Pure Young Boys are Like This

Sigh, still no signal. Can't contact everyone on the Express...

Walking behind Dabai, Caelus fiddled with the communicator in his hand, trying to reach his companions up above. But unfortunately, this device, which should have been capable of interstellar communication, seemed to be under some powerful interference now, losing its intended function.

Looks like I can only follow her for now.

Caelus observed the roadside situation. Although old and worn, the area had quite a few residents. While the environment felt somewhat gloomy to Caelus, who came from the outside, the people here seemed accustomed to it, living their normal lives, appearing not much different from those outside.

Judging by these living habits, even if they weren't born underground, they must have lived here for a long time...

"Here, Caelus. Open up, ahh~"

As Caelus pondered, a gentle voice sounded beside his ear. Then, a slightly charred-smelling meat skewer was held to his lips. Caelus subconsciously took a bite, chewing thoughtfully, then suddenly realized—Wait, where did this meat skewer come from?

Caelus abruptly looked up. The one offering him food was none other than the smiling Dabai.

"This skewer is called Rock-Grilled Geomarrow—How does it taste?"

"Well... it's just okay, I guess. Looks a bit scary."

Caelus averted his eyes, feeling a bit frustrated with himself. How could he let his guard down so easily and eat something offered by her!

But Dabai's tone was so matter-of-fact, as if she had repeated this scenario countless times and was already accustomed to the motion, making him subconsciously start eating too... However, his assessment of the food wasn't deliberately low; the taste was genuinely average.

"Hehe, indeed. After all, it's hard to get spices in this Underworld. Just having salt is already pretty good," Dabai looked at the Geomarrow skewer in her hand, speaking softly. "And even though Geomarrow looks intimidating, it is indeed one of the few sources of protein in the Underworld... Do you have any thoughts on this?"

Caelus frowned, thinking. "The food I had in the Overworld, while not exactly exquisite delicacies, were still refined specialty dishes. The conditions here are clearly much tougher than up there... Are the supplies between the Overworld and Underworld blocked? Or did the Overworld unilaterally cut off supplies to the Underworld?"

"Yes, exactly. Keep thinking along those lines. Developing good habits is fundamental to Trailblazing~"

Caelus clearly wasn't very interested in the Geomarrow skewer, so Dabai didn't push it on him again, instead finishing it herself casually.

Although the skewer's taste was questionable, and Dabai didn't intend to eat it, adhering to the principle of making the best use of things, she deliberately ate it from an angle where Caelus would see it as her casually eating the part he had just bitten.

"Ah, um—"

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Dabai smiling, seemingly completely unfazed by her actions just now, Caelus's face flushed slightly, and he awkwardly lowered his hand. "N-Nothing..."

Sigh, this is how pure young boys are. Seeing anything remotely like sharing food makes them think of indirect kisses, then their hearts start racing, leading them down a path of self-conquest. Saves her a lot of trouble.

"Haha, little brother! You can't be this shy when you're out on a date with your girlfriend!" The skewer stall owner chuckled. "The young lady didn't say anything, but you're the one blushing first."

Hmm, just a random stall owner NPC, but that assist was pretty good. Didn't waste her effort in deliberately dropping the power hiding their presence just now, making him notice that moment.

"Ha, girlfriend?! No, no, no, you're thinking way too much! This bad woman is not my girlfriend! It's impossible between us!"

Caelus quickly took two steps away from Dabai, waving his hands vigorously to show absolute rejection.

He admitted that after being kissed at the space station earlier, he was maybe a billionth bit moved, but it was just a thought. To the current Caelus, the unidentified Dabai was still an object of vigilance. Making her his girlfriend could very likely pose a threat to Twilight and the Express crew.

Therefore, even though his heart wept at not being able to get close to the beautiful older sister, he firmly drew a line between himself and Dabai.

"..."

Dabai didn't speak, just smiled wordlessly, but that smile carried a faint trace of bitterness.

Although he inwardly considered her a bad woman, seeing this pitifully beautiful smile still made Caelus's heart tighten for a moment.

But he immediately steeled his resolve and looked away.

Seeing this Caelus with his iron will, Dabai felt ecstatic inwardly—Yes, yes, yes! This is exactly what she liked! His favorability towards her was clearly rising, yet he still put on a grumpy face and didn't make any actual moves!

Not only does it yield gold coins, but there's no trouble either... Looking at it this way, the enduring popularity of the 'tsundere' trope also has its economic rationale.

Caelus, remember, if you ever get to Blue Earth in the future, definitely maintain this attitude! Don't go crazy!

Being unable to directly voice her thoughts made Twilight slightly regretful, but she didn't forget her task, silently turning to continue leading the way for Caelus.

"Let's go. This Underworld isn't small; we still have many places to explore... Perhaps not as fun as those amusement parks in the galaxy, but as an experience, it's quite novel. Very suitable for your first Trailblaze, okay?"

Although he was walking around the Underworld with Dabai, instead of raiding some mysterious organization's base, the two ended up visiting various shops and stalls. Caelus felt that rather than uncovering Belobog's hidden truths, this felt more like a simple date. Important information could only be deduced from various clues, but he did get to experience the food, drinks, and fun properly.

As an honest person, Caelus had to say, this feeling wasn't bad.

"To understand the systematic intelligence situation of a place, you need to find members of the leading organization. Here in the Underworld, that's Wildfire. You should have realized this from your earlier conversations with the residents. But they are the local power, after all. Before communicating with people like them, you must first grasp the basic situation to avoid being deceived."

While eating, drinking, and having fun, Dabai also didn't forget to meticulously explain to Caelus how to handle various situations, her patience exceeding even that of a kindergarten teacher teaching young children.

"I feel like you really want to teach me something..." Caelus remarked emotionally. He always felt Dabai must have some ulterior motive, yet up till now, she not only hadn't shown any hostility but had also generously shared various Trailblazing techniques...

"Because I truly do want to teach you," Dabai lowered her eyes slightly. "I want to pass on all my experience to you. If possible, I even want to give you a copy of my memories, tell you bit by bit about all the time and memories we shared together... But these are all meaningless."

"I can only give you everything I can, hoping you quickly learn all the skills and become a Nameless one who can stand on their own, even without the help of powerful companions."