(Recommended to skip)
The next day, inside the video store on Sixth Street...
Belle: "Brother, Nicole said he already found a lead on the strongbox, and he's on his way!
This commission feels complicated. I put together some information and left it on the tablet at the workbench. If you need it, you can check it anytime!
Anyway, if you're ready, let's wait for Nicole in the garage."
Wise: "Yeah, we don't need that information for now. Let's go wait for Nicole in the garage first."
Belle: "Okay!"
In the garage, Wise and Belle, who was holding Eous, had just come out when Nicole's group arrived. With that, both sides were all present.
Nicole: "You're here. We've tracked down the strongbox. How's the thing I asked you to do coming along?"
Wise: I feel like we should be the ones saying that first line.
Belle: "You mean the data disk? Of course, we repaired it successfully.
And just as Nicole guessed, it really did contain the strongbox's numerical password!"
Hearing this good news cheered Nicole up considerably. He said happily:
"All right, everyone. Thanks to the Proxy's help, all our preparations are complete. It's time to move on to the next step.
Anby! Explain the plan!"
Anby, who had been standing idly behind Nicole with Billy, heard his instructions, stepped up beside him, and acknowledged him before beginning to explain their "snatch it by force plan."
Anby: "All right. Everyone, please look at this map of New Eridu.
The operation plan is: enter the Cretan Hollow, defeat the high-level Ethereal Dullahan, and take back the strongbox.
Mm..."
And with that, the simple yet meticulous (optional) operation plan was explained in fewer than two sentences. Wise and Belle were a little baffled after hearing it. Seeing that Anby had stopped talking, Wise asked:
"That's... all?"
Anby: "Yes. What's wrong?"
Belle: "Then was there any special reason for spreading out this map of New Eridu?"
Anby answered honestly:
"Nicole said we needed to look professional so our partners wouldn't look down on us."
At this point, Nicole saw that something was going wrong and tried to stop Anby, but it was too late.
Anby: "Otherwise, it'll be hard to haggle the price down once the job is done-mmph mmm mmph..."
Although Nicole covered Anby's mouth, everything that shouldn't have been said had already come out.
Nicole: "Why are you saying unnecessary things again? Billy, why didn't you keep an eye on her?"
Billy felt wronged. He couldn't exactly say that he'd left this whole "professional" meeting to Anby while he went to watch the new Starlight Knight movie, so he tried to argue his way out of it:
"It's not my fault, Boss Nicole! I didn't know the 'professional' meeting Anby prepared would be like this...
Ah! No wonder she watched a bunch of meeting scenes from crime investigation movies before we gathered!"
Wise: "Um... we can hear all of that, you know?"
Beside Wise, Belle's little mouth was twisting slightly, as though she could barely hold it in anymore. Nicole was a little embarrassed, but fortunately, the thick skin he'd built up over the years wasn't about to crumble from just this one blow.
Nicole: "Ahem! A-anyway, the objective is as simple and clear as Anby said: find the strongbox and take it back!
There's no way to monitor conditions inside a Hollow in real time from outside, so we're counting on you for support and guidance inside!"
Wise: "Yeah, understood. Then I'll leave Eous in your care."
Hearing this, Belle handed Eous to Billy, who was closest to her. Billy seemed to be spacing out. Only after staring blankly for two and a half seconds did he notice Belle and take Eous.
Billy: "Ahaha... sorry, Manager. I zoned out just now, haha..."
Belle: "..." (-_-)ゞ
Nicole: "This commission sure is a pain... next time gang business is involved, I'm charging the maximum fee!
Hmph... Proxy, let's hurry up and get that strongbox!"
Without waiting for Wise to answer, Nicole slipped into the driver's seat in a flash. Behind him, Anby and Billy, who was holding Eous, smoothly hopped into the back seat in one go. And then there was no more-they had already left.
Wise simply shrugged, took Belle back into the video store, adjusted the HDD, and then plotted with her about changing accounts.
...(time skip)...
Inside the Cretan Hollow...
Nicole: "All right! We made it into the Hollow. Let's hurry up and find my strongbox~"
Billy: "Come to think of it, Boss Nicole, who did you ask to track down the strongbox's location?"
Nicole: "Hehe~! That's a trade secret! How could I just tell you?
Still, everyone here is one of us, so I suppose I could let you in on just a little bit."
Wise, now online as "Phaethon," immediately exposed Nicole's little scheme.
Wise: "Nicole, you actually wanted to tell us all along just to show off, didn't you?"
The honest Anby also stepped in to defend (confirm) Nicole's little scheme.
Anby: "Please don't undermine him so quickly. Nicole is surprisingly thin-skinned at times like this."
Nicole: "Hey! I told you not to say unnecessary things, Anby!"
Only after readjusting his mindset did Nicole explain:
"Ahem! It's actually very simple! I have a few acquaintances in the Hollow Investigators Association. They happened to be responsible for recording this Hollow's recent routine observation missions and Ether resource excavation missions.
I offered them some terms they couldn't refuse and had them compare the data from this Hollow's two most recent mutations. By circling the features that differed, they could narrow down the area where the strongbox was located!"
Billy: "Oh! That's our Boss Nicole!"
But just then, an anomaly involving repeated, overlapping audio appeared in Wise's view and audio feed...
[Nicole: "...data from this Hollow's two most recent mutations. By circling the features that differed... could narrow down the area where the strongbox was located!"
Billy: "That's... our Boss Nicole!"]
Wise: "Wait, didn't I just hear this part?"
Seeing Eous (Wise) stop in place, Nicole asked in confusion:
"Proxy? What are you standing around for? Time to get moving, right? I might know roughly which area of the Hollow the strongbox is in, but we're still counting on you to get us there!"
Wise: "...Okay, understood."
Nicole felt that something was a little off about Wise, but he didn't think much of it and set off with Eous, taking Anby and Billy along to clear the way ahead.
Meanwhile, somewhere, a hacker of unknown name and appearance (defaulting to a little black silhouette) grinned widely, his gaze fixed on the densely packed code on the computer in front of him, his ten fingers leaving flurries of afterimages across multiple keyboards.
"Kekeke-so much for the legendary Proxy 'Phaethon.' Against me, you're nothing! Kekekekeke..."