Chapter 98: A Weakness for Little Girls
Rivet Town, Southern End.
"Not this one... Hmm, maybe I can try this model... Ah, it seems to be broken."
With long hair as white as snow and clear, ruby-red eyes, a girl resembling the Little Match Girl carefully sorted through a large bag in front of a dilapidated workshop.
Her name was Clara.
A few of the small robots in the settlement had suffered external damage. For Clara, who possessed a unique gift for mechanics, this wasn't a major issue. After a thorough inspection, she identified the problem, but the subsequent repairs presented a challenge.
She had run out of the necessary repair components.
Without hesitation, Clara went to find Mr. Svarog, as she always did, to inform him she was going out. She often went out alone like this to find usable supplies and parts for everyone. Mr. Svarog would typically relay the message to the robots patrolling near her destination and dispatch a mechanical guard to accompany Clara, ensuring her safety.
Afterward, Clara set off cheerfully.
Her destination was the industrial town with surplus materials: Rivet Town.
Protected by the mechanical guard, Clara's journey went smoothly. She found many parts on the outskirts of the town but was still missing certain models.
"Do the monsters in town seem fewer now? Or is it just my imagination?"
Standing on a deserted street, Clara tilted her head in confusion, gazing ahead.
"Enemy encounter rate is 24% lower than average," the automaton guard reported.
"Eh? Really?" Clara asked, surprised.
She didn't know why the number of monsters had suddenly decreased, but it was a rare opportunity. After having the guards scout the vicinity and repeatedly confirming the surroundings were safe, Clara made a bold decision: to venture deeper into the town to search for supplies.
Upon reaching the large factory deep within Rivet Town, she found that the resources were indeed more plentiful than in the smaller workshops outside. Before long, the large bag in her hands was half full.
Clara didn't pass up other supplies besides the electronic components for repairs; she discovered two entire boxes of canned food inside the factory.
"Hmm, it expired a month ago, but it's still edible."
Clara handed the boxes of cans to the automaton to carry, planning to distribute this very important food to the uncles and aunts back in the settlement.
"You can do it, Clara~!"
Pleased with her significant haul, Clara smiled happily and cheered herself on.
But in the next second, the automaton scouting ahead suddenly sounded an alarm.
"Warning, warning. High-threat enemy detected. Engaging active defense mode—Clara, please fall back."
This wasn't her first time in such a situation. Clara obediently followed the automatons' instructions and began to flee. As she ran, she glanced back and saw the powerful Fragmentum monster, her pupils shrinking in shock.
Its body was five or six meters tall, floating in mid-air. It was primarily iron-black, with a dark-red armored shell, its surface alive with leaping flames.
"This is..."
How could such a powerful monster suddenly appear in Rivet Town? This wasn't her first time gathering supplies here, but she had never encountered a creature like this.
Clara realized something was terribly wrong. A pang of regret hit her, but regret is the most useless, powerless feeling in the world.
The automatons, who in stories could withstand the ultimate blow of an Emanator or even the strike of an Aeon, were no match for the powerful monster spawned by the Fragmentum in reality. The automatons unleashed their full firepower, emptying their entire arsenal of shells and bullets at the creature, yet they could only barely slow its advance.
As she retreated, Clara watched as, one by one, the robots sacrificed themselves to protect her, destroyed by the Fragmentum monster. Tears of heartache streamed down her face. It was all her fault. She shouldn't have let her guard down just because the Fragmentum creatures seemed fewer, ignoring the fact that abnormalities are often accompanied by disaster.
With the massive fiery monster ahead and other Fragmentum creatures converging on her escape route, the dire situation triggered the command hub of the patrol robots.
"Path blocked. Engaging final resistance. Commencing enemy annihilation protocol."
"Activating backup hidden energy source!"
The smaller robots began to initiate their self-destruct sequences.
Clara clutched the cloth bag in her hands, huddling and trembling behind the corner of a ruined wall. The only thing she could do now was hide, so the automatons wouldn't have to divert their combat power to protect her.
Boom—!
A fierce explosion accompanied a deafening roar. The heatwave from the fireball spread out, blasting the mechanical guards to pieces, their circuits and metal cores exposed to the air.
"Error... cannot... counter-attack... protect... Clara..."
