A moment later, Lynelle stepped out of the room housing the hibernation pods, her expression perfectly normal after having just "punished" Stelle.
Following close behind was Stelle, her cheeks flushed a delicate pink, her eyes dazed and hazy.
Of course, this so-called punishment was nothing more than holding the adorable Stelle over her knee and giving that perky, jade-like bottom a few firm but not-too-hard smacks.
And judging by the look on Stelle's face, it was hard to tell whether the punishment had actually served as a deterrent or simply added a bit of spice to the mix.
What Lynelle didn't realize, however, was that for a newborn Stellaron spirit like Stelle, who possessed an incredible learning ability, this particular punishment method would likely be learned and meticulously copied by Stelle very soon.
And at the first opportunity, she wouldn't hesitate to apply it to Lynelle herself.
After all, from the looks of things, Stelle was actually the one most actively seeking physical closeness with Lynelle.
The child was still young, unaware of what shyness meant, only wanting to act on her instinctual fondness. That seemed perfectly reasonable. Nods convincingly.
"Hey, Lynelle! You won your revival match!"
Outside the room, in the encampment, March 7th—who had been studying a smoking automaton with Dan Heng—immediately spotted Lynelle as she emerged.
"Get over here! Svarog said you seem pretty good at fixing these robots… Dan Heng and I have been stuck on this puzzle for ages!"
"Puzzle?"
Lynelle walked over curiously. "Isn't this just connecting a circuit?"
"Ah, it's just our habitual way of referring to these things," March explained.
"Every planet might have similar challenges—sometimes it's circuits, sometimes it's Jade Chips, other times it's games. Since the Path of Trailblazing lets us understand these things, we just came up with a unified name for them."
Before March could even finish her explanation, the automaton, already restored to perfect condition by Lynelle's Herrscher of Corruption powers, let out a cheerful beep and stood up.
"All done." Lynelle clapped her hands lightly.
"T-that fast?" March 7th leaned back in tactical surprise. "Miracle healing! Doctor Lyn!"
"Enough with the teasing," Lynelle said with a laugh, patting March's pink head. "Just fill me in on what's happened since I was asleep."
"I'll handle the explanation," Dan Heng interjected, clearing his throat.
"That day, thanks to your warning, I stayed on watch all night, guarding against a sudden attack. Come dawn, I indeed spotted two squads of Silvermane Guards starting to surround the hotel from the outside."
"So, I immediately woke March and Stelle, and we prepared to evacuate. But because we weren't familiar with the layout, we were unfortunately discovered. In our haste, we fled into the Fragmentum-corrupted areas of Belobog, and Miss Bronya pursued us with her team."
"However… right then, we realized Miss Bronya was actually intentionally letting us go."
"Intentionally?"
"Yes. According to her, you had a long talk with her once. It seems your words changed her mind…" Dan Heng nodded.
"She originally intended to show us a path to temporarily leave Belobog and lay low outside. But just then, Sampo suddenly appeared, knocked us all out with some smoke without another word, and brought us all down here."
"Oh, right, Sampo is—"
"I know him." Lynelle cut off Dan Heng's explanation. "I ran into him on my way down. He probably… means no harm."
"No harm? Alright. But I still suggest you all be cautious around him. After all…" Dan Heng left his sentence unfinished, but everyone understood his meaning.
After all, the fact that someone in a place like Belobog could produce a smoke potent enough to knock out a group of Trailblazers—who even had environmental resistance buffs—and even a former Vidyadhara High Elder… was more than a little fantastical.
"And after you came underground?" Lynelle asked curiously. "I haven't had time to check. Roughly how long was I asleep?"
"Uh…" March and Stelle exchanged a glance. "Actually, probably less than a day?"
"According to Svarog, you fell asleep yesterday morning. We arrived in the Underworld around noon. After that, we made contact with the local security force, Wildfire."
