"Oh, hi." Caelus turns to face Anby, the face of Zenless Zone Zero, who's eating her burger. "You're the girl from Hollow along with these guys."
"Mhm, I'm Anby Demara," Anby greets before taking another bite. "Nice to meet you, mister Boom."
"Mister Boom...?" Caelus sweatdrops. "The name's Caelus, and I would prefer if you call me that."
"Very well, Caelus." Anby nods before glancing at Phil with a sliver of concern in her eyes. "It seems your companion's injury is more severe than it seemed."
"He's fortunate to get out of the Hollow with only broken ankles," Caelus says as Phil pouts at him.
"And even more so as someone saved his life," Anby says bluntly, causing Phil to wince. "...I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me."
"Don't be, I learn my lesson," Phil says with a small smile, ignoring Caelus's doubtful look. "...stop that."
"Sorry," Caelus says unapologetically, earning a deadpan look from Phil.
"So, may I ask why Nicole is wiping her boobs?" Anby asks bluntly, causing some people to choke.
"Well..." Caelus places his hand over his forehead, unsure how to explain it properly.
"She tried to ask Caelus to join you guys, but she didn't realize her boobs sank into Caelus's bowl of ramen," Phil explains for him, making some people who happen to overhear it cough uncomfortably.
"....I was expecting him to continue to eat that bowl," Anby says bluntly.
"I'm no degenerate, unlike some people," Caelus says before glancing at some people who got caught red-handed for staring at his bowl of contaminated ramen.
"...I see," Anby merely nods while glancing at Caelus's contaminated ramen bowl, ignoring her boss's asking for help to clean the stain off her shirt.
"...General Chop, can I ask for one more bowl?" Caelus says with a sigh. The chef, a short humanoid creature with red skin and a pair of mechanical arms that seem to be made of bamboo, merely nods and gives the man a sympathetic look before silently glaring at Nicole.
How dare that bimbo ruin his customer's experience and even his well-made noodle with her oversized meat sacs!?! The sheer disrespect can't be tolerated!
"...I think the chef might hold a grudge against your boss," Phil quietly whispers to Anby who merely nods.
"He's not the first person who holds a grudge against her, and he won't be the last," Anby replies blandly.
"...I mean no disrespect, but with Cunning Hare's reputations and debts, why do you still choose to stay?" Phil asks curiously.
"I understand how everything related to the Cunning Hares made people question why it is still intact," Anby says, looking unbothered. "But, they don't know about Nicole as much as Billy and I did, and it's the reason we chose to stay."
"So, it's a personal matter," Phil mutters. "Sorry, I didn't know."
"Don't worry too much about it," Anby says before patting Slyboo. "No one was supposed to know, anyway."
As she said that, Anby glances at Caelus, who happily accepts his new bowl of ramen before paying it to the chef.
"Caelus," Anby calls, getting the man's attention. "May I ask, what type of W-Engines did you use?"
Hearing this, Phil perks up before mentally facepalming. Why didn't he consider that possibility in the first place!? It's the only possible answer to how Caelus could do all of that in Hollow!
"...what's W-Engine?" Caelus asks in a fake innocent tone, hiding his knowledge about this world once again. Nicole, Billy, Anby, and Phil froze upon hearing this.
How can't he know about W-Engines, the most important equipment for combat inside the Hollow?! It's a tool used to amplify weapons using frequencies modified by music to pull off some superhuman feats, mostly elemental manipulations.
They all suspect Caelus might have an overpowered W-Engines to pull those feats on the Hollow. So, when he says those words genuinely, does that mean he doesn't have one!? Does that mean all his feats are from his superpowers!?
"..." Caelus acts confused in front of everyone, while in his mind, he's screaming like an idiot. Anby had made a perfect excuse for his power of Path, and yet he fumbles it by acting like a clueless idiot! But, he also realizes that even if he says yes, he can't even show it since he doesn't have one!
In the end, he calms down and simply embraces his role as a new resident of New Eridu.
Meanwhile, Anby's mind starts to go wild with her prediction. Upon hearing the young man confirming his feats were not from W-Engines, Anby starts to suspect Caelus might be an escaped experiment, perhaps he was like her.
Without any warning, Anby pulls Caelus into a warm hug. Everyone freezes in shock as neither of them expected this at all. Nicole, Wise, and Billy were shocked because Anby rarely shows emotion, and even if she did, it's always indirectly. So, seeing her hug someone she just met yesterday is shocking to them, to the point she's acting out of character.
Phil was surprised at how a random girl who happened to be part of an infamous group of Hollow Raiders suddenly hugged his new friend. Phil wonders if she might just happen to be Caelus's old friend from outside of New Eridu, but given Caelus's surprised reaction, that possibility is out of the window.
As for Caelus, he is shocked by Anby hugging him. Sure, it's everyone's dream to get hugged or even do something indecent with ZZZ's characters, especially with how unhinged parts of the fandoms are, but the lack of context confused him more than excited him.
"...Anby, what are you doing?" Caelus asks in confusion.
"...it must be rough for you," Anby says plainly, which only confuses everyone more. "To wield such powers you didn't ask for..."
"...Anby, I think there's a misunderstanding here," Caelus says with a sweatdrop. He had an idea what Anby is thinking, and even if her words are right, she might be getting the wrong idea about his origin.
"It's okay, no need to deny it..." Anby says, patting Caelus's head.
