Chapter 19: Unexpected Connections
On our way toward the giant Geomarrow vein in the Great Mine, we ran into and helped a few people who were either in trouble or being harassed by local vagrants.
Along the way, we also came across a semi-broken little white IPC robot named Findie that had a surprisingly chirpy—yet incredibly snarky—personality.
With its help, we managed to locate the parts needed to repair a broken mine cart that was blocking our path, saving us a good amount of time.
Right after fixing it though, we ran into another problem in the form of an Automaton Direwolf, one of the robots under Svarog’s control.
Luckily, with our team working together, we quickly dealt with it along with the other robots that got in our way as we continued deeper into the mine.
Throughout the entire journey though, one thing remained constant.
And if I was being honest, it was starting to seriously annoy me.
Seele and Bronya would not stop arguing.
Walking a bit behind the constantly bickering pair, I leaned down toward March, who was walking beside me, and quietly whispered into her ear.
“I’m really glad you and Dan Heng are here with me. If I had come here alone with those two, I think I would’ve died from awkwardness by now.”
March shivered slightly as my breath brushed against her ear but nodded a moment later with a serious expression.
“I know exactly what you mean,” she whispered back while covering her mouth slightly. “Those two have been at each other’s throats since they met. Sometimes it feels like they completely forget the rest of us are even here.”
“Right? That’s why I need you to promise me something,” I whispered dramatically. “If I ever get stuck traveling alone with those two, you have to come save me.”
March thought about it for a moment before finally sighing.
“Fine. But only if you do the same for me.”
“Deal.”
Unfortunately, before we could continue whispering, Dan Heng’s calm voice suddenly interrupted us.
“If you two are done gossiping, we may have a problem up ahead.”
Immediately backing away from each other and pretending absolutely nothing suspicious had happened, we looked ahead and spotted three figures standing in our path.
Two of them were robots. One looked heavily armored, an Automaton Grizzly, while the other had a more humanoid frame.
But it was the third figure that instantly drew my attention.
A young girl with white hair and pinkish-red eyes wearing a long red coat coming down to her knees.
Clara.
What made me do a double take though, even though I already knew this was coming, was the fact that she was completely barefoot.
Normally, that might’ve only earned a raised eyebrow.
But considering the freezing temperature and the snow covering the ground, it was honestly mind-boggling how she stood there without showing even the slightest discomfort.
I was so distracted by that fact that I completely missed whatever Seele and Svarog were saying.
Instead, I just stared at Clara’s feet in disbelief.
‘Wait… they didn’t exaggerate this in the game?’ I thought incredulously.
Apparently noticing my stare, Clara looked up and met my gaze before tilting her head cutely.
Unable to stop myself, I blurted out the thought that had been bothering me this entire time.
“Aren’t your feet freezing?” I asked automatically. “Do you want to borrow my shoes?”
Clara blinked softly before glancing down at her bare feet for a moment.
Then she looked back at me and gently shook her head.
“It’s okay, mister,” Clara replied softly while offering me a small smile. “I’m used to it. But thank you for offering.”
Seeing her genuine expression and innocent eyes, I silently made a vow to myself.
‘Okay, that settles it. Before leaving this world, I’m somehow going to convince her to wear shoes.’
‘Just looking at her standing barefoot in the snow is making me want to rip my hair out in frustration. Seriously, how has Svarog not convinced her to wear some already!? It wouldn’t even be difficult considering Clara listens to practically everything he says since he basically raised her!’
‘What’s even the point of her jacket if her feet are completely exposed!?’ I silently ranted to myself, my resolve strengthening with every passing second.
Clara, who had been quietly observing me the entire time, simply blinked cutely in confusion at my increasingly intense expression.
Too caught up in my own worries—and my growing urge to beat some sense into Svarog about basic child care despite him being an emotionless robot—I completely failed to notice how everyone around us had gone silent and started staring.
“That’s it!” I suddenly declared loudly, startling Clara slightly as I dramatically pointed at her. “From this day onward, you may call me Big Brother!”
“I refuse to take no for an answer. So if anything is bothering you or if you ever need help, you can always count on your Onii-chan Caelus!” I proudly declared while pointing a thumb toward myself and striking what I believed was a cool pose.
‘Now that I was officially a big brother, it was my duty to always look cool in front of my little sister after all,’ I thought confidently.
“…Haah. There he goes again saying something completely out of nowhere and leaving everyone speechless,” March sighed fondly from beside me.
I ignored her completely, my full attention focused on Clara while waiting for her response.
Clara blinked several times in surprise before, proving that I had absolutely made the correct decision, her expression visibly brightened.
“Okay, Onii-chan~”
Critical hit.
“Kuh!” I staggered backward while clutching my chest dramatically. “Please don’t attack your poor Onii-chan with such overwhelming cuteness without warning first. It’s dangerous for my poor heart.”
“…Is that idiot actually serious right now?” Seele muttered flatly to someone nearby.
“I’m afraid so,” Bronya quietly whispered back. “This isn’t even the strangest thing I’ve seen him do. Our first proper meeting involved him digging through a trash can and justifying it with ridiculous words.”
