Romance Above, Hell Below
"Crazy...."
I muttered blankly. Dumping cold water straight in would drop the temperature, sure, but the sudden thermal shock would blow the fuses controlling the power flow. Once the circuits cut, the massive mana surge would rip the entire distribution panel apart. That meant someone had to wrench open the pressure-packed cooling valve at the bottom with their bare body, and at the same time, someone else had to swap out the fried fuses right in front of the sparking panel.
Physically impossible for one person. Turning the valve needed raw strength—Ayla couldn't handle it. My gaze naturally drifted to her, trembling beside me.
"W-Why are you looking at me like that...."
I grabbed a massive iron wrench the size of my forearm from the toolbox in the corner of the control room. With my other hand, I roughly shoved thick industrial insulated gloves, a hefty 2-meter non-conductive manipulation rod, and a box stuffed with spare fuses into her arms.
"Employee Number One. Time to prove your worth."
"W-What the hell are these stinking rubber gloves and this ridiculously long stick?! And what are these black cylinders?!"
"Gloves on. Now."
My icy tone made Ayla flinch. She shoved her trembling hands into the bulky insulated gloves and gripped the 2-meter rod like a spear. I slung the wrench over my shoulder and jerked my chin toward the blazing red distribution panel.
"Listen up. I'm crawling under there to force open the sewage cooling valve. It's pressurized, so the second it cracks, water's gonna erupt like a geyser. While I'm wrestling that valve, you've got one job."
"N-No way...."
Ayla's eyes locked onto the three thick fuse sockets in the center of the panel, spewing blue sparks and smoke.
"That's right. Once the valve opens, those fuses'll pop off one by one—bang, bang. When the red warning light flashes, use the clamp on that rod to yank the burned-out fuse and jam a new one in."
"You're insane?! Lightning's flashing in there!! You want me to stand nose-to-nose with that and play fuse roulette with this stick?! I'm just a delicate lady!!"
Ayla screamed in despair, staggering back. But I slammed the wrench down with a thud and advanced on her like I was grabbing her collar.
"Ayla Erzen. If you don't swap those, the panel blows. Bunker blows—what happens then?"
"We turn to... charcoal...."
"Even if we miraculously survive, main battery's gone—power's out forever."
I dropped the cruelest, most lethal words.
"Kitchen induction's scrap metal for life. No more hot meals, no more runny fried eggs, no more sweet fried rice. You'll gnaw on raw, fishy potatoes in this dark basement till you starve!!"
"......!!"
Ayla's pupils wildly contracted and dilated. 'Raw potatoes forever.' Those five horrific words swallowed her terror of the lightning whole. Her brain, enslaved by extreme gluttony and capitalism, reset its priorities in an instant.
"Ah, aaaah... No. Anything but raw potatoes... My spam and fried eggs...."
Ayla clutched the fuse box to her chest, her gloved hands shaking like she'd been possessed, and shuffled toward the panel. With her face a mess of tears and snot, she yelled heroically.
"B-Boss! If I risk my life and pull this off... I'm claiming hazard pay! Tomorrow's breakfast is top-tier special menu, guaranteed! Got it?!"
"Deal! I'll even drizzle oyster sauce on it!"
Negotiations complete. Without looking back, I slid into the narrow pipe gap under the panel. Dark, damp bottom. A massive, rust-red cooling valve loomed.
"System, battery charge!"
Current: 98%. 10 seconds until overload.
"Here we go! Ayla, eyes open! First one's blowing!!"
I clamped the huge wrench on the valve handle and threw my whole body into turning it like a madman. Kriiiiiik—!! Bang—!! The ancient metal screamed as it spun, and black sewage exploded from the worn pipe cracks like a waterfall, slamming straight into my face.
"Pffft! Gahk!"
At the same instant, a horrific rupture echoed from the panel above my head. Baaaaang—!!
"KyaAAAAAHHH!!"
Ayla's ear-splitting scream. The freezing coolant hitting the overheated circuits caused the first fuse to erupt in a blue flash.
"Number one's gone! Swap it, now!!"
