Meanwhile
Hoshimi Miyabi frowns as she walks down the crowded street in Lumina Square, trying to find Caelus to tell him about the job offer. She can't help but reprimand herself for forgetting to ask Caelus for his number in case she needs to give the young man an update.
The HIA didn't even bother to ask for his phone number to update the young man. Usually, when HIA seeks recruits, they simply review medical records, which most of the time contain basic info on potential recruits. Caelus, however, is a new guy in town, and he just got his phone AFTER he had his medical check-up.
"...this is quite bad," Miyabi mutters as she glances around. "I had no idea where he could be. He has no registered address, he has no social media, and this place is quite big. Looking for clues to his whereabouts requires more than just my environmental analysis training."
As she said that, she immediately spotted a familiar bunny Thiren, holding a large book, grumbling in annoyance while walking beside a short, white-haired young woman and a pink furry creature sleeping on top of Phil's head. Miyabi blinked before rushing towards them.
"Geez, where did that crazy woman chase him to?" Phil muttered in disbelief.
"So, that's the famous 'let's make babies' lady?" Anby asked curiously.
"Don't ask me; that was the first time I ever saw her in my life," Phil said, shrugging.
"... I'm more surprised he attracts women," Anby admitted in surprise.
"By my classmates' standards, Caelus would be considered attractive," Phil said as Anby looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "...I'm not gay. My ears let me hear too much."
"Understandable." Anby nodded before she noticed Miyabi approaching them, tensing up as she slowly reached for her sword, only to remember she left it in her room.
"M-Ms. Miyabi? What are you doing here?" Phil asks nervously, wondering if Miyabi is here to arrest him.
"Hello again, Phil," Miyabi greets, which earns a surprised look from Phil. The poor bunny boy didn't expect Miyabi to remember his name. "Sorry for disturbing you, but may I ask if you might know where Caelus is?"
"...is there a reason why you look for Caelus?" Phil asks. He might have a suspicion about why Miyabi is looking for him, and he tries his best not to show any reaction.
"I am looking for him so we can discuss more details regarding his job position," Miyabi says honestly. "But because we don't have his number, we can't provide updates through messages."
"Oh..." Phil mutters before shaking his head. "Sorry, I don't know where he ran off to."
"Run off to? Did he have some sort of emergency?" Miyabi asks curiously; one of her ears flops down.
"It's more of him getting chased by someone..." Phil says as he sweatdrops.
"...I need more explanation," Miyabi says before Anby decides to chime in.
"Caelus was chased by a woman who wants to fuck her so she can have his baby," Anby says bluntly, causing Phil to facepalm and Miyabi to stare at her with no emotion. She stares for a few seconds before she faces Phil.
"Again, I need more explanation."
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With Caelus and friends
"That was a complete success!" Grace exclaims with sheer excitement as her prototype slowly approaches her. Without any hesitation, she lunges towards it and hugs the prototype, nuzzling her cheeks affectionately. "Who's the greatest baby I've ever made? You are~."
"...ehn-na nah...(...I'm jealous...)" Eous admits before looking at Wise with a pitiful stare.
"..." Wise awkwardly pulls Eous into a hug, patting the tiny bangboo's head. If Eous had a human-like face, he would be pouting.
"...you guys are way too affectionate with machines," Betty mutters with a sweat drop.
"To be fair, one creates the machine with blood, tears, and sweat, and another one has lived with one for most of the time. It's normal for them to be affectionate with them." Caelus explains as Betty huffs.
"For the new man, it's fair. But not for Grace. That prototype is gonna be given away to the company they collaborate with; there's no reason for such strong attachment," Betty says as Caelus frowns.
"...what exactly is your deal with her? I know she can be annoying, but you sound like she killed every one of your adopted puppies or kittens," Caelus says, earning an incredulous stare from Betty.
"Okay, Grace may be cold, but she's not really cold-blooded," Betty may dislike her 'rival', but she knows Grace enough that she is very sure the Iron Witch wouldn't do something so cruel.
"That's not what I meant. You act like she did that to you," Caelus deadpans. "Also, isn't it ironic that you call her cold when your opinion of how to treat machines feels like some higher-ups treating their civilians?"
"I take offense to that," Betty mutters.
"You're not exactly proving me wrong, and stop dodging the question," Caelus says in an annoyed tone.
"...look, the person communicate you and that man through Bangboo is actually spot on," Betty admits with a flustered look. "She's the model student; I was just her roommate. Most of the time, I try to socialize with her, but she responds with cold shoulders. I...hated her, and in the early semester, I tried to just focus on my studies. But our first interaction really affected me, and when I found out the supposed 'jerk' ended up being a model student, I wasn't just jealous. I was pissed, wondering how someone with a bad personality could be a model student."
"..." Caelus simply stayed silent, letting Betty continue. Unknown to Betty, Wise and Grace overheard their conversation.
"I try my best too, but no matter what I do, I will always be the second best after her. Everything I did was overshadowed by hers, and it didn't help that back then Belobog Industry had a very good reputation." Betty says as she trembles slightly. "Students from Roose Institute saw me and said, 'Isn't that the girl who got outdone by Grace?'. I'm sick of it. And even now, some of the students who worked at a big company knew me and brought up my past achievement."
