The robot legion surged like a snow white tide touched with flecks of gold under the morning light, rolling forward in overwhelming waves, clinging tightly to our backs as if determined to swallow us whole.
That description was somewhat exaggerated. In reality, after the alarm sounded, perhaps because the time window was so short, only a few dozen robots managed to surround us. With our current lineup, they were enemies we could wipe out completely in just one minute.
But there was no need to fight back at all. According to Eimi, doing so would be extremely inefficient. The firepower of that number of enemies posed no real threat, and stopping to clear them out would only waste ammunition and time. Running away was the better option.
In short, we quickly sprinted through the final stretch and arrived inside the factory where Kei was located.
"Haah… haah…" Midori braced her hands on her knees, panting heavily. "So we finally succe… succeeded, right?"
"This time, it went unexpectedly smoothly," Yuzu said with a sigh of relief.
"Phew ha, anyway, we should be safe now that we're here," Momoi plopped down directly onto the cold floor. "Looks like the enemies aren't planning to chase us inside, thank goodness."
Aris smiled as well. "Successful entry, mission complete."
"For some reason, the alarm has stopped too. Let's rest for a bit," Eimi said.
As she spoke, she reached for the last button on her shirt that was still holding out, preparing to undo it.
"Wait! Wait a second!" Midori, who had only just sat down, jumped up in a panic. "What are you doing!"
"Taking my clothes off?"
"Don't undress in front of us. Especially when Sensei is here!"
That's right. Being forced to see a beautiful sight I shouldn't, I was truly suffering…
But if I hastily looked away, wouldn't that hurt Eimi's feelings?
Sigh. In the end, I could only silently bear everything myself.
Eimi looked puzzled as she explained, "I just exercised, so I'm very hot. If I keep my clothes on, I can't release the heat from my body."
Midori was completely unable to understand. "Don't you feel embarrassed at all?"
"Embarrassed? Does being embarrassed interfere with mission execution?"
That logic somehow made sense, and Midori found herself momentarily speechless.
I originally had no intention of interfering with someone else's values, until I noticed Aris murmuring thoughtfully to herself.
"By removing equipment, stamina consumption decreases… I see…"
This is bad. She's going to be a bad influence on the kid.
I finally couldn't stay silent anymore and cleared my throat to draw attention. "Eimi, you shouldn't casually take off your clothes in front of other people, especially those of the opposite sex."
It's one thing if an upright and honest adult like me sees it, but what if others do?
Aris blinked. It seemed she had taken my words to heart.
But Eimi puffed out her cheeks. "Sensei isn't like other people."
What? Seeing me as trustworthy the moment we meet?
There's reason to suspect that Eimi fell in love with me at first sight. Aris also seemed to gain some new insight. It felt like everything was improving.
Except for Midori, whose emerald eyes were filling with tears from anger and frustration, and whose cat ear shaped headphones seemed even more vividly colored than before.
I sighed inwardly at my cursed charm. "Anyway, Eimi, if you really feel that hot, how about going to the next room?"
"That won't do. It's too dangerous," Eimi refused flatly.
"Then… should I go?"
"That's even worse. If Sensei runs into an ambush, you'd end up in an even more dangerous situation than me."
Thinking about it carefully, she was right.
"Arguing over this is very inefficient," Eimi said. "Or does Sensei have another quick way to reduce body heat?"
If it were about increasing heat, I had plenty of methods. As for reducing it, in a ruin like this, I really couldn't find a second option anytime soon.
My gaze sharpened. In that case, there's no helping it.
"What's there to argue about," Momoi couldn't help but speak up. "Splitting up would indeed be dangerous. And it's just the few of us here anyway. If Eimi is really that hot, she can just turn her back to us and take it off, right?"
My blood rushed to my head instantly. Damn it, Momoi. Why are you being so smart at a time like this? Trying to ruin my good thing or what?
"I don't understand. But if it troubles you all, then I'll do that," Eimi said.
Momoi proposed a solution that barely satisfied everyone. Eimi accepted it, and Midori finally relaxed.
But I felt a little disappointed.
Until I saw Eimi's smooth, jade like back, graceful and beautifully contoured.
A world where everyone was satisfied was thus achieved.
After a short rest, once our strength had recovered, we prepared to proceed toward Kei's location using the map Arona had helped draw when we first came.
However, not long after setting off, Aris's behavior became a little strange.
She looked around from side to side, her expression confused, as if recalling something.
"Aris, what's wrong?" Momoi asked with concern.
"I'm not sure… but it feels like a very familiar sight," Aris murmured, looking in one direction. "We need to go this way."
With that, she passed us and walked straight ahead.
Momoi moved closer to me and glanced at the map. "Huh? Isn't that exactly the direction where Kei is?"
Midori said in surprise, "Could it be that Aris chan came here before she lost her memory, and now she's remembering it?"
I had heard that when encountering deeply impressive scenes, people with amnesia might recover their memories. But a robot…
Still, this was Kivotos. It wasn't that surprising.
As she walked, Aris shook her head and explained, "Aris doesn't really remember… but it feels like there's a 'save file.' My body reacted automatically. For example, yes, like being able to progress in a game without any tutorial or explanation… or like playing a game I've already played many times…"
"Looks like Aris really has been here before, to the point it became instinct," Momoi said, then asked, "So, have you remembered anything about Kei?"
"Kei… I can't remember…"
"That's fine. We'll just wait until we meet the main unit."
Momoi laughed cheerfully and said optimistically, "Who knows, we might not only get the G.Bible, but also learn about Aris's origins."
I didn't say anything and chose to remain cautious for now.
Kei's motives were still unknown, and whether it was an enemy or an ally had yet to be confirmed.
So, as a dirty adult, I had to prepare for the worst in advance.
Thinking that, I subconsciously tightened my grip on the briefcase I was carrying.
Inside it, besides the Shittim Chest, there was one more item.
The help provided by Rio was Eimi, a powerful combatant.
And what Himari gave was a drone.
A small hacking drone, built by Utaha and modified by Himari.