Fairy

Three days later, Belle returned from Star Ring to Sixth Street with Griseo.

When Belle pushed open the video store's front door, the sight before her froze her in place—

Wise lay sprawled in front of the HDD system, looking as though some fox spirit had drained every last bit of life out of him. His lips moved slightly as sleep-talk and drool trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Nicole, Anby... the password... just a little more... give me... three more minutes..."

Beside him, Little 18 had completely shut down. Its red electronic eyes were dark, its scarf drooped to one side, and it did not move at all.

"Little 18—!!!"

Belle let out a shriek and rushed over in a single stride, stepping over Wise and scooping up the Bangboo from the floor.

"What's wrong with you?! Don't die!!!" Belle shook the Bangboo's body, her voice heart-wrenching. "If you die, who's going to work for us from now on?!"

Just then, a cold electronic voice suddenly sounded.

[Terms and conditions of use... may not be authorized for use by others, transferred, or assigned in any other form...]

[Authorization agreement complete. It is a pleasure to serve you... Let us...]

Belle abruptly raised her head. On the HDD screen, a floating dot was blinking.

Little 18 in her arms suddenly began shaking violently.

Crackle—electric sparks flashed.

The Bangboo's eyes lit up with blinding red light, its entire body entering some bizarre overloaded state. Its glow flashed like the laser lights of the 404 Underground Dance Hall.

[Unknown lifeforms approaching—]

[Individual 1: Defined as the master's blood relative.]

[Individual 2: Unable to define. Repeating, unable to define. Extremely dangerous individual! Warning!!]

Before the voice had finished, Little 18 suddenly sprang from Belle's arms. Like a puppet controlled by some force, it shot straight toward Griseo at the door!

"Griseo, watch out! Don't break Little 18! We don't have money for repairs anymore!"

By now, Belle roughly understood that the HDD had suffered some sort of hacker attack.

But what Belle shouted was, "The Bangboo's broken, and we can't afford to fix it!" Why was she not worried that Griseo might get hurt?

What a joke!

Would you worry that an ant's full-force attack could hurt Ultraman Taro?

For Griseo, entering a Hollow was as easy as going home, and eliminating Ethereals was as simple as painting.

Did she really not know what kind of combat power this girl had?

Griseo stood at the doorway, watching Little 18 charge at her. She did not dodge, merely lifting her eyes slightly.

A Signet flashed between her brows.

Silver-white light, gentle as moonlight... [Discipline].

Then Griseo spoke, her voice soft and sweet, yet carrying a power that could not be resisted.

"Brother Wise, Little 18, and the strange presence inside the HDD... please all calm down."

As her words fell.

Time seemed to stop for an instant.

Little 18 abruptly froze in midair, the electric light flickering across its body gently extinguished as though pressed down by an invisible hand.

It hovered in the air for less than a second before—thud.

It lightly landed in Griseo's outstretched hands and fell asleep once more.

Over by Wise, his indistinct sleep-talking stopped as well. His head tilted to one side, his breathing becoming calm and steady, as though something soft had gently brushed over him and lulled him into peaceful sleep.

Finally—the invisible threads surged toward the HDD.

The blinking dot on the screen jolted violently, as though seized by some force. Then it slowly dimmed before becoming completely still.

Belle stood there blankly, opening her mouth without knowing what to say.

No matter how many times she saw that miraculous power, it still felt absurd!

Griseo stood there holding Little 18, the Signet between her brows already hidden.

That was right. The restraint Griseo had used just now came from the Signet [Discipline]—the power of her Mother Aponia.

That nun who could see through the Fate of countless living beings, that compassionate and loving nun burdened with sin and Despair.

After Blanca and Him had sacrificed themselves, she had been the one caring for Griseo.

Perhaps Griseo needed to comprehend the corresponding colors to awaken other Signets.

But [Discipline] and [Daybreak] were the colors she knew best, as natural for her to use as breathing.

As everyone knew, there was an old saying—those who recognize the times are the true heroes!

And Fairy, as an artificial intelligence, was naturally no exception~

As the electronic voice flickered...

"Hello, my two masters. I am a Type-III General-Order Integrated Universal Artificial Intelligence, development codename: Fairy. It is a pleasure to serve you."

"Nicole, Anby, Billy, thanks for the effort! You even thoughtfully repaired Eous before bringing him back!"

At the video store entrance, Belle held the restored Eous in her arms and waved at the van.

The window rolled down, and Nicole stuck half her head out, her smile as radiant as if she had just won the lottery.

"Oh, Proxy! No problem at all! This commission fee, along with all the money we owed before—let's call it Eous's Bangboo repair fee!"

Belle froze. "Huh? Wait, do repair costs really—"

"Bye-bye!!"

Nicole floored the accelerator. The van shot off with a whoosh, its tires kicking up a cloud of smoke as it vanished down the street in the blink of an eye.

Belle stood there holding Eous, her sentence unfinished. All that remained before her was a cloud of exhaust.

Inside the van—

"As expected of Boss Nicole! Your driving is as good as ever!"

Half of Billy's body had been flung against the window, but that did nothing to dampen his fervent praise. He waved an arm out the window, feeling the speed and excitement.

"Incorrect. Correction." From the back seat, Anby added expressionlessly, "Boss Nicole was afraid the Proxies would disagree."

"Disagree with what?"

Billy had not caught on yet. Anby glanced at him and fell silent for two seconds.

"The supposed Eous Bangboo repair fee only comes to a few thousand Denny. Cunning Hares' debt to the Proxies, plus this commission fee, is conservatively estimated at two hundred thousand Denny."

"Two hundred thousand Denny!! That's enough for me to buy so much Starlight Knight merch!!"

The smile on Billy's face froze. He turned toward Nicole, who was humming a tune in the driver's seat. "Boss Nicole, since our debts are paid off, you won't deduct my bonus again this month, right?"

"Of course not, because it was already deducted earlier this month." Nicole laughed heartily as the van disappeared into the dusk, leaving behind a trail of exhaust and Billy's despairing howl.

As the sky gradually darkened, Belle, who had been busy all day, carried Eous back into the store.

Inside the HDD room, Belle looked at her brother, then at Fairy's blinking dot on the screen.

"So, while Griseo and I were away for a few days, during Nicole's commission, you not only lost our Hollow backup data and got your main account formatted, but also picked up some random electronic pet?"

[Negative. I am Fairy, a Type-III General-Order Integrated Universal Artificial Intelligence.]

[My value exceeds that of a generally defined pet. I can help you, Master, recover your losses and rebuild Proxy data.]

"Wait, Fairy, you can restore our deleted data?"

Hearing that, Wise asked excitedly. Hollow data was the foundation for making Carrot Data and the Proxies' livelihood.

[Negative. I possess unrestricted access to over 80% of intelligent devices in all of New Eridu.]

[Therefore, I can help my masters abandon the cumulative acquisition of Hollow data and achieve real-time analysis of Hollow evacuation routes.]

"Fine, you can stay for now!" Belle waved her hand, agreeing to let this Fairy remain.