Although war was raging across this planet, the city's safety had been taken over by the Interastral Peace Corporation—making it absolutely secure.
It was even more prosperous than before the outbreak of war. Many travelers from other planets, drawn by the touring performance of the galaxy's famous singer, Robin, had come here, injecting a hint of false vitality into the planet.
"Wait—you were the one singing yesterday...!"
"Shh!"
Robin, who was preparing to leave the city, was startled by the words. She prided herself on her disguise skills; even professional journalists couldn't see through her. She hadn't expected her foolproof disguise to be seen through by a stranger.
They weren't far from the hotel, and since she had secretly slipped out alone, she couldn't let this girl spread the news.
She grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her into a quiet corner where no one could see.
Lowering her voice in a hurry, she pleaded, "Please don't tell anyone!"
It really was the famous singer from yesterday.
Carefully pulling her hand back, Kiana looked curiously at the superstar disguised as someone else.
"Did I interrupt you?"
"No, not at all."
Robin shook her head, glancing nervously over her shoulder from time to time, as if afraid of being discovered.
"Is someone after you?"
Seeing her look so tense, Kiana volunteered, "Do you need my help?"
"No, you've misunderstood."
Robin shook her head. "No one's trying to harm me. I just wanted to do something, but I was afraid they'd stop me, so I slipped out secretly."
Secretly slipped out?
Kiana recalled scenes she'd seen in movies and dramas on her phone and suddenly understood. "Ah, I see! Then do you need my help?"
"I can manage on my own, but thank you for offering."
Robin expressed her gratitude. She was heading to the most dangerous front line and didn't want to drag a kind passerby into danger.
"Why are you thanking me?"
Kiana tilted her head, puzzled. "I haven't done anything."
It was the first time Robin had met someone so blunt. She refocused her full attention on the white-haired, blue-eyed girl before her.
The girl who had seen through her disguise was strikingly beautiful. Her clothing didn't resemble the locals' style, nor did it bear the IPC's insignia—she must have come from another planet.
Robin thought of her own tour and guessed quietly—could this observant girl have come to Kasbelina just to attend her concert?
She could sense that the girl meant no harm—only curiosity and goodwill.
When Robin didn't reply, Kiana's smile faltered and turned uncertain. "Did I say something wrong again?" she asked cautiously.
"No."
Robin snapped back to her senses and smiled gently to reassure her. "What I wanted to thank you for is your willingness to help me."
"My... willingness?"
Kiana repeated softly. Before Robin could explain further, she took out her phone and opened the memo app. "Even if there's no actual help given, goodwill should still be thanked."
After typing that line, she nodded in satisfaction, as though happy to have learned something new.
Robin blinked in confusion, watching the entire process. When Kiana finally looked up and remembered her manners, she added, "Thank you."
"What are you doing?"
Robin glanced between Kiana and the phone in her hand.
This girl was... a normal person, right?
"Oh, this?"
Kiana recalled what Ruan had told her before she left and gave a vague explanation. "Because of certain reasons, I lost my past memories. Ruan isn't very good at interacting with people either, so I have to learn slowly through talking with others."
She couldn't let anyone know she was a Self-Annihilator.
Kiana didn't know why, but since it was Ruan's instruction, she was sure following it would be fine.
So that was it.
Robin nodded, preparing to bid farewell to the girl before her. She needed to reach the battlefield before the others discovered her absence. Only when things were already irreversible would they give up on persuading her to abandon her so-called unrealistic idea and move her away from danger.
"Find her quickly!"
A few hundred meters away, a large group of people suddenly poured out from the hotel and onto the street. Among them were members of her tour staff and several IPC employees in uniform.
Not good!
Having been delayed for a while, Robin's expression changed slightly. Her disguise skills were excellent, but her team knew about them, which made slipping out of the city much harder now.
Those people were looking for the singer in front of her, weren't they?
Noticing the worry in Robin's eyes as she glanced behind her, Kiana instinctively wanted to grab her hand and pull her away—but then hesitated and nervously drew her hand back.
"This way."
She whispered a warning, then turned and headed back toward her own hotel.
Robin hesitated for a moment, but unable to refuse, she followed.
Amid the crowd's search, the two walked boldly into Kiana's hotel next door. Only after closing the door behind them did Robin finally exhale in relief.
"You want to hide from them, right?"
Looking down from the upper floor, Kiana could still see the IPC employees searching the streets below.
There were so many people looking for her—it felt as if they were chasing down some important fugitive.
That thought struck her as an odd analogy.
"Where are you going?"
Robin glanced down as well and sighed. "Do you know there's a war happening in this planet right now?"
"War?"
Kiana blinked, then nodded as she recalled the incident. "I've heard about it."
The ship she had been on was attacked by space pirates during its voyage. Although the IPC had managed to repel the attackers, the ship itself had been damaged. For safety reasons, it had to dock at the nearest planet for repairs and resupply.
That planet happened to be this one.
The IPC had informed all passengers that this planet was currently at war and unsafe, advising those without self-defense abilities not to disembark.
But she clearly wasn't one of those people.
Curious about this new planet, and after hearing that the galaxy's famous singer, Miss Robin, was touring Kasbelina, she had eagerly asked an IPC staff member for a ticket to see the show.
"That's exactly why I came."
"You didn't come for the concert?"
Robin shook her head gently. "I only decided to hold my tour here after learning that this planet was at war."
"War... must be terrifying, right?"
War meant countless lives would be lost.
"You're right. War is terrifying—it takes away many innocent lives. ...The people here need my help. I am a child of Harmony, and it is my duty to spread Its creed of the strong aiding the weak to every place under the family's protection that needs it."
