Stelle watched the woman walking out of the restaurant alone, blinked her eyes, and was somewhat surprised. If she wasn't mistaken, this woman with long dark hair seemed to be... Natasha?
Why would she appear here? Wasn't it said that the Upper and Lower Districts were about to go to war?
Wait... Clearly the main point is that Natasha was being bullied, right?!
Stelle poked March 7th and lowered her voice, "That person just now seems to be from the Lower District. Should we follow her and take a look? We might also get some information about the situation in advance."
"Okay."
The two stood up simultaneously, but just as they habitually reached for their pockets, they both froze in unison.
They were so used to mobile payments that they forgot this place didn't have QR codes...
The two silently sat back down, anxiously watching the figure outside the window getting farther and farther away.
"I'll stay here to pay, you go catch up first," March 7th decided immediately without any hesitation.
Hearing this, Stelle gritted her teeth. She glanced out the window, then at March 7th. After a brief internal struggle, he grabbed the latter's small hand. "March, I'm sorry, but I might have to get you into trouble."
"You want to..." March 7th instantly understood Stelle's idea. "Okay, but we have to remember to apologize to the owner next time we come."
"Of course we have to apologize, otherwise I'd slap myself twice..."
Stelle silently walked to the front counter. "Boss, I'll have your signature bread."
"Sure, how much would you like?"
Stelle simply gestured. "I want, I want a bag this big."
The portly boss skillfully took several long bread loaves from the oven, stuffed them into a bag, and handed it to Stelle. "One hundred Winter City Shields."
"Mm, okay. Boss, wait a moment."
Stelle swallowed hard and, under the boss's confused expression, turned around and ran!
"Boss, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I promise to pay you double next time I come!"
Boss: ???
"Hey, girl, you come back here!"
The boss directly vaulted over the counter, holding a liquor bottle, and shouted angrily, "Get back here!"
Knowing she was in the wrong, Stelle just silently kept running.
"Dammit!"
Furious, the boss conveniently threw the liquor bottle. Stelle instinctively ducked, barely avoiding a headshot.
"Don't let me see you again!"
The boss angrily threw out these words. Considering there were other customers in the shop, he suppressed his rage and returned to the counter, forcing a professional smile as he looked at the next pink-haired girl. "What would you like, miss?"
"Um... A barrel of Blazing Vodka."
"Coming right up!"
The boss brought down a small wooden barrel from the shelf behind him. "You have excellent taste. Our vodka is the most famous in all of Belobog. Three hundred Winter City Shields."
March 7th picked up the barrel, politely bowed to the boss, and said, "I'm sorry, please forgive me."
The boss was stunned, suddenly having an extremely bad premonition. "Miss, you first—"
Before the boss could finish, March 7th grabbed the barrel and ran, her escape speed even faster than Stelle's earlier!
"Dine and dash! This is too much!"
The moment March 7th turned to run, the boss instantly realized the seriousness of the situation. Furious, he vaulted over the counter again, his entire face flushed red with anger.
"How can there be people like you? Eating and taking!"
Crack, crack, crack—
The moment March 7th exited the door, colorful ice crystals spread from her feet, freezing the door gap shut. Blocked by the sealed door, the boss could only watch helplessly as the two girls ran off after eating and taking.
...
"March, what were you doing just now... Where did this alcohol come from?" Stelle stared dumbfounded at the wooden barrel in March 7th's arms.
Hearing this, March 7th somewhat awkwardly tugged at her hair and said, "Uh... This house's alcohol is pretty good. I was worried I wouldn't get to drink it later, so I just..."
"Won't the boss be furious to death?" Stelle felt a bit guilty just thinking about the boss's red-faced, heated appearance.
The two looked at each other. After a brief silence, they simultaneously clasped their hands together, bowed their heads, and murmured, "Boss, we were wrong."
"We absolutely must remember to make amends and apologize later."
"Okay."
"Kinda don't dare to go back..."
"We'll go together."
"Alright, let's put this matter aside for now. The top priority is to find that lady from the Lower District from just now and understand the specific situation."
The two searched along the direction Natasha had left. Surprisingly, Natasha hadn't gone far. She was currently sitting in a nearby alley, leaning against a garbage can, her body curled up, her head buried in her arms, as if silently sobbing.
Stelle and March 7th exchanged a glance, carefully approached Natasha, and gently said, "Are you okay, miss?"
Hearing their voices, Natasha looked up somewhat bewildered and said instinctively, "Sorry, am I blocking the way? I'll leave right now..."
"No, no, we were actually looking for you." Stelle quickly raised her hands to show she meant no harm. "We just heard you are a resident of the Lower District. There are some things we'd like to ask you about."
"Looking for me?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Stelle nodded repeatedly. She handed the paper bag in her arms to Natasha. "This is bread we... uh, bought for you. Fresh out of the oven. Please, don't stand on ceremony."
Faced with Stelle's sudden kindness, Natasha was at a loss. She took two steps back. "I... I'm not a member of 'Wildfire.' Even if you want to ask me something, I can't answer."
Natasha's answer was somewhat unexpected for Stelle. According to the game's original setting, Natasha should have been the hidden leader of 'Wildfire,' but now she wasn't even an ordinary member. It seemed the situation in the Lower District was more complicated than he had imagined.
"It's fine." Stelle stuffed the paper bag into Natasha's hands. "We're looking for ordinary residents of the Lower District. Can you tell us your perspective on the impending war between the Upper and Lower Districts?"
Natasha hesitated and said, "Sorry, I can't speak for everyone on this matter. But from my point of view, the ordinary people of the Lower District definitely don't want war. As you can see, because of this, even our ability to procure supplies has been affected."
"Then what kind of organization is 'Wildfire,' and where does their confidence to start a war come from?" Stelle continued asking.
Mentioning this, a trace of resentment surfaced in Natasha's voice. "They are just a bunch of greedy ruffians. Originally, this organization was established to help the residents of the Lower District. But ever since that group of Vagrants returned from the Mechanical Settlement, everything changed."
"They seized 'Wildfire's' territory, oppress the ordinary residents, treating the entire Lower District as a lawless land."
Stelle found it hard to believe. "A group of Vagrants? Where did they get the strength to act so recklessly?"
Natasha gave a miserable smile. "For some reason, all the Automaton Soldiers in the Lower District have fallen under their control."