Two months had passed since Axel revealed his truth to Lemon. Vindel had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, a nod to Shadow-Mirror's achievements, but his gloom over the Federation's state dulled any joy in the rank.
Lemon, now privy to Axel's past life and reincarnation, hadn't changed how she treated him. Well, mostly. They were officially together now, which was a change, if you could call it that. But as a scientist, Lemon's curiosity leaned more toward his spatial storage and slime than romantic moments. Their time alone often felt like a researcher studying her subject rather than a couple's sweet nothings.
Lemon was especially fascinated by the slime, running endless experiments—how much it could absorb before gaining mass, how long absorption took, and so on. She even proposed using it as a weapon for the Growsaver. Axel, whose only frame of reference was Fate/Zero's Kirei using a similar slime in close combat, was floored by the idea. It was a stroke of genius.
There was a catch, though. Constantly deploying the spatial storage discreetly was a hassle, as Axel pointed out. Lemon's solution? She repurposed the liquid metal technology from the Grungust Type-3's Zankantou sword, adapting the Growsaver's Laser Blade into a "Slime Blade." To avoid attention, she dubbed it the "Adaman Halberd," named after the adamantine scythe that Chronos, the Growsaver's secondary system, used in myth to slay Uranus, its divine father.
The weapon's default form was a scythe, but its slime core allowed short-range all-range attacks. Its sharpness could slice through PTs effortlessly. In a recent mission, it had cleaved a heavily armored Barrelion in one stroke. That op netted two kills and 10 PP, which Axel promptly used to raise Gunfight to Level 3.
Things with Lemon were going well, despite the chaos. When she asked about the Timeflow Engine, Axel, out of his depth, introduced her to Raj and the Excellence Team. Until then, Vindel and Dr. Montague had handled those exchanges, so this was Lemon's first time meeting them, albeit via comms.
At first, Lemon bonded with Raj and Mizuho over technical jargon, the trio's shared expertise fostering a friendly vibe. That changed when Fiona and Raul appeared on the monitor.
"Raj, Mizuho, about the Excellence Striker's frame," Fiona said. "Shouldn't we beef it up? It might break in melee combat… Oh, who's this?"
"F-Fiona-san?!" Mizuho stammered, flustered.
Raj jumped in smoothly. "This is Dr. Lemon Browning, Axel's colleague. She's researching the Timeflow Engine, so we're swapping notes. Mizuho's joining since Lemon's also into mech development."
"Oh, Mizuho too, huh?" Fiona said, her eyes narrowing at Mizuho.
"N-No, Fiona-san, it's not like that!" Mizuho protested.
"And you are?" Lemon asked Fiona, unfazed. "You seem to know me."
Raj answered again. "That's Fiona Greden, one of our Excellence Team members and our test pilot."
"Oh, you're Fiona," Lemon said, her gaze sharpening. "Axel's mentioned you."
She eyed Fiona provocatively, sparking tension. Fiona met her stare. "I've heard plenty about you too, Lemon. Plenty."
The air grew heavy. On the other side of the monitor, Raul and Mizuho sweated, watching silently, while Raj looked clueless.
Lemon broke the silence. "You and Axel go way back to officer school, right?"
"Yeah, we started writing because of my dad," Fiona said, smirking triumphantly. "Guess that makes my history with Axel longer, huh?"
Her smugness didn't last. "Sure," Lemon said coolly. "Axel called you a little sister figure. Like a sibling, right?"
Fiona bristled. "That was then! And if we're throwing around labels, I've heard you're just his 'good colleague,' Lemon."
Oh, right, Axel thought. I introduced her that way at Montague's funeral. Lemon shot him a look, her eyes glinting with mock betrayal.
"Colleague, huh?" she said.
"What's going on?" Raj interjected, oblivious. Mizuho and Raul exchanged pitying glances at Axel.
"Nothing," Lemon said.
"Yep, nothing," Fiona echoed, and suddenly, the two were in sync, the tension easing.
Sensing the mood lighten, Axel changed the subject. "So, the mech's named Excellence Striker? Last email from Raul said you were still debating."
"The Excellence is the base mech, and Striker's the frame for ground combat," Mizuho explained, a hint of pride in her voice. "It's built for melee, so Raul's a better fit than Fiona."
"What about the other frames?" Axel asked.
"We're developing space and air frames," Raj said, "but they're only 10-20% complete."
"Still a ways off, then," Axel said.
And that was how Lemon and Fiona's first meeting went. Their instant friction worried Axel, but with Lemon working on the Timeflow Engine, they'd inevitably cross paths again. Hopefully they'll warm up to each other eventually, he thought.