Chapter 96: Discussion Between Factions

Later

“Caelus!? Phil!? What are you doing here!?” Wise asks in surprise as they all watch Caelus and Phil walking towards them, along with Trigger and Seed Sr.

“Just helping this old man stretch his legs and making sure his logic core is top-notch,” Caelus says as he points at Seed Sr., who’s walking beside Flora as he waves at everyone.

“Ah, Harin, Orphie, Captain Magus, it’s been a while,” The intelligent construct greets, shocking the soldiers.

“Seed Sr….is that really you?” Orphie asks in shock as she covers her mouth.

“How is that possible?” Magus mutters in disbelief before she looks at Caelus. “Child, what did you do?”

“Fixing his corrupted logic core,” Caelus says casually.

“Do you take me for a fool? Such a feat is impossible!” Magus asks in anger.

“Captain Magus, he’s telling the truth!” Flora exclaims as she shields Caelus from her captain. “He saved Dad! It’s really Seed Sr!”

“Seed, you-!” Magus stops herself as she tries to process what Flora said. “… Dad?”

“…t-that’s what I should call a man who took care of me for a long time…Caelus told me that…” Flora says nervously.

“I…uh…” Magus looks very unsure how to react.

“Aww, that’s adorable,” Qingyi comments, earning a light tap from Zhu Yuan.

“Don’t ruin the moment…” Zhu Yuan mutters.

“This is…not what I expected…” Lycaon says awkwardly as Corin approaches the group while carrying Ellen, before she notices Caelus and brightens up.

“Mr. Caelus!” Corin exclaims and rushes towards him, letting go of Ellen, who thankfully was caught by Rina. Caelus looks at Corin and greets her with a smile.

“Hey, kid. You really made us worry, leaving us after beating the Dead End Butcher together, huh?” Caelus says as the Defense Force looks at Corin in disbelief. She joined the hero of Canvas Street fighting the Butcher!?! That little girl?!

“Mhm! Thank you for saving me back then! Sorry I never got to say goodbye before…” Corin says apologetically as Caelus ruffles her hair, not noticing Seed pouting at the scene before grabbing Seed Sr.’s hand and placing it on her head, confusing the intelligent Construct.

“Well, glad that you’re okay. I hope you didn’t wander off the Hollow alone again, or even encounter some unpleasant customers?” Caelus asks as Corin merely nods. “Here are some suggestions against a perverted bastard: use that buzzsaw to chop off their genitals-!”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Trigger exclaims as she covers his mouth, chuckling nervously as Caelus gives her a dry stare. “Don’t give me that look, Caelus. You know what you did.”

“Apologies, Mr. Caelus, was it?” Lycaon approaches him.

“Uh, yeah,” Caelus says as he gets Trigger’s hand off his mouth.

“I would like to thank you for helping Corrin from the Butcher,” Lycaon says as he bows for a moment. “You…didn’t have to go that far protecting her, but you did. I thank you…”

“I-it was nothing, I just did what I had to do…” Caelus says before looking at Corin. “Besides…kids shouldn’t be working in a dangerous environment like the Hollow.”

“Yes…” Lycaon solemnly agrees. “But unfortunately, Corin insisted on being part of the Victoria Housekeeping. The only way to protect her is to train her to face such dangers.”

“That’s fair…” Caelus nods in agreement.

“Also…” Lycaon says before he places his claws on Caelus’ shoulder. “I would appreciate it if you never call her crazy again. Do you understand?”

“…yes sir…” Caelus says nervously as he feels cold mist coming out of his mouth before Lycaon lets him go. Caelus glances at his left shoulder, which is covered in frost due to Lycaon, and simply summons a flicker of flame to melt it away, surprising everyone.

“Manager’s Twin!” Without any warning, Billy crashes into Caelus, hugging him with all his might. “Wah, thank you for upgrading our weapons! Dealing with our foes has never been as easy as Starlight Knights beating monsters of the week!”

“Y-yeah, yeah, get off of me, Billy,” Caelus groans before picking Billy up and gently putting him beside him.

“Do you offer body modification or upgrade services, Manager’s Twin?” Billy asks hopefully.

“Would you stop calling me that?” Caelus groans.

“Sure, Monarch of Myriad Machine!” Billy exclaims.

“That’s even worse!” Some of them can’t help but chuckle at their interactions. Caelus lets out a sigh before looking at everyone.

“I never got to ask, but you guys are okay, right? I mean, the emergency landing and the large number of ambulances seem concerning?” Caelus asks as the PubSec and Defense Force look at each other.

“…let’s discuss this in a more private area.”

——————————————————————————————————————

Later

Meilian’s Apartment

“…of all the places we expected, this is not one of them,” Soldier 11 admits as she eats the food and tries not to stare at Anby.

“To be fair, this place is kinda perfect. No one would try to consider gathering information in a room full of elderly,” Caelus says while eating his own food. “To them, they’re so old that all of their 5 senses barely function.”

“Oi, don’t be rude to the elderly,” Qingyi comments as she sips her oil alongside Billy and Seed Sr.

“I was just saying what I believed our enemies are thinking,” Caelus says, shrugging.

“True, a lot of people in the underworld never bother to look for any elderly people for their necessities, either information or supplies,” Nicole agrees, letting out a burp as she leans on the couch with a happy sigh.

“Except if the elderly are built like Pompey!” Billy exclaims as he tries wiping off the oil on his faceplate.

“…anyways,” Trigger wipes the stain on her mouth before deciding to start the conversation. “When will you tell us you have a mole inside the Exaltist?”

