June 15, morning, 08:04
Location: New Eridu Defense Force — Obsidian Barracks
Present: Opoleus Squad — Trigger, Sid, Will-o'-the-Wisp, Ophis, No. 11
Trigger stared at the scene in front of her.
Sid had somehow produced a plastic street-stall chair and calmly sat on it—no one knew where he'd found it, but it was apparently sturdy enough to withstand the weight of his huge mech body. He faced away from her in silence. The light on his visor shifted from surprised orange to contemplative blue—
then finally locked into red.
Angry red.
Trigger let out a breath, walked forward, and unhooked the sniper rifle from her back.
"Hey, Sid. Your days of running your mouth are over. Hand it over—your leave slip."
"If you want it, then you have to take it." Sid's tone was flat. "You've known the rules."
Sid rose from the chair, turned around, adjusted the hat on his head. A dim, unfriendly glint slid through his mechanical eye. His power engine spun up. The air filled with hot-blooded battle BGM.
He struck a stance like he was ready to die protecting his precious leave quota.
Seeing this, Ophis—who'd looked timid a second ago—suddenly changed expression, licking her lips in excitement. Will-o'-the-Wisp poked her head out too, eager to watch the fight—
then sensed something, clicked her tongue, and withdrew again, drooping like a hibernating snake.
No. 11, addicted to training, didn't even look up. She just kept curling dumbbells.
Sid said nothing.
Trigger, meanwhile, looked like she'd anticipated this; she simply slung the sniper rifle back again.
"All right, Sid," Will-o'-the-Wisp snapped. "Change your damn battle music. It's the same track every day—so corny."
Sid flushed—engine blushing red, metal parts clattering as he argued, "How is this corny… corny?! Tactical bodies' taste—how can you call that corny?" and then came the usual hard-to-understand speeches: "Classics never go out of style," "The most flavorful things are always old relics," and so on.
Everyone laughed.
The barracks—inside and out—filled with cheerful air.
After the laughter died down, Trigger turned to Captain Will-o'-the-Wisp and gave a nod, then headed out of the barracks without looking back.
Sid was baffled—watching Trigger's brisk pace, practically radiating impatience—and called after her.
"Trigger! Didn't you already use up your saved leave last time?!"
He heard her reply from afar. The distance distorted it slightly, but it couldn't hide the smug teasing in her voice.
The sentence was short—
and it hit like a bolt from the blue, piercing the steel man clean through and dropping him to his knees.
"Captain Will-o'-the-Wisp transferred your leave quota to me. Sid—this is the price of being a loudmouth."
"What?! Captain! N—"
"You got a problem?"
Watching their captain erupt—and seeing Ophis' eyes instantly transform from soft little lamb into bloodthirsty lioness—Sid fell silent.
After a beat, he quietly opened his music player and put on an old song.
"I don't dare open my eyes, I hope it's just an illusion~~~"
"Stop! I'm going to sleep! Turn off your BGM!"
Sid obediently did so.
When Ophis' eyes softened again, she blinked her red eyes and asked, puzzled, "Sid… why do you suddenly feel like an old tractor? It's like your parts are about to fall off."
"Ophis… old soldiers don't die. They just… gradually fade…"
The wind carried the faint sound of some tactical body's stifled sobbing.
In that moment, Sid believed he was the unluckiest robot in the world.
Surely, all of New Eridu couldn't possibly have a robot more miserable than him…
…Right?
"Anby…"
"Yeah?"
"You think… Cunning Hares' finances are going to be in the red again this month?"
"Based on the fact that Nicole was muttering, very seriously, 'If we sell Billy to the black market, then do a black-on-black scam, then buy him back, then do another black-on-black—could we get out of poverty and become millionaires in a short time?' …Yes. We're definitely in the red."
On Sixth Street, outside the convenience store, Billy—clutching a cheap bottle of gun oil from a collab with Starlight Knight—turned to look at Anby, who delivered this with a completely straight face.
Then he looked to the side at Nekomata, who was clearly used to it, drooling at the store's limited-edition bluefin tuna cans.
Billy raised a hand and covered his face.
"Why… why did nobody tell me that?! That's terrifying! Evil! Like some TV villain final boss move that'll get Starlight Knight kicking our door in with a righteous flying kick! Why didn't I, the victim, know anything about this?!"
