Griseo's Situation

The back room on the first floor of the video store was much dimmer than the third floor.

Only the HDD system in the corner emitted a faint blue glow, its screen light reflecting off Wise and Belle's faces.

Wise tapped at the keyboard. The folder open on the computer screen was unmistakably labeled "Griseo."

Wise's gaze rested on the rows of data as he asked, "Still no change, right?"

"Yeah, no change." Belle's voice came from behind him. She stood behind Wise's chair with both hands braced on its back, staring at the screen as well.

Wise sighed and leaned back.

"Counting this time, it's already her seventh awakening... The fluctuations in her physical data are practically negligible."

Silence spread between them. After a long while, Belle hesitantly said, "Bro, maybe Griseo really is like Trigger said."

Wise did not respond.

Of course he knew what Belle meant.

Actually, they had noticed something was wrong a long time ago.

Griseo's occasional strange abilities, along with her height and weight remaining unchanged for an entire year.

How was that possible? A little girl around ten was supposed to be growing.

The neighbors who did not know better probably thought the siblings were abusing Griseo!

Wise had even asked Trigger to investigate several people—Mother Aponia, Grandma Mobius, Little Sister Elysia... the family Griseo often spoke of.

And others like them, but there had been no news at all. None of those names existed in New Eridu's household registration system.

Griseo seemed to have appeared out of thin air. No one knew where she had come from!

Until Trigger raised that possibility.

"During the Old Capital era, much research involved conducting Ether experiments on human bodies. The experiments could grant subjects special Ether abilities, but they also came with a price."

Trigger's meaning had been obvious: Griseo was one of them!

Her paintings were an application of her special Ether ability, but the price was that the development of her bodily functions had halted or stagnated!

"Never growing up... Maybe that isn't so bad."

Belle said it softly, but even after saying it, she was unsure whether it was right or wrong.

Would never growing up really be a good thing?

Especially in a world like this.

How many years had it been since the Old Capital fell?

New Eridu's neon lights seemed to illuminate the night, but the Hollow disasters had never truly faded away.

Darkness had never gone far, and Despair had never vanished!

For a child as pure as Griseo, was living in this world a blessing or a cruelty?

The heavy atmosphere spread between them. Wise turned his head, trying to break the overly solemn mood.

"Well, there you go, sis! You can't call your brother a lolicon anymore."

Wise counted on his fingers. "If Griseo looks ten now, then her actual age must be at least twenty-three. She's already legally old enough to get married."

Belle rolled her eyes, raised a hand, and made a slicing gesture across her throat.

"You damn lolicon. If you really dare get any ideas about Griseo, just wait until you get turned into the minced topping for Master Chop Ramen."

Watching his sister's venomous tongue at work, Wise smiled faintly and pulled the conversation back on track.

"By the way, did Griseo fail the entrance exam again this time?"

Belle nodded. As for why she had said "again"—

Obviously, Griseo had taken the test once before. Back then, Griseo had been undocumented—without a New Eridu citizen card, failing had been inevitable.

Later, with the help of a retired gangster grandpa somewhere on Sixth Street, Griseo got that card!

And then this time, she... failed again.

"Yeah." Belle spread her hands, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness. "They said it was an aristocratic school, not for poor people like us."

"Didn't they say tuition was waived?"

"It is waived," Belle sighed, "but the extra fees are ridiculously high. For example, a single paintbrush costs 500,000 Denny!!"

Wise's mouth twitched. Five hundred thousand Denny was enough to cover the siblings' expenses for an entire month.

"For the whole package, even tens of millions of Denny per semester would be considered cheap!" Belle complained about those damned capitalists.

Wise smiled bitterly. They really could not afford it. Though they had nearly paid off their loan, they had no savings left!

Grrrrowl—!!

Wise froze as his stomach let out a protesting growl.

Belle looked at her brother and asked, "Bro, you haven't had lunch yet?"

"Not yet." Wise rubbed the back of his head and said awkwardly, "I wanted to finish the work this morning, so I forgot..."

Wise got up and walked toward the wallet on the counter, planning to buy a few loaves of bread to tide himself over.

But after turning the wallet inside out, he found only a pitiful single Denny, glinting alone with a metallic sheen.

"Belle."

"Yeah?"

"Where's the money from my wallet?"

Belle leaned against the counter. Hearing that, she rolled her eyes. "You're asking me? Did you forget drinking with Ellen and the others at KTV last week?"

"You got completely wasted and grabbed Ellen, calling her your wife."

"..."

Wise opened his mouth, then closed it again. Thinking of a certain socially devastating possibility, he said, "No way! Did I give our food money to Ellen as a bride price?"

"As if!" Belle said lightly. "Ellen elbowed you flying with one punch. Your money went toward the KTV repair bill."

"..."

"And your medical expenses, bro."

"Stop, stop, stop—" Wise raised both hands and frantically gestured in front of his chest. "Stop! Sis, don't keep exposing your brother's embarrassing past!"

Belle blinked, looking utterly innocent.

"Weren't you the one asking?"

"Do we have any savings left?" Wise tried to change the subject.

But Belle's answer made him even more awkward. "Didn't you say you didn't want to owe anyone money, wave your hand, and insist on paying off the loan early?"

"...Then do we have money to buy food? Otherwise, you'll only get to see your brother every Qingming Festival." Wise pressed.

"There are still a few boxes of Digestive Tablets upstairs. Do you want some, bro?" Belle said softly, a trace of helplessness flashing through her eyes.

"..."

Digestive Tablets?

Wise frowned deeply, a nameless anger rising in his heart. So his little sister really wanted to see her brother during Qingming Festival!

Seeing Wise on the verge of exploding, Belle gave him a timely reminder. "Bro, Nicole and the Cunning Hares still owe us a lot of money!"

"That's right~!" Wise suddenly realized, as though he had seen the dawn of victory through the darkness before daybreak. "Wait here, sis! I'm going to collect that money!"

But speak of the devil, and the devil arrived. The video store's front door was suddenly shoved open, and a pink-haired girl in streetwear rushed inside.

"Proxy, save me!"

Nicole spun 360 degrees before dropping to her knees, clutching Wise's thigh as she pleaded, "Billy and Anby fell into a Hollow! Proxy, hurry and help me save them!"

"Mighty Phaethon, unparalleled in strength and beauty! As long as you save my partners, I'll immediately settle every last debt!!

"I remember it all! 672,324,370 Denny, right!!"