Seele stared at March in silence for quite a while.
Looking at the clear, innocent face of the girl in front of her, she honestly didn't know what to say for a moment.
These people really talked nonsense without even bothering to think first, damn it, they just opened their mouths and let it fly.
She might be more straightforward by nature, but she wasn't stupid. That kid clearly didn't look tired at all, not even pretending.
But then again… what could she say?
After a moment of silence, Seele decided to skip over that topic and answer March's question about Svarog's robots.
She knew very well that continuing to ask was pointless. After all, even this girl, whom Sampo had once described as someone who "changes depending on who she's talking to", had already started covering for him…
"There are plenty more robots like that under Svarog's command. That's exactly why Wildfire has never been able to deal with him. Svarog's forces are too strong, our manpower just isn't enough to shake him."
March blinked twice, clearly surprised by how quickly Seele had changed the subject.
At that moment, Stelle asked, "That girl in red clothes…?"
"You mean Clara?" Seele glanced at Stelle and replied in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Don't worry about her. That kid seems to have a very good relationship with Svarog and is always following behind him. Svarog won't hurt her."
"I couldn't understand it the first time I saw them either. Now I'm long used to it. Let's hurry and find the leader."
Just as Seele finished speaking, a man's voice came from nearby. It sounded aged, but it was strong and steady.
"No need to look everywhere for me, Seele."
Everyone followed the sound and saw a man walking over. His hair and beard were completely white, yet he looked very robust, his posture still upright and straight.
His skin was a bit darker than most people's, and his eyes were sharp and full of spirit. Behind him followed several young, sturdy men.
Worth mentioning was that the old man had the same red armband wrapped around his arm as Seele.
"Well done, Seele," Oleg praised her. "We were attacked from both front and back by a bunch of robots from who knows where. We thought we were in for a long fight, hahaha!"
"Leader!" Seele called out when she saw him. Then she glanced at the people behind Oleg and asked, "Is everyone okay? Anyone injured?"
Oleg shook his head. "We're fine. Used to it already. Those troublesome ragtag robots have been driven back. The mining area should be able to stay quiet for a while."
"Incorrect!" A voice immediately rejected Oleg's statement.
"Next, if there's no interference from the Fragmentum or the Overworld, then the mining area should be quiet forever."
Oleg turned his head toward the source of the voice.
Nero stood there with his head held high, one finger raised, looking completely confident.
Oleg blinked, then turned to Seele. "These companions of yours are…?"
"They're… outsiders that Sampo brought down from who knows where," Seele explained. "According to him, they're some kind of partners?
"Right now, they're with me because they need Wildfire's help. They also promised to help deal with the problems in this ore vein. The details are a bit complicated, it's better to let them explain it themselves."
Stelle tilted her head at Oleg, then put her hands on her hips and said arrogantly, "So you're the leader? You really did only come out after being called again and again!"
Hearing that, Oleg burst into hearty laughter. Then he looked at Nero and Stelle and said, "Hahaha! You two sure are bold, being this arrogant on our first meeting. I'll remember you."
"So then, you went through all this trouble to come here looking for Wildfire, what do you need our help with?"
"Before that, how about you send people to gather the vagrants and miners?" Nero suggested. "We can take care of the ore vein issue all at once while we're at it."
Oleg scratched his head, not quite sure what this kid was planning.
"That's fine, but what exactly is your method?"
"A highly efficient method that can solve the problem immediately," Nero answered.
"A harmonious method with no dissenting voices," Stelle added.
"A clean and perfect solution!" March chimed in as well.
"..." Dan Heng.
"Uh…" Oleg frowned, then looked at Seele in confusion.
Seele nodded. "I think their method is feasible."
Seele clearly approved of the Astral Express crew's decision, because, to be honest, beating everyone up once sounded very much to her liking.
Seeing that even Seele thought there was no problem, Oleg figured he might as well hear out these outsiders' ideas.
After all, he had watched Seele grow up since she was little. She might be a bit too straightforward, but she was reliable.
So Oleg turned and instructed two subordinates to go to the rest area and gather the miners and vagrants from the mining zone. If anyone refused, they were to apply pressure using Wildfire's name.
After that was done, the Trailblazer squad had the dependable Teacher Dan Heng step forward to explain, in fairly detailed and comprehensive terms, what they had encountered before and their goal of finding the Stellaron.
After listening to Dan Heng's explanation, a clear look of excitement appeared on Seele's face, it was obvious she was very happy.
"Ha! I didn't expect you guys to put on such a show up there. That was really impressive."
Seele praised them right away, without giving any thought to the presence of a certain Silvermane Guard commander from the Overworld.
But Seele had always spoken her mind, and besides, she never had much goodwill toward people from the Overworld to begin with.
She had been strong-willed since childhood, already roaming around the edges of the Fragmentum on her own when she was young.
Just for a mouthful of water, she had once beaten an adult vagrant into the hospital, of course, from then on, every time she drank water, she would leave a few mouthfuls for those who came after.
Seele had grown up immersed in hardship, witnessing the suffering of the Underworld hundreds, thousands of times as she grew.
When she was young, she had once longed for the Overworld. With the help of Oleg, who was still a Silvermane Guard captain back then, Seele had gone to the Overworld once.
Oleg took her around the Overworld for a whole day. She ate food she had never eaten before and saw scenery she had never seen before.
And after that, Seele never wanted to go to the Overworld again.
Even though it was only two days, what she saw there made her feel sick, while some people underground couldn't get enough to eat or drink, she saw some people in the Overworld casually throwing away half-eaten meals. To Seele, that was completely unacceptable.
To put it more crudely, it was like she hadn't even opened her mouth, yet still felt as if she'd gone through a thoroughly disgusting experience of eating shit, an overwhelming sense of suffocation, as if drowning in filth.
On the other side, after listening to Dan Heng's account, Oleg also smiled and said, "Well now! This is really something new. Wildfire can barely take care of things underground, and yet outsiders are coming to us for help!"