caelus simply waves it off.

"It's fine. I honestly wasn't expecting my current work mentor to read our story," Caelus admits.

"To be fair, I found the book dropped by someone who partook in the riot against the...Cunning Hares," This causes both boys to sweatdrop. "That reminds me, did you know that the Cunning Hares have been selling your copies?"

"...I do," Caelus admits.

"Then, clearly you could charge them with lawsuits," Yanagi suggests, causing Caelus to sweatdrop even more.

"...Yanagi-san," Caelus says, ignoring the surprised look from Yanagi, as she wasn't expecting honorifics from Caelus. "I asked them to sell the books."

"... Oh no, you just got scammed," Yanagi mutters in horror.

"Can it considered scam when I suggest them to take 70% of the total profit?" Caelus asks blankly, causing Yanagi to look at him in disbelief.

"W-why did you do that!?! Did you know their reputation?!" Yanagi asks in disbelief. Did she just find out her new junior is someone who loves to throw away their common sense like they're garbage?

"...Yanagi-san, I know it's hard to believe, but I owe them a favor for risking their lives to fight against the Dead-End Butcher," Caelus says, causing Yanagi to look at him in surprise.

"...did they-!?" Before Yanagi could say anything, Caelus cuts her off.

"Before you start accusing them of anything, no. They didn't help me out of profit. Hell, they didn't even consider asking for it when I decided to charge straight at the monster and simply follow me," Caelus says, half-frustrated, half-exasperated. "I return them in kind by suggesting they sell our book while taking most of the profits as a thank you. I didn't need that much money after getting a lot by accepting an official commission from the Defense Force."

"..." Yanagi looks at him with an uncertain expression. On one hand, Caelus admitted he's affiliated with the Cunning Hares, but at the same time, their affiliation was merely business partners. And she couldn't do anything about it since the Cunning Hares didn't drag Caelus into illegal stuff.

"There were hundreds of civilians stuck in a Hollow; most of them couldn't go through the Hollow due to low Aptitude," Caelus explained, getting Yanagi's attention. "The PubSecs confirmed the only way to get them out is to shrink the Hollow by beating the Butcher. The Hares could've just stayed with the PubSecs and civilians when I went to fight the Butcher, but they chose to go with me instead. Sure, they may be criminals by the law's standards, but to me, they're friends..."

"...this is the first time I've ever heard of this situation, and I have no idea how to react," Yanagi sighs, rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Sorry," Caelus says sheepishly, earning a deadpan stare from Yanagi.

"I would like to scold you for...everything! But with how you talk about your 'friends', I doubt you'll listen," Yanagi says dryly. "...I'm not going to pretend to be your parents and prevent you from making friends with anyone, but I advise you to be careful of your friends. Knowing Hollow Raiders, they tend to stab you in the back when you're no longer profitable."

"...I'll keep that in mind," Caelus says, trying his best not to feel annoyed at Yanagi. She may be a good person, but her bias towards criminals was a bit much. Sure, Caelus could understand why she distrusted him, but he still couldn't help being annoyed. Yanagi nods at him before leaving.

"...oh gods, I thought I was going to die..." Phil lets out a sigh of relief and collapses to the ground.

"You're not the one she's targeting," Caelus sweatdrops. "Also, I wish she would stop calling out Cunning Hares' flaws and tell me to be careful; it feels...wrong."

"To be fair, the Cunning Hares didn't have a good rep before we both met them and judged them ourselves," Phil responds.

"Fair..." Caelus grumbles before he looks at Phil. "...I admit, I was expecting you to be more defensive."

"Huh?" Phil asks in confusion.

"I mean, I did try to talk back to our work mentor, who happens to be your idol," Caelus says, causing Phil to realize what he meant.

"I may idolize her, but not to the point of worshipping her," Phil explains. "I know humans have flaws, no matter how nice they are. You're the shining example of that."

"...ouch," Caelus deadpans.

"Yanagi is easily the best amongst the Section 6 squad, but...I didn't look at things through rose-tinted glasses. Those have been shattered by my 'parents' since I was a kid..." Phil mutters as Caelus looks at him sadly before gently patting his head.

"Sorry," Caelus says as Phil glances at him.

"Don't be..." Phil says before he gently pushes Caelus' hand away. "I...never got to say this, but thanks...for everything."

"Happy to help," Caelus says with a grin.

"...great, now I feel guilty for never doing anything to return the favor," Phil says blankly.

"Nah, being my friend is enough," Caelus says dismissively, earning a snort from Phil.

"Has anyone ever told you how cheesy you are?" Phil asks in amusement.

"Being cheesy is simply part of my charm," Caelus brags in a smug tone, causing Phil to snort before he chuckles.

"Never change, Caelus. Never change..."

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Meanwhile

Defense Force HQ

A woman with short green hair can be seen looking at the reports while Trigger is standing in front of her. Neither of them says a word as the woman grabs one of the files and takes a look.

"Is this all you could gather from the target?" The woman asks curiously. "He hasn't opened up or even slipped up about the origin of his weird strength?"

"Unfortunately, no. The target is still distrustful towards everyone. The trauma from his time in the Outer Ring did too much damage, and I fear gaining his trust requires more time," Trigger says, earning a sigh from the woman.

"I never understand why the higher-ups are obsessed with this young man. They should be lucky he isn't a full-time criminal, or worse, a member of the rebel army," The woman sighs.

"What can we do? The higher-ups are a bunch of paranoid old men," Trigger says jokingly as the woman gives her a flat stare.

"Please refrain from talking behind the higher-ups' backs," The woman deadpans. "Especially not here."

