Watching this scene, Ellen and Belle didn't know what to say. After all, the reality before them was a bit too fantastical.
Just then, Belle suddenly noticed the little white fox nearby. It had jumped out earlier when it saw its master become emotional, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire. Now, noticing Belle's gaze, it proactively approached her. Belle, of course, was delighted and couldn't help but reach out to stroke it.
The soft fur felt very comfortable, but halfway through petting it, she felt a slippery, fine texture, almost like stroking the scales of a snake...
This thought surfaced in Belle's mind. She carefully observed the little white fox, which was still as cute as ever. Well, since its master is an Ethereal, the little white fox must be an Ethereal too. It's normal for it to be a little strange. Although she thought this, Belle still moved her hand away from the part that felt like scales.
But this movement caused the little white snake coiled under the fox's fur to poke its head out. Its pair of red, serpentine eyes met Belle's gaze.
"Gah! Ah!" The sudden appearance of the little snake gave Belle a huge fright.
The snake, however, showed a hint of confusion in its pupils. Usually, it was the one getting scared. To think that today it could turn the tables and scare someone else! It was immediately thrilled. Just as it was about to stick its body out to intimidate Belle further, it was snatched up by a strong, fair hand.
"It's a snake," Ellen stated calmly, looking at the little white snake in her hand. The snake looked back at her. It wasn't hard to guess that this little fellow was also an Ethereal. Otherwise, with the force she had accidentally used just now, no ordinary pet snake could have endured it. But this little one seemed completely used to it, not reacting at all.
The commotion from their side was not small and naturally attracted the attention of the two sisters, who were still crying.
"Mu Mu, you're being naughty again." Aurelia wiped the tears from her eyes. Her calm words made the little white snake in Ellen's hand stiffen for a moment. It flicked its forked tongue, looking extremely fearful and tense. Seeing this, Ellen placed the little snake on the ground. It immediately crawled back onto the white fox. Right now, it didn't dare to go anywhere near its master.
"Aurelia, and Odette, do you have any plans for what to do next?" Wise asked, looking at the two sisters with their red-rimmed eyes. He was already making plans in his mind. If the sisters were lost and had nowhere to go, he would take them in. After all, he was the one who saved them, so it was his responsibility. Besides, if he just let them be, it would be a huge problem if their true identities were discovered later.
(System: Actually, there's another special reason, but since Master didn't ask, I didn't say anything.)
Hearing Wise's words, the sisters looked at each other and, after a moment's hesitation, shook their heads. They hadn't really thought that far ahead. They had just regained their human forms and were in a state of confusion, so their only thought was to find the single flame of hope in their hearts. They hadn't considered anything else.
"Is that so? Then would you like to stay here? We just need to tidy up that room over there a bit." The room Wise was referring to was, of course, Belle's room. Since she was staying with him now, her room was empty.
"Can we really?!" Odette was the first to step forward and grab Wise's hand, her face full of joy and excitement, as if she and her sister had finally found a home. As for Aurelia, although she hadn't spoken, the faint expression on her face made it clear that she felt the same as her sister.
"Mhm. After all, this all started because of me. It's just that..." Wise looked over at Belle and Ellen. The latter looked indifferent. Since I've accepted this much, I might as well accept it completely. Although she was a bit angry that her good time had been interrupted, these two sisters were so pitiful and their intentions were good, so she'd just let Wise deal with her anger. (And how would he deal with it? Does that even need to be asked? If there's anger, you just have to release it. Like a balloon, if you want to let the air out, you need to poke it with a needle.)
As for Belle, it went without saying. With her kind heart, she wished for more girls to live at home to help her share the pressure. But her brother's other girls usually had their own lives and couldn't possibly live here permanently, so this actually suited her just fine.
Seeing that even Belle had agreed, the light in the sisters' eyes grew brighter. But just then, the former suddenly threw a bucket of 'cold water' on them.
"Although I don't mind them staying, have you thought about that problem, brother?"
Belle's sudden question left the still-excited sisters a bit confused. But what was even more confusing was that Wise seemed to understand and nodded. "Mhm, that is indeed a problem. But I'll solve it."
"Right. If that problem isn't solved, it'll be terrible if they're discovered," Ellen added.
Looking at the three 'riddle-speakers,' the sisters were utterly bewildered. Odette couldn't hold back any longer. She hugged Wise, who was closest to her, and deployed her ultimate cute attack. "Wise~, what are you talking about? What problem? Can you tell me? Mmm-hmm~"
Odette clung to Wise's arm, pressing her face against his chest and looking up at him with pouting lips. As the saying goes, even a hero finds it hard to resist a beauty, especially when this beauty was 'gifted' in other ways. Besides, it wasn't a huge secret.
"Alright, alright. We were talking about citizen IDs."
"Citizen IDs?" The two sisters tilted their heads in unison.
Belle stepped forward to explain. "A citizen ID is proof that you live here, something that proves your identity. You definitely had them before, but it's been so long, it's impossible to find them again."
She wasn't wrong. After all, several years had passed. They had been registered as deceased by the Public Security Bureau, so it wasn't realistic to even pretend to be survivors. The only way now was to register for a new identity. This wasn't too difficult; after all, New Eridu occasionally had outsiders and drifters coming in. They could act as guarantors and handle the identity registration. But it would be even better if they could find the sisters' relatives.
Of course, besides this, Wise had also asked the system if there was a faster way. The answer he got was very much in the system's style.
It told him to go and use seduction...
