Chapter 92: Seele, Seele, Seele?
"So this is the Underworld?"
March 7th shook her slightly sore legs and looked around, bouncing on her feet.
Taking Sampo's secret path had certainly allowed them to avoid the pursuing Silvermane Guards, but the road was excessively rugged and winding. It was a good thing no one in the group was an ordinary person, otherwise, the journey would have likely taken a full day and night.
"It feels a bit dark," Stelle said.
Grabbing hold of Caelus, who was trying to edge away from her, Stelle unceremoniously shifted the Bronya from her back onto his. Like a husky let off its leash, she began to zoom around.
"There's no sun, of course, it's going to be a bit dark," March 7th retorted.
At the top of the huge underground space, giant mining lamps hung from the rock walls, serving as the main source of light. The brightness was about the same as a night with a bright moon. Moreover, this was the edge of the town, not the town proper. The closer they got to the town, the more light sources there were, illuminating the entire place as if it were daytime.
"Sampo, what did you put in that little gadget of yours? Why hasn't Bronya woken up yet?"
Caelus tilted his head to look at the silver-haired girl whose head was lolling on his shoulder. Her Silvermane Guard uniform had been taken off and left for Silver Wing. Over Bronya's appetite-whetting, patterned-leaf, one-piece black stockings was a piece of clothing Caelus had conveniently "borrowed" from a clothing store during their escape.
Don't ask, just say he learned it from Uncle Long.
Since it was for Bronya to wear, she would naturally compensate the shop owner when she went back later.
"That shouldn't be... that thing isn't that powerful..."
Sampo scratched his head in confusion. "How about I take you to see the Big Sis?"
"Big Sis?" March 7th's eyebrow twitched.
During her time playing... ahem, carrying out her Trailblaze Mission in the Overworld, she had seen Sampo's wanted poster. This guy had been listed as a wanted felon by the Silvermane Guards for 7 years. He was carrying several charges: smuggling contraband, manufacturing dangerous prohibited goods, jailbreaking, resisting arrest... besides murder and arson, he had committed almost every crime in the law books that could land you in jail.
To be called "Big Sis" by Sampo, could she be the boss of a smuggling ring?
"Don't misunderstand. Big Sis Natasha is one of the few doctors in the Underworld, and also the most famous one. She is highly respected by the people here."
"Natasha?"
The familiar name made Caelus pause for a moment. His knowledge of Star Rail's Natasha was limited to her being a character from Belobog.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Let's do as you say. Let's take Bronya to the clinic first."
The rest of the Trailblaze team naturally had no objections to this decision.
As they entered Boulder Town under Sampo's guidance, they drew a high number of stares and turned heads. Passersby frequently glanced their way.
Having learned about the conflict between the Overworld and Underworld from Sampo, Dan Heng was initially a little worried. His gaze drifted to Caelus and the Bronya he was carrying on his back. He had thought Caelus changed Bronya's clothes just to reduce the risk of being noticed during their escape, but now it seemed there was more to it. If Bronya had been wearing her Silvermane Guard uniform, they probably would have been surrounded shortly after entering the town.
But now, few people paid attention to Bronya. The gazes that were cast their way would eventually all land on Seele, their faces filled with surprise, and they would start murmuring among themselves.
Remembering Sampo's reaction when he first met Seele, Dan Heng roughly understood the situation.
After navigating up and down stone steps and through complex streets, the group finally stopped in front of a three-story house by the street.
Through the wooden door, Caelus could hear a friendly doctor-patient conversation from inside.
"The swelling has gone down. Just take the medicine for a few more days and you'll be all better."
"Old wit... uh, Sister Natasha, I'll never sneak off to the mines to play again." A young, childish voice trembled as if facing some great demon king.
"Mm, what a good girl. Otherwise, if you hurt your leg again next time, we'll just have to saw it off, you know!"
The female voice was gentle and soft in its comfort.
"I won't go, I really won't go!"
"S-saw off my leg?"
Hearing this, March 7th's fair, beautiful leg, adorned with a leg ring, couldn't help but tremble. She swallowed hard and took a step back.
Stelle looked at Sampo with a dubious expression. The latter immediately gave a couple of sheepish laughs and explained, "Um... this is a proper clinic, not some weird place, haha."
With that, Sampo knocked on the door and was the first to push it open. The others followed close behind.
The room wasn't very large. It mainly consisted of a few sickbeds and a desk and chairs for diagnosing patients. A cabinet stood in the corner. The cabinet was filled with various medicine bottles, and a special fireplace for Geomarrow was embedded in the wall to raise the room's temperature and improve the recovery environment for patients.
In the relatively poor conditions of the Underworld, this clinic's setup was considered quite complete.
As they entered, a little blonde girl in a tall, fluffy hat scurried out with her short legs, her face filled with the fear of having her leg sawn off. She ran out in a flash, accidentally bumping into March 7th on the way.
"Haha, Big Sis, Hook is being naughty again."
"Sampo, what brings you to my place today... hmm?"