"Anby! Nekomata! Aren't we partners?! Why didn't you tell me something so horrifying?!"
"You didn't ask. (Meow.)"
"…."
Billy had no comeback.
He grabbed another box of collab gun oil, staring at the dashing Starlight Knight on the packaging, as some liquid—whether motor oil or something else—leaked from his eyes and dripped onto the box.
"Mm neh! Mm neh neh! (Customer! Please don't soil our merchandise before paying!)"
"Checkout."
"Mm neh! (Thank you for your patronage!)"
Outside the store, Billy looked at his wallet—already light, now so empty it didn't even jingle with dennies when shaken.
Behind him, Anby chewed a cheap burger expressionlessly, and Nekomata sighed and—crushed by reality—settled for cheap sardines instead of tuna.
Billy's "tears" wouldn't stop.
He stared at Chiya's clinic not far ahead, lifted a hand, and declared with feeling:
"If we… go into Doctor Chiya's shop right now… and tell him about our hardship…"
"Then wouldn't we be freed from the hell of poverty… and finally obtain true freedom…?"
"Yes," Anby said, equally solemn, licking cheese sauce from her lip. "As long as we ask, Chiya-chan will definitely help us."
Billy's face lit up—he even started to step forward—
and Anby grabbed him.
"But Nicole won't allow you to do that."
"Why? Back then, Boss Nicole always—"
Before Billy could finish, Nekomata—who'd just popped open the sardines—cut in.
"Because she's feeling inferior, Billy."
Seeing Billy's confusion, Nekomata explained:
"Last time—before I officially joined—when that whole mess happened involving the Red Fang Gang, Vision Corporation, and the Canvas Lane residents…"
"Cunning Hares did play an important role, meow."
"But…"
"But?"
"But comparison is lethal. Billy, you remember them, right? That group—luxurious, strong, and trusted by Chiya…"
Those people—something like "Victoria's Secret"—were genuinely formidable. And the way they addressed Chiya—'Lord Chiya,' 'Sir Chiya'—plus their elegant-but-not-gaudy outfits…
Compared to that, Cunning Hares…
Well. Side by side, they just didn't look like they belonged on the same stage.
No wonder Boss Nicole would…
Nekomata narrowed her eyes with a knowing smile, speaking like someone who'd been around the block.
"They really stole the spotlight."
"And sure, Anby held her ground against that wolf Thiren."
"But Nicole wavered."
"She looked at those maids—who didn't have to worry about salaries, who could say things like 'We serve New Eridu's high net-worth clientele'—and you could see envy flash in her eyes more than once."
"Think about it: Nicole used to believe Chiya only had a few women around him—and they were all familiar, manageable."
"So she could borrow money shamelessly."
"Because that impure-minded woman probably wanted Chiya-chan ages ago—fully prepared to pay with her body and swallow him whole."
"But now she realizes… she isn't the only one."
"And some of the others might be far more impressive—at the very least, they're not crying over monthly deficits."
"When she realizes her 'treasure' isn't like six dennies on the ground within arm's reach…"
"…but more like the moon in the sky, far away."
"And several people are standing closer to it than she is—brighter than she is…"
"Of course she'd feel inferior."
Nekomata's nose twitched over the sardines. In the end, hunger beat conversation, and she started eating.
Anby picked up smoothly:
"But Nicole isn't the type to accept that."
"She knows that if she just asks, soft-hearted, stubborn-mouthed Chiya won't refuse."
"But if she does that—if she becomes the one leaning on debt—then in front of Chiya, and in front of all the other women who like him…"
"How does she gain any advantage?"
"Compared to women stronger than her and financially solid—women who won't become Chiya's bloodletting slot—Nicole thinks she can't express her feelings cleanly."
"So…"
Anby delivered the verdict.
"Until she repays what she already owes Chiya—Nicole… Cunning Hares… will not borrow money from him again."
Billy fell silent. He took a deep breath, then suddenly strode off—
not toward Chiya's clinic, but in the opposite direction.
"Billy? Where are you going?"
"To the Outer Ring. I've got connections out there—should be able to pick up some well-paying work."
"To support Boss Nicole."
"To protect other people's dreams."
"I—Billy—will become a hardworking, money-earning love-partner who supports Boss Nicole!"
