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Meanwhile, ten-something nautical miles from the island where Bokue and company found themselves, another armored transport ship—identical to the one from last night—slowly approached through the waves.
In the ship's dim cabin, a gaunt middle-aged man in a white lab coat stood beside a surgical table, making final adjustments on his computer screen.
On the table beside him, a silver-haired girl in a tight combat suit lay with eyes half-open. Her once-pure silver-blue pupils were now clouded with chaos, as if her consciousness had been completely overwritten by programming.
"How much longer until we reach the island?"
Without bothering to turn around, the lab-coated man asked casually, his voice like grinding whetstones.
The next second, an angry female voice erupted from behind him.
"Another hour! And this is YOUR fault, Kensei Kanase! Insisting we sail so far out to avoid the Special Zone Security Force—now we're practically on the other side of the world from our target! We've been sailing all night and still haven't arrived. What if that little brat escapes?? Never mind the fuel costs—just last night's destroyed armored transport and that whole shipment of magical constructs. Whose money do you think pays for all this??"
"And your point is?"
The lab-coated man stared at his screen, responding flatly.
"Better safe than sorry. If we hadn't stayed far out and the Security Force had spotted us, could you handle that risk?"
"But you have your precious daughter, don't you??"
At his self-righteous response, the woman's blood pressure instantly spiked fifty points.
"Tell me, aside from that particularly troublesome Natsuki Minamiya, who else in Itogami Island's Security Force poses any real threat? And even Natsuki Minamiya is just a Witch of the Void. You keep boasting about how powerful your Molded Angels are—with such high production costs, if they can't even handle one witch, what's their selling point? Well??"
"If it were merely one witch, naturally there'd be no problem."
Kensei Kanase's hands paused slightly.
"However, I suspect Itogami Island's Security Force may have acquired additional high-level combat power."
"Additional high-level combat power? You mean stronger than a witch?"
The woman sounded clearly unconvinced.
"...More precisely, stronger than a Progenitor."
Kensei pushed up his glasses.
"Remember the First Progenitor's diplomatic envoy to Itogami Island recently? According to my intelligence, the vampire noble sent as envoy apparently caused quite a disturbance on the island, but it was quickly contained and resolved. I don't know the specifics, but whoever could handle Dimitrie Vatler—the so-called 'Closest to the Progenitors'—definitely possesses strength rivaling a Progenitor."
"Rivaling a Progenitor? But wasn't the Warlord's Domain envoy sent because they'd heard about the Fourth Progenitor's emergence? Are you suggesting the Fourth Progenitor is working with the Security Force?"
"Unclear. Maybe yes, maybe no."
Having said his piece, Kensei returned to his work.
"But if that's truly the case, wouldn't it be better for you? Natsuki's evolution isn't complete yet. Once she fully ascends to become an angel, she'll possess power comparable to a Progenitor. Then she can battle this Fourth Progenitor—if she successfully kills them, imagine what advertising that would be for selling your Molded Angels."
"A Molded Angel that can match a Progenitor... Hmm... indeed."
As if already envisioning massive profits, the woman's tone instantly softened.
For the sake of huge earnings, some initial investment was necessary.
Yes, exactly.
❁❁❁❁
Scene shift to the beach villa's first-floor dining room on the island.
The air still carried rich aromas of food. Bokue Keikain sat alone on one side of the table, looking across at the two girls sitting side by side like close sisters.
"How was it? Everyone full?"
"Of course! Breakfast was delicious, thank you for the meal~"
La Folia remained as elegantly polite as ever. Hearing the young man's question, she pressed her palms together over her empty plate with a smile.
Beside her, Sayaka Kirasaka seemed rather absent-minded, merely humming twice in response before falling silent.
"Um~ Is Sayaka alright?"
Noticing the War Dancer's off state, La Folia tilted her head with concern.
"..."
No response came.
The silver-haired princess could only wave her hand.
"Sayaka?"
"Hm... ah! Oh, I'm here. What is it?"
As if suddenly awakened from a dream, Sayaka snapped back to reality with a confused expression.
What is it? Really?
This made La Folia even more worried. She grabbed the War Dancer's hand, her lovely brows furrowing slightly.
"Sayaka, you're not feeling unwell anywhere, are you? Did yesterday tire you out too much?"
Too tired?
La Folia meant to ask if yesterday's mountain-crossing search for her had exhausted Sayaka physically. But as they say, the speaker has no particular intention while the listener reads meaning into everything. The same words carried entirely different implications to Sayaka's ears.
Why was Princess La Folia suddenly asking this? Could it be that this morning, when she was in bed being... that by Bokue, Princess La Folia had groggily seen something?
No... that shouldn't be possible. After all, she'd confirmed it—right up until she'd crawled out of bed to shower, Princess La Folia had been asleep. Sound asleep, even.
But what if she'd been pretending?
The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. The War Dancer's heart raced chaotically.
"N-no, I'm fine, don't worry! S-so since we're all finished eating, I'll go prepare the speedboat. The sooner we return to Itogami Island, the better!"
With that, Sayaka practically fled, quickly withdrawing her hand from La Folia's grasp and hurrying toward the villa's exit without looking back.
Leaving the silver-haired princess still sitting at the table, tilting her head in confusion.
"She ran away... but is Sayaka really alright..."
"Eh, whatever!"
As if suddenly convincing herself, La Folia's worried expression transformed into a gentle smile.
She swiftly rose from her seat, circled around the table to sit beside the young man on the other side, placing her hands on her knees in a perfect picture of innocence.
?
Bokue formed a question mark in his mind.
Then he heard the silver-haired princess slowly begin:
"Since Sayaka isn't here right now, about what happened this morning—"
"Oh, I have a habit of sleeping naked."
Though he didn't think the morning's "accident" was his fault, Bokue still offered a brief explanation.
"That's not what I'm concerned about."
La Folia waved her hand, continuing to smile.
"Bokue... um... how should I put this? Actually, I'm just curious—about the male... area. Can it really get that big?"
"?"
"I'm really just genuinely curious!"
Realizing her topic was rather explosive, the silver-haired princess's face heated up, her cheeks flushing as she spoke faster.
"After all, Father and Mother have taken me traveling abroad before. I've seen those sculptures depicting male bodies overseas, but from what I remember, they should all be quite small. Completely different from Bokue's... everything!"
"So much so that I wondered if my eyes were playing tricks on me."
"Anyway, you've already seen my body, so as an exchange, could you let me see it again?"
Having said her piece, La Folia looked up at him, her gaze sincere and full of expectation.
Bokue: "..."
Did this count as an innocent maiden actively requesting to see the goldfish?
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