"Over here, over here!"
One week after the human experimentation incident, at the Nagazora City Stadium, Kevyn squeezed her way back through the crowd to the group, clutching a handful of glow sticks she'd just picked up.
Mei, Su, Durandal, and Elysia were standing in a slightly less packed area, waiting for the staff to open the gates for ticket checks.
"Look at you, there's still plenty of time before the show starts, why are you so flustered and sweaty? Here, wipe your face and have some water~"
The moment Kevyn returned, her best friend Su presented the classic two-part remedy: a handkerchief and a water bottle.
As for Mei, she currently had her earphones in, listening to Eden's songs while simultaneously reading the latest academic journal from Mu Continent, not wasting a single moment of study time.
And Durandal and Elysia...
"Durandal, you actually dragged me along to a concert? After that whole incident, the Flame-Chasers are finally getting on their feet."
"With us sneaking off like this, Connie is definitely going to be swamped!"
Elysia whispered into Durandal's ear.
That's right. After the events of a week ago, the Flame-Chasers now had a base of operations—the former experimental facility itself.
They just had to wait for Mobius to arrive and conduct a safety inspection for any hidden hazards before they could move in.
To some extent, the demand Durandal had mentioned during her phone call with Eren, the chairman of the Fire Moth council, was actually legitimate.
Although, her goals extended a bit further than just having Mobius run a safety check.
Additionally, the Flame-Chasers' legitimacy was formally recognized in an official United Nations document.
In theory, the Flame-Chasers were on the same level as Fire Moth.
In practice, however... the Flame-Chasers were an independent organization, not receiving UN funding or leadership like Fire Moth did.
But still, it gave them the standing to interact with local governments, making it easier for the Flame-Chasers to carry out various operations in the future.
In short, during the early days of an organization, even with few members, there was no shortage of related tasks, most concerning how to ensure the organization could run smoothly later on.
Lately, Durandal and Elysia had to attend school on weekdays, so they couldn't help then. But on weekends and weekday evenings, they'd been trying to share some of Connie's workload.
Today, however, they had essentially ditched Connie to come to this concert.
Who knows how furious she'd be if she found out their 'important business' was just 'chasing after a star.'
Well, probably not that furious.
Connie wouldn't dare complain in front of Durandal anyway.
Mei and Kevyn were classmates, so that needed no explanation.
But this friend of Kevyn's, Su, who had deliberately come all the way from Sapphire City, seemed almost like Kevyn's mirror image in terms of personality.
Kevyn was impulsive; Su was careful.
Kevyn loved activity; Su preferred quiet.
Kevyn was an academic dunce; Su was a top student...
Now that she thought about it, Su and Mei were quite similar, though the former was gentler and kinder, giving off a vibe like the big sister next door.
"So? What did I tell you? I knew you'd all get along with Su!"
Kevyn wiped her sweat with the handkerchief Su had given her, took a big gulp of ice water, and said rather proudly.
"Mhm, Su is much easier to get along with than you are."
Durandal unintentionally delivered a cutting remark.
After all, she still remembered being completely stumped by Kevyn's bizarre question on her second day as a transfer student.
"By the way, Su, have you considered transferring to a school here in Nagazora City?"
Durandal asked, feigning nonchalance.
Su seemed tempted by the idea, but ultimately shook her head slowly.
Kevyn, standing nearby, butted in, "Su wants to test into a medical school back in Sapphire City, a direct combined bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. program."
"She's even already chosen her supervisor, and the professor is quite pleased with her too. They're just waiting for her college entrance exam results before officially taking her on as a student."
Su nodded. "Because of my supervisor, it's more convenient for me to stay in Sapphire City."
"I see."
Durandal nodded, seemingly dropping the subject, but inwardly she was thinking, 'No big deal, I'll just find a way to bring Su's supervisor here instead.'
Judging from the Legacy manga arc, the professor seemed to have significant research related to Honkai disease.
It just so happened the Flame-Chasers were short on talent in that very area.
Actually, Durandal's memories contained many of the research achievements from the later era of the Schicksal organization.
For example, the anti-Honkai vaccine mentioned in the game's A Post-Honkai Odyssey story arc.
She definitely didn't know the exact formula—she wasn't a researcher—but she had a general idea of the direction.
The anti-Honkai vaccine primarily served a preventative role.
Of course, if a major Honkai eruption occurred, even a pre-administered vaccine would offer minimal protection. But for typical levels of Honkai outbreaks, it was quite effective.
Durandal wasn't expecting any drug that could allow ordinary humans to withstand a major Honkai eruption; that was unrealistic.
If such a thing existed, Honkai would pose no threat to humanity at all.
As long as it could ensure humans wouldn't contract Honkai disease in environments with a certain concentration of Honkai energy, the anti-Honkai vaccine would be doing its job.
And what the Flame-Chasers needed to do was prevent major Honkai eruptions from occurring in densely populated cities as much as possible.
Additionally, she had a rough idea about the artificial Stigmata technology as well.
This way, the Valkyrie profession could probably be recreated within the Flame-Chasers organization in this previous era.
Besides, the most crucial element was probably herself.
To be precise, the Kaslana Stigma within her body.
Durandal wasn't entirely sure what kind of results would come from having Mei, Mobius, and Su's supervisor jointly research the Kaslana Stigma.
Would they just clear the Honkai scenario outright?
Well, you can dream.
The group waited outside the stadium for another ten-plus minutes before the crowd finally began to stir.
"Y'know, you hardly see any Eden fans at school, but look at this line for the concert. Who knew there were so many?" Kevyn pulled out the tickets and handed them to everyone.
These were bought with money she'd saved up from all sorts of part-time jobs during her breaks, and now it was all gone.
But being able to come see her favorite singer's concert with friends? Totally worth it.
Su gave a slight nod. "It seems the majority are university students and white-collar workers."
"They're the main consumer demographic in society," Durandal added, while inwardly noting that this explained why Vill-V's assessment of Eden was 'The Investor.'
Even Mobius often had to drink with Eden [for funding] and would then periodically perform a 'Snake Molt.'
When your primary fanbase consisted of the group with the strongest spending desire and ability, of course you'd be the money source.
Hmm... perhaps 'Investor Mom' would be more appropriate.
Never mind. Let's go with 'Investor Sis.'
Calling her 'Mom'... would probably ensure the Flame-Chasers never got a single cent from Eden in the future.
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