Meanwhile, as Tonomachi tried to walk away from the origami and rushed to the infirmary where Rikka was, deep in the interior of Hokkaido where it was almost impossible for anyone to reach.
About five hundred metres away from the ground.
In a dark, underground military facility shrouded in eerie silence with many bloodstains on the floor and metal walls, there is a lot of advanced technology scattered in every corner of the room.
Futuristic equipment that should not have existed in their time seemed so numerous that they lost their specialness, as if they were just ordinary items in this place.
However, this atmosphere was broken by the hazard warning lights that kept flashing, as if signalling great danger.
Deafening alarm sounds continued to echo throughout the room, emphasising the precarious situation that was unfolding. The tranquil atmosphere was now replaced by a tension that encompassed every inch of the room.
Walking among the piles of lifeless corpses of men and women, a beautiful girl stood gracefully with a terrifying aura.
Her long black hair looked beautiful in a twintail style, giving off an air of elegance that contrasted with the chaos and bloody murders around her. A gothic black dress with red lace waved slowly, as if dancing to her quiet steps.
In her left hand she held a flintlock pistol, while her left eye that looked like a clock slowly turned slowly. She smiled faintly as the shadow beneath her began to tremble.
"Is he alright?" the girl asked calmly but at the same time she could not hide the small smile on her face.
"Yes, he's fine, also what you planned seems to be going smoothly myself"
As the figure from behind the shadow walked out slowly, it was obvious that the two looked very similar, even more identical than the twins themselves.
"Really? I'm glad to hear that, I think it was worth sacrificing the fifty thousand time I had accumulated back then to start all over again" she said with an alluring smile, even an idol from earth would feel much inferior to her at this moment.
If Tonomachi was present and saw all the damage caused by this girl, it wouldn't even take more than two seconds for him to recognise this girl.
Tokisaki kurumi, was a name that would be very familiar to Tonomachi, a girl he had seen repeatedly in his dreams.
"May I ask you something, myself" the figure of a kurumi clone that appeared spoke up upon seeing the original kurumi trying to walk towards a computer that was even comparable to the quantum computers on earth.
"Hm? Say, I'm feeling happy right now, therefore I'll answer your question" Kurumi responded to her clone in a friendly manner.
"Why did you have to send those two girls to the present as well? Wouldn't it be better if you monopolised that guy yourself?"
"Fufu~ I'll tell you the answer to why I sent Origami and Mai back to this era" Kurumi was silent for a moment as she leaned against the wall.
"The reason I sent the two of them back to this timeline was just to protect her, that's all" Kurumi answered briefly.
But the short answer she gave made her clone look sceptical.
Her clone tilted its head, a sceptical expression on its face as if asking for the real answer.
"Protecting him? Are you sure that's the real reason? From what I've seen, you never do anything without a greater purpose, myself"
Kurumi gave a small smile, then stepped slowly towards one of the large monitors in the room. Her slender fingers tried to type on the holographic keyboard, producing some complicated code that was difficult to understand.
"Fufu~ myself don't you know me too well? I admit I didn't send them back to this timeline just to protect her. But this time, you must trust me. Protecting her is the key to achieving our goal."
The clone frowned, not entirely convinced.
"The key, you say? Don't tell me this has something to do with that 'Project Aegis'? You know that even Hiroto failed in his last moments in the timeline before"
As Kurumi heard this, her fingers that were always busy typing on the holographic keyboard in front of her paused for a moment, before she smiled gently.
"Myself, you're right about that, Project Aegis did fail before, even someone as powerful as Hiroto failed at running it in the previous timeline, but I believe we can go further this time. And it all starts with protecting Hiroto."
The clone gave Kurumi a sharp look, as if not entirely convinced.
"Protecting him? What does he have to do with the success of this plan? You know very well how Hiroto is involved in many things that even we cannot yet fully understand. She's not just a pawn in this game, is she? Because if that girl finds out you're trying to make the man she loves the most a pawn, she'll even put aside our friendship and will immediately cut off your head, myself"
When Kurumi heard her clone's words, she again fell silent for a moment before her chuckle echoed within this underground facility.
"Myself, it's thanks to you that I know I have such a pessimistic attitude" Kurumi said a little playfully, looking like a spoilt girl untouched by the taint of the world.
"But, I know very well who Hiroto is, I know what he wants the most deep down, therefore no matter what happens I will create the future he has always dreamed of" Kurumi spoke looking determined as her left hand grasped the ring on her ring finger.
"Then what about those girls? Origami and Mai... are they just tools, or is there something more? Don't answer as if you don't care about their future closeness to that man, myself. Because I understand very well how you feel about that man"
Kurumi was silent for a moment, her eyes sparkling with an intensity that was hard to comprehend. She sighed softly before turning to face her clone, a mysterious smile again etched on her face.
"Fufu~ you're always so quick to pick up on every detail I do, myself,"
Kurumi said, her voice now lower, although she tried to laugh she could not hide the pain in her heart.
"To be honest, I didn't want to send another girl, whoever it was into his life, I wanted me to be the one he would lean on when he was tired, but my current situation doesn't allow it, after all we only have up to four years before that happens" Kurumi paused for a moment before continuing.
