Early the next morning, the Salamander set out for Sixth Street. Over at Cunning Hares, Eous was treated with the highest level of hospitality imaginable—several of the female members absolutely doted on it, hugging and petting it nonstop throughout the night.
Catching the very first metro to Sixth Street, Ignis was shocked to see that Sjal's bargain stall was already open for business. This woman's enthusiasm for work was almost frightening—does she never get tired?
Outside the video store, Ignis spotted Belle talking with an elderly man. Presumably, this was Mr. Rhode.
"Miss Shopkeeper, I received the stage video from the Ballet Twins last night! Th-that was… was it you who sent it to me?" The old man leaned on his cane, visibly trembling with excitement, his hands shaking uncontrollably.
"Shh." Belle raised a finger to her lips. "Please don't spread it around."
"Oh! You young people really are incredible!" Rhode was beside himself with emotion. Being able to see his granddaughters' dancing again had left him so overwhelmed that he hadn't slept all night. "Truly… thank you… I never imagined an old man like me would still meet such kind-hearted children…" His expression quivered, lips pressed tight, tears threatening to spill.
"It was just a small favor," the Proxy replied modestly.
"Ah… I didn't even get to secretly watch their final performance back then. And until now, I've never once visited their graves. Having this video—you know, whenever I watch it, my heart feels a little lighter." Grandpa Rhode wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes. "But… there seemed to be some strange sounds in the video. Was I imagining things?"
"I think it was just background noise," Ignis said as he walked over, his massive figure blocking the morning sunlight.
The old man turned around, only to be confronted by a dark-skinned giant in a deep green suit jacket and sunglasses. He stumbled back several steps, nearly falling over.
"Y-you… who are you?" Grandpa Rhode almost fainted on the spot.
"He's my friend, Ignis," Belle quickly explained. "He helped me get that recording. And… there's something else for you as well."
the Salamander crouched down. Eous slid along his thick arm, hopped to the ground, and pulled out two nameplates from the storage compartment in its chest—Augilia and Augetta.
"Th-this is…" The old man's hands shook violently as he took them, disbelief written all over his face. "You… you went into the Ballet Twins and found these?"
The Salamander nodded. "Yes."
"The voices in the video… they sounded so familiar. Almost exactly like my granddaughters' voices! Did you see them?" His voice trembled, clinging to hope, praying Ignis would give him the answer he longed for.
But this time, the Salamander could not meet that expectation. As the giant slowly shook his head, tears streamed down the old man's face.
"I know it… I know it… that was their voices. They might still be alive. Otherwise, how could their voices exist inside the Hollow?"
Ignis assumed the man's grief had given rise to illusion. To be honest, during the recording process, there had been no female voices at all—only fragmented, broken phrases near the end. Both he and the Proxy believed there was no chance the twins were still alive. The pair of Ethereals were most likely constructs born from the Hollow absorbing their memories.
"Please, stay calm," Ignis said gently, resting a large hand on the old man's shoulder. "There's something else I need to tell you."
"Regarding your granddaughters' contract breach penalties—there's a strong chance the agency defrauded you," the Salamander continued, relaying Nicole's conclusions. "Under New Eridu law, contracts do not bind third parties. You clearly did not sign the contract between your granddaughters and their agency. Pursuing you for breach penalties is illegal."
"So… that company… lied to me?"
"Yes. And for this matter, the Cunning Hares is willing to take the case. If you authorize us to act as your legal representatives, not only can you recover the penalties they took from you over the years, you may also receive additional compensation." Ignis took out his phone. "Sir, may I have your phone number? Someone will contact you shortly."
"Who would have thought… I only argued with someone outside the Ballet Twins, and it led to all of this. I never imagined anyone would care, let alone help me solve so many problems. I thought my life had no hope left."
"Hope always endures, sir," Ignis said as he opened his arms and embraced the old man. "No matter the time or place—hope always endures."
"Thank you… thank you all…" Mr. Rhode repeated over and over. It was the only thing he could do.
After the old man had steadied his emotions, he bade the two farewell. A freshly awakened Nicole soon called him, inviting him to the Cunning Hares' base for a detailed discussion. As for transportation, the famously stingy Nicole even arranged a private car to pick him up.
After all, this was a huge sum of money—how could their patron be allowed to suffer any inconvenience?
Watching the private car drive off with the old man, Belle finally let out a sigh of relief. "Looks like everything's settled now. Sorry about making you bring Eous back so early in the morning."
