Inside the base of the Moth Chasing Fire branch.
A girl stood in the corridor, pacing back and forth while muttering to herself.
"Where is Lumine? Where is my Lumine? Where is my Lumine, my big Lumine?"
Are you sure you're not mistaken?
"Impossible! I remember every single word in his file, down to the punctuation marks! He trained at this branch base after he was rescued. I can't possibly be wrong!"
"[Evil], aren't you being… a little perverted?"
"Th-that…"
"Shut up! I can't be wrong! I can't possibly be wrong about anything related to him. I even know what time he usually wakes up—"
"Please stop saying things that sound like they crawled out of the abyss."
"I mean…"
"Haha, looks like I'll have to perform an amazing magic trick here. That should definitely get his attention!"
"[Magician]… have you considered how we're supposed to leave afterward?"
"Could you—"
"I think the [Magician] has a point. We are Vil-V. We can do whatever we want. Tell me, magician—where should we start blowing things up?"
"How dare you describe my magic like that?! Explosions are just one form of my magic!"
"[Chef], you look like you've been wanting to say something for a while?"
"…I'm just wondering… is it possible that… Lumine has already been taken away by the reborn Elysia?"
"!"
The girl—who had been acting like a solo performer in an ensemble—froze in place, as if sculpted. After a long pause, a smile slowly spread across her face.
"I see… then how about we just blow this place up?"
"[Magician], you still insist your magic isn't just explosions?"
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate…?"
"What's there to be afraid of? Don't forget how we joined the Fire Moth in the first place. We're just accelerating the process this time."
"Can't we just join the Fire Moth in a normal way…?"
"If I joined normally and met Lumine later, he and Elysia might already have a child!"
"…I agree with this plan."
"Even the [Experts]?"
"To find that lone traveler, falling into the abyss isn't such a bad option."
...
The headquarters of the Moth Chasing Fire.
Lumine finished his training for the day. Improving physical fitness wasn't something that could be achieved overnight, and his current condition still hadn't reached the passing standard of a Fire Moth warrior.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have trained for over a year and gone on missions across various fronts before being transferred to headquarters as an outstanding soldier.
Even with the combat experience carried over from his rebirth, his physical condition still needed time to catch up.
Kevin—that cheater—didn't count.
He adjusted his breathing and wiped the sweat from his face with a towel.
Just then, a fair hand entered his field of vision. Elysia stood there, handing him a bottle of drink.
"You worked hard today. You've successfully completed your training goals~"
"Thank you." Lumine accepted the bottle. More precisely, it was a special internal energy drink developed by the Fire Moth, designed to replenish fluids and inorganic substances lost during training while easing fatigue.
It was said that Dr. Mobius had created it on a whim when she was bored.
I don't understand the world of geniuses.jpg
"How was it? Thoughtful, right?" Elysia tilted her head, looking at him expectantly.
Lumine glanced at the evaluation form in her hand. "You're very thoughtful. And… very beautiful."
Ever since obtaining the evaluator's authority from Ato, Elysia seemed to have flipped some kind of switch.
She carried the evaluation form with her everywhere, and over the past few days, she had even taken him on a tour of the entire Fire Moth headquarters. He wanted to say that he already knew the place well, but seeing the form in her hand, he swallowed those words.
Perhaps all she wanted was for him to spend more time with her.
But the Second Collapse had already occurred, and the Third was approaching. Civilization was teetering on the brink. Was it really fine to be this carefree?
No—put that ridiculous excuse aside. He was simply… still avoiding the issue. Avoiding the reality that Elysia liked him.
From a rational standpoint, time wasn't yet critically scarce.
Just as Lumine drifted into thought, with Elysia quietly sitting beside him, Hen strode over.
"Elysia, the council has issued a mission. One of the Fire Moth's branch bases has been destroyed."
"Huh?" Elysia blinked. Did this happen in her previous life? She didn't remember.
She opened the mission details on her communicator. When the familiar figure appeared on the screen, she fell silent.
Vil-V.
She remembered that Vil-V had been ordered to be captured by the Fire Moth after the Third Herrscher incident. After that, Elysia had personally brought Vil-V back to the Fire Moth, where she was imprisoned on a deserted island for several months. Only after passing the joint review of Mobius and the others did Vil-V officially join the Fire Moth.
Moreover, the destroyed base… happened to be the very base where Lumine had once stayed.
She couldn't help but feel a trace of relief. Luckily, Mobius had intervened and given her a legitimate reason to take Lumine away. Otherwise, Lumine might have already been taken by Vil-V.
She didn't know what feelings Vil-V's other personalities held toward Lumine, but the [Evil] personality definitely liked him.
Did Vil-V's rebirth also cause her other personalities to be reborn?
I need to go see Vil-V.
"Sorry, Lumine. I might not be able to stay by your side for a while~ Remember to miss me~"
Lumine nodded, indicating that he understood.
It was probably good that Elysia would be leaving for a while. He also needed some time… to sort out his own thoughts.
Ato looked at the two of them with a strange expression. He had already felt something was off when Elysia came to him that day asking for the evaluator's authority. Could it be… that Elysia also had feelings for this boy? How long had they known each other? Love at first sight?
His gaze then shifted to Lumine.
Lumine noticed someone watching him and realized that Ato was looking at him with an oddly encouraging expression.
Lumine: "???"
What's going on?
Ato: Keep it up, young man! To earn the attention of the most beautiful flower of the Fire Moth—there's potential here. I have high expectations for you!
From Ato's observations, this boy named Lumine had a good temperament and trained diligently. He was very satisfied with him.
If Lumine knew what Ato was thinking, he would definitely say:
"Don't rush into the role of my father-in-law!"
News of the bombing of the Fire Moth's branch base quickly reached Mobius. Seeing the familiar figure on the screen, she leaned back slightly, fingers pressing against her temple.
"So the situation has escalated this far… Vil-V's reappearance complicates matters."
Her irritation was not emotional, but a response to overlapping complications.
Several operational processes had deviated from her original schedule in recent days. With evaluator authority reassigned, procedural responsibility had shifted accordingly.
Mobius' gaze sharpened as she cross-referenced the data.
On the other side.
Vil-V was still talking to herself.
"They've all left markers. She should be able to find them quickly, right?"
What if other people follow us?
"So what? As long as we find Elysia, that's enough. As for the others… heh, there are plenty of ways to make them disappear."
"Speaking of which, [Evil], there's something I've been curious about."
"Oh?"
"There was a period before the Twelfth Herrscher incident when all of our personalities fell into deep sleep. It was during that time that the incident occurred. What did you do back then?"
"Ah, you really are sharp. But that's a secret between Lumine and me—a secret that belongs only to us~ I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone~"
"Tsk…"
"Ah… I am the only one most suitable to stand beside Lumine. I can fulfill all his requests, as long as he is willing—"
"Stop your disorderly behavior right now!"
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