We headed east, a bit away from the facility.

  [This way.]

  [Kairos, why are we going here?]

  [You’ll see when we get there. Just brace yourself for the smell.]

  Brace for the smell?

  What is he talking about? Just when I finished thinking so, the answer appeared before me.

  [The sewer. The facility drainage leads to this place.]

  [Are we really going through there?]

  [Yes. Is something wrong?]

  Kairos’ face told me that he saw nothing wrong with this.

  On the other hand, Myne unusually scrunched her face.

  [According to the information I got, the sewer is the least secure part of the facility. To make it easier for us, my collaborator will turn off the security of the sewer.]

  [Is that person trustworthy?]

  [I knew you’d say that. Then let’s make it like this; trust in me who trusts that person.]

  He really talked fancy alright.

  But there’s something else. Something that strangely made me want to believe his words……of sorts.

  I guess there’s a reason for how he could lead his people to revolt against Gallia.

  I put one foot into the dirty water. Uuuuuuu!?

  A chill ran through my spine.

  [Proceed onward. We mustn’t waste any time.]

  Kairos tried to proceed with the infiltration. But there’s someone who wouldn’t budge from where she stood!

  [Myne, we’ll leave you if you don’t make haste]

  [……this is impossible for me. My maiden’s heart can’t take this]

  I never thought that I’d get to hear the word ‘maiden’ coming out from her mouth. As a result, I unintentionally snorted a small laugh.

  Gotsun!

  And got poked with the flat part of the black axe

  [Ooowww! What was that for?]

  [Karmic retribution.]

  She’s still the same as how I remember her in this part.

  How violent! This young warrior here was just an innocent bystander.

  [No helping it. Come, get on my back. That way you won’t get drenched by the water.]

  [That’s……embarrassing]

  Oi oi, don’t joke around now!

  That shameless Myne actually got embarrassed by piggyback? Are you kidding me!?

  She was the kind of woman who would show up in front of me still wearing only her underwear without feeling shy. Back then she proudly showed her body off to me in fact.

  Her current blushing face really puzzled me.

  Could it be that, this Myne is a fake!? Yes, she must be a fake!

  It’s just somewhat weird. She’s still as expressionless as I remember, but at the same time she’s more emotional.

  Who are you!?

  Seeing her still hesitating shyly, I finally said.

  [Then just stay there. I’ll tell Kairos-san about it.]

  [Wait, I get it. I’ll do my best]

  She clenched her hand and exclaimed.

  Then slowly climbed up to my shoulder.

  [Heavy!? Too heavy, we’ll sink! No more……we’ll sink……]

  [Excuse you! Saying that to a girl when she has resolved herself.]

  [Don’t be mad. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not you. It’s Sloth who is too heavy. Have you undone the accumulated weight from your previous fight?]

  [……I forgot]

  Myne hid her face, embarrassed of her own blunder.

  When we finally caught up with Kairos, he bopped our heads one by one.

  [You guys……do you even remember that we are on an infiltration mission here?]

  [ [ Yessir! ] ]

  [Your replies are good, but this isn’t the right time and place.]

  Afterward, we were told that if we make any more noise, he’ll submerge both of us in the sewer water.

  Sorry about that.

  Putting that into heart, we followed Kairos silently.

  [You can do it if you try after all. Well, it’ll be troublesome for me if you can’t.]

  Halfway through I finally saw another color mixing in. Kairos pointed toward the ceiling from where light leaked out

  [That’s it. We’re going up through that built-in ladder. I’ll go first.]

  [Okay, Myne you’re up next.]

  [Alright.]

  I couldn’t climb if Myne was still piggybacking me.

  Myne jumped away from my back. Climbing up without being bothered by her black axe.

  Then I started climbing the ladder last, but suddenly Myne screamed when I looked up.

  [Kyaaahh…… You’re not allowed to look up.]

  [But it’s hard to climb that way.]

  [Just climb while looking down. Or else I’ll drop this axe on you.]

  Apparently she got scared that I’d get to see her panties.

  Again with this farce. Where have the majestic and uncaring Myne gone to?

  As far as I remember, she didn’t even flinch when I accidentally saw her panties once or twice.

  [You’re still looking. I’ll drop it now!]

  [Uaaa, stop! Pardon me.]

  [I told you guys already, keep quiet!]

  But Kairos’ voice came thundering upon us instead.

  Upon finally climbing up the ladder, I was greeted by the sight of a woman in white lab coat. She had purplish white hair and tanned skin. Intelligent glint shone through her eyeglasses.

  [Hello there. For everyone other than Kairos, pleased to meet you. My name is Mikuria. I’m sure you’ve all heard from Kairos, but I’m working with him. Come follow me. Kairos too. If you stay there any longer, the smell will spread.]

  [Yeah yeah.]

  [You needn’t repeat your answer like that!]

  [This woman is really strict in weird places.]

  Kairos was urged to another room by his neck.

  We followed immediately.

  [Please wait.]

  [That woman……she could treat Kairos like he’s beanbag. Not bad.]

  Myne was more interested in seeing Kairos on the losing side for once.

