"…Waiting here isn't a solution after all. No matter what happened, I should at least take the initiative to face it."
"Don't worry, Seele—I can protect myself just fine."
"…"
Taking a deep breath, Seele's usually timid, rabbit-like blue eyes filled with determination.
"Mm. Let's go."
Passing through the long and silent passage, Seele looked at the scene before her with some surprise.
"This place is…?"
It could be called a laboratory, yet it lacked overly sci-fi traces—the walls looked like they were piled from large stone blocks.
But Seele didn't pay much attention to the surrounding environment; instead, she focused on the people inside.
"These people… Seele doesn't recognize any of them…"
"But maybe they know something about this place?"
The old timid Seele might not have had the courage—especially with the other her's condition unknown.
But now, Seele had grown. After only a brief hesitation, she proactively approached a girl.
Judging by the uniform, she seemed to be a student.
Seele spoke up: "Excuse me, may I ask…"
Before she could finish, the other interrupted: "Great! Finally someone to talk to. Do you know where we are right now?"
Her own line stolen, Seele could only answer honestly: "Sorry… I was actually going to ask the same thing…"
Seeing the disappointment on the other's face, Seele pursed her lips and began looking for someone else to talk to.
Noticing a relatively calm man, Seele took the initiative: "Excuse me, do you know what this place is?"
Unexpectedly, the man answered fanatically: "This is the sanctuary of the divine!"
"Being able to come here proves your devotion and good fortune!"
"You've passed the Stigmata Project's trial!"
Seele silently took two steps back, showing an awkward yet polite smile.
"Stigmata Project?"
Afterward, Seele tried asking more questions, but the man kept repeating the same two sentences.
Seele could only search for others again. Her attention was drawn to a panicked boy.
"Hello…?"
She had barely greeted him when he immediately said: "Don't—don't come closer… I-I don't want to talk to strangers!"
At this point, quite a few viewers—or rather Seele's fans—immediately exploded.
"You brat, you really don't know what's good for you!"
But regardless, the plot on TV continued.
Seeing how shy the boy was, Seele could only retreat silently while thinking in frustration:
"What should I do… they seem even more confused and helpless than me…"
"Should I keep asking?"
"Or maybe…"
Just as Seele hesitated over what to do next, a petite figure approached on her own initiative.
"Ah! Pretty big sister in white clothes!"
"Great—you're finally awake!"
The girl looked extremely delighted to see Seele awake.
Seele asked puzzledly: "Eh? You are…"
After meeting Seele's gaze, the originally excited girl suddenly became a bit shy.
But she still mustered her courage: "My name is Sora… you can just call me Little Sora, big sis."
Seele smiled gently: "I'm Seele. Little Sora—did you see me before I woke up?"
"Do you know where this place is?"
Seele hadn't held much hope, but Little Sora answered directly: "This is New Atla—our camping spot."
"…Camping?"
Hearing this unexpected answer, Seele found it hard to comprehend.
No matter how she looked at it, everything happening here was far removed from the camping she knew.
At the same time, Seele quietly observed Little Sora: "This child…"
Then Little Sora suddenly spoke: "Before we came here, Teacher told us…"
"She said this is a fun place that will make us forget about missing home."
"And we just need to enjoy forty days of camping before going back home."
Seele asked in surprise: "Your teacher brought you here?"
"Then… where is she now?"
Little Sora shook her head: "I don't know where Teacher is now. She's always like this—leaving without saying goodbye."
"But I also know… everything she does is for our sake."
"…So that's probably why she lied to us, right?"
Seele instinctively said: "Eh?"
Little Sora continued: "We… aren't really here for camping, are we?"
"We're not allowed to wander around, not allowed to go too far from camp, not allowed to talk to anyone who looks dangerous."
"If we run into trouble, we have to contact Uncle Gray Serpent right away."
"Although I haven't really been camping before…"
"But real camping shouldn't be like this, right?"
