Chapter 94: Lobby Meeting 2.0

Dingdong—

The doorbell rang.

Three presses and a pause, not urgent.

Hill gently let go of Siloque’s hand and left the room.

Rather than wanting to open the door,

It was more like her intuition as a girl was ringing an alarm.

A bad feeling…

Enemy attack.

At this hour, it couldn’t be her friend Lei, who’s good at RTS or from the Featherball Club, nor could it be a suspicious fire extinguisher salesman.

“Hill can get the door! Dad, you keep eating!”

“If it’s a salesperson, it’s fine to drive them away directly. But your mom, she—”

Claude, who’d gotten halfway there, was pushed back by Hill, who intercepted him.

When Hill hurried to the entrance, the sight that greeted her was her mother Cohen’s back.

“Ah——! Good evening.”

Cohen’s voice sounded delighted as she faced the two outside the door.

She wrapped a bear hug around a girl with an orange ponytail.

“It’s been so long, Bried. When I last saw you, you were only half my height, but now you’re as tall as me.”

“Mmgh! Long time no see, Cohen… Cohen sis.”

Bried hurriedly changed her words midway.

Come to think of it, Mom seemed to dislike being called old.

“So, this one is…?”

Cohen’s gaze turned to the other person.

Hill seized the chance to join the scene, hugging Cohen from behind.

“Oh! Bried sis! Did you come to play? And this must be Cass bro? Are you here to see Siloque bro?”

“Hey, Hill.”

If possible, she didn’t want these two to come in and visit her brother.

Blue hair, always immaculately dressed, exuding an upper-class noble aura, plus an infuriatingly handsome face…

If those traits matched, then it was Cass.

That’s how Siloque described him.

Now, with her brother in white-haired + sickly mode, the ‘boy killer’ buff had gone up another level.

She couldn’t let him lure in more men.

But with Cass visiting their home, maybe he’d already succeeded…

“Hello, nice to meet you, my name is Cass Benor. I’m Siloque’s classmate… friend.”

Cass spoke politely, his tone natural, but muttered quietly: …Didn’t Siloque’s parents divorce?

A remarried family?

Ugh, her brother was close enough with him to discuss family?

“Hello, hello, just call me Hill~ If you say Dasvey, you can’t even tell who’s who.”

Hill kept her innocent smile, but her heart was in turmoil.

For some reason, Bried chimed in beside her:

“Bried Taros. Siloque’s childhood friend.”

“Bried sis, you don’t have to say it again.”

“Wait, Cass little bro.”

Cohen’s tone was a bit emotional: “What did you just say?”

“That I’m Siloque’s… friend?”

“Ah!”

Confirming it, Cohen clutched her heart dramatically, as if the sky had fallen:

“Unbelievable, that little Siloque actually has friends—not an imaginary one or a phone scammer, but a real human.”

Her brother’s friendship credit score was so low.

Cohen hooked her arm around Cass’s shoulder, startling him.

“Please, be his friend from now on, okay? That guy has never had any male friends since childhood, always shutting himself in his room after coming home. Lately he’s been brighter, but I can’t let him turn into a shut-in again.”

“I—I understand, Cohen… sis. Siloque and I are very close. We’ll always be the best of friends from now on.”

Why was her brother’s friend blushing?

A bit gross.

“You’re such a sweet talker.”

Maybe she just liked the word ‘sister’, Cohen squinted and grinned, looking pleased.

“Cass, Cohen sis is like this—very enthusiastic. You’ll get used to it.”

Bried remained calm.

“So, why did you two come by so late? If you’re here for dinner, Hill can prepare bowls and chopsticks.”

To keep the topic on track, Hill pulled her mom back.

Cohen tried to resist, but Hill still dragged her, turning it into a childish shoving game.

“I’d like to eat, but maybe next time.”

Bried asked in a calm yet slightly reproachful tone:

“Here’s what happened—during training this morning, I didn’t see Siloque or get any notification… We only heard he was on leave, so we came to ask about his condition. Why did he suddenly get sick? How is his recovery?”

