Chapter 37: Win~Win

“Alright. We’re here. Save the chit-chat for later. Now, let’s search for clues or find whoever we’re looking for—”
Seele decisively ended the conversation, furrowing her brows as she surveyed the layout of the street, mentally calculating how to handle an enemy encounter and where the safest escape route would be.

After all, dragging along two amateurs wasn’t an easy task. If it weren’t for the fact that her boss had made her train newcomers a few times before, she would never have agreed to this proposal.

Bronya obediently followed Seele’s lead, beginning to search the area for possible clues, while Venti tilted his head slightly, as if listening intently to something.
Then, he gazed toward the end of the street, where a turn led to one of the town’s garbage dumps.

There, the wind carried a faint trace of something ancient.
It only needed a vessel to become a story.

Following the guidance of the wind, Venti traced the footsteps of the girl’s sister and arrived at the spot. Bronya and Seele, noticing his departure, tacitly followed.

At the end, the three of them heard a peculiar “snorting” sound.
It was a creature with a glossy black-and-white body, shaped like a pig, with a round figure and ears that resembled small golden wings fluttering in the air.

It had a more formal name: a Dimensional Piggy.
Beside it was a beetle-shaped automaton with a nearly shattered force field shield, surrounded by a group of Fragmentum monsters.

“Is that… Pascal?”
Venti recognized it. This automaton, born with “emotional intelligence,” had been wandering here for the past decade, searching for parts to repair the town. Occasionally, it would even sneak into the mechanical settlement to steal some components.

However, since it only took small amounts and its intelligence was still intact, after Clara communicated with it, it wasn’t ostracized or driven out as an anomaly—though its thieving had to stop.
After all, under the threat of Svarog’s data formatting, it had no choice but to comply.

Venti had found it odd that he hadn’t seen it during his previous visits, but now he realized it had been cornered here.

“Hey, why are you spacing out? There are enemies ahead—!”
Seele frowned sharply and barked.
“Bard, get back and stay out of the way! And you, young lady, snap out of it and show me that experience you claimed to have fighting Fragmentum monsters!”

This sudden encounter wasn’t just noticed by Seele. The Everwinter Shade, which had been about to bring its axe down on Pascal, paused and turned its head toward them.
Though its ice-crystal head lacked facial features, everyone present could feel its attention fully focused on them. The other Everwinter Shades and Frostborn Constructs also closed in.

A few Frostborn Constructs flapped their icy wings rapidly, their buzzing growing louder until they were ready to strike.
Then, they shot through the air, leaving trails of icy blue light as they charged straight at Seele, who was at the front.

The distance was so close that they were almost upon her in an instant.
“—Watch out!”
Bronya’s warning came just as the Frostborn Constructs’ razor-sharp, freezing wings slashed toward Seele.

But the attack came to an abrupt halt. Seele, standing at the forefront, simply let out a cold snort and flicked her fingers.
The first Frostborn Construct was hooked by her scythe and slammed into the second one, both of them splitting apart like mosquitoes. The shrill buzzing ceased abruptly.

Seemingly unaware of their defeat, the last Frostborn Construct didn’t even have time to flap its wings a second time before it was struck by a reverse slash, disintegrating into a cloud of ice shards.

In that brief moment, Seele had not only reacted but also turned the tide. However, she didn’t stop there.
After dealing with the nearby monsters, she burst into action, darting into the horde like an arrow released from a bow, pinning them down.

This made Bronya’s nerves tense up again. She had initially wanted to stop Seele’s reckless behavior, but Seele’s skills had taught her a solid lesson.
While the Silvermane Guards didn’t encourage solo combat, in the lower district, where resources were scarce, people had no choice but to rely on themselves.

Injuries and bleeding were as common as daily meals. Some might fear combat because of this, but Seele was different. Her tolerance for pain surpassed that of ordinary people.
This allowed her to fight freely, ignoring minor wounds and bruises, dancing like a butterfly even in the most unfavorable conditions.

Yes, like a light, mesmerizing, chaotic butterfly.
She continuously darted in and out of quantum states, using her high-speed movement to harvest the horde of Everwinter Shades and Frostborn Constructs.
Her increasingly fierce demeanor made it seem like she wasn’t fighting dangerous Fragmentum monsters but rather reaping bundles of wheat.

If the horde was only this size, Seele alone could probably wipe them out in no time.

But—

Amidst the chaos, there was still something out of place.
The round-headed Dimensional Piggy still hadn’t chosen to flee. Instead, it continued to dig into the weeds on the ground, feeding on the roots deeper below.
It was as if it believed the people here posed no threat—or perhaps… it saw the three of them as potential food?

Just as Bronya keenly noticed something was off, a faint twang of a bowstring echoed through the air.
She instinctively looked back at Venti, only to find he hadn’t drawn his weapon. Instead, he was looking toward the top of a building behind her. A sense of life-and-death crisis suddenly surged within her.

Almost instinctively, she shouted, “—Watch out! There’s an enemy hiding above!”

This timely warning allowed Seele, who had already sensed the restless air around her, to immediately retreat from the encirclement.
Then, as if confirming Bronya’s words, a wind-wrapped arrow shot silently and stealthily toward the spot where Seele had been standing.

The wind-imbued arrow, with its piercing power, instantly skewered an unlucky Everwinter Shade to the ground. The wind pressure contained within it erupted, causing a massive turbulence!

Seele shielded herself with her scythe, but her clothes were still whipped by the air currents, and a few sharp stones left cuts on her skin.
She cautiously looked in the direction the arrow had come from. There stood a centaur-like monster with a humanoid upper body and the lower body of a horse.

Its azure body, perfectly adapted to airflow, exuded a sense of agility and grace. The massive winged shield covering its left foreleg showcased its formidable defense, while its right foreleg was slightly raised, not touching the ground.

Though Fragmentum monsters weren’t supposed to possess true intelligence, this creature gave off an air of leisure, as if it were seeking amusement.
It tilted its head slightly, seemingly surprised that its earlier shot had missed, but it remained nonchalant.

“Hmph. Just a monster corrupted by the Fragmentum, yet it dares to look down on people—”
Seele glared coldly, not planning to retreat. She couldn’t possibly escape with two people in tow, so her only option was to eliminate the enemy here.

However, a figure slowly walked up beside her. Seele initially thought it was the young lady who only knew how to shout “watch out” during fights, but to her surprise, it was Venti, whom she had in her impression as “low in combat ability.”

He gently strummed the strings of his lyre, which, as if understanding its master’s mood, emitted a clear, spring-like sound before transforming into the form of a hunting bow.
“—Tuning complete. Sorry to keep you waiting. Now, let’s warm up together!”

The boy’s smile was exceptionally pure, leaving Seele unsure whether he was joking or genuinely planning to join the fight.
But regardless, with the young lady now standing by her side, the battle had shifted from “solo combat” to “fighting side by side.”

Though she believed she could handle it alone, having trustworthy companions to fight alongside was also quite exhilarating—

Seele’s smile grew even more bold and heroic.
“I’ll say this upfront—don’t drag me down, okay?”