"I feel like you've been quite busy today..." Elysia walked closely by Lin side, her eyes circling him. "Seeing one person after another, you're quite popular."
"If I were popular, I wouldn't have to go looking for people myself." Lin tended to have more interactive responses only when talking to Elysia, perhaps because she had been chasing him around ever since he joined Fire Moth.
"Guh... was I supposed to wait for you to come find me?"
"...That's not what I meant either."
Lin didn't really have much desire to stay here anymore. Not many things had happened today, yet it felt like a lot. More importantly, his perspective had shifted. He now had two things he had to investigate.
First was his consciousness issue. Although long-term observation hadn't revealed abnormalities before, a certain aspect of his consciousness had deteriorated after the Project Soldier surgery. Being able to observe "parallel worlds"—whether real or fake—was extremely dangerous. If his consciousness could drift away at any moment, his original body would lose control. If that happened during combat, the consequences would be unimaginable.
And, was it really just "observation" when he was unconscious? The vivid blood dripping from his forehead and the pain still lingered in his mind.
Second... this was a "suspicion" he kept to himself. There was a point concerning the Star-Color invasion and the Seventh Honkai Eruption that could not be explained. Since a high-threat alien civilization like the Star-Color could invade Earth at the same time a Honkai eruption occurred, it meant the Honkai wouldn't pause just because humanity faced an external threat. And since the Seventh Herrscher was born even after the Previous Era's Herrscher of Reason returned to this world, it proved multiple Herrscher could exist simultaneously.
Combining the lurking of the Fourth, the high anthropomorphism of the Sixth, and the simultaneous existence of the Seventh... could it be inferred that Herrschers might already exist among humans, having been born long ago?
The probability of this theory was small and full of loopholes, but it wasn't impossible. If a Herrscher were indeed lurking among humans, there were two possibilities: one, they were plotting to annihilate humanity; two...
The girl's parting smile remained vivid in his memory.
"..."
Both matters were vital. If possible, Lin didn't intend to waste more time at the ball.
However...
"What's wrong? Still thinking about what happened backstage?" Elysia covered her mouth with a mischievous grin. Lin met her only with silence.
"Fine... I'm satisfied for today. I won't interrupt your catching up." Elysia waved and retreated like a little crab that had eaten its fill.
Lin stood in the crowd. At a distance of only two steps, which felt like a chasm, he silently met Kevin's eyes. It was just like years ago when they hadn't yet left Chiba Academy.
"...Do you need me to introduce him?" Kevin said to Lin, gesturing toward Su, who stood nearby.
"No need." Lin had known Su for a long time, though Su didn't necessarily know that the soldier who stopped him from entering the lockdown zone back then was Lin.
Su hesitated, unsure if he should greet Lin and introduce himself. The current atmosphere didn't seem to allow him to insert himself into their conversation, especially since Mei was just sitting aside, observing.
"Who else are you going to find later?"
"Hua, Immer, Vil-V..."
Was it many? Not really. Prometheus was standing beside him, watching silently. Including Prometheus, Lin had basically seen everyone he needed to see.
This was a bit surprising to Kevin. But, it was only a "surprise."
"Do you remember we said we'd go listen to Eden's concert together?" It was unclear who had said it—perhaps Lin, perhaps Kevin. Their unified response to this memory was silence.
Kevin finally couldn't help but sigh. "There are no tickets this time."
Lin glanced at the wandering Su and gave a slight nod.
"Hahaha... Lin, did you know? I watched you drifting through the venue, busy beyond belief." Vil-V hadn't changed much. She had chosen a spot that suited her interest in magic and was performing for free. She had just finished as Lin and Prometheus approached.
Snap.
She flipped her top hat, but instead of a rabbit or pigeon jumping out, over a dozen balloons floated out and popped in the air, each releasing a pigeon.
"..." This eccentric magic was indeed unexpected. Simply setting up balloons before releasing the pigeons was enough to break the cliché of standard magic tricks. Even knowing magic is a blend of sleight of hand and props, one still wondered how that ordinary top hat could hold so many balloons, and how the pigeons were stuffed inside them.
"Merci à tous. (Thank you, everyone.)"
With a playful finger to her lips and a smile for the mesmerized audience, Vil-V put her hat back on and walked toward Lin. She was fiddling with a deck of cards, looking at him with interest. "I thought you'd forgotten your old friend. So, I'm the grand finale?"
"...I didn't intend to set an order."
"I know, I know. You just find whoever you run into." Thanks to her wild logic, Vil-V didn't care at all. "You've had one girl after another by your side; is it finally my turn?"
From her tone, Vil-V had watched Lin every move from the moment he entered the ball, including his dance with Mobius. It made sense; Lin having Prometheus control the lights and music was just a small "stage prop" trick in the eyes of a master like her.
"But honestly, don't get your hopes up. I can't do Dr. Mobius push-and-pull flirtation, nor the assassin lady's 'cold outside, warm inside' youthful charm. And certainly not Eden's elegance or Elysia direct flirting..."
"I can't even play the 'kuudere android' advantage like the Number One standing next to you." Vil-V shrugged and poured a glass of wine into her hat...
Yes, she poured the wine into her hat. She did this illogical act as if it were natural, then placed the hat—which should have been soaking wet—back on her head.
Lin pondered Vil-V's words for a moment and said calmly, "You've misunderstood."
"Oh? Is that so?" Vil-V suddenly flashed a... "wicked" smile. "Why do I feel like you are the one who has misunderstood them, Lin?"