The next morning
Kanda and the girls who had stayed in his room stirred awake, roused by the sharp knocking on the door from Claris. After quickly preparing, they made their way down to breakfast.
As they settled at their table, a maid approached silently, a letter clasped carefully in her hands. Her expression was unreadable.
Without waiting, Kanda asked, "Who is the letter for? And who sent it?"
The maid bowed slightly. "It is for Manami-sama. There is no sender's name."
Manami took the letter with a slight frown. She broke the seal and unfolded the paper, her eyes scanning the contents.
As she read, a shadow crossed her face. Her hands trembled slightly, barely noticeable unless one was watching closely.
Kanda leaned forward, sensing something wrong.
"What happened, Manami? You look... shaken. What's in the letter?"
Manami quickly folded the paper and forced a strained smile.
"It's nothing, Kanda. Just... some family matters. They're asking me to return home immediately."
Even as she spoke, her voice wavered. It was clear she wasn't telling him everything.
Kanda narrowed his eyes but said nothing. After a pause, he spoke gently, "If you need help, don't hesitate to ask. You don't have to face it alone."
Manami nodded, offering a soft thank you, but her mind was elsewhere, far away.
After breakfast, she excused herself and prepared to leave.
Kanda offered to escort her, but she refused with a quick shake of her head.
"I'll be fine. Don't worry," she said, though her words sounded hollow.
Kanda watched her disappear beyond the gate, his unease growing.
Once she was gone, he tapped the earring hidden under his hair—a communication device linked to Raven.
"Tail Manami," he ordered in a low voice. "Find out exactly where she's going. And dig into the Kinjou family. I want to know everything."
"Understood. We'll update you shortly," Raven replied before cutting the connection.
Without wasting time, Kanda headed toward Catia's main ship, accompanied by Eris, Aoi, and Melwin.
While Eris and Aoi branched off to the training area, Kanda and Melwin continued toward Captain Kuune's quarters.
When they arrived, Kuune was already waiting, her expression calm but sharp.
Kanda entered and sat down without ceremony.
"I have a request," he said quietly, his tone serious enough to put the room on edge.
Kuune tilted her head slightly. "What is it, Ichijou-kun?"
"I want access to your ship's AI core. Not the Command Center—the room where the artificial intelligence resides."
The atmosphere thickened immediately.
Kuune's eyes narrowed, and Melwin stiffened beside him.
"Why?" Kuune asked, her voice harder than usual. "What do you intend to do there?"
Kanda met her gaze without flinching.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I can't explain."
The silence that followed felt heavy. The hum of the ship's systems filled the background, unnervingly loud.
"But I swear to you—I have no intention of harming anything. I just need to speak with the AI," Kanda added.
"You can verify it yourself afterward if you like."
Kuune studied him long and hard, weighing the risks against the trust she had placed in him.
Finally, she let out a quiet sigh.
"Very well. But you have fifteen minutes. Not a second longer."
Kanda nodded in agreement.
Kuune led him through a maze of secured corridors. As they walked, she spoke in a low voice.
"If the ship comes under attack, the Command Center and the AI core will be shifted into another dimension. That's how critical that room is. I hope you understand what kind of trust I'm giving you right now."
"I do," Kanda replied solemnly. "And I won't betray it."
They stopped before a heavy, reinforced door.
Kuune turned to him, her face grave. "Once you enter, you're on your own. Don't make me regret this, Ichijou-kun."
With that, she stepped aside.
Kanda gave her a respectful nod before stepping through the door, into the heart of the ship's secrets.
~15 minutes later.
Kanda emerged from the room, offering a small nod of gratitude to Kuune.
"I'm finished. Thank you for your help," he said.
Kuune, folding her arms with a slight sigh, replied, "I hope I won't be getting another request like that anytime soon."
With a light chuckle, Kanda made his way toward the training room, where Eris and Aoi were already present. Meanwhile, Melwin returned to her station alongside Kuune, handling the work she had brought aboard the main ship.
Upon stepping inside the training room, Kanda immediately noticed Dr. Durel, her face serious as she scrutinized the monitor before her. On the screen, Eris and Aoi were training, their movements sharp and precise.
