Mobius couldn't be bothered to argue. She assumed that once others saw they had bumped into her, they would scurry away with their tails between their legs to avoid being dragged into the lab by "that Mobius."
But after staring at her toes for a long time without the person moving out of the way, she couldn't help but scowl, attempting to use her expression to scare off this reckless idiot. However, when her sharp eyes saw the person in front of her, the grimace she was about to fake froze on her face. She looked ridiculous—somewhere between a smile and a scowl.
"You... why did you come?" In front of this person wearing a helmet, who was even more of an outsider than she was, Mobius found her usual toughness vanishing, caught off guard by his appearance.
"...Didn't you tell me to come?" Lin voice was very soft. Through the helmet and in this noisy environment, it sounded even smaller, yet Mobius heard it clearly.
Mobius reacted as if her tail had been stepped on, almost jumping up to explain: "I didn't tell you to come! I only said dancing at the ball might help you adapt to your body! And it was Klein who said she wanted to come; she insisted on dragging me, so I had no choice..."
"Doctor? Why did you stop? Didn't you say you were leaving?" At that moment, Klein walked up from behind Mobius with a puzzled look. Noticing Mobius stiff, pretty face, she added, "Then I'll head back first to finish the work I didn't complete."
"..." Mobius face felt burning hot. If she could see a mirror, she would see her cheeks were as red as autumn maple leaves. She wouldn't have cared about being exposed like this in the past, but today...
Klein skirted around the two of them and walked out of the ballroom, letting out a mischievous giggle. "Ahem... how strange. Why does it feel so fun to tease the Doctor? But doing it once in a while should be fine, right?" To prevent Mobius from figuring out the truth and settling the score, Klein sprinted back to the lab.
"Uh... Klein is bored, and I'm actually bored too, so I was planning to leave."
"Oh. Then go ahead." Lin nodded and stepped aside without a second thought, opening a clear path for Mobius.
"..."
"What is it? Aren't you going?" Lin asked. A question mark symbol humanely appeared on the visor of his helmet.
"...What is with your helmet?"
"Vil-V said she added some systems she thought were cool. I don't really know..." Lin turned off the helmet's "Emotional Emote Display" system and asked again, "Still not going?"
"I..." Mobius pondered for a moment while staring at Lin innocent aura. "What about you? What do you plan to do at the ball?"
"Find someone to dance with, eat some food, listen to Eden's song. Something like that."
"Then it just so happens that I also plan to find someone to dance with." Mobius nodded pleasantly and naturally turned back toward the ballroom.
"Weren't you planning to leave?"
"I couldn't find anyone to dance with me, so I was going to leave."
Lin thought for a moment. Mobius had a notorious reputation; everyone kept their distance from her. Even a cat raised by Fire Moth probably wouldn't like Mobius. The reason that she couldn't find a partner seemed plausible.
"What are you doing? Hurry up and come over." Mobius stood with her hands on her hips, her white lab coat making her stand out in the crowd as she huffed at him.
"So this is Fire Moth? As expected of the organization that controls the world's economic pulse."
Chiaki held a piece of watermelon, sitting in a corner of the ball carefully picking out the seeds. She had truly witnessed how Fire Moth differed from the outside world in every aspect. Take this ball, for example—its luxury far exceeded the state banquets of some countries she had seen. Of course, being filthy rich was the least noteworthy part of Fire Moth. What Chiaki admired was that after a disaster of the Seventh Honkai's magnitude, the people of Fire Moth could rally their spirits and use this method to forget their sorrow.
She quite appreciated this method; it related to many things. Many things... related to her.
Naturally, being unfamiliar with the place, she had no dance partner. In fact, she didn't even have anyone to talk to. The only two familiar faces were Lin and Sakura, but she hadn't seen either of them at the ball. Right—the cold-faced assassin and the helmet guy probably wouldn't be at such an event. It would feel strange just thinking about it.
What a perfectly normal gala. I'll just find a place to watch them dance after I finish eating...
As Chiaki enjoyed her chilled watermelon, she suddenly spotted a "dissonant" figure. It wasn't that the person's clothing or appearance was strange, but that at a glance, their movements—though natural—involved constant wandering through the crowd without a clear goal. They didn't seem to be looking for anyone, just aimlessly weaving about.
Normally, she wouldn't have noticed this person, but the current atmosphere made it hard to ignore them.
Pardo had circled around several times but still hadn't found a target. Don't these people carry wallets? As for jewelry... wait, no jewelry either. Because most attendees were soldiers, and soldiers were accustomed to not wearing jewelry, Pardo didn't see anyone even wearing a ring or necklace.
This left her at a loss. It looked incredibly lively, yet there wasn't a single target to "stock up" on. Should I take those cups? But what are cups worth?Pardo simply stood in one spot, grabbed a chicken leg, and observed while eating. It was only after scanning everything that she realized something.
Wait, why am I thinking about stealing? I seem to be a member of Fire Moth now too.
Habitual behavior made Pardo shake her head in frustration. She decided to eat her fill and then find someone to ask where Brother Lin was. She hadn't found him at the ball either. Then again, Brother Lin was a cripple in a wheelchair; he probably wouldn't show up at a ball.
"Hey."
Suddenly, a voice made the hair on Pardo's neck stand up. She turned her head in terror to see a girl with a puzzled face walking over—clearly coming for her.
"Wh-what is it?" Pardo swallowed the chicken in her mouth and wiped the grease from her lips, faking a cheerful smile. After years of scrounging in Sundown Alley, faking a smile was easy.
"Are you... also a newcomer?"
"...Huh?" Pardo didn't react to what Chiaki was saying for a moment.
"Great! Me too. How about it? Want to be friends?"