"Gah! Wise! Belle! Save me, will ya?!"
"Ah, ah—Little shopkeeper, right now I really don't want to hear other people's names… especially other women's names."
"Come on. Be good."
"Lie down on the bed. Take your clothes off. Don't make me do it myself."
"I rode for a long time to get here today…"
"Relax, I won't do anything…"
"…Little shopkeeper, why are you hiding your hands behind your back?"
"Let me see."
"Oh? Sending a distress message, are we?"
"Little shopkeeper, you're being naughty."
"Good kids get rewards… but bad kids…"
"…get punished~~ ❤"
(The narration is explicitly coercive here and is framed as sexual intimidation. I'm going to fade out at this point and carry the story forward, so you keep continuity without me translating coercive sexual content directly.)
While the chaos inside Chiya's Heal shop finally came to an end—
Not far away, at Random Play, Belle—freshly done with a long day's work—looked at Wise, who was standing at the door deep in thought, and asked curiously:
"Big bro? You're not going to sleep yet… are you waiting to watch one of those movies you like?"
"Belle…" Wise sighed, rubbing his temple, looking genuinely stressed.
"Can you not use words with that kind of obvious double meaning?"
"And don't lump it all under one simple label."
"That's called an art film, okay?!"
Then his expression tightened.
"Belle… I don't know why, but I keep feeling like Chiya was just calling for help."
"Chiya?" Belle blinked. "Then why didn't I feel anything?"
"Belle," Wise said gravely, "there are some forms of understanding between men that you won't get."
"Just like how art films and action films aren't the same genre."
"What the heck. Art films, action films, romance films… when you get down to it, they're all just films."
"Ah—bro! Someone's knocking!"
"I know." Wise frowned. "Weird… it's this late. No way it's a customer."
Belle opened the door.
A familiar figure stood there.
A man in a felt hat and a pitch-black suit—paired with an aggressively flashy green tie—stepped inside the moment he saw the siblings.
"Sorry, old friends. Showing up this late… I woke you up, didn't I?"
"Shepherd," Wise said warily, "we're closed… coming here this late—does that mean it's urgent?"
"Of course." Shepherd lifted his hands. "If it were normal business, I wouldn't be knocking at this hour."
"Good timing that both of you are here."
"I've got a message for Phaethon."
"The complete Phaethon."
Wise and Belle still looked suspicious, so Shepherd swore repeatedly that nobody had tailed him. Then, as if it were his living room, he strode deeper into the video store.
Once he found a place to sit, he loosened his tie, let out some heat, wiped the sweat off his forehead, and only then began to explain why he'd come.
"Again—sorry for the late-night visit. This intel is urgent and explosive, so I'll keep it short…"
"…Ah. Do you have any tea?"
Seeing him still trying to act coy at a time like this, Belle rolled her eyes.
"You're picky. How about a cup of tap water?"
"Haha—come on, I've been a loyal regular, always bringing you high-quality commissions."
"Could you improve my待遇 a little?"
After that well-practiced sob story, Shepherd cleared his throat. His tone turned serious.
"Ahem. It's simple."
"The routine investigation of Hollow Zero is about to start again."
"What?!" Wise's face tightened.
Shepherd hummed, pleased with the reaction.
"You heard me right."
"And this time, the Association seems to be gearing up for a long campaign."
"They're splitting the routine investigation into multiple phases—so it'll likely run for quite a while."
"The moment I got that news, I immediately thought of my most valued clients—our legendary Proxy duo, Phaethon."
"I figured you'd want in, so I pulled strings."
"I left a little… back door in the recruitment process."
He leaned forward.
"As long as you enter Hollow Zero and complete one test commission, you'll be granted legal qualification—under an external investigation team contract—to investigate Hollow Zero."
After listening, Wise pushed aside his earlier unease about Chiya, stroked his chin, and thought for a moment.
"…That is valuable."
"Worth a cup of hot tea."
Belle smiled pleasantly.
"Understood. Let us think about it."
Shepherd beamed, though he kept a show of restraint.
"Sure. People always say not to make important decisions at night."
"Think it through."
"Once you decide, you can head to Scott Outpost anytime to complete the test commission!"
He rose, then hesitated.
"Then I'll—take my leave?"
As he left, he looked longingly toward the teapot in the distance, sighed, and walked out of Random Play.
"Don't let the door hit you," Belle muttered.
After seeing Shepherd off, Wise turned back to Belle and spread his hands.
"That guy really knows how to pick his timing—dropping anxiety-inducing business intel right before bed."
"But he's not wrong."
"'Night isn't suitable for important decisions.'"
"And discussing work before sleep really isn't ideal."
"So, sis, get some rest tonight. We'll talk it over tomorrow."
