"What's this?"
"Awoo!"
Carrot set down the crystal it had been carrying in its mouth, then nudged its head toward Geno — as if to say: this one's for you.
"This is...hm?"
Geno took the crystal from Carrot's mouth. It looked almost identical to the one already in his hand — except the double-helix structure inside it was built in a mirror image, the complete reverse of the other.
The moment it touched his palm, a cool clarity swept through his mind. The bloated pressure and the stinging pain brought on by those eerie whispers faded away.
The Ether churning restlessly inside him gradually settled back into calm.
"You're... giving this to me?"
"Awoo!"
Carrot dipped its head in confirmation — then picked up the original crystal from Geno's other hand and trotted off toward the safehouse.
"Hm?"
Watching Carrot go, Geno slipped the new crystal into his pocket and rose to his feet, shifting back into human form.
Someone was coming.
"Geno! Carrot! Are you two okay?!"
It was Lucia and Yidhari. They'd woken to find Geno missing, realized something must have happened, and come rushing out after him.
"What happened? Why did you suddenly run off?"
The Hollow at night was far more dangerous than during the day — Geno disappearing in the middle of the night meant something was definitely wrong.
"It's nothing. Just couldn't sleep, so I took a walk."
Yidhari didn't know what he really was. Geno had no choice but to keep things vague, chalking his absence up to a sleepless night and brushing the whole thing aside.
"Hm? What's this little thing?"
Lucia noticed the small Carrot sitting in front of her, persistently nuzzling against her thigh. She tilted her head and crouched down — and at that, Carrot placed the crystal it had been carrying right into her hands.
"Wow! It's beautiful! Is this for me?"
"Awoo!"
Carrot wagged its tail with pure delight, the spines along its back quivering with excitement — a completely different creature from the composed, dignified Hati that had been dealing with Geno just moments before.
This little thing... Geno narrowed his eyes.
He was grateful Carrot had saved him, he really was — but was the gap in treatment between him and Lucia really necessary? With him, it had put on this whole dignified, serious act. The second Lucia showed up, all pretense went straight out the window. Full-on puppy mode, just like that?
"Since everything's fine, let's head back," Yidhari said, glancing around at the surrounding mess, then at Carrot and Geno in turn. She ultimately decided not to press further, and led the group back toward the safehouse.
"Thank you, Carrot~ You're so sweet. I'll get you something in return — is there anything you'd like?"
"Awoo! Awoo-woo!"
"I think it's saying it'll love whatever you give it."
Geno stepped in as translator — he couldn't understand Carrot's words exactly, but the general meaning was easy enough to read.
And honestly, even without understanding a word, anyone could see it: this little creature was absolutely, shamelessly head over heels for her.
"Hehe~ I'll pick something really good then!"
Lucia ruffled Carrot's head affectionately, and the two of them — girl and... dog(?) — fell into cheerful play.
Back at the safehouse, they were greeted by worried looks from Alice and Yuzuha, and Geno ran through his explanation one more time.
Neither of them was entirely convinced — but at least Geno had come back safe. That was enough to put their worries to rest without further questions.
And so the night — turbulent on the surface, yet somehow still quiet — drew to a close.
Deep within the Hollow, in an uncharted expanse of unknown territory, an indistinct creature of incomprehensible scale occupied the vast majority of the space around it.
At what might have been its face — or perhaps something else entirely — a narrow slit parted ever so slightly, then closed again, as though nothing had happened at all.
But this world faithfully recorded that change, preserving it in silence, waiting for the day it would mean something.
Elsewhere, within the city of New Eridu, Sarah — dressed head to toe in red — was receiving a report from Weifeidi. Her elegantly arched brows were drawn together, her expression tight with something that had clearly gone beyond what she'd anticipated.
"Is the intelligence confirmed?"
"My lady Sarah, I would not dare to lie."
"Understood."
Sarah waved her hand in dismissal, sending the subordinate on their way, then fixed her gaze back on the intelligence report, a quiet irritation settling in her chest.
"It seems our little partner has developed quite the appetite."
She tossed the report onto the desk. The ally's ambitions were overreaching — but ambition meant nothing without the ability to back it up.
"Let's hope they don't end up playing with fire~. Greedy stray."
That was her only verdict on the matter: if you're not good enough, train harder.
Meanwhile, inside the Lemnian Hollow, Geno and the others welcomed the second morning. Following the route mapped out by Yidhari's Carrots, the group set off from the safehouse and began making their way toward the exit.
"Mmm~ Carrot~ I'm going to miss you so much~"
Lucia held the little Hati close, her reluctance written plainly across her face.
Carrot looked equally downcast, letting out a soft, low whine.
"Alright, Lucia — this little one can't leave the Hollow. You have to let it stay."
Geno said it with his usual unflappable calm, gently but firmly nudging Lucia toward acceptance. His hand moved on instinct to the crystal in his pocket — the twin of the one hanging around Lucia's neck.
What exactly is this thing? It actually managed to suppress the Ether going haywire inside me. I'll have Twiggy look into it when we get back.
Suddenly Geno felt a small tug at the hem of his clothes. He glanced sideways — it was Alice.
"What is it, Alice?"
"N-nothing, it's just... Geno, you seem like you're paying a lot of attention to Lucia. Did something happen?"
Geno blinked. Was he really that obvious? He hadn't realized — but apparently Alice had picked up on it.
In truth, his movements had been quite subtle. It was just that a certain young rabbit lady had been watching him very closely the entire time.
"Nothing's going on. I was just thinking — Carrot really is something else. The way it's so attached to Lucia is just... remarkable."
"Right, right! I've never seen an Ethereal this amazing before. Come to think of it, Lucia can also call out the phantom of an Ethereal — maybe she should consider becoming a beast tamer? The kind that specializes in taming Ethereals!"
A full night's rest had done Yuzuha good — the panic of being chased by the rebels the day before had faded from her. She was, at the end of the day, just a girl in her teens; her emotions came fast and left just as quickly.
They walked on, trading lighthearted chatter as they went — and just as the exit finally came into view, Yidhari suddenly threw out her arm to stop the group.
"Hold on! There's someone up ahead!"
With her unique vision, Yidhari had been guiding the group around most of the obstacles and Ethereals along the way, and they had all come to trust her instincts without question.
"What now? More Ethereals?"
"No. Rebels."
____
👻🔥Whant more?: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: COTE: Confessing to Sakayanagi From the Start
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