After spending a while exploring the map, Old Bear successfully exhausted every interactable sparkle he could find.
“Okay.”
“Back to the main story.”
First—
Pela.
Then—
Serval.
Then the Fragmentum entrance guarded by Silvermane Guards.
Finally—
The quest marker pointed toward the Goethe Hotel.
Old Bear was about to enter when the screen gradually went black.
“Hm?”
“What happened?”
???:
“Ma’am.”
“She’s the one who went around rummaging through every trash can and damaged the city’s sanitation.”
“She massively increased our workload.”
Bronya:
“Arrest her.”
Two voices sounded in the darkness.
When the image returned—
Stelle had already been detained by Silvermane Guards.
“You’re… the girl we met at Qlipoth Fort.”
“Oh, it’s you. Misunderstanding. Remember me?”
“Who dares accuse this Trailblazer?!”
Old Bear went completely numb.
His eyes widened.
“Wait.”
“Brother.”
“Digging through trash cans is actually ILLEGAL?!”
Stelle:
“Who dares secretly accuse this Trailblazer?”
“Reveal yourself immediately!”
Model Citizen:
“Me!”
“You tell me.”
“Why does a young girl like you need to search every trash can in the entire district?”
“Because of you, I was forced to work overtime!”
Stelle:
“…”
Bronya frowned slightly.
By now—
She already knew the identities of the three people who had met Cocolia.
Originally, she hadn’t seriously doubted them.
But now that one of them was behaving like this…
It became difficult not to question things.
Would an interstellar merchant capable of crossing the stars really do something this undignified?
Bronya’s mind immediately began racing.
Where had they actually come from?
Could there be fortress-cities on this planet other than Belobog?
Several centuries had passed without a single offworld visitor.
And suddenly—
At this extremely sensitive moment—
These people arrived.
Who would believe there was nothing suspicious?
Perfect.
She could use this opportunity to test them.
“I am Bronya.”
“Acting Commander of the Silvermane Guards.”
“For disturbing city order, I am placing you under lawful detention.”
“It’s Lingzhou!”
“We’re saved!”
Old Bear instantly recognized the voice.
“Commander Bronya.”
“Could you show leniency considering that we are newcomers unfamiliar with local regulations?”
Lingzhou approached slowly.
Beside him walked March with a face that screamed— This story is hosted at g.com.
I DO NOT KNOW THIS WOMAN.
“I am willing to compensate this citizen one hundred thousand credits for the overtime caused by my companion’s behavior.”
Bronya’s eyes flickered.
She noticed the cleaner’s suddenly tempted expression.
Then slowly nodded.
“Very well.”
“But according to procedure, you still need to sign a written guarantee.”
“Come with me.”
March immediately became anxious.
“But—”
“Of course.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Commander Bronya.”
Lingzhou interrupted March and gave her a look.
March understood.
She couldn’t stop herself from glaring resentfully at Stelle.
Look what you did!
Searching every trash can in the district?
How many even were there?!
What normal person did this?
Old Bear stared.
“Huh?”
“Didn’t she say we were just signing a guarantee?”
Bronya turned toward the Silvermane Guards behind her.
“You may leave.”
“I’ll handle things from here.”
“Yes, Lady Bronya.”
The Guards quickly departed.
Once they were gone, the severity in Bronya’s expression eased slightly.
Her eyes were filled with suspicion as she looked at the trio.
“Are you truly from beyond this world?”
March:
“Absolutely.”
“If you don’t believe us, look at these.”
She took out photographs taken aboard the Astral Express before departure.
And magnificent scenery from previous Trailblaze expeditions.
“Look.”
“This completely white planet is your home—Jarilo-VI.”
“This is the ship graveyard on Taikiyan, an Interastral Peace Corporation world.”
“Isn’t that laser stadium spectacular?”
“And this one.”
“Salsotto.”
“It looks like somebody pressed the pause button on the entire world.”
“Isn’t the scenery incredible?”
“And here…”
One impossible photograph after another overturned Bronya’s understanding of reality.
Her suspicion gradually faded.
Lingzhou:
“Now look at this.”
He produced the landing craft’s flight log.
It clearly recorded the entire journey from outer space down to Jarilo-VI.
At that point—
Bronya’s doubts vanished completely.
Belobog did not possess the technology to fabricate footage like this.
She took a deep breath.
Her face grew more serious.
“In that case…”
“I’ll speak plainly.”
“Abandon your plan to establish commercial relations with Belobog.”
“And leave this planet immediately.”
Stelle and March:
“Why?”
Lingzhou looked at Bronya in genuine surprise.
But did not speak.
Bronya: This story is hosted at g.com.
“We are currently facing a crisis.”
“Mother—”
“The Supreme Guardian…”
“She did not tell you about the urgency of the situation.”
“The Fragmentum’s corrosion of Belobog has never stopped for even a moment in hundreds of years.”
“Now the situation is becoming increasingly severe.”
“And yet the Supreme Guardian continues stubbornly issuing decisions and orders so absurd that I can no longer understand them.”
“Remaining here is not wise.”
“You are outsiders.”
“For your own safety, leave as soon as possible.”
Stelle stared blankly.
“So you detained me just to tell us this?”
Bronya shook her head.
“Not entirely.”
“I did suspect your identities earlier.”
“After all…”
“What kind of merchant would…”
She stopped there.
Stelle immediately smiled awkwardly.
Bronya:
“I wanted to make contact with you earlier.”
“But I lacked a legitimate reason.”
“So I used this incident as an excuse.”
Lingzhou suddenly said something shocking.
“So the people secretly monitoring our movements…”
“You sent them?”
“Huh?”
“We were being watched?”
“When?!”
Old Bear hadn’t realized anything.
But some players immediately guessed the answer.
Obviously—
Not Bronya.
Bronya flatly denied it.
“Those are all the Supreme Guardian’s people.”
“The fact that she sent people to watch you means she never fully believed your explanation.”
“And that was one of the reasons I originally became suspicious of you.”
“You have no connection to this world.”
“There is no need for you to become involved.”
“You should leave early.”
March opened her mouth.
Bronya had already been this honest.
March badly wanted to ask whether she knew anything about the Stellaron.
But Lingzhou was leading the expedition.
If he didn’t speak—
March couldn’t recklessly reveal their goal.
She could only glance at him meaningfully.
Lingzhou:
“Thank you for the warning, Commander Bronya.”
“We’ll carefully consider it.”
“To be honest…”
“We dare explore unknown worlds because we possess a certain degree of confidence in our own abilities.”
“We’ve dealt with Fragmentum monsters many times.”
“Perhaps…”
“We can help you resolve the source of this disaster.”
“The source is the Stellaron.”
“Lingzhou is testing Bronya.”
Old Bear immediately guessed.
Bronya frowned.
“…It isn’t that I’m unwilling to believe you.”
“But for hundreds of years, Belobog has never discovered what caused the Fragmentum.”
“When the root remains unknown…”
“How can it be solved?”
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