Chapter 84: At This Point, Let's Play 'Haruhikage'

Chapter 84: At This Point, Let's Play 'Haruhikage'

As the sun pierced through the doubts swirling in her mind, Serval had a sudden enlightenment. Many things from the past became clear, and new questions arose.

If the Stellaron was the source of all calamities, and the Eternal Freeze was a 'miracle' brought by the first Supreme Guardian, then Cocolia hiding the truth to protect the authority and legitimacy of the Supreme Guardians was not entirely incomprehensible.

The problem was, Cocolia's methods were far too extreme!

Those researchers were intelligent people, with vision and the ability to think rationally. Even if they knew the Eternal Freeze might be related to the first Supreme Guardian, it was likely the only way to preserve their civilization at a time when it was on the brink of collapse.

If Cocolia had been open and honest, no one would have hated or blamed the first Supreme Guardian. Yet, she chose to exile and eliminate all who knew the truth.

"It's not that I'm unwilling to believe you."

The cheerful and lively atmosphere of their jam sessions was replaced by a solemn silence. Serval let out a long sigh. After forming the band "Crychic" and spending several days together, she was convinced that the band members were good people, not malicious ones.

"But do you have any proof?"

Subjective willingness was one thing, but there was no substantial evidence to prove it. This included Dan Heng and Caelus's speculation that the Supreme Guardian might be in direct communication with the Stellaron, deluded by it. There was no proof for that either.

Stelle and Caelus would occasionally hear mysterious whispers at night these past few days, but something like that obviously couldn't be used as evidence. No one would believe them.

His only knowledge of the plot came from fan creations; Caelus knew nothing about the actual story. He couldn't just tell Serval that Cocolia was a final boss in the game, so no matter what, it was her fault, right?

Or that, in another timeline, Cocolia was preparing to pull off a huge, ruthless stunt, destroying a city with a population many times larger than Belobog's.

Forget Serval, even the other members of the Trailblaze team wouldn't believe it. You couldn't just pin the blame like that.

To be honest, Serval did believe it.

She and Cocolia used to be good friends. They formed a band together and talked about everything. But ever since Cocolia became the Supreme Guardian, she had completely changed. The beliefs she once held, the passion in her heart, it was as if they had been sucked out of her body. Cocolia had become completely obsessed.

Serval had always found it incredible, and now, hearing Caelus's speculation, she was shocked to realize that perhaps it was all because of the Stellaron.

But still, there was no evidence.

"Why don't we just tell everyone?" Stelle raised her hand to speak, her 'subconscious' absolutely certain that Cocolia was the big problem.

Everyone looked at Stelle with strange expressions. March 7th couldn't help but retort, "Where are the eight hundred brain cells you usually use to slack off now?"

It was written in the textbooks of Belobog: respect the Supreme Guardian, and trust all orders from Qlipoth Fort. The grassroots education was like this; no common citizen would be disrespectful to the Supreme Guardian.

Mysterious, powerful, and full of wisdom!

As long as they weren't oppressed to the point of starvation, the people would hold the Supreme Guardian in the highest esteem. How dare a group of outsiders of unclear origin claim in Belobog that the Supreme Guardian was the one pushing the catastrophic disaster?

They would probably be arrested by the Silvermane Guards and thrown in jail before the news even reached Cocolia, and they'd have to endure being pelted with vegetable leaves and rotten eggs by the residents on the way.

"I was just kidding, trying to liven up the atmosphere."

Stelle chuckled sheepishly and scratched her head, moving behind Caelus. She placed her hands on his temples. Second brain, activate!

Caelus was her, so whatever Caelus thought of was what she thought of. Why should she bother thinking so hard?

Glancing askance at Stelle, Caelus leaned back without ceremony, using the soft elasticity wrapped in her white T-shirt to massage the back of his head.

"Serval, do you know the location of the Stellaron?"

"I've never seen the Stellaron with my own eyes, but I once did a rough positioning using simulation experiments and external surveys. The results pointed to the north of Belobog... You want to go directly to the Stellaron?"

Quickly realizing Caelus's intention, Serval shook her head bitterly. "It's impossible, you can't get through."

"The snowfields behind Belobog are almost completely swallowed by the Fragmentum, and it's teeming with wandering Fragmentum creatures."

"Moreover, to reach that area, you first have to pass through the garrison of the Silvermane Guards' main force. That's a frontline restricted zone, and they won't let any unauthorized personnel near."

Besides, she had only determined the approximate location. To pinpoint the exact position, a thorough search within the restricted zone would be necessary.

Although her younger brother was the frontline commander, he was notoriously single-minded and valued the Supreme Guardian's orders above all else. Even if she asked him as his older sister, he would never open the back door for them.

They couldn't even get in, let alone conduct a search within the restricted zone.

After Serval finished speaking, a brief silence fell upon the second floor of the mechanical house. Getting a clue about the Stellaron's location was undoubtedly a good thing, but a new problem immediately followed.

As alien tourists, it was pure fantasy to think they could get close to the frontline restricted zone where the Stellaron was located. Unless they had Himeko fire a shot from her orbital cannon at the frontline, but Sister Himeko would obviously never agree to such a Russian rescue method, killing both the robbers and the hostages.

