We weren't streaming right then, and even Miluno had quietly chosen to retreat. Mono, who had been buzzing around me, was dragged away by her ears, and Night Owl read the room and followed them out.
They seemed to want to leave me and old man alone together.
"Come with me."
Old man's speech was as brief as ever. She led me to the excavation team's breakroom. Compared to the Reconnaissance Center, it couldn't really be called clean, but at least it allowed the Magical Girls working underground to take off their heavy helmets and rest properly.
Old man poured me a glass of water, just plain, ordinary water.
"What are you here for today?" she asked.
The contents of the meeting at the Sky Branch earlier were confidential, so old man probably didn't know the truth about the world. She didn't even know this world was just a massive Virtual Reality, and likely only thought something had happened between Miluno and Mi Xue, which was why I had been set free.
In truth, no one was truly set free.
The New World itself was a giant cage, only some people were comfortable staying in it while others racked their brains to find a way out.
To old man's question, I simply replied, "Warming up for my comeback, coming to broadcast the excavation progress of the Lunar City... Though the broadcast signal was interrupted because of a solar storm."
I didn't tell her the deeper truth, at least not yet.
Old man warned, "Solar storms are a common occurrence, but be careful when you're visiting. The Moon is like a patient with osteoporosis; it can collapse if you aren't careful."
"I know..."
I nodded, but was that really all she had to say?
We, father and son, finally had a