"Initially, Wildfire said that to get information about the Stellaron, we'd need to find a way to convince Svarog. We didn't expect…"
"You didn't expect I'd already cleared that part of the quest for you," Lynelle finished, planting her hands on her hips with a 'Aren't I amazing?' aura.
"Got it. Well, you all should split up and gather some intel in the Underworld. I came straight to Svarog after arriving, so I'm not familiar with the situation down here. Stelle, you take me to find Bronya."
"The speedrun grandmaster is off to boost her quest completion rate, huh?" A look of pure bliss spread across March 7th's face. "Is this what it feels like to be carried by a veteran player? It's so awesome…"
"Wake up, March," Dan Heng said, utterly deadpan. "You're the veteran player here. And the embarrassing kind who needs to be carried by the newbie."
"Hey, you didn't have to call me out like that!"
--+--
Led by Stelle, Lynelle quickly found Bronya. However, when they found her, her situation seemed a little… precarious.
"Stelle, why is Bronya surrounded by that crowd?" Lynelle stood on her tiptoes, peering into the distance. "Do you know any of those people?"
"I've only been in the Underworld a day, how could I possibly know… Huh? Wait, I think I actually do recognize them."
Stelle, who had been about to reflexively disagree, paused as she got a proper look at the crowd ahead. "Aren't they from the Fight Club?"
"Fight Club?"
"It's called a club, but it's really an underground boxing ring. You know, for unsanctioned fights." Stelle mimed punching with her small fist.
"March, Dan Heng, and I even fought a few rounds there. Dan Heng's nickname was something like… the Cold Dragon Young?"
"That's quite fitting… But an underground boxing ring… I think I've heard of it too…" Prompted by Stelle's words, Lynelle finally remembered the identity of the old man leading the group.
After all, as one of the few named NPCs in Star Rail who was a genuine son of a—, and even the one and only son of a— mentioned in several Underworld quests, it was hard for Lynelle not to remember this old man vividly.
That's right, it was Scott, the boxing ring owner. The old son of a— who cared only for money, and had ruined many Underworld families.
"Let me listen… Ah, I think I get it." Stelle, with her rich social experience in the Underworld, leaned in a little and quickly deciphered the argument.
"Bronya's been tricked. They're forcing her to fight a few matches to pay off a debt, and they keep using the whole 'Upper City withdrew its troops' thing to pressure her…"
As she listened, Stelle grew increasingly indignant.
"Lynelle, these people are definitely doing this on purpose, especially that boss. He probably wants to cause a scene to drum up publicity for these matches."
"An Upper City guard girl, in a place like a black-market boxing ring where anything could happen… I bet a lot of people with extreme resentment towards the Upper City would come looking for trouble. What they might do to Bronya… it's not hard to guess."
"If Bronya holds back, she might get hurt. If she doesn't, she'll make the situation worse, intensifying the conflict between the Upper and Underworld, which just gives him more publicity… That old bastard is pure evil!"
"Not bad, Stelle. I haven't seen you for a few days, but you seem to have gotten a lot smarter." Lynelle looked at Stelle, who had analyzed the situation so clearly, with a hint of surprise.
Due to various fan creations from her past life, the general perception of Stelle was that of a silly, sometimes 'trash raccoon' goofball, leading most to overlook one fact—
Stelle herself was a versatile genius capable of 'mastering anything on first try, becoming an expert in days' across multiple fields.
At the very least, her talent in management, creature taming, puzzles, and gaming was not to be underestimated.
"What do you mean, 'gotten smarter'!" Stelle puffed out her cheeks in protest. "Don't I usually seem plenty quick-witted?"
"Uh…" If Stelle hadn't said that, it might have been fine. But her words immediately reminded Lynelle of Stelle's 'glorious' past—like getting stuck in a trash can on the space station, or licking a railing in Belobog and having her tongue freeze to it.
"If I had to describe the vibe you usually give off… probably 'unhinged'?"
"?"
