By the way, Eden's contract with her previous agency had already been terminated by Connie, and the penalty fee had been paid off.
Fortunately, the initial contract Eden signed wasn't particularly favorable, so the penalty only amounted to a few million dollars—something the "Pink and Gold Bandits" could earn back in just one night of side work.
Originally, because both of Eden's albums had sold quite well, that company was already preparing to renew her contract with better terms.
But then the incident at the concert happened, and the renewal talks just… vanished into thin air. In the end, it was the Flame-Chasers who benefited.
So now, both Eden—who had already become a member of the Flame-Chasers—and Vill-V, who joined later, were among the welcoming party.
However, compared to the Flame-Chasers' "all-hands-on-deck" grand reception, the group led by Mobius on the other side looked rather displeased, with clear exhaustion written across their faces.
The moment Mobius looked up, it wasn't Durandal at the front she noticed first, but that pink-haired girl she'd met once before.
"Elysia, where's the numbered badge you swindled from me?"
Just seeing Elysia brought back all the frustration from that earlier incident.
Sure, she'd managed to con the No. 1 badge out of Mobius—that in itself might have been forgivable.
If Elysia had performed remarkably during the Second Honkai Eruption, taken down the Second Herrscher, and officially joined Fire Moth, it might've even become a memorable story.
But there was no follow-up. Nothing.
It was only days later that Mobius overheard people in the base discussing what had happened at the Second Honkai Eruption site—only then did she learn that Elysia had just taken her badge and run off to join some group called the Flame-Chasers.
And now, here she was too…
It was hard not to wonder if there was some connection between these two events.
Especially since, back on the aerial warship, Mobius had asked Emile why he was being reassigned along with her—and his answer was that he'd received an invitation from the leader of the Flame-Chasers at the Second Eruption site.
That only confirmed her suspicions—
Whether Fire Moth found out Elysia had something of hers and grew suspicious of Mobius by association, or Elysia had recommended her to the Flame-Chasers' leader after joining… either way, all the recent delays in her research, plus all this exhausting busywork—it was definitely Elysia's fault!
"Right here~?"
Elysia had anticipated that Mobius would ask for it, so she'd brought the badge along.
"Blan—"
Mobius instinctively started to call for Blanca, but seeing the other woman holding an infant in her arms, she changed her mind. "Klein, go get that badge for me."
"Understood, Doctor."
Klein nodded, stepped forward, took the badge from Elysia's hand, and returned it to Mobius.
Only after retrieving what was hers did Mobius shift her gaze to Durandal and the others.
"So you're Durandal, leader of the Flame-Chasers—the one who easily took down the Second Herrscher, the being even Fire Moth's soldiers couldn't handle?"
At this point, Mobius hadn't yet undergone MANTIS surgery, so her eyes weren't those of a serpent—instead, they were a deep, translucent blue.
Durandal could see her own reflection in the other's pupils, and she could guess exactly what Mobius was thinking—she was probably going to replace Elysia as the prime candidate for being a lab rat in Mobius's eyes.
But Durandal didn't particularly mind.
Of course, she wouldn't willingly lie down on Mobius's operating table, but if the doctor wanted to study her, she wouldn't be stingy about providing blood samples or strands of hair.
After all, Durandal knew that if the secrets within her body could be unraveled ahead of time, it would undoubtedly help in the fight against the Honkai.
"Dr. Mobius, I've long heard of your reputation. Yes, I am Durandal. And these are also official members of the Flame-Chasers."
Durandal stepped aside, introducing Connie, Eden, and Vill-V to Mobius.
Mobius's expression turned slightly odd.
Introducing their members to her—were they just assuming she would join?
But she, Mobius, wasn't the type to join just any organization.
"We can save the pleasantries for later. I'm not here for socializing. Where is this human experimentation base you found? Just lead the way."
Mobius made it clear she wanted to get down to business.
"Dr. Mobius, are you sure you want to jump straight into work right now?"
Durandal was tempted to take out a mirror and let Mobius see the dark circles under her own eyes—and those of her assistants.
On the other hand, Ato and Emile were in decent shape, since they hadn't been qualified to help pack up Mobius's lab equipment and research materials through the night.
Their skills lay elsewhere—if they'd tried to help, they'd only have gotten in the way.
So, these past few days, the two of them had actually gotten plenty of sleep.
Mobius: "…"
"Then… shall we put work on hold for now?"
Mobius noticed that after she said this, aside from Klein—who showed little reaction—Blanca (with baby in tow), as well as the twins Fuxi and Nuwa, all visibly perked up.
Internally, Mobius could only console herself: At least there's still Klein. Their compatibility in the future should work out fine.
"In that case, I'll take you all to rest first."
Durandal had vehicles ready and had even hired two drivers.
Thus, two vans carried the group of thirteen away from the airport.
As for Fire Moth's aerial warship, it naturally returned to base after dropping them off.
The vans eventually stopped at the upscale residential area where Durandal lived.
To accommodate Mobius's group, Durandal had Connie secure two more villas next to their own.
Fortunately, for various reasons, property prices in Nagazora were relatively low, though rental prices were steep—so spending this money didn't feel too painful.
If needed, the 'Pink and Gold Bandits' could just work a few extra nights~
Come to think of it, in a way, Durandal had developed a kind of reliance on funding their operations by raiding illegal syndicate hideouts—Eden's penalty fee, buying residences for future Flame-Chaser members…
Still, as a stopgap measure, it wasn't such a bad approach.
The only ones suffering here were the illegal syndicates in Nagazora and the surrounding cities.
After they arrived, Durandal got out and handed a set of keys to Mobius.
"This villa will serve as your temporary base in Nagazora. Once the safety inspections at the human experimentation site are completed, we'll establish a proper headquarters combining living quarters with research facilities. We'll move there then—if nothing else, security will be far better than here."
"I'll complete my part of the work as quickly as possible."
That was what Mobius said as she took the keys.
"The Doctor means 'thank you,'" Blanca instinctively translated.
A certain tsundere doctor: Intense staring—
--+--