"Mother... What did you just say?"
Bronya found it hard to believe. Was that really her mother who had just called her rude?
Just last night, she had been forcefully pinned to the ground by Caelus, utterly humiliated. Then she was abducted, and who knew what happened after that. Now, on the second day, all she did was question what Caelus had done to her mother, and instead of explaining, her own mother was reprimanding her for being impolite?
The shock from this absurd reality, combined with a full night of reviewing documents, was too much. The world started spinning. Bronya pressed a hand to her forehead, her face pale as she stumbled sideways.
Cocolia immediately rushed forward to support her. Seeing her pale face, she asked with concern, "Bronya, are you alright?"
Bronya shook her head, feeling dizzy.
Caelus walked over, took off his sunglasses, and glanced at Bronya's status bar.
[Weakness I: 15:00]
"She's fine, just a bit weak."
With that, Caelus pulled a bucket of milk from his inventory and reached out to take Bronya from Cocolia's arms to pour it for her.
Seeing the familiar milk bucket in Caelus's hands, Bronya was jolted back to her senses. She scrambled out of Cocolia's embrace and stood up on her own.
"I'm not drinking that!"
Her own mother had become this strange, unfamiliar person after drinking that bizarre milk. For her mother's sake, for Belobog's sake, she absolutely could not be affected by that strange milk!
"Suit yourself."
Caelus put the milk bucket away. He was only going to treat Bronya as a favor to Cocolia. If she was going to be ungrateful, then fine. He'd just saved himself a bucket of milk.
He then turned to Cocolia and urged her, "Let's go. We have important matters to attend to."
"Yes." Cocolia answered obediently. She then took the lead, grabbing Bronya's hand to pull her along, clearing the path so she wouldn't block Caelus.
Bronya, completely bewildered, looked at her mother's profile. Her mother's current state was just too wrong! Something was 99% wrong!
Was this the same decisive and resolute mother she had always known? Why did she look more and more like Caelus's private secretary?
"Mother, what on earth is wrong?"
Bronya leaned in and whispered into Cocolia's ear, but Cocolia just gently shook her head.
"I'm fine, Bronya. You will understand soon enough."
Bronya wanted to ask more, but Cocolia ignored her.
---o---
A short while later, Caelus's group walked into Cocolia's office in Qlipoth Fort. Although he had caused a huge mess here last night, after a single night, the office had been restored to its original state, showing no signs of the battle.
Under Bronya's baffled gaze, Caelus walked directly to the seat that belonged to the Supreme Guardian, sat down, and propped his feet up on the desk with a contented sigh.
The moment he sat down, Bronya couldn't hold it in any longer. She strode to the other side of the desk, slammed her hands down, and leaned forward, her eyes fixed sharply on Caelus.
"What are you planning to do? Why did you suddenly bring my mother back after just half a day? And why has my mother become like this!"
"What am I back to do? To take up my post in Belobog, of course. As for your mother… isn't she perfectly fine?"
Caelus glanced over at Cocolia's status bar. The Trust V buff was sitting there, stable as ever. Compared to the Cocolia from the night before who kept spouting "the Stellaron will grant us hope," this version of her was far more normal.
"Take up your post?" Bronya blinked, completely lost. How had she suddenly become unable to understand Caelus's words?
Seeing that Bronya still didn't get it, Caelus shot her a pitying look, then turned to Cocolia. "Does she have some kind of hidden brain condition? She doesn't seem to understand what I'm saying. Cocolia, could you translate for her? What does 'taking up a post' mean?"
Cocolia shot Caelus a slight glare and said defensively, "My daughter is perfectly normal. She just hasn't grasped the full picture of the situation yet."
Then, she turned to Bronya and spoke in a soft, gentle voice. "Bronya, last night, after discussions with the Nameless, I decided to transfer the position of Supreme Guardian to Caelus. That is what he means by 'taking up his post.'"
"Transfer… the position of Supreme Guardian… to him?!"
Bronya felt like she was running low on brain cells. It had only been one night. How had the world gone so completely insane?
Just last night, her mother had personally ordered her to arrest these three first thing in the morning. But now, the result was the complete opposite!
Never mind the fact that according to Belobog's customs, the position of Supreme Guardian should be passed down to the previous Guardian's adopted child. Caelus and his group were aliens! How could they just let them take over the position of Supreme Guardian?!
"Ha… I must be exhausted from reading those files all night. I'm probably still asleep at the desk and haven't woken up yet…"
Bronya staggered over to a nearby sofa in a daze and plopped down, her eyes staring blankly ahead.
Seeing her like this, March 7th couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. If it were her, having to deal with so many bizarre events in such a short time, her brain would probably have fried too.
"Caelus, stop teasing Bronya. We feel bad for her just looking at her."
"Leave her be. She'll be fine once she's had some time to calm down. Besides, I'm your accomplice, aren't I, March? Shouldn't you feel bad for me?" Caelus grumbled with his arms crossed. March couldn't help but roll her eyes.
"What do you mean, accomplice? Sheesh, you say that and now I feel like we're the villains!"
Seeing the conversation straying again, the ever-quiet Dan Heng finally spoke up to get them back on track.
"Let's focus on the important matter. Cocolia, since you've chosen to trust Caelus, shouldn't you tell us the whereabouts of the Stellaron?"
Cocolia nodded. She walked over to Caelus's side, bent down, and reached for the drawer behind the desk. Caelus leaned back slightly to give her some room, narrowly avoiding getting a face full of her chest.
Cocolia took out a file from the drawer, placed it on the desk, and opened it for Caelus. She pointed to a line of text. Caelus leaned forward to look. It was labeled: [Research Station Repair Plan].
"The Stellaron has always been sealed within this research station. I was originally planning to restart it after I captured you all. But now, that is no longer necessary."
---o---