He pushed open the door to see Nicole at the head of the charge, hoisting her Myriad Treasures Ether Cannon and leading the entire Silver Squad forward. Even Belle was bringing up the rear.
In the next instant, they had formed a protective wall around Andrew.
"Don't worry, Andrew! We're here! That Wolf Thiren can't do anything to you!"
"Relax, I'm fine. He was just sent by someone to deliver something, that's all. Nothing's going to happen."
But looking at the girls standing before him, Andrew felt a genuine sense of belonging to this world.
It's true what they say: adversity reveals true friendship. The moment Belle and Nicole learned he might be in trouble, their first instinct wasn't to run, but to rush over and try to help. Andrew knew then that he hadn't misplaced his trust in them.
Andrew smiled faintly and called out to the members of the Silver Squad:
"Perfect timing. Come and get your citizen ID cards. From now on, as long as you don't do anything to harm New Eridu, you'll be fine."
Beside him, Nicole's eyes went wide when she saw the stack of ID cards Andrew suddenly produced.
"Andrew, you actually have a way to get ID cards?! So many at once... just what kind of strings did you have to pull for this!"
Then, she couldn't help but mutter under her breath:
"Even when I begged her, she only gave me one for free..."
Thinking about the gift he had just tucked into his pocket, Andrew shrugged and said:
"You could say I... called in a favor from one of the biggest connections in this city? Though, I'm not sure if I was the one calling in the favor or if he was calling on me."
Before Nicole could react, Belle's voice cut in menacingly from behind her:
"You said... one free ID card? You mean when I commissioned you to get my ID, you didn't spend a single Dennies?!"
Nicole jumped at Belle's words. She was about to make a run for it, but Belle snatched her by the scruff of her neck.
"So when you told me you were calling in a favor and the person only charged a hundred thousand Dennies, you were actually pocketing the entire amount?! And I thought you were a real friend, Nicole! I even waived your commission fees several times after that!"
Faced with Belle's interrogation and her cover blown, Nicole immediately pointed downstairs and yelled:
"Ah! That Wolf Thiren is suddenly back!"
Hearing Nicole's shout, Belle instinctively looked downstairs, on guard. That split second of distraction was all it took.
Seizing the opportunity, Nicole somehow twisted out of Belle's grasp and bolted downstairs.
Realizing Nicole had escaped, Belle gave chase, fuming. But even with her enhanced physique, how could she possibly catch Nicole, who had honed her escape skills to a fine art? By the time Belle reached the bottom of the stairs, she was already gone.
Seeing that Nicole had successfully gotten away, Belle returned, her cheeks puffed out in annoyance.
"I figured she took a cut, but I never thought she took the whole thing! Seriously, when it comes to Dennies, that girl is completely unreliable."
If Andrew had decided to step in, Nicole would have had no chance of escape, but he chose not to.
He comforted the still-pouting Belle, saying:
"It's okay. I think it's pretty normal, we weren't as close back then as we are now. Let's not get hung up on something so small. Let's go back and eat."
As the one who had actually paid, Andrew didn't really mind. Just being able to secure the most important form of identification in this city by simply spending some money was a blessing in itself.
Anyone else wouldn't have access to Nicole's connections, so Andrew thought it was perfectly reasonable for her to monetize her network.
After thinking it over, Belle had to agree. Seeing that Andrew truly wasn't bothered, she let it go. The group headed back into the video store, just as General Chop's ramen was delivered.
But as Andrew did a quick count, he realized it wasn't the forty bowls he remembered ordering, but forty-one.
Everything else was fine, except for one bowl that had been specially packaged by General Chop. Even through the seal, it seemed to radiate a stinging sensation.
Bright red chili oil, a visually shocking amount of peppers, and an aura of scorching heat and spice that made one's brows twitch just by being near it.
Staring at this Hellfire Spicy Ramen that he had definitely not ordered, Andrew slowly turned his gaze to Belle, who was pretending to be engrossed in the videotapes on a nearby shelf.
"What are you planning?"
Seeing she'd been caught red-handed, Belle dropped the act and grinned mischievously.
"This was supposed to be a surprise for my brother, before his record got smashed. I was planning to secretly mix these noodles into his bowl of Spicy Chicken Soup Ramen."
Hearing Belle's scheme, Andrew silently gave her a thumbs-up.
When it comes to pranking your brother, you're in a league of your own, Belle.
It seemed today was destined to be Wise's day of suffering. Even if he escaped the mental trauma, was he fated to suffer physical agony regardless?
Beside them, the Silver Squad members, except for Soldier 11, looked rather disappointed at the sight of the ramen.
Anby hesitated for a moment before gently tugging on Andrew's sleeve and asking in a small voice:
"This morning... can't we have burgers again?"
Faced with the equally hopeful eyes of the other Silver Squad members, Andrew shot down the idea with gentle but firm resolve.
"No. Nobody eats burgers for all three meals a day."
Their hopeful gazes instantly turned to looks of dejection, but Andrew had clearly made up his mind and had no intention of changing it.
Seeing this, the others didn't dare say more. They quietly picked a ramen that looked interesting and began to eat.
While it was undeniably delicious, for the members of the Silver Squad, it just couldn't compare to that soul-shaking flavor they'd experienced for the first time yesterday.
However, her sisters' reactions didn't affect Soldier 11, in the slightest.
She had been unconscious all of yesterday and had never tasted a burger, so she found her teammates' behavior rather puzzling.
Right now, the thing that captivated her most was none other than that fiery red, scorching hot Hellfire Spicy Ramen Belle had prepared for her prank.
The pungent, spicy aroma grabbed her full attention from the very first glance.
She pointed hesitantly at the bowl and asked:
"Commander, may I try this one?"
?
The new girl's starting off with the hard stuff, huh?
Belle's eyes widened slightly in surprise. She had to confirm.
"This is super, super spicy. Are you sure you can handle it?"
But Soldier 11 had no intention of changing her mind. She stated firmly:
"Yes, Commander. I want to try!"
Seeing her determination, Andrew didn't object. After all, you never know if something suits you until you try it.
But before giving his approval, he glanced at Belle. The motive may have been mischievous, but it was still something she had prepared.
Seeing that both of them were looking at her, Belle decided to scrap her original prank and pushed the bowl towards Soldier 11.
At that very moment, Wise, having finished cleaning up the fragments of the broken record, walked down the stairs.
He was met with Andrew's gaze, which held a mixture of pity and wonder.
"You just dodged a bullet, Wise."
Hearing this completely random comment, Wise was baffled. He looked around the room, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.
And so, he locked his gaze onto Belle, who was sitting there with a perfect 'it wasn't me' expression.
"You were up to something sneaky again, weren't you?"
____
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