"Wanna go meet her?"
After reviewing the footage from the robot, Vill-V fell deep into thought.
Truth be told, she'd only just managed to sneak that robot in last night using a small drone.
Yet it was discovered almost immediately after starting its work.
Vill-V couldn't shake the feeling that someone had her number.
Well, it must just be her imagination, surely!
She agonized until evening, only making her decision after Eden had already left for the day—she'd go meet them!
After all, while their origins were unclear, she'd observed that both Durandal and Elysia were still students at Chiba Academy.
What did that mean?
It didn't necessarily mean they were actually students, but it did confirm they were both younger than her!
Vill-V would never admit she might be outmatched by two girls younger than herself.
And so, that very night, after returning to her residence and following her usual routine of taking a bath, Durandal was sitting by the windowsill enjoying the breeze when she noticed a sudden bright flash in her vision.
This was followed by the sound of something heavy crashing down, landing right in her garden.
A few minutes later, Durandal wore a peculiar expression as she helped a young woman into the living room.
The woman, dressed like an ordinary college student, was clutching her backside.
Only her hairstyle and that distinct half-dark-gray hair color matched the Fire Moth engineering consultant Durandal was familiar with.
Hearing the commotion, Elysia and Connie emerged from their rooms, looking curiously at this uninvited 'guest.'
"So you finally showed up, though your method of arrival was... quite memorable."
Durandal wasn't sure how to evaluate it. Since it was their first meeting, she didn't want to be too sharp-tongued.
Elysia thought, 'Huh? But it was also our first meeting, and you just used me as a wallet right away?'
Vill-V covered her face, seemingly too embarrassed to show herself.
A sudden thought crossed Durandal's mind—Later, when Vill-V became a MANTIS and gained the ability to split her consciousness infinitely, her Ego ultimately fell into a deep slumber.
Could it be because her Ego had simply been through too many embarrassments?
After all, even without Durandal's interference, Vill-V's original infiltration and operations against Fire Moth had all been thwarted, one by one, by Elysia.
Anyway, the first impression Vill-V's original Ego left on Durandal was that of a total clown.
"Oh? Another beautiful girl~?"
Elysia was wearing a set of pink pajamas with a V-neck design that revealed a generous expanse of pale skin at her chest.
She leaned forward deliberately at that moment. Durandal felt that if she even glanced in a certain direction...
Of course, Durandal considered herself a proper person. She absolutely wouldn't look!
She said she wouldn't look, and she didn't.
Seeing this, Elysia felt a bit disappointed and straightened up, settling properly onto the sofa. "I presume you're the owner of that robot from this afternoon? Let me think... Durandal called you Vill-V, right?"
Vill-V seemed to have shaken off some of her earlier embarrassment.
She brushed off the various grass clippings and dirt from her pants—souvenirs from her failed wall-scaling attempt—feeling grateful that Durandal and the others didn't keep pets.
Otherwise, in an overlooked corner like that, who knows what else she might have landed in.
"Yes, I'm Vill-V."
Her gaze now held confusion, but more than that, wariness.
"Where did you get my information?"
Elysia shrugged and pointed at Durandal. "You'll have to ask our leader, the great Durandal, about that. She's the 'Prophet,' you see."
Durandal: "..."
Vill-V took a closer look at Durandal. She didn't take Elysia's words seriously, instead asking with a serious expression, "How did you learn my identity? And what is the relationship between your Flame-Chasers organization and Fire Moth?"
Perhaps because Durandal and the others seemed approachable, Vill-V directly voiced all the questions on her mind, unlike when she was investigating Fire Moth, where she'd forced herself into playing the role of a spy.
In reality, Durandal's group was indeed easy to talk to.
In response to Vill-V's questions, Durandal replied, "Vill-V, you don't actually think Fire Moth is completely unaware of your investigations into them, do you? You used the exact same methods on me."
"It would have been hard not to figure out it was you behind that robot today. Yes, I learned you were its master from contacts within Fire Moth."
She paused briefly before continuing, "However, aside from both being legally recognized organizations by the United Nations, and aside from the fact that in three days we will be receiving a scientist from Fire Moth along with her team and entourage, the Flame-Chasers and Fire Moth have no connection."
"Additionally, you haven't mentioned the most important point. What really happened with the disaster that took your teacher's life."
With that, Durandal glanced at Connie.
Connie immediately stood up, switching out of spectator mode, and went to prepare materials related to the Honkai.
She'd already done this once at the temporary office this afternoon. First time awkward, second time familiar—she just wondered how many more times she'd have to do it in the future...
Soon, Connie returned with the documents.
"Here. Everything you want to know is in these."
Durandal slid the file across to Vill-V.
Vill-V looked at the not-particularly-thick stack of documents, feeling a sense of unreality.
She had gone to great lengths before but failed to uncover anything substantial from Fire Moth.
Later, she discovered the Flame-Chasers organization online, which was connected to the earlier Siberian disaster, and traveled all the way to Nagazora City on the Far East's Honshu island.
Her very first surveillance operation had ended in failure. Yet now, meeting them in person that evening, the situation had taken a sudden turn, and everything was laid out right in front of her.
However, Vill-V didn't hesitate for long. She immediately picked up the documents and began reading.
Actually, after sensing Durandal and the others' attitude, Vill-V had a faint premonition. Perhaps her initial assumption—that Fire Moth had caused the disaster—was not the truth.
After reading the materials, she thought to herself, 'Just as I suspected.'
But compared to a conspiracy theory, this mechanism known as the Honkai was actually far more troublesome.
If it had all been Fire Moth's doing, then all she needed to do was gather enough evidence, expose them to the world, and eliminate this sinful organization on a physical level.
That would naturally avenge her teacher and restore peace to the world.
But now, faced with a universal screening mechanism like this... where was she supposed to go from here?
--+--