Wise couldn't figure out why his sister was suddenly in such a hurry to get back to her room. Could it be because of... that? He supposed it was possible.
Just as he was thinking this, he noticed the section on the system panel displaying Belle's inner thoughts.
[Belle's Inner Thoughts:]What's going on? Why does Wise suddenly look so much more handsome? It's like he's become more charming... good-looking, tall, responsible, and good-tempered. A brother this perfect, I really want to... No, no, why am I having these wild thoughts again? I should go charge Eous first.
(Don't worry about the terms of address; it's a situation that can't be helped.)
Belle kept telling herself to stop thinking about it, but it was clearly no use. Once the image of Wise appeared in her mind, the young girl found it hard to calm her heart. She hadn't felt this stunned when looking at her brother before, so why was the change so drastic today?
Was it that she had never paid close attention before? Or was it like the old saying, that a boy's transformation into a man can happen in an instant?
While Belle was lost in her wild thoughts, Wise's own mind was in turmoil.
Are... are these really Belle's thoughts?
Wise was skeptical, but considering her behavior just now, it seemed plausible. Although he didn't know what the ellipsis in her thoughts stood for, it was clearly not something innocent.
No, no, I need to calm down too. Belle is growing up, after all. It's normal for her to have some strange thoughts. Besides, this doesn't prove anything, right? At most, it just means the increase in my charm stat had a bigger impact on her.
Wise managed to convince himself with this line of reasoning. Then, he noticed a new system notification.
[Ding! Detected emotional fluctuation from target: Belle, towards the host. Reward has been sent.]
The system's mechanical voice was cold, but the reward was piping hot.
Wise decided not to overthink it and focused his attention on the reward.
Talent Ability: Bullet Time (B)
Description: For a short period, increases the host's consciousness speed and reaction time by five times (the exact duration depends on the host's own ability).
Hmm, okay, that's a pretty good ability. But are talent abilities this easy to get? Could it be because Belle's favorability towards me is so high?
With this in mind, Wise left his room and went to Belle's room next door, knocking gently. He wanted to check on his sister. After he knocked, a sudden clatter came from inside, and a moment later, the door opened.
Belle's cheeks were slightly flushed. When she saw it was Wise, she deliberately averted her gaze, her two pale, slender legs pressed tightly together. "Oh, it's you, Wise. Did you need something?"
Belle looked a little uncomfortable. Wise, not thinking anything of it, just assumed his sister was acting strangely because of her period.
"It's nothing, I just came to see how you were doing. Are you feeling okay? No discomfort? You should get more rest during this time. And no sneaking ice cream."
Hearing Wise's admonition, Belle felt a bit shy and pouted. "I know, you're such a nag, Wise. I'm not a kid anymore, why would I do something like that?"
"Mm, that's good. You go downstairs and watch TV. I'll get dinner ready."
As he spoke, Wise reached out and ruffled Belle's hair. Then, before she could react, he headed downstairs first. It was a rather mischievous move, and Belle certainly noticed.
"Wise! You messed up my hair!"
But the only response she got was the sound of Wise quickly descending the stairs. Seeing this, Belle could only straighten her hair with her hands and follow him down.
It's been a long time since he patted my head like that... It... it actually feels pretty nice.
Wise didn't intentionally look at the panel, so he had no idea what his sister was thinking. The inner thoughts on the system display were a live feed with no playback function, so if you missed it, it was gone.
After getting downstairs, Wise decided to go straight out. Why leave the house to prepare dinner? Because the video store didn't have a kitchen, of course.
The ramen shop was right next door anyway, so even without a kitchen, they never had to worry about meals. And if he ever got a sudden urge to try cooking, he could always borrow the kitchen next door. Given their status as regular customers and neighbors, Chop would definitely agree to lend out his kitchen occasionally.
"Chop, two bowls of ramen to go, you know the style," Wise said as he entered Waterfall Soup, finding a random seat. Hearing his voice, Chop greeted him enthusiastically.
"Oh? It's you, Wise! Two bowls of ramen, is it? You got it! Coming right up, just a moment."
Wise then watched as Chop, with his two mechanical arms, completed the preparation of two bowls of ramen in a series of movements that could only be described as dazzling.
As he handed the ramen to Wise, Chop gestured for him to lean in closer and then whispered, "I just heard from a few customers that a Hollow seems to have appeared over on 14th Division Street. I don't know if it's true, but I thought I'd give you a heads-up."
Hearing this, Wise froze for a moment. A Hollow on 14th Division Street? Why does that sound so familiar?
That's right, I remember Nicole mentioning yesterday that she had something to do today. Could it be... the main story is starting?
As Wise pondered this, Chop spoke again. "I don't know if it's true, mind you. There hasn't been any official announcement yet. This is just a rumor I heard."
"Oh, it's fine. Thanks for letting me know, Chop. I'll be heading back now."
"Alright, take care. Come back anytime!"
After leaving Waterfall Soup and returning to his video store, Wise walked directly into the first-floor living room.
The first thing he saw was his sister lying on the sofa with her shoes off, her feet swinging idly. She held the remote in her hand, flipping through channels on the TV.
Noticing Wise had returned, Belle immediately sat up. "You're back with the ramen, great!"
After speaking, she casually slipped her pale, slender feet into her shoes and walked towards Wise. But walking with shoes half-on like that is very dangerous. Sure enough, after just a few steps, she tripped, and the loosely worn shoe on her foot went flying.
"Ah!"
"Watch out!"
Wise had just set the ramen down. Seeing this, a look of alarm and worry appeared on his face, and he quickly rushed forward to catch Belle.
Belle fell naturally into Wise's arms. He caught her, one hand gripping her wrist and the other supporting her waist.