[After all, judging by the battle report on the Second Herrscher, the higher-ups believe that while Elysia is certainly strong, luck played an even greater role.]
[She just happened to find the right opening, and just happened to land a one-hit kill with the newly developed anti-Honkai weapon from the Weapons Research Division.]
[But against the Herrscher of Thunder, the matchup is completely different. More likely than not, she'd be swallowed by that sky-filling storm of lightning the moment they met and go down on the spot.]
[Elysia is deeply frustrated by this, but there is nothing she can do.]
[After all, it's not as though she can simply pat her chest and declare that she'll definitely win, can she?]
[You hear about this as well.]
[Clearly, compared to Honkai itself, those higher-ups also regard Elysia as a kind of "threat" in her own right.]
[In truth, the signs had already been there for some time.]
[Ever since Elysia defeated the Second Herrscher, aside from being given the title of "hero," she has in practice been excluded from the leadership circle and pushed to the margins.]
[Though Elysia herself does not seem to mind—in fact, she may even prefer it that way.]
[And now, beyond the lofty excuses they offer aloud, preventing Elysia from joining the battle is clearly also a way to stop her from truly killing the Herrscher of Thunder and gaining even more prestige.]
[Because if a hero saves humanity once, and then saves it again, and continues to create miracle after miracle, then she will no longer remain merely a "hero."]
[She will become a symbol—a symbol with more authority than any of the higher-ups.]
[Sure enough, when it comes to scrambling for power and advantage, Fire Moth's leadership never fails to "disappoint."]
"Hah! Short-sighted fools. Those damned old relics have always been like this." Mobius cursed bitterly, danger flickering in her pupils.
As one of Fire Moth's founding figures, she knew better than anyone what the higher-ups were really like—scheming for power, plotting against one another, every last one of them carrying their own private agenda.
In that regard, Mobius felt it keenly.
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Mo Xie.
It was practically a death stare, hot enough to burn two holes straight through him.
Quite clearly, she was displeased with the fact that Mo Xie had produced that "longevity" serum for the higher-ups.
Yes—although Mo Xie himself insisted on calling it a human enhancement serum, everyone who knew of it simply referred to it as the longevity drug.
Faced with Mobius's blazing stare, Mo Xie seemed not to notice in the slightest.
He merely lifted his coffee cup with perfect composure and took a sip. Only after the fragrance of the coffee had spread across his tongue did he slowly set the cup down and say blandly, "Why are you looking at me? It's not as if I developed it on purpose."
"Besides, making money isn't shameful. I have no interest in going back to the days when my funding kept getting strangled."
Who exactly are you taking shots at?!
The danger in Mobius's gaze deepened further, her eyes narrowing.
"Don't just talk about me. Mobius... Doctor—you don't seem quite as short on funding these days either." Mo Xie remained utterly unruffled, his meaning obvious, the corners of his lips lifting faintly.
Instantly, the menace drained from Mobius's eyes, replaced by a fleeting trace of embarrassment.
Because Mo Xie was right.
Although the longevity drug had been developed by him, Mobius had also stepped in once or twice, producing a bottle or two for the higher-ups herself in exchange for additional funding to pour into her own research.
As a result, her research budget had indeed not been choked off the way it used to be.
All things considered, she had benefited too. She really had no grounds to lecture Mo Xie about it.
"Ahem." Mobius covered her mouth with one hand and coughed tactically, then smoothly changed the subject as though nothing had happened. "Honestly, the older you get, the less cute you become. When you were little, you were obviously so—"
She stopped halfway through.
On second thought, when she looked back, he had always been like this since childhood...
Fine. Forget she said anything.
Mo Xie ignored that entirely and went straight to the point.
"I heard you're planning to go to Nagazora City?"
"No, who did you hear that from—... all right, Blanka." Mobius began by denying it without changing expression, then suddenly recalled the "traitor" in her laboratory and enunciated each word through gritted teeth.
"It has nothing to do with Blanka," Mo Xie said first, throwing Blanka a lifeline. Then, stressing each word, he asked, "Are you out of your mind? Going to the center of a major Honkai eruption at a time like this? You're not a soldier. What exactly are you going there for? If it gets any worse, go see a doctor."
As he spoke, he reached out and placed a hand against Mobius's forehead, as though checking whether she had burned her brains out.
No fever.
So what was wrong with her head?
"Talk all you want, but keep your hands to yourself." Mobius slapped his hand away irritably, though there was no real anger in her tone. "I'm not going to the city center. Just the outskirts. Fire Moth's forces have already swept those areas. Safety is guaranteed."
"It's still too dangerous." Mo Xie frowned slightly. "Whatever it is, does it really have to be now?"
Mobius fell silent for a moment, then spoke.
"You remember that talented girl I mentioned before, don't you? She studies at Chiba Academy in Nagazora City. With her talent, it would be too much of a waste if she died in this Honkai disaster."
"So you want to try to rescue her? Why not just leave that sort of thing to the army? What is a physically weak researcher like you doing meddling in this? Running off to the front lines, no less?"
Mobius said nothing.
She merely looked at him quietly.
"Fine. Go, then. Go ahead. Just don't die in Nagazora City." Mo Xie waved a hand irritably, clearly fed up.
The corners of Mobius's lips lifted in a small, victorious smile.
[After leaving Mobius's laboratory, you grow restless in your own institute.]
[You turn the documents in your hands over and over, yet cannot take in a single word.]
[You fiddle with the instruments on your workbench a few times, but cannot muster the slightest interest in operating them.]
[You are agitated, utterly unable to focus on advancing your experiments.]
[After thinking it over for a long time, you make a decision.]
[You submit a request to Fire Moth: you are going to Nagazora City.]
[As one of Fire Moth's most valuable "assets," your request is naturally rejected.]
[However, this is not truly a request. It is merely a "notification."]
[After repeated rounds of communication, and after confirming again and again that you will not enter deep into Nagazora City and will remain only within the safe zone already cleared by the military, Fire Moth's helpless higher-ups finally approve your application.]
[Still, accompanying you is a fully armed squad assigned to ensure your safety.]
[Because you are a "valuable asset."]
[Aboard the transport aircraft bound for Nagazora City, Mobius looks at the two people in front of her and falls into silence.]
-------
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