The moment Trigger starts the question, the entire room’s temperature drops as they all look at Caelus questioningly. Caelus looks at everyone before taking a breath, causing everyone to wait in anticipation.

“I didn’t.” Caelus casually replies, causing everyone to almost facefault.

“W-what do you mean by that!?” Zhu Yuan asks in disbelief.

“Well, the part that I said about having a mole, that was a lie,” Caelus explains with a shrug. “I mean, I’m not stupid enough to tell my source of information right in front of my still-conscious enemy.”

“T-then what did you do that for?” Orphie decides to ask, and everyone feels a shiver down their spine as Caelus makes the ugliest smile humanity has ever made.

“To plant a seed of doubt, causing those fuckers to move around like headless chickens while fumbling every plan they’re going to do! Imagine their mind filled with so much paranoia, believing any of their members could secretly be the heretics, doubting each other and eventually betraying one another!” Caelus says before he cackles. Phil stares at the man blankly, wondering if something is wrong with him for not even reacting to that ugly grin before he turns and flinches.

Nicole can’t help but join him in making such faces, while Trigger and Qingyi seem to show signs of it, as their lips twitch upward in such an ugly manner that Phil can’t help but recoil. Billy’s eyes make a pair of ‘n’ shapes, and somehow, it shows the ugliness of his expression!

By the gods, that shit is contagious!

Unknown to Caelus, the System had registered [Elation (Lvl 2)] into the list of the paths.

“That…is one interesting plan…” Lycaon clears his throat, trying his best not to be affected by the ‘sudden shift of atmosphere’.

“Well then…how did you get your information?” Rina decides to ask the hundred million Dennies question.

“…unfortunately, for the sake of their safety, I won’t tell you guys,” Caelus decides to lie as he can’t exactly reveal that all information is from a video game where you all are part of the main story, not wanting to cause another existential dread again. As expected, some don’t seem to agree with him.

“Why not?” Magus asks in anger.

“Because the moment I reveal their identity, they will be completely exposed to our enemies,” Caelus explains.

“Look, if this is about them not going to jail-!” Zhu Yuan tries to persuade, but Caelus shakes his head.

“It’s not that. I fear that the Exaltist might find out about them immediately; after all, they have infiltrated into the society, blending in with us,” Caelus says seriously.

“Are you saying there could be spies amongst us?” Soldier 11 asks in a harsh tone.

“Not us, but people in your organizations,” Caelus says seriously before Soldier 11 lifts him by the collar.

“You dare to accuse my fellow soldiers of being traitors!?!” Soldier 11 asks as she shakes in anger.

“Some have infiltrated the PubSecs, and some are higher-ups from TOPS,” Caelus says bluntly, causing everyone to widen their eyes in shock, except for a few. “If neither is safe from rat infestation, what makes you think the Defense Force is?”

Without another word, Soldier 11 slams her fist into Caelus’s right cheek, sending him to the floor. If not for the Preservation, Caelus would have a bruised cheek and back pain.

“…” Without another word, Soldier 11 simply left the cafeteria while Orphie and Magus followed suit (Not that Magus could do anything about it).

“…there are better ways to deliver the news, Caelus,” Trigger says disapprovingly.

“I doubt she loves sugarcoating things,” Caelus mutters before sitting back down.

“How did you even know about the traitor situation in PubSec?” Zhu Yuan asks in shock.

“He’s the one suggesting it in the first place after I told him how his baseball bat almost got stolen by one of the officers,” Qingyi explains.

“Ah…” Zhu Yuan mutters as Qingyi gives him a look. It didn’t take a guy with super intelligence to know that Qingyi knows the truth.

“…this is quite a lot of information we’ve got, thank you for that…” Lycaon says politely. “Does anyone else know about this?

“TOPS’ faction, Krampus. I know they’re currently dealing with the Exaltists. I found that out after rescuing my friend from the clutches of the Legwork family, and they gained information on the Exaltists’ whereabouts,” Caelus explains before ruffling Phil’s head, who pushes it away with his paws.

“…of course they do,” Lycaon mutters quietly before nodding. “Again, thank you for the information.”

“No problem.” Caelus waves it off as Lycaon nods before looking at Nicole.

“Well, I think we shall take our leave. Thank you for everything, Lady Meilian; it was a wonderful meal,” Lycaon says as he bows to the old lady.

“Ohoho, no problem.” Meilian chuckles. “I’m glad to see you like it, young man.”

“Of course,” Lycaon says before looking at Nicole. “Also, Miss Nicole, may I ask if you have a copy of ‘As I’ve Written’? Perhaps 100000 Dennies will suffice?”

“Oh, YES!” Nicole says with no hesitation, gives the book, and takes the money, cackling happily with a similarly ugly grin.

“…I’ll never get used to that smile, ever,” Nekomiya mutters while sweatdrops.

“To be fair, no one does…” Belle comments as Eous sits next to her. Belle has decided to take over since her brother has been using the H.D.D system non-stop to travel inside the Hollow, and let him rest for today. She makes sure to gather all of the information for him.

Sure, she could let Fairy do all that, but after the battle between pride they had earlier, how could she just admit defeat!?

“Still, to think that there’s so much conspiracy thanks to that crazy cult…” Belle mutters. “The TOPS faction, the Public Security, Defense Force, and a faction of butlers working under high-ranking society members are all involved in dealing with this issue…”

“This feels like the gang wars that used to happen back then…” Nekomiya comments.

“…let’s just hope we can face all of these issues…” Belle mutters nervously, her hands shaking slightly as she takes note of everything.

To be Continued