"Love in your eyes…Sitting silent by my side..."Yu's melodious voice echoed through the music room, accompanied by the sounds from the piano keys, creating an ethereal atmosphere that made the surroundings blur. Sitting there, Shird listened quietly. How should I put it? Yu often volunteered to play the piano to help Shird relax, but in reality, Shird was the one who taught Yu how to play the piano, so it was probably more like Yu "paying back" than helping. Yu was naturally gifted with a voice like an angel's, completely different from the melancholic tones of his piano playing."How did it sound?" After finishing the song, Yu wiped the sweat from his face and eagerly ran over to Shird to share the experience he had just given him."It was wonderful... thank you."Shird finally smiled, a warm smile followed by a gentle pat on Yu's head."Hehe~""Announcement: All Weavers must return to the meeting room at BH1 immediately. Also, Mao-QC (Outer Code) 704, Deputy Minister of F.A.I.R (Fast Aggressive Information Report), must urgently go to the meeting room as well. End!"The announcement from the Frost Wisp speakers startled everyone, even more so because it was an urgent notice involving a member from another department, unlike the monthly meeting of the Nine Council.Immediately, all nine Weavers gathered in the room. In addition to the familiar members, there were four others present: -IV: Mobius.-III: Vexth.-II: Lapis.-I: Thous.Mobius was quite enthusiastic and carefree, similar to other Weavers of rank V and above, so there wasn't much to say about her. But the three leaders were different. III, with his long, messy hair covering his cold face, was slumped over the table, possibly sleeping. II, wearing a strange mask, stood silently beside I, a character who rarely spoke in meetings. Finally, I, unlike other Weavers, exuded a calm and imposing demeanor, with deep, piercing eyes as though looking into someone's soul."Sorry I'm late!"Mao burst into the room and immediately bowed, apologizing, causing two strands of her long hair to smack Neo's face."It's fine. First, I have this."While Mao smirked at Neo for the hair-slap, Thous presented data showing unusually high frequencies of activity and espionage among different criminal gangs. These groups seemed to be gathering for some unknown purpose. Since all criminal activity was linked to Underworld, which was represented by FUN, the precursor organization of SAD, where Mao had once been a leader."As a former leader of the Underworld, do you have any insight on this?""...So it's finally here... Good Time..."Right after Thous's question, Mao, along with Setsuna and Free, three former members of SAD, spoke in unison, their expressions serious, which was unusual for them.After their explanation, the Nine Council learned that the recent activities of Underworld were being manipulated by PSD, short for Private Sweeper Divine, a special, older unit of SAD. In "Change The World," Mao, in her capacity as the SAD leader, had given 17,000 billion Gerum (the currency of the story) to PSD to rebuild the organization in case of her failure. And when "Good Time" arrived, they would take Mao back from Frost Wisp."Hey, I have a theory. Is it really true that Mao has completely abandoned Underworld? If not, I'm afraid we're just puppets dancing in her hands. This mission is pointless. Maybe we should change it from 'Protect Mao' to 'Counterattack FUN,' that'd be more fitting."Neo, a Weaver with a rather individualistic personality, casually rested his feet on the table. He presented a theory that would place Mao at a great disadvantage. Indeed, when two rivals face off, they constantly try to outwit each other with compelling arguments."Neo!""Neo, shut your mouth! This is a meeting to discuss measures to protect Mao, not to question her."Following Neo's remarks, others close to Mao, such as Setsuna, Yu, and Free, immediately objected. Only Mobius, instead of directly opposing, used her influence to silence Neo."Hmph…""Are you done speaking?"After Thous spoke, Vexth stood up lazily and walked out of the meeting room, as the rest of the group continued discussing strategies to protect Mao from the potential threat of FUN infiltrating and abducting her at any moment.It's important to note that FUN would "infiltrate" rather than "raid," because FUN's military strength was far weaker than that of Frost Wisp or the Peripheral Party, but Underworld's influence, which encompassed the entire world of crime, was enormous. So, the Nine Council couldn't rule out the possibility of a member of FA acting as a covert spy."Above all… maybe we should split into teams. Since this is an operation involving FUN and the entire Underworld, the Nine Council should work together.""I won't participate. I'll stay behind to give orders."After Mobius suggested splitting into teams, Thous, the only one to state he wouldn't participate, probably didn't want the "small matters" of Underworld to interfere with his own ambitions.In the end, the teams were split as follows:•Mao's Protection Team: Shird, Free.