Chapter 69: Seele, Small but Adorable (Blushing)

"Achoo—!"

Venti rubbed his nose, looking around in slight confusion. There were no cats around, so why had he suddenly sneezed?

He wasn’t staying obediently in the shelter but had snuck out on some excuse.

After all, it wasn’t every day that the big shot Svarog and Clara from the lower district came up. He had to go meet them and ask about their intentions.

As for how he knew?

When he sent Dvalin to destroy the Preservation barrier, he had also commanded the winds throughout the city, turning the breezes flowing through the streets and alleys into his eyes and ears.

This was to avoid any unfortunate incidents—

While he had used the demonic dragon to pressure Cocolia, harming innocent upper district residents was never his intention.

These scattered winds would quietly attach themselves to those in need, giving them a little boost in their movements. Otherwise, how could so many people in the city have reached nearby shelters before nightfall?

Afterward, they would probably just think they had pushed their bodies to the limit in their rush to escape, not noticing anything unusual.

As for the Fragmentum monsters outside the city, since he hadn’t directly destroyed the walls, there was no need to worry about a large-scale monster siege.

Apart from the new Fragmentum zone in the sky and the previously existing Fragmentum zones within the city, most areas were still safe.

The former was being handled by Seele, while the latter was guarded by the Silvermane Guards stationed nearby. So, there was no need to worry about significant casualties—

Of course, this meant shifting the pressure onto the diligent Silvermane Guards, but it was unavoidable. The fact that there were no casualties was already remarkable. If even the Silvermane Guards had an easy time, it would raise suspicions.

Therefore, while he couldn’t directly reduce their burden, he could provide a little assistance to the severely injured guards, helping them hold on until rescue arrived.

It could be said that Venti had spent a lot of effort yesterday dealing with these unexpected incidents. It was like setting himself a problem and then solving it...

However, this self-directed event was, in a way, preparation for what he planned to do in the future.

If he couldn’t even control the winds in such a small place at will, how could he hope to change landscapes and weather patterns later? Wouldn’t that be a disaster?

As his thoughts wandered, the wind-riding bard arrived at Shelter No. 16, where Svarog and Clara were staying.

This place was more crowded than the one where Pela was stationed, as the inner city had a much larger population than the administrative district, and it also accommodated people from the outer city.

At a glance, one could see small groups of people from various classes, chatting among themselves.

Most were discussing Dvalin, whom they had nicknamed "Stormterror."

This was somewhat of a convergence of worldlines.

However, aside from that, many were worried about the shortage of supplies. With so many people needing food and drink, there had to be a solution, right?

While the shelters were regularly maintained, they weren’t stocked with large amounts of food that would otherwise go unused.

Transporting these supplies to each shelter would cause various "losses" and "costs," which would undoubtedly take a heavy toll on Belobog.

Whether they could recover from this and continue supporting Cocolia’s counterattack strategy was uncertain.

Therefore, barring any unexpected events, within a week at most, due to various administrative, logistical, civilian, and public opinion pressures, Cocolia would likely send people home.

After all, people couldn’t be left to starve. Forcing them to stay without supplies would only cause more trouble. It would be better to let them return home to stock up on food and prepare for a prolonged conflict.

As for security afterward, that would just have to rely on the Silvermane Guards patrolling more frequently.

Public discontent was normal, but if people stayed in the shelters and refused to work, bringing the entire city to a halt, chaos would erupt within a month, even without Dvalin’s return.

Thus, Venti estimated the resolution of this event would take about one to two weeks.

While dragging it out longer was possible, he was afraid Cocolia might just self-destruct with everyone else.

After all, other leaders under public pressure could simply resign and step down.

But pushing Cocolia too far was dangerous.

Though she had been in power for decades and wouldn’t immediately crack under pressure, her current state wasn’t the same as when she first started.

Having been close to the Stellaron for so long, her personality had been completely twisted, and it was questionable how much of her original self remained.

If this madwoman was put under too much pressure, she might just head to the Everwinter Hill and activate the Architects’ automatons to destroy Belobog first.

Then seamlessly transition into a "Harbinger of the Apocalypse."

At that point, Venti would have no choice but to intervene in his "divine" form.

While he was confident he could handle it, it would render Bronya’s growth meaningless, and her ability to command respect afterward would be in question.

All the preparations for Wildfire would also be ruined. So, avoiding a direct confrontation was necessary.

Winding through the shelter, Venti finally reached a corner and found a purple-haired passerby... no, Seele, peeking around a wall.

"Hmm? Seele, did you find something interesting? Make some room for me to see."

Hearing his voice, Seele immediately turned around, her murderous glare startling him.

"Ah, maybe not. I just remembered I have a bottle of wine at Pela’s place. I’ll leave you to it—"

As Venti nervously tried to escape, Seele closed the distance, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the wall.

"You’re not running away this time. Come here and take a look at this!"

Seele pressed close to Venti’s back, unashamed, her gaze fixed on the other side.

Venti, however, didn’t feel any inappropriate thoughts. After all, Seele had a tough childhood, and while she had some curves, it was only to a certain extent.

—It was a bit uncomfortable.

Thinking such rude thoughts, Venti leisurely peeked out, his gaze landing on Svarog and Clara.

The former was still dressed like the mechanical big shot he was, while Clara sat among the automatons, helping with repairs.

The Silvermane Guard watching nearby looked astonished, and his apprentice seemed equally shocked.

"Hmm... like this, then this, and align the spark line..."

With a crackle of electricity, the Gearwolf automaton, whose mechanical saw arm had been stuck, regained its functionality.

The onlookers cheered, praising Clara.

The girl, being shy, quickly hid behind Svarog, her face flushed, seemingly at a loss.

Like a timid rabbit, she glanced at everyone present and then noticed Venti, who was hiding in the corner, watching her with a "loving" gaze.

"Ah—! It’s Sister Venti!"

Clara’s face turned red with excitement, her delicate finger pointing directly at Venti’s location.

This immediately drew everyone’s attention.

As Venti instinctively tried to hide, he felt a push from behind.

Seele’s voice whispered precisely in his ear.

"Go find out why they’re here. Don’t let them steal our spotlight—"

This woman, so dedicated?!