"How rare, how rare. Lately, New Eridu hasn't exactly looked peaceful, yet Belobog Heavy Industries seems to have nothing to do."
"I was starting to think we were no longer needed. Finally remembered us, huh?"
Koleda sat atop an orange steel beam, hands braced at her sides. She smiled down at Belle, who was chatting with Ben, her tone laced with teasing amusement.
They'd been keeping up with the news. Quite some time had passed since the last Broken Bridge incident, and the Proxy pulling off something big without calling them in? Unthinkable.
Besides, Koleda still wanted answers.
Though she had already come to terms with her father's death, she still longed to uncover the truth behind what happened back then.
"This time, the operation's on a larger scale. If we want to move efficiently, I'm afraid we'll have to trouble you again..."
Belle gave a slightly embarrassed smile. After all, this was a request for help—and one involving a major affair at that.
In fact, aside from Belobog Heavy Industries, she had reached out to nearly everyone capable: the Section 6, Victoria Housekeeping, the Cunning Hares, Qingyi, Zhu Yuan, and the Defense Force girls.
Not only that—after visiting the Outpost and Shin to gather detailed intel, even the Falkenhayn had dispatched several people to assist.
They wanted to make absolutely sure nothing went wrong.
"Pretty sincere of you. And this little one's being so well-behaved today..."
Beside them, Grace crouched down with a grin, pinching Panta's cheek. Her eyes shimmered with curiosity and a hint of mischief.
"Don't be scared. Big sister's not going to take you apart. We're just going to have some fun together..."
Her tone was soft, almost gentle, as she rubbed Panta's head.
But looking at this seemingly "friendly" big sister in front of him, Panta felt an irresistible urge to back away.
Belle had told him: the Boss was in trouble. If he wanted to help, he had to be ready to sacrifice himself.
Alright then! For the Boss! Do whatever you want!
Just as Panta was sinking into despair, Koleda lightly jumped down from the beam and landed in front of Belle.
"Let's go. This isn't the place for detailed discussions. Since we're doing something big, we'd better treat it seriously."
She waved her hand, signaling the group to leave the construction site.
"Anton!"
Ben waved toward Anton, who was still working enthusiastically with his coworkers nearby, gesturing for him to join them.
Anton didn't know what they were up to, but after exchanging a few quick words with his crew, he jogged over.
"What's up, Ben? What's going on...?"
He noticed Belle but didn't think much of it—they were already friends, and the occasional visit wasn't unusual.
"We've got something to do."
Ben said simply. Anton's eyes lit up as he caught on.
"Ah, time to do what real men do?"
He glanced back at Friday, who was hammering away while shouting things about "passion" and "bonds."
He wasn't sure if the guy would be useful this time.
After the last job, when Anton told him what had happened, Friday had been jealous for days.
"So, how long do you think this project's gonna take?"
Anton looked at Ben and shrugged. He'd promised Friday that next time there was a "save the world" kind of job, he'd try to bring him along.
"According to the client's design specs, it'll take quite a while. They've got money to burn, and the president said we have to make sure they're satisfied."