The error message grew fainter and fainter, then stopped completely.
The Fragmentum creature gathered another fireball in its hand, its gaze fixed on Clara.
"Don't!"
Cowering in the corner, Clara trembled with fear, the intense heat casting a crimson glow on her small face. The terror of death and the pain of seeing her friends destroyed welled up as tears in her eyes. Sorrow and panic flooded her heart. Clara knelt on the ground, hands clasped to her chest, curled up like a little rabbit.
"Save me... Help Clara..."
Clara watched, frozen, as the fireball grew closer and closer. Her life began to flash before her eyes. She was an orphan; Mr. Svarog had been taking care of her for as long as she could remember. Whenever she was in danger, Mr. Svarog would always shield her in his arms.
"Mr. Svarog!"
In this moment of hopeless despair, Clara squeezed her eyes shut, shouting to release the torrent of emotions in her chest.
But this time, the figure that gave her a mountain-like sense of security did not appear to protect her.
The entire world seemed to fall silent as the searing fireball drew nearer. Just as the girl was about to be engulfed in flames, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Leave Clara alone."
It was a familiar phrase, but an unfamiliar voice.
Clara's eyes snapped open. Her own red eyes, which had lost their luster, now caught the refracting light, like a still lake stirred by a sudden ripple, letting the light flood in.
What... was that?
A wall made of syrup descended from the sky, blocking the path in front of her. There was also a strange object she had never seen before—a small ball that spun like a tire, tethered by a string.
Boom!
The aftershock of the fireball's explosion blew back the bangs on Clara's forehead. The candy wall quickly melted from the heat, but it was enough time for the yo-yo to wrap around her waist.
Clara felt a rope swiftly bind her body, and then she was yanked forcefully by the other end.
Having learned a lesson from The Amazing Spider-Man, Caelus had wrapped the string around her several times to distribute the force evenly, knowing that a single pull might have dislocated her spine.
The turn of events was so abrupt that Clara was momentarily unable to think. In a daze, she felt an arm wrap around her waist, swinging her in a half-circle to absorb the impact of her flight.
Then, she was enveloped in a warm embrace, just like Mr. Svarog's, though perhaps a little warmer. After all, a human body was, on a physical level, significantly warmer than steel.
It was only then that Clara finally processed what had happened. She struggled to lift her head and open her eyes, seeing a stranger's face, but...
So handsome!
That magnificent face, blessed by the Stellaron, was, when silent, the very picture of a galactic heartthrob. Caelus, a beauty in his own right, could easily be considered a handsome man anywhere in the galaxy—the type that wealthy ladies would line up to sponsor.
Of course, this was just a first impression. For Clara, who had little experience with such things, she was as pure as a fresh blanket of snow.
What truly stunned her was that the gray-haired big brother... was so soft! It was like being wrapped in the gentle pastry of a cream puff.
And he smelled so good! The big brother exuded a fragrance Clara had never encountered before.
As she was spun around to dissipate the momentum, the force of inertia caused Clara's lips to brush against the side of Caelus's neck. It was just a light touch, but...
So sweet!
A soft sensation flooded her nerve endings from her lips. A sweetness she had never tasted before made Clara, after her body stabilized, instinctively stick out her tender little tongue and lick it.
It tasted something like vanilla ice cream.
Clara, of course, had never eaten ice cream, so she simply couldn't resist this sweetness that suppressed the fear in her heart.
So delicious!
After the fourth lick, Clara felt a distinct gaze upon her. She paused, then suddenly came to her senses.
Lifting her hand and following the gaze, she saw a pretty, gray-haired big sister. Her intense look made Clara instinctively shrink back.
"Are you not going to continue?"
A white-haired, red-eyed loli! A critical hit to any fan's heart!
"Hehe~ hehe~ Little one, big sister will treat you to a lollipop. You can lick it as much as you want!"
Stelle pointed at Caelus's neck with a tempting gesture. Through their shared senses, she could also enjoy the sensation of having her neck licked by the little girl.
"Eh... E-eh!"
Clara followed Stelle's finger and saw the glistening mark she had left on his neck. Her small face turned red at a visible rate.
"I'm sorry, Clara didn't do it on purpose!"
The girl, blushing like a steam engine, covered her face with her hands, not daring to look up at Caelus.
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