ZZZ: Trailblazing in New Eridu

The Next Day

Jane Doe, a normal-looking rat Thiren whom people loved to glance at respectfully and never suspected of a crime. She is secretly a spy trained to gather information using her intelligence and her seductive skills. When things escalate, she has the strength and skill to protect herself.

Jane Doe believes she is a good spy. She trained in martial arts that work perfectly for her build and managed to take down quite a lot of foes with them, despite the lack of enhanced strength provided by her animal traits. She also trained in the way of the spy, making sure she kept her composure, controlled her emotions, and faked her feelings. It was a skill she was proud of, and it was the greatest asset for the Public Security.

And she cried ugly when she finished reading 'As I've Written's' First Cycle.

Jane was very grateful that none of her co-workers lived near her, nor did the neighbors hear her cries, because it was super embarrassing. She had overheard some PubSec officers crying like babies after reading a newly released Lumina Square bestseller, As I've Written. Curious, she tries to check the reviews, and she can't help but raise her eyebrow when the review is filled with more death threats than proper reviews. What's even more surprising is that they all didn't forget to give the book 5-stars, despite all the angry rants.

Reading all the reviews, she can't help but think that everyone was simply exaggerating. Sure, some stories might be angsty, but there's no way it was so devastating that everyone cursed the author, Trailblazer. Dismissing the warning and unconsciously putting her pride on the line, she decided to 'challenge' herself.

It was easily the greatest mistake she ever made. She didn't even last the First Cycle.

Out of pride and sheer stubbornness, she pushed through and continued to read the story, only for the feeling to hit her like a truck moving at 300 km per hour. All of the pain and suffering felt by the Chrysos Heir was just unbearable for her heart, and she had to stop reading to deal with her tears flowing out uncontrollably.

People had warned her, but she refused to listen. Now, she paid the price.

Currently, she's attempting to find the writer of 'As I've Written', who goes by the name Trailblazer. One thing Jane could credit to this writer is for them not to use their real name (Jane believes no sane parents ever consider Trailblazer as a name for their child).

This writer seems to pop out of nowhere, and besides the stall owner, she can't seem to find anything that led to this mysterious writer. She hoped she could manage to find any clue regarding the writer; she really wanted to have a 'talk' with this man.

Jane decides to take a small break by visiting the Coff Cafe and ordering a cup of coffee. After ordering, she can't help but raise her eyebrow when she spots a pink-haired woman walking past the shop.

"Tsukishiro Yanagi? In casual clothes?" Jane muses as she watches Yanagi walk away, holding a leather bag on her side. "...curious."

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With Yanagi

"So, he lives here?"

The pink-haired woman glances at the large apartment building curiously before she looks at the navigation tool on her phone.

"...I should've expected this. This man had just registered as a citizen of New Eridu not long ago," Yanagi mutters before putting away her phone. "Let's not waste any more time. Besides showing him the ropes, I still have things to talk about, especially his new book."

As she said that, a single tear escaped her left eye, and she pouted.

"I've seen angst from some movies, but none has ever gone as far as this novel! Why do Phainon and Cyrene have to be the ones who have gone through such pain!?!" Yanagi rants, stomping her right foot in slight frustration. Meanwhile, Jane, who decided to trail Yanagi, overheard her rants and grew more curious. She can be seen peeking from a nearby electric pole while sipping her cup of coffee.

"I didn't expect Yanagi to read such a novel, but what does she mean by having a lot to talk about before she brought it up?" Jane asks curiously. Unfortunately, Yanagi simply grumbles under her breath before going inside the building, much to Jane's disappointment.

"Oh, hello, dear." Yanagi can't help but be startled, facing towards the source of the voice and being greeted by Meilian. "Sorry for startling you, but how can I help you?"

"N-no need to apologize." Yanagi straightened herself. "I am Tsukishiro Yanagi, and I am here for Caelus and Phil, Section 6's newest recruits."

"Oh, you're the mentor that the boys mentioned," Meilian exclaims with a bright smile. "Well, the boys are on the 3rd floor, either room number 15 or 16. Knowing them, they're probably busy inventing new stuff for Hollow Explorations."

"I'm sorry, what?" Yanagi thought she didn't hear that correctly, but did the woman claim the boys were trying to make stuff for Hollow Explorations?

No, wait. Based on what Yanagi reads from Caelus' and Phil's records, that makes so much sense. She can forgive Caelus since he only entered Hollow illegally once, but Phil is another matter. She can't understand why someone so young would be willing to endanger himself by entering Hollow illegally.

None of his files had mentioned anything related to it, and she wonders why her chief would agree to Caelus' condition to get the boy an internship. Perhaps she saw something in the boy and decided to agree to Caelus' condition.

Arriving at the 3rd floor using the elevator, she was greeted with a sign showing the direction based on the room number. After taking a glance at the sign, she turned left and spotted the room numbers 15 and 16. Before she could knock on either door, she heard a muffled voice from the room.

