The subsequent words from the Mayor and the Director of the Education Bureau certainly drove home the fact that Durandal and Elysia were no ordinary individuals.
With the backing of such high-ranking officials, the two easily gained access to the student archives of Chiba Academy.
Just as Durandal had pointedly skipped over Su's file back at Sapphire City High School, she bypassed Mei's records without a second glance this time as well.
Working through the descriptions in the archives, Durandal eventually handpicked ten candidates from the pool of over a thousand students.
Strictly speaking, the previous captain of the Kendo Club met Schicksal's recruitment standards, but why would Durandal go out of her way to invite trouble?
Even though the person's "infatuation" with Elysia had withered away following the outcome of their duel—and now that Durandal and Elysia were officially dating, leaving absolutely no room for a third party to squeeze in—Durandal simply didn't want to see their face again.
So what if she was being petty?
Thinking on it, Durandal felt a strange sense of empathy for the cold shoulder Elysia had given Hayato earlier.
She wasn't one for double standards, so she decided right then and there: after today, unless it was absolutely necessary, she'd avoid contact with Hayato and just let Connie handle any communication with him.
This talent scout mission went off without a hitch.
For three days straight, Durandal and Elysia scoured the high schools and universities of Nagazora City.
They didn't just recruit fresh blood for the Combat Department; they also bolstered the ranks of Logistics and Research.
The Research Department, in particular, was starving for staff.
In one fell swoop, Durandal scooped up thirty master's and doctoral students from several universities and even managed to hire a few professors.
Had she not promised a "rotation system"—guaranteeing these academics wouldn't have to shift their entire focus to Schicksal's labs immediately and could continue mentoring students—she suspected the university deans might have actually tried to throw hands with her.
After all, the professors Durandal had her eye on were top-tier talents, essentially the pillars of their respective institutions.
Many had received offers from Fire Moth in the past but had turned them down for various reasons.
It boiled down to two main points.
First, most were locals. To join Fire Moth, they would have been forced to relocate to the main headquarters; they weren't like Einstein, who had the leverage to stay in Mu.
Naturally, those who didn't want to leave Nagazora had to decline.
Second, the non-disclosure agreements Fire Moth demanded were borderline tyrannical.
These professors weren't like Mobius; they actually had social lives. They weren't exactly thrilled by clauses that effectively severed all contact with the outside world upon signing.
Even if the terms allowed them to bring their families along, most had friends they weren't willing to abandon, so they walked away.
Schicksal, however, was a perfect fit.
The first point was a non-issue: Schicksal's headquarters was right here in Nagazora, so no one had to leave home.
As for the second, while there were internal security measures—Schicksal strictly controlled the removal of samples or data and required NDAs—they didn't restrict anyone's personal freedom.
Durandal wasn't naive; she knew this approach carried a risk of leaks. But the projects she had handed to Vill-V and Mobius were all based on research from her own samples or those obtained through Genius.
As long as she kept a tight lid on her blood, genes, armor, and physical hardware, what did it matter if someone walked out with a few parameters or data points memorized?
Modern science had reached a plateau of sorts.
Even with formulas, parameters, and guidance from Soviet experts, it had taken China years to build an atomic bomb.
The things Durandal had the Research Department working on were far more complex than a nuke. No matter whose hands that data fell into, it wouldn't be replicated anytime soon.
Besides, if these technologies were somehow replicated by others, it wasn't strictly a bad thing.
Sure, it would feel like being "freeloaded" on, but at the very least, these technologies would genuinely bolster humanity's hand against the Honkai.
Durandal's choice to keep things private rather than public was purely a pragmatic move to recoup initial costs.
Schicksal needed capital to grow; she couldn't rely solely on Eden's companies or low-interest loans from city governments. At the very least, she wanted the labs to hit a small goal of being self-sustaining.
Indeed, in the future, the products coming out of Vill-V's Spiral Workshop and Mobius's lab wouldn't be for Schicksal's eyes only.
Some would be released as "merchandise" to the market to generate profit.
When that time came, Durandal wouldn't mind selling Moon Rings to Fire Moth or even performing Stigma surgeries for them—as long as the price was right.
Since most of these technological products were specialized for fighting the Honkai, they weren't exactly cost-effective for killing humans compared to standard conventional weapons.
Thus, instead of worrying about tech falling into the wrong hands and putting Schicksal at a disadvantage, she'd rather focus on counting her coins and preventing leaks that might hurt her bottom line.
In times like these, patents were useless. Given Fire Moth's reach, the moment she submitted papers to a patent office, Fire Moth would likely have those files on a desk for study within the hour.
As Schicksal absorbed this fresh batch of talent, the most noticeable change for Durandal and Elysia was seeing Mobius and Klein around the villa area more often.
Previously, the two had been practically glued to the lab, rarely coming home. Now, with plenty of assistants to lighten the load, they finally had some breathing room.
More importantly, both seemed to have discovered little interests outside of their experiments.
In Schicksal, Mobius wasn't subjected to the same judgmental stares she faced at Fire Moth, making her less hesitant to step out of the lab for a stroll.
As for Klein, she no longer felt that suffocating sense of despair—the feeling that fighting the Honkai was a lost cause.
Without the need to drown her fears in endless work, she was more than happy to explore life beyond the test tubes.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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If you guys wanna check it out.