"It's fine. I happened to have another appointment anyway, so I'll take care of everything in one go." Ignis rolled his shoulders slightly.
"Who?" Belle's face lit up with curiosity. Who on earth would this giant be meeting?
"Ellen asked to meet me here today."
"Ah?" Belle's mind visibly short-circuited. "You two—when did that happen? Huh? Things are moving that fast?"
"Did you forget already?" Ignis cut in immediately, seeing her imagination run wild. "Yesterday, Ellen asked me to pretend to be her guardian. Her school summoned a parent's meeting."
Belle froze for a second, then realization dawned. "Oh, that thing. But… you two don't look alike at all. Even if Thiren genetics are unstable, that height difference is way too much. Can that really fool them? I heard she even hired someone before."
Why does it sound like Ellen has been grabbing random people everywhere to stand in for her family? Ignis felt a twinge of regret for agreeing. Just how big of a mess had this girl caused at school? Still, since he was already here, he'd have to follow through.
"Wow, you're early."
At that moment, Ellen's lazy, drawling voice drifted over.
The Shark Thiren girl was wearing her school uniform today. She really was naturally beautiful—an ordinary uniform still looked striking on her. If only she looked a bit more energetic. Yawning at someone the moment you meet them, with an obvious lack of sleep, definitely hurt her score.
"Ellen? You look exhausted. Didn't rest well?" Belle asked, voicing exactly what Ignis was thinking.
"Prox—"
She'd barely gotten the first syllable out when Belle clapped a hand over her mouth and dragged her closer.
"Lower your voice!" Belle nervously glanced around. Thankfully, no unnecessary attention had been drawn.
"Sorry…" Even her apology sounded weak. "I forgot that this can't be public."
Lycaon, are you sure Ellen can really serve 'high-net-worth clients'? Ignis couldn't help wondering. This Shark Thiren girl feels incredibly unreliable. Sure, she shined in combat—but in daily life, was this really okay?
"Ignis, let's hurry. If we're late, I'll get scolded again." After apologizing to Belle, Ellen tugged lightly at the Salamander's sleeve.
The giant could only shake his head helplessly. After waving goodbye to the Proxy and Eous, he followed the girl toward the metro station.
"By the way, what exactly did you do to get a parent called in? I need to know what I'm walking into."
Before the train arrived, Ignis finally asked.
"Grades," she replied with another yawn, completely unconcerned. "I passed every subject. Just barely passed all of them. So, they called a parent."
"…That's it?"
"As long as you pass, it's fine. Why chase high scores? They don't have any real meaning. Just makes you tired for no reason."
"You seem to really dislike wasting time and energy on things you don't like."
"Of course. Time and energy should be saved for more important things. Otherwise, when you really need them, you won't have any left—that'd be troublesome." As she spoke, Ellen leaned against the Salamander. "I'm so sleepy… can I lean on you and nap for a bit?"
"Hey, don't push it." Ignis was honestly at a loss. This girl really didn't care about her surroundings at all. Even if she didn't mind, the stares from everyone else were practically drilling holes into him.
"Tch. Stingy." Ellen straightened up again, her long shark tail curling around her waist.
"By the way," Ignis suddenly asked, "what kind of shark are you, exactly? Great White? Greenland Sleeper Shark? Or Nurse Shark?"
As a half-baked biology enthusiast, he genuinely couldn't tell. In combat she was ferocious like a great white, right now she was sluggish like a sleeper shark, and occasionally she was so docile she reminded him of a nurse shark.
"What are those…? Never heard of them. Thiren are classified that finely?" She stretched lazily as the train pulled in.
Because the Salamander's massive body radiated pressure, even during rush hour the metro crowd instinctively left some space around him. That ended up benefiting Ellen—what should've been packed shoulder-to-shoulder was oddly comfortable today.
Still, as more passengers boarded, those gaps gradually filled. Even if people were wary of the giant, there was no helping it—there was simply no room.
Ellen, meanwhile, leaned against the Salamander and dozed off, completely detached from everything around her. Her behavior drew even more attention to the giant.
Ignis felt like he'd made a colossal mistake agreeing to this request—pretending to be her guardian.
And to make things worse, up to this very moment, she still hadn't told him which relative he was supposed to be pretending to be. Don't tell me I'm supposed to improvise on the spot…
===BREAK===
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