Chapter 95: What Exactly Have You Protected?
"The Eternal Freeze and the Fragmentum are both because of the Stellaron, and Mother... the Supreme Guardian is deluded by the Stellaron? H-how is that possible?"
The amount of information in Seele's words was so vast that Bronya felt as if she were suffocating for a moment. Reality seemed to have become fantastical. As the Commander of the Silvermane Guards and the heir to the Supreme Guardian, she had never even heard of the Stellaron!
"That's because Cocolia eliminated all information about the Stellaron. Only a very small number of people know of its existence, such as the researchers who were once executed and exiled for treason."
"If Bronya doesn't believe us, you can go ask Serval. She was one of the people who personally experienced that incident back then."
Caelus, looking refreshed and cheerful, pushed the door open and walked in.
Sampo was Sampo, alright. He had contributed a whole 50 Stellar Jade, which, split with Stelle, meant twenty-five each. After seeing the golden glow on Sampo's chest dim, Caelus immediately lost interest in him and let the old cold-legged uncle go free. Although there were no Silvermane Guards to watch him this time, finding Sampo should be much easier from now on. Would he dare disrespect me, the great Sparkle?
"Serval..."
Bronya was stunned at his words. She was already inclined to believe that Seele wouldn't lie to her, and now, hearing Caelus's words, she couldn't help but believe it even more.
Especially when she thought about how, over the years, her mother had stubbornly dispatched young and strong Silvermane Guards into the Fragmentum. After each crushing defeat, she would still heavily publicize in the city that the fight against the monsters had been a great victory, thereby boosting morale and recruiting a new batch of guards to continue sending to the front lines...
These things that Bronya had never been able to understand before, when combined with the truth about the Stellaron, corroborated each other. A sense of horror shot up Bronya's spine straight to her skull.
If her mother was deluded by the Stellaron, then that stubbornness that Bronya had found so incredible could be explained!
"Mother, what... does she want to do?"
After a long silence, Bronya looked up and asked Caelus.
"I'm not sure what Cocolia plans to do specifically, but it's likely an operation that will lead to the destruction of the current Belobog. The Stellaron is something that can only bring disaster. This is common knowledge in the universe," Caelus answered truthfully.
"Do you have any proof?"
Although she already believed a part of it in her heart, Bronya couldn't just believe Caelus's one-sided story. The image of her mother in her mind was putting up a final struggle. Bronya needed proof to convince herself.
"Proof?"
Caelus smiled. "Do the testimonies of the few of us count? If not, seeing the proof is also very simple. Launch an attack with the goal of killing Cocolia, and that should be enough to force out her transformed state after she accepts the Stellaron's power."
"..."
Doesn't the subtext of that mean the assassination of the Supreme Guardian did indeed happen? No, no, the assassination isn't important right now.
Her thoughts were in a whirlwind. The image of her mother, the authority of the Supreme Guardian, clashed with her rational thinking. The pain made Bronya want to press her hand to her forehead in helplessness.
Then she shook her head sharply, her eyes focused, and she clenched her fist, making up her mind. "I'm going back! To question the Supreme Guardian face-to-face!"
"You can't! Sister Bronya."
Although Bronya wouldn't be able to find her way up without a guide, Seele still quickly grabbed her arm and shook her head repeatedly.
This was purely a suicidal charge, feeding the enemy a free kill!
"Seele..."
"Bronya, I think you already have the answer in your heart. If you must find proof, why not go outside and see the life in the Underworld?"
Caelus wasn't about to let the Landau duck go up and interfere with Secondary Wings' operation.
"The people of the Underworld are also citizens of Belobog. As the heir to the Supreme Guardian, shouldn't you be thinking about how to unite them to face the future and its difficulties together?"
Bronya froze. What Caelus said was right. In the past, she had always meticulously carried out the Supreme Guardian's orders and never had the opportunity to interact with the residents of the Underworld. This was an opportunity. An opportunity to resolve some of the doubts in her heart and reconnect the upper and lower districts.
"Hmph, the Underworld doesn't need any Supreme Guardian. Those people living comfortably on the surface have never cared about the lives and deaths of the people down here."
The older Seele was still holding a grudge about Bronya's identity, and her words were harsh.
"No, we haven't! The Guards have been fighting the enemy, protecting Belobog from the monsters... protecting everyone, both above and below ground."
Bronya wanted to argue, but her voice gradually weakened.
"Hah, easier said than done. Do you know how many people have starved and frozen to death in the Underworld over the years? What exactly have you protected?"
The older Seele let out a roar of righteous fury.
"I..." Bronya was choked speechless.
If we can't hold the line on the surface, the underground will collapse due to lack of material support—that's how the Supreme Guardian had explained it to Bronya.
"Don't you send down regular supplies?"
"Do you know how many people there are in the Underworld? Those supplies are far from enough, and they get smaller every time."
Isolated for over a decade, with supply exchanges relying solely on two cable car trips a month, the Underworld's resources had long since become scarce beyond belief. This was true for medicine, food, and all kinds of tools.
