"I-I-I'm not his girlfriend!"
Almost as a reflex, Maki immediately denied it, a blush quickly surfacing on her cheeks.
Even though, up to now, she had known Takumi for about a month, and their relationship had long since shifted from strangers cooperating to survive into an extremely close state, Maki's unfrank personality was obviously not something she could open up that easily. Therefore, Chika's overly blunt question carried quite a shock for Maki; in this situation, Maki simply had no way to say what she truly felt inside.
"Huh? So you're not? But back at school, Takumi-kun even hugged you in public. And before I came over here, Takumi-kun told me quite a few things. You can tell he actually really cares about you—so you're not boyfriend and girlfriend? Don't tell me you're already husband and wife?"
Covering her mouth with a hand, Chika put on a very surprised expression and continued to press the question.
"He really cares about me? Ah—no, no, ahem, I-I'm just a really good partner he works well with, that's all—comrades-in-arms… yeah, at most, comrades-in-arms. And don't talk nonsense about husband and wife, okay? I'm only seventeen. M-marriage or something has to wait until I'm eighteen…"
When she heard "Takumi-kun really cares about you," Maki almost immediately revealed a slightly happy expression that she could not conceal. But very quickly, upon hearing the word "husband and wife," the blush on her face spread at once, her voice turning even more flustered as she hurriedly denied it.
She even proceeded, on the spot, to explain a correction about Japan's laws to Chika, saying that Japan's legal marriage age for women had been adjusted from sixteen to eighteen, and that getting married and becoming husband and wife was completely impossible.
"So that means Shijō-san, you're planning to marry Takumi next year when you turn eighteen? That's so bold?!"
Chika showed an even more astonished expression and asked in a tone of great surprise.
"Th-that's not it at all. I already said it—I'm not in a boyfriend-and-girlfriend relationship with him. We're just very close, that's all. I—I'm absolutely not planning to marry him."
Maki stomped her foot and shouted angrily, as if she had turned into a little puffed-up kitten.
'Of course, if Takumi-kun really did propose to me, it's not like I couldn't consider it.'
That thought surfaced in Maki's heart, but was quickly pressed down by the girl's sense of shame. She really had no way to actually say something like that out loud.
"Oh, is that so? I thought Takumi-kun and Shijō-san were already that kind of relationship."
Chika tilted her head slightly and spoke with a hint of sentiment in her tone.
"W-what are you saying? What does this have anything to do with you?"
Maki frowned. Only at this point did she calm down a little and realize that Chika's question had come completely out of nowhere and was extremely strange.
"Because I really like romance topics. As long as it's something related to romance, I'm very interested in taking part, you know."
Chika blinked, tilted her head, and spoke with an utterly innocent tone.
"Now's not the time to be interested in that kind of thing. Focus your attention on these clues first…"
Maki muttered, clearly not wanting to continue the topic. Then she noticed that Chika had already begun flipping through the materials they had brought back.
'What is wrong with that girl? Asking such a question out of nowhere, and then acting like she doesn't care at all after asking it.'
Maki took several deep breaths in a row, doing her best to steady and relax her somewhat disordered state of mind, and then focused her attention on the file she had brought back.
What she did not know was that Chika, who looked perfectly normal as she stood to the side, had a heartbeat that was steadily speeding up.
'Shijō-san… as expected, you answered like this. I knew it, because during that month after the mission ended, I had already seen a similar reaction. It was just that back then, you were a little more honest than you are now—though only a little.'
Chika knew that what she wanted to do deep in her heart was immoral, something that did not conform to the current social order or social consensus.
But from the moment one becomes a player, don't such constraints already cease to exist?
The thought of snatching Takumi away from Maki's side kept turning over in Chika's mind again and again. Not only did it fail to fade, it actually grew more intense.
As for… if it really turned out that there was no way to snatch him away, then joining in or something like that… no, no, that would be far too shameless. It would be better not to think that far ahead for now.
For the moment, it was better to focus on the current task. No matter what, only by surviving did one earn the right to think about the future and what came after.
Thinking this way, Chika quickly calmed herself down and did not continue to dwell on emotional matters.
Of course, even though one thought after another continued to arise in the girl's mind, the expression on her face never changed much. This was a completely different reaction from Maki, whose blush, once the romance topic was brought up, was somewhat unable to fade.
At this moment, after reining in her wandering thoughts, Chika's gaze fell on the file in her hands.
This was an action log sheet for exploring the Red Nut Grey Cave. Like the cassette from last time, but the records were more concise, the number of actions included was greater, and the contents within were even richer. From the page-by-page records above, after this research base was established, it had clearly been operating for quite a long period of time, and the number of experiments it had conducted was simply countless.
[Red Nut Grey Cave Exploration Log Sheet]
[Record a1-1-001]
[Operation Code Name: Cave-01]
[Record Time: ■■/■■/■■■■]
[Operation Personnel Structure: 6 people, codes a1-a6, a special tactical squad designated by General Gallagher]
[Objective of This Operation: Reach the "Blood Vessel" entrance of the Red Nut Grey Cave and complete the installation of the sensing device]
[Operation Result: All personnel lost; the predetermined objective could not be achieved]
[Record a1-1-002]
[Operation Code Name: Cave-02]
[Operation Personnel Structure: 8 people, codes b1-b8, an assault tactical squad designated by General Gallagher to carry a full set of armaments]
[Objective of This Operation: Search for the missing Squad A and confirm its specific situation]
[Operation Result: All personnel lost; no information related to Squad A was found]
[Annotations:]
[1. Do not continue wasting manpower—at the very least, do not continue wasting soldiers' lives. This is fundamentally meaningless. — General Gallagher]
[2. Someone has to go down. This is a long-term major project, and their sacrifices are necessary. — Professor Vernon]
[Record a1-2-012]
[Operation Personnel Structure: 4 people, selected from ■■■ Prison]
[Objective of This Operation: Proceed from the entrance to the "Plains" and install sensing devices in sequence, for a total of 15 small sensing devices]
[Operation Result: All personnel lost; 13 sensing devices were successfully installed]
[Annotations:]
[1. A total of 7 sensing device installations were faulty, making normal detection completely impossible. The training level and obedience of these death-row inmates are astonishingly poor. Trained soldiers should be used again for exploration work; at the very least, they are more professional. — Professor Vernon]
[2. Recovery is possible, but the government is no longer willing to pay insurance compensation for these soldiers, so this cost must be paid by you. If you agree, just sign here. — General Gallagher]
[Record a1-2-103]
[Operation Personnel Structure: 3 people, selected respectively from ■■ Prison and ■■■■ Prison]
[Objective of This Operation: Complete the tour process as "Ordinary Tourists," following the route "Entrance–Stone Forest Path–Plains–Large Space–Plains–Gentle Slope–Entrance," and conduct detection of anomalous phenomena present within the Red Nut Grey Cave]
[Operation Result: 2 personnel lost, 1 survivor. Losses occurred at the "Gentle Slope." It has been confirmed that the "Gentle Slope" contains another anomalous source different from the "Blood Vessel," which has already entered an active phase.]
[Annotations:]
[Suspend rescue measures. Leave the two people who fell down there. To date, the "Gentle Slope" has not produced death incidents or disappearance incidents. This differs greatly from the situation at the "Blood Vessel," and there is a need to test what happens when casualties occur inside it. — Professor Vernon]
[Record a2-1-003]
[Operation Personnel Structure: 2 small mountain-type remote-controlled detection vehicles; 1 small scientific research drone]
[Objective of This Operation: Attempt to use remote-controlled devices to pass through the "Blood Vessel" and enter the deep-level area of the Red Nut Grey Cave]
[Operation Result: All detection vehicles and the drone were lost, all losses occurring after entering the "Blood Vessel"]
[Annotations:]
[Do not use drones and detection vehicles anymore. The cost is too high. Use death-row inmates instead; at least they are much cheaper. — Professor Vernon]
[Record a1-3-077]
[Operation Personnel Structure: 3 people]
[Objective of This Operation: Carry Type-K remote-controlled explosives into the "Blood Vessel" area of the Red Nut Grey Cave. After losing the remote-control signal and entering a no-network state, the explosives will detonate with a 30-second delay. The explosive power is sufficient to destroy the area where the "Blood Vessel" is located]
[Operation Result: No explosive detonation detected. All exploration personnel lost. All command room personnel lost. The Quarantine Zone suffered severe damage. More than 90% of the detection equipment installed inside the Red Nut Grey Cave has failed]
[Annotations:]
[1. This is the most stupid, most irresponsible, and most outrageous operation I have ever seen. What do you think we are doing? Are we Prometheus, attempting to steal the power of the gods? Do you really think such arrogant acts of destruction can bring about good results? Wake up, you bunch of idiots. — Professor Vernon]
[2. Watch your words, Vernon. I still hold the highest command authority over the base personnel. — General Gallagher]
…
Just the exploration records of the Red Nut Grey Cave alone amounted to several hundred pages, spanning more than five years.
It was difficult to imagine just how many people had vanished forever within that cave.
At the same time that Chika, on this side, felt her heart race over the records she had found, out in the corridor, Kaguya—having already returned to the first floor—glanced around to confirm that there were no soldiers guarding the hallway at the moment. She then cautiously made her way to the power sector, took out a key and tried it. Very quickly, she found the correct one, inserted it into the keyhole, and quietly opened the door.
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