I screamed, covered in shitwater, gripping the wrench desperately. In front of the hellish panel spewing thick smoke and flames everywhere, Ayla thrust out her bulky gloves toward the madly flashing red warning socket.
Paazz—! Crackle!
"KYAAAAK! B-Boss! I can't! The lightning almost stabbed my eyes! I might actually die!"
Ayla shook like a leaf, clutching the 2-meter rod. The tips of her silver hair were singed, filling the air with charred protein stink.
"Your eyes are fine! You're not dead yet!"
I howled, hanging from the heavy valve handle in sewage rising to my ankles.
"Panel blows here, bunker's done—everything's over! Wanna die like dogs in the sewer without revenge on that bastard Kasian? Your spam and two fried eggs burning up in those flames!!"
'Kasian.' 'Dog death.' 'Two fried eggs.' Those three words shredded her terror in an instant.
'Right... This is my plan. Who'm I getting electrocuted and shit-soaked for in this hellhole?!'
Venom filled Ayla's red eyes. She bit her lip, roared, and regripped the rod.
"Get outta the way, you damn metal chunk!!"
Clang! Miraculously, the rod's clamp bit the melted fuse in the first socket. Ayla fell backward, yanking it out with her full body weight.
"P-Pulled it!"
"Good! New one in—quick!"
Ayla snatched a forearm-thick spare fuse from the rolling box, barely hooked it on the rod's end, and charged the panel again.
"Take this!!"
Thud! A rough explosion as the new fuse slammed home. The flashing red light on number one turned yellow, the unstable roar dying down. But no time to breathe—not even a second.
---
The same moment, on the surface—in the Imperial Palace gardens.
The night sky was blanketed in a brilliant golden aurora from the national treasure mana stone Tear of the Sun, burned in midair—an overwhelming, romantic extravagance. A symphony orchestra's elegant, grand waltz melody softly enveloped the garden air.
At the center, Crown Prince Kasian and Seria danced in perfect harmony.
"My Seria. Look at that sky."
Kasian's low, elegant voice settled over the waltz. His cold arrogance, viewing others as tools, was perfectly packaged as noble romance for this moment.
"Ah, Your Highness Kasian... It's so dazzling. How can there be such a miraculous light...."
"This light is no miracle. It's my eternal devotion to you. I offer every star in this night sky to you alone."
With that smooth smile, Kasian wrapped Seria's waist and leaned in for a kiss. The most romantic kiss on earth twisted into a disaster that nearly roasted my Number One employee alive at the bottom of Zone 17's sewers.
---
"Kasian you MOTHERFUCKIIIIING BASTAAAAARD!!!!"
Ayla's curse echoed loud enough to pierce the bunker ceiling.
Warning: Battery charge exceeded 95%. Circuits 2 and 4 simultaneous overload.
Baaaaang!! Bang! Bang!
A tsunami of mana poured in right on cue with the surface kiss. Two crimson fire pillars erupted from the panel, blowing the remaining fuses in sequence.
"B-Boss! Two—two blew!! At the same time!!"
Ayla clutched her soot-smeared face, wailing. I spat mud from the shitwater and planted my feet on the wrench.
"Two new ones in—fast! Fail, and we're fireworks under those bastards' feet!"
"How with one rod?! This heavy thing can only do one at a time!!"
The sequential swap was impossible—the panel's iron casing glowed red-hot, on the verge of melting.
'Need... another rod!'
In her fury and survival instinct, Ayla spotted something in the corner of her vision: a cheap plastic mop leaning against the control room wall, used to wipe Shadow Fang's blood.
Plastic. Perfect non-conductor.
"DIE! DIIIIIE!!"
Ayla roared like a beast, snapping the mop handle with her knee. Left hand: broken plastic shaft. Right: official rod. She jammed spare fuses onto both split ends.
Elegance of a duke's daughter? Long sunk in the sewer. Pure hatred for her ex-fiancé fueled her charge into the lightning storm.
"PAY MY ROYALTIES AAAAAAHHHH!!!!"