By the time Zhang Xiu and the other two returned to the Mechanical Settlement, Stelle and her companions had just unlocked the first gate, only to be stopped by a Traffic Light robot behind it.
From it, they learned that they needed Clara's permission to enter.
"Wow~ Good thing you planned ahead, Zhang Xiu, or we'd have had to make another trip. Wait, who's that in your arms...?"
March 7th narrowed her eyes and made out the tiny Yaoshi in Zhang Xiu's arms, smiling and waving at them.
"Ah-! Y-you two already had a child?!" Her mouth and eyes went wide, and her brain crashed on the spot.
Zhang Xiu rolled his eyes at March 7th. "How could that be possible? You dummy, this is my wife. She just shrank, that's all. Hehe..."
"Indeed, my husband seems to prefer this form. Just now, he found all manner of excuses to pick me up."
Everyone was stunned by those words, and Zhang Xiu's smile instantly froze.
"Tsk."
"Pervert."
"Lolicon."
"Wait, hold on! I love my wife no matter what she looks like!"
Once Zhang Xiu cleared up the misunderstanding and Yaoshi returned to her original form, the group prepared to follow Clara to repair the Energy Supply Device.
He also noticed that Sampo had vanished, presumably slipping away to find Natasha while nobody was paying attention.
Along the way, March 7th sidled up to Yaoshi and quietly asked:
"Speaking of which, a huge phantom suddenly appeared and enveloped all of Belobog earlier... Himeko saw it from the Express too. Was that your doing, Miss Yaoshi?"
"Yes. By revealing the unexpected factor we bring, we may have a chance of persuading that machine named Svarog."
Their voices were too quiet to reach Seele and Bronya. After all, if those two learned the truth about what had happened, they would probably struggle to remain composed.
Soon, they reached the damaged Energy Supply Device and discovered signs of deliberate destruction on it.
"Someone deliberately damaged the Energy Supply Device?" Dan Heng frowned, realizing there was more to this.
"Ah, two of the wanderer uncles... accidentally broke this device," Clara explained softly.
Stelle spotted the problem too. "Was it really an accident?"
"...Clara, if you're too kind, bad people will take advantage of you." Seele shook her head with a sigh.
"Hmph. If you ask me, we should bury those two in the snow for an entire afternoon and see if they dare do it again."
Zhang Xiu gave a soft snort, disgust showing in his eyes.
Those two wanderers had either wanted to steal the parts inside to sell, or to harm the other wanderers in the settlement. Either way, it was certainly no mere accident.
After all, damaging one of Svarog's machines took quite a bit of effort.
Silence settled over the group for a moment before Yaoshi broke it. "Allow me to repair this."
She pressed her right hand against the Energy Supply Device, channeling the power of abundance into the machine.
Before long, the somewhat aged device began glowing with a bright yellow light. It looked completely renewed, its metal gleaming as though it had just left the factory.
"A-amazing. You can repair the device without even needing any components?"
In the space of barely half an hour, Clara felt as though her entire worldview had been shaken twice, leaving her rather dazed.
"Now that it's repaired, Clara, would you be willing to take us to see Svarog? There's something we'd like to discuss with him."
Dan Heng looked at Clara, already prepared to be refused. After all, judging by what had happened earlier, Clara had no reason to take their side.
"Of course. That big brother already told me. It's about that thing called the Stellaron and lifting the blockade on the Underworld, right?"
Dan Heng nodded. "Yes, that's right. Don't worry. Our main goal is to seek Svarog's cooperation."
"I know. Everyone, please follow me. If we're going to persuade Mr. Svarog, I need to be a little braver too."
The group returned to the second gate, where they encountered Timi, the Traffic Light robot that had stopped them.
"Welcome home, Miss Clara."
"Timi, please open the gate for me. I'd like to see Mr. Svarog."
"Outsiders detected. Allow passage?"
"It's all right. They're all my guests."
"Command received. Welcome back, Miss Clara and guests."
The gate slowly opened. Just as they were about to enter, Clara said softly, "Um... if possible, please don't hurt Mr. Svarog..."
"Oh, don't worry. We're not bad people or anything. Hehe."
Once the gate opened, Svarog's towering figure stood in plain sight in the clearing before them.
Clara stepped forward first. "I'm back, Mr. Svarog."
"I see that the settlement's energy supply system is back online. Thank you, Clara." After lowering his head to greet her, Svarog turned to Zhang Xiu and the others.
"But why have you brought them here?"
"Mr. Svarog, they want to talk to you about going to the Overworld."
"...My analysis indicates that, should you choose to take action, I would be unable to stop you under any circumstances. Given that, what do you wish to discuss?"
"It's simple. The truth about the Stellaron. My companions are all very curious."
Earlier, when Stelle had gone into the Fragmentum with Seele and Bronya to search for medicine, she had already told them about the Stellaron.
"Accessing database... Access denied. Discussing the Stellaron with unauthorized targets: prohibited." Svarog raised his single, red-glowing eye.
"Reassessing target status-threat index rising..."
"Hey, hey, hey. You understand the situation, don't you, Svarog?" Zhang Xiu had no desire to waste any more words on him. "Do the calculations properly. Can you win? I don't want to fight you in front of your family."
"...This is not a question of victory or defeat, outsider. This is a directive I have borne since my creation... Clara, step back."
"Please! Please wait, Mr. Svarog!" Knowing full well how strong the group was, Clara hurried to stop him.
Before she could finish, however, Svarog spoke firmly. "Clara! Leave this place."
Bronya tensed at the sight and hurriedly shouted, "Clara, it's dangerous! Find somewhere to hide!"
Seele, on the other hand, relaxed. "So we're fighting after all? Tch, just what I wanted."
"Stubborn fool. Everyone, stay out of it. I'll..." Zhang Xiu was about to step forward and fight when March 7th stopped him.
"Why should you have to do everything yourself? You might be strong, but we don't want to be looked after forever."
"March 7th is right. If we leave every problem for you two to solve, how can we call ourselves your companions?"
Cloud-Piercer appeared, and Dan Heng stood shoulder to shoulder with March 7th.
"That's right. Let us handle it this time." Stelle took out her Bat and stood before Zhang Xiu, cutting a valiant figure.
"Everyone?" Zhang Xiu froze for a moment, then saw Seele and Bronya draw their weapons too, casting him serious, reassuring looks.
"...Then give it your best."
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