"Heh — what a remarkable young woman. Sharp as a tack at her age, and her research credentials are second to none."
Old Master Timefield wore an expression that was neither quite a smile nor quite not one, his assessment of Twiggy leaning decidedly toward praise.
At the same time, he had learned just who the true mind behind the Ether-resistance bracelet technology was — but it did nothing to diminish his regard for Geno. After all, in this day and age, strength itself was the only foundation that truly mattered.
And besides — there was always the matter of that granddaughter of his...
"What exactly did you discuss with Twiggy? What sort of cooperation?" Geno was burning with curiosity to know what arrangement had been made — but the old man responded with nothing more than that same inscrutable smile of his, as he always did.
"Enough of that. As the young lady herself said — you'll find out when you get back and see her. For now, get some rest."
Back in New Eridu, Twiggy — who had made her way to Random Play first thing in the morning — hung up the call with Geno and let out a long, heavy sigh.
"God, I'm such an idiot. I really am. If I'd known it would come to this, I should have just gone with him."
"Twiggy, are you alright?" Belle asked from beside her, a note of worry in her voice. She hadn't been kept in the dark about Twiggy's conversation with Old Master Timefield — which was precisely what made Twiggy's current reaction so surprising.
"Of course I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine. It's just — a tiny, tiny bit of wounded pride. That's all. Really, just a little."
She had complete confidence in herself — and in Geno. But confidence was one thing, and having zero negative feelings was another matter entirely.
After all, what kind of person could watch their boyfriend getting all cozy with another woman and feel absolutely nothing?
"Still — it's nothing to get worked up over. This sort of thing was bound to happen sooner or later."
Twiggy had thought it through clearly. She knew full well that as her research gradually came to light, she and Geno would inevitably find themselves thrust into the public eye. When that day came, every trick in the book would be thrown at them — all in the name of pulling them into someone's orbit.
This was barely an appetizer.
"Anyway, enough of that. The real reason I came to find you is because I have something I'd like to discuss."
"With me?" Belle blinked, pressing a finger to her chin with a slightly dazed look. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why Twiggy would show up at the crack of dawn with something to discuss.
"More precisely — you and your brother. I'd like to talk to both of you. About the Helios Agency."
Belle's pupils contracted to pinpoints in an instant. She had never mentioned that to a single soul — so how on earth did Twiggy know?!
"Well — that's what my own sources are for. But don't worry. I have no ill intentions toward either of you. Quite the opposite, in fact — I'm looking to reach an agreement with you."
Twiggy's lips curved upward. In her eyes right now, Belle was an absolute goldmine.
Obsidian Camp.
The Ouroboros Squad, having returned from Weifeidi, was in the middle of their mission debrief. They had brought back the mission target completely unharmed, and had apprehended the Laudation Society members who had attempted to steal military secrets along with them.
By all accounts, it should have been a successful mission.
And yet, in the middle of their handoff with the higher-ups, Hellfire and the others received an unexpected piece of news in return.
"Mandatory group leave — what does that mean? Sir, I need an explanation." Hellfire's mechanical jaw was set hard, her expression fierce as she fixed the liaison officer with an unyielding look.
"What? Isn't leave a good thing? You ought to be happy about it." The officer looked thoroughly baffled — in what world would anyone object to having too much time off?
"...It's nothing. Understood." Hellfire caught herself — her reaction had been a bit much, and arguing further with a messenger seemed pointless. She fell into step with Orpheus and headed back to the Ouroboros Squad's camp.
"Captain, are you alright?" Orpheus asked carefully. She had the feeling that Hellfire wasn't quite her usual self — could it have something to do with that person?
"It's nothing, Orpheus. Let's wait until everyone's gathered."
Hellfire's feelings were complicated. She genuinely could not make sense of the higher-ups' decision. Why, of all times, were they being sent on group leave? This was the municipal election period — if anything, this was exactly when operations against the Hollows should have been ramped up.
The Hollows were always expanding. It was only through regular sweeps by the military and Public Security that their growth could be kept in check. And yet, at precisely this juncture, they were being abruptly ordered to take a holiday? It was beyond absurd.
As one of the remaining members of the Defense Force's Obsidian Camp — the Ouroboros Squad might not have been the strongest unit in existence, but they were undeniably an ace squad.
And yet, at such a critical moment as the municipal elections, their superiors were telling them to go on leave? It was utterly baffling.
New Eridu was nothing like the calm surface it presented to the world. For years, the Defense Force had not only contended with the Hollows — they'd had to remain perpetually on guard against rebel forces making moves along the border. Those rebels weren't about to let a moment like this slip through their fingers.
Most of the rebel factions had risen to prominence in the aftermath of the Old Capital's fall. Large numbers of soldiers had deserted the Defense Force and formed rebel organizations of varying strength, and many autonomous combat units — weapons like the [Terrorbirds] that Geno and his allies had once faced — had been stolen and folded into the rebels' arsenal.
Day to day, the Defense Force's work amounted to two things: clearing the Hollows and dealing with rebel harassment. Resources beyond the walls of New Eridu were scarce, after all.
Once the Ouroboros Squad had assembled, Hellfire broke the news: they would all be going on leave.
"Hm? Isn't that a good thing? It means we don't have to go on patrol!" Cid said, as bright and breezy as ever — she operated on a different frequency from the rest of them.
Trigger and Number 11, however, who between them carried years of military experience, had already caught the faint scent of something off.
"Captain — is this actually a direct order from command?" Number 11 asked, brow furrowed. It made no sense to her — and if even someone as headstrong and new to all this as she was could see that now was absolutely not the time for leave, then something was very wrong.
Trigger felt the same way. The order was so far out of the ordinary that it suddenly called to mind something Geno had said, back inside the Hollow.
That there was a mole from the Laudation Society embedded inside the military.
That the Laudation Society would be making a bigger move.
Piled on top of the fact that the Laudation Society had somehow received advance intelligence about the device they'd recovered on this very mission — all of it together made Geno's words ring considerably more true.
"The other squads don't appear to have been affected," Trigger reported with quiet calm. "We're the only unit that received the leave notice."
Hellfire fell into a long silence, and still came to no conclusion.
"Hopefully I'm just overthinking it. If the higher-ups are sending us on leave and there are rotation assignments going out, then everyone take the time and rest properly."
Despite her misgivings, Hellfire ultimately chose to follow the order. At the same time, she quietly resolved to use this leave to look into something Geno had mentioned — the matter of the mole inside the Defense Force.
Having heard Captain Hellfire's verdict, Trigger and the others set their unease aside and resolved to actually make the most of the leave.
Cid planned to stay at the camp and take the occasional stroll into the Hollows.
Orpheus, bound as she was to Hellfire, would be working alongside her to investigate the mole.
As for Trigger and Number 11 — the two of them decided to head into the city of New Eridu together. One wanted to visit a friend she hadn't seen in a long time; the other was looking forward to reuniting with a sister she'd been apart from just as long. As it happened, they were heading the same way.
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