"Even if I know I can never repay Doctor Chiya's kindness—money can always be repaid eventually!"
"Anby! Nekomata! Tell Boss Nicole I won't be coming back to drink motor oil tonight!"
Anby and Nekomata watched him march off, chin raised, convinced he looked incredibly cool—
until he reached the corner—
and stepped into his fated pit.
"Waaah—why is there no cover on this manhole?!"
With a scream, Billy dropped straight into the sewer.
Not far away, upstairs in a building, Chiya slept. He frowned as if he'd heard something rancid, mumbled something like, "Manhole covers must be on manholes," and sank back into sleep.
Maybe last night's suffering had been too brutal—Chiya showed no sign of waking.
And the window Miss Jane had opened for ventilation before leaving…
turned out to be the perfect source of "push force."
So a certain unknown New Eridu sniper—someone capable of breath control in extreme conditions—lasted only three minutes before her breathing grew heavy.
She quietly crept onto Chiya's bed.
Before climbing in, she very considerately removed her clothes.
Then she hugged her beloved little one and fell asleep.
Until some furious human-shaped "machine-man" called.
Zero Hollow — Miyabi's Apology, and a Bangboo Dropped From the Sky
Inside Zero Hollow, Section 6 Chief Hoshimi Miyabi kept chasing the target while apologizing to the Bangboo she was carrying.
"Sorry. I grabbed you without thinking. I hope you can forgive such an impolite act."
Nsergia didn't answer. It wore a sour Bangboo face.
It already didn't like this fox Thiren—she talked like Wise, with the same faintly robotic vibe.
And now she was dragging it into a chase after an absurdly huge, extremely dangerous Ethereal.
It really didn't feel like speaking.
Then—
"Sorry," Miyabi said. "The monsters are getting in the way. I need both hands now."
"My teammates will catch you down below."
"Mm neh mm neh (What are you doing?!)"
Before Nsergia could react, Miyabi tossed it down.
Her eyes flashed cold. Her jeweled feet tapped lightly on a floating building—
boom.
A crater formed under her step.
Using that recoil, Miyabi drew her blade and began carving through the Ethereal swarm.
Down below, after Eous' guidance finally helped the other three locate their chief's trail, they barely had time to exhale—
before they saw a familiar-looking white Bangboo falling from the sky, yelling "Mm neh mm neh" all the way down.
Only then did Asaba Harumasa recognize it, exclaiming in surprise:
"Isn't that Doctor Chiya's exclusive Bangboo—Nsergia?"
"What?!" Tsukishiro Yanagi jolted. "Then that means… the kid is here too?!"
Nsergia, meanwhile, was internally losing it.
(Wait—Section 6 knows Chiya too?!)
But leaving that aside—first priority was saving Nsergia.
And then—
"Goose—Chicken—Slash!!!"
Soukaku slammed her weapon into the ground like a flag.
A powerful, adhesive ice vortex erupted, sucking the falling Nsergia toward her.
Eous got yanked off the ground too, but Harumasa reacted fast and kept the "guidance Bangboo" from being dragged in.
Once Nsergia entered the vortex, Soukaku eased the output. The whirlpool lost momentum and dissipated after a few seconds.
Nsergia avoided the "boss fell to death" ending—
only getting coated in frost.
"Little Bangboo, are you okay?"
"Mm… mm neh neh… (Force neutralization! This is ultra-high-purity force neutralization!)"
"…?"
Watching Nsergia drop to all fours right after being saved, Soukaku put a finger to her mouth, sincerely wondering if the Bangboo had broken.
At that moment, Yanagi walked over, crouched down, and looked directly at Nsergia—serious, focused.
"Sorry, Nsergia. Can you tell me first—where is your owner?"
"Mm neh mm neh (Woman, my little master didn't come with me!)"
"Then you're…?"
"Mm neh (I came with my friend.)"
Nsergia lifted a hand and pointed.
Yanagi followed the gesture—
and saw the blank-looking "Society guidance Bangboo."
She pushed up her glasses.
Many years later, when Yanagi had practically become "Chiya's mom," wielding unquestioned authority in his home—
Belle would still remember that afternoon in Zero Hollow.
The afternoon when she met Yanagi's eyes.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 85)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter85)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter81)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter60)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter66)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 40
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 50
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin