Copernicus Central Axis.
Hidden Management Department Branch.
In the vast, empty space, Tabane Shinonono floated weightlessly, idly sucking on an apple-flavoured jelly:
"So mean~"
"Even though we're all comrades, I'm the only one left out."
"I want to become part of that Familia too~~"
Hearing this, Ania, who was leaning against the wall nearby, twitched visibly:
"You say you're the only one left out—are you pretending I don't exist?"
She was standing right there, a living, breathing person, yet Tabane had the nerve to ignore her.
She hadn't signed that so-called Familia contract either, had she?
At the complaint, Tabane continued sucking her jelly, mumbling:
"But Ania, you're definitely going to be brought in by Lacus~"
"Whereas me... hmm, I bet there are plenty of people who don't want me joining."
"Not that I disagree with your self-awareness, but who exactly are these 'many people'? Inside or outside the organisation?"
Ania looked at Tabane with slight confusion.
While she admitted Tabane was usually chaotic, in terms of actual mortal enemies, the woman had very few.
If anything, there were far more people who wanted to exploit Tabane's talents.
To put it bluntly, even Lacus had some degree of ulterior motive when it came to utilising Tabane's abilities.
Thanks to her bug-like scientific prowess, Tabane was one of the Union's highest-priority targets for capture.
In fact, the Union's Five Major Powers wouldn't hesitate to start a war of annihilation just to get their hands on her brain.
If not for Lacus using various methods to hide her in space, Earth would have descended into chaos over this woman long ago.
From that perspective, there really were many who wouldn't want Tabane to become Luo Shu's Familia.
After all, according to the intelligence Luo Shu provided and Lacus relayed, if Tabane Shinonono became a Familia member, she could completely relocate her living quarters to the Divine Kingdom, thereby gaining a certain degree of absolute safety.
Due to certain dark motives, there were indeed people who wouldn't want Tabane Shinonono to become Luo Shu's Familia.
But these were all external forces. Internally, even some members of Copernicus were unaware of Tabane Shinonono's existence, let alone others.
Within the SDS, only those at the director level or above—and confirmed safe by Lacus—might have access to Tabane Shinonono's intelligence.
This safety confirmation was even subject to constant updates.
For instance, Lacus had recently planned another round of upgrades.
Only those who passed the SDS's internal investigation, followed by Utaha Kasumigaoka's Mind Reading test, and were ultimately deemed safe, could learn about Tabane Shinonono.
Under these circumstances, the people Tabane Shinonono was concerned about should only be external forces, right?
However...
The next second.
Tabane Shinonono's voice, brimming with distress, rang out:
"Of course, I'm worried my adorable Houki might not agree~~"
"Uh..." Ania froze at this: "The 'many people' you just mentioned... was your sister? I thought you only had one sister?"
"NONONO!"
Tabane Shinonono turned and wagged her finger at Ania:
"You have to understand, Houki is my entire world~"
"To me, Houki is the majority, okay~"
Ania fell silent, regretting that she had taken Tabane Shinonono's words seriously just now:
"I give up on you."
She sighed and leaned against the wall:
"As far as I recall, your sister's personality is just a bit tsundere, but otherwise fine. Why do you think she'd object to you becoming Director Luo Shu's Familia?"
Tabane Shinonono pressed a finger to her lips and calmly declared:
"Because Houki is a very jealous child!"
"If Luo Shu were to steal her heart, my existence would definitely be an obstacle, right?"
"As a good older sister, I feel it's my duty to resolve my little sister's lifelong matters~"
'Your idea of resolving things is to gift-wrap your sister for your own wild man?'
Ania really didn't want to taint the pure Familia relationship Luo Shu had, but Tabane Shinonono was just too twisted—she couldn't help but think the worst.
'Having a sister like you is truly a blessing for your poor sibling~'
After confidently announcing she was a good sister, Tabane Shinonono suddenly thought of something and turned to Ania:
"Oh, right, Ania, I recall demons are all polygamous, aren't they?"
"How do you all handle such issues? Especially when it comes to sisters sharing a husband—could you share some insights?"
Ania was utterly dumbfounded by this question.
Even for demons, who were very straightforward about desires, Tabane Shinonono's behaviour was pushing the boundaries of morality.
"First, let me correct you—demons don't practise polygamy. It's a one-spouse, multiple-lovers system."
"So among demon couples, it's perfectly normal for both husband and wife to have lovers on the side."
Ania took a deep breath, her face twitching slightly:
"Even so, among demons, you wouldn't find an older sister giving her younger sister to a man as his lover. So, do you understand now?"
"Tch~ I said I wouldn't say anything. How stingy..."
Tabane Shinonono pouted, then forcefully sucked up all the jelly before casually releasing the packet to float in the zero-gravity environment.
"Speaking of which, when will the channel begin construction?"
Hearing this, Ania—who didn't want to engage with Tabane—leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and answered offhandedly:
"According to the AI's detection of spatial fluctuations, the most suitable time should be within these few minutes."
"With that spatial magician from the Minimiya family, and a Demigod like Miss Tokisaki who excels in spatial manipulation, plus the luck-storing talisman I provided in advance containing a month's worth of fortune, there shouldn't be any issues."
"Rather, what about you? Are those monitoring devices really properly deployed?"
"No need to worry. The entire Copernicus is under the surveillance of my system, Little Houki, so data collection isn't a concern at all."
Listening to Tabane's smug words, Ania's expression darkened:
"If what you're saying is true, then the problem isn't data collection—it's the fact that you're using an unauthorised, unknown system to monitor Copernicus without approval!"
"Don't you know anything about Copernicus' confidentiality protocols?"
"Of course I do. I helped draft those protocols with Lacus and Meer. Compared to an old-timer like me, Ania, you're just a junior among juniors~"
Seeing Tabane's triumphant look, Ania grew even more irritated:
"Then why are you doing this?"
"If misdeeds aren't discovered, then they're not misdeeds, right?"
Tabane said with a grin, making Ania roll her eyes:
"No wonder I can't get along with you."
"I feel differently." Tabane tore open another jelly packet. "Without your luck-manipulation abilities, Ania, those tedious test experiments would have driven me to death."
'So I'm just your lab assistant, huh?' Ania couldn't even muster the energy to retort.
Just then.
An imperceptible ripple spread through the air.
In an instant, Ania—being a demon particularly sensitive to spatial phenomena—detected the fluctuation with just a breath.
But Tabane had already turned her gaze to the right, towards the centre of the hall, even before Ania noticed.
At that very moment.
With a resonant 'dong'.
A mechanical golden clock materialised, rotating before opening a channel.
Then, a melodious voice rang out:
"My, my~ It seems the channel experiment was a success~~"