Belle snapped to attention, quickly catching on to Zane's meaning.
This new Inter-Knot account, "Phaethon," only had a single link to the Fire Picker: the commission.
After all, it wasn't like someone figured out her connection to Zane first and then posted on Inter-Knot.
That would've been totally unnecessary—completely redundant.
So this person must be connected to the one who posted the commission—maybe even the poster themselves.
Judging from their current attitude and their request to meet, it definitely seemed like a test.
Whether she accepted or refused, it would basically confirm that she had a close relationship with the Fire Picker.
A trap!
Thanks to Zane's warning, Belle pieced things together fast. Of course, Belle's mind didn't need much explanation.
"So, I should hold back or outright deny it—maybe that way we can squeeze more information out of them."
Her mind worked quickly, and she settled on a strategy.
"Right. Maybe we can break this down further by analyzing more details."
Zane nodded and chuckled softly.
"The time the commission was posted, and the shift in how they addressed me—what does that make you think of?"
Belle fell silent, deep in thought. The commission to investigate Zane's Ethereal form had come quite early—earlier than even the first Defense Force operation.
That early posting time meant they had intel before anyone else—definitely not a normal person. They had to have ties to official channels.
And the generous reward? That wasn't on a whim. Whoever it was had a strong interest from the very start.
Later, the way they addressed Zane changed—from "talking Ethereal" to "Fire Picker."
But that title wasn't widely known.
Which meant either they held a significant position within the authorities or were someone intentionally digging deeper.
Only someone tightly linked with official forces would say "Fire Picker" so casually, without second-guessing the codename.
They were convinced it was the correct designation for Zane in his Ethereal form.
That lined up perfectly with everything else.
Details she hadn't thought much about before now jumped out at her. As she connected the dots, the conclusions came pouring in.
Her eyes lit up.
Smack!
"Ah!"
"Mmm—!"
"I've got it!"
Belle slammed both palms onto the table, face lighting up with excitement. She was certain her deductions were spot-on.
Her sudden move startled Billy, who was mid-call with Seth. The phone nearly flew out of his hand.
Meanwhile, Nekomata choked on her drink, her eyes wide as she let out a muffled whimper. After a moment, she coughed and finally composed herself.
"You're a little too fired up, sis..."
Wise rubbed his forehead with a helpless sigh.
"Hehe, I just got a bit too emotional. Billy, Nekomata, sorry, sorry..."
Belle apologized repeatedly, looking a bit sheepish.
"It's fine, Manager. I get it—it's just a little secret between you and Zane, right? Don't worry, we won't pry."
Billy waved it off. To him, it was obvious Belle had asked for the seat swap between Wise and Zane, and the two had been whispering the whole time.
He didn't know what had gotten her so worked up, but as a considerate robot, Billy certainly wasn't going to question it.
Still, while he meant one thing, Belle heard something else entirely.
It was a secret Wise could know—but it was better if Hare's House stayed out of it.
"Mhm, that's right. Nekomata wouldn't mind either."
Nekomata took a sip of water and nodded at Belle.
She clearly took Billy's words at face value and started forming her own theories about the whispered conversation.
Judging from Belle's expression, it had to be serious—and things didn't look good.
If it wasn't something important...
Suddenly, a thought struck Nekomata, and she glanced over at Wise.
Right!
When she'd entered the shop earlier, she'd noticed a few details. Could it be that Wise disagreed with something between Belle and Zane?
That had to be it. Belle and Wise lived together, they were like siblings. If he disapproved, that would definitely be hard to work around...
Her mind veered completely off-track, and she looked back at Zane and Belle again.
In her eyes, Zane had a great personality and was strong too—seemed like a solid match for Belle...
Since she wasn't present for the negotiation, Nekomata had never seen Zane fight the Dead End Butcher. She didn't really know what he was capable of.
She only knew he was powerful—strong enough to stop armed personnel on the train.
In fact, she hadn't even seen his Ethereal form yet.
Glancing at Belle with a look of sympathy, Nekomata—now thoroughly misled by Billy—started filling in the blanks herself.
Wise disapproved, so it had to be Belle who insisted on switching seats. That must've put a strain on their sibling bond.
It also showed how deeply Belle cared about Zane.
How pitiful, meow.
She remembered a saying she'd read once: "Lovers rarely end up together."
Was that really happening to Belle and Zane now...? No, she couldn't let that happen. If she had the chance, she had to help.
She'd be a top-tier wingcat!
Nearby, Nicole was still fast asleep, leaning against Anby. Neither of them seemed to notice what was going on, and Wise just kept eating like nothing had happened.
Unaware of what Billy and Nekomata were thinking, Belle sat back down and shared her theory with Zane.
"So, the one who sent the message might be the mastermind you've been looking for!"
She wrapped up her explanation with that conclusion.
Zane listened with surprise.
As expected of Belle—sharp as ever.
Just a small clue, and she'd connected so many dots.
Though... her conclusion felt a bit too bold.
"To mobilize the Defense Force on that scale, the mastermind must hold a pretty high position. They probably wouldn't do something like this personally."
"Besides, the person might not be connected to the mastermind at all."
"After all, their attitude... wasn't exactly hostile."
Zane shared his thoughts. Belle listened and nodded in agreement, finally calming down.
"Then I'll leave this to you."
"No problem. It concerns me too, after all."
Belle shook her head and replied.
With the interruption behind them, Belle and Zane returned to a relaxed state, eating and making small talk now and then.
Though in Nekomata's eyes, it looked like they were just trying not to go too far in front of Wise...
The cheerful buffet time slowly came to an end...
"Nicole, wake up."
Belle placed her hands on Nicole's shoulders and gently shook her.
"Big Boss Nicole, time to get up!"
Billy chimed in as well.
Seeing Nicole still sound asleep, Zane smiled faintly. He had an idea.
"Watch this."
He reached out and waved a hand in front of Nicole. A chill spread from his fingers, gradually wrapping around her...