"At the very least, if everyone were just tourists, no one should be unhappy."
"—Because this is the Moon, after all."
"It's the kind of thing that only happens in fairy tales, isn't it?"
Hearing the unbelievable word, Seele's eyes widened slightly: "The M-Moon?"
Little Sora nodded: "Mm. Although I've never left this building…"
"But this is definitely the Moon—because what's hanging in the sky is Earth."
In that instant, Seele's entire body froze in place from Little Sora's words.
Little Sora said a few more things afterward, but Seele could no longer hear them clearly.
Only the word "Moon" was etched indelibly into her mind.
"The Moon?"
Seele thought in disbelief: "How is that possible… but…"
"Looking at this child's expression, it doesn't seem like a joke."
"…What exactly happened while I was asleep?"
Little Sora also noticed Seele's unusual reaction and asked softly: "S-Seele-neesan…?"
Snapping back to reality at Little Sora's call, Seele quickly said: "Sorry, I was just too shocked…"
"Little Sora, do you know how we got to the Moon?"
"…"
Little Sora didn't answer. After hearing the question, her eyes dimmed.
It wasn't until Seele showed a helpless expression that Little Sora forced a smile and said: "…As expected, there are some things Teacher didn't tell us, right?"
"Even the way we traveled here was so strange…"
"We just passed through a door that looked like a phantom, and in the blink of an eye we were in a completely unfamiliar place…"
As she spoke, Little Sora unconsciously showed a dejected look, making everyone watching on screen feel heartache.
But Seele was drawn to the description Little Sora had given.
"This method… it's almost exactly like the Sea of Quanta's Eye…"
"What should I do… she only seems slightly more familiar with this place than I am."
Thinking this, Seele looked at Little Sora's dejected expression and felt a pang of guilt in her heart.
"Suddenly appearing in a completely unfamiliar place—anyone would feel panicked."
"I think… her teacher just told a kind lie?"
All sorts of thoughts flowed through her mind. A gentle smile appeared on Seele's face as she comforted: "Don't worry, Little Sora."
"Your teacher wasn't entirely wrong… this really is a one-of-a-kind Moon trip."
Little Sora's eyes lit up at her words: "…Does Seele-neesan really think so?"
Seele nodded: "Of course. This is fate's arrangement too."
"Even if what I said isn't right—you should still trust your teacher, shouldn't you?"
Little Sora nodded hard: "…Mm, yeah!"
"Teacher is the best person in the world—she would never lie to Little Sora for no reason!"
"Those two big sisters earlier said something similar too, and back then we were still half-doubting."
"But since Seele-neesan says so too, then it must be true!"
Seele noticed the key point: "The two big sisters earlier?"
Little Sora answered: "Mm—one with golden hair, one with black hair."
"And they were wearing really amazing clothes… I think they called it Valkyrie armor?"
The word "Valkyrie" immediately caught Seele's attention. She quickly asked:
"Little Sora—did they say their names? Where they came from? Or anything else?"
Little Sora showed an expression of trying hard to remember: "Their names were… um…"
"Sorry, Seele-neesan—Mark Rabbit isn't with me right now, so I can't quite remember their names."
"Little Sora only remembers they called themselves Valkyries… because that word is really special…"
As she spoke, the girl showed a troubled look, clearly feeling bad that she couldn't help.
Seele quickly comforted her: "Don't panic, Little Sora—it was my fault for asking too hastily earlier."
"But… what is Mark Rabbit?"
"It seems really important to you?"
Little Sora explained: "Mark Rabbit is the robot Teacher gave me. My memory isn't very good—lots of things are remembered by Mark Rabbit for me."
"If I don't have it, I'll quickly forget what happened before…"
"Just like now—I can't do anything."
Seele said softly: "It sounds like something very important…"
As a gentle girl, she naturally couldn't just sit by and do nothing.
