–+–
Following Phaethon’s directions, the group raced through the maze-like ruins.
It didn’t take long for the so-called “exit” to appear before them.
It was a dead end.
A tall wall made of clustered Ether crystal stalagmites blocked the end of the tracks.
There wasn’t a single gap in it.
Only the strange light moving across its surface seemed to say, in silence, that this road went no farther.
“Phaethon! Which way do we run now?” Billy shouted as he sprinted, clear panic in his voice.
The Bangboo stretched out one short dark-gray arm and pointed straight ahead without pause.
“Full speed ahead!”
“Full speed ahead! Got it! Wait… ahead?”
Billy’s voice shot up at once.
He pointed at the thick crystal wall, disbelief filling his tone.
“But that’s a wall! Are we supposed to smash through it? Is that what you mean? I don’t think I’ve got enough firepower for that right now…”
“Don’t worry. Do what my sister says,” a calm male voice came from inside the Bangboo.
“Understood.”
Anby didn’t question it.
She didn’t waste a word.
With a whoosh, she shot forward.
“Hey! Wait for me, Anby! I haven’t finished getting ready yet!”
Billy let out a strange cry, but his body was honest and chased after her at once.
Sandrone and Columbina looked at each other, hand in hand.
They didn’t hesitate.
They didn’t even have time to wonder why an unfamiliar man’s voice had come from the Bangboo before they broke into a run and followed close behind.
As the crystal wall rushed toward them, Billy couldn’t help hugging his head, wearing the face of a man ready to die.
“We’re gonna hit it, we’re gonna hit it, we’re gonna hit it!”
Beside him, Columbina’s figure flickered.
Her movement was smooth and natural as she reached out and wrapped an arm around Sandrone’s waist, lifting her off the ground as easily as if she were picking up a doll.
“Hold tight.”
The girl’s airy voice brushed past Sandrone’s ear, calm enough to make her feel safe.
“—?!”
Her body left the ground in an instant, and her vision blurred with the sudden rush of speed.
The moment Columbina lifted her into a princess carry, Sandrone almost acted on instinct, wrapping her arms around Columbina’s neck.
Her cheek sank against that chest, where a faint, quiet scent lingered.
Billy happened to look back to check on them and saw the whole thing.
“Wow…”
Even at a life-or-death moment where they were about to “hit a wall,” Billy couldn’t help making a comment.
“Could this be… the legendary eloping-from-home plot?”
“Shut—”
Sandrone’s cheeks went hot at once.
She had just opened her mouth to scold him, but it was too late.
Everything happened too fast.
She had no time to break free, and no time to think about how close this position was, before she crashed into the hard wall together with Columbina.
Darkness swallowed her vision.
There was no violent impact like she had expected.
Instead, there came a strange feeling of weightlessness, like passing through a thick film of water.
The world seemed to stretch and twist for one brief instant, and then—
Pop.
Like a bubble bursting.
The next second, light returned.
The stale air, thick with a faint rusty smell, was replaced by a fresh breeze.
“The pressure from the Ether is gone.”
Anby stopped and looked around with a calm gaze.
They were in a quiet corner on the edge of the city.
Sunlight from noon spilled through the gaps between buildings.
It was a little harsh, but it carried a warmth they hadn’t felt in a long time.
From far away, they could just make out the noise of the city.
“We’re out… We finally made it out! Ahaha!”
Billy jumped in place with joy.
Yes, he jumped.
Then he slid both guns back into their holsters and struck a pose.
Columbina also set the person in her arms down with care.
Sandrone’s feet touched solid ground again.
The feeling of standing on something real made her let out a small breath of relief.
With her face composed, she patted down nonexistent wrinkles in her skirt, then lifted a hand to smooth the loose strands of hair near her temples.
She looked reserved and graceful, as if the scene just now, where she had been carried around like oversized luggage, had never happened.
Beep, beep!
Two short honks came from nearby.
A white five-door hatchback was parked in the shade not far away.
Its lines were sharp and sturdy, and the most striking thing about it was the huge black rabbit-head logo on the rear window—the mark of the Cunning Hares.
The car window rolled down, revealing a head of signature pink hair and a pair of sunglasses that covered most of the driver’s face.
“The time and place are exactly what that Phaethon guy said…”
Nicole rested one hand on the steering wheel and called out to them.
“Hey! You two! Get in! What are you standing around for? Waiting for Public Security to come give you an award?”
“Boss Nicole!”
Billy looked like he had found long-lost family.