Yanagi can't help but frown when she hears the voice. It sounds like there are more people inside, but she didn't expect both boys to have guests. She feels like it'll be awkward to intrude while they have guests, and she chooses to simply wait.

But before Yanagi could take a step, the door opened, and she was greeted by a gray-haired young man with glowing blue eyes, and she wondered why the tip of his hair was glowing blue. To her surprise, his eye color switched to gold, and his hair stopped glowing as he looked at her.

"Oh, hello there," Caelus greeted. "You must be Tsukishiro Yanagi, right? The name's Caelus. Sorry about that; some of my friends decided to visit me unannounced."

Upon saying that, Yanagi heard loud noises from the room, and she couldn't help but raise her eyebrow in confusion.

"...I have a pet puppy," Caelus said sheepishly, followed by an indignant yip from the background.

"... Hello, Caelus," Yanagi said blankly, looking unimpressed. Is this supposed to be the 'Hero of Canvas Street'? Her impression of him has plummeted, and she wonders how in the world this guy is a hero who took down the Dead-End Butcher.

"...again, sorry about that," Caelus grimaces before he opens the door. "Come in."

Without another word, she walks in, and upon seeing Phil, she has to take a very deep breath to stop herself from squealing at how adorable he is. Sure, she might have seen his picture from his file, but she believed the picture didn't do his cuteness justice.

"A-ah, Ms. Tsukishiro! I-it's an honor to meet you!" Phil exclaims before bowing down. "I-I'm a huge fan."

"Hello, Phil. Nice to meet you," Yanagi says with a smile, while she is internally screaming that the adorable bunny is her fan. She feels like she could ascend to heaven.

"...I can feel the bias," Caelus deadpans as his eyes glows icy blue, reading her recent memories as Mem floats besides him, choosing to stay invisible. He shakes his head as the glows disappear, closing the door and slowly approaching Yanagi. Caelus decides to move the stuff in his room to create a better learning environment, and Phil volunteer to help.

Meanwhile, Nicole, Anby, and Billy can be seen hiding in the balcony, trying to avoid being seen by Yanagi. Neither of them expect Yanagi to come visit Caelus of all people, and Nicole can't help but feel slightly annoyed at Caelus for not warned them.

"To think she would come this early..." Anby muses quietly, causing Nicole to look at her fellow hare in disbelief.

"You knew she was planning to visit and you didn't tell us!?!" Nicole asks in annoyance.

"Uh, boss, Caelus did tell us about her visit yesterday," Billy chimes in, and Nicole faces him, giving the intelligent construct a look that screams 'WHEN!?!', causing the poor robot to shrink. "H-he told us when we celebrate our debtlessness...."

"Is that even a word?" Anby asks in confusion.

"Not the time, Anby," Billy hisses, while Nicole slumps down, letting out a sigh.

"This is fun." The Cunning Hares turn to their left and watch Seed sitting in the middle of...air!?! "We really should do this again sometimes!"

"...um, is anyone going to tell me why I'm hiding with you guys?" Alice, who planned on visiting Phil out of concern, got herself dragged into this bizarre situation.

"...you must be a newbie," Anby says blankly. "Then, as a senior member, I welcome you to Caelus Chaotic Squad."

"Stop spouting nonsense, Anby. And I never remember that kind of squad even exists? Hell, I bet Caelus would be confused!" Nicole exclaims.

"...please leave me out of this," Alice squeaks.

"Too late; the moment you meet Caelus, you're part of the squad," Billy says as he gives her a thumbs-up. "The name's Billy of the Cunning Hare, nice to meet you, kid!"

"Cunning Hare? Aren't they the brokest Hollow Raider in the entire New Eridu?" Alice asks innocently. The trio froze as they comically turned into a comic panel; the background shattered like glass. Seed can't help but laugh at Alice's bluntness.

"W-we're no longer broke!" Nicole exclaims. "We've finally managed to get rid of all of our debt!!!"

"And it's all thanks to Caelus," Anby says as she gives her a thumbs-up. "Hence, he's the leader of our squad. Right now, he's getting Tsukishiro Yanagi to join the chaos."

"Anby, you really need to stop spouting nonsense!" Nicole says exasperatedly. "He's nobody's leader!"

Meanwhile, Caelus and Phil did everything they could not to grimace at the noises coming from outside as Yanagi prepared a projector, a screen, and a stick. Adjusting her glasses, she looks at her two new students before clearing her throat.

"Right...from now on, you guys are part of Section 6, and you two are our responsibilities. As new members, you two are required to learn everything you need to know regarding our job." Yanagi says sternly. "I suggest you two take notes to make things easier."

Both boys nod as they pull out their own notebooks. Yanagi nods in approval before she starts her lesson.

"Today, we learn some basics regarding the Hollow."

To be continued