It was clear that the children in this welfare home were all survivors of Hollow-related disasters.
Billy was silent for a moment, then asked seriously, "Hey, little one, do you know where Nicole is?"
At the mention of Nicole, the smile on the boy's face vanished, replaced by sadness and disappointment.
"Sister Nicole is in the ward…"
Billy was taken aback. "Nicole's sick?"
The boy shook his head. "Not Sister Nicole. It's… it's…"
He stammered for a while but couldn't get the words out. Then he started to cry softly.
Nearby, a little girl spoke up and told them the truth.
It wasn't Nicole who was sick, but another child in the welfare home—one suffering from severe Ether corrosion. It was a condition so serious that it was essentially untreatable.
Upon hearing this, Billy sighed. "Where's the ward? Can you take us there?"
He had always been afraid of running into Nicole.
But now he finally understood the burden she had been carrying all this time—and he wanted to share it with her.
He turned to look at Sam Li, Anby, and Nekomata.
"What about you guys? Coming?"
Sam Li replied calmly, "Of course."
Nekomata nodded seriously. "What's there to be afraid of? Let's go."
Anby said firmly, "Nicole shouldn't have to face this alone. We need to help carry the weight."
With that, Anby took the lead.
...
A few minutes later, led by the little boy, Sam Li, Billy, Anby, and Nekomata arrived outside the so-called "ward."
Though it was called a ward, it was actually the most beautifully decorated room in the entire welfare home—specially prepared for children with serious illnesses.
As they reached the doorway, they heard Nicole's voice from inside.
"Sister Nicole, will I really get better?"
"Of course you will. I've already asked someone to get the latest Ether corrosion cure from downtown. Once it arrives in a couple of days, you'll be all better..."
"Mm, I believe you, Sister Nicole! Then we can go play together!"
"Oh, and you like hamburgers, right? Anby asked me to bring you one this time..."
"Thank you, Sister Nicole! Thank you, Sister Anby..."
...
Nicole took the hamburger she'd bought along the way from her bag and handed it to the Ether-corroded little boy.
Then she quietly walked out of the room.
But the moment she opened the door, she was startled to see Sam Li, Billy, Anby, and Nekomata standing there.
"You… what are you all doing here?"
"Um, Nicole, we definitely didn't follow you. We were just passing by—yeah, just passing by! We didn't hear anything..."
"Billy, do you really think I'd believe that?"
"Nicole, we came because we were worried about you. We didn't want you to carry everything alone."
Nekomata looked seriously at Nicole, who was still visibly upset, and spoke from the heart.
Hearing that, Nicole let out a long sigh. She wasn't angry—just tired.
She stepped out and quietly closed the door behind her, then sat down on an old chair outside.
For a long time, she didn't say a word.
She wasn't upset because they had followed her.
What crushed her was the little boy's condition—he couldn't be saved.
"I can't help him… I can only watch as he leaves this world. Tomorrow, the day after, maybe the day after that… when I come back here, I don't want to hear news of his death…"
But she had no choice.
She now had plenty of Dennies—enough to buy the best medicine for Ether corrosion.
But when the boy first arrived, the Ether corrosion had already taken hold severely.
From the start, his fate had been sealed.
Even knowing that, Nicole still told him a gentle lie—that she had found a miracle cure.
Seeing her muttering to herself, Billy quickly said, "We could ask the video store manager! They can dig up any info—maybe they know of a treatment..."
Nicole shook her head. "I already asked. They don't know either."
Billy fell silent. There was nothing more he could do.
He simply stood quietly beside Nicole, keeping her company and helping bear her burden.
...
Anby and Nekomata exchanged glances. They were just as helpless.
They knew this visit would reveal some of Nicole's hidden struggles—but they hadn't expected this.
Watching a child slowly die, powerless to stop it—it was heartbreaking.
Both Anby and Nekomata felt the weight of it.
Nekomata said softly, "Nicole… don't give up. We'll find a way."
Nicole shook her head. "There is no way…"
Her hopelessness didn't come just from a lack of solutions—it came from how many times she had seen this happen.
When she was very young, newly taken in by the welfare home, she had already seen playmates pass away.
As she grew older, her friends left one after another.
To keep the place running, Nicole pushed herself to earn Dennies, built the all-purpose agency Hare's House, and took on countless dangerous jobs...
Seeing this, Nekomata and Anby had no words.
They simply sat beside her on the old chairs, quietly keeping her company.
...
While the others were lost in grief, no one noticed that Sam Li hadn't stayed with them.
Instead, he had quietly entered the special ward.
Inside, a young boy lay in bed, holding the hamburger Nicole had given him.
The wall above the headboard was covered with photos—mostly of the children playing together, but among them was a group photo of everyone at Hare's House.
When Sam Li walked in, the boy immediately recognized him.
"Are you Brother Sam Li? Did you come with Sister Nicole?"
Sam Li gave a quiet nod. "I did."
The boy smiled brightly. "You're just as cool as in the photo. Sister Nicole says you're amazing—that you can take down a Hollow all by yourself…"
Though his face was pale and his condition clearly severe, the boy was cheerful and full of life.
It was their first time meeting, but he chatted happily with Sam Li, telling stories about Hare's House—like how Sam Li once soloed a massive Great Dragon Bangboo, or how the whole team fought together to take down high-level Ethereals.
"Sister Nicole said she found a special medicine… but I know she only said that to keep me from feeling sad. There's no special medicine, is there..."