Even in the dim, yellowish light, it was unmistakably clear.
Right at that moment, Vill-V's delicate little face began to flush a visible shade of red.
She wasn't angry.
She was embarrassed.
After all, the original Vill-V was a shy, almost socially anxious girl.
Though she was a genius, she never saw herself that way.
So, deep down, she struggled with insecurity.
It was often her other personalities who took the spotlight. These days, she rarely emerged at all.
But unlike after she became a MANTIS, the current Vill-V couldn't communicate between her split personalities. They could only leave messages in the real world or rely on other methods to update each other—that, or hope another version of herself just intuitively understood.
Obviously, that's exactly what had just happened moments ago.
The original Vill-V knew the others had planned to kidnap someone.
So the moment she saw Kiana, she recognized her immediately.
And understood exactly what was going on.
After all… Kiana had opened her eyes~
She'd been pushed out to take the fall—probably to shoulder the blame. Clearly, Kiana hadn't been woken by them; she'd already been awake.
But even so, she couldn't help asking anyway…
When Kiana answered, she grew even more flustered.
Almost without thinking, the original Vill-V quickly retreated inward, tossing the Conductor out to handle things.
'The Great Magician was the one who kidnapped her. What does that have to do with me, the original?'
And since the Great Magician was now hiding… well, no helping it. Where was the Conductor? Time to step in!
And so, when the Conductor emerged, she also paused for a moment, looking slightly dazed.
She glanced around, collecting her thoughts.
She looked almost adorably confused.
Finally, she turned casually toward Kiana, who was now sitting up on the bed.
"Sorry if we frightened you."
"Not at all, it's fine~" Kiana smiled. Being this close to the real Vill-V—how should she put it?—only made her like her even more.
Especially since, right now, switching personalities still required a brief "warm-up" period.
That slightly goofy, hesitant demeanor was incredibly endearing.
She'd been secretly observing Vill-V earlier.
Now, she looked even more closely.
Although Vill-V's outfit was slightly different from what Kiana remembered in the game from her past life, it still captured her unique personal style.
Her figure was truly impressive—a pair of pale, headlight-like curves that seemed ready to burst free, almost as if even Mobius and Elysia couldn't quite compare.
Though Kiana knew it was probably just an illusion.
All three of them were generously proportioned.
Even if there were differences, they couldn't be that extreme.
But with Vill-V standing right in front of her, the impact felt stronger—sometimes even more striking than with Elysia or Mobius.
Kiana thought about it.
It was probably because Elysia and Mobius had softer, plumper figures, while Vill-V unexpectedly gave off a "slender branch bearing heavy fruit" vibe. The contrast made it all the more noticeable.
Honestly, it was sometimes hard to believe.
A STEM-focused environment could produce such a goddess-like figure.
Even surrounded by clutter, it did nothing to diminish her presence.
In fact, being here—in what seemed like her own secret base, filled with tools she clearly knew well—only enhanced her aura. It made her stand out even more, vibrant and full of life.
So lovely~
"You might not believe this… but we were trying to save you." Conductor Vill-V fell silent for a moment before finally looking at Kiana.
Kiana tilted her head, simply watching Vill-V.
Conductor Vill-V continued, almost talking to herself, "Maybe you've been through horrible things at the hands of those bastards. Maybe you endured a lot of pain to gain that kind of power."
"But what I want to say is, no matter why you're still following their orders, you deserve your own life, your own future. From now on, you're free…"
"So, you can relax. I won't hurt you."
"If there's somewhere you want to go, I'll help you get there."
"…"
"Those bastards? Who are they?" Even though Kiana could guess, she couldn't help asking.
"Who knows? Fire Moth? Or some country, some organization, maybe even higher-ups, warlords, or someone else…"
Conductor Vill-V didn't elaborate.
She was 10,000% certain it was Fire Moth. That wicked organization shouldn't even exist in this world.
But!
She wouldn't say it outright.
She was worried Kiana might go looking for trouble with Fire Moth.
If Fire Moth dared to let someone with Kiana's power roam free, they must have a way to control her.
If Kiana left here and immediately went back to confront Fire Moth, only to be captured again…
Well, that would just be disastrous.
That'd be like delivering herself right to them.
Suddenly, Conductor Vill-V looked at Kiana.
A thought occurred to her. She pondered for a moment.
"Or, if you don't mind… you could stay here with us. We could work together."
"Huh?" Kiana was taken aback.
Then she saw Conductor Vill-V step closer and extend a hand toward her.
"There must be many other children like you who've been used as test subjects. Honkai Energy is a valuable resource, but it's not something that can be harnessed easily."
"Even without you, they'll just create more like you. Or even with you, they'll never be satisfied…"
"More and more people will suffer because of them—families torn apart, homes destroyed. Would you join me in saving them? In rescuing children who share your fate?"
"…"
How to put this…
Even in the original story, it was clear.
Vill-V had hacked into Fire Moth, accessed their databases, and learned about the Honkai. She assumed it was all Fire Moth's doing—part of some grand conspiracy—and began targeting them.
Then… she got caught.
Only later did she realize she'd misunderstood.
She'd jumped to conclusions.
It led to a critical error in judgment.
After that, with Elysia's sponsorship, she joined Fire Moth and became a leading figure in the engineering department.
Kiana had initially thought that even if Vill-V was independent-minded, she wouldn't go this far. But now, she realized she was wrong.
Vill-V's intentions were good.
But she hadn't undergone the MANTIS surgery yet.
She couldn't integrate or manage her personalities.
As a result, each personality had its own perspective, its own sources of information, and its own interpretation of the intelligence they gathered.
With all these fragmented, uneven pieces put together, it led to a complete misreading of reality. And she was stubborn to the extreme, utterly convinced of her own beliefs.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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