(Heartfelt thanks to 'Chuunibyou Demon King,' 'True Dragon Tiger King,' 'Wufeng Haotian,' and 'Shuiyue Huafeng' for their rewards!)
In the dim morgue, a woman in a white lab coat sat at a desk, desperately shoveling the white rice from the bento before her into her mouth, covering her entire face with grains of rice.
Noah and Tina sat side by side across from her. Watching her stuff herself like a starving ghost, they both fell silent.
Noah in particular was not merely speechless; his heart was filled with indescribable feelings.
The woman before them, wolfing down food like a starving ghost, looked utterly disheveled at first glance.
Her skin was an unhealthy pale color.
Her bangs were messy and long, covering half of her eyes.
She clearly had a rather lovely face, but her eye sockets were slightly sunken, with conspicuous dark circles around them.
If she had not been wearing a white lab coat, no one would have been willing to believe that this woman was one of the brightest minds in the world.
Yes.
This woman was Sumire Muroto.
One of the Four Sages and the chief director of the Mechanized Soldier Project, Rentaro's chief surgeon, and a great scientist who had once aspired to save humanity through mechanized soldiers.
"...So this is what they mean by not judging a person by their appearance?"
"...I thought the same thing when I first met Dr. Muroto, but Brother, that is a little rude, you know?"
Noah and Tina both watched Sumire Muroto devour her meal with wry smiles. Their feelings were truly complicated beyond measure.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, Sumire Muroto finally finished the bento.
"Phew..." Sumire Muroto let out a long breath.
"I've finally come back to life..."
At those words, Noah and Tina