Ignoring Stelle, who was now covered in question marks, Lynelle stepped forward. She glanced back at Stelle.
"I told you before, my abilities are more of the mental perception type when it comes to people… But aside from Kafka, you haven't really seen other mental-type abilities in action, have you?"
Hearing that there might be some fun to watch, Stelle immediately nodded obediently.
"Well, you're about to see one now."
Lynelle snapped her fingers.
"[Listen to me], everyone…"
"[Please], quiet down."
Instantly, the crowd surrounding Bronya fell as silent as if they had been collectively muted, then rapidly parted to both sides.
"Huh?" Staring at the bizarre scene before her, Bronya, trapped within the circle, jumped in fright.
"Lynelle? It's you? You've come to the Underworld too?"
"Yeah, well, my partners are all here…" Lynelle waved a greeting, then walked straight up to Scott. "Bronya, just wait a moment. Let me deal with this guy~"
"W-wait, Lynelle! Don't kill anyone! If you do, I'm afraid it might—"
"Oh, my dear Bronya, what do you take me for? Some kind of tyrannical overlord?" Lynelle said, somewhat exasperated. "I just plan to teach him a little lesson, that's all."
As she spoke, a soft purple light began to shimmer around Lynelle's hand.
"[Listen to me]… From now on, a single thought will ceaselessly echo in your mind: You will believe that donating money after earning it is the most natural thing in the world. The moment your assets exceed the average level in the Underworld, you will feel physically ill…"
Under the stunned gazes of the other two, Lynelle, like a mischievous little devil, laid the most "malicious" curse imaginable upon an old capitalist who had spent his entire life worshiping money.
"Hey, why are you two looking at me like that? I told you, I, Lynelle, am no devil. There's no way I'd just kill someone randomly."
Seeing the speechless expressions on Stelle and Bronya's faces, Lynelle innocently spread her hands.
"He might be losing his wealth, but he's gaining a sense of fulfillment, isn't he? He can make charity his life's goal from now on, easing the troubles in his heart."
"I have a feeling… for people like him, forcing them to donate money is worse than killing them," Bronya said, holding her head.
Ever since coming to the Underworld, she felt… her worldview was being challenged.
"Don't worry about it. It's just reaping what you sow." Lynelle smiled nonchalantly, then turned to Bronya. "By the way, Bronya, do you know why you're being targeted by these Underworld people?"
"Because I'm still wearing this Silvermane Guard uniform… As one of the people who helped create their current situation, it's only natural I'd face this kind of hostility… Ow!"
Before Bronya could finish her sentence with a gloomy expression, Lynelle had already pinched her cheeks and pulled them outward, stretching her face into an awkward smile.
"Silly, you're not allowed to think like that! I've seen a lot of strange publications where the female protagonist starts thinking that way right before her downfall!"
"Strange publications? What are those…" Unlike Bronya, whose face instantly flushed with understanding, Stelle just looked confused.
"Not for children's ears." Lynelle gave Stelle a light tap on the head, then adopted a serious expression.
"It's true that the Upper City bears responsibility for the Underworld's current state. But what you should be doing is finding a way to change this situation, whether it's by changing people or changing the environment… not giving in to this kind of self-destructive thinking."
"But… ahem, maybe part of your problem is that you keep such a stern face all the time. You're almost like a 'Board Ya'."
"Get it? 'Board Ya' and 'Bronya' sound the same. It perfectly represents your perpetually stern expression. It's kinda funny."
"Aha…" Despite her thick Silvermane Guard uniform, Bronya couldn't help but feel a chill.
"Th-then, what should I do?"
"Heh heh, I was waiting for you to ask that." A look of pure, mischievous joy spread across Lynelle's face.
"As the saying goes, 'You don't hit a smiling face.' To improve relationships, you need to start with how you greet people."
"Come on, Bronya, repeat after me…"
"Ciallo～(∠・ω< )⌒★"
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.