"So, you're planning to go to the house of that female assassin named Sakura?"
Kevin, who was bench-pressing, paused. He looked sideways at Lin, who was standing beside him, his expression unchanged.
Perhaps no one could make Lin feel the changes that occurred after the Great Purge and the Sixth Eruption more acutely than Kevin.
Sometime ago, the young man who used to laugh heartily, showing his white teeth, had become a blank-faced young man. An aura similar to Lin emanated from him, as if no emotional fluctuations could be seen on him.
But unlike Lin, Lin had concealed his face, so the perception of his indifference was limited to his sparse words. Kevin, however, exposed his face entirely, conveying his cold change to everyone else.
While Lin was still in the hospital room, Kevin would occasionally visit him, but Kevin rarely spoke much to Lin. Their communication seemed to be stuck in a stalemate, even less frequent than Lin and Sakura conversations. Sometimes, during a visit, they wouldn't exchange a single word; Kevin would just look at him for a moment and then leave.
Kevin had become the popular image of a Kuudere (cold and indifferent male character).
Lin had just told Kevin about the communication mishap that led to him having to visit Sakura house.
"Rin is Sakura sister. She doesn't know Sakura is in the Fire Moth. I need to go out to dispel her suspicion."
"Oh."
Kevin nodded at his words, then resumed his exercise.
It had been half a day.
Kevin's workout schedule had not stopped since six in the morning until noon. This was longer than the time he used to spar with Lin, and it wasn't just today. As long as he had no mission, he was soaking in the gym, like a machine that felt no fatigue.
Lin silently watched Kevin for a while, then turned to leave. Just then, Kevin spoke from behind him.
"Lin, is your body feeling better?"
"...It's okay."
"When I first joined the Fire Moth, I saw the change in you and Mei. You became silent and reserved, like before we were friends, and Mei smiled more but had less emotion. I was alarmed then, but I had to accept it because I knew these changes were bound to happen sooner or later. I would also undergo changes I didn't want."
"..."
"Lin, you've changed again now. I hope this change... is good for you."
"Same to you, Kevin."
The two friends, who were once incredibly close, didn't look back to say goodbye. Lin opened the door and briefly turned his head to glance at Kevin. The other man didn't look back at him, his eyes as cold as solid ice.
...
"Hahaha... Lin, how is it? Doesn't our Prometheus One now perfectly fit your aesthetic?"
"..."
If there was anyone Lin had no idea how to deal with besides Elysia, it would have to be Vil-V.
Her jumpy thought process and brain, which was never on the same frequency as anyone else's, meant that even when she did something outrageous, Lin couldn't really do anything about it.
"Look, I designed this outfit myself. Don't let my appearance fool you; my aesthetic sense can rival that of a professional fashion designer. Plus, AIs don't have to wear uniforms; it's great that they can wear whatever looks good." Vil-V put down her clipboard and admired Prometheus, who was standing blankly.
"..."
Ultimately, AI don't need to wear uniforms, and they don't really need a body. Lin couldn't fully understand Vil-V's and Prometheus's intentions. Fortunately, he now had plenty of time and considerable interest to ask these questions.
"Why did you initially want to give Prometheus a body?" Lin asked directly, wasting no time.
"Initially? Initially, Prometheus wanted to be able to take care of you, who couldn't move independently back then, so she was given a body."
"But the time you spent creating the body was earlier than when I became paralyzed."
"Let me think..." Hearing Lin say this, Vil-V put down her pen and closed her eyes, thinking carefully. "Oh, right, the time I first tried to create a bionic machine body was earlier. Huh? Do you know what happened?"
"I'm asking you."
"I forgot."
"..."
"Aiya, if you had asked me before, I should have been able to answer, but I'm so busy now. Who remembers something that far back?" Vil-V took it lightly, giving a forced laugh. "Who would have thought you would ask now?"
"..."
Now... ask?
Yes, if it were before, Lin probably wouldn't have asked such a meaningless question. But at that time, Vil-V was idle, idle enough to make a bunch of bizarre things and still remember the original intention of equipping an AI with a body.
Now that Lin asked the question, Vil-V no longer remembered.
"But Prometheus should still remember. Her stored information in the database..."
"The database was damaged during the Sixth Eruption and is missing that part of the record." It was hard to discern any change on Prometheus's perpetually unchanging face.
"Really? Let me check for you... Ugh, never mind. I have a pile of things waiting for me~"
Vil-V looked somewhat dejected. After the Sixth Eruption, her status and authority had increased, making her responsible for the crucial Divine Key project. But for her, who was accustomed to being lazy, this was an unacceptable constraint. Going from the Minister of the Engineering Department, who was free and virtually ignored, to the person in charge of the Fire Moth's future weapons—the change was so significant that even she hadn't adjusted her mindset immediately.
"Anyway, I've checked Prometheus One three times. Her body integration is excellent, even better than the previous one. You can take her now. If there are any issues, just come back to me." Vil-V picked up her clipboard and started rushing him out, clearly planning how to allocate her time.
Lin looked up and surveyed the drastically transformed Spiral Workshop. Compared to the previous small workshop, which resembled a cluttered storage room full of Vil-V's various gadgets, it had now expanded to twice its original size. The useless creations were piled in the corners, and the perpetually dim lighting was banished by overhead lamps that shone as bright as direct sunlight.
Due to a lack of staff, Vil-V was working alone until the initial Divine Key design was complete. Only after creating a basic prototype would the headquarters assign personnel to assist her. However, the space had been prepared for her in advance.
"Hmm? Not leaving yet? Is there anything else?" Vil-V asked, puzzled, seeing Lin still standing there.
"The gathering, are you coming?"
"The one like before? Uh... I don't seem to have much time lately..."
Lin shook his head, saying nothing, just as he remained silent when Kevin shook his head.