It was a graceful figure. Her cyan hair was tied into a ponytail for convenience, half-draped over her shoulder. Her charming and gentle face perfectly displayed the charm of a mature beauty.
What was most eye-catching were her full thighs wrapped in long boots and black stockings, and the potion collar she wore around her neck for convenience, both of which gave her a sense of sinful and guilt-inducing allure.
Her gaze had initially swept casually over the people behind Sampo, but in the next second, Natasha's brow couldn't help but twitch slightly.
Unfamiliar faces?
The population of the Underworld was smaller than the Overworld's, but it was not small, numbering in the tens of thousands. Even as a clinic doctor, she couldn't claim to know every face in the Underworld. An ordinary person might not pay much attention, but Natasha was more than just a doctor.
She easily noticed that the aura of these strangers was different from that of the neighborhood residents. These people were most likely not from the Underworld.
Of course, what stunned Natasha the most was the figure with short, dark-blue hair. "Seele!?"
The surprised voice escaped her lips. Natasha's eyes widened. That incredibly familiar youthful face instantly brought back countless memories from years ago.
She had watched Seele grow up.
"Um... hello, sister."
After a prompt from the other Seele, White Seele remembered that the blue-haired bad uncle had once said he knew a 'Seele' who looked very much like her. This big sister had probably mistaken her for someone else, just like the blue-haired bad uncle.
"No... you're not Seele."
The clinging, pitiful demeanor and the obvious age gap immediately allowed Natasha to determine that the girl in front of her was not the one she knew.
But the astonishment in her eyes did not disappear; instead, it gradually turned into a kind of anticipation.
To look so similar, if you said this girl had no relationship with 'her Seele', would she believe it?
Could this girl be Seele's sister? A biological sister!?
This was a guess that anyone who knew the older Seele would make upon seeing White Seele.
"Sampo, who is this girl?"
If she really was Seele's biological sister, that would be wonderful news!
"Big Sis, I'm not sure about this either..."
Hearing the hidden surprise in Natasha's voice, Sampo shook his head. This was the truth. Even as a Masked Fool who knew many things in the galaxy, he couldn't be sure of this Seele's situation, or whether she was related to the Seele he knew.
He hoped they were related. Wouldn't that be a joy?
"These people are guests in our Underworld. It is said that they came from beyond the sky..."
Sampo began to introduce them with great importance, until he saw two gray-haired individuals staring at Natasha's black stockings with golden light in their eyes. Stelle was even drooling at the corner of her mouth.
That look was very familiar to Sampo. It was the same look that made him feel uneasy all over when they stared at his chest.
"You two, restrain yourselves a little!"
March 7th raised her hands and pressed down on the heads of the two gray-haired individuals.
These two were truly a lost cause!
Considering what Stelle had said earlier about exchanging crystals for abilities, there might be another reason for their behavior. March 7th just rubbed their heads hard as a warning and then let go.
"At least let the doctor look at Bronya first."
"Is she a patient? Bring her over here."
Surprised by the origins of these people, Natasha's duty as a doctor made her immediately focus on the unconscious Bronya.
There were still some patients lying in bed in the room. Natasha led them to an empty bed and had Caelus place Bronya down.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Sampo did it."
Caelus and Stelle said in unison. Sampo made that thing. Although Caelus used it, the culprit could be traced back to him.
"???"
Under Natasha's oppressive gaze, Sampo broke out in a sweat. "It wasn't me, I didn't do it, I've been wronged!"
These two gray-haired people are really something else, aren't they?
"She's fine. She probably hasn't rested well these past two days and fell into a deep sleep after fainting."
After a check-up, Natasha came to a conclusion, then gave Sampo a faint smile.
"Continue your explanation."
"No problem, Big Sis! Yes, Big Sis!"
In a slightly glib and dramatic tone, Sampo explained the events in detail, limited to the part that 'Sampo' should know. But it was enough to astonish Natasha. Her eyes widened in surprise as she reassessed the people before her.
"Assassinated the Supreme Guardian? And then fled to the Underworld as wanted criminals?"
"The Supreme Guardian was assassinated? Good! Good! Doesn't that mean we can have a celebration banquet!?"
A slender figure burst into the clinic like a whirlwind, her heroic voice filled with undisguised joy.
"Um, Miss Seele, the Supreme Guardian was only assassinated. She's not dead yet."
Seeing the girl's happy expression, Sampo gave a sheepish smile and reminded her in a low voice.
"Tsk!"
The girl with long, dark-blue hair reaching her waist was instantly disappointed. "She's not dead? Then why is everyone being so secretive, saying there's some great news... huh?"
Her words trailed off. When she saw the short, dark-blue-haired girl in the room, the older Seele's expression instantly froze, her eyes widening in disbelief.
White Seele also stared with wide, azure eyes. Even Black Seele in the Stigmata Space shot up from her princess chair.
How is there another Seele?
The two Seeles stared at each other, and the atmosphere instantly fell silent.
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