"Anby, stop..." Caelus feels a bit embarrassed as everyone is gaping at them like fish out of water.
After one lunch together, Nicole and the Cunning Hares decided to leave for another commission to be done. While Caelus, Phil, and Slyboo end up with Wise as he guides them to his video store.
"Wow, you sure have a lot of tapes to rent here," Caelus whistles, impressed by the vast collection of tapes.
"Well, we do need to earn a living," Wise says while rubbing the back of his head.
"We?" Phil asks in confusion. At the perfect time, a girl with dark blue hair walks downstairs as she cheerfully waves at Wise.
"Hey, Wise. How was your day?" The girl calls before looking at Caelus and his friends. She gasps when her eyes land on Phil.
"Oh, my god. You're so cute!" The girl gushes before rushing towards Phil, attempting to hug him. Before Phil could panic, Wise placed his hands on her forehead to stop the girl.
"Belle, please don't. He's injured." Wise says as the girl pauses and sheepishly rubs the back of her head.
"Hehe, sorry about that," The girl, Belle, says apologetically while Phil lets out a sigh of relief. "Hi, I'm Belle, this doofus's younger sister."
"Do you really need to call me that?" Wise asks in exasperation.
"...nice to meet you, I'm Caelus." Caelus greets back.
"I-I'm Phil..." Phil says shakily, still wary of Belle.
"Na! (I'm Slyboo!)" Slyboo greets her.
"So, how can we help you? Any tapes you want to rent?" Belle says, acting like a businesswoman.
"We're looking around first. It's my first time in Sixth Street and I'm curious what movies you guys have in store." Caelus says as Belle pauses.
"Well, based on the genre you desire, we have a lot of recommendations," Belle says as she clasps her hands. "What do you prefer? Action? Sci-Fi? Thriller? Horror? Or perhaps, you're into Documentaries like my brothers?"
"Would you rather not say the last part with a bored tone?" Wise says while facepalming. "This is why I'm wary of you promoting our businesses."
Belle replies to her brother with the most mature response, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"Real mature, Belle," Wise says in a deadpan manner. Caelus merely chuckles at their interactions, finding the sibling interaction endearing and a bit nostalgic. Ot reminds him of how he acts with his older brother.
Out of nowhere, the door next to the counter is open. From the other side, a familiar-looking Bangboo walks out while holding a phone.
"Na! Ehn-na na-nah! (Belle! I got a commission for us!)" The Bangboo says before pausing as he sees Caelus and Phil. Caelus raises his eyebrow while Phil widens his eyes in surprise. "Ehn, na! (Oh, hi!)"
"Na! (Hi!)" Slyboo greets back before approaching the Bangboo and starts a conversation.
"Wait, you're the Bangboo from the Hollow!" Phil exclaims as both Wise and Belle stiffen. "So, you guys are Proxies, huh?"
"Um..." Belle says, unsure how to respond. Neither of them had ever expected to be caught red-handed like that, especially not because of Bangboo's carelessness.
"How much was for renting this tape?" Caelus asks while holding out one particular videotape, the Starlight Knights. Both siblings were caught off guard by Caelus's reaction.
"...seriously, Caelus?" Phil asks in a deadpan manner.
"To be fair, Phil. It's not our business to pry into their private matters." Caelus shrugs. "They must have a reason to do it. Besides, you're not so much of a law-abiding citizen either."
"I know that!" Phil exclaims, looking flustered. "What I mean is for you to have more of a reaction than a complete 'none-of-my-business' attitude."
"What are you even expecting me to react? Like 'Oh, my god! Proxies!? Right under my nose!! Ooo, how surprising'." Caelus asks sarcastically.
"....yes," Phil mutters, his cheeks turning slightly red as Caelus simply responds by giving him a deadpan stare.
"...too bad, reality is often disappointing," Caelus says before looking at Wise. "So, how much?"
"U-um, 5000 Dennies for a week, and if late, you'll get charges 1000 dennies per day," Wise says while coughing. "Of course, you'll get discount benefits for membership, 10,000 dennies per month."
"....I'll just rent the tape. I'll reconsider the membership," Caelus decided.
"Of course," Wise says before going to the counter while Belle glances at Caelus and Phil.
"...are you really not gonna report us?" Belle asks cautiously.
"No," Caelus says bluntly. "Like I said, it's none of my business. Although, I suggest hiding your secrets better."
"If I report, I would be a hypocrite," Phil says before he lowers his voice. "And I ain't a hypocrite like those bastards."
Belle had heard that and she didn't know what he meant, while Caelus simply pats Phil's head while glancing at him sympathetically. Not long after, Caelus got his rented tapes and left with Phil and Slyboo.
As they leave, both siblings feel slightly concerned. Now, their identities as Proxies are known by unknown strangers. Even if they say they won't report to anyone, they are still wary of them since they just met.
"...Fairy, can you keep an eye on them?" Wise asks cautiously. "Just...make sure they didn't tattle us..."
"Of course, master." A mechanical female voice can be heard from.the other side. "Also, I have something to report, about this man called Caelus."
"What is it?" Wise asks in concern. Does Caelus happen to be an unknown criminal? Or even worse?
"The sensor detects an unknown energy coming from his body, and its reading is...concerning," Fairy says. "The energy reading, it matches the reading of the energy radiate from the sun."
To be Continued