  From my point of view, he looked just like a kid that was about to get punished.

  The room we got into next looked like a private room.

  As if expecting my curiosity, Mikuria was quick to explain.

  [This is my lab. And there is the bathroom, so it’ll be better if you all take a bath first before continuing. Your clothes will be washed in the meantime. No worries, it’ll dry in no time at all.]

  Kairos and Mikuria disappeared into the bathroom.

  We were left alone in the laboratorium.

  [Fate also smells bad. Better wash up yourself properly too.]

  [I’m carrying a certain someone on my shoulder, that’s why I’m extra dirty.]

  I said so while pointing at my dirtied clothes. Then she responded to me with a slightly dismayed tone.

  [That…… Thank you.]

  Oooooooooh. For real!?

  That Myne actually thanked me?

  No matter how I spin it, it’s really obvious……

  This Myne, she’s a good girl!

  The Myne I knew loved money too much and often snatched my share of meals. But Myne in here was completely different.

  She actually made me feel the urge to pet her head.

  [Yoshi yoshi.]

  Actually, my hand already did just that.

  [What are you doing!]

  Uwaaaaaa, that was close!

  I felt like she’s going to bite me, so I immediately pulled my hand back. If I were a bit late, perhaps she’d really sink her teeth on my hand.

  Almost like a cat.

  Sweet and gentle at times, but once her instincts flared up she’ll unhesitantly bite you.

  This was truly nothing like the Myne I know of.

  [What’s so funny? Why are you smiling like that while staring at me!]

  My heart is pounding. No, I need to calm down.

  She’s just too cute like this.

  The vibe is too strong it left a lasting echo in my heart.

  Then I heard a sound of coughing. It was coming from a smiling Mikuria.

  [You two really get along well, don’t you?]

  [We, we don’t!]

  Myne escaped to the adjacent room.

  Was it okay for her to barge into another person’s room so freely? But when I looked at Mikuria’s face, I could tell that she didn’t really mind.

  [It’s alright. Not like I put something I should be worried about in there. It’s alright if it’s trashed!]

  [That’s good to hear.]

  [Let me introduce myself once more. My name is Mikuria. I’m the deputy director of this research facility. My relationship with Kairos? ……well, let’s just say that a lot has happened…… between me and that rotten to the core guy.]

  [My name is Fate. And that little girl earlier is Myne.]

  [He was supposed to come alone, so I’m a bit surprised to see he brought you two along. But nice to meet you.]

  She stretched her hand out.

  So I shook her hand in response.

  [Eh!?]

  At that moment, a bright red image flowed into my head.

  Mind reading skill shouldn’t be activated. This isn’t the real world after all.

  But I couldn’t even block it out since it’s forcefully poured into my mind.

  The scene showed a burning facility, and the sight of Kairos about to kill Mikuria.

  He strangled her in the neck, and she slowly lost her consciousness.

  Kairos was crying. His eyes glowed bright red.

  Mikuria, with the last of her strength, tried to say something. But because Kairos was strangling her, all she ended up doing was moving her lips soundlessly.

  [Fate, is there anything wrong?]

  [Nnn!?]

  When I heard Mikuria calling my name, my mind was pulled away from the scene, and I’m back inside the laboratory.

  What the hell…… What was that?

  Apparently from her point of view, I suddenly looked down and went silent for a while.

  [Was it hard to get here? Kairos can be a bit harsh to his people after all. You can take a break if you want after taking a shower. I still need to do something else, so would you please wash up yourself in the meantime?]

  Mikuria sat on the nearby desk and started operating the panel.

  She was looking over some sort of research materials, performing some corrections.

  When I stealthily took a peek at the panel, my eyes caught the words [Collective Lifeform]. Eh!? Collective Lifeform, as in, people like Shinn who we are currently fighting in the real world?

  [Hey you, taking a peek at my research material is a no go. How rude of you]

  [Pardon me.]

  I couldn’t see much, but I managed to make out a few things about its method of diversion.

  Is Mikuria trying to create something using the collective lifeform?

  Judging from how she reacted earlier, there’s no way that she’d be willing to share the content of her research with me.

  Sure enough, when I tried to take a peek at the panel again, she reprimanded me.

  [Kairos seems to have exited the bathroom, go ahead quickly.]

  [Can I ask you one question?]

  [U~n, alright. But make it short.]

  [Are you the one who created that collective lifeform?]

  [Yes, I am. Okay now, hush hush.]

  With her actually standing back up and pushing me from behind, I had no choice but to enter the bathroom.

  I was met with a refreshed looking Kairos on my way.

  [Now that I got a good look, nothing much really changed. Still as refreshing.]

  [What do you mean?]

  [Just get yourself some shower first.]

  Kairos pushed me from behind, forcing me into the bathroom.

  I do agree with him that I really should clean up my body first.

  When I first heard that we were about to infiltrate the research facility, I was a bit worked up over what would happen. But everything went smoothly, too easy even, that it’s disturbing.

  Actually, it’s much harder fighting the monster horde that was on our way.

  I took off the rest of my clothing, took a shower, then decided to take a short rest as told.