Chapter 154: The Dimly Lit Room, and Two Sudden Additions
Afterward, with Wise's persuasion, Ellen unsurprisingly chose to stay the night at the store. As for Hedy, her shift had ended long ago. Though she seemed rather reluctant to leave, her expression reminding Belle of the 'defeated dog' trope in some films.
"Aurelia, Odette, you two have been through so much. Why don't you take a bath first and get some rest?" Belle's suggestion was met with the sisters' approval. They then immediately shed their clothes. Since their clothes were just manifestations of aether energy, taking them off was as simple as a thought.
Belle, seeing this, couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise, but she quickly came to her senses and stepped forward. "What are you two doing?!" Although this was the second floor and there was no one else besides them—as for Wise? No need to mind him. Even if she didn't let him look now, given the affection the sisters had shown, Wise would surely see everything later. Besides, wasn't he completely unconcerned himself?
"We need to take off our clothes to take a bath. Is there a problem?" Odette had a look that said, 'Isn't this what you're supposed to do?' which left Belle at a loss for how to explain.
"Because girls can't just take off their clothes in front of others. And of course, boys can't either." Wise didn't know why he added that last sentence, but it just felt necessary.
"Is that so? Then I think it should be fine, right?" In Odette's eyes, since Belle and Ellen were both girls, it was fine. As for Wise, he was their great benefactor. So, if they were to repay his kindness, they naturally had to give it their all. So, as long as Wise wanted, he could look or play with them however he pleased. That's what Odette thought, and Aurelia, next to her, nodded in telepathic agreement.
Seeing this, Belle didn't know what to do. She could only hurry the two of them into the bathroom. Other than that, she also discovered something very important: even though their clothes were all made of the same stuff, why didn't the stockings on the sisters' legs disappear? Why did they need to be taken off? Belle didn't quite understand, and Wise didn't notice that two pairs of stockings, one black and one white, were missing from his system space.
Night.
After the video store closed, Belle and Ellen slept with Wise in his room. Aurelia and Odette slept in Belle's room.
At this moment, inside the room, Odette, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, suddenly spoke. "Sister, I can't seem to sleep..."
"Hm? Why?"
"The strange noises from next door."
Hearing Odette's words, Aurelia fell silent. Having transformed from Ethereals into humans, only their appearance had changed. Their aether energy was contained within their bodies, but otherwise, they were still the overlords of the Balai Building. With such power, and the fact that the video store's soundproofing wasn't that great, they could naturally hear every sound clearly. Although the sounds were much quieter than the roars of Ethereals in a Hollow, they were exceptionally attention-grabbing, making it impossible not to stay awake.
Odette didn't say any more, because she felt that her body was acting strange right now. The feeling was just like when she was first transforming from an Ethereal into a human. Organs that didn't exist in her Ethereal state were now acutely beginning to function, making her squirm restlessly. She wanted to ask her sister for help, but she was too embarrassed to speak up.
Little did she know that Aurelia, sleeping on her side right next to her, was having a much stronger reaction.
... (Deleted)
A few moments later, the two of them, in a tacit understanding, arrived at the door of the room next door. After exchanging a look, this time it was Aurelia who pushed the door. The door wasn't locked, so it opened easily. The people inside seemed to be focused on other things and didn't notice the two of them pushing the door open and quietly entering.
It wasn't until Wise noticed that the number of people around him in the dim room was off that he reacted.
...
The next day, after making breakfast, Wise waited for the others to come downstairs while he looked through the information he had asked Fairy to find yesterday—information about Aurelia and Odette. Also, he had to say, their Ethereal bodies were truly something else. After absorbing his energy, they fought with even more vigor. If he weren't strong enough himself, he might have really been defeated under their relentless assault.
After reviewing the information, Wise was first surprised, then felt extremely angry. The data showed that the sisters had a grandfather. The old man was already devastated by the loss of his two granddaughters. But the sisters' agency had chosen this difficult time to demand compensation for breach of contract, even though compensation isn't required for breaches caused by force majeure.
But the old man didn't know any of this. All he knew was that his granddaughters owed money, and he had to pay it back. He couldn't let his deceased granddaughters bear the name of deadbeats. How could that be right? So, the old man worked three jobs a day, toiling away just to pay off the debt as quickly as possible.
Wise's gaze was deep, his face grave. Just then, the four women, having finished washing up, came downstairs. Odette quickly sat down in her seat and began to eat. She absolutely loved Wise's cooking. She was now more and more convinced that coming to find him first was the right choice.
Wise, seeing this, didn't say much and reverted to his usual gentle demeanor. It wasn't until after breakfast that he finally spoke to the sisters. After telling them they had a grandfather, the sisters were a bit stunned but not overly surprised. In fact, Aurelia and Odette had long had a feeling. Although their memories were hazy, they could vaguely remember having a living relative. But it was only a vague feeling. They didn't know his name, what he looked like, or anything else. This was why the first thing they did after waking up was to find Wise, because his face was the clearest thing in their minds. (The power of an Incubus is truly terrifying.)
Now, hearing Wise take the initiative to mention their grandfather, the sisters naturally asked about his situation with concern. But Wise only told them that their grandfather was saddened by their deaths and didn't reveal anything else. He would handle those matters. If the sisters knew that their grandfather was living a hard life because of them, they would surely be heartbroken.
But it was okay. Now that he was here, everything could be resolved. He had already asked Fairy to search for scandals, dirt, and evidence of tax evasion on that agency. Once he had all that, he would post it online, report it to the Public Security Bureau, and he believed it wouldn't be long before he could bring them down.
Fairy: Certainly! This is the world's strongest artificial intelligence!
Other than that, he had to arrange for the sisters to meet their grandfather.
-------
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