"At this point, there's undoubtedly only one thing we can do."

This statement immediately drew everyone's attention to Caelus. Even Dan Heng's eyes held a hint of anticipation. The intelligence they had gathered so far far exceeded what a tourist could obtain, and this was all thanks to Caelus pulling Serval into the band.

Dan Heng was temporarily at a loss as to what the next step should be.

"Let's play 'Haruhikage'," Caelus said seriously.

"?"

"??"

"???"

A flurry of golden question marks, accompanied by a sound effect of confusion, floated down in the room.

"Hiss~ I'm surprisingly not surprised by this turn of events."

March 7th took a small gasp, her expression helpless as she sighed and face-palmed.

"Caelus, can you be serious for a moment? We're discussing important business right now."

Stelle clenched her fists, her middle finger knuckle protruding, and drilled it into Caelus's head, speaking with a serious expression.

"You're the last person in this room who has the right to say that."

Caelus shook his head to dislodge Stelle's hand, then leaned back forcefully, bumping between the two soft mounds and sending Stelle staggering.

"I am talking about important business!"

"We've been practicing for so many days. Wouldn't you feel it's a pity not to get on stage and perform at least once?"

Hearing this, March 7th and Stelle exchanged a look, a hint of approval appearing in their eyes. Even Seele nodded.

Dan Heng frowned slightly, hesitating for a moment before letting Caelus shift the topic back to Crychic's performance.

The news of an upcoming concert at the mechanical house had been released two days ago, and the performance was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

Next up was band practice.

...

In the evening, back at the Goethe Hotel.

Caelus was still hesitating whether to continue using Belobog's local specialty as a seasoning to savor the great Bronya, when a knock came at the door.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Dan Heng."

Dan Heng glanced around the corridor, and after confirming that no one was following or eavesdropping, he slipped into the room.

"What are your thoughts on the next course of action?"

Dan Heng thought Caelus might have had things he couldn't say in front of Serval.

Caelus didn't answer, but smiled and asked back, "According to your own thoughts, what would you do?"

Dan Heng fell silent in thought for a moment. "I suppose we still need to talk to the Supreme Guardian again, to try and confirm if she really has a connection with the Stellaron."

"I think Cocolia will summon us on her own initiative soon enough."

The Trailblaze team's intelligence gathering, in a city full of Silvermane Guards, could never be hidden from the Supreme Guardian. Cocolia's suspicion of the group had probably already reached a critical level.

"And testing the relationship between Cocolia and the Stellaron is also very simple."

Dan Heng looked up. "What method have you thought of?"

Caelus smiled slightly. "It's like this, and like that."

"...Are you serious?" Dan Heng looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Perhaps he should revise his impression of Caelus back to what it was before.

...

Meanwhile, at Qlipoth Fort, in the administrative hall.

Cocolia sat in the Supreme Guardian's seat, her desk covered with reports submitted over the past few days by the spies monitoring the outsiders.

Her gaze fixed on the reports, Cocolia's eyes grew cold and somber.

"Mother... I think this must be a misunderstanding. Perhaps they were just investigating the cause of the Eternal Freeze out of curiosity. I can confirm that they are not malicious people."

Bronya's tone was a little agitated.

Cocolia narrowed her eyes, the coldness within them hidden. She switched to a gentle tone:

"Bronya, for hundreds of years, this is the first time outsiders have visited Belobog. Even though there are only five of them, as the Supreme Guardian, it is my duty to verify their identities with the utmost rigor. The Belobog of today... can no longer withstand any more devastation."

Bronya fell silent at her words.

The erosion of the Fragmentum had caused many Fragmentum creatures to appear in the now-sealed-off districts of Belobog. This generation of Belobog was no longer as at ease as it once was. She could see the areas where the people lived being compressed more and more severely, and the number of Fragmentum monsters was increasing and growing stronger!

"But Mother, you..."

Bronya respected her mother deeply, but it was not blind worship. She felt that instead of worrying about the possible ill intentions of the outsiders, they should change their strategic approach to the Fragmentum.

Faced with the Fragmentum, the most prudent approach should be to build defensive platforms and hold the areas not yet eroded by the Fragmentum.

But her mother had ordered the Silvermane Guards to send troops into the eroded districts, wanting to pacify the Fragmentum and reclaim the area.

Bronya had been to the frontline and had entered the Fragmentum. She knew that reclaiming the Fragmentum was almost impossible.

The soldiers who died attacking the Fragmentum were making a pointless sacrifice!

"Bronya, we will surely overcome this doomsday. A new era will eventually arrive."

It wasn't the first time the two had disagreed on the battle plan against the Fragmentum, and each time, the Supreme Guardian's authority had won out.

"Alright, that's not what we're discussing today. I want to talk with our honored guests again. The time..."

Cocolia glanced at the reports from the last two days. "Right after their performance should be fine."

Unless absolutely necessary, she did not want to have a falling out with the outsiders. After all, they still had companions waiting beyond the sky. Acting rashly could invite danger.

But if their purpose was indeed related to the Stellaron, then they had to be controlled!

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