Chapter 48: The Meeting

Meeting the Silvermane Guard Captain again was a pleasant experience. His meticulous personality and every word and action carried a certain "knightly" demeanor.

What’s more, he always reminded Venti of a certain Darknight Hero...

Ah, although their voices were similar, it was hard to imagine that someone like Master Diluc could be a siscon.

While secretly thinking about such impolite things, Venti didn’t forget to greet him.

"Hello, Captain Gepard. It’s good to see you again!"

"...Uh, hello. I apologize for the sudden invitation this time..."

Gepard’s response was a bit stiff, but it wasn’t because he was deliberately being cold while asking for a favor. Rather—

"Ah?! How could you start sneaking food while I wasn’t looking!"

Serval looked at her younger brother, who was holding a bowl of noodles, caught in the act of slurping halfway through when the group interrupted him. She couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, though she put on a shocked expression on the surface. The curve of her eyebrows, however, completely betrayed her true intentions.

...She was deliberately trying to bring them closer through this kind of behavior.

For example, the usually imposing Captain Gepard was, at home, just a big boy who couldn’t wait for the food to be served and would sneak a bite.

This shift in roles and the resulting change in personality easily created a sense of familiarity.

However, realizing that his sister was still the same caring and nurturing person she had always been, Gepard, who now considered himself a man and no longer a child to be taken care of, decided to play along.

"This is my rightful reward for helping you clean up the house... And, sister, you really should pay more attention to your habits. At least put things back where they belong after using them."

"Ahaha... I’ve just been so busy lately. Sometimes I put things down and forget about them..."

Serval patted her head, showing the kind of silly smile typical of a hot-blooded character.

Only Pela, who was quite familiar with the siblings, could deduce the truth from the subtle changes in their expressions. She then lost interest and looked away.

Compared to the always "silly" sister and "straightforward" brother, she was more interested in the "again" in Venti’s words.

"So you’ve met Captain Gepard before?"

"Yep! That day, I was performing on the street, and I happened to see Captain Gepard leading his team past. Whoosh—he stole all my audience’s attention!"

Venti teased him.

"At that moment, I thought, ‘I really need to get to know this impressive person. If I ever get arrested, maybe he’ll put in a good word for me.’"

"You always assume you’ll get arrested by the Silvermane Guards..."

As Pela sighed at Venti’s usual jail-time jokes, Gepard spoke up seriously.

"If the opportunity arises, I will. However, if you truly commit a crime, I will enforce the law impartially."

This made even Serval lose her composure. When everyone was joking around, such a straightforward response was bound to kill the mood!

Just as she was lamenting her brother’s lack of social skills, Venti burst into laughter.

"That’s exactly how it should be! If that happens, I’ll boldly say, ‘I demand to see Captain Gepard! Without him here, I won’t say another word!’"

"How does this even connect to the previous topic?!"

As Pela was about to become the designated comic relief, Serval interjected, saying that if they kept talking, the noodles would get cold, and urged everyone to take their seats while she went to fetch the main course.

The inner room of the mechanical workshop was a bit cramped for four people, but it exuded a warm, homely feeling.

From the decorations, it was clear that Serval had a wide range of interests, from electric guitars to large wrenches, and even a half-disassembled Automaton logic core.

The latter, however, was more in line with Serval’s main profession—or rather, her hobby of "running a mechanical workshop."

After all, Serval wasn’t short on money and could easily be considered a "wealthy lady" in Belobog.

By the way, the noodles Gepard had been slurping weren’t soup noodles, but dry noodles mixed with salt, black pepper, and Belobog red sausage.

The portion was enormous, almost piled up like a small mountain. Considering the physical demands of being a Silvermane Guard, eating so much was normal, but Venti found it hard to imagine consuming so much sticky, steaming hot food.

After all, whether it was his past self or Barbatos, neither could handle hot, sticky foods very well.

Especially dishes like hot cheese pies!

Fortunately, aside from the noodles, Serval had also prepared some meat pies.

These happened to fall within Venti’s acceptable range, and he could manage a small portion of noodles as well.

After all, it wouldn’t be polite to be too picky at the host’s table!

The dining atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, mainly because Serval wasn’t one to stay idle.

After enthusiastically serving everyone, she brought up some amusing anecdotes from daily life. Though most of them eventually circled back to Gepard’s childhood embarrassments, thanks to that, everyone had a good time.

It seemed that, no matter the world, older sisters enjoyed teasing their younger brothers.

As the subject of these stories, Gepard often found himself in awkward situations. He felt embarrassed but didn’t want to interrupt Serval.

Thankfully, with Venti joining in, he managed to help Gepard out of a few tight spots, earning grateful looks from him.

This made Serval thoughtful, while Pela efficiently finished her portion of noodles and took out the pre-printed blueprints.

Although she wasn’t happy that her friend was discussing serious matters during the meal, considering the importance of reducing Silvermane Guard casualties—especially since Gepard, who happened to be home on break, had overheard—she couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. She had to provide support.

Serval deftly cleared the table, preparing the space for their discussion, while Pela spread out the blueprints and looked at Gepard.

The young captain gently raised his hand and said seriously, "Compared to me, Intelligence Officer Pelageya should be the one to discuss this with Venti..."

He paused, seemingly unsure how to address Venti properly, but the latter smiled and said cheerfully, "Just call me Venti."

"Is that so? Then you can just call me Gepard as well."

He nodded in acknowledgment and continued, "So, getting back to the matter at hand. I think it’s better for Intelligence Officer Pelageya to handle the discussion. She’s more familiar with you and has a better grasp of the calculations and data. I believe this will make the conversation more efficient."

After all, in terms of hierarchy, as a Silvermane Guard Captain, Gepard held more authority than Pela, the intelligence officer. According to Belobog’s customs, it would be the superior who speaks while the subordinate listens.

But since they had already invited Venti over somewhat abruptly, it would be too presumptuous to leave his colleague aside. It was better to hand the reins to Intelligence Officer Pelageya to show sincerity and respect.

This straightforward gesture naturally earned Venti’s goodwill, and he nodded gently, accepting the proposal.

At the same time, Pela, who had been ready for this, spoke up at the right moment.

"Then, let’s begin—"