He cheered and rushed over, almost hugging the car door.
Nicole watched Billy and Anby climb into the car, then her gaze shifted to Sandrone and Columbina, who followed behind them.
“Hm?”
Her brows drew together behind her sunglasses.
Her fingers tapped the steering wheel in a steady rhythm, and a hint of appraisal entered her voice.
“And who are these two? Billy, I remember I came here to fish you guys out. I don’t remember starting a carpool service.”
“Shh—Boss Nicole!”
Billy reacted fast.
He leaned in beside the driver’s seat and lowered his voice, speaking in a secretive tone only the two of them could hear.
“Big business! Boss, these are girls we picked up in the Hollow… possibly rich young ladies who ran away from home! If we don’t take them, Public Security might grab them next!”
“Rich young ladies!?”
Those words seemed to have some kind of magic.
Nicole’s brows lifted, and her eyes lit up as she looked them over again through her sunglasses.
As a seasoned veteran who had spent years clawing her way around the streets of New Eridu, Nicole had a sharp eye.
The girl currently adjusting her collar did indeed wear fabric of fine quality.
Her outfit was complex in design, but not tacky, and every move she made carried a strange kind of calm and care.
It was the kind of presence that only came from a life spent in comfort.
As for the girl with black-to-red gradient hair… although the rough bandages wrapped around her feet looked a little out of place, that otherworldly air around her didn’t seem like something an ordinary person could have.
“Ahem.”
Nicole changed states in an instant.
A warm smile bloomed on her face, and she leaned out the window to wave.
“Well, since you’re friends of Billy and Anby, that makes you friends of the Cunning Hares! Just call me Nicole! Don’t stand there. Get in! This area gets patrolled by Public Security all the time. We can talk on the road!”
Sandrone didn’t say much.
She only gave a polite nod, took Columbina’s hand, and sat in the back of the fairly spacious car.
Vroom!
The engine gave a low growl.
The car made a neat turn and drove toward the main road.
Sandrone turned her head and quietly studied this new world through the window.
The car was driving along the edge of Fourteenth Street.
Around them stood several older high-rises.
Their outer walls were covered in weather marks and all sorts of graffiti, giving them a worn, faded beauty.
After a wild burst of speed, during which Nicole seemed to run who knew how many traffic lights, and with Billy wailing all the while, the scenery around them grew barren.
Only scattered abandoned factories and wild grass flashed past the window.
“Oh, right. What should I call you two?” Nicole asked as she drove with practiced ease, watching the two in the back through the rearview mirror.
“Sandrone.”
“Just call me Columbina.”
“Nice names! So, ladies, now that you’re out, where are you planning to go?”
Nicole asked in a casual tone, but there was a clever test hidden in it.
“If going home isn’t convenient, the Cunning Hares can also offer temporary lodging. Fair prices, of course!”
“Where to…” Sandrone froze for a moment.
In this strange world, they truly had nowhere to go.
But then she suddenly remembered something.
Under that nasty joke about “exchanging for Pulonia,” there had seemed to be another line in much smaller print, a “newbie benefit” she had ignored before because she had been too furious.
It was the so-called “backstage” that the one calling himself Aha had arranged for them.
Sandrone took the slightly crumpled ticket from her pocket.
By the light outside the car, she looked at the crooked little line written on the stub and read out the address.
“Sixth Street… 141… convenience store?”
“Sixth Street’s 141 Convenience Store? You know the owner?” Nicole sounded a bit surprised.
Her fingers tapped the steering wheel.
“Come to think of it, those three little Bangboo are famous for keeping their mouths shut. I still don’t know what their boss’s name is!”
“No. Across from 141 Convenience Store,” Sandrone said, putting away the ticket and correcting her.
“Across from it?” Nicole thought for a bit, then her face lit up with understanding.
“Oh! That place! Yeah, I think no one’s been living there for a while. It’s in a good spot, right by the street entrance. I remember the rent being pretty high too! It’d be a waste to leave it empty and not open a shop there.”
“What’s the area like?” Sandrone asked, using the chance to gather more information about their place to stay.
“That block? Public security’s not bad there, and life’s convenient. There’s a coffee shop, a ramen place, and a… pretty good video store. I go there a lot myself!” Nicole spoke with the easy familiarity of someone who made herself at home anywhere.
“Then I’ll take you there.”
Columbina, meanwhile, looked like a child leaving home for an outing for the first time.
Her cheek was almost pressed to the car window.
She watched the barren scenery fly past outside.
