By the time Martin logged out, evening had settled over the city.
He washed his face, carried his laptop into the penthouse living room, and joined the secured video call Cassandra had scheduled.
Cassandra and Katherine shared one camera from opposite ends of the couch. Martin took the armchair beside them, while Rias appeared alone in her own window. Elisebeth's camera showed half her face and most of a lampshade until she adjusted her phone.
Alexandra joined through her headset. Her window displayed Chaosgraphy beside Kumoe, whose three heads immediately tried to inspect three different edges of the call.
"Can everyone see me?" Elisebeth asked.
"We could see your lamp perfectly," Katherine said.
"The lamp had better lighting."
Martin laughed under his breath, but everyone settled back into the reason for the call when Cassandra leaned toward the camera.