Perhaps recalling some past experiences of extreme resource shortages, the older Seele's expression turned a little ugly. If the surface didn't also need the Geomarrow supplied by the Underworld, the supplies sent down would probably be even less.
The mineral Geomarrow was the lifeline of the people of Belobog. Its priority was higher than food. After all, a person could live for 5-7 days without food, but in the face of the severe cold, they could only last for 2 days at most.
"Alright, alright, you two stop fighting. Let's talk about the weather!"
Caelus stepped between the two, throwing out an ancient meme that could only be found in the DNA of his ancestors' ashes.
The older Seele & Bronya: "?"
"Ahem, this is obviously Cocolia's fault."
Caelus pinned the blame on Cocolia. Using the word 'pin' was a bit inappropriate. This was Cocolia's fault! By compressing and reducing the resources sent to the Underworld, even if the Underworld sent up less Geomarrow as a result, it was exactly what she wanted, speeding up the arrival of the new world.
Bronya fell silent at his words.
The older Seele crossed her arms and turned her face away. She happened to glance at the old-fashioned clock hanging on the wall and its trembling hands, and she seemed to remember something, her eyes lifting.
"That's right, I still have to find that part."
The younger Seele's appearance had disrupted the older Seele's original plan. Unconsciously, she had been talking with her other self at Natasha's clinic for a long time.
"Find a part?" The younger Seele tilted her head cutely, dispelling the gloomy mood in the older Seele's heart.
"It's like this..." The older Seele's tone softened. The difference in her attitude towards the younger Seele and Bronya was obvious.
She straightforwardly explained the cause and effect of the situation. The mining equipment was damaged, work efficiency had dropped, and they couldn't provide the Geomarrow for the next supply exchange.
"Is there no emergency reserve?" the younger Seele asked curiously.
"There's no such thing. The Geomarrow has already been mined to its limit. We're starting to run out for ourselves," the older Seele shook her head.
"The limit..." Caelus was thoughtful.
Logically speaking, Belobog wasn't even half the size of Nagazora City. For such a tiny place to take seven hundred years to mine the Geomarrow under the city to its limit, one could only imagine how many mineral deposits the entire planet of Jarilo-VI had! No wonder it had once attracted so many industrial giants from across the galaxy.
"We'll help you."
Help the older Seele find the part, and take a look around at the same time. The trash can chests in the Underworld were no fewer than in the Overworld.
"Help me?"
The older Seele hesitated for a moment. She was used to being alone, but staying in the Fragmentum-eroded Rivet Town for a long time and searching for parts would be a bit difficult for her alone.
"Then thank you!"
The older Seele agreed readily. Her impression of Caelus was very good. Just the act of assassinating the Supreme Guardian was enough to make her favorability skyrocket.
"But, Seele, you..." the older Seele looked at the younger Seele with some concern.
"Don't underestimate Seele! Sister~ After all, I'm also Seele."
It was unknown if others would find it strange to call an older version of their parallel self 'sister', but the younger Seele was enjoying it.
Sensing the power surging from the younger Seele, the older Seele smiled and nodded. "Mm!"
"I'll help too..."
Bronya stepped forward to follow. The older Seele just glanced back at her and said nothing.
...
Outside the clinic.
Stelle, overjoyed by the 25 Stellar Jade she had received, was currently playing hide-and-seek with the great Lord Hook and the members of the Moles.
On the way back to the clinic after clearing out Sampo's treasure chest, Stelle had been provoked by the children. The little Stellaron spirit couldn't stand it and felt it was time to let the children experience the harshness of the adult world. She was prepared to use her superb hide-and-seek skills to teach those little brats a lesson!
March 7th and Stelle had also invited Caelus to join them for a three-person team, but how could Caelus be a childish ghost who would fall for such a clumsy provocation?
A provocation? As if Caelus would stoop to the level of children and be petty.
Heh heh, he only hoped that the great Lord Hook and the core members of the Moles wouldn't be psychologically scarred when they faced Raven—Natasha Cioara.
Stelle put the survival rules she had learned from Caelus to full use, kicking the underground kindergarten's butt. The Moles were completely wiped out in the game of hide-and-seek.
Caelus found March 7th and Stelle, who were smugly proud of winning against the children. The lively little March naturally wouldn't miss such an activity. As for Stelle, she definitely wouldn't let Caelus act alone! What if he secretly opened treasure chests behind her back?
...
Rivet Town, northern end.
Due to the erosion of the Fragmentum, this once-thriving town was now deserted. The ruined walls and chaotically piled garbage and wooden boxes filled the air with a sense of desolation and decay.
The twisted beings writhing in the shadows and the occasional low growls spoke of another kind of vitality on this land of suffering. A vitality belonging to those alien beings, after civilization had retreated and humans were no longer involved.
They were Fragmentum creatures.
"Caelus, what's wrong?"
March 7th turned her head in surprise, looking at Caelus who had suddenly stopped, stroking his chin in thought.
"I just thought of something."
Caelus walked over to Stelle's side and casually took her small, soft hand. Stelle tilted her head in confusion.
Without answering her, Caelus just opened Stelle's system shop interface, thought for a moment, and reached out to tap the Lick-Lick Fruit.
Purchase.
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