I'm fighting Kal'tsit? Really?

Gerald gazed at her silently for a moment, then sighed softly and nodded: "I understand. I'll go see Aifanil later and ask if we can have dinner together."

These words clearly struck a chord with Ramallen, and her smile deepened as she loosened her grip on Gerald's wrist.

Taking advantage of the break, Gerald casually gathered his slightly disheveled long hair, put on his coat, and quickly finished washing up and getting ready.

Lamaren remained lying on her side on the bed, watching his every move, until Pegasus's hand touched the doorknob, at which point she finally spoke: "There's one more thing."

Gerald instinctively turned his head and met those crimson eyes.

Lamaren looked at him quietly, her lips still bearing her usual gentle smile, but there was a hint of... anger in it that was hard to understand.

She slowly said:

"When you come back, you can bring Saria back with you. As for the golden Pegasus, we'll talk about that after I've seen it."

“I think it’s time for Aifaniel to meet his stepmother.”

……

Gerald then fled in disarray.

Ramalen wouldn't monitor his every move, but it was possible that the Banshee Queen might wander around invisibly during the day when she had nothing to do, and then look for him and Aifanil.

Otherwise, she would probably have found out what happened to him in Kal'tsit's office earlier.

But now that the die is cast, he should focus on resolving Saria's matter first. If he continues to dawdle like this, what if some unpredictable actions arise?

Gerald.

After he went out, he ran into Vayvan, who had been waiting at the door of the room.

Holding the gift she had prepared, her gaze lingered on Tianma's lips for a moment. Without saying anything, she simply nodded at him: "You look good, let's go."

...It's terrifying.

Especially considering that he's had a lot of wishes coming true lately, if he had just witnessed a scene where Saria, Margaret, Kal'tsit, and the Doctor were all crammed together in front of the dormitory, he felt he probably wouldn't have any hope for the future.

Gerald, still shaken, nodded to Saria in response and followed in her footsteps.

Vayvan slowed his pace slightly, landing beside him. His long silver hair was hidden by the brim of his hat, with only a few strands occasionally ruffled by the breeze, reflecting the morning light on the deck.

She didn't say much about his lateness, but simply turned her head slightly, glanced at him for a moment, then looked away and strode forward.

There was silence between the two for a moment, with only the soft sound of heels hitting the deck filling the air.

Until Saria spoke:

“I already spoke with Himer yesterday.”

"...You went to see her alone?"

This statement caught Gerald somewhat off guard.

With a positive connotation.

“Well, I think that since I can speak my mind smoothly to Muirseth, it will be the same for Himer.”

Saria nodded, then turned to look at me with a hint of apology in her eyes: "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this beforehand. I just felt that if I still needed you in that situation, then the progress I've made these past few days... would no longer be my own growth, but would ultimately just be a kind of playful behavior that can only be achieved under dependence and protection."

“If I can only speak my true feelings when I look into your eyes, then there’s no need to bring up the issue of protection.” She paused, but continued walking forward. “The words I spoke to that banshee lord will ultimately be nothing but empty talk.”

Gerald paused for a moment, then took Saria's hand, affirming her words: "I can't care, I'll only be happy for you, Saria."

"Yes, I knew you would think that."

Saria nodded, paused, and continued:

"However, the communication process was still not very smooth."

“I hope to get your help, Gerald. However, I am not seeking help from the ‘Gerald’ who is traveling with me.”

"It was Gerald, the witness who saw the underground scenes of Mansfield."

……

After walking for a while past the familiar medical department, they arrived at the door of an office. A nameplate next to the door clearly read Hamer's name, along with another code name that Gerald did not recognize.

At that moment, Saria turned to look at the person she trusted. All the emotions that humanity should have were being conveyed to Pegasus's heart through her eyes—joy and relief, ease and freedom, no longer as rare as the blooming of a night-blooming cereus, only to be captured in a fleeting moment.

Vayvan's emotions flowed naturally, transmitted through the warmth of her hands, and her heart, beating as strongly and powerfully as ever, resonated like a furnace.

But her eyes were no longer as cold as before.

So she took Gerald's hand and knocked on the door of the office in front of them.

"Please come in."

A slightly mechanical voice came from behind the door. Seeing this, Saria opened the door and went inside.

