"All right, then, Mr. Huojin, what would you like to know about Nicole?"
Huojin glanced sideways at the siblings, seemingly a little hesitant, and said, "Well... Butler, you tell them."
"Of course, sir."
Butler explained:
"Here's the situation, Wise and Belle. The master hopes you can use your friendship with Miss Nicole to find out the real reason she resists her family."
Belle: "Huh? You're saying Nicole resists his family?"
Wise: "Resists his family? In what way, exactly?"
Huojin sighed.
Butler: "For example, she never initiates contact, refuses to come home, won't let us visit, and refuses to accept any kind of help from us..."
Belle: "Oh, did Nicole have an argument with you? Or was there some conflict, some falling-out?"
Butler: "No."
Wise: "Then... was it caused by something bad that happened?"
Huojin held his forehead.
Butler: "It's somewhat similar to what you described, Wise. Allow me to briefly outline what happened on the master's behalf.
We deduced that perhaps our and the master's prolonged absence from her side in the past caused the young lady to become somewhat distant from us.
The young lady's attitude toward us is now far too indifferent, without the closeness of the past, and she also seems to show signs of wanting to cut ties with us.
This has left the master extremely anxious. He believes his years of absence have made the young lady sick of him. We now intend to mend their father-daughter relationship.
The master's first step is to understand what the young lady truly thinks of him, then devise a strategy, address the problem, and strengthen their family bond. Ideally, without being discovered, or the situation may grow even worse."
"So that's why you came to us..." Belle looked enlightened, but then asked in confusion:
"Wait, if you need help, wouldn't Anby and Billy, who are always around Nicole, be better choices than us?"
Wise: "Right. In terms of trust and closeness, those two are clearly more suitable..."
Under Wise and Belle's sidelong gazes, Huojin sighed again, put the Luckyboo plush in his hand back, and said:
"One is far too loyal. The risk of exposure is too high. The other isn't reliable enough and fled at the last minute... Hmph!"
As he spoke, Huojin stood up and returned to the counter.
"I already pulled up her past social records. Apart from those employees of hers, you two have the most contact with her and are closest to her!
You're the best fit for my plan now, to lay the groundwork for my next move! So she can hug me like she used to, then affectionately, adorably, sweetly, from the bottom of her heart, call me..."
Just as Huojin grew more and more excited, his emotions spiraling further out of control, and the Ether activity in the room kept rising, Butler handed him a small cube and interrupted:
"Ahem, sir, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's time for your medication."
Huojin paused, took the small cube, and ate it. He wasn't angered by Butler's sudden interruption either. After taking a moment, he returned to normal.
Then he looked back at Wise and Belle, whom he had frightened into pressing themselves against the wall, and said:
"I lost my composure a little... In short, I need you to maintain your relationship with Nicole. Keep getting close to her, whether as creditors, friends, business partners, or whatever.
As long as you do a good job and aren't discovered, you can name your price."
Wise and Belle exchanged a glance after hearing this, and Belle raised her hand.
"Actually, Mr. Huojin, I wanted to say this earlier. You don't need to make it so complicated..."
Huojin didn't understand. "What do you mean by that?"
Wise: "Belle means that if you want to grow closer to Nicole, you don't actually need to go to all this trouble."
Huojin: "...Let's hear it."
Wise: "Well, based on what Butler told us, and what we know of Nicole, things with Nicole might not be as serious as you imagine."
Huojin disagreed. "She'd rather earn that little bit of Denny out there and spend every day eating that cheap, wholesale junk instant ramen, or else go hungry, than come home and enjoy herself. And that's not serious?!
I'm starting to wonder if my surveillance methods are outdated. I can't even find the villain who brainwashed her..."
Startled by Huojin slamming the counter, Wise hurriedly said:
"Mr. Huojin, please calm down. This really might just be a misunderstanding."
Belle: "Y-yes. I remember Nicole saying he was very happy with a life without a deficit..."
Huojin: "Fine. Go on."
Wise: "Uh, ahem... Mr. Huojin, perhaps Nicole would rather be self-reliant?"
Huojin: "Self-reliant... Isn't that just wanting to cut ties with me? I have so many assets for her to inherit, and she still wants to be self-reliant?"
Belle: "Hey, you can't just equate being self-reliant with cutting ties, Mr. Huojin. And from Butler's description, that really does seem to be the case."
Wise also said very earnestly, "Besides, based on our many years of knowing and working with Nicole, he couldn't possibly be the way you described. He cares a lot about the thoughts and feelings of the people around him, too!"
Belle: "Exactly. Normally, Nicole just falls a little behind on our commission fees, has a slightly bad reputation on the Inter-Knot, has a bit too much debt, and occasionally talks about treating us to an 'AB split' meal or whatever... Anyway, apart from his flaws, he's still very reliable!"
Wise: "..."
Huojin's stiff mind was processing this. "So..."
Wise: "You really might be overthinking this."
Huojin said nothing and turned to Butler.
Seeing Huojin look over, Butler said, "Sir, perhaps there was a miscalculation?"
Huojin: "Fine, maybe I really am overthinking it. But from what you said earlier, you seem to have a way to deal with this?"
Wise was about to speak, but Belle beat him to it:
"We do. I just don't know if you've seen this movie, Mr. Huojin. It ends with the protagonist being forgiven after a single phone call, but I can't remember its name."
Huojin: "...And?"
Belle: "Call Nicole right now and chat with him!"
Huojin: "Hm? Are you serious? I've tried talking to her before, but she always found it boring and told me not to bother her."
Belle: "Then can I ask what you talked about with him?"
Huojin: "Just ordinary things. My progress in biology and its results, the additions and modifications to the estate, some recent changes at TOPS, whether she wanted servants, his four uncles, whether she wanted me to dispose of her creditors, things like that..."
Belle swallowed almost imperceptibly, but still said calmly, "Just as I thought. Looks like the reason is obvious."
Huojin: "What, is there a problem with my topics?"
Wise: "Well, there is a bit..."
Belle pointed at Wise and said, "Look, even my brother thinks so. That means it's a big problem!"
Huojin: ?
Belle: "How about this? We'll go inside and put together a script for you. When you call Nicole in a bit, just read what's on it. Guaranteed results!"
Huojin was skeptical. "Really?"
"Really. I guarantee it in Phaethon's name. But please wait a moment. We need to go inside and prepare."
As Belle spoke, she pulled Wise into the workroom.
Once inside, they spoke in hushed voices.
Wise: "Belle, so your solution is to teach Mr. Huojin how to chat with Nicole?"
Belle: "Mm-hmm, exactly! From what he said, I've more or less guessed the reason!"
Wise: "Mm."
Belle: "Bro, what do you mean, 'Mm'? Aren't you curious what reason I'm talking about?"
Wise: "What else could it be? I'm guessing you're thinking he's just a stiff, difficult old father who dotes on his daughter but isn't good at communicating with his child."
Belle said in surprise, "Huh! Bro, your thinking is actually eighty percent the same as mine!
But there's more to add. He's also arrogant and looks down his nose at people. Being intimidating is one thing, but he also gets fierce and scares people now and then!"
"But he doesn't even have nostrils..."
Wise: "Ahem! All right, all right, let's get down to business first. Didn't you say you were going to write some sort of script?"
Belle: "Yeah, but I don't need to do it myself. Fairy~, you're up!"
After listening in for so long, Fairy didn't dawdle either. Knowing what needed doing, she replied, "Understood. Searching keywords for you now..."