When I was out of the bathroom, I found my equipment stashed on the shelf nearby . Clean and neat .
I didnāt know what happened to my filthy water drenched clothing while I was inside the bathroom . But most likely it had been washed clean with some sort of Gallian technology .
I put them on back quickly, and returned to where Mikuria was .
Kairos should be there as well .
Sure enough, there they were, talking to each other while looking at the monitor . Noticing my presence, Kairos beckoned me to join them .
[Fate, come here . Let me show you something good]
Unlike before, Mikuria had a smile on her face this time . It seemed that this information was free to be disclosed to others .
What will you show me? Iām kinda looking forward to it now,
[Isnāt this the sketch of the research facilityā¦]
[Whatās with that flat reaction?]
I was disappointed . Here I am expecting to see a Gallian technology I hadnāt seen before .
And it turned out itās just a sketch . Please return my excitement .
[Whatās with that disappointed look? This is the research facilityās floor plan! Things like this are usually super secret stuff! You shouldāve reacted like, āThis, Mikuria-sama! Thank you very much!ā or something along that line . Right, Mikuria?]
[You silly! Always acting like thatā¦]
Mikuria slapped the back of Kairosā head, then sighed .
[Just ignore this guy . Anyways, this is why I called you guys in . ]
The location she pointed to was somewhere in the research facility bas.e.m.e.nt . When she touched the floor plan on that spot, the enlarged image of that area was displayed so that itās easier to see .
But no matter how I look at it,
[There is nothing there . ]
[Yes, at least if shown like this . But if I do this . ]
Mikuriya operated the UI quickly, invoking another feature to the floor plan .
The sketch suddenly changed .
Showing a 3 dimensional model of the room .
[Thisā¦ what is this?]
[I called you guys in to inspect this place . There are more people than planned, but that shouldnāt matter?]
The woman turned to Kairos as she said that, then smiled .
[It sounds easy to just look it up, but I want to know in detail what youāre actually looking for . We are talking about you after all, so itās gotta be something dangerous . Is there something we need to defeat there?]
[Yes, indeed . Iād like you to kill it if possibleā¦ but considering Kairosā skill, it might be dangerous to kill something you know nothing of . ]
[Theyāll end up eatenā¦ too bad . ]
[Give it up . One day youāll end up with a skill that turns you to a real monster . I donāt wantā¦ . to see that end . ]
[I told you itāll be just fine]
[Haaā¦ Fate, say something to this fool here as well . ]
Iāve seen Kairosā fights up until now . He didnāt seem to have trouble with the Gluttony skill anymore than I do . In fact, he seemed to react less than I usually do after devouring a soul .
Iām currently able to withstand Gluttony skill mostly thanks to Lunaās help .
Without her, I may not be alive and well like right now . I mightāve been taken over by the Gluttony skill after killing the Tenryu in Gallia .
[No worries . Iāve been doing well with the Gluttony skill, Iām fine with eating large dishes lately . I donāt feel hungry all that often anymore . I mean, is this not how it feels like to be in full control of the Gluttony skill?]
[Thatās nonsense . It is by no means something that can be controlled . On the contrary it makes me scared . The skill has been causing you pain all this time . Why would it suddenly become docile?]
[Isnāt it a good thing? This way I can fight to my best . Iāve changed for the better]
[You havenāt . You havenāt changed at all . Look at this . ]
The display changed into some sort of a report on Kairosā body condition .
The numbers appearing there were extremely abnormal . Itās similar to the report Raine showed me back in the capital .
Apparentlyā¦ Kairos is actually in an even worse condition than I am .
[Itās a miracle that youāre still alive . This is the other reason why I call you to come here . ]
[Iām too busy to be bother by that . ]
[Donāt be like that . Once you are done investigating the underground floor, Iāll arrange something for Kairos . Must do everything we can . Even within this facility, there are many who are dissatisfied with the method the Empire had adopted . You do need power, but the most important thing here is time . What if something goes wrong with Kairosā core when it really counts?]
Being told off relently like that, Kairos scratched his head in defeat .
[I get it already . Iāll adjust somehow . Makes me wonder if youāre on my side or not . ]
[Right . ]
From my point of view, sheās obviously on your side .
According to Mikuria, something was kept inside that particular room whose content had been deleted from the floor plan .
At first only a small amount of food was a.s.signed there, so n.o.body really noticed it from the data check . But recently, a large amount has been sent over .
[If I have to guess, it must be some sort of a biological weapon . And itās growing rapidly . ]
[Then it might get even more dangerous if left alone . ]
[Please donāt . Other than me, there are many other people who would be willing to side with Kairos . What we need now is time . Besides, the information regarding this underground chamber has never been made known to the majority of the researchers, including myself . We can use this to pull those people to us . ]
[Is that so? I donāt think itās gonna be that easy . People in this research facility barely see the likes of me as human being after all]
[Itās in the past . I used to forget myself . But here I am now working with you . ]
[Tskā¦Mikuria]
[Yes, now take this . ]
What Mikuria handed over was a syringe gun . A compact palm-sized one .
[There . Fate, you take it . ]
Kairos nonchalantly tossed the syringe gun to me .
[Hey, you! That was for Kairos!]
[You know that I may have to fight in an emergency . Itās not the right time to use that . ]
[Please donāt . If you fight, this entire place will be demolished . ]
[But we have you here . Before that happens, the entire personnel wouldāve already been taking shelter or evacuating . Iāll be looking forward to that, Miss Deputy Director]
[Youā¦ fine then . Go quickly . The surveillance system may not detect you, but please donāt let anyone find you . ]
She also gave us a portable version of the floor plan . But of course, Kairos tossed it to me as well .
[Please . You show the way . Iām not all that good in reading a map]
[Are you direction blind?]
[If I am, then how did I guide you to this facility?]
He got a point there .
I guess he just finds it troublesome .
I also understand why Kairos entrusted the map to me . Going to the next room, I took a look at Myne who hadnāt showed up at all earlier .
[She fell asleepā¦?]
A true warrior must be able to rest at any given situation and place .
Myne told me that before .
She fought Kairos, got beaten and became a prisoner, then pushed to work together . If itās me, I wonāt be able to sleep with how fast the situation kept changing .
I thought as I gently placed my hand on Myneās forehead .
[Why are you trapped in here? Whatās wrongā¦? The time you spend with Kairos . Is that what you want to show meā¦? Myneā¦ . . ]
The person in question continued to sleep .
After a while, she turned away as if trying to brace herself from being beaten .
[ā¦ . . sorry . Iām really sorry . Iāll keep that in mindā¦Iā¦ was wrong]
Was she dreaming of being punished by someone? Instead of the emotionless woman I was more familiar with, sheās showing a pained look on her face now .