Bell: "Could It Be That I'm a Spendthrift!?"

"That's right! Shanna's answer is completely correct!"

Bell happily rubbed his little sister's head and pressed it down a bit.

Don't stretch your neck out.

Bell only remembered yesterday after he returned that each of the three of them was wearing a Inferior Philosopher's Stone!

Thinking about it carefully, in this time when Philosopher's Stone are in extremely short supply, the three of them actually each carried one.

And most importantly, they've never even used it before!

Thinking about it this way, Bell suddenly felt that he might be a bit wasteful.

However, Bell would never give her father the Inferior Philosopher's Stone that her younger sister possessed.

Nothing is more important than Shanna's safety!

Bell didn't dare take the one Hermione had. He was absolutely certain that Hermione would never speak to him again.

As for the one he had, Bell wouldn't mind taking it out and letting his father use it first. But if it was just one, it felt like it wouldn't make much difference whether he had more or less.

So let's forget about it, it's too much trouble...

They climbed onto the top of the Ten Thousand Snakes's head with Shanna and Hermione, and the three of them sat down cross-legged.

Then, Bell waved his hand and said with great enthusiasm:

"Let's go, Mantis Shrimp!"

(Hermione:!? Isn't it Pikachu? Come to think of it, are there really Mantis Shrimp ones?)

The desolate Mars landscape, bathed in the dim morning sunlight, lacked the vibrant energy of sunrise and instead evoked a sense of eerie gloom.

If someone were to live alone in this environment for a long time—no, perhaps only a week—they would probably develop mental problems, right?

At least Bell didn't like this feeling at all; in fact, he found it rather unpleasant.

Fortunately, he is not alone now. Not only does he have his sister by his side, but Hermione is also nestled beside him.

This gave him a dreamlike, unreal feeling, but also a genuine sense of happiness. It felt like continuing on like this would be quite nice.

"Gege! Gege! Let's go take a look over there!"

Shanna's shout interrupted Bell's reflection. He looked in the direction his sister was pointing and saw a large crack stretching to the horizon, appearing on the side of the three of them.

Controlling the Ten Thousand Snakes to climb to the edge of the crack, the three of them looked down at the same time.

The pitch-black, deep crack was like a bottomless abyss, as if it would devour the souls of the three people.

"Bell, how about we call it a day? Let's go look around somewhere else."

Looking at the massive crack in front of them, emanating a terrifying aura, Hermione felt a pang of guilt. She had a persistent feeling that once they went down, they would never be able to come back up.

"Don't be afraid, Hermione, there's no danger. And even if we do encounter danger, I can Side-Along Apparition back with you."

With the miniature barrier supported by Ten Thousand Snakes, Bell can Side-Along Apparition back to base without worrying about being damaged by cosmic rays due to the barrier breaking upon entering the alternate dimension.

However, in that case, Ten Thousand Snakes wouldn't be able to go back with him.

However, life is of the essence, and when it really comes to a critical moment, none of those other things matter.

In fact, looking at the abyss-like cracks in front of him, Bell, like Hermione, had the illusion that he would be swallowed up.

Unlike Shanna, who was full of excitement and eager to go on the adventure, he was also a little guilty.

But that's precisely why Bell wants to go in even more!

As the saying goes, the greatest enemy in life is not others, but oneself. Isn't it a fascinating thing to overcome the fear of the unknown?

Seeing Bell suddenly radiating an inexplicable madness, Hermione knew she could no longer stop the brother and sister.

All she could do now was pray silently that they wouldn't encounter any danger.

"Ah--!"

As Hermione's screams grew fainter, the Ten Thousand Snakes leaped down and gradually disappeared into the abyss.

"Tch!"

Sitting atop the head of the Ten Thousand Snakes, Bell and his two companions climbed out of the great rift.

They had spent several hours exploring the area, but all they saw were rocks; they hadn't seen a single thing.

That's not right! That's not how it was portrayed in the movie!

Normally, a protagonist like him who's the type to court death, who insists on going wherever it looks dangerous, shouldn't he be the one who runs into ghosts as soon as he steps out the door?

But why didn't he encounter anything?

Where are the alien monsters we were promised?!

He was actually a little excited about it!

"Okay, Hermione, I really know I was wrong. Please forgive me, okay?"

Bell turned to look at Hermione, who was sitting next to him, pouting and not saying a word. Even her seat was about 5 centimeters further away from him than before.

Hermione hasn't spoken to him since they went downstairs, and several hours have passed now. It's almost a record-breaking long wait!

"Snort!"

With a snort, Hermione turned her head away, not wanting to look at Bell.

It's one thing for Bell to want to explore the Rift, although it's a bit creepy, but with Bell accompanying her, Hermione can't really accept it.

But the problem is, why did Bell have to choose to jump down when there were no other options?

Even though they can all fly, jumping down doesn't seem to be a problem for them.

But as a human, Hermione is still more used to standing on the ground.

Bell didn't give her any warning beforehand; she just did a leap of faith right away, and in that kind of place no less, which really gave her a huge fright!

Of course, this is a small matter, and it's really not a big deal.

Hermione has gotten pretty used to her boyfriend's occasional eccentricities by now.

What Hermione found most unacceptable was that after going down there, Bell didn't immediately comfort her, who was still frightened. Instead, he excitedly went on an adventure with Shanna.

This is absolutely outrageous!

Buzzing~

Just as Bell was about to continue trying to appease his girlfriend, his Personal Terminal suddenly rang.

"Will? Is something the matter?"

After taking out his Personal Terminal and connecting the call, Bell looked at Will on the screen with a puzzled expression.

Seeing that Bell and the other two were unharmed, Will first breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with a hint of complaint:

"Young Master, where have you all gone?"

Will had been keeping track of the whereabouts of Bell and his two companions.

Therefore, when he learned that the three had left the base several hours ago, he really wanted to kick the wizard who came to deliver the message to death.

It's been several hours since I last reported to him. Were they out eating shit?!

You should know that Bell and Shanna are the only two descendants of the Menethil Family!

If something were to happen to the two of them on Mars, he couldn't bear the responsibility!

"Oh, we're out exploring. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Bell noticed Will's concerns. He had indeed been inconsiderate in this regard. He should have informed the other party beforehand.