"Please...… open your eyes...…."
Looking at the companion before her, the girl murmured softly. She tightly gripped the syringe in her hand and pressed it against her companion's arm.
But...…
"No, relying on emergency medical nanomachines alone isn't enough...…"
Looking at the data on the instrument beside her, the girl clenched her teeth. They had originally been special investigators of GOTT, but now their records had been erased, their identities changed from investigators to wanted criminals, and the entire star system was hunting them down. In this situation, the two of them had nowhere to go and could only barely escape to this abandoned colonial satellite.
Yet misfortune never came alone. During their escape, they had clashed with the pursuers tracking them. Although they managed to repel the enemy, her partner was injured as a result.
This can't continue.
Thinking this, the girl stood up and gathered her petite companion into her arms. Although this colonial satellite had been abandoned, perhaps there were still usable medical stations left. As long as she could find one, there was still hope!
Having made her decision, the girl carried her companion and left her ship.
However, what she didn't expect was that the instant the hatch opened and she had just stepped out of the ship, a massive shadow suddenly appeared beside her.
"Ah, so the door's here. I was wondering where I was supposed to ring the bell...…"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai leaned forward and looked toward the two of them.
"——————!!"
Seeing Duanmu Huai's appearance, the girl was instantly shocked. With one arm holding her partner, she tried to draw her pistol with the other to counterattack. But at that moment, Duanmu Huai grabbed her wrist in one swift motion.
"Calm down, little girl. We're not your enemies."
"You're not?"
Hearing Duanmu Huai speak, the girl looked to the side in surprise, only to discover that their entire ship had already been surrounded by a group of towering soldiers clad in pitch-black battle armor. Seeing this, she bit her lip, then lowered the gun in her hand.
"You're...… not GOTT's pursuers?"
"Simply put, I came here to find...… uh...…"
Duanmu Huai glanced at the girl, then at the companion in her arms.
"What's wrong with her?"
"She's injured and needs immediate treatment."
Although she didn't know who these people were, her partner's life mattered more than anything else right now. If they could save her companion, then...… surrendering wouldn't matter.
"Injured, huh...… I understand."
Hearing the girl's reply, Duanmu Huai nodded, then made a gesture. Soon, the soldiers around them lowered their weapons. Then Duanmu Huai's hand flashed, and in the next moment, a Healing Angel descended from above, appearing at his side.
"???!!"
Seeing a winged, halo-crowned, flying being suddenly appear out of nowhere, the girl was utterly stunned. She hugged her companion tighter and instinctively took a step back.
Duanmu Huai looked at the Healing Angel and spoke.
"She's injured. Please help treat her."
"Understood, Master."
Hearing Duanmu Huai's order, the Healing Angel nodded. She then looked toward the petite figure in the girl's arms and raised both hands.
"O body scarred and battered by the battlefield, please entrust yourself to me in peace. As a healer sent by the heavens, I will surely drive this pain far away from you...…"
As the Healing Angel spoke, a golden light descended from above, enveloping the two of them. At the same time, the Healing Angel spoke again.
"Grant these weary warriors the healing of love. Close your eyes and entrust your bodies fully to this light...… thus, the flame of courage within you shall surely be rekindled."
Frankly speaking, to the girl, everything happening before her eyes was utterly absurd. However, the angel's words carried a strange calming charm. She subconsciously closed her eyes and felt the light surrounding her. Within that radiance, the girl felt as if she were immersed in a comfortable hot spring. A warm power surged forth from within her body, even dispersing the soreness and fatigue she had felt before...…
"Eclair...…"
At that moment, her companion's voice reached her ears. The girl opened her eyes and saw the small girl in her arms looking at her with a confused expression.
"What...… happened?"
"You're awake?! Lumiere!"
After that, since Duanmu Huai had shown his goodwill—though he certainly looked terrifying—the girl welcomed him into her ship out of gratitude for saving her partner. Of course, calling it a warship was a bit much; it was closer to a large interstellar fighter.
"You're not GOTT's pursuers, nor mercenaries here for our bounty?"
"I did see the wanted notice, but that's not important. Simply put, I came here mainly to find this young lady...…"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai looked at the petite girl who appeared to be around ten years old.
"This young lady?"
"Yes?"
"Didn't your hairstyle used to look like this?"
As he spoke, Duanmu Huai raised his hand and gestured beside his head in a curling motion.
That was exactly why Duanmu Huai remembered this girl. Her hairstyle was extremely unique—she had a single ponytail tied at the side of her head, and that ponytail was curled. Since almost no one else wore their hair like that, it was practically her signature. Whenever Duanmu Huai thought of her, this hairstyle left a deeper impression than anything else.
