The bright full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the deep night. Yet, when the pristine moonlight fell upon Raven, it failed to reveal the fair features hidden deliberately beneath her hood, only showing a pair of crimson eyes gleaming faintly in the darkness.
Carrying a silver briefcase, Raven moved as if she were one with the night. Her figure darted agilely across the city rooftops, leaving the bustling urban center behind in moments and entering the cold, desolate outskirts.
Here, in the dead of night, in the deserted, silent suburbs, stood a lone, beautiful woman with purple and white hair, quietly and gently awaiting Raven's arrival.
Seeing Hare still waiting there for her, Raven, having rushed from the ME Corp headquarters to the rendezvous point, let out a slow breath. She quickly regulated her accelerated breathing from the sprint, hefted the silver briefcase, and walked towards Hare, who was looking her way.
"Got the goods. That'll be ten million US dollars, please."
Raven approached Hare but stopped five meters away, placing the opened silver briefcase on the ground between them.
The clear moonlight cascaded down from the sky, brightly illuminating the blue katana and purple dual pistols nestled inside the case.
"The pistols are a product developed by World Serpent's Mikoyan Central Design & Manufacturing Bureau, called the Mosin-Nagant Sunwheel. Fragments of Honkai energy crystals have been incorporated, significantly boosting their firepower and granting a simple fire manipulation effect."
"The katana, however, wasn't developed by World Serpent itself. This is the Raikiri, an ME Corp product. Since Anti-Entropy's Cocolia defected to Gray Serpent and swallowed up Raiden Ryoma's ME Corp, I conveniently acquired this Raikiri from her. It wasn't hers to begin with, so Cocolia didn't mind parting with it."
"This sword can generate a powerful electromagnetic field to protect the user and inflict exceptional lightning damage. It definitely meets your requirements."
Raven lightly tapped the silver briefcase with the toe of her black high-heeled boot. While casually explaining the weapons' features and usage to Hare, she nudged the case, containing the exorbitantly priced items, an inch closer to Hare.
Raven raised a hand, rubbing her slender arm, which was covered by her black bodysuit. Her brow furrowed slightly in discomfort.
Just as Raven waited for Hare to produce a satisfactory sum of money—settling the transaction and adding another brick to the foundation of her still-under-construction island villa—
"I have no money."
Hare, maintaining her usual gentle and serene demeanor, dropped a bombshell that made the stray ahoge [characteristic sticking-up hair strand] under Raven's hood stand straight up.
"You... what?!"
Stunned by Hare's shocking statement, Raven's wine-red eyes flew wide open. She stared incredulously at Hare, whose face showed faint apology, while an expression mixing indignation and a hint of grievance spread across her own exquisite features.
"Hold on, lady! If you don't have money, why did you arrange this trade with me? Isn't my time valuable?"
"Besides, didn't you call yourself Hare? 'Hare' has always been the most mysterious World Serpent executive. Even as a fellow executive, I could never confirm if 'Hare' actually existed or was just a smokescreen used to mislead others."
"Since you know the name 'Hare' and were able to contact me, it proves that even if you're not top brass in World Serpent, you must have an excellent intelligence network! There's no way you can't scrape together ten million USD! Were you planning to stiff me from the start?!"
Faced with Raven's indignant expression, Hare looked away guiltily. "I apologize," she said softly. "I am indeed the World Serpent executive, Hare. But I truly have no money right now. Can I pay you later?... If you really don't believe my identity, do you need me to fight you to prove my strength?"
"Absolutely not! I have no desire to fight you! That would be completely pointless!"
Seeing Hare dangerously suggest proving her executive status through combat, Raven quickly raised her hands, loudly shutting down the terrifying idea.
In truth, from the moment Raven first saw Hare, she had already believed her self-proclaimed identity and was astonished that someone like Hare actually existed within World Serpent.
Why?
Because if Hare wasn't a combat-type executive chosen by World Serpent, she absolutely couldn't have exuded such an intense, unsettling sense of danger that made Raven feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.
Especially the high concentration of Honkai energy constantly radiating outwards from Hare. Even with Raven's own strength and Honkai resistance, standing near Hare for too long still made her feel uncomfortable, like her whole body was covered in static electricity from taking off a sweater in winter. While not unbearable, the faint prickling sensation was decidedly unpleasant.