"If I go investigate the Valkyrie clues right now, Little Sora—who's lost her memory—will definitely feel very troubled…"
"Right… earlier I think I saw something like a bulletin board."
"Maybe it's something the people who ended up here set up to help solve each other's problems?"
"…If I write Little Sora's trouble on it, maybe someone will take the request and help her find Mark Rabbit."
To Seele, this was just a small effort.
But to viewers outside the TV, they all felt Seele's gentleness.
This girl who had once unfortunately fallen into the Sea of Quanta had never—never once—poured malice onto the world.
"Seele really is a little angel—love love love!"
"Whoever dares go crazy here saying 'Seele is my wife'—I'll castrate him myself!"
"Wuwu… how can there be such a cute girl like Seele? I just want to hold her and pamper her properly."
"The person above—elaborate on the pampering; I want to see!"
"Seele Seele Seele?"
"Black Seele tsundere, White Seele gentle—I really love this pair!"
"…"
At the company.
Seele saw the group chat content and let out a relieved breath.
Everyone really didn't hate her—that was enough.
"Seele really is a good child!"
Seeming to sense Seele's thoughts, Elysia came over again, rubbing her cheek against Seele's.
Though the atmosphere was overwhelmingly wholesome, someone silently watching this scene felt very bad.
Bronya: (???)
The next second, Elysia—who seemed to read minds—went over to Duck and started cuddling her too.
Equal love for all—everyone was her wing.
Mobius pursed her lips: "Aren't you going to do anything about her?"
Hessian shrugged: "What's there to manage? They're all girls—it looks nice too."
Nearby, Sakura and Aponia watched the TV without glancing sideways.
Aponia was holding little Griseo in her arms.
Ever since performing at Fire Moth Interstellar Entertainment Company, Griseo had frequently come over to hang out.
Aponia had thus truly taken on the role of Aponia-mama.
Back to the TV.
Seele quickly wrote a request for help on the bulletin board for Little Sora, then said to her:
"With this, someone should take the request before long."
"Until then, Little Sora—just wait here patiently, okay?"
Little Sora nodded: "Thank you, Seele-neesan!"
Seele shook her head: "Sorry… I should have helped Little Sora look for the missing robot together…"
"But right now, I have some urgent matters I need to confirm. I might not be able to focus on helping Little Sora search."
Little Sora asked puzzledly: "Urgent matters? Are you planning to go explore outside too, Seele-neesan?"
Seele answered: "If the situation calls for it—yes, but…"
Little Sora gave an "mm" and said: "Those two Valkyrie big sisters didn't stay here very long—they left soon after."
"They said they were going to find the way home."
"Little Sora originally wanted to go with them, but Teacher told me to stay here properly."
"And I also have to take care of the other children in the nest…"
"Seele-neesan—is it really dangerous outside? Do you have to go?"
Hearing Little Sora's words, Seele's mind raced.
"Since the Valkyries Little Sora mentioned have already set out… finding them is undoubtedly the top priority…"
Snapping back, Seele smiled gently at Little Sora: "Don't worry—I'm just going to find those two big sisters."
"I might come back very soon. As a… fellow Valkyrie, Seele has to confirm the whereabouts of her comrades."
"Little Sora should stay here. Without Mark Rabbit's help, it must be very inconvenient for you, right?"
"And you still have to wait for Teacher to come back, don't you?"
Looking at Seele's determined expression, Little Sora murmured: "Valkyrie…"
"Is this what Teacher meant—becoming strong so you don't fear danger for the sake of others?"
"Then, Seele-neesan—may you find the people you're looking for soon."
Seele showed a smile: "Thank you, Little Sora. See you later."
Little Sora nodded hard: "Mm—see you later!"
After parting with Little Sora, Seele quickly found a way to leave the base.
But after stepping outside, the scene before her left her somewhat silent.
"…"
This didn't look like the Moon at all. As far as the eye could see—beyond ruins—there were only even more dilapidated ruins.