Chapter 334: Which Corpse-Digging Technique Is Strongest (Patreon)

Lucy understood Geno's suspicion, and she understood Caesar's decision too. Being doubted still grated on her, though, and swallowing it wasn't in her nature.

So picking a fight right now was very Lucy.

Geno, for his part, answered her challenge with a promise.

"I don't mean anything by it, but if information keeps leaking after this, which would prove it has nothing to do with Calydon, I'll give all of you a sincere apology in person, plus some extra compensation."

"Hmph. Fine, let's go with that."

Lucy agreed far faster than he expected.

That left Geno a little puzzled. She'd been so aggressive a moment ago, so why was she backing down this quickly? He'd even braced himself for some haggling.

But for Lucy, the problem was never that Geno had raised a concern. It was that he'd questioned the Sons of Calydon.

So as long as Geno softened a little, she wouldn't press the matter. She didn't actually want him to do anything specific, after all. All she wanted was the right attitude.

"All right, if nobody has any objections, that's the end of it. Proxy, you must've been scared stiff today. Go get some good rest, and we'll pick this up again tomorrow."

Caesar clapped her hands, wrapping up the short meeting.

Belle had only just woken up, after all, and still needed rest. She'd also had a hell of a fright today: first a lap around the Grim Reaper's doorstep, then Geno's "killing" had shaken her badly. She needed time to recover.

Once the meeting broke up, Lucy and Caesar went off to a quiet corner to talk it over.

"Lucy, from now on we need to run the Sons of Calydon more strictly. At a time like this, we can't let any detail slip."

Caesar trusted Lucy completely. They might bicker constantly, and Lucy had once nearly roasted her alive, but the two were far closer than most people imagined.

"I know. Don't worry about it."

"Oh right, one more thing. Earlier the Proxy said she wanted to buy a batch of data stakes."

"I know about that too. Geno and the others told me."

Hearing that, Caesar scratched her head, baffled.

"How do you already know everything? Weren't you just fighting with Geno?"

Caesar couldn't understand it. Lucy had been at Geno's throat a minute ago, so why the change of attitude?

"Hmph, I'm not that petty. What Geno said was for our own good in the end. Everything we do is probably being watched by that so-called mole, and if we let this weak spot show, it could become the key to turning the tables later. Honestly, you dumb boar."

Only then did Caesar look like she'd finally gotten it.

"So you two were putting on an act earlier!"

"Of course. We didn't talk it over beforehand, but with how quick Geno is, I figure he was thinking the same thing."

Caesar understood Lucy's plan now, but a new question popped into her head.

"You seem to know Geno pretty well? Didn't you only meet him yesterday?"

It struck Caesar as odd. They'd just met for the first time, so how did Lucy know him so well? Could they have known each other before?

"Hmph, I just heard a few things about him from a friend. It's nothing special."

"? You can actually make friends outside of us?! What a surprise!"

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?! Do you think I'm hard to get along with?"

Caesar nodded without a shred of hesitation. That set Lucy off again, and she snatched up her bat and swung.

"Cae! Sar! Die, you dumb boar!"

And so the friendship between the two girls deepened in its usual awkward way. Surely plenty more happy memories were waiting for them to make.

Meanwhile, the conversation between Geno and Belle was much more peaceful.

"Sigh, so much happened again today. Geno, does this really have something to do with the Sons of Calydon?"

Belle felt uneasy. Too much had happened in her two days in the Outer Ring, and by now she was worn out.

"Don't worry, I've already made arrangements. Try not to fret too much."

Geno soothed her, and he also used a little of the Filth's power so she could calm down faster.

The source of that power was exclusively sponsored by our dear sponsor, Comrade Little Geno.

"I trust you."

Belle said it simply. From the day she met Geno, he had never let her down.

After a short chat, she felt drained and went back to her room to rest.

Once Geno was sure everyone had gone to bed, he slipped out of camp alone and headed for the Hollow they'd explored that day.

He soon reached the spot where the fight had taken place. In front of the mound where he'd buried the driver, Geno conjured a shovel and started digging.

"Digging up a corpse in the middle of the night. Anyone who didn't know better would think I'm some kind of pervert."

He grumbled about his own behavior as he worked, and before long he had the body unearthed.

The corpse was still lifeless, but a thin glimmer of light flickered in its chest, right where Geno had stabbed it.

"He's an Ethereal now. How would getting his heart pierced kill him?"

That's right: the driver had never died. It had all been a show put on by Geno.

He'd done it to fool the mastermind, who might be watching from somewhere out of sight. Geno suspected that person had been spying on him at that very moment.

As for Belle, she truly didn't know about the fake kill. As the saying goes, to fool others, you have to fool yourself first. Only if he could deceive his own people could he hope to deceive the one he was after.

"All right, I hope you won't make me waste all this effort, Mr. Driver."

Geno figured the driver quite possibly knew the true face of whoever was behind this, and might even hold evidence of their crimes.

How much help he'd actually be would have to wait until he woke up.

By rights, the driver should have woken up by now, but no matter what Geno tried, he wouldn't come around, and Geno had no idea why.

"Heave-ho~ Pretty heavy. Let's get you out of here first, and then I'll send you over to Twiggy."

Anything involving Ether and Ethereals was best left to Twiggy, the professional. As for who would make the delivery, Geno already had someone in mind.

"Now for the hardest part of the whole plan."

Geno's tone was heavy with resignation as he said it.

He stared at the path he'd come by, which he could no longer remember. All he could do was feel his way forward by trial and error, and try to get out of this Hollow before dawn.