"Ughhh, Sister Bronya, how could I possibly change into that!" Pouting, Seele pushed Bronya's hand away with a huff. "Hmph, if you're going to say that, then I want the grown-up Sister Bronya from the light screen too!"

Bronya looked at Seele on the light screen in disbelief. The difference was just too... Well, although it wasn't completely incomprehensible, it was still hard to swallow all at once.

Seele loved all kinds of pretty little skirts and would never wear revealing hot pants under normal circumstances. Usually, Seele was like a little Cupcake by her side, soft and sweet... Only when facing enemies did she reveal her sharper edge.

Yet her counterpart—

【At the sight of Seele, several miners scattered immediately.】

【Sampo let out a long Breath of relief. "Miss Seele! Whew, thank goodness you stepped in just in time. I'm infinitely grateful~"】

【"Shut up, Sampo. You're not off the hook for this either. Wildfire has a mountain of trouble to deal with right now; did you really have to stir up more mess at a time like this?" Seele snorted in annoyance, turning her head toward Bronya. "I heard a Silvermane Guard made her way down into the Underworld... Was that you?"】

【Bronya's gaze sharpened. "You kidnapped me and brought me underground—what are you plotting?"】

【"Hmph, 'what are you plotting'... She still thinks she's a Young Miss from the Overworld." Seele's face was filled with disgust and contempt. Crossing her arms, she questioned coldly, "It must be pretty comfortable living on the surface, huh? Do you have any idea what's become of the underground? Have you ever once cared whether the people down here live or die?"】

【"The Silvermane Guards aren't just 'comfortably' staying on the surface!" Bronya retorted heatedly. "The Guards have always been fighting the enemy, protecting Belobog from monsters... protecting everyone, both above and below!"】

【"Heh, preach all you want, but what exactly did you protect?" Seele sneered. "Withdrawing all the Guards to the surface and sealing off the passages between above and below—putting it nicely, wasn't that just to protect your so-called The Architects?"】

【Confronted by Seele's overwhelming hostility, Bronya was at a loss for words, her momentum faltering considerably. "The Guardian had her reasons..."】

Bronya stared dumbfounded at the relentlessly chatterbox Seele—or rather, her counterpart—on the light screen.

She could not imagine this was Seele at all. Back in the orphanage, they had lived together and undergone experiments together. The Seele she knew...

—probably wouldn't speak this many words in an entire day!

"So you can be that sharp... Seele." Bronya giggled softly, nuzzling her face affectionately against Seele's thigh. Seeing such a stark contrast between the two Seeles, she couldn't help marveling at how interesting this Otherworld truly was.

Meanwhile, Seele had completely petrified.

This...

This, this, this...!

She would never speak to Sister Bronya in such a tone, let alone leave her speechless. To her, Sister Bronya was her whole world. But the scene on the light screen was just... just... Embarrassed and self-conscious, Seele lowered her head.

"Seele." Bronya smiled softly, rising slowly to walk behind her. With slender fingers, she tilted up the young girl's chin. "Since your counterpart spoke like that, you have to be punished too, Seele."

"Sister Bronya... you're being unreasonable." Seele lifted her head, feeling her sister's Breath by her ear. Instead of turning away, she subconsciously looked up and asked, "What punishment?"

Bronya did not speak.

Yet Seele could already feel her sister's hand gently sliding down from her jaw, trailing down her neck until it reached her snow-white collarbone...

Seele heard the loud thumping of her own heartbeat, and a crimson blush spread across her face, burning and scorching hot.

The young girl's voice carried a hint of temptation: "Seele, your punishment will be—"

"Cough, cough, cough, cough!!"

A sharp fit of coughing interrupted Bronya's actions. Turning her head, she saw Qiyana and Mei both blushing furiously, their eyes deliberately averted elsewhere as if trying to avoid the awkwardness.

Meanwhile, Miss Himeko at the side wore an expression of pure disappointment at having missed out on a good show.

"Maybe... wait until you're back in the dorm tonight..." Qiyana hesitated, stopping herself before saying too much.

After all, they were still in the classroom; if they continued any further... cough cough.

—

【"Anyway, come with me. Boss Oleg wants to see you; looks like he has a lot of questions to ask."】

【Hearing that Bronya was being taken to meet the boss of Wildfire, Sampo immediately offered to tag along.】

【Seele shot Sampo a slightly disgusted glance, merely saying that Wildfire was currently in trouble at the Great Mine, and if they really wanted to see Oleg, they should follow her there.】

【Stelle did not hesitate either, immediately following along.】

【Along the way, Stelle asked Seele what was really going on underground, as the situation didn't seem promising.】

【At the mention of this, Seele's gaze lowered slightly, her expression turning somber.】

【"There used to be many mining zones underground, but over the past few years, a form of Erosion called the Fragmentum has been spreading beneath the surface. Many mines were affected and could no longer be operated."】

【"The mine we're heading to remains relatively intact and the environment is fairly clean. A group of Wanderers whose former homes were swallowed by the Fragmentum settled down here. But with more people, there are inevitably troublemaking scumbags mixed in who pick fights with the miners every few days."】

【"What started as minor brawls escalated into large-scale clashes in the last few days. To defuse the situation, Oleg led Wildfire deep into the mine, leaving public order to me. Now I have to go reinforce them..."】

【Entering the mine, they could see Natasha from afar helping Heal the injured miners. She was surrounded by a large crowd of people, making it clear that the situation was already critical.】

【From Natasha, they learned that the root of the trouble was that the First Mining Team had discovered a vein of Geomarrow—the largest deposit in thirty years. The mining team wanted to keep it quiet, but they couldn't hide it from the Wanderers here. Those thugs tried to shake them down for hush money, which crossed the miners' bottom line. With neither side willing to back down, violent clashes broke out.】

【Natasha looked over the people behind Seele. "Did you come here intending to help resolve the conflict in the mine?"】

"Why make such a big fuss? Wouldn't it be easier to just blow up all those troublemakers?" Jinx fiddled with the safety pin on her grenade, a crimson thirst surfacing in her eyes. "Once and for all!"

"Heh heh... Jinx, killing everyone in a situation like this won't settle anything," Silco said leisurely. "At times like this, you have to divide the factions within the Wanderers and dismantle them step by step. If necessary... making an example of someone is certainly an option, but you must choose your target wisely."

"Under these circumstances, though, I'm quite curious to see what choice that Chief Oleg will make..."