"What is that...?"
Shizuka and Rika muttered in surprise after they followed Zeno through the front doors of the Freedom Carrier HQ inside the reception area on the first floor, where the first thing they saw was a large, imposing sculpture of a muscular man in a black skintight bodysuit, a golden winged helmet, a crimson cape, golden bracers, and golden greaves floating in the air with its arms crossed on its chest while the statue looked down upon the visitors that entered the building with an indifferent crimson gaze behind the golden helmet.
The large floating statue that the two women saw is positioned in the middle of the futuristic monochrome-themed lobby with its red cape waving mesmerizingly in the nonexistent wind while rose petals magically appear around the statue and magically disappear when the petals hit the floor or other objects, creating quite a majestic scene for the two visitors.
Shizuka and Rika, who are following behind Zeno, can tell that this is not just your typical decoration, as the statue is actually floating in the air by unknown means and without any visible cables or anything that can suspend it in midair. The unnatural rose petals and the fluttering cape also attracted their attention and curiosity. Fortunately there's someone who can answer all of their questions right in front of them.
"..."
Shizuka and Rika can't help but stare at the back of Zeno's head with expectation. To the two women, this particular statue looked like something straight out of manga or anime, with a feeling of power and authority that was almost radiance from it even though it looked like just a huge piece of decorative statue, so they think that it must be something special.
"You two look quite curious about that, huh? Well, let me tell you what this is…"
Feeling the two women's gaze on the back of his head, Zeno smirked as he turned around towards the two of them before he began explaining to the girls that what they see is a 3D hologram image projection, which caused the two women to look at him skeptically at first, but after he demonstrated the authenticity of the hologram projector for them by changing the image of the current projection into a projection of Shizuka making a T-pose with a big shining golden halo behind her back, they instantly believed him while being greatly surprised that he has such sci-fi-worthy technology that is capable of displaying a very lifelike holographic image of anything that the user wants.
"Waaah~ is that me~? This is very amazing, Zeno-san~!"
"Awesome, right? All you have to do is type what you want to see in this screen pad here…"
Shizuka exclaimed with a sparkle in her eyes as the smug-looking Zeno changed the current projection of Shizuka into the image of her in a cowgirl costume while striking a cool pose with a revolver in her hand as he explained to her how to use the hologram projector.
"How on earth did a delivery company even invent something like this in this day and age…?"
On the other hand, Rika mumbled, still in disbelief, as she got close and tried to touch the hologram image of Shizuka, but her hand just went right through and distorted the hologram projection of Shizuka's foot while Rika just felt a bit warm on her skin inside the 3D hologram image.
From this unbelievable advanced technology that Zeno has shown them, Rika is now very convinced that the Freedom Carrier must be some kind of a secret front for an extremely powerful organization or a very ancient family or something. No way in hell that some young delivery company can invent this on their own, Rika thought with a frown as she glanced at Zeno, who was teaching Shizuka how to manipulate the hologram projector.
"Who exactly are you, Zeno Zavior..."
After playing around with the 3D hologram image for a while, the two women then finally turned to look around the lobby of the reception area, which was quite bustling with Freedom Guards in their distinctive black suits and sunglasses and the Freedom Carrier's deliverymen in their white uniforms, just walking or hanging around the place. The air around them was quite relaxed and cozy, the kind that all workers have after work when they are hanging out with friends.
"Well, hello there, welcome to the Freedom Carrier's HQ, where all the poor little employees are only fed with hopes and dreams~!"
Like she was waiting for them to finish, the energetic voice of a woman suddenly greets them as Zeshibana, Zeno's shadow clone in the form of a pretty woman with long white hair and pale blue eyes, approaches the trio with a smirk, her blue eyes scanning the two women up and down, especially their breasts and curves, with an approved look.
"Big Boss, you really know how to pick them, huh~?"