"Also, the reason I sent these two near Hiroto was not just to ensure Hiroto's survival, but to forge a path that would make him an unshakable force in the future. Only with them around can we ensure that happens."
The clone standing some distance away from the original kurumi closed her eyes before she spoke.
"Is this all because of that thing Nia said earlier?" the clone asked again, but this time kurumi only gave her a mysterious-looking smile.
Seeing this, the clone did not ask further, but the expression that seemed inexplicable underneath was obvious.
Meanwhile, Kurumi refocused on the monitor, accessing deeper data.
As an electronic voice echoed in the room, the DEM logo was clearly visible on the monitor.
"Protocol 000 has been activated. Please confirm access."
Kurumi placed her right hand on a small panel, her clock-like left eye beginning to glow brightly.
"Confirmation. Archer-008, initiation phase one."
The monitor in front of her began to display a large map, with glowing lights marking certain points.
"Let's start the beginning of this ugly game. Time to see if the future he and I believe in can be achieved" Kurumi muttered under her breath.
Her clone, who was now standing behind her, grinned faintly, but when she heard approaching footsteps she paused before speaking.
"It seems we have a guest who doesn't seem very friendly at all" she said with a cynical attitude.
"Isn't it rude of you to come in and leave someone's house after making so much of a mess like this, Nightmare?" with a voice as beautiful as a symphony in the air, the girl spoke.
Her blonde hair flowed beautifully as she pointed the sword in her hand at Kurumi.
"Ara~ Ara~ it looks like my little visit is going to be a lot of fun"
.....
And elsewhere, away from this facility, the man who was the centre of Kurumi's attention felt his heart pounding for no reason.
Damn it! If I hadn't done something so stupid as confessing I would have been fine.
When I look at Nibutani and Rissa who are staring at the two of us as they stand up, I somehow feel that the act of rebellion I did earlier with Rikka was very stupid.
It all started when I saw how guilty Nibutani was who even bowed her head in order to get an apology from Rikka, but I who happened to have just come to see this made Rikka immediately get up and cry apologetically because her plan failed.
Even without me having to explain in detail, everyone would have known how it went.
Right now Rikka and I were sentenced to sit on the floor for a long time while receiving scolding from everyone.
"b-but it's an order from Lux-sama, I can't just refuse it" Rikka clearly confessed when Rissa scolded her, honestly seeing Rissa who looked fierce like this made me a little scared.
I think I'll rethink my revenge plan on this girl.
"Sister! What are you thinking?! What if this guy asks you to do something weird?!"
Rissa, what do you think of me? Even if I look suspicious looking doesn't mean I'm going to ask something strange of Rikka, after all I'm not sure Rikka would agree even if I were to ask her to do something like jumping off the top of a building.
"If it's Lux-sama's order I'll do anything"
Not only me, even everyone fell silent when hearing what Rikka said, this girl isn't trying to ruin my already bad reputation is she?
I think I should control the direction of this conversation at all costs, but before that I think I should stop Rikka first.
"Well, Rikka, you should know that I'm not the one who-" Before I even finished this limited dialogue, Rikka cut her off.
Come on, let me finish my dialogue, even if I'm just an NPC in this world, at least let me have the right to speak.
"Lux-sama, A-Are you going to throw me away after everything I did!" when she said that, I could even see tears on her face.
No! Rikka what are you thinking? I just gave you even one order and you're acting like a samurai who was banished by his master?
"Rikka, I think what you said was a bit-" again my dialogue was cut off midway.
Damn! I don't even have much dialogue in this chapter.
"You! What did you do to my sister behind my back!" Rissa shouted angrily as her finger pointed tremblingly.
"Kouhai-kun, I didn't expect you to become this kind of man, throwing away a serving girl just because you got tired of her" Nibutani chimed in.
Putting aside her strange words, I could even see a flash of smile on her face.
I knew that this girl was trying to get revenge on me!
"Tonomachi-kun...I didn't expect that" Kumin-senpai even slightly backed away from me.
Why is everything like this? Is this what people call karma?
"What did you do to master-Desu!"
When I saw everyone start to look at me with strange gazes, I tried to avert my eyes, trying to avoid their gazes
When all eyes were on me, I somehow felt like a criminal.
"Rikka" I tried to call out to her in a soft voice.
"I'm not going to throw you away, that's...that's not what I meant" Even from the beginning me and Rikka never had that kind of relationship.
However, Rikka, who was still looking down with tears on her face seemed unable to hear anything but the sound of her own sobs.
"I just wanted..." I tried to explain again, but this time, Rikka looked at me with an expectant gaze, which made me almost lost for words.
"Lux-sama, I... I will never oppose you. I will always be loyal, no matter what," she said, her voice trembling, as if describing an inexpressible fear.
"Kouhai-kun, I think you should take responsibility for making Rikka like this" Nibutani said, even this only made things worse.
I know this girl is trying to get revenge on me now. But what do you want me to be responsible for? I didn't even do anything wrong here except the rebellion plan before.
Somehow the situation has become more chaotic.
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