Now and then, she lifted one slim finger and tapped the air through the glass at the huge abandoned billboards by the road.
Her pink eyes were full of simple curiosity and interest.
There weren’t many cars on the road, and they happened to be in a straight lane, so even with Nicole driving fast, it wasn’t too thrilling.
Billy seemed to have done enough running in the Hollow.
He was now sprawled in the passenger seat, hugging his beloved guns like a dried salted fish.
Anby sat on the other side of the back seat with her headphones on, her head nodding to the beat as she hummed some unknown tune under her breath.
For a while, the car was oddly quiet.
Only the soft hiss of tires over the road filled the space.
After a stretch of silence, Sandrone took the lead and broke it.
She needed more information.
“Miss Nicole, if I have commissions in the future, how should I contact you?”
“Ah!” The moment Nicole heard the word “commissions,” she snapped back to attention, her voice turning bright.
“Since we’re all friends now, let’s add each other on Knock Knock! If you ever have a commission, contact the Cunning Hares anytime! Whether it’s finding cats, finding dogs, or… ahem. Anyway, we take anything!”
As she spoke, she freed one hand and knocked on the passenger seat.
“Billy! Stop sleeping! Get up and work!”
“Huhm?” Billy shot upright, almost hitting the roof.
“What happened? Boss Nicole, are we under attack?”
“Use your phone and add Miss Sandrone on Knock Knock!”
“Got it, Boss!”
Billy regained his energy at once and pulled his phone from his pocket.
The screen lit up, showing a close-up wallpaper from his proud favorite, Starlight Knight.
“Phone? Knock Knock?”
Sandrone frowned a little and looked at the glowing rectangle in Billy’s hand.
A communication terminal of this world?
“Sorry,” she said without changing expression, giving a calm excuse.
“I lost my phone in the Hollow.”
“Lost it?” Nicole blinked, but didn’t doubt her.
“Yeah, in a mess like that, losing things is normal. Do you remember your Knock Knock ID? Billy can add you, and you can accept the request later.”
“…I don’t remember,” Sandrone replied, a bit stiff.
“Ah, these days you can’t take a step without a phone!” Nicole’s eyes moved, and she glanced through the rearview mirror at Sandrone’s clothes, which looked expensive no matter how you saw them.
“Billy, take out that new phone of mine that’s still unopened and give it to Miss Sandrone. Consider it a gesture of friendship.”
A long line catches big fish.
Nicole was willing to make this small early investment.
Of course!
More than anything, she trusted her gut.
And her gut told her these two were not simple.
“Boss, which new phone?”
“The one at the very back of the passenger-side glove compartment.”
Billy dug into the depths of the glove compartment and took out a white box, then handed it to the back seat.
Sandrone looked at the box but didn’t reach for it.
“Miss Sandrone?” Billy shook the box in confusion.
“…Uh, you… help me add Knock Knock,” Sandrone said after a pause, finding an excuse.
“My hand is… a little numb.”
Billy didn’t quite understand, but he nodded with cheer.
“Okay. Then I’ll open it?”
“Open it,” Sandrone said with a nod.
Billy moved fast.
In a few motions, he tore open the packaging, turned it on, connected it to the network, and skillfully registered a new Knock Knock account.
“Done. I’ve added the Cunning Hares’ account. Here you go.”
Sandrone took the metal rectangle, still warm from his hands, and touched the smooth screen with her fingertips.
She had quietly watched Billy’s movements just now.
Imitating his gestures, she tested it with a swipe.
The interface was easy to read, and the icons were clear… Hah.
What’s this?
It’s almost the same as a terminal from Snezhnaya.
Sandrone let out a silent breath of relief.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“No problem, no problem. We’re helping each other out!” Billy rubbed his head and gave her a thumbs-up with his other hand.
The barren scenery faded away.
Soon, the car entered Sixth Street, full of the warmth of daily life.
Shops lined both sides of the road.
Pedestrians walked at an easy pace, and now and then, a few round Bangboo could be seen helping carry goods.
Just as Nicole had said, this place was full of the feeling of everyday life.
At last, the car stopped beside a fairly neat-looking two-story building.
“We’re here! This side is 141 Convenience Store, and across from it is your destination…”
Nicole pulled the handbrake, undid her seat belt, and turned around.
She pressed her hands together, her smile shining brighter than ever.
“So then… for this rescue operation plus travel fees, that’ll be fifty thousand Dennies! Of course, if paying right now isn’t convenient, the Cunning Hares also accepts tabs!”
