"Well… how about we cover the electricity bill ourselves?"
Koleda scratched her head, genuinely surprised that the thing guzzled this much power.
"It's fine, Koleda. Even if the electricity weren't an issue, we don't have nearly enough processing power for it anyway."
Wise stepped in from the side and talked down the suddenly free-spending Koleda. It wasn't as though they could have Fairy dedicating herself entirely to decryption around the clock — that would throw a wrench into their day-to-day operations.
[According to available intelligence, there is a hacker operating on the Inter-Knot under the alias [Ren]. Based on their track record, they appear to be a strong fit for your current needs. The Cunning Hares' Nicole has also had prior dealings with this individual.]
Fairy hadn't been able to crack the problem herself — but she had turned up someone who could.
In her heart, of course, there was one other candidate she considered even better suited for the job. The trouble was, she had no idea where that person was right now.
"[Ren], huh? I've heard of them — they're supposed to be quite good."
Wise rested his chin in his hand, turning over what he knew about Ren. The profile did check out against their criteria.
"In that case, I'll reach out to Nicole. Knowing her, she won't pass up a chance to pay off a favor debt like this."
With that, Belle stepped aside to make the call.
Meanwhile, Geno and the rest of the Belobog Heavy Industries crew were finally making their departure for real. Before leaving, Geno walked over to Koleda and the others and handed them a slip with an address on it.
"If anything else comes up, you can find us here. We'll be around for the foreseeable future."
It was the address of the laboratory still under construction — for now, that was the only place they had anything going on.
"Got it. Thank you, Geno."
Koleda looked at Geno, her eyes full of genuine gratitude.
Grace's condition wasn't what anyone would call good right now, and whether she still fully counted as human was an open question — but at the very least, she was alive.
And all of it was thanks to the man standing in front of her.
"Hey, it's nothing — what can I say, I'm just a nice guy."
Geno gave a shrug, smiling as he saw Koleda and the others off.
The moment they were out of sight, his expression shifted entirely. He turned to Twiggy.
"So — how is she doing?"
Twiggy had her eyes closed, slouched against the sofa, face blank.
"Relax. She's healthy. Her body has sustained some Ether Corruption and she has generated a core, but at this stage the human component still makes up the greater share."
While treating Grace's condition, Twiggy had taken the opportunity to assess her Etherealization status as well.
The result was exactly as she had described — aside from the core now present inside her body and the ability to manipulate electrical currents, there were no other abnormalities whatsoever.
"That's a relief. Let's just hope nothing else crops up down the line."
"If something does crop up, she can just swing by the lab a few more times. Works out perfectly — I've been running low on research materials lately."
"Hm? Didn't I bring you a Sacrificial Wraith corpse and a core just now?"
Geno was puzzled. The moment he'd gotten back, he had sent that Sacrificial Wraith core and the bottled remains straight to Twiggy — he still remembered how visibly excited she'd been.
"That core? I've already lent it to someone else for fishing. As for the remains — same as that hand you ran into before. Nothing worth researching."
She said it all without a trace of concern, then let out a yawn — squeezing a few stray tears out of the corners of her eyes in the process.
Geno, only half-following any of this, scratched his head.
Fishing? What on earth would you catch with something like that?
A sea monster?
"Alright, it's getting late — we should head off. Wise, Belle, see you around."
"Safe travels. Don't let the door hit you."
Wise was tapping at his phone, seemingly trying to snag something in a flash sale, paying the two of them absolutely no mind.
Come to think of it, that tracked — ever since they'd gotten to know these two, Geno and Twiggy had been dropping by every other day. At some point you just stopped standing on ceremony.
On the drive back, neither Geno nor Twiggy said much of anything. This time Geno was the one behind the wheel.
Twiggy, head drooping against the window, had drifted off to sleep before long.
"Huff… huff… Zzz~"
"Ha — a cute side profile. Acquired!"
From the driver's seat, Geno glanced over at Twiggy — completely unguarded, showing him a side of herself she rarely let anyone see — and a warm, contented smile spread across his face.
'Funny. It feels like it's been ages since the two of us had time to ourselves like this — and it's barely been a month.'
He still didn't quite understand how he'd suddenly become such a hot commodity, or why he'd somehow ended up as heir to the Timefield family out of nowhere.
But Geno knew one thing for certain: Twiggy would never do anything to harm him.
Whatever she had a hand in, it was never going to be something bad for him.
Set that aside — the feelings he hadn't yet made sense of himself, and the fact that he would one day have to face the Progenitor: those were probably the things he ought to be spending more thought on.
The Timefield residence, somewhere in New Eridu.
"Cough, cough, cough — cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Old Master Timefield, who had still seemed reasonably sturdy earlier in the day, was now lying in bed, wracked by an unrelenting cough.
"My lord — your medicine."
Arnold, his butler, expression heavy with worry, brought a tray to his bedside — a single tablet and a glass of warm water.
Old Master Timefield propped himself up, placed the tablet in his mouth, and washed it down in one go.
Several minutes passed before the color slowly returned to his face — but the exhaustion etched into him, the visible weight of his age, made it plain to anyone watching that he did not have long left.
"Hah. So I've finally hit my limit, have I?"
"My lord…"
The butler looked as though he wanted to say something more, but the old master raised a hand to stop him, and then spoke.
"Arnold — do you not understand why I was so determined to make young Geno my adopted grandson?"
"Whatever your reasoning, my lord, I am certain it runs deep."
The butler lowered his head slightly. He had served the man before him for nearly forty years — had been by his side since the old master's youth.
Through his wedding. The birth of his eldest son. Then the passing of the late mistress. The former head of the family growing up, and the birth of the young lady. And then the accident that took the former head.
Arnold had spent all of it at this old master's side, diligent and unwavering — sharing in his laughter, sharing in his grief. Long ago, he had come to think of him as family. What existed between them had long since grown beyond master and servant.
And yet, even so, he had always kept to his principles as a butler. There are things a man in his position does not ask.
"Cough, cough — old friend, after all these years, do you think I don't know you? I'll be honest: I don't expect I'll live to see Alice in her wedding dress.
"My lord…"
"Let me finish — cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough!"
Old Master Timefield's emotions had gotten the better of him, and he broke into another violent fit of coughing. Arnold quickly pressed a gentle hand to his chest, helping to ease it.
When the spell finally passed, the old master let out a long breath.
And then, in a calm and steady voice, he began to explain the reason behind everything he had done.
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Homelander: Founding the Hero Association
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!