If she was approachable, she was approachable. It wasn't as if she had a particularly foul temperament anyway. Hearing Lu Zhaoran's words, Cipher simply sighed, offering no rebuttal.
"Great One, why the sigh? Is something bothering you?"
"It's nothing. I'm just a bit tired."
Cipher was telling the truth. Ever since she arrived in this world, she hadn't known a single day of peace. Now that the initial thrill of toying with others had faded, a wave of mental exhaustion had taken its place.
Hearing this, Lu Zhaoran cracked the passenger window open a sliver.
"In that case, why don't you look at the scenery? Think of it as a way to clear your head. Just remember to keep a relaxed gaze."
Cipher followed the suggestion, turning her head toward the window.
Ten minutes passed. Cipher watched the blurring landscape skip by with a relaxed mind. This sensation of not having to think—coupled with the absence of any sudden, looming danger—actually managed to put her at ease.
"We're here. Let's head inside."
"Hm? This isn't an underground parking lot."
Looking at the large house outside the window, Cipher felt a surge of confusion.
"This is my home. You shouldn't head back to your place for the time being. Since you've been targeted by the Countercurrent Coalition, that location is bound to be discovered. It's not safe."
With that, Lu Zhaoran opened the car door and stepped out. Cipher followed suit.
"Follow me."
Lu Zhaoran produced a key and unlocked the front door. Stepping into the living room, Cipher felt a sense of wonder. Back at the secret base used by Luo Lin and the others, the decor had been entirely Chinese in style. This was different.
Cipher could clearly tell that this followed a style more common in Western Europe.
"Feel free to look around. There's food and drink in the fridge; grab whatever you like."
Lu Zhaoran then turned her attention specifically to Cipher.
"Great One, could you come with me for a moment?"
She walked straight into a nearby study.
'Go over there? Is there something she needs to discuss?'
Though Cipher didn't quite understand what Lu Zhaoran was up to, she decided to follow. After all, her Chrono Surge made her confident in any situation.
As soon as she entered the study, Lu Zhaoran, who was standing by the door, closed it and turned the lock. She pulled up a chair for Cipher and sat down across from her with a solemn expression.
Before Cipher could grasp the situation, Lu Zhaoran spoke.
"Since we were in a rush earlier, I'll introduce myself formally now. My name is Lu Zhaoran. I hail from the Europa Empire and served as a Purging Knight for the Neo-Knights. My ability is an A- rank trait: Spatial Tear."
"???"
Cipher's mind was instantly flooded with question marks.
What on earth was the Europa Empire? And what were the "Neo-Knights" or a "Purging Knight"? When Luo Lin and the others had explained the world's history, she hadn't heard a word about any of this.
Lu Zhaoran didn't leave her wondering for long before launching into an explanation.
"The Europa Empire is a landlocked nation. Forests and hills cover more than half the country, and it's actually quite far from here. Oh, right—the full name of this place is the United States of Pacific."
"As for the Neo-Knights... you can think of them as an official armed force. Their status is roughly equivalent to Arasaka Heavy Industries here."
'The United States of Pacific... so that's the name of this place? Luo Lin and the others never mentioned it.'
Cipher sank into thought. This was a lot of information to process, and she needed to digest it properly.
"The main reason is... Xiao Lin has lived at the Bottom of the Pit for far too long."
Lu Zhaoran shook her head, appearing pained by the plight of Luo Lin's group.
"The people at the Bottom have been abandoned by the corporations. The civilians living there have no way to learn about the world other than through the ubiquitous corporate advertisements. Some are trapped there their entire lives. They die without ever knowing the full name of their country is the United States of Pacific, let alone that other nations exist outside its borders."
"I see... I didn't realize the people at the Bottom had it even worse than I imagined. I thought it was just a slum," Cipher murmured to herself.
A slum versus an abandoned slum—adding that one prefix changed the meaning entirely.
"Right." Lu Zhaoran looked toward the door, as if suddenly remembering something. "Xiao Lin has some psychological issues. I'm not sure if you're aware."
Cipher nodded. She was all too aware.
"I ended up at the Bottom while on a mission for the Neo-Knights. I was severely injured at the time..."
"I didn't expect the people there to lend me a hand. I only hoped they would stay out of my way."
As she spoke, the smile vanished from Lu Zhaoran's face, replaced by a deathly calm.
"But they tried to take advantage of my state to forcibly kidnap me and do some... very unpleasant things. I overestimated the humanity of the people at the Bottom. I truly thought my life was over."
"Luo Lin and her team saved you, didn't they?"
Cipher cut in before Lu Zhaoran could finish. Lu Zhaoran didn't look surprised; after all, Cipher knew Luo Lin well enough to guess the outcome.
She nodded in confirmation and continued.
"Xiao Lin and the others saved me. They even used up a canister of low-grade Potential Stimulation Medium. At the time, I thought they had an ulterior motive, but they simply wanted to help someone in need."
"Once my injuries had mostly healed, I wanted to help them in return. But the moment I brought it up, Xiao Lin showed intense psychological resistance."
"And that's the root of her problem."
Cipher took over the conversation, continuing the thought.
"Luo Lin views helping others as a personal duty, but she views being helped as a sign of her own incompetence. She's twisted the meaning of 'help.' She rejects assistance—especially from those she has helped herself."
"Because to her, that would make her original act of kindness feel tainted. It turns a selfless act into an intentional transaction."
"But we never cared about that. Our help was simply meant to be a gesture of gratitude toward her and the Spark Team," Lu Zhaoran added.
She looked toward Cipher, and their eyes met. For a brief moment, Cipher saw a flicker of shared understanding in the woman's gaze—a sense of being in the same boat.