I spoke to Reina in my mind.
"Reina, what do you think?"
Reina answered immediately.
"I'll be honest with you, Arche."
I waited.
"Your current survival rate is around nine percent if you return to Firmament alone."
I froze.
"Nine?"
"Yeah."
"That's incredibly low."
"Because it really is that low."
I swallowed.
Reina continued.
"You still have ammunition."
"You still have thermal scramblers."
"But I'm not confident that even with my help, you could escape dozens of Green Serpent members."
I fell silent.
Then I asked again.
"What if we run to F-05?"
"Hm."
Reina thought for a moment.
"That's reasonable."
"But?"
"I don't have access to an F-05 map."
Damn.
"We'd have to buy a geographical map."
"From Firmament."
"Correct."
"Any other alternatives?"
"Kill someone and take the map data from their A.R.M."
I let out a sigh.
"And the last option?"
"Explore on our own."
I already knew what came next.
"High risk?"
"Extremely high risk."
"Unknown monsters."
"Unknown territory."
"And no retreat route."
I rubbed my face.
"Wonderful."
"Indeed."
I was silent for a few seconds.
Then I asked again.
"What if we kill Elthea?"
Reina fell silent.
For quite a while.
"Hmmm…"
I waited.
"Logically, that's the most sensible option."
I wasn't surprised.
"But?"
"You're hesitating."
I looked toward Elthea.
The woman was still standing there calmly.
As if she didn't care that I was considering the possibility of killing her.
"True."
I sighed.
"My instincts are telling me not to."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
I shook my head.
"She dropped all her weapons without hesitation."
"…"
"Does she think I'm that weak?"
Reina was silent for a moment.
"To be honest."
"I'm confused too."
I looked at Elthea.
The longer I looked at her,
the harder she was to read.
Eventually, I lowered my weapon completely.
"So there's only one choice left, huh?"
"That's right."
"The option with the highest chance of survival."
I let out a long sigh.
"Alright."
The moment Elthea saw that, she smiled.
"So you're coming with me?"
"Do I look like I have any other choice?"
Elthea laughed.
"No."
I was beginning to suspect she was enjoying this situation.
"You're smart."
She turned around.
"Then let's get moving."
I followed behind her.
Still cautious.
Still keeping my distance.
We moved through the ruins of F-05.
Then toward the border between F-05 and F-02.
A few minutes later,
we arrived at a tall, half-collapsed building.
From the outside, it looked like any other ruin.
Nothing special.
But the moment we stepped inside,
I immediately noticed something.
"Reina."
"I already see it."
There were electronic devices still running inside the building.
Indicator lights were still glowing.
And in the center of the room—
an elevator.
I raised an eyebrow.
"An elevator?"
"Still operational."
Elthea walked in without hesitation.
Then pressed a hidden panel.
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped inside as well.
The moment the doors closed,
Elthea removed her cloak.
For the first time, I could see her clearly.
A tight black suit.
Numerous small modules attached across its surface.
It looked like specialized equipment.
And the moment the cloak came off—
I felt a chill.
"…"
I glanced sideways.
"Reina?"
"Ooh."
Her voice sounded excited.
"Now I understand."
"Understand what?"
"It's not the cloak's effect."
I looked at Elthea again.
"Then what?"
"An augmented suit."
"Hm?"
"That suit is concealing her body heat."
I nodded slowly.
That made sense.
"But that's not all."
Reina continued.
"The suit is also emitting cold radiation into the surrounding environment."
"So thermal sensors interpret the area around her as colder than normal."
I fell silent.
"That's why she disappeared from thermal scans."
"Exactly."
I glanced at the folded cloak in her hand.
"What about the cloak?"
"Visual camouflage."
"So she's using two systems simultaneously."
"Precisely."
I looked at Elthea again.
Reina immediately concluded,
"This woman is most likely an espionage specialist."
"Or a high-level smuggler."
"Because she's using equipment designed to disappear from both thermal and visual sensors at the same time."
I nodded slowly.
That made sense.
Elthea, standing beside the elevator panel, simply smiled while looking at me.
As if she knew I was observing her.
Then the elevator began descending.
Down.
Deeper.
And after nearly a full minute without stopping—
I started to realize something.
This elevator wasn't heading to an ordinary basement.
It was taking us far deeper than anything that should exist beneath the ruins of Firmament.
When the elevator finally stopped, the doors slowly opened.
Elthea stepped out first, calm as ever.
I followed behind her.
The corridor ahead of us was surprisingly clean for a ruin. White lights still functioned along parts of the walls. As we walked, I found myself unconsciously studying the augmented suit Elthea was wearing. Thin lines of light glowed across its surface in a steady rhythm.
Suddenly, Reina spoke in my head.
"Arche, you seem pretty relaxed for someone who's busy staring at a woman's backside. We have no idea where we're being taken, remember?"
I flinched.
"I know! I was just curious about the augmented suit."
Elthea looked back.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Hm?"
I immediately turned my face away.
Elthea stared at me for a few seconds before chuckling softly.
"Oh?"
She grinned.
"I forgot you're a boy too."
I frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I forgot because of how you fought those Green Serpent members earlier."
I didn't answer.
Elthea looked even more amused.
As we walked, she spoke casually.
"By the way, besides being a Whisperer agent, I also have a side job."
I wasn't particularly interested.
"Oh."
"I work in the red-light district of the black market's elite sector."
I blinked.
"…And?"
Elthea smiled.
"If you ever want to become a customer—"
I immediately called out to Reina.
"Reina. What does she mean?"
Reina was silent for a few seconds.
Then answered flatly.
"You probably don't want to know this information."
"What?"
"But so you won't be fooled by her, I'll explain."
I waited.
"What she means is that she works as a prostitute in the black market."
I nearly stumbled.
"What?"
Elthea glanced at me.
"Hehe."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"Are you trying to trick me?"
"No."
Elthea's answer was incredibly casual.
"My work in the red-light district is separate from my work as a Whisperer agent."
She raised both hands.
"I don't mix the two."
I continued looking at her suspiciously.
Elthea went on.
"If you ever want to become a customer—"
"I'm not interested."
My answer cut her off immediately.
Elthea blinked.
Then laughed softly.
"That was a fast rejection."
"I'm not interested."
"Alright."
She shrugged.
"But if you ever change your mind, I'm fairly popular there."
"I won't change my mind."
"Don't be so sure."
I let out a long sigh.
"Reina."
"I know."
This woman is seriously weird.
"Agreed."
Elthea, walking ahead of us, suddenly laughed again.
"Your expressions are way too easy to read, Arche."
Then she simply continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Reina and I could only remain silent for a while before eventually continuing to follow her deeper into the underground corridor.