Academy City — Talent Workshop.
It was Monday.
The day the selected candidates were to report in.
Saten Ruiko and Uiharu Kazari had arrived early in the morning.
They thought they'd be the first ones there.
But—
Someone had already beaten them to it.
Golden hair.
Blue eyes.
Pale, porcelain-like skin.
A petite, slender figure topped with a beret, and long, eye-catching legs.
It was Frenda Seivelun.
The moment they saw her, both girls lit up.
Frenda, on the other hand, looked slightly surprised as well.
"Hey there~ You here for the experiment too?"
Saten stepped forward first, greeting her with her usual friendliness.
Frenda nodded cheerfully.
"Yep~! You too?"
"That's such a coincidence! I thought I came super early."
She giggled lightly.
She'd only been waiting a few minutes, yet others had already arrived.
Saten quickly introduced herself, and before long, the conversation flowed naturally.
For some reason, the two of them clicked instantly.
And when they exchanged contact info—
They realized they were already in each other's friend list.
"…No way?!"
That strange coincidence instantly closed the distance between them.
Within minutes, they were chatting like best friends.
Uiharu, standing nearby, could only stare in disbelief.
That escalated way too fast…
Not long after—
More participants began to arrive.
First was Nunotaba Shinobu, dressed in a white lab coat.
Then came a pair—
Yanagisako Aomi and Konori Mii.
Their arrival shocked Saten and Uiharu.
"Konori-senpai?!"
"These are Judgment seniors…"
Konori smiled in surprise.
"So you two got selected as well?"
"Well, that works out nicely—looks like we've got familiar faces here."
Then suddenly—
Uiharu froze.
"…Ah."
Her face turned pale.
"Konori-senpai… I think I forgot to file my leave request…"
An awkward silence followed.
Konori waved her hand casually.
"It's fine. Shirai is still back there—she'll handle things."
No big deal.
Even with four members gone, Judgment wouldn't collapse.
As they continued chatting—
Two more girls arrived.
Himegami Aisa.
And Fukiyose Seiri.
With that—
Everyone selected by Izumi had gathered.
Saten glanced around, tilting her head.
"…It's all girls."
"Do they only recruit girls or something?"
Frenda snorted.
"Probably some pervy researcher, right~?"
"Figures—"
Before she could finish—
The massive doors of the Talent Workshop slid open.
And someone stepped out.
It was Izumi.
He glanced at the assembled group and spoke plainly:
"Since everyone's here—come in."
Without waiting, he turned and walked inside.
The girls froze for a second.
Then—
"Whoa…"
"So handsome…"
Saten grabbed Frenda's arm, eyes sparkling.
"Frenda… are you sure about what you just said?"
Frenda herself was stunned.
"…What the heck—why is he this good-looking?!"
She had seen plenty of attractive men before.
But someone like this—
This level of presence—
Was on a completely different level.
Her heartbeat quickened involuntarily.
If he's actually a perv… that might not be so bad…?
The two girls instantly fell into full-on fangirl mode.
The others exchanged glances—
And followed inside.
The moment they entered—
They were stunned.
The entire facility…
Was empty.
Aside from themselves—and Izumi walking ahead—
There wasn't a single researcher in sight.
Nunotaba frowned deeply.
This place… is strange.
Most research labs had hundreds of staff.
But here—
Nothing.
After a moment, she spoke up.
"…Excuse me. Are there no other researchers here?"
Izumi replied casually as he walked.
"The entire facility has two people."
"The rest are all robots."
"We don't need many researchers."
He paused briefly.
"Save your questions. We're here."
He pushed open a door.
Inside—
They finally saw the second person.
Standing there in a white lab coat—
Was Asagi Aiba.
Izumi stopped beside her and turned back to the group.
"Let me introduce us."
"I'm Izumi."
"This is Asagi Aiba."
"We are the only researchers in this facility."
His gaze swept across them.
"Some of you are probably spies sent by other labs… or even the dark side."
Frenda and Nunotaba's pupils shrank instantly.
He knows…?
But Izumi simply shrugged.
"I don't care."
"As long as you cooperate."
"This experiment is important."
No threats.
No interrogation.
Just absolute indifference.
Then he turned to Asagi.
"Asagi—explain the experiment."
She nodded and stepped forward.
Dressed in her lab coat, she now carried herself like a true researcher.
Calm. Confident. Sharp.
Holding several documents, she handed them out one by one.
The girls accepted them and began reading curiously.
Then Asagi spoke:
"I'm Asagi Aiba."
"I'll be leading this project."
"What we're about to do…"
She adjusted her glasses slightly.
"Is all written in the documents."
"Take a good look."