“Brother caught a cold in the Dungeon, so he’s sick. Hill checked his temperature earlier, and it’s back to normal. He’ll be lively and bouncing tomorrow, so don’t worry.”

“I see, caught a cold. That’s not strange.”

Bried’s voice was surprisingly gentle, accepting it calmly.

“No way, is Siloque that fragile?”

Cass couldn’t quite believe it.

Hill felt she wasn’t lying.

She just left out some details about cause and effect, keeping the result of Siloque (supposedly) being sick.

And anyway, it’s just an illness—no need to visit a classmate’s home over it.

You two are too much.

Are you the heroines of a galgame or something?

“So you guys…”

No need to come in and check, or you’ll catch it too.

Before she could finish, Bried handed her a Handbook.

“?”

“I understand. You’re the closest to him, Hill, so your words are trustworthy. This is just a little something from me. Please give it to him.”

“What’s this…”

As Hill opened it, Cohen leaned over to look too.

“…?! Hill is impressed. Bried sis is so thoughtful, but you could just send files over LINE for this…”

“The drawings are cute.”

Seeing others examine and praise her Handbook, Bried remained expressionless, but her slightly flushed cheeks and the way she scratched her ponytail betrayed her.

Inside the booklet were handwritten, detailed exercises by Bried for restoring body function, with neatly drawn, easy-to-understand illustrations of a Cat performing the moves.

“I’m not as amazing as Bried, so I could only send some comfort items, hoping he’ll get better soon. I wanted to call a Doctor, but Hyder disagreed, saying it might scare you…”

Cass took a suitcase from his arm, handing it to Cohen.

“So heavy.”

Cohen remarked.

“A Doctor… Cass bro, isn’t that a bit much, uh—!”

Opening it, Hill found it oddly familiar.

She pulled out her notebook to compare, her face instantly going pale.

Several Transfer Crystals, and small, exquisite bottles of Potions that could restore both health and mana at once when you’re low—all neatly arranged.

Hill touched the suitcase.

The material felt bulletproof, much like their house door.

“Recovery Potion?

Dungeon Shop sells these too.”

“Bried sis…”

Is your head full of muscles and workouts too?

They’re not the same, you know.

Thank goodness Hill had the knowledge her brother taught her.

Just selling this would cover her dad’s two-year loan.

You’d have extra even after maxing out gear in a game.

Actually, these things can’t normally be bought on the market.

What kind of friends is her brother making?

Nouveau riche?

“Thank you both, I’ll give them to little Siloque.”

Cohen didn’t understand what these were, but she could feel the kids’ goodwill.

“Well then, wishing him a speedy recovery, Cass and I will head back now. Since Hill doesn’t seem to want us to come up, we won’t intrude.”

“Huh? Hill, is that how you feel?”

Bried’s words made Cohen smile at Hill.

“No, really, Bried sis just likes these kinds of jokes.”

Ugh, Bried sis’s sharp intuition is troublesome.

Bried and Cass said goodbye to the two.

Finally, Cass glanced at Cohen and Hill, and politely said something vague: “Siloque being able to live in such a new family is truly blessed.”

“Ah—???”

Everyone present was dumbfounded.

Cass was the most embarrassed.

Seeing the atmosphere, his face reddened as he stammered:

“Wh—what? Did I say something wrong…?”

Cohen was the one who smoothed things over with a smile:

“By the way, are you two really not going to come in and eat? It’d be lively, and if little Siloque woke up and saw you, he’d be happy. I actually made a lot of food.”

“Thank you for the invitation, Cohen sis… But my family is waiting for me next door.”

Bried said, glancing at her own house with the lights on.

Cass, hearing this, looked lonely but smiled softly.

Hill noticed but didn’t want to get involved, so she asked a final question:

“Bried sis, Cass bro… ‘Beiren’, have you heard this name before? I don’t mean that nasty Witch of Miracles.”

Bried and Cass thought for a moment, then answered firmly after a brief silence:

“No.”

“Sorry, Hill, I haven’t heard of it.”