"…Leon, Stelle… and Clara, Hook?"
Seele nimbly leaped onto the flat ground in front of the orphanage, her face full of shock upon seeing the group.
"Why are you all here?"
The sudden voice drew everyone's attention.
Clara instinctively stepped in front of her less-than-intelligent guard robots.
"Wildfire's Sister Seele …"
Leon had already pieced it together, chuckling softly. "Looks like our worries were a bit unnecessary, Stelle."
"No way… Oh, got it. So they're here to help Natasha find medicine too."
Stelle shrugged helplessly.
Hearing the two, Seele and Bronya froze in unison.
"You… and Hook, you're all here in Rivet Town to find medicine for Natasha?" Seele couldn't help but ask.
"Huh? You're all here for that?"
It wasn't Leon or Stelle who spoke, but Hook.
The group stared at each other, exchanging glances for a good ten seconds before realizing their goals were aligned.
This scene struck players as both comical and poignant, with a touch of heartache.
The character mirroring the players' mixed emotions was Bronya.
Outsiders from beyond the stars, Wildfire's backbone, and a kid no older than eight or nine wielding an odd weapon…
People spanning from children to adults were all running themselves ragged for the safety of the underground's people.
Risking their lives, venturing into high-danger zones where Fragmentum monsters could appear at any moment, all for the same purpose.
Seeing the portion of medicine in Clara's arms, Bronya's eyes quickly welled up.
Everyone wanted to live well, and they wanted their fellow people to live well too…
The underground's people were giving their all for it, but what about the surface?
Her mother's orders to the Silvermane Guards were growing increasingly absurd, leading to more and more casualties.
[Cocolia's really heartless, making life harder for everyone here.]
[Didn't expect Hook's reason for coming to Rivet Town was to help Natasha.]
[Kids don't have ulterior motives. Wanting to help Natasha is genuine, and wanting to protect Stelle and Leon must be too.]
[Key point: most of the medicine's expired. It's too tough.]
Players with strong empathy felt their noses sting unknowingly.
This plot didn't overtly play the sympathy card, but the four groups with aligned goals silently conveyed the underground's struggles and hardships.
It's hard to imagine how meager the supplies regularly sent from the surface to the underground must be.
Seele, snapping out of it first, couldn't help but scoff.
"Clara, don't those wanderers claim to be so capable? How can they let a little girl like you brave dangerous places?"
"You're finding medicine for them, but they might not even be grateful. Watch out—small favors breed goodwill, big ones breed resentment."
Clara hurriedly explained.
"It's not like that. Clara wasn't asked by anyone. The wanderers' living conditions are just bad."
"Their settlement doesn't have a clinic, so injuries have to be endured. That's why Clara wanted to help."
"And… they're not all bad people. Most just want to live well…"
As she spoke, Clara paused, recalling what Leon had said earlier.
Exactly.
Who'd want to linger on with a mindset of waiting for death?
Even if some did, it wasn't everyone—most were fighting to survive.
And she'd seen it all with her own eyes.
Seele: "Alright, you don't need to explain more. It's just my habit to say a few words."
Clara: "Mmm… thank you, everyone."
Bronya, concerned, asked, "Are you leaving? This town's full of dangers. Let me escort you partway."
"No need. Clara has Perkins and the others with her, and… I still have something to find here."
At that, Clara looked at Leon.
"When I get back, I'll talk to Mr. Svarog right away."
Leon: "Be careful on the way. We'll wait for you at Boulder Town's east exit. Hopefully, you can convince Svarog."
Clara: "Clara will remember."
Watching the small figure leave under the robots' escort, Seele turned her gaze to the Trailblaze duo.
"I rarely admire anyone, but you two? I genuinely respect you."
"People from the same world might ignore their own kind's suffering, yet you keep reaching out to help the underground's people, time and again."
Even though they had no ties to this world or its people.
Leon glanced at Bronya.
Her eyes darted away, unable to find an excuse.
He hadn't expected Bronya to take a stand right then and casually looked away.
"Let's head back. Natasha's probably getting anxious."
On the way, Stelle asked Seele why she and Bronya were acting together.
"I learned too much at once and couldn't sleep. I was wandering aimlessly in town when I overheard Seele talking with Natasha."
Bronya recalled her recent experience, speaking slowly.
"When I heard Seele was planning to charge into the Fragmentum zone alone, I had to step in and stop her."
"According to Silvermane Guard regulations, entering the Fragmentum requires at least a four-person team, plus a dedicated communications officer."
Seele shot back without holding back.
"Missy, this is the underground. We deliver messages by running them ourselves—where's your communications officer?"
Stelle raised an eyebrow. "Four people?"
She instinctively glanced at Hook, clutching her drilling machine, her expression hard to describe.
Hook probably wasn't exaggerating.
She was clearly familiar with Rivet Town's paths, having been here multiple times.
"Yeah, four people. What about it?"
Bronya didn't catch Stelle's expression.
Stelle let out a long sigh, pinching her temples and shaking her head.
"It's rude to curse out someone's mom, but I gotta say—"
"Because of Cocolia's orders to lock down the underground, kids like Hook have to risk their lives repeatedly to help adults solve problems."
"Listen to your big sis, girl. Cocolia's losing her grip on the Supreme Guardian position. It's time you decided to be the rebellious daughter."
"Unless you still think Cocolia's every decision is flawless."
If that's the case, Stelle would give up her do-gooder streak and stop wasting words and energy on Bronya.
Bronya's eyes widened in disbelief, looking at Hook.
This kid… came here alone?
Only then did she recall what had felt off earlier.
When Hook had questioned them, her surprised look wasn't just directed at her and Seele.
It was at Leon and Stelle too!
Leon saw what Bronya was thinking but didn't explain.
For the rest of the journey, Bronya stayed silent, not saying a word.
Clearly, this hit her hard.
At Hook's age, she never had to worry about such things, let alone risk her life.
Back in Boulder Town, they handed the medicine to Natasha.
Under Natasha's mix of praise and stern glares, Hook obediently went home to sleep.
After Natasha bowed solemnly in thanks and returned to the clinic to work, Leon took out the photo album from the orphanage and handed it to Bronya.
"Is this you in the photo?"