Later
"With that, I successfully created a screen for us to watch," Anaxa says as a thin prismatic glass floats on his hand, displaying an image of Caelus' apartment room. The majority of the Chrysos Heir can't help but be amazed by the impossible feats Anaxa has pulled off once again.
"You don't sacrifice your terrible eyesight for this again, do you?" Aglaea asks dryly, causing Anaxa to pop a blood vessel in annoyance.
"I would rather not hear this from a violent brute who lost her eyesight long ago," Anaxa says in annoyance.
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing, when it was a blessing to not have to witness your ugly mug and Phainon's terrible choice of fashion," Aglaea says, earning a hurtful look from Phainon.
"What's wrong with my yellow and purple outfit?" Phainon whimpers.
"Lord Phainon, no offense, but you weren't meant to wear such a combination," Hyacine says with an apologetic tone.
"Et tu, Hyacine?!" Phainon asks in disbelief.
"...I know Prof. Anaxa is a mad genius, but this? This is crazy!" Phil exclaims in disbelief. He watches as Anaxa explains how the 'As I've Written' stores living data in the form of memories (he had no idea how that even works) and how he performs Alchemy of all things to reverse-engineer the storage system to let them see the outside world.
There is too much magic for Phil to understand properly.
"Well, he is destined to be the Genius Society Member #100, so it's not weird," Caelus says as he puts his Fool's Mask away.
"...so, how did you end up possessing the book?" Phil asks curiously.
"Well, I just found it in my room all of a sudden," Caelus answers, earning a deadpan stare from Phil.
"Seriously, how?" Phil asks.
"I was telling the truth. I was just lying on the bed after a tired day and found the book, read the story, and cried myself to sleep," Caelus explains. In a way, he wasn't exactly lying about everything. But Caelus noticed Phil still didn't believe him, so he sighed and decided to make things believable. "Fine, it was isekai."
"...I beg your pardon?" Phil said in disbelief.
"Yes, it was isekai," Caelus said as Phil stared at him like he grew a second head. "See? This is why I never want to say anything."
"You're telling me that you got isekai'd! How can a sane man even trust what's coming out of your ass!?!" Phil asks incredulously.
"I wasn't lying!" And he didn't. He just refused to elaborate further.
"...I don't know anymore," Phil mutters as he lies on the tree. "... What else are you lying about?"
"...nothing else," Caelus responds.
"...how about something you refuse to tell?" Phil asks.
"...one day, I'll tell you about it," Caelus says as Phil stares at his friend before nodding.
"I'll wait till you're ready," Phil says as Caelus nods with an apologetic smile. "I'm still mad at you for lying, though."
"About what?" Caelus asks in confusion.
"This," Phil gestures to everything around them.
"I wasn't lying..." Caelus pouts a bit, earning a snort from Phil before they laugh.
"...so, how are we getting out of here?" Phil asks.
"...the last time I came to visit, my body got sent out of the book automatically because I have yet to fully tap into the Path of Remembrance," Caelus says as Phil looks at him.
"...so, you have no idea," Phil says in conclusion.
"Nope," Caelus says as Phil sighs. Then, Mem approaches them while holding her ceremonial blade.
"I think we have enough fun for today," Mem says with a smile as her blade glows. "We should leave before everyone starts reporting us missing."
"Yeah, that'll be a good idea," Phil nods. "But we're kinda stuck."
"As long as I or any Remembrance Pathstrider is here, we could leave anytime," Mem says before she points her blade towards a space. All of a sudden, a beam of light emits from the blade and hits the space, creating a beautiful gate made of memoria.
"...she can just casually do that?" Phil asks in disbelief.
"Yup, she did that when we went to visit Officer Qingyi," Caelus says, shrugging.
"She knew?" Phil asks in surprise.
"Only the existence of Path, not the secret behind 'As I've Written'," Caelus says. "She ended up becoming the Pathstrider of Remembrance."
"...she would be able to solve every mystery case in this world," Phil says in realization, earning a chuckle from Caelus.
"True, she will make every detective lose their jobs," Caelus says before Aglaea approaches him, holding a cloth. "Aglaea?"
"I never get to weave clothes for you like the rest of the Chrysos Heir, but now, I finally get the chance to do it," Aglaea says with a smile. "I made sure it'll fit with the world you're currently in."
Caelus takes a look at the set of clothes Aglaea gave him: A black and yellow jacket with multiple pockets and a large hood, a plain white shirt with golden buttons near the collar, and a pair of gray combat pants.
"The design is unique and something I've never seen before. I plan on making more for everyone, but I believe you should get it first," Aglaea says with a warm smile as Caelus looks at her before smiling in gratitude.
"Thank you, Aglaea," Caelus says as Aglaea nods before pinching his ear for a moment. "Ow, ow, ow!!"
"That's for earlier comments," Aglaea says with a slight smirk before she leaves. Caelus grumbles a bit, rubbing his ear to soothe the pain.
"Hehe..." Phil chuckles before he walks closer to the gate.
"Well, I should take my leave now," Caelus says as everyone nods.
"Just wait a little longer; we'll join you on the other side soon, partner," Phainon says as Caelus nods, not noticing Phil almost trips.
"Wait, wait, wait, what does that mean?!?" Phil asks in disbelief.
