I want to your heart

"Again with Sampo... Always causing trouble for us," Seele complained as she walked down the street. "Even though Natasha asked me to be your guide, the Underground Fire has been having endless issues lately, and I'm quite busy myself..."

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to find Sampo. Annoying as he is, there's no one better suited to be your guide in the lower district. If you pay him enough, Sampo can show you every interesting nook and cranny down here." As she spoke, Seele led Ron and Bronya to an old-fashioned hotel. Despite its worn appearance, the windows emitted a warm orange glow, and a cheerful-looking woman was greeting guests at the door, giving off a homey vibe.

"Sis Gerti! These two are guests of the Underground Fire. Could you arrange two spacious rooms for them to rest in?" Seele asked.

"No problem, two of the most spacious rooms... Here, take the keys," Gerti replied, tossing two sets of keys to Seele with a smile.

Seele handed the keys to Ron and Bronya. "This is the Goethe Grand Hotel. It's said to be the main branch of your upper district's Goethe Hotel, but it certainly doesn't compare to yours up there."

"It's time to rest now. I have other matters to attend to, so make yourselves comfortable." Bronya hesitated, "But it's not time to rest yet. I think we can..."

Seele cut her off without hesitation, "It's too late today. You should get some rest, and we'll discuss everything tomorrow. Goodbye." With these words, Seele was enveloped in purple imaginary energy and vanished, much like the butterflies that occasionally materialized around her.

Bronya sighed in frustration as Seele left abruptly, while Ron couldn't help but smile, approving of Seele's actions. Yes, that's exactly right! When your boss wants you to work overtime, you should refuse without hesitation!

After taking the back routes from the upper district to the lower district and running around Panyan Town, Ron was already feeling exhausted. Although such fatigue was almost non-existent for a pathfinder like him, Ron, who always took paid naps at work, found this workload incredibly heavy!

As a gatekeeper at Clipperburg, he never had to endure such hardships. He could slack off and sleep whenever he wanted. Bronya had even considered working overtime just now... Luckily, Seele stopped her, or Ron felt she would have kept them working until dawn, saying something like, "We've wasted too much time; we won't get everything done otherwise."

As an expert slacker, Ron detested such overworking behavior, especially when the boss personally led the charge. Thankfully, Seele had put a stop to Bronya's unreasonable demands, which was truly worth celebrating...

Ron cheerfully thought to himself as he and the reluctantly non-working Bronya walked into the Goethe Grand Hotel. Unbeknownst to them, Seele stood on a nearby rooftop, watching their backs thoughtfully.

-------------------------------------

Born and raised in the lower district, Seele had spent her childhood as a wanderer. During those few years, she had seen too much sorrow for a child. Although Oleg later found her and sent her to Natasha's orphanage in Rivet Town, the sadness she witnessed was deeply ingrained in her bones.

Even though her time at the orphanage was happy and free, Seele couldn't wash away a certain inexplicable bitterness in her heart. Once, Seele had high hopes for the upper district. To fulfill her wish of seeing the grand city, Oleg, then a Silvermane Guard Captain, smuggled her aboveground in his supply bag.

She only stayed in the upper district for two days, but those two days were filled with her laughter and joy... Until she realized what she had seen. She saw the high, vast blue sky; children like her wearing beautiful clothes, playing without worries; and well-dressed gentlemen chatting in cafes, throwing half-eaten sandwiches into the trash...

That day was the most unhappy of her life, as she understood the source of her inexplicable bitterness—hatred. The refined life of the upper district, the beautiful clothes, and the discarded food were all stained with the blood of the lower district people. Seele had seen too much bloodshed.

When she returned to the lower district, she lay on the ground, staring at the dull and ugly rock ceiling above, a spark igniting in her heart—she had to change everything. Change it so there would be no distinction between the upper and lower districts, so the miners wouldn't have to fight for food from trash cans, and so the people she cared about wouldn't live such miserable lives...

Soon after, the upper and lower districts were completely sealed off, and Seele's hatred grew as the situation worsened in the lower district, pushing her down a narrow path. One day, she dreamed of a meteor streaking across the sky, even though she had never seen one before and didn't know what it was.

The desire for revenge became Seele's driving force, with the flickering light of the Stellaron's path guiding her. She embarked on the path of the Hunt, aiming to overthrow the upper district's rule and lead the miners back to the blue sky.

But the lower district was too fragile for her to make mistakes. One wrong move could destabilize the already precarious situation. She had many plans but had to hold back due to the dire conditions. However, recently, a light screen appeared before her, displaying the message:

[Life Simulation Game Logged In.]

[Welcome, player Seele.]

At first, she was wary, suspecting she was hallucinating from the Fragmentum's influence. But after Natasha assured her she was perfectly healthy, Seele decided to take the simulation game seriously.

Despite never using such advanced technology, her determination to figure it out led her to quickly master it. Discovering the game could simulate the future, Seele immediately immersed herself in it, seeking ways to save the lower district—

And realized her incredible misfortune.

In the first simulation, after consolidating the lower district's forces and preparing to attack the upper district, she found it had been destroyed by Cocolia, leaving only ruins. Despite the Underground Fire's efforts, they couldn't achieve the desired outcome.

In the second simulation, she streamlined her operations and integrated the lower district's power more quickly. Just before launching her attack, she encountered Ron—a super gold card flashing with golden starlight. Even the best card in the Underground Fire, Natasha, was just a purple card; Ron's gold card was on another level.

Given her deep understanding of the strength represented by card colors, Seele was excited to recruit Ron, thinking he could help her defeat the Stellaron that had destroyed the planet in the first simulation. But she discovered Ron's allegiance was locked—

[This character has long been Bronya Rand's guard, with deep feelings, and cannot be persuaded to defect.]

Locked to an NPC faction? What a waste of such a strong card...

Fine, if he's locked, I'll just work with him. With such a powerful ally, victory should be within reach, right? With this mindset, Seele followed Ron to the upper district.

But she gained nothing, witnessing only the most spectacular fireworks of this world and accepting Ron's request to clean up Bronya's mess for a lifetime. Due to Bronya's recklessness, Belobog faced numerous near-uprisings, potential military coups, and palace intrigues, not to mention the countless rumors about Bronya.

Yet, Seele resolved them all.

She visited each troublemaker, placing a scythe to their throats, silencing any dissent. With each secret resolution, Seele's mindset gradually shifted—Bronya, you're such a burden. How did Ron end up in your camp? If he were with me, things wouldn't be this troublesome...

Though she harbored this small resentment, Seele never made a mistake. Bronya's rule became unshakeable under her covert handling, but as time passed, Seele began to question:

Why did Ron die?

How much did Bronya's incompetence drag Ron down?

Is Bronya's ineptitude due to being controlled by an NPC?

Today, many of these questions were answered. Despite Bronya's habitual responses, Seele noticed her similarity to the simulated Bronya. Clearly, she also had memories from the simulation, just like Seele.

In past simulations, Seele had controlled her actions, dragging Ron into dangerous rescues and ultimately costing him his life. Perhaps if Bronya were just an NPC, it would have been better than her current incompetence...

Bronya mustn't drag Ron down any longer.

With this realization, Seele chose not to reveal her identity, not wanting to raise Bronya's suspicions. Her next steps were to subtly undermine Bronya, aiming to persuade Ron to defect while their bond was still new. A genius like Ron deserved to be utilized fully, and under her leadership, his potential could truly shine.

Meanwhile, inside the Goethe Grand Hotel, Bronya slept soundly, a happy smile on her lips, seemingly dreaming of Ron.