There were two people in the office at that moment.

In the center of the room, behind a spacious desk sat a woman wearing a white lab coat, her short, dark hair falling loosely over her shoulders, giving her a casual look. Liberl's signature tuft of hair rested beside her ear, and his round glasses couldn't conceal his deep dark circles.

As for the other white-haired woman, also from Liboli, she glanced at them after they came in, then collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep.

...And it looks like she really is asleep.

Saria's gaze fell on the other Liberi. She lowered her eyes imperceptibly and said slowly, "She's still often in a state of lethargy?"

"It's all thanks to you, isn't it? And Rhine Life."

Himer didn't care about the silver-haired Pegasus who came in with Saria—although it did surprise her somewhat that Saria would have someone accompanying her, including Saria's initiative to apologize to her yesterday.

But that doesn't mean she's still the same naive and innocent girl she was at Rhine Life.

“The appearance of Device Nine was an accident; it shouldn’t have been used for this purpose.” Saria looked directly into the other’s eyes and said without hesitation, “I also bear some responsibility for this, but I now hope to make amends and stop the error at this stage. For this, I hope you can join me, Himer.”

"..."

Hamer could only take a sip of her coffee to hide her inner turmoil, but the coldness in her voice was still almost impossible to conceal: "I don't think there's anything more we need to discuss, you two. If you don't have any convincing information or materials, please leave."

"I've brought everything you wanted."

So, under Gerald's trembling gaze, Saria took a stack of documents from the gift bag that was originally meant for Ifrit and placed them on the table in front of her.

Pegasus sighed silently to himself.

Fortunately, they didn't encounter Ifrit first today, otherwise that child would have received a bunch of reports about the cruel experiments conducted in prison.

However, neither of the parties involved seemed to have any objections. After receiving the documents, Himer was just about to continue reading along with the atmosphere when she was immediately interrupted by Saria's next words.

"In addition, there is someone who can help you make a judgment, and he is right here now."

Saria walked over to Gerald, took his hand, and led him to Himer.

Then, under the other person's shocked gaze, she spoke.

"This is Gerald, the person involved in Mansfield Prison. He witnessed with me the experiments in the prison's underground and the death of the warden."

"He was also a close friend of Anthony Simon, and—"

Saria looked at Gerald, her gaze lingering on Pegasus for a moment, before speaking directly:

"My soulmate."

Chapter 101 The Important Matters Before Departure (Part 2) (4K7)

After the coffee in Himer's hands went through a trembling and splashing phase, the two were invited to stay in the office.

Fortunately, the Liberian man and woman did not lose their composure too much because of this, after all, the important matter took far greater priority than the overly blunt expression of a certain Vaivana.

Moreover, after seeing the materials and receiving a detailed description and summary from Gerald, she had no time to care about anything else.

"The legacy of Loken's Water Tank... the technology to weaponize Originium."

Hamer quickly got to work, looking down at a stack of documents in her hands, the pages rustling softly as they turned.

The document contains many specially processed parts, with some content hidden or altered. Based solely on this visible information, the amount of information that can be inferred is extremely limited.

But she was, after all, an exceptionally talented scholar. Even Gerald was able to process this information with his quick judgment, let alone Himer, who already had some knowledge of this intelligence.

Following up on her teacher Palvis's information, she sent Kafka to the prison to investigate, and finally successfully rescued the mountain to avoid the limelight—Hime's actions behind the scenes were also quite significant. Logically, she should be dealing with Muelses, who leaked the information to Seria.

But someone just rushed right into her face.

"So this is what Mansfield has really been hiding."

After quickly reviewing the documents, her brows furrowed deeply: "Teacher, he has a partnership with a beach umbrella company? No, that alone isn't enough..."

“Rhine Labs did not participate in the subsequent development experiments of the Loken tank. Anthony’s involvement was just a cover-up,” Saria quickly explained. “But who knows what will happen later.”

"Maybe?" Hamer suddenly looked up. "What do you mean?"

Seria didn't speak, but calmly looked at Liberi with her unwavering gaze: "Many things may happen, and I can't make a judgment on uncertain matters, so more information is needed as evidence."