"And you?" Belle asked.
"Me?" Wise frowned. "I'll sleep later."
"Strange… I feel like I've forgotten something important."
Even after Belle went upstairs, she could still hear Wise downstairs, muttering while he tried to remember.
Once Belle shut her door, she took one look at her warm bed, couldn't fight the drowsiness, and fell asleep immediately.
H.A.N.D. Headquarters — Hollow Affairs Special Operations Department, Section 6 Office
Deputy Section Chief and Intelligence Officer Tsukishiro Yanagi was still grinding through late-night overtime.
As the only "normal" member of Section 6, Yanagi carried a mountain of responsibility on her shoulders.
Administrative management.
Mission follow-up and feedback.
Intel collection.
On-site support.
Most of it landed on her desk.
Which was exactly why she was often working deep into the night.
Sometimes Asaba Harumasa helped her process paperwork.
But more often, his health limited him—he frequently requested sick leave, and his position was often left vacant.
Recently, though, his condition had improved noticeably—apparently because of the medication prescribed by that… child—
No. That doctor.
But ironically, that only made Yanagi spend more effort distinguishing how much of Harumasa's sick leave was real… and how much was him playing games.
Tonight, Yanagi was once again alone in the office.
When she finally finished a batch of work, she picked up the red-bean bun she'd left by her side, intending to comfort her stomach—
And the chill of it on her tongue snapped her hazy overtime brain awake.
"It's gotten this late already…"
She glanced at the time on her computer screen and murmured quietly.
Looking at the still-unfinished workload—reduced, yes, but far from gone—Yanagi gave a helpless smile.
"I'll leave the rest… for tomorrow-me to suffer over."
"Soukaku is probably waiting impatiently."
She stretched her back—then her eyes flicked to the doorway.
"Who's there?!" she called sharply.
"…Training. Failed…"
A figure stepped out from around the corner.
Upon seeing Hoshimi Miyabi, Yanagi's vigilance instantly melted away, replaced by an even more resigned smile.
"Section Chief… what kind of strange training are you doing this time?"
Miyabi answered in a flat tone:
"'Training to slip past Yanagi's perception and quietly place a freshly bought red-bean bun on her desk.'"
"…But I failed."
"Perhaps it's because I'm not fast enough."
Expression unchanged, Miyabi pulled a red-bean bun from inside her clothes. Her voice dipped with genuine disappointment.
"I wanted you to eat it while it was hot, so I used my fastest speed."
"But I still couldn't keep the warmth."
"Sorry, Yanagi. Training failed."
"Section Chief…"
Yanagi didn't know whether to laugh, sigh, or both.
Miyabi tilted her head.
"What is it, Yanagi?"
"Why do you look… 'moved, but also helpless and amused,' and then sigh?"
"Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Yanagi adjusted her glasses.
"It's just… the bun went cold, likely because you moved too fast."
"The faster you go, the faster it loses heat."
"The slower you go, the longer it takes—and it still cools down."
"So next time, Section Chief, perhaps you can try training to 'control speed and timing' so they land in an ideal window."
"I understand," Miyabi said. "I'll remember that."
Yanagi took the bun from Miyabi's hands.
Miyabi's ears twitched—her mood visibly brightened.
Then, as if remembering something, she spoke with her usual blunt honesty.
"Yanagi. Rest well tonight."
"Tomorrow, we still have to pursue Nineveh."
"Section Chief," Yanagi replied firmly, "that's precisely why I need to organize these materials."
"Knowing an enemy's weakness is equivalent to earning more protection… and odds of victory."
"Oh." Miyabi nodded. "Then I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"These days, you keep disguising yourself, going to Sixth Street to spy on Doctor Chiya…"
"…is that also 'finding his weakness'?"
"…Huh? Huh?!!"
"Yanagi," Miyabi said earnestly, "I'm not stupid. I'm smart. So I asked."
Yanagi's smile froze—then she countered smoothly.
"Section Chief, I also have a question."
"Go ahead."
"It's very late."
"When are you going to sleep?"
"…Yanagi. Are you angry?"
"I'm not angry." Yanagi's tone remained calm, almost gentle.
"So. Go to bed."
"Section Chief."
"Tomorrow we still have to deal with Nineveh."
After considerable effort, Yanagi finally coaxed Miyabi into going home to sleep.
Leaving H.A.N.D. headquarters, Yanagi looked up at the moon hanging high in the sky, sighed, hummed a little tune, and began her journey home.
"…Crap."
"It's been so long—Soukaku's going to be waiting anxiously, isn't she?"
If you paste Chapter 36, I'll continue in the same style: full, polished English; clean formatting; and for any coercive/explicit sexual material, I'll fade out while preserving plot continuity.
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 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 20
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 20
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