Both of them were thoroughly ignored.
“Did I do something wrong?” Clara asked worriedly while tilting her head.
“Absolutely not!” I immediately denied while straightening back up and flashing her a huge grin. “Your Onii-chan just suffered a tiny heart attack from your cuteness. No big deal.”
“What? A heart attack!?” Clara gasped, taking my words completely seriously as she hurried a step closer with concern written all over her face. “That doesn’t sound fine at all, Onii-chan! Do you need a doctor?”
Realizing I had accidentally worried her even more, I was just about to apologize when an elbow suddenly slammed into my ribs.
Wheezing slightly, I turned to see March glaring at me with a deadpan expression and her hands planted firmly on her hips.
“Idiot. You’re confusing her,” March scolded before immediately softening as she turned toward Clara with a friendly smile.
“Hi, my name’s March 7th. Nice to meet you,” she introduced herself warmly. “And don’t worry about this idiot. This is just how he normally acts. You’ll get used to it eventually. Trust me.”
“I see…” Clara visibly relaxed before offering us both a small bow. “My name is Clara. Nice to meet you too, Miss March.”
“Tsk. I don’t appreciate you implying I’m some kind of hopeless case,” I complained quietly while rubbing my side.
“That’s because you are,” March shot back instantly.
Our banter abruptly came to an end when we heard an angry growl.
Turning around, we saw Seele looking completely fed up with her weapon already drawn while Svarog and the Automaton Grizzly tensed in response.
“Enough talking nonsense! Svarog!” Seele snapped while pointing her scythe at the massive robot. “Withdraw your forces before I truly lose my temper.”
‘What do you mean “truly” lose your temper? You already look pretty angry to me.’ I thought silently while instinctively taking a step back alongside March and Dan Heng, who apparently shared the exact same thought.
“Observe, Clara,” Svarog calmly stated while slightly turning his head toward the white-haired girl standing beside him. “Even under desperate conditions, humans are unable to avoid division and conflict.”
“But, Mr. Svarog…” Clara tried to speak up in our defense only to be interrupted.
“Humanity’s refusal to accept calculated outcomes presents a significant threat to the survival strategy of the Underworld,” Svarog continued emotionlessly. “Calculation complete. Result unequivocal. Armed suppression of Wildfire and their allies remains the optimal course of action.”
At his words, Clara seemed to reluctantly give up trying to argue.
Instead, she turned toward me with a worried look.
Wanting to reassure her, because it was now officially my duty as her Onii-chan, I immediately flashed her a thumbs up.
“Don’t worry, Clara,” I said reassuringly. “Your Onii-chan is super strong, so you don’t need to worry about us. I’ll make sure to come find you later so we can properly talk and hang out, okay?”
Whether it was thanks to my Blessing of Hestia or simply Clara’s innocent nature, she immediately believed me.
Her worried expression softened into a relieved smile.
Then she looked up toward Svarog for approval, and after seeing him remain silent, she turned back toward me and nodded happily.
“Okay, Onii-chan. See you later.”
Critical hit. Again.
“We must leave, Clara,” Svarog stated while turning away. “External variables have triggered a recalculation. The Furnace Core hub requires immediate protection.”
“Bye Clara~!” I yelled while waving both hands enthusiastically at her retreating figure.
Probably more enthusiastically than necessary.
Still, I felt ridiculously pleased when she waved back at me.
“Ugh, enough distractions! Let’s deal with this thing already!” Seele interrupted once again, instantly ruining the wholesome atmosphere and somehow dropping even further in my personal rankings despite already not being one of my favorite people.
Silently giving her the stink eye, I eventually sighed and pulled out my bat after March sent me a pointed look telling me to behave.
As we prepared to fight the Automaton Grizzly, I silently thanked my lucky stars that thanks to Seele and Bronya helping out, I hadn’t been forced to overexert myself too badly.
So far, my disease had only left me dealing with some light exhaustion instead of completely wrecking my body again.
=====
A While Later
With all of us working together, the Automaton Grizzly didn’t pose much of a challenge and we quickly took it down with minimal effort.
Not long after, the chief of Wildfire—or acting chief, I should say, since I already knew Natasha was the real one in charge—arrived and spoke with us.
Impressed and thankful for our help, Oleg shared some information with us and revealed that Svarog was likely the only one who could know anything about the Stellaron considering he had been active for centuries.
Happy about the prospect of meeting Clara again, I immediately agreed to seek Svarog out.
Afterward, Oleg suggested we all rest for the evening since it had already gotten late and was even kind enough to arrange accommodations for us.
Bronya, however, became visibly upset when Oleg openly talked trash about her mother, even outright calling Cocolia a liar.
Naturally, Bronya immediately jumped to her defense only to be left speechless when Oleg started revealing uncomfortable truths about the Overworld and requested that she properly explore Boulder Town herself before blindly defending the Supreme Guardian again.
As we walked back toward town while March and Dan Heng chatted nearby, I pulled up my notifications and noticed two new ones waiting for me.