If even Raven felt this way, what about others? Even Schicksal's Valkyries would likely succumb to zombification in Hare's passive presence. Only monsters among monsters could probably hang around Hare, chatting casually as if breathing fresh air. Like Honkai apostles—like Herrschers. Perhaps only beings on the level of a Herrscher could endure prolonged proximity to Hare unscathed.
Through this brief contact, Raven now fully understood why there was so little information about Hare within World Serpent. With that level of innate Honkai radiation, if she weren't contained somewhere remote, she could easily leave devastation in her wake, like a walking natural disaster causing terrifying Honkai catastrophes.
"I'm sorry. Because I am not human, I lack human desires and needs. And due to my inability to exist within human society, Gray Serpent didn't engage in any monetary transactions when inviting me to join World Serpent. He merely made me a promise concerning Project Stigma."
Hearing Hare's sincere apology once more, Raven's performatively flailing arms stilled. Her wine-red eyes narrowed slightly, a thoughtful expression appearing on her delicate face.
"I see. So Gray Serpent basically tricked you into joining World Serpent and working for free with empty promises? That does sound like him."
Through their interaction and Hare's self-admitted experience of being duped into unpaid labor by Gray Serpent, the street-smart Raven had already seen through Hare's honest and kind nature.
"Alright, here's the deal. Since you have no money, and I already went through the trouble of bringing the goods all the way here, I'll give you a freebie this time."
After a moment's thought, Raven cleared her throat softly, clapped her gloved hands together, and addressed Hare, whose eyes lit up slightly.
"You can take the weapons for free. But in return, Hare, you owe me one favor. If I run into trouble or need help in the future, you must assist me once, within your capabilities."
Raven had a dream. She didn't actually enjoy her current busy life as a World Serpent executive and had even successfully retired once before. She only rejoined because she discovered being a World Serpent executive was more lucrative than being a mercenary.
Raven planned to save enough money using her executive status, then retire permanently, moving to her island villa (still under construction) to enjoy a stable, peaceful, and happy life.
Gray Serpent would undoubtedly be unwilling to lose such an excellent asset he had cultivated since childhood. Therefore, to prevent Gray Serpent from causing trouble behind the scenes, securing the support of a fellow executive like Hare was crucial.
For the sake of her blissful retirement life on the island villa, Raven decided to grant Hare this favor. After all... unlike when Hare first joined World Serpent based on Gray Serpent's empty promise, the Hare standing before Raven now clearly had developed her own thoughts and desires.
Raven could tell that requesting these weapons was absolutely Hare's own initiative, not an order from Gray Serpent. She might even be acting behind his back. If this were an official mission from Gray Serpent, his clone would have already appeared before Raven, shoving the mission requirements in her face.
Even if Gray Serpent was delayed, Hare, having worked for free for so long, could have reasonably demanded weapons from him as payment. The value Hare generated for World Serpent through her missions could definitely have exchanged for items far superior to these makeshift weapons Raven had procured.
"I don't know what you're planning behind Gray Serpent's back, but I'll keep your secret. Just don't blame me if it leaks out someday and assume I betrayed you."
Raven added this warning after some thought.
Judging by the weapons Hare requested, whatever trouble she was planning couldn't be that major. Even if Gray Serpent held her accountable later, Raven was confident she could handle it. Raven was more worried about Hare, in her naivety about human affairs, potentially trying to pin the blame on an innocent party (her) if her secret activities were exposed.
Hare's lack of experience in handling interpersonal relationships and complex situations was visibly apparent. In Raven's view, it was only a matter of time before whatever Hare was hiding came to Gray Serpent's attention. Perhaps he already knew everything, observing from somewhere unseen.
"...I understand. Thank you for your understanding. I will remember this."
(End of Volume I: The Fool's Awakening)
[Author's Note: I pulled the weapon prices out of thin air. All I know is Raiden Ryoma embezzled 3.4 billion USD to create the 5-star Plasma Kagehide from scratch, which includes R&D costs. Although ME Corp's mass-produced Raikiri is also 5-star, its price would definitely be lower. World Serpent's Mosin-Nagant Sunwheel is a mass-produced 4-star, just with added Honkai crystals, so its price would certainly be cheaper.]