•Team to handle attack situations: Setsuna, Yu, Neo.•Team managing the overall operation: Mobius."Wait! I have a question!""Go ahead!""Why are all the Weavers from Nine Council involved instead of members from other departments? We have plenty of manpower, don't we?"After Yu's question, every pair of eyes in the room turned toward him. It was a gaze full of anger, discomfort, suspicion, and an immense pressure, as it was rare for a Weaver to be scrutinized like this."H-huh? Did I say something wrong?""Yu... didn't we explain already? FUN is much larger than Frost Wisp, even the Outer Party. Mao could be kidnapped at any moment... so making this mission public to the whole organization is practically inviting the enemy in."It was rare for someone as quiet as Shird to speak in the meeting, but his tone was gentle, quite unlike his usual sentimental self. Perhaps all he wanted was a pleasant conversation with his friends."To conclude, to maintain the initiative, I, IV, have decided to keep the content of this meeting confidential so it doesn't spread within the organization for the reasons mentioned above. This mission will be called: 'Good Time,' and the disaster evaluation is: 20 points. Agreed?""Agreed!""Who gave you the right to decide for me, Mobius?"Thous laughed at Mobius's arbitrary decision. It was a friendly, almost unnaturally perfect laugh, with a slight curl of his mouth at the right cheek."Hey, what do you think of Thous's smile? I feel like he smiles about four times a month, but it's never a long smile, just a small one?"After leaving the meeting room, Mao was immediately moved to a safe area. On the way there, Yu asked Setsuna the question above, choosing to be discreet, as all the Weavers didn't know their leader's true nature."Well… that smile... in my simplistic view, it's not real. I always thought that smile was fake. Considering someone like Thous who can change his emotions at will, it's normal for him. But, if you look at it from a different angle, his smile looks like a mask, something that's arranged to be put on for a certain period of time, more like a machine than a person."Shird left with Mobius. The two were considered to have feelings for each other and had started a romantic relationship, but as we know, love between immortals is never normal."Shird... When the time comes, come to my room. There, you will see what you want."...At C.C (Cosmic Coordinates)-70014, the coordinates of an underground city beneath the sea in an unspecified multiverse, a 16-year-old boy wearing an oversized coat that reached the ground and a hoodie over his head stood out not only because of his clothing but also due to the scars on his cheeks, giving him the appearance of someone who had been crying. Right here, his earphones weren't ordinary ones – it was a listening device connected to a cassette player from centuries ago."... Good... Time... has arrived... all residents... please prepare... for the... world's... reconstruction... reconstruction... reconstruction... reconstruction..."The constant static in the boy's earpiece wasn't from interference but from the repetitive word "reconstruction," suggesting a hidden message."The top-secret project of FUN named Alasexits… has been launched… regarding the application of an unknown energy... U... it's been studied in recent years… and now... the time has come... to apply it... to all members... of Underworld's military... it will be the largest..."This voice, that of an older man, spoke of "Healing Hour." Shortly after the statement, a long period of static silence followed."Cough... cough... Hahahaha!"The boy, after hearing this, immediately slammed the listening device down and ran off, laughing uncontrollably. The message behind the transmission seemed intriguing... but following his steps was a girl, around 15-16 years old, wearing a crescent-shaped necklace that highlighted her body. She watched him with a complicated smile. What could this imply?