[Feat Achieved! Meet Clara]
+1 Silver Random Ticket
[Feat Achieved! Meet Svarog]
+1 Silver Random Ticket
Time to gamble.
[Rolling…]
[Gravity Jail]
|Rare Item|
DxD - A Sacred Gear created by God. The Magical Eyes that Shackle. Gravity Jail manifests through the user’s eyes, allowing them to expend energy to drastically increase gravity on targets or locations within their line of sight. When removed from inventory, it manifests as a marble that permanently fuses with whoever swallows it.
[Aries]
|Rare Familiar|
Fairy Tail - Aries is a Celestial Spirit representing the Aries constellation. While not physically powerful, she possesses exceptional wool magic, allowing her to create and manipulate wool freely. As a Celestial Spirit, she cannot be killed through normal means, and her strength scales alongside her owner’s power.
(Celestial Spirits reside in Familiar Space by default unless the user decides otherwise.)
Looking over my rewards, I hummed thoughtfully.
‘A Sacred Gear and another Familiar. Virgo will probably be happy to have a familiar face around,’ I thought with satisfaction.
‘And Gravity Jail honestly sounds pretty useful for immobilizing targets.’
Without much hesitation, I summoned the small marble into my palm before casually swallowing it.
A second later, a sharp headache spread through my skull as I felt something change within my eyes.
A strange new power awakened inside them.
Something completely different from my Sharingan.
“Caelus! Stop spacing out and help me and Dan Heng figure out what we’re doing tonight!” March suddenly complained while grabbing my jacket and shaking me back and forth.
Blinking, I looked down at the pouting March and tilted my head.
“Uh… what were you talking about again?” I asked sheepishly.
“Ugh, I knew you weren’t listening!” March’s pout deepened before she sighed dramatically and crossed her arms.
“I’m talking about who’s going to stand guard tonight, dummy! Me and Dan Heng think we shouldn’t let our guard down yet, even if that Oleg guy seemed nice. We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time,” March properly explained.
Nodding in understanding, I opened my mouth.
“If we need someone to keep watch, then I—”
“I’ll do it.”
A familiar feminine voice interrupted me from behind.
Turning around, we found Bronya standing there looking like she had a lot on her mind.
March’s expression softened slightly now that most of her anger toward the silver-haired girl had faded after everything that had happened in the Underworld.
“Bronya, did you finish talking with Oleg?” March asked sympathetically. “Hope he didn’t make things too difficult for you.”
Bronya smiled faintly and shook her head.
“Not really, though it wasn’t the friendliest conversation,” she admitted quietly. “We didn’t see eye-to-eye on everything.”
“I’ve learned a great deal in a very short amount of time today. Honestly… I doubt I’ll be able to sleep tonight anyway.”
“Isn’t that just called having a normal conversation?” I asked teasingly with a raised eyebrow, hoping to ease some of the tension around her.
Thankfully, it worked.
Bronya’s smile became a little more genuine as she let out a quiet giggle.
“I suppose you’re not wrong if you look at it that way.”
“I probably wouldn’t sleep well either,” March admitted. “Not because I don’t trust you! It’s just… you’re a Silvermane Guard officer in the Underworld. There are probably people down here who’d want to hurt you.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Bronya replied with a small nod while placing a hand over her chest. “The Silvermane Guards have a lot to make up for down here.”
“If someone had stood up sooner… if someone had explained the consequences to Madam Cocolia…”
Bronya trailed off before shaking her head with a frustrated frown.
“Forget it. Talking about it now changes nothing.”
Taking a slow breath to calm herself, she looked back at us.
“You don’t need to worry about me. Oleg guaranteed I wouldn’t be harmed, and he seemed like a man of his word. Please, go get some rest.”
Her reassurance seemed enough for March and Dan Heng, who both thanked her before heading inside the inn.
I stayed behind for a moment though.
Bronya noticed immediately, tilting her head curiously while waiting for me to speak.
Smiling softly, I placed my hands on my hips.
“I’m glad you don’t look at us like enemies anymore, Bronya,” I admitted honestly. “I didn’t really want to fight a friend.”
Bronya blinked in surprise.
“…You consider me a friend?” she asked quietly. “I didn’t think our first meeting left that strong of an impression on you.”
“Oh, it definitely did~” I replied with a grin. “I mean, I managed to get you to drop that cold persona for a while after sharing one of my passions with you.”
“And honestly? That version of you suits you way more. You look even prettier when you smile instead of appearing like you’re glaring at everyone.”
“Y-You…!” Bronya sputtered as a blush rapidly spread across her cheeks.
Immediately pointing at her dramatically, I grinned wider.
“There! That face right there! That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” I laughed happily. “It seems the secret to dealing with you is talking to you at night~”
Before she could recover enough to respond, I turned around and started heading inside while waving over my shoulder.
“Well, good night Bronya. And thanks again for keeping watch.”
“I’ll make sure to treat you to something nice once all this mess is finally over.”
Those were my final words before I disappeared into the inn.
Behind me, Bronya watched my retreating figure with a flushed face while opening and closing her mouth several times completely unable to respond.