Upon hearing this, Hermer rubbed his temples wearily and leaned back in his chair: "So you came to me for a collaboration because of this? Unfortunately, I don't know much more than you do. You've come to the wrong person."

"The reason I came to you is because of Ifrit."

Saria ignored the angry look on the other person's face and continued, "Just like I said yesterday, I won't deny the wrong I did to that child, but just as I have my own anchor, she is your anchor, Himer, and one of the reasons you will continue to investigate."

She lowered her eyes, then looked firmly at the other person again. "What I hope to gain is a trustworthy ally, not someone with vested interests—Ifrit's case makes me believe that we are on the same path, or at least that's what I think."

"Therefore, I hope you can trust me one more time."

Hammer did not answer immediately; silence lingered briefly in the air.

She was no longer the Hermer of the past. Past experiences had taught her to be cautious, but now, when she actually heard these words, she found herself having some room for thought.

For her, the very idea of ​​having this thought was incredible, considering the depth of the misunderstandings between them in the past, it somewhat indicated a softening of attitude.

“Let me think about this for a while.” Himer glanced at the white-faced owl who was fast asleep on the sofa, and finally made a decision after careful consideration: “When I come to Colombia next time, I will stay in Colombia for a while and take care of things with Anthony. I will give you an answer then.”

"Thank you, that's enough."

Saria nodded slightly, trying to force a smile, but her facial muscles remained tense, and the smile she attempted looked somewhat awkward beneath her stiff expression. She instinctively turned her head, wanting to seek help from the Pegasus who should have been silently observing from the sidelines.

But Gerald is gone.

Her gaze faltered slightly before she quickly scanned the room to confirm that the other person had left.

Hamer noticed her unusual behavior, his brows furrowing slightly as he looked around the room: "...When did he leave?"

Saria paused for a moment, then realized that Pegasus had quietly disappeared from the room after she and Himer began to have a deep conversation and explain things about Rhine Lab, without even her and Himer noticing his departure.

“I don’t know. I only know he wouldn’t just disappear for no reason,” she said softly, her tone regaining its composure, before turning and walking towards the door. For some reason, Hermer quickly got up and followed.

The door was opened, and the medical department's corridor remained quiet and orderly, with operators coming and going in twos and threes, and no one seemed to show any abnormality.

Until a gust of wind tugged at Lasseria's sleeve.

"This way."

Understanding immediately, Vayvan strode forward, with Liboli close behind. They crossed the corner of the corridor and arrived outside the medical department. A little further ahead was the lounge...

lounge?

What was Gerald doing there?

Before this question could be answered, the two were able to see what was happening inside the room through the transparent glass on both the top and bottom.

A "fire dragon" hovered in the air—to be precise, it was a trail of flames, driven by an invisible force, wandering above the room, swaying and twisting its body.

It was far removed from the dangerous flames in Saria's memory. It had no scorching heat, and there wasn't even a sound of burning. It just hovered there quietly, like some kind of projection that suddenly appeared.

But Saria knew this flame all too well. Two years ago, in Rhine Labs' laboratory, it was she herself who had used it—

"Ifrit!!"

At the same time, Himer had already pushed open the door to the lounge and watched as her Ifrit floated happily in the air.

The airflow moved slowly, and the invisible wind lifted the two figures.

The young Sarkaz hovered in the air, flames leaping in her palms, while Gerald silently watched beside her as his apprentice struggled with the trick.

The flames did not spread wildly as usual, but were drawn together and flowed by the wind, gradually shaping a clear form. At the first sign of things getting out of control, the wind would guide them, erasing any pressure that shouldn't have been placed on the child. In this way, the originally uncontrollable fireworks would at most become the trick they are now.

"Hime, Saria!"

Upon seeing the unexpected person appear before her, Ifrit was momentarily stunned, then extinguished the flames in her hands and leaped from the air into Saria's arms.

Saria stiffened slightly, then carefully and steadily held the girl in her arms.

Ifrit's body temperature was slightly higher than that of an ordinary person, and there was even a lingering warmth from the flames. The moment they got close, Saria's other hand instinctively and gently landed on Ifrit's back. After hesitating for a moment, her palm slowly patted her back in a comforting manner.

Meanwhile, standing to the side, looking at this scene that she hadn't seen in two years, Himer finally managed to calm her emotions.