But the girl in front of him had her hair loose...…
"Ah, yes, it used to be like that."
Although she didn't know why Duanmu Huai was asking, the girl nodded and took out her identification, opening it and handing it over. Duanmu Huai took the ID and examined it carefully—yes, the hairstyle matched. It was definitely her.
"Thank you. Then let me introduce myself. My name is Duanmu Huai. I am an Inquisitor of the Inquisition."
"Inquisition?"
Hearing this, both girls became tense again.
"Are you from the United Cosmic Planetary Union?"
"As for my origins, I will explain them to you in detail later. For now, may I ask for your names?"
"...…"
Although they were very wary of Duanmu Huai, the two girls still gave their names. The tall, slender girl with long brown hair who looked about sixteen was named Eclair, while the one Duanmu Huai had been searching for—the purple-haired girl who looked around ten years old—was Lumiere.
They had once been ES members under GOTT. Now, however, they were wanted fugitives.
"It really wasn't easy finding you."
Speaking of how he found them, Duanmu Huai couldn't help but complain.
"We monitored communications and signals across the entire star system. It took a lot of effort just to find a clue, so we came here to try our luck. Fortunately, we got lucky. Otherwise, I would've had no choice but to storm GOTT directly...…"
"Uh...…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's complaint, the two girls were left speechless, unsure of how to respond. Soon, however, Lumiere lightly coughed and regained her calm expression.
"Then, Mr. Duanmu, may I ask why you were looking for me?"
"Well, it's like this. Um...… for now, I hope you can work for our Inquisition."
I originally thought poaching this person would be difficult. But now that she's already torn down the fence herself, why wouldn't I hurry up and carry her over to patch my own wall?
"Inquisition...… I'm sorry, but I must be honest. I've never heard of such an organization."
"That's only natural. After all, we're not from here...… Mm, this isn't a convenient place to talk. How about coming aboard our warship? I'll explain everything to you in detail there."
Faced with Duanmu Huai's invitation, the two girls discussed it briefly and then nodded. After all, they were wanted across the entire star system and lived in constant fear wherever they went. Although Duanmu Huai looked terrifying and the Inquisition sounded extremely suspicious, he had been quite forthright in dealing with them. So the two decided to follow him first, see what was going on, and decide later.
Soon, they piloted their high-speed patrol ship, Ramyus, away from the abandoned colonial satellite and followed Duanmu Huai's gunship toward the warship drifting in space.
When they saw the moon-class cruiser hovering outside the satellite, they were utterly stunned. Leaving aside its unique and magnificent appearance, its sheer size alone was enough to shock them.
"Heavens...…"
The brown-haired girl Eclair widened her eyes as she stared at the resplendent warship before them.
"Just how big is that ship?"
"Five kilometers long...… 0.8 kilometers wide...… even within the Planetary Union, no fleet possesses a warship like this...…"
At this moment, Lumiere's expression grew far more serious. If at first they had merely been suspicious, now Lumiere was certain that the power behind the Inquisition was absolutely terrifying. Such a colossal warship was on an entirely different level from the Planetary Union's vessels—like comparing an elephant to a puppy.
And a force capable of possessing such a massive warship...… how could it possibly be a minor faction?
Then why had she never heard of it?
This question only grew stronger after they entered the warship's luxurious, Gothic interior.
"Hey, Lumiere, this is basically like walking into a cathedral, isn't it?"
Looking at the resplendent decorations and solemn compartments around them, Eclair looked completely baffled. It was her first time seeing such a bizarre space warship. After all, the Planetary Union's ships were all standardized designs—nothing like this.
"Sigh...… I don't think they belong to the Planetary Union at all...…"
Lumiere also surveyed the surroundings as she spoke. Hearing her answer, Eclair suddenly had a wild thought.
"Could they be...… aliens?"
"...…That...…"
Lumiere originally wanted to deny it, but after thinking carefully...… the possibility actually seemed quite high!
After all, not only did that man look fierce, his height far exceeded that of ordinary humans. The soldiers were the same, and the armor and insignia they wore didn't match the Planetary Union at all. Not to mention the skull symbols—what legitimate organization used human skulls as insignia on their armor?! That was usually something pirates or criminal factions did!
Thinking this, the two grew uneasy again.
Although uneasy, they still arrived at the reception chamber and met Duanmu Huai once more.
"First, I'd like to ask the two of you why you were wanted in the first place."
Looking at the two girls, Duanmu Huai asked this question first. Of course, he wanted to recruit Lumiere, but he also needed to know why they had been declared fugitives. During the process of searching for them, Duanmu Huai had conducted some investigation into this star system as well. From a certain perspective, it had already become a spacefaring civilization. They had established an organization called the Planetary Union. Simply put, it was like the United Nations, with each planet's ruler equivalent to a nation's head of state.
