Because of March's wanted poster, everyone became bolder.
So, they all took off their masks again, after all, keeping their faces covered the whole time was pretty uncomfortable.
Nero let out a sigh. It seemed the worldline hadn't changed after all. At the very least… the drawing on the wanted poster was still just as abstract.
It turned out his worry that someone might draw a really good-looking wanted poster had been completely unnecessary.
Right after that, Nero started looking forward to his own wanted poster instead.
To be honest, he was really curious what Gepard would draw him like.
Everyone continued toward the Neverwinter Workshop. And just as expected, whether the civilians had seen the wanted posters or not, none of them recognized the group.
Before long, they arrived at the Neverwinter Workshop.
It didn't take long for them to reach the front door. After knocking, Serval's voice came from inside.
"Who is it? Not open today, come back tomorrow!"
"Big clients here, long-term cooperation," Stelle said.
Serval replied from inside, "Not interested. I'm short on time, not money!"
March curled her lips and called out again, "Serval, it's us from before! We passed by here earlier! Weren't you really interested in products made from Fragmentum creatures? Don't you remember?"
"What, ah, I remember! The aliens from outside Belobog! Hey, why are you still running around the city? Don't you know the Guards are searching everywhere for you?"
"Quick, get in. Act natural, don't let anyone notice you!"
After entering the Neverwinter Workshop, Stelle couldn't help but grin…
The Guards really were searching all over the city, but most of them had never actually seen the group. And the portraits on the wanted posters were just way too abstract…
So much so that even walking openly down the street, it was hard to run into anyone who recognized them…
"Alright, you're safe here. My workshop has decent soundproofing, and no one usually comes by anyway."
Serval sighed, then asked, "What on earth did you guys do? The Guards actually pulled some units back from the front lines, now they're patrolling the whole city and hunting you down. The entire Upper District is on edge."
"We…"
Just thinking about being arrested for no reason made March furious. She was so angry her tongue almost tied itself in knots.
Dan Heng glanced at March, then turned to Serval and said, "Bronya said we can trust you completely."
Serval blinked, looking at Dan Heng, who felt like a parent figure. "There's something behind those words. You're emphasizing that Bronya trusts me, so that means you don't yet, right?"
Dan Heng nodded without hesitation.
Serval shrugged. She wasn't angry at all, instead, she praised him. "Not bad, pretty alert! Don't worry. I don't get along with Cocolia. She was the one who kicked me out of the Architects back then, I've got no reason to stand on her side."
"Unless the Architects publicly present solid evidence proving you deserve punishment, I don't believe you'd do anything bad. And from what I know of the Architects, if they had evidence, they would've released it already."
"I'm familiar with this routine… Cocolia does things this way, get everyone busy first."
"...After people get busy, there aren't many left who have the energy to think about the details."
Hearing the faint resentment in Serval's tone, Stelle thought for a moment and asked, "Do you hate Cocolia?"
"Hate?" Serval gave a relaxed chuckle. "We used to be inseparable sisters. Of course, that was before she became the Supreme Guardian…"
"As for me now, I just hole up in this workshop fixing junk and playing music. Life's pretty comfortable."
"Alright, I didn't plan on talking about painful memories. Let's get back to you. Bronya disappeared for a long time and sent you to find me, there must be something important, right?"
"You can trust me. Even though we've only met once, my intuition tells me you're not bad people. Ha, my intuition's always spot-on."
"Then let's explain everything, from start to finish," Stelle said.
March volunteered eagerly. "I'm the best at telling stories, I'll do it!"
Dan Heng narrowed his eyes and warned, "…Don't exaggerate too much."
After that, March told Serval about what happened in the Underworld, about the Stellaron, and handed over Bronya's letter.
"No wonder there's been no news of Bronya lately. So that's what happened. The Underworld, huh… It's been sealed off for so many years. No one's come up in ages, I never imagined it was like that."
After hearing the story, Serval sighed with emotion.
"I believe your experiences. Something this twisted and bizarre couldn't be made up, especially with Miss Seele here as a witness. The Stellaron… heh, now I know why Bronya wanted you to find me."
"…Back when I was still part of the Architects, working in the research department, the Stellaron was exactly what I studied."
"I never thought that after being expelled from the Architects, I'd hear that word again… I'll tell you everything I know."
Afterward, through their discussion with Serval, the Express crew learned that the Stellaron was located somewhere in the vast snowfields north of Belobog.
However, finding the Stellaron was no simple task. Almost everything north of Belobog had been swallowed by the Fragmentum, and they would also need to pass through a frontline restricted zone heavily guarded by the Silvermane Guards.
Wanted criminals charging into a Guard encampment, no matter how you thought about it, felt pretty… abstract.
But considering their equally abstract wanted posters, and Serval's old connections with military officers, maybe it was worth a try… having Serval lead them there directly.
After that, everyone got ready to set off. As they walked toward the door, Serval scanned the group and asked with confusion, "Now that I think about it, something felt off earlier. Where's that little guy with white hair who was with you?"
"You mean Nero?" March blinked. "Nero, he's right..."
Halfway through her sentence, March looked around, and only then suddenly realized, Nero was gone...
'No wonder he hadn't said a word for so long earlier!'
'That kid disappeared again halfway through!'
"Nero is missing, we have to find him right away!"