"If we get enough people to read our story, we get the chance to explore New Eridu," Phainon says as Phil looks at them and then looks at Caelus.
"...I'm so out," Phil says before walking out of the gate, earning a laugh from everyone.
"Alright, guys. See you tomorrow," Caelus says as he waves at everyone.
"See you tomorrow." With that, Caelus and Mem left the Eternal Page.
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With the Cunning Hares
"So, when is the delayed court trial for that fatass Perlman?" Nicole asks Qingyi as the Cunning Hares and the officers sit at the same table.
"Once we deal with all the paperwork involving the incidents, we'll have to make sure the registered citizens of Canvas Streets are still willing to participate as witnesses," Qingyi explains. "It's quite a long procedure before we can tell when the court should start."
"Great, we couldn't experience the luxury of riding an airship; now we have to delay our future paycheck? That's just great," Nicole grumbles as she crosses her arms.
"Did you forget our deal? You still get some payment for assisting us with the mission," Qingyi says as Nicole blinks before giving them an ugly smile. "Wipe that ugly grin off your face, please."
"H-hey!" Nicole stops smiling and looks at Qingyi with an offended expression.
"Ever since Canvas Street, there hasn't been a dull day for us," Zhu Yuan comments. "And I am surprised that we're no longer breathing down each other's neck..."
"Indeed, having no one chasing our tail has been...relaxing," Anby nods in agreement.
"Yeah, it was quite fun, but at the same time nerve-racking," Billy agrees.
"You know, you all could've done all of this way back then. Why don't you?" Zhu Yuan asks curiously.
"Back then, Intelligent Constructs weren't getting any warm welcomes from anyone, especially the ones designed to be weapons. Even after passing the Forbidden Fruit Test, getting citizenship required us to do manual labour for years without any other type of compensation." Bllly explains. "I just got my taste of freedom after coming to New Eridu from the Outer Ring; accepting their terms meant I'd lose my freedom again. I encountered the Cunning Hares by a weird twist of fate, and the rest is history."
"Oh..." Zhu Yuan frowns for a moment. Even Intelligent Constructs experienced discrimination like other races in the New Eridu, like Thirens and Onis. Sure, the discrimination against Thirens is not as bad as against Onis, given how they shaped New Eridu's civilization, but she and senior Qingyi still receive a lot of violence involving discrimination against Thirens.
"Job requires citizenship. Registering myself as a citizen will attract bad people, and I would like to avoid that," Anby says blankly.
"...may I ask why?" Zhu Yuan sweatdrops.
"No," Anby says with no room for argument, earning a hesitant nod from Zhu Yuan.
"Noted..." Zhu Yuan says before she looks at Nekomiya, who's busy feeding the cat. She notices Zhu Yuan and overhears her question, merely huffing.
"Never bother to get one. The leader of the Red Fang Gang took care of me, so I choose to stay with and work for him..." Nekomiya trails off before she stays silent.
"...I'm sorry," Zhu Yuan says as Nekomiya looks at her.
"...you're the first one to apologize," Nekomiya mutters before she continues feeding her cat. Before Zhu Yuan could respond, she suddenly received a call from someone. Zhu Yuan looks confused when the caller is Seth Lowell of all people and decides to pick up the call.
"Seth, is something wrong? Why do you call?" Zhu Yuan asks in confusion.
"Sorry, senior, but I got bad news," Seth says from the other side, catching Zhu Yuan's attention.
"What? What bad news?" Zhu Yuan asks in alarm.
"Perlman has escaped! He managed to steal one of our vehicles and drove off. He's on his way out of New Eridu!" Seth exclaims in panic.
"Where are you now?" Zhu Yuan asks seriously.
"Stuck in traffic, trying to chase after him..." Seth says in slight embarrassment, causing Zhu Yuan to sweatdrop.
"...do you know where he is right now?" Zhu Yuan asks. After getting the information, Zhu Yuan thanked him and hung up the call. Before she could report it to Qingyi, she saw something that sent shivers down her spine.
Remember the ugly grin Nicole started making these past few days? Now, imagine that smile flip upside down, wrinkles appearing all over her face, a single tear escapes from her eyes, her teeth turns sharp as needles, and her hair looks completely disheveled.
"My...money..." Nicole says in a horrified tone. "My money...is escaping...."
"Uh..." Zhu Yuan looks unsure and glances at Qingyi, who looks a bit nervous.
"DAMN IT, THAT BIG PILE OF PIG SHIT!!!! HE DARES TO RUN AWAY WITH THOSE STUBBY FAT, NON-EXISTENT FEET!?!! NOT ON MY FUCKING WATCH!!!" Nicole roars, flames spewing out of her mouth. "ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU, HE'LL WISH HE WAS ROASTED MEDIUM-RARE, SERVED ON A SILVER PLATTER FOR THE PESKY RICH FUCKS WHO LOVE THEIR STUPID FANCY CUISINE!!!!"
"...your boss seems...excited," Zhu Yuan sweatdrops as Nicole continues to spew fire from her mouth.
"We've never seen her this angry, or even look this ugly," Anby says in a blank tone.
"Me too. This is the scariest our boss has ever seen," Billy whimpers as he hides behind Anby, trembling like a leaf.
To Be Continued