GOTT was a government agency under the Planetary Union. However, unlike what Duanmu Huai had imagined as a tax bureau, GOTT's authority seemed closer to the IMF and WTO, though it possessed limited military power. People like Eclair and Lumiere were similar to the international police often seen in Hollywood movies—able to appear freely in various countries to investigate cases or conduct protection and inspections...…
For people like that, unless they committed serious mistakes, it was rare for them to be expelled from the organization.
Of course, in a Hollywood movie, this would surely be the plot where the protagonist accidentally uncovered a shocking conspiracy, only to find enemies all around. The enemy then framed the protagonist using their authority, the protagonist escaped, found evidence, defeated the enemy, and ultimately returned in triumph.
Who knew which version these two belonged to.
"This...…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's question, Lumiere hesitated clearly, while Eclair patted her chest.
"I'll say it, Lumiere. What's so hard about it? It's not like we did anything bad!"
Thus, Eclair angrily explained the situation to Duanmu Huai.
In truth, the reason the two had been dismissed, investigated, and wanted was quite simple—a planet's ruling authority had commissioned GOTT to send personnel to help suppress protests and riots. Eclair and Lumiere were dispatched there. However, upon arriving, they discovered that the civilians on that planet were living practically like slaves. It was precisely because of this that the people could no longer endure such a life and chose to protest.
Later, when the civilians gathered in front of the ruling authority to demonstrate, the noble in charge attempted to suppress them by force. Seeing weapons being used against unarmed civilians, Eclair couldn't hold back. In the end, she defeated the forces attempting to suppress the people, and the planet's ruler was forced to flee.
Afterward, in rage, the ruler lodged a complaint with the Planetary Union, which then pressured GOTT. As a result, the two of them were declared wanted.
"Oh...… so that's how it is."
After listening to Eclair's account, Duanmu Huai immediately understood. Simply put, it was like a civil war somewhere, the UN sent peacekeeping investigators, and those investigators ended up siding with the opposition and driving the ruler out.
Of course they'd complain to the UN!
Since it was a political issue, there was nothing that could be done.
As mentioned before, the Planetary Union was like the United Nations—a coalition formed by representatives of various powers—while sovereignty over each planet still lay with its own ruler. Strictly speaking, Eclair's actions constituted an infringement on another nation's sovereignty, so they couldn't simply ignore it.
GOTT ordering their dismissal and investigation was unavoidable.
"Hm...…"
After hearing Eclair's explanation, Duanmu Huai fell into thought. He didn't think she was lying, but somehow...… he felt Eclair was a bit...… simple-minded...…
Of course, that noble was no saint either.
Although Eclair spoke with a "heroes take responsibility for their actions" bravado, Duanmu Huai could imagine that Lumiere must have acted as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't both be under pursuit now.
Besides, this kind of hotheaded-and-cold-headed duo was basically standard in games, movies, and animation, wasn't it?
If Duanmu Huai had to say, Eclair's personality would be more suited to hanging out with Salamanders or Ultramarines.
But having a Salamander in the Inquisition didn't sound too bad either.
Of course, that alone wasn't enough.
This was like a job interview. Job hunting was a two-way selection process. Duanmu Huai needed to evaluate them, and more importantly, see whether they were willing to join the Inquisition. This was extremely important. The things the Inquisition did were often quite cruel. If they couldn't accept that, it would be better for them to turn around and leave.
Otherwise, keeping them would only cause trouble.
The same applied in games. Every NPC had their own moral stance. If the player made choices an NPC disliked, the NPC's favorability would drop, and in the worst case, they might defect or run away.
So when selecting people, you had to clearly understand an NPC's bottom line—what they liked and what they disliked.
Reality was the same. Defection was one thing, but if they were corrupted by Chaos and turned into enemies within the ranks, that would be truly troublesome.
And Star Sea OL was absolutely shameless in this regard. NPC favorability was completely hidden. Players couldn't see it at all. Worse still, many NPCs were dissatisfied inside but still smiled on the surface. Plenty of players suffered because of this. Of course, the developers couldn't bear to see players suffer too much, so they thoughtfully released an item in the shop called the "Prophecy Crystal." As long as players purchased the crystal and used it on a specific NPC, they could see that NPC's favorability and current feelings toward the player.
The item was consumable, could only be used once, only worked once, and only on a single person.
And yes, you had to spend real money to buy it.
And it was expensive.
Fucking predatory business tactics.
Forget it...… thinking about this now just pisses me off. Better focus on the present. Since the other side had already shown sincerity, it was time for him to introduce the Inquisition's corporate culture to them.
Now it all depended on whether the Inquisition would be their choice.
(End of Chapter)