So, what was this, did she mess up?
Himeko hadn't expected the two of them to be so... decisive?
No, that's not right. From the moment they met at the door to their separate departures as if nothing had happened, the entire process was smooth and flowing, as if an extraordinary tacit understanding had led them to make the decision simultaneously. But... but why this specific kind of tacit understanding?
She walked away, crestfallen.
Lin tidied up the items on the table and also prepared to leave.
Too much time had been wasted today, and the people who came were all acquaintances. It had completely failed to achieve the effect he wanted.
The marriage seeking...
"Hmm... the marriage requirements are so simple, but the quality of the man is so high. Won't this create an inequality in the marriage-seeking process?"
His fingertip stopped at the corner of the marriage requirements on the table. When he reached out to pick it up, the opposite corner was held down by a finger as white as snow.
"...Most of the man's conditions written on there are false."
"No, they are real. I can see that."
Deep blue pupils reflected the image of the man wearing a helmet.
...
"Transportation mission complete. Preparing to transfer to the Herrscher Core storage facility."
The armed automaton and security personnel transported the Core of the Herrscher of Reason to the Headquarters. A mission of this level allowed no room for carelessness. Upon landing, a two-way check immediately began, inspecting the stability of the Herrscher Core and whether there was any Honkai Energy leakage during the entire transport process.
"Honkai Energy reaction is stable. No leakage occurred during the process. Sealing integrity is intact. Transfer can proceed." The monitor reported after completing the inspection and review of the entire process.
"Please wait. The transfer of Soul Steel is currently underway. Dr. Einstein commanded that the Soul Steel and the Core of the Herrscher of Reason must not be too close." However, the armed automaton blocked their transfer attempt. Her vacant eyes stared at the monitor, causing the latter to shiver.
"I understand... Please wait for the Soul Steel transfer to be completed."
After completing her work here, the armed automaton left the transport plane. The remaining ordinary members of the Fire Moth exchanged glances and sighed simultaneously.
"Do you guys feel like... those little automatons are really spooky?" one of them said, recalling their interaction with the armed automaton with lingering fear. The expressionless, wooden look of the small humanoids and their highly efficient work gave him a great shock.
"A little, yes. If they weren't kind of cute, they'd feel like a bunch of moving corpses."
"Stop complaining. We're short-handed right now. Anyway, they're just semi-AI machines that don't even count as complete artificial intelligence. Just treat them as tools. Besides, if you're scared of these little things, think about the helmeted man who has a synthetic robot that looks exactly like a human. That uncanny valley feeling is much scarier."
"...Isn't he already strange himself? He used to be a guy who ignored everyone, but lately, it's been confessions, excessive desire, and seeking marriage. It feels like he got his head knocked loose in the Sixth Honkai Eruption."
"Speaking of which, I heard he might have... hmm? What was that sound?"
The person enthusiastically gossiping suddenly heard a discordant noise. Following the sound, she saw a slight, almost negligible upward shift in the Honkai Energy pattern on the detector, which had previously shown no fluctuations.
"Honkai Energy reaction is rising!"
This statement exploded like thunder. The few people immediately jumped off the transport plane and rushed to the location where the Honkai Energy was rising—the transport box containing the Soul Steel.
"Stop! The Honkai Energy reaction from the Soul Steel is rising! Check immediately!"
Could it be that the Soul Steel and the Core of the Herrscher of Reason accidentally got too close during transport?
Thinking of this, they split into two teams, with two people going to check the Herrscher of Reason Core. They absolutely could not allow the Herrscher's consciousness any opportunity to take advantage.
"The Herrscher of Reason Core... no anomalies!"
The blue gem was securely encased, layer upon layer, in the Soul Steel container. There were no signs of disturbance, and the fact that this most crucial item was fine allowed everyone to temporarily breathe a sigh of relief.
They then checked the Soul Steel humanoid but also found no issues.
"Could the detector be malfunctioning?"
"Don't drop your guard. The Honkai are not mindless monsters in the conventional sense."
However, even after inspecting and repairing the instruments, they still couldn't find any damage. So what exactly was causing that minuscule, barely detectable Honkai Energy reaction?
...
"A concert tour... is it?"
The woman sat in front of her vanity mirror. She rarely applied makeup, and even when she did, it was usually light makeup for stage lighting. The mirror was mostly used as a tool for self-reflection.
Reflecting on what?
Mental state, overall appearance, external neatness... Of course, she was actually focused more on scrutinizing her inner self.
As for what "inner self" specifically meant, there was much to say, but she broadly summarized it as her own... "art."
Her fans, and the "judges" who evaluated her worldwide, mostly praised her kindness and amiability, calling these fine qualities part of her classically-oriented art.
But the woman didn't see it that way. She didn't treat these things as her art; she simply wanted to do them, so she did.
It was like... drinking alcohol. When she wanted to drink, she would raise the glass. Even if she didn't actually drink it, just smelling the wine was enough to soothe her heart. When she didn't want to drink, even if forced to swallow a bottle of good wine, it would be tasteless.
"Have you decided? Where will you perform?" Her manager walked over and smiled, handing her a glass of red wine.
The woman was unlike other stars who toured the world, rushing from one location to the next as if checking off a list. Her performance locations were often unpredictable, sometimes even going from A to B and back to A. Even her most loyal fans didn't know where her next performance would be.
The woman accepted the intoxicating red wine. She didn't rush to drink it, instead swirling the glass and watching the holy blood flow within.
"Australia, I think."
"Australia? I recall you go there once a year. Is it because of the bushfires again?"
"..." The woman nodded. She raised the glass and wet her lips with a bit of red wine. "This year's temperature and direct sunlight have reached a historical high, so fires will likely be more frequent."
"Heh, you really haven't changed, have you? Very well, Australia it is." The manager didn't object. In fact, she wasn't asking for the woman's opinion but carrying out her request. They were not only manager and star but also close friends.
"I hope this year's performance can also give strength to the people affected by the disaster."