"Hello, Dr. Durel," Kanda greeted her, walking closer. "How are they doing? Any observations you'd like to share?"
Durel barely glanced at him, her gaze glued to the screen. "Oh, it's Ichijou... Yes. Just as you predicted, their limits have shifted. Both Eris and Futaba have already reached stage two of the training, something I initially estimated would take Eris two weeks and Futaba a month."
She shook her head slightly, a rare sign of amazement crossing her expression.
"Three days for Eris. Five days for Futaba. It's... extraordinary, almost unnatural."
A faint smile of pride touched Kanda's lips. "I'm proud of them. Still, we must remind them — pushing too fast can lead to disaster."
Durel nodded. "I've warned them, but... after seeing your training manual, they seem determined to catch up to you, no matter the cost."
Their conversation continued quietly until Eris and Aoi exited one of the simulation rooms. Upon seeing Kanda, they immediately brightened and greeted him, to which he responded warmly.
While the two girls rested and enjoyed a short break, Kanda sat with them, quietly reinforcing the importance of pacing themselves in training.
Suddenly, his communication device buzzed.
He quickly answered, his expression growing darker with every word he heard.
After a moment, he issued swift, low commands:
"Raven, assign two operatives to watch over Manami. Report to me immediately if anything suspicious happens."
"Yes, sir," came Raven's crisp reply.
"Also... collect every piece of evidence you can about the Kinjou Family's ties to 'those matters.' We'll need undeniable proof."
"Understood."
Kanda cut the call, his face grim. The air around him shifted, becoming heavier.
Aoi, noticing the change, spoke hesitantly, "Kanda... who called just now? And... why do you look so serious?"
Kanda's gaze lingered on the two girls before he finally spoke, his voice low and deliberate.
"It was Raven. I've ordered her team to shadow Manami... and dig deeper into her family."
Eris leaned forward, concern clouding her features. "Is her family... dangerous?"
(A/N: From this point, a fabricated backstory to deepen Kanda and Manami's bond.)
Kanda's eyes narrowed slightly as he began recounting the story, his tone carrying a quiet sorrow.
"The Kinjou Family... once had deep, tangled ties with the CIA. For generations, they served alongside the organization, marrying into it, living by its orders. But it changed during Manami's grandmother's time."
He paused, the weight of the story pressing down on him.
"Her grandmother rejected an arranged marriage to a powerful CIA family. Her choice was seen as betrayal. The Kinjou Family cast her out... and the CIA turned against them. Their prestige crumbled overnight."
Eris and Aoi listened intently, barely breathing.
"Desperate to regain their standing, the Kinjou family tried to capture Manami's grandmother. When they couldn't find her... they slaughtered her husband's family, trying to force her out of hiding."
Kanda clenched his fist unconsciously.
"In the end... she fled to Okinawa, raising her daughter—Manami's mother—far from that darkness."
Silence fell between them. Only the low hum of the ship's systems filled the void.
Aoi whispered, "Then... why is Manami being called back now?"
Kanda exhaled slowly. "According to Raven, Manami's mother has been taken. They're using her to lure Manami home. I suspect... they want something only she can provide."
Eris' ears twitched, her fists tightening. "Using family as leverage... those cowards."
"If there's anything we can do, Kanda," Aoi said fiercely, "we'll help her."
Kanda gave them a faint, grateful smile. "For now, we wait. But trust me... if they dare hurt her, they will regret it."
Their conversation was interrupted when Melwin and Kuune entered, carrying trays of food. They shared a light meal, though an unspoken tension lingered in the air.
Eris and Aoi resumed their training afterward, but Kanda's mind remained elsewhere.
Just as he finished his meal, his communicator buzzed again.
He answered quickly — and froze.
A heavy silence followed before he said in a low, urgent voice:
"Is that confirmed? ...Understood. Stay with her. Do not engage unless necessary."
His expression turned even darker.
Without wasting a second, he stood up sharply, startling the others.
"I have to go," he said, voice clipped. "Prepare yourselves. We're heading back to Earth."
Eris and Aoi immediately abandoned their training, racing to join him.
As they left the training room, a single thought haunted Kanda's mind:
They moved faster than he had feared.
END OF THE CHAPTER.