Zeshibana's teasing words were filled with a hint of mischief as she gave Shizuka a knowing look and Zeno a wink, making the dizzy nurse feel both flustered and embarrassed as she peeked at Zeno while fidgeting with her fingers, rubbing them against each other.
"Someone is aiming for the handsome one, it seems~?"
"E-ehhh, t-there's no such thing…!"
"Eh~ then why don't you look at Big Boss and say that~?"
With a mischievous grin, Zeshibana continues to tease Shizuka while the latter tries to deny it in a very small voice that is not going to convince anyone in this place.
"She's really hopeless..."
Watching them Rika shook her head with a wry smile at her friend's hopeless maiden-in-love behavior, and then Rika turned to look at the Freedom Carrier's deliverywoman that came to speak to them out of nowhere.
Rika observed Zeshibana, who was dressed in a white deliveryman's uniform with the upper part being unzipped and lowered down to her waist, showing her black tank top underneath the uniform and her toned upper body, with her hands resting casually on her hips as she laughed at flustered Shizuka in amusement.
Rika noted that this woman, despite appearing carefree and friendly, is giving off the same dangerous vibes as the other employees of the company. A veteran combatant.
"Are all of the company employees mercenaries or veteran soldiers…?"
Rika mumbles quietly as she guesses that all the Freedom Carrier's employees are probably filled with mercenaries and veteran soldiers, which is not that strange considering the company's power that she has witnessed so far.
How stupidly rich is this company to be able to afford something like this? Rika thought in amazement as she watched Shizuka start to turn into a tomato from the relentless teasing of Zeshibana, who decided to mess with the dizzy nurse and help her original out a little bit with his potential harem member.
"Alright, enough; stop bothering her, you idiot, and go play somewhere else."
"Ah—mmghhkk~! mmmh~! Mmh~!"
Zeno chuckled at Zeshibana's antics before he decided to shut her up with his hand squeezing both of her cheeks and blocking her yapping mouth with his palm. She immediately becomes helpless and starts looking at her original with a pitiful expression as she tries to protest with a muffled voice.
It's still quite a mystery to Zeno that somehow his Touki-based shadow clones have developed their own personality and are even on their way to becoming an artificial energy-based lifeform of sorts after they've been active for a long time.
When he first noticed the anomaly in some of his shadow clones, he considered deleting them all, but the thought of them technically being his children stopped him from Thanos snapping them out of existence, as he couldn't force himself to do it, so he decided to just inject the Godblood into them as a failsafe while observing their development for now.
"Mmmmm~!"
And here they are, his Ascendant Shadow, the name that he gave to the shadow clones that have evolved past their limit into a new kind of energy-based lifeform that is still instinctively loyal to their creator but not to the point of throwing their lives away without any hesitation anymore. They also can get stronger with Touki cultivation and can regenerate from most injuries as long as their Touki energy is sufficient for the wound.
"How nice…"
Seeing the friendly interaction between Zeno and Zeshibana, Shizuka, who is watching them, gets a bit jealous of how close Zeshibana seems to be with Zeno. She couldn't resist and deliberately cleared her throat and spoke up to interrupt them.
"Ahem! Ahem! Excuse me, Zeno-san~! We're still in the middle of the tour..."
Shizuka tried to keep her tone neutral despite the pout that was forming on her face as she gained the attention of Zeno and Zeshibana, while Rika wanted to roll her eyes at her friend.
Zeno turned back to the pouting Shizuka and chuckled amusingly at her cute attempt to regain his attention.
"Ah, right. Let's not keep you two waiting. There's a lot more in this building to show you."
Zeno said as he removed his hand from Zeshibana's face with a playful last squeeze of her cheeks before he waved his hand in a dismissive manner to her.
"Yes, yes, I'll go eat some ramen by myself and stop interrupting your date~! Sheesh, such shameless people…"
Zeshibana giggles as she waves her hand dramatically while she winks at them before walking away to the entrance of the HQ, leaving the blushed Shizuka, the chuckling Rika, and the amused Zeno behind.