Chapter 4: The Butterfly and the Bard

Wildfire.

What is Wildfire?

According to Natasha, they are the Silvermane Guards of the lower districts—but with a more human touch.

In other words, they are a civilian-organized militia.

However, managing the vast lower districts with such a group of non-professionals is clearly beyond their capabilities.

Even now, Wildfire’s control only extends to Boulder Town and its surrounding mining areas.

This is already Wildfire’s limit. Lack of personnel, inadequate equipment, and distant, unattainable goals have stunted the organization’s growth.

From a more practical perspective… even if Wildfire wanted to expand, they couldn’t sustain the additional resource consumption.

Even their core members can’t fully dedicate themselves to the cause; they still need to periodically mine ore to cover basic living expenses and organizational operations.

The "heroic companion" Venti sought was a member of Wildfire—an elite, no less.

"Hey, Seele. You’re here? It’s rare for you to have a day off. Why not go to the clinic and flip through the comics you’ve saved up?"

He sat on a makeshift platform built from crude machinery, looking down at the purple-haired girl who seemed lost in thought. His tone was leisurely.

"—You’re back, huh, bard? Those comics were borrowed by the kids ages ago."

Seele glanced back at him, her expression still tinged with gloom. However, her frustration wasn’t directed at the children but at some unsolvable problem.

She looked around, found a foothold, and nimbly climbed onto the platform. She then roughly shoved Venti aside to make room for herself and sat down, complaining,

"Hey, bard. Let me ask you something. Do you think there’s still hope for the lower districts?"

"Huh? Why such a pessimistic topic all of a sudden? That doesn’t sound like the Seele I know."

Venti could sense that this spirited and capable girl was going through a period of confusion in her life—even if it had come a bit too early.

But in the so-called lower districts, children grow into adults after just one mining trip, one fight for food, one… unforgettable lesson.

"Cut the nonsense. You’ve been to more places than I have, and you’ve read more books. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother asking you."

Seele snorted with a hint of pride, though the certainty in her eyes wasn’t flattery.

Her acquaintance with Venti was somewhat coincidental.

That day, she had just finished her patrol when she saw Venti being chased by some vagrants. Without thinking much, she stepped in to help him. But as soon as the fight was over, she realized the guy had already slipped away.

At the time, she found it amusing how cowardly he was—all show, no substance, not even daring to say a word of thanks. Typical of someone from the upper districts.

But the next day, the guy showed up with a bunch of goodies as a "tribute," saying it was protection money.

As a member of Wildfire, Seele naturally couldn’t accept it.

Unexpectedly, Venti kept finding her every now and then, bringing rare items from the lower districts.

Sometimes it was food; sometimes it was fabric; sometimes it was comic books.

Though he often mused about whether he should try drawing comics to "spread" the stories in his head, the cost of paper and brushes always made him hesitate.

You could call him stingy, but he was never stingy when it came to the children…

And so, over time, Seele got to know him and gave him the nickname "bard."

After all, she had attended more than one of Venti’s performances.

Even she had to admit that while Venti’s combat skills were weak—any vagrant could probably take him down—his singing was better than the opera singers she and her boss had heard in the upper districts.

Venti, who could have thrived in the upper districts with his talents, chose to frequently come to the lower districts to help others.

In her eyes, he was a rare, "intellectual."

Don’t let her lack of education fool you; it’s precisely because she doesn’t know much that she respects the unknown.

Of course, her respect for the bard isn’t mixed with much "fear"—just a bit of "respect." But only a tiny bit! Just the space between her thumb and index finger.

"I see. To be trusted by you like this, it seems I’ll have to show some real skill!"

Venti chuckled happily.

"Oh? What insights do you have?"

Seele was somewhat intrigued.

"In my opinion, whether the lower districts have hope in the future depends on many factors, but the biggest one is undoubtedly the culprit behind the lower districts’ current state."

"The Supreme Guardian…"

Seele’s expression turned hostile.

"Not quite, or not entirely." Venti shook his finger seriously and explained, "She did make the decision to abandon the lower districts, but the real culprit that turned this place into a wasteland is the endlessly spreading Fragmentum."

"But even if we know the Fragmentum is the problem, what can we do about it?"

Seele frowned, dissatisfied.

"We can’t take revenge on a phenomenon. We can only take revenge on the person who caused the problem."

"That’s such a Seele-like answer!"

Venti blinked playfully.

"We can’t erase phenomena we dislike, and we can resent specific individuals. But we must remember one thing: our goal is to solve the problem, not just the person who caused it."

The two stared at each other, but Seele was the first to look away, seeming somewhat agitated.

"Then what should we do?"

"Well, to put it poetically—wait, and keep hope alive."

As soon as he finished speaking, Seele stood up and grabbed Venti by the neck, their faces were very close to each other, but there was no sense of ambiguity at all. Seele’s beautiful purple eyes were filled with the frustration of being teased.

"Are you messing with me?"

"Ah, I can’t breathe! Let go and let me finish. This isn’t very ladylike!"

Venti grimaced, patting her hand.

This girl’s strength is no joke.

After glaring at Venti for a moment, Seele loosened her grip slightly but didn’t let go.

This guy was slippery—faster at running away than she was. If she wasn’t careful, he’d escape.

If that happened, she might not bring up the topic again.

"Whew—I almost thought I wouldn’t see the sun tomorrow."

Freed, Venti gasped dramatically, pretending to be scared.

Seele just snorted, her teeth gritted. "If you don’t give me a proper answer, you’ll never see Belobog’s sun again!"

"Yikes, don’t say such scary things with such a cute face!"

Venti never doubted Seele’s determination. For the sake of his safety, he decided to be honest.

"If you just want the lower districts to reunite with the upper districts, that’s not too difficult. But the important question is, what’s the future of the lower districts?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, even if we want to return to Belobog, to let the children see the sun again and ensure everyone has enough to eat, we still need to accomplish many prerequisites. For example, reopening the long-shut railway lines; reclaiming lost residential areas; and most importantly—"

Venti looked at Seele, who was starting to feel overwhelmed, and smiled.

"How to gain the right to negotiate equally with the upper districts—or rather, with the Supreme Guardian."

"…Rights?"

"Exactly. Rights not seized by force, but granted."

Venti gently explained to the stunned Seele.

"The Supreme Guardian’s authority was never seized by force. It was entrusted to her by the people, who believed she could lead them out of hardship.

Just like Alisa Rand, the first Supreme Guardian, who protected Belobog from the frost and was revered by the people.

If you can reach that point, the lower districts will have hope. But if you want to achieve more, to gain greater freedom—

Seele, you need to become the one who truly creates miracles.

Only then can you stand against the Fragmentum and break free from this fate of stagnation."