At Bronya's invitation, Felicity temporarily bid farewell to March 7th and the others, then accompanied her to a nearby afternoon tea house.
The tea house was located near the Mechanical Workshop. Unlike the lower districts, it was adorned splendidly, with every wall polished to a smooth shine and exquisite advertisements posted all around.
The only flaw was that the signboard above appeared neglected for a long time, showing rust along the edges and obvious traces of touch-up paint.
"Belobog has tea houses like this?"
Felicity seemed surprised. She had witnessed the underground of Belobog... conditions there weren't exactly good, with some groups even fighting over resources.
But Bronya clearly misunderstood Felicity's meaning. She offered a faint smile, nodded proudly, and replied:
"Although Belobog exists amidst disaster and the Fragmentum, the people living here never yield to wild nature. We still have the right to enjoy life despite the snowstorms."
"...How diligent."
Felicity chuckled wryly, wondering what expression this upper-district young lady would wear after witnessing the lives of those in the lower districts.
If things continued at this pace, it might well develop into a tale of war between two cities.
But she chose not to dwell on this topic.
"Let's first discuss the answer you obtained, Miss Bronya."
Felicity casually ordered four cups of milk tea as she asked.
After all, she had already gotten the answer from Dan Heng—Cocolia had agreed to provide all possible assistance. It was unlikely she would change her stance so quickly...
"...The Supreme Guardian did not grant your request."
...Huh?
Felicity's mind froze for a moment.
Seeing that Felicity's expression remained unchanged, Bronya grew more convinced of her earlier speculation. She took a deep breath, as if steeling her resolve.
"Lady Felicity, I apologize for Supreme Guardian Cocolia's discourtesy, but... she called you 'the Deceiver,' claiming your aim is to destroy everything in Belobog."
Bronya made herself appear as sincere as possible.
Although her mother had already ordered her to prepare and assemble the Silvermane Guards to capture the outsiders early tomorrow morning, Bronya did not wish to clash with Felicity if possible.
On one hand, Felicity had saved her subordinates among the guards, which made Bronya feel favorably disposed toward her. On the other hand, Felicity's ability to instantly annihilate an entire street of Fragmentum monsters and heal all the Silvermane Guards present seemed nothing short of a miracle in Bronya's eyes.
And then there was her foresight.
Facing such an opponent, Bronya did not believe Belobog stood much chance of victory.
"I do not know the reason for Lady Cocolia's insistence, but I believe there is still room for negotiation," Bronya said earnestly.
"Room for negotiation?"
Felicity took a sip of her milk tea and repeated unhurriedly.
"...I know what I'm saying sounds a bit... strange, but I'm absolutely sincere in wanting to negotiate with you!"
Bronya grew anxious. She nervously twisted her fingers under the table, trying to think of some guarantees that would strengthen her persuasiveness.
But unfortunately, she was merely the heir to the Supreme Guardian—at least for now—and no matter what assurances she offered, they couldn't carry the same weight as a single word from her mother.
Sometimes she wondered if she didn't even represent herself, but rather a symbolic figure—the title of [Supreme Guardian] heir could just as easily belong to someone else.
"..."
After Bronya finished speaking, the room fell into silence, broken only by the sound of Felicity seriously sipping her milk tea.
Only after Felicity finished her drink did she speak earnestly:
"Bronya, you say you sincerely want to negotiate, but what can you actually do?"
"I..."
Bronya desperately wanted to promise something, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to voice the commitments she had in mind.
She shook her head sadly: "I can't do anything..."
Felicity immediately showed an understanding expression. She smiled lightly and continued:
"You see, I think there's no need for us to continue negotiating. Bronya, if you truly want to change everything in Belobog, then I'll leave you with this:"
"When you have the chance to make a choice, don't let yourself regret it."
After saying this, Felicity stood up and turned to leave without hesitation.
She left Bronya alone, staring blankly at her retreating figure.
After a long while, Bronya finally lowered her head and murmured to herself:
"Don't let myself regret it... is that it?"
...
When Felicity returned to the Mechanical Shop, March 7th and the others had already come out.
"Felicity! There are so many fascinating things in the Mechanical Shop! It's such a shame you weren't there!"
March 7th's eyes sparkled as she counted off the interesting items on her fingers,
"Heaters, video recorders, and these huge gears! They just keep spinning and spinning and spinning! I was thinking, could these gears be powering something? Like maybe the entire Mechanical Shop will stand up and transform into a giant robot?"
"Maybe it's a spaceship,"
Stelle chimed in nearby.
"..."
As usual, Dan Heng remained silent—he didn't seem to possess much talent for banter.
"Gears are one thing, but why would a video recorder count as something fascinating?"
Felicity showed a puzzled expression.
After all, March 7th herself carried a camera with her all the time.
"But that video recorder makes this 'click-clack' sound from gears turning inside! Aren't you even a little curious about what's in there!?"
March 7th waved her arms exaggeratedly.
"Not curious."
Felicity shook her head honestly.
She had managed to get up from a blood-soaked bed after being impaled through the heart just to ask Asta what was for dinner—a few gears spinning inside a video recorder was nothing special. Even if she were suddenly told to fight a giant robot someday, she probably wouldn't be surprised.
...Probably.
"Eh~ how boring... Whatever, let's just head back to the hotel the Supreme Guardian prepared for us first."
March 7th stretched lazily. Ever since meeting Cocolia, they had been running all over Belobog, nearly covering the entire downtown area. Even she was feeling a bit tired now.
Pausing for a moment, she suddenly seemed to remember something.
"Speaking of which, when we went to see Cocolia, did we not mention anything about Felicity?"
"..."
"Then... does that mean they didn't prepare a room for Felicity...?"
The gazes of the three suddenly converged on Felicity.
Felicity: ?