"...I suppose people will grow resentment after enduring everything you went through," Caelus admits, letting out a sigh. "But I think you were being unfair by simply blaming Grace for every bad things happened to you."
"..." Betty didn't meet Caelus's gaze, staying silent.
"I only knew Grace for a few moments, but I can tell that she doesn't seem to care much about reputation," Caelus said. "It was literally proven when I called her out for her out-of-context statement, and she told me why she does need to care what other people think. Also, from our interactions alone, it was as clear as day that she doesn't know how to socialize properly. Calling her cold feels wrong; eccentric is a perfect description for her."
"..." This time, Betty stays silent because she couldn't refute Caelus's words.
"Grace made mistakes; I ain't denying that. She should be apologizing to you for everything." Caelus explains, causing Betty to look at him. "But would you really want to focus your entire life just to outshine her? Do you... ever have had any dreams when joining the Roose Institute, before meeting Grace?"
"....I want to be a mechanic," Betty admits. "I used to love creating things...n-not as bad as Grace."
"Don't talk about Grace. I'm asking about what you want," Caelus says as Betty stares at him with wide eyes.
"...I-I love creating machines. I love the feeling of creating things, making new inventions, and...and..." Betty mutters before she looks at her hands. "...I forget all about that..."
"That's what happened when you focused too much on something and let it control your life..." Caelus says gently as Betty looks at him before shaking her head.
"...thanks," Betty mutters, glancing away to hide her twitching lips. But she froze upon noticing that both Wise and Grace had been listening. Betty widens her eyes before looking at Caelus in disbelief.
"You knew she was listening?!!" Betty asks in disbelief.
"No," Caelus answers honestly. "I was too focused on our conversations."
"...I'm sorry," Grace starts, causing Betty to blink in disbelief.
"...you apologizing?" Betty asks incredulously.
"I did," Grace says without an ounce of shame. "I know I was too cold. I mean, I didn't even recognize you despite we were roommates, going into the same classes, and graduating in the same year."
"...okay, I wasn't expecting that," Betty mutters, and Grace promptly ignores her muttering.
"I don't know how to...make things right, but I can at least start with apologizing," Grace says as she raises her right hand. Betty looks at her hand before reluctantly shaking it.
"Just because I'm apologizing doesn't mean I give up on trying to hire Caelus," Betty says with determination. If Caelus was eating, he would choke upon hearing that.
"Oh, I am not planning to give up either," Grace says with a huge smile. Both women stare at each other challengingly, but with less animosity from Betty's side. Caelus stares blankly at the two women in front of him before letting out a resigned sigh, while Wise gently pats his fellow man on the back.
"Oh, Caelus, there you are." Caelus turns to see Miyabi approaching her, causing everyone nearby to freeze in shock (yes, even Grace). Behind her are Phil, Anby, and Mem.
"Miyabi...is something wrong?" Caelus asks, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He blinks when Miyabi outstretches her arm and gives Caelus an envelope. Without a word, he takes the envelope and opens it. Upon seeing the word 'accepted' at the top of the letter, Caelus widens his eyes and looks at Miyabi.
"For real?!" Caelus asks in surprise as Miyabi nods.
"From now on, you are the new member of Section 6, with Phil as the intern," Miyabi says, ignoring everyone's jaw-dropping at the revelation. "Welcome to the team. I look forward to working with the hero of Canvas Street."
"...I look forward to it as well," Caelus nods before they shake hands. "And please, don't call me that. I couldn't have done it without the PubSec's help."
"Humble, a good trait for a warrior," Miyabi nods approvingly. "Due to the nature of your recruitment, your job will be...much different from usual recruits."
"How so?" Caelus asks curiously.
"For once, you and Phil gonna learn a thing or two about how things work in Section 6. My second-in-command, Tsukishiro Yanagi, offers to help you learn. She will visit you thrice a week for 6 months. Think of this as a trial," Miyabi explains. "And during the trial, you will receive some Hollow-related missions, with Yanagi supervising you. Speaking of the visit, may I ask for your address and phone number?"
"...okay, that sounds fair." Caelus merely nods in agreement before giving her a note with said information.
"Thank you...also, she seems mad at you for writing 'As I've Written'," Miyabi says, causing Caelus to freeze.
"... Chief Miyabi, could you help me?" Caelus asks pitifully.
"... Unfortunately, I am rather busy during your lessons. Apologies," Miyabi says blankly before she walks away.
"Wait, Chief. Come on, do you really want your new member to turn into shish kebab!?!" Caelus asks in horror, but Miyabi chooses to ignore him. "Chief? Chief!!"
"...did we seriously watch him get visited by the Void Hunter herself just to tell him that he was accepted?" Wise asks in disbelief.
"...we never stood a chance," Betty mutters in disbelief, while Grace nods silently.
"...I got accepted too?" Phil mutters in shock before he almost falls to the ground butt-first, if not for Anby catching him.
"...the weirdest moment I've ever witnessed outside the movie," Anby mutters.
To be continued