"You do know you're giving me a whole bunch of extra stress, right?"
Celeste had already accepted the situation, but she still voiced her complaint—if only to secure her right to complain about it later.
"My bad!" Jenna replied with a wink and a bright smile.
'Well… calling it a wink might be generous,' Celeste thought dryly. 'With only one eye left, it's basically just blinking.'
"Oh, right. There's something I wanted to tell you." Celeste remembered that she had only submitted an official report; Jenna likely hadn't had the time—or the inclination—to go through it yet.
"Hmm?" Jenna tilted her head slightly.
"I want to place those two in the academy. The ones I picked up."
"No problem."
The response came instantly—so quickly that Celeste paused for a moment, mildly surprised.
"…You agreed rather fast."
Jenna shrugged lightly. "If they're people you've already approved of, I don't have anything else to add. Besides, they look promising."
"…I see."
There was nothing more to say after that.
"See you later."
Celeste ended the call immediately after her farewell. If she had lingered even a second longer, Jenna would have undoubtedly stretched the conversation into something far more exhausting.
"Things are getting serious. What a drag…" she muttered under her breath.
With a sigh, she leaned back and decided to take a quick nap.
…
After dropping the twins off at a nearby restaurant—and giving them strict instructions to stay put until she returned—Celeste made her way toward the military branch located within the sector.
"Here."
As soon as she reached the gates, she handed a portable device to the guards stationed there and turned to leave without offering any further explanation.
In truth, she hadn't needed to physically give them anything.
As long as she came within range, the data would have transferred automatically.
But this was a test.
Only those within the military faction were aware of this feature. Anyone outside of it would assume the device itself was necessary for the transfer.
'Jerimiah really does make some impressive things sometimes,' she thought.
Their relationship was… complicated.
They weren't enemies, nor were they rivals in the traditional sense. Yet there was an unspoken competition between them—a constant effort to outdo one another while still acknowledging each other's abilities.
Of course, in her mind, there was no doubt.
She was the better scientist.
'Let's hope they actually deliver it properly,' she mused, glancing briefly at the guards. Their expressions were filled with enthusiasm—almost too much of it.
She could only hope it wasn't an act.
Either way, her task there was done.
Which meant she was now free… to head toward an academy designed to train child soldiers.
'…Yeah. Now that I think about it, maybe humanity should just go extinct.'
…
The academy's location was classified at the highest level.
Which meant one thing: they couldn't rely on any ordinary—or convenient—methods to get there.
After leaving the city and skillfully shaking off the spies that had been tailing them, Celeste led the twins through a series of detours and calculated maneuvers.
Three hours passed.
By the time they finally arrived, they stood before a massive storage facility constructed entirely out of metal. Its surface was smooth and seamless, reflecting the faint light of the surroundings like a monolith of steel.
"Dorothy has arrived."
The moment Celeste spoke, the doors slid open with a low mechanical hum.
Sylvia and Ethan could only stare in stunned silence, their expressions frozen in awe.
Ignoring them, Celeste stepped inside.
The vast interior of the facility was almost completely empty—save for a single object resting at its center.
A flying saucer.
A creation courtesy of Jeremiah.
It was absurdly expensive, wildly inefficient, and entirely unnecessary by most standards.
And yet…
It was perfect for moments like this.
'I'm really glad my past self was willing to spend that kind of money,' she thought with a small nod of approval.
Without hesitation, she climbed into the saucer and began activating its systems.
The machine rumbled to life.
"Hurry up!" she called out sharply.
Snapped out of their daze, Sylvia and Ethan rushed forward. Just as the door began to close, they leaped inside, making it in at the last possible moment.
"A little warning next time would be nice," Sylvia complained, brushing the dust off her clothes as she straightened up.
"It's your fault for standing there like a pair of country bumpkins," Celeste shot back without missing a beat.
Still, beneath her casual tone, there was a flicker of genuine surprise.
In that brief window—barely enough time for the door to close—they had managed to cover the distance effortlessly.
And more importantly…
They didn't look even slightly strained.
'Monsters… the lot of them,' she grumbled inwardly.
Compared to them, her own physical capabilities felt embarrassingly lacking.
Shaking off the thought, she focused on piloting the saucer.
Above them, the ceiling of the facility split open. The structure parted smoothly, creating a vertical passageway.
The saucer ascended.
Then, in a sudden burst of speed, it shot upward into the sky.
…
"She managed to evade us."
Hidden behind what appeared to be an ordinary tree, a figure dressed entirely in black let out a quiet sigh.
"It was expected," another voice replied.
A second figure appeared beside him, equally concealed.
"There's no way they would make it easy for us to follow them."
The newcomer handed over a small note.
"The twins?" the first man asked, glancing at it.
"Yes," the other confirmed. "We need to determine their connection to Celeste. Whether they're allies… or enemies."
"And if they're enemies?"
There was a brief pause.
Then—
"We eliminate them."
…
"I wonder what the academy is going to be like."
Sylvia swayed from side to side, unable to contain her excitement as she imagined the place they were heading to.
It wasn't just a school.
To her, it was something far more important.
A chance.
A place where she could atone for her regrets.
A place where she could push herself to her limits and grow stronger.
And she wasn't the only one thinking that way.
'Moonlit Sword Style…'
Ethan's thoughts drifted back to the moment he had seen it.
Jonas had used it.
And the image of that technique had been burned into his mind ever since.
He wanted to learn it.
To master it.
To wield it even better than Jonas had.
He hated running away.
More than anything, he despised the feeling of helplessness.
That was why he wanted power.
The power to stand his ground.
The power to fight.
"Looks like they're fired up," Celeste muttered, observing their expressions.
She had already reviewed the data on the other students who would be attending the academy.
They were exceptional.
Far beyond anything recorded in history.
But even so…
Ethan and Sylvia stood above them.
And as the one who had recommended them, their performance would inevitably reflect on her.
Which meant—
She could use them as a perfectly valid excuse to slack off.