"That means I can talk behind their backs outside the HQ, right?" Trigger asks with a smug grin, earning a sweat drop from the woman.

"When did you get so cheeky?" The woman mutters before shaking her head. "Never mind, just keep an eye on him for his sake."

"Alright, Colonel," Trigger says. "So, how are Orphie and Magus? Does Orphie feel lonely now that Seed and I are on duty?"

"You could say that," The woman says with a small smile. "Ever since you guys left, Magus decided that it'll be a good idea for her to increase her training to make up for Obol Squad's lack of manpower."

"Please tell me Magus didn't go overboard..." Trigger lets out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't worry, I made sure to keep an eye on them." The woman waves it off, earning a sigh of relief from Trigger.

"Alright, that's good to know," Trigger nods. "Then, I shall take my leave, Isolde..."

"Be safe." The woman, Isolde, nods before Trigger leaves the room. As she left, a scowl formed on the woman's lips as she looked at the file on the table.

"An unknown variable has appeared on the battlefield, and he has caused more trouble than we could have expected," Isolde mutters before she receives a call. Upon looking at the caller's number, she sighs before answering the phone.

"Status report?" Isolde asks.

"As you requested, I've been focusing on Bringer's full recovery," a familiar feminine voice can be heard from the phone. "I must say, this is far more concerning than I expected."

"How so?" Isolde asks in confusion.

"As you remember, Bringer's previous physical test result shows that the man has what it takes to be a Sacrifice, with high compatibility with the serum." The voice answers. "But the suicide bomb created by the Legwork Family has caused quite a lot of damage, leading Bringer to have a very low compatibility with the serum as a result."

"How does a suicide bombing by our former members cause such damage?" Isolde asks, half-annoyed, half-incredulous.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out myself. I assumed that whatever explosive they used contained a weird radiation that reacts negatively with Ether Energy, causing a...destructive chain reaction." Isolde lets out a frustrated groan before she rubs her temple.

"Try your best to fully heal Bringer. We still need him for our plan," Isolde commands. "And don't forget to deal with Perlman. With how much he knows about you, we need him gone."

"I suppose I'm going to work overtime again. Oh well." With that, the person hangs up the call as Isolde leans into the chair, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"I hope there are no more setbacks after this," Isolde mutters before she looks at a picture of her with her squad member, all of them smiling at the camera. "...I'll make sure those bastards pay for their crimes..."

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With Caelus and Friends

"Gah, how in the hell did you guys end up having a tutor session with Yanagi of all people?"

Nicole can be seen lying on the table, playing with a bag of Dennies while Anby sits next to her, eating her burger. Billy can be seen pouring new gun oil on his guns, happily humming a song.

Alice can be seen crying in the corner while continuing to read her book, while Phil stands behind her, gently patting her head to comfort her. Meanwhile, Caelus is eating his food while Seed is munching on her flowers.

"She volunteered to join, and based on what Miyabi said and our earlier interaction, it's mostly about the book," Caelus sweatdrops.

"Can you write another story?" Anby asks curiously. "I mean, it'll help calm down your readers to prevent any future accidents."

"...what do you mean by 'accident', Anby?" Caelus asks while narrowing his eyes.

"And can you not give ideas that'll lead to future flops!?! We're getting so much money from selling this masterpiece; we can't ruin it with a future 'sub-par' story!" Nicole exclaims, causing Caelus to pop several blood vessels.

"At least I can get you guys money; if not for my idea, you guys would still stay in your previous sorry excuse of a house with pockets emptier than a desert, debts piling up like a mountain, constantly being chased by loan sharks and authorities to the end of the world, and so many terrible fates that can't be said even in mature-content media!" Caelus says in annoyance, and each scenario feels like a giant sledgehammer slamming into the Cunning Hares' head.

"...I'm sorry, boss. Please forgive me," Nicole says sweetly, shamelessly kneeling in front of Caelus while Anby slaps her forehead with a blank expression.

"Hehehe," Seed giggles before she takes another bite of her flower.

"...you need to eat something else, Seed," Caelus says, concerned.

"But it's good," Seed argues.

"I didn't say you to stop; I told you to eat something to balance out your diet," Caelus says exasperatedly.

"I do eat something else," Seed says, then pulls an apple out of nowhere and eats it.

"..." Choosing to not argue any further, Caelus glances at the giant mech behind her, Seed Sr. Caelus knows what happened to him and honestly, he can't help but feel pity for Seed. Seed is a young child, and losing a parental figure that early is not something a child should experience.

Before he could let his thoughts run wild, he noticed small memory fragments floating around Seed. Sr. Caelus widened his eyes for a moment before he activated his Eyes of Nous.

"Seed...this intelligent construct used to be very active, right?" Caelus asked, catching Seed's attention.

"Yeah, Seed Sr. used to take care of me when I was a kid. But one day, he just suddenly fell into a deep sleep," Seed said, causing everyone to look at her in shock before their expressions turned into pity. "He still messages me every time in Knock-Knock, every time I was asleep, though. Why do you ask?"

"What if I told you I know a way to wake him up?" Upon hearing this, Seed froze as she dropped her flower, looking at Caelus in surprise.

"W-what?" Seed muttered before shaking her head.

"H-how-!?" Seed paused before noticing Caelus' glowing eyes, causing Seed to widen her eyes in realization. "The Eyes of Nous...!"

"Yup. So what do you say? Wanna wake up your old man?" Caelus asks, as Seed looks at him before giving him a shaky smile, trying her best not to tear up.

"Y-yes!"

To be Continued