Stelle said, already stretching her long legs, ready to rush out.
Even though the wanted posters were abstract and Nero was strong, there were still so many Silvermane Guards out there…
But just as she stepped forward, there was a knock on the door outside.
Serval's expression changed as well. She reached out and pulled Stelle back. "Oh, oh no! I forgot my little brother said he'd come today… Quick, hide somewhere, I'll deal with him!"
There was no choice. Gepard had seen the Express crew before, so everyone had to listen to Serval and hide first.
After everyone was hidden, Serval opened the door and welcomed Gepard inside.
"Ge... Gepard, you're here! I thought things were so tense on the front lines that you wouldn't have time to come over, haha…"
Serval looked a bit nervous. Her acting clearly needed work.
But Gepard didn't seem to notice anything unusual and just said, "It's fine. The monsters' offensive has eased up a bit lately. I came back to the city to handle some matters and will return to the front later… Didn't I tell you earlier?"
"Huh? Oh, right, yeah, that did happen…"
Hiding in the workshop itself wasn't really a problem, but Serval's poor acting made everyone else even more nervous.
This kind of job would've been better suited for Sampo. That guy looked like he'd be great at this sort of thing.
Gepard frowned slightly and looked at Serval with some concern. "…Sis, you don't look too good. Did something happen?"
Serval's gaze drifted. "N-no, nothing at all. What makes you think that?"
"You usually don't call me by my full name," Gepard said seriously.
"Oh come on, didn't you always hate it when I called you 'little brother' in public? I think you're right, using your name normally is better, don't you think, little brother?"
Gepard sighed. "…Call me whatever you want. Sister, I'm here on official business today. The 'Bulwark' device malfunctioned, and the engineers in the unit don't know what to do. We still need you to take a look."
Once it came to this, Serval instantly became more confident. She put her hands on her hips and said, "Those guys' thinking is completely rigid. Of course they can't understand my design. Tch, I thought it was something serious. Leave it here, I'll fix it."
"Thank you for the trouble," Gepard said, still very serious.
"No need to be polite. Oh, right, why was the city suddenly put under martial law? Did something happen?" Serval asked.
"This… I was instructed to keep it confidential…" Gepard hesitated, clearly showing that while he was always serious, he wasn't completely heartless.
Serval raised an eyebrow and let out a long sigh. "Little Geppie, you've really grown wings now… looking down on your commoner sister…"
Then Serval lowered her head, wearing a gloomy, wounded expression.
"Don't do that…" Gepard turned his head aside, pressed his lips together, then sighed. "Sigh, forget it. Even if I don't say anything, Pela will probably tell you anyway."
Then Gepard started spilling the details. "Last night, Miss Bronya suddenly appeared and entered Fort Qlipoth without informing anyone."
"The Supreme Guardian suspects that the four intruders from before didn't fall into the Fragmentum, but instead followed Bronya back to the Administrative District. She ordered a full lockdown and the arrest of anyone suspicious."
Serval nodded. "Ah, so that's how it is. No wonder there was no news of Bronya before… How is she now?"
Gepard shook his head. "I don't know. She hasn't left Fort Qlipoth. The Supreme Guardian only said she returned, nothing else."
Hearing this, Seele, hidden in the shadows, suddenly widened her eyes.
Misfortune never comes alone.
They had just discovered that Nero had suddenly gone missing, and now they learned that Bronya's life or death was unknown…
"Well, I am pretty worried about her…" Serval said. "After she disappeared, Pela said her workload doubled, she doesn't even have time to go out anymore."
Gepard narrowed his eyes. "She really tells you everything, huh… Ah, right. Last time I left my Goethe Hotel anniversary limited-edition water bottle here. I'll take it with me."
With that, Gepard prepared to walk inside, and Serval hurriedly stopped him. "W-wait a second!"
Gepard turned around and looked at Serval in confusion. "What is it? Sis, you're really not normal today…"
Seeing Gepard being held up by Serval, the people hiding quickly changed positions.
Serval thought fast, racking her brain for an excuse. "Over there… oh, right! Didn't you kill several pots of flowers before? When I cleaned the place, I piled them all over there, it smells really bad! Don't go over there!"
Gepard looked at his sister suspiciously, wondering what on earth had gotten into her today. 'Could it be she'd stayed up all night writing music?'
"…Putting aside how weird that excuse is, did you really clean the place? You're not doing some forbidden research again, are you…"
"Of course not! You brat, what kind of image do I even have in your eyes?"
"Sigh… fine. I really shouldn't intrude on your private space. Duty calls, I'll head out first."
With that, Gepard turned to leave.
Then, he was stopped by Serval again.
"Hey! Don't go yet, that, um… those intruders. I just want to ask, what crime did they commit?"
"Premeditated subversion of the Architects, conspiracy to destroy Belobog," Gepard replied.
Hearing that, Serval curled her lips with a hint of mockery. "Heh… pretty much the same reason they punished me back then. Cocolia's methods really haven't changed at all."
"Don't say that, sister. I know you're dissatisfied with the Supreme Guardian, but this isn't something to joke about."
Serval shrugged. "…There you go lecturing me again. Fine, little brother. Walk carefully, and next time, come listen to me rehearse with Pela."
Gepard nodded and said very seriously, "Mm. If I have time, I'll come."
After that, Gepard left.