Phaethon's Direct Agent-Griseo

Krik Hollow, metro hub overpass.

Above the overpass, the only route the group could take to escape was now packed tightly with a horde of Ethereals.

"Eleven Tyrfings, six Apekas, three Satyrs."

Anby hid in a corner, her gaze sweeping over them quickly as she reported the information to her companions behind her.

"What, the Ethereals have learned to block bridges now? Are they playing tactics too?"

Billy clutched Eous and wailed, "Boss, how about we take another route?!"

They were all low-level Ethereals, and under normal circumstances, he could take on ten by himself.

But the dual pistols in his hands had become nothing more than fire pokers. Right now, Billy was at most a meat shield that could run!

"Don't worry, Billy. If you lose even one part, Phaethon will cover it."

Wise controlled Eous and looked at Griseo. "Griseo, can I leave this to you? Your condition should be alright, right?"

After all, Griseo had only completed one awakening. Wise was somewhat worried about her physical condition... but clearly, that concern was unnecessary.

"I'm fine. Leave it to me, Brother Wise!"

The next second, Griseo, who was sitting on Mr. Knight's shoulder, moved. She raised the paintbrush in her hand.

The chaotic Ether Energy within the Hollow surged in from all directions, gathering at the tip of her brush and transforming into inks of different colors.

Red, blue, and yellow flowed slowly around the brush tip, waiting for Griseo to paint.

Anby's pupils contracted slightly, and undisguised shock appeared on her face.

"So this is the strength of the Princess of [The Stars]?"

As everyone knew, Ether Energy was corrosive.

Even people like her, with extremely high Ether adaptability, could not survive in a Hollow for long.

Anti-Ether Corruption drugs and anti-Ether Corruption equipment were both indispensable. This was common knowledge bought with countless lives.

But Griseo had not relied on anything as she controlled such an enormous amount of Ether Energy. That was something only High-level Ethereals could do!

Anby even felt that—

To Griseo, Ether Energy was not some poison that had to be handled carefully, but a hamburger.

The kind of delicious food she wanted to eat every day.

The instant that thought surfaced, Anby subconsciously tightened her grip on the blade in her hand!

If the other party had not come to save them, she truly would have suspected that Griseo was some kind of "humanoid Ethereal" disguised as a human.

On the other side, Griseo turned around, her gaze landing directly on Anby.

Her eyes were bright, as if they held stars within them.

"What sharp perception?!"

Anby's heart skipped a beat. She had only had a thought—had it already been noticed?

The next second, Griseo withdrew her gaze.

"You should accept these paints with gratitude."

As soon as she spoke, she waved the paintbrush in her hand, and a [The Stars] Signet appeared in the air.

The Signet glimmered faintly before falling into the greatsword in Mr. Knight's hand.

Buzz—

The greatsword trembled softly. Intricate patterns appeared across its blade, and then Mr. Knight simply swung it once.

A blue arc shot from the sword tip, sweeping across the overpass and enveloping every Ethereal.

Bang—

The three-colored paint exploded above the overpass, splattering onto the Ethereals. In the end, the Ethereal horde melted away like cream.

Less than five seconds passed from the swing to the end. Nearly twenty Ethereals were completely wiped out.

"...Awesome!!!" Billy clenched his fists and waved them excitedly. "As expected of someone who's also a knight alongside the Starlight Knight!! She's so strong!!"

Anby withdrew her gaze and looked at Eous. "Proxy, why do you think we've worked together less often over the past year or so?"

Wise fell silent on the other end of the communicator, as though he did not understand.

"Huh?"

"Whenever Nicole mentions you Phaethon, her eyes turn green," Anby said. "Now I know why."

The reason Griseo was called the Princess of [The Stars] was not merely because she was cute, but because of strength so completely at odds with her appearance.

With a direct agent that strong, who would hire them?

Sixth Street, behind the video store.

Nicole's van was parked in the alley, its engine still running with a chug-chug-chug.

Belle came out through the back door of the video store and stared at Nicole, her face full of disbelief.

"Wait, Nicole, it's only been ten minutes! You drove from Fourteenth Street back to Sixth Street?!"

Nicole rolled down the window and leaned out, seemingly giving it some serious thought before nodding righteously. "Yep, nothing wrong with that."

"You didn't run any red lights, did you?!"

"No? We just went through regular green lights, and a few green lights with an R-value of 255."

"..."

She fell silent for two seconds, then covered her forehead. Green lights with an R-value of 255, my ass—that was the Public Security Department's speed detector!!!

"Don't worry, Proxy! Rules like that don't apply to me. After all, I don't even have a driver's license." Nicole waved dismissively.

For a moment, Belle was speechless.

So she left the conversation to her brother while she went to the back seat to supervise Griseo as she put on her shoes.

"Nicole." Wise's voice rang out as he held a bill in his hand. "Now that your companion has been rescued, can you settle the remaining payment?"

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry, Proxy! What I commissioned was [bring out both the person and the item]."

Nicole's smile did not change as she pulled something from her pocket and tossed it toward Wise.

Wise caught it. It was a USB drive, its corners worn down and its casing marked with several tiny cracks, as if something had chewed on it.

Nicole gave a thumbs-up and flashed an especially radiant smile. "It's a little damaged, but I'm sure that with Phaethon's abilities, you can crack the password, right?"

Wise looked at the USB drive, fell silent for two seconds, then nodded.

"Fine. We'll crack the password next, and you investigate the location of the password box."

"OK! Then it's happily settled!" Nicole clapped her hands, waved at Wise, then twisted around and climbed back into the driver's seat.

"See you around, Boss!"

The rear window rolled down, and Anby nodded at him. "See you around, Boss."

Billy also leaned out to say goodbye. "See you around, Boss! The Starlight Knight is ready whenever you call!"

The van started up and shot away in a blur, vanishing at the end of the alley in the blink of an eye.

After watching Griseo head back inside first, Belle leaned closer and said, "Bro, I think we got stiffed again."

"Eh... isn't Nicole just that kind of person?" Wise thought for a moment, folded up the bill and slipped it into his pocket, then turned and walked into the store.