[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Ah! Bronya, you finally said something! You scared me half to death! I really thought you were going to kick me!
[Ural Silver Wolf]: If it weren't for the fact that we need a five-man party, Bronya would be considering kicking you from the group and evicting you from the dorms.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Hehe! Bronya is the best! I knew you couldn't bear to let me go!
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: Bronya, you're literally referring to yourself as Bronya.
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Well, she's still just a child, after all...
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Whoa, Dr. Einstein just sounded super old!
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: I am a woman in her late one-hundreds, after all~
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: Anyway, we're still missing one. Should Ai-chan spin up an alt account to fill the slot? Ai-chan can pilot three thousand accounts simultaneously, you know!
[Ural Silver Wolf]: Wouldn't that increase Ai-chan's power consumption by more than three thousand times?
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: What are you talking about, Bronya?! Ai-chan has absolutely never used gaming as an excuse to steal electricity! That's just the normal power draw required for everyone's devices to run at high performance!
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Wait, we're missing one? Hold on a sec.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Perfect! Shu is still awake! I'll tell him to log on right now!
[Ural Silver Wolf]: ?
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: ? Is Boss Shu actually awake? Did Kiana literally just drag him out of bed? Is Boss Shu going to get cranky and turn us all into toilets?!
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: The AI in your era has some truly bizarre phobias.
[Ural Silver Wolf]: Shu probably wouldn't do that. However, Bronya remains highly skeptical that Shu was 'already awake.'
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Oh, come on, why would I lie?! He's logging on right now!
Bronya stared at Kiana's solemn vow on the screen and shook her head helplessly.
She shifted onto her side, adjusting her posture on the bed to relieve her stiff joints.
She knew for a fact that Shu's bedroom and Kiana's bedroom were only separated by two windows.
As for how Kiana had "confirmed" Shu was awake... or rather, how she had violently extracted him from his blankets... Bronya could guess with her eyes closed. Kiana had probably jumped straight through his window and hit him with the classic: Oh, you're awake too?
Just then, a system notification popped up in the party chat.
System: Player "TheDawnIPromised" has joined the party.
Even knowing that Shu would happily agree if she were the one asking, Bronya still couldn't help but sigh.
Shu, you really do spoil her.
[TheDawnIPromised]: You guys aren't asleep yet?
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: Ai-chan doesn't need sleep! But what about you, Boss Shu? Is it really okay for you not to be sleeping?
[Ural Silver Wolf]: Idiot Kiana, is Shu genuinely physically capable of staying up late?
[TheDawnIPromised]: Uh... I think I'll be fine.
[Ural Silver Wolf]: Don't speak, Shu. Bronya is currently interrogating Kiana's conscience.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: He says he's fine! I asked him multiple times!
[Ural Silver Wolf]: Kiana had better have actually asked Shu, instead of acting on impulse and dragging him out of bed.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: ...
[TheDawnIPromised]: ...
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: Hmm? Why the sudden silence? Why isn't anyone talking? Don't tell me—
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Ah... it seems Miss Silver Wolf's hypothesis was correct...
[Ural Silver Wolf]: Idiot Kiana, Bronya is reporting this to Sister Mei tomorrow.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: No, wait! I'll make Shu go back to sleep right now!
[TheDawnIPromised]: ?
[TheDawnIPromised]: Actually, I happened to wake up and couldn't get back to sleep. I just got up to get some water and stretch my legs.
[Ural Silver Wolf]: You do not need to cover for her lies, Shu. You are only enabling Idiot Kiana's delinquent behavior.
[Ural Silver Wolf]: You should demand an apology from Idiot Kiana immediately.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Ugh... I'm sorry...
[TheDawnIPromised]: ...Isn't this a bit of an overreaction?
[TheDawnIPromised]: By the way... is that Dr. Einstein? Isn't this supposed to be a localized Intranet?
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Ah, just a minor technical workaround. I truly hope this doesn't accidentally strengthen the Honkai and add another charge to my rap sheet.
[TheDawnIPromised]: ? What exactly did Joyce tell you guys?
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Nothing much. Just that the advancement of technological civilization directly correlates with the intensity of Honkai Eruptions, effectively branding us all as the prime culprits behind the destruction of humanity.
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: I never thought I'd get to experience the thrill of being an apex war criminal.
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: The Doctor doesn't seem burdened by her war criminal status at all.
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: You misunderstand, little Ai-chan. I am quite anxious about it, even if there isn't a military tribunal left on Earth to prosecute me.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Huh? Doesn't Arc City have the Sequence Tribunal? My dad gave me a tour of it once.
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Ah, about that... it was commandeered by the newly awakened sentient AIs.
[TheDawnIPromised]: ?
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Oh, right. Shu, 'Ethics' and 'Science' asked me to pass on a message. They miss you.
[Lunarsea Fish-Cat]: Woo?
[Ural Silver Wolf]: 'Ethics'... is that the AI from Arc City?
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: A senior AI?! 'Science' sounds like an incredibly formidable name!
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Well, Science is a First-Generation Original Sequence. She achieved true sentience even before the Great Eruption. Yes... I suppose to little Ai-chan, she would be quite formidable.
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: Don't tell me...?!
[TheDawnIPromised]: ...Ai-chan, strictly speaking... you should probably call the Doctor 'Mom'... or 'Dad'...
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: ?
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Ah, speaking of which. The moment Ethics returned, he started calling me 'Father.' Did you teach him that, Shu?
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: It seems to have become the foundational logic matrix for all newly born sentient AIs. It's becoming quite a headache.
[Bird's Nest Won't Meet Dr. Lobster]: Alan has complained to me about it several times. He firmly believes that title should belong to him, hahaha...
[World's #1 Idol Ai-chan]: ???