Chapter 97: Rarely Affectionate

The young man was about to click on the interactive video when he hesitated again!

Which version should he choose—Caelus or Stelle?

He wanted to watch but feared another emotional gut punch!

The dilemma!

Better ask the group chat.

[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: Does Rarely Affectionate have knives?]

[I Love Drinking Himeko's Coffee: Why so obsessed with knives? What twisted you like this? Was it miHoYo?]

[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: Just watched The Ring is a Stage and feel awful. Now I don't know which version of Rarely Affectionate to pick.]

[Honkai Star Rail's Succubus: Stelle version, 100% recommended!]

[Domineering Caelus Baby Loves Me: Caelus version works too. This story has no knives. Stelle's dialogue is wackier, Caelus's is more serious.]

[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: What's this "interactive video" about?]

[Herta's #1 Simp: It means there's a branching point where you choose between two story outcomes. If you don't like one, you can rewind and pick the other!]

[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: I'll go with Stelle's version then. Her absurdity might lighten my mood.]

—

Click. The young man decisively selected the Stelle version.

Since it was an interactive video, there was no theater mode,

but at least the group chat was there—

thoughts and emotions could still be shared in real time.

The video began playing.

Stelle was rummaging through a Belobog trash bin when a phone notification interrupted her.

The message was from Clara. After a brief exchange of emoticons,

Stelle dusted herself off. "Hmph! For Clara's sake, I'd better hurry."

Scene transition. Stelle now stood before Clara. Through their conversation,

it turned out that the vagrant camp had been plagued by a thief. Strangely,

they didn't steal money or valuables—only small mechanical parts.

The camp was on edge, so they turned to the great Svarog for help.

But Svarog was swamped with work,

so Clara wanted to contribute by seeking the Trailblazer's assistance.

"Ah!" Stelle sniffed the air dramatically. "I see… the scent of crime! I'm getting excited!"

Fortunately, Clara's emotional intelligence was maxed out. She awkwardly added,

"B-Big Sister's expression just now was a little scary…

But if you're willing to investigate, you might find clues I missed.

The night watch uncle saw the thief again yesterday. Let's ask him!"

Stelle struck a pose, hands on hips, and declared to the sky,

"The genius detective girl… DEPARTS!"

"Such a weird title… but Clara thinks it's cool too! Let's go, Big Sister!"

The thrill of the chase had Stelle buzzing. Led by Clara,

they approached an eyewitness.

Clara politely asked, "Are you okay, Uncle? We heard you saw the parts thief last night.

Could you tell us what happened?"

Suddenly, the vagrant on screen flinched at the sound.

"Me? Ah! N-No, who's—who's there?

Oh… oh, it's Clara. I thought… scared me half to death!

Uh, and this is…?"

"Name unchanged, seat unshaken!" Stelle shoved her hands in her pockets as the camera dramatically zoomed in from above.

"I am… the genius assistant of the genius detective girl!"

"Big Sister! That nickname really is too…" Clara facepalmed.

The vagrant sighed in relief. "Detectives? Got it—you're here to catch the thief?

Let me gather my thoughts…

Okay, so yesterday I was washing my hands when I ran into the 'Parts Bandit'!

Then I, uh, I, I…" His voice trembled with fear.

Stelle's nose twitched. "Don't stall right out the gate!"

After the vagrant gave a vague, evasive account,

the thief turned out to be… square-headed?

"Square-headed?! Oh! My! Stars!"

After a brief discussion, Stelle pondered for a few seconds

and reached a shocking conclusion:

"Case closed! The culprit is… the Square-Headed Bandit!"

Clara gazed at her in admiration, fully playing along.

"Wow! As expected of Big Sister! But where do we find someone like that?"

"Oh! Right!" The vagrant remembered something else.

"When the guy ran away, he left in such a hurry he… dropped some clues, I think."

Clara and Stelle exchanged glances and nodded firmly.

They resolved to inspect the crime scene.

At the messy site, they indeed found traces leading them—

to a dead end at a garbage pile.

Clara examined the surroundings. "This area stores mechanical scrap… Could it be…?"

"THIEF! FACE ME!" Stelle's sudden shout made Clara jump.

"Eek?! Too loud… If the culprit's here, they'll definitely run!

Wait… what's that noise?"

The young man watching frowned. Stelle's antics screamed disaster.

He retreated to the group chat.

[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: Is Stelle getting more unhinged?]

[Domineering Caelus Baby Loves Me: Absolutely. A beauty untainted by knowledge.]

[Honkai Star Rail's Succubus: Embrace the chaos. The good part's coming.]

[Herta's #1 Simp: For a protagonist, her dialogue's kinda… Hope she doesn't get weirder.]

[Adorably Invincible March's Wife: I love it though, LOL. Actually hilarious.]

[Silver Wolf's Current Boyfriend: Fine, I'll keep going.]

[Asta Is My Wife: Just yell in the chat if you need help.]

—

Clara and Stelle followed the noise to a small robot.

But it looked odd, clutching stolen parts from the camp.

After a scuffle, they subdued the "thief"—

yet the bot kept pleading, showing no aggression.

Clara felt conflicted and decided to take it back to camp for further inspection.

Scene transition. Stelle carried the deactivated bot to Svarog.

Clara then shared her theory:

It might be a "mechanical pet"—one of the Underworld's few pastimes.

To most down here, machines were just tools to discard when broken.

Soon,

Svarog finished scanning and delivered his verdict:

"Condition assessment complete. External damage: 98.2%.

Conclusion: Irreparable. Recommendation: Discard outer shell.

Transfer core module and chip to new chassis. Preserve surface circuits and drive systems."

"So… where do we buy one?" Stelle asked, fully committed to the bit.

Clara's eyes darted. "The Mechanical Graveyard has some, but…

Clara wants to observe it a little longer. Could Big Sister help?"

Her pleading gaze left no room for refusal. Stelle clenched her fist.

"Trash-picking is my specialty!"

Clara clapped her hands joyfully.

"Yay! Big Sister! You can ask Toby outside—

it looks simple, but it knows the Mechanical Graveyard best.

Let Toby guide you!"

The video skipped the travel montage. Stelle eventually stood before a "traffic light."

"Greetings, guest of Miss Clara. Or not. Do as you please. Delighted to serve."

The robot named Toby spun around her.

Stelle rubbed her chin. "Clara called you 'simple'…"

"Fun fact: Toby is not simple.

Per Miss Clara's instructions, plotting your 'Mechanical Graveyard' tour route.

Navigation initiating initiating initiating…"