“Hmm…” Celine let out a quiet hum.
Looking at Seele’s expression, as though her entire worldview had been turned upside down, she didn’t elaborate further.
Instead, she calmly offered a suggestion.
“Perhaps… you should take her back to the orphanage ruins.”
With that, she ignored Seele, who remained frozen in place with a complicated expression, turned around, pushed open the door, and walked back inside.
Inside the house.
Bronya was still standing there, completely absorbed in the realization that Cocolia had abandoned the Underworld.
Celine walked over, raised a hand, and gently patted her on the shoulder.
“Bronya, right?”
“Mm.” Bronya snapped out of her thoughts and nodded.
“You probably don’t have anywhere to stay for the time being, do you? Why not stay here for a few days?”
“Eh? I…” Bronya hesitated, instinctively wanting to refuse.
Staying in a stranger’s home was completely against the values she had been raised with.
Besides, there was clearly a huge misunderstanding between her and Seele.
“Don’t rush to refuse,” Celine interrupted.
“The Underworld lacks resources. There are a few inns, but they’re… very expensive. Given your current financial situation…”
She glanced meaningfully at Bronya’s elegant outfit.
“You wouldn’t want to sell your clothes for money, or sleep on the streets… or in a cold mine, would you?”
Bronya fell silent.
She had carried money with her, but it had disappeared after she woke up in Natasha’s clinic.
Now, the only things of value she still possessed were her clothes and the insignia identifying her status.
Neither was something she could sell.
“Then…” she finally relented, lowering her head slightly.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“Mm.” Celine seemed to have expected that answer.
Her gaze swept over the two beds placed side by side in the room as she calmly began arranging the sleeping arrangements.
“There are only two beds in the house. Clara and I usually sleep in the larger one.”
“But that’s alright. Clara and I can use the smaller bed.”
Her gaze shifted toward Seele, who had just walked back inside.
Her tone was as natural as if she were assigning an ordinary household chore.
“You and Seele can share the larger bed. It should be big enough for two.”
“It’s settled.”
“Huh?” Bronya was completely caught off guard.
Sharing a bed with Seele, who was obviously hostile toward her and had been speaking sharply to her the entire time…?
Meanwhile, Seele, who had just returned and overheard Celine’s decision, froze on the spot as though struck by lightning.
“Mom!” she practically shouted, her cheeks turning bright red at a visible speed.
Even the tips of her ears were flushed pink.
Her eyes widened in embarrassment and disbelief.
“What did you just say?!”
Seeing Seele’s flustered expression, Celine neither explained herself nor changed her mind.
Instead, she tilted her head slightly, playfully winked with her visible left eye, and revealed a faint, almost mischievous smile.
“Hehe~”
Seele: “!!!”
(The girl’s blushing face outshone everything.)
(Yay, the Azure Sea ship!)
(Celine, you’re personally leading the charge in creating ships now.)
(Mother-in-law, you already gave Seele away! What am I supposed to do? At this point, I can only take you with me.)
Astral Express, Observation Car.
Selene let out a quiet sigh as she slowly finished working on the virtual interface before her.
“Ha…” she sighed softly, rubbing her slightly sore temples.
“Designing a character is really exhausting…”
Especially since she also had to devote part of her attention to monitoring and remotely controlling Celine’s situation on Jarilo-VI. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
Fortunately, the results were extremely satisfying.
The creative boom she had sparked in the fan art community through her lavish spending, combined with Celine’s official debut in the Belobog storyline, her interactions with the main cast, the “Pretty Girl Instant Noodles” meme, and even her role in encouraging ships, had caused her popularity to skyrocket.
The most immediate result was—
Selene opened the system interface, visible only to herself.
[Current Popularity: 15,070,067]
Fifteen million points.
And the number was still steadily increasing as Celine’s storyline in Belobog progressed, discussions within the player community intensified, and more fan art continued to appear.
(It was originally twenty-five million…)
Selene silently calculated.
(…but I spent ten million designing my own four-star character.)
The cost had undoubtedly been enormous.
According to the system, the energy converted from those popularity points had been almost enough to completely create a limited five-star character.
(Still, the greater the investment, the greater the return. A support character whose abilities I can personally design will definitely become overpowered.)
“Now then…” Selene rested her chin on one hand.
“When would be the best time to release her banner?”
“Hmm? Is something troubling you, Selene?”
A gentle voice sounded beside her.
Selene came back to her senses and turned to see Himeko standing nearby, holding a freshly brewed cup of coffee, a graceful smile filled with concern on her face.
“I wouldn’t say I’m troubled.” Selene gently shook her head, returning to her usual calm and elegant demeanor.
“I’m just thinking about a few things.”
“I see.” Himeko smiled faintly as she held the coffee out toward her.
Steam rose from the cup, carrying an indescribably complex aroma through the air.
“Would you like a cup of coffee? It might help clear your mind.”
Selene’s eyes fell upon the offered cup.
Several strangely colored bubbles slowly rose and burst across the surface of the dark brown liquid, silently proclaiming just how “special” it was.
“No… I think I’ll pass.” Selene instinctively leaned back ever so slightly, her gentle smile stiffening as unmistakable fear flashed across her eyes.
(If I drink that… will I even live to see tomorrow’s sunrise?)