The air inside the car froze for a moment.
Sandrone looked at Nicole’s bright smile, and her fingers tightened slightly over her knees.
She knew very well that she didn’t have a single coin on her right now.
There was an old saying in Liyue: “A single Mora can stump a hero.” So… this was what that felt like?
Sandrone slowly raised her hand.
Her fingertips touched the ruby at her collar.
It was one of the few things Alain Guillotin had left behind.
She hated owing anyone anything, even money.
No, now it should be said that she hated owing money most of all.
But in that instant, a faint trace of reluctance still flashed through her eyes.
Just as she was about to remove it, a cool little hand pressed over the back of hers.
Sandrone froze and turned to look.
There was no real expression on Columbina’s delicate face.
Her pink eyes looked at Sandrone in silence, as if saying, “Leave it to me.”
Then she reached behind herself, her movement soft and mysterious.
When she drew her hand back again, a strange gemstone appeared in her palm.
It was round like a pearl and gave off a faint silver glow.
“Use this to pay.”
Columbina held the gemstone out to Nicole, her voice calm and airy.
“Is it enough?”
Nicole took it without thinking and weighed it in her hand.
…Well, it had some weight to it!
Curious, she lifted the ore and brought it closer for a look.
It was a gemstone she had never seen before.
It felt cool to the touch, dense and solid.
It didn’t shine on its own, yet it gave the illusion that a soft halo wrapped around it.
It carried a hard-to-name sense of mystery, as if… moonlight had been sealed inside it.
Nicole rubbed her chin.
A gleam passed through her eyes.
“…Does this thing have a name?”
Columbina hesitated for a moment, then said the name softly.
“…Moonfall Silver.”
“Moonfall Silver? Nice name!” Nicole praised.
She had never heard of it, but with her years of experience, she could tell this was no roadside stone or ordinary glass bead.
It might even be something rare.
“No problem!”
Nicole didn’t waste any more time.
After all, Phaethon was still waiting for her.
She carefully tucked the ore into the waist pouch close to her body, and the smile on her face became even more sincere.
“The Cunning Hares will always welcome repeat business from you two!”
“Goodbye, ladies!” Billy waved with great warmth.
“Goodbye,” Anby said with a nod.
Sandrone and Columbina got out of the car and watched the white hatchback drive away.
Soon, it vanished around the corner of the street.
Sandrone drew back her gaze.
She looked down at the so-called “phone” in her hand, then looked at Columbina beside her.
Thinking back on everything that had happened in this short time, mixed feelings rose in her chest.
She took a deep breath and turned toward the two-story building across the street.
It looked fairly new.
The outer walls were clean, with no clear signs of damage.
“Hah. Come on. Let’s go inside and talk.”
Sandrone stepped forward and tried turning the doorknob.
Click.
The door wasn’t locked.
It opened at once.
Holding Columbina’s small hand, Sandrone walked inside.
–+–
After Nicole left Sixth Street, she didn’t go straight to find Phaethon.
Instead, she drove out of the street and stopped in a quiet corner on the outskirts.
After making sure there was no one around, all three of them got out of the car.
Anby gripped the hilt of her blade and leaned against the car door, her red eyes scanning the area with care.
“Boss Nicole!”
Billy had been unusually quiet the whole ride, but now his energy had finally returned.
He circled Nicole with excitement.
“So? Those two young ladies! I did pretty well this time, right? Does that mean…”
As he spoke, he rubbed his hands together like a fly and looked at Nicole with hope.
“Hmm…”
Nicole sat on the hood and took out the piece of “Moonfall Silver” Columbina had given her.
She held it up toward the sun and narrowed her eyes as she looked at it from every angle.
Under the sunlight, the ore still gave off that cool silver sheen.
The strong light did nothing to cover it.
“Moonfall Silver… The name’s really not bad, but I’ve never heard of it in any catalog,” Nicole murmured to herself.
“Then isn’t that exactly the point?” Billy twisted with excitement.
“Doesn’t that mean they’re not ordinary? They used something this rare to pay a car fare like it was nothing. They’re totally big clients!”
“Fine!”
Nicole suddenly closed her hand around the Moonfall Silver and tucked it back into the pouch at her waist with care.
A satisfied curve rose at the corner of her mouth.
“Billy, I’ll count this as a merit for you. You’ll get a bonus later!”
Then she hopped down from the hood and looked left and right one last time, confirming that no one had followed them.
“All right! Let’s go. Safety check complete. Time to find Phaethon!”