"Ruby!"
Ellen's face flushed bright red as she bit down on her lower lip. Her fingertips dug so deeply into Phaga's waist that his eyes flew open and he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Stop, stop—let go first."
Phaga quickly grabbed Ellen's hand and pried it off him, then pressed her hand against his lower abdomen. Taking advantage of her surprise, he pulled her by the waist so she fell gently against him.
"Right… how did you two end up here?"
He turned his head, signaling Rain and Ruby to stop teasing. Ellen embarrassed easily—too easily.
But Phaga was genuinely curious. Ellen showing up made sense, but Rain and Ruby?
"About that…"
Rain shot Ruby a look and jerked her chin toward her.
Ruby blinked—then immediately understood. Spinning around, she pulled a black-and-white doll from behind her back and tore the seal off its mouth.
[Ahem! You rotten humans! How dare you disrespect the mighty Black-and-White Doll!? After the Twin Marionettes died, Black-and-White Doll's power has risen to the level of Notoriety Ethereals—yet you still treat me like this?! I—]
Having been sealed far too long, the doll launched straight into a furious tirade, scolding anyone within a kilometer.
Ruby endured the noise with a twitching eyelid and scratched her head.
"Ugh, this thing is so annoying… Anyway, Phaga—Ellen was trying to fix her Shark-Thiren low-endurance issue to save you."
"So she dragged me into the Hollow to catch the Black-and-White Doll. But why me? Why assume I could handle it?! I'm an investigator! My job is getting people out of Hollows safely!"
She hugged the doll closer, cheeks puffed with indignation.
"But the moment we entered the Hollow, didn't we immediately find a Black-and-White Doll lying on the ground reading a book?"
Rain cut in, deadpan.
Ruby froze. Her face flushed bright pink. She tightened her grip on the doll as she sputtered:
"T-That was because of my talent, okay!? I'm a future legendary investigator—I'm naturally gifted!"
"Mm-hmm. Sure." Rain humored her with a nod, then raised an eyebrow at the doll squeezed in Ruby's arms.
"Speaking of which, maybe loosen your hold? You're about to strangle the mighty Black-and-White Doll—supposedly on par with Notoriety Ethereals."
"Huh?" Ruby looked down.
At some point, the doll had gone limp—eyes rolled back, tiny tongue sticking out, a small furry hand weakly tapping at her arm as if begging for mercy.
She had nearly choked it to death without noticing.
Ruby yelped and immediately let go. The doll floated weakly in the air as she bowed in apology over and over.
"Ah—sorry, sorry! Are you okay, Black-and-White Doll?"
[Almost wasn't…]
The doll rubbed its neck in lingering fear, turning to snap at Ruby—but seeing her guilty expression, the words died in its throat. Instead, it angled its head toward Rain with a suspicious glare.
[Hey. Hacker girl. You didn't mess with the Sacrifice, did you? Why did Black-and-White Doll get so much weaker after leaving the Hollow?]
[Let alone comparing me to Twin Marionettes— even a tiny investigator with zero combat power almost killed me!]
"How is that my fault?" Rain rolled her eyes. "You and the Sacrifice are compatible, but not perfectly. Getting you out of the Hollow at all was already impressive. Stop complaining."
[Fine…]
The doll slumped in defeat. But after thinking it over—being able to leave the Hollow, flying freely outside—it was still far better than staying trapped forever.
Soon enough, it perked up again.
It floated over to Phaga, landing on his lap with a mischievous grin.
[Hehehe, you stinky vampire, we meet again~~ Huh? Why do you—never mind, not my problem.]
[Anyway…]
The doll put its hands on its hips, brimming with shameless confidence.
[Beg Black-and-White Doll sincerely! Become my retainer! Let Black-and-White Doll grant you divine rebirth!]
Phaga rolled his eyes and ignored him.
Ellen, however, snatched the doll by the ears without hesitation.
"Get to work, or I'll rip the Sacrifice out of you myself!"
[No no no—got it, got it…]
The doll rubbed its ears pitifully, putting on a show of sobbing.
After Twin Marionette's death, the Black-and-White Doll had gained freedom, inherited all the Marionette sisters' assets, and skyrocketed in Ether concentration—nearing Notoriety levels.
Yet now, just to escape the Hollow and gain true freedom, he was being treated like cheap labor.
Still sniffling dramatically, he traced glowing white circles with his hands, enveloping Phaga.
A warm rush flowed through Phaga's body. The exhaustion weighing him down faded, his wounds knit rapidly under the soft radiance, and his body grew unexpectedly light.
"Amazing…"
Phaga examined his hands in awe. "If Victoria opened a clinic side-business and had the Black-and-White Doll see patients every day… it'd be a huge revenue stream."
Victoria Housekeeping's clientele was high-end. They wouldn't hesitate to pay extra for full-body evaluations. And bathing in the doll's light was extraordinarily comfortable—even if you weren't injured.
"That makes sense."
Ellen immediately agreed, her expression turning seriously businesslike. Both she and Phaga shifted their gaze toward the doll.
Supporting Phaga around the waist, Ellen helped him stand. "It was an emergency. I stole the Sacrifice from Belobog Heavy Industries—we'll need to go apologize later."
"But since Rain already refitted it for the Black-and-White Doll, we can't return it. So we'll compensate them financially and have the doll perform a full-body checkup for them."
Of course, Ellen didn't mention the part where the compensation money would be taken out of the doll's earnings. He would have to work off the debt—and only after paying it off would he receive his own allowance.
Freedom?
After joining Victoria?
The Black-and-White Doll wouldn't be leaving—alive or as Ethereal. Something this useful? They'd squeeze every last drop of value out of him… even the scraps.
"We should head out too. Strange that the Hollow's been dissipated for half a day, yet New Eridu officials still haven't sent anyone."
Phaga muttered as he walked forward with Ellen's support.
"Right, Ellen—did you drive here?"
"Of course. Victoria Housekeeping has more than one vehicle."
"Fair enough…"
Twilight swallowed the last trace of the sun as those heading home stepped into night. Yet it wasn't a sad thing—night was when people could finally gather and enjoy the moon together.
[Have they left? The pressure on our side is tremendous.]
Among the ruins, Bern stepped out from behind a collapsed wall. Watching Phaga and the others depart, he spoke quietly into the empty air:
"They've gone, Elder."
[Good. Those New Eridu officials are so impatient. Interrupting a family reunion over a trivial piece of news—they made us stall them for nothing.]
"This isn't a trivial piece of news, Elder…"
[Enough. No need to revisit the matter. How is Phaga?]
"Phaga…"
Bern looked up, only to realize Phaga had already vanished from sight. He lowered his voice.
"He's doing well. Well enough to support our plan."
"And we've finished collecting all data on Black Phaga and the fusion of Phaga with Sacrifice No. 2. We can proceed with our research independently of the TOPS Alliance."