So it wasn't that she had sneaked out just for fun.
She had come here to stop the war, holding her tour as a cover, and had slipped away right after the concert.
"So you're heading to the front lines?"
"That's exactly where I'm going. I want to stop the war that's happening."
Kiana scratched her head. "But... will the people fighting actually listen to you and just stop?"
Even though she lacked some common sense due to her lost memories, she still understood how hard it was to stop a war.
If it were the Interastral Peace Corporation, Kiana thought that if the IPC truly wanted to stop the war, it could easily make it happen.
Because the IPC's fist was both big and hard—it could make even the most stubborn people sit down and listen.
"I want to try," Robin said firmly. "If I don't try, I'll never know the answer. I want to put my belief into action."
If you don't try, you'll never know the answer?
What a great line!
Kiana almost took out her phone to jot it down in her memo, but wisely restrained herself for now.
"I'll help you!"
"You'll... help me?"
Robin looked surprised—and a little delighted. She hadn't expected the girl to offer help even after learning that her destination was a battlefield.
"I already said I'd help you earlier! It's just the front lines, right? That's easy. I'll find someone to get us a vehicle and send us there!"
"Ordinary vehicles probably won't go near the front lines right now."
"So we just need to find an extraordinary one, right?"
"...Technically, yes."
Robin hesitated. "But it'll be hard to find a driver willing to go that far. Maybe it'd be easier if we just buy a vehicle ourselves and get a map."
While she was speaking, Kiana was already tapping away on her phone. By the time Robin finished, Kiana looked up with a bright smile. "All done!"
"All done?"
Robin was stunned—how could she have finished preparations so quickly?
"Look."
Kiana handed over her phone. On the screen was a chat with an IPC employee.
Kiana had been very direct, simply saying she wanted to visit the front lines and asking if they could arrange it.
The employee's reply had only three words: "No problem."
And just now, they had sent another message: a car bound for the front lines would arrive at the hotel entrance in twenty minutes.
She used that method?!
Robin stared in disbelief at Kiana, who was peeking at the new message. "You're... with the IPC?"
It wasn't that she disliked the IPC—she could have asked them for help too—but doing so would make her companions aware of her plan, and word would surely reach her brother.
Sunday would never agree to let her risk herself by entering the front lines.
"Nope," Kiana replied, understanding her concern. "I'm probably just benefitting from Ruan's reputation. That's why they're so polite. Ruan told me that on the way to Euphorion, if I need anything, I can always ask the IPC for help."
"Ruan? Is she with the IPC?"
It was hard to imagine anyone else saying something like that. And whoever said it must hold a high position—probably a senior executive.
"Ruan isn't with the IPC, I think."
Kiana shook her head. "But she's amazing. The IPC people respect her a lot."
Someone amazing, huh?
That explained it.
Robin didn't ask further. Knowing roughly what was going on was enough.
Kiana had nothing to pack, so she stood by the window, gazing at the busy street below.
Her destination was called Euphorion—a place close to the domain of the Aeon of Nihility.
It was also where Ruan had said she found her. Perhaps her past lay scattered there. To uncover the truth behind those fragmented images that surfaced in her mind, she had to make the journey to Euphorion.
Ruan had said she was special.
The different kind of power within her—distinct from Nihility—was proof of that, and also what Ruan found most intriguing.
Because of Nihility's influence, she forgot things every day, so she had no choice but to keep a memo of everything important to her.
That way, even if she forgot something significant, she could at least retrieve fragments of her lost past by reading the notes.
Nihility...
Even Ruan could do nothing about that power—it was truly frustrating.
"Oh, right. I still don't know what to call you."
"Eh? I didn't introduce myself before?"
Kiana turned around in surprise.
"I don't think so?"
"Sorry, I forgot. You can call me Kiana. It's the only part of my past I still remember. My destination this time is Euphorion. Our ship was attacked by space pirates, so we're temporarily docked here on Kasbelina."
Her smile was slightly sheepish. She had been so focused on asking whether Robin needed help that she completely forgot to introduce herself.
How rude!
That was quite a detailed introduction—she even included her destination and the reason she was here.
"Hmm... I'm Robin, a singer from the Family. I came to Kasbelina on tour, hoping to stop the war raging on this planet."
Kiana pondered for a moment. "Now that we've exchanged names, does that make us friends?"
"Eh? Friends?"
Though she found the girl before her pleasant, wasn't that developing a bit too quickly?
"Not friends?"
Kiana muttered, "Then what's the standard for being friends?"
"Of course we're friends," Robin said with a small laugh. "I was just a little surprised—you're so direct."
Robin could sense the purity in Kiana's heart. People always had a natural fondness for those who were beautiful and kind.
She was no exception.
"Isn't being direct a good thing?" Kiana asked curiously.
"Honesty is a beautiful quality," Robin replied. "But most people aren't used to that kind of straightforwardness, you know?"
Kiana silently made a note of that.
When she was with Ruan, there had never been any communication barriers. It was as if Ruan could see her thoughts directly and always knew exactly what she wanted to say.
"Let's exchange contact info. I'm afraid I might forget you later."
"Forget me?"
"My amnesia is quite severe—I never know when it might act up again."
She smiled apologetically. "I usually write down important things in my memo, but it's best to leave some trace on my phone too."
"What about your family?"
Robin could sense her sincerity and, after adding her contact, asked with a hint of concern.
"...I'm looking for them," Kiana said softly, putting away her phone. "This trip to Euphorion is to search for the parts of my past I've forgotten."