Mobius

"Although the Kaslana family's young miss does call me big brother."

After a long while, he said this seriously.

Miss Raven's lips twitched involuntarily.

You had an S-rank bodyguard and were called big brother by the Kaslana family's young miss, yet you were telling her you came from an ordinary family?

The young master had gotten tired of playing with maids in his big house and suddenly wanted to seek some thrills, was that it?

And even when coming out to seek thrills, he had not forgotten to bring an S-rank Valkyrie along to watch over him.

One look told the whole story.

A complete spoiled rich kid.

"...Young master, you should hurry home."

Raven extended a hand toward the boy before her, her expression blank.

Raven had been born not long after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

During that turbulent era, the number of tycoons born in Russia had even exceeded the total number in all of Europe.

And their rise had clearly not come from honestly farming, doing business, or conducting research.

The luxury and prestige of those privileged classes had been built entirely upon the nation's fragmentation and the cries of its people...

Because of the environment she had grown up in, she truly found it difficult to feel anything like fondness for people such as young masters.

Or rather, the fact that she did not outright despise them was already no easy thing.

"Give me the Sovereign's vessel. From here on, I'll take it where it belongs."

She said this.

"Ah? I'm not welcome?"

A hint of distress appeared on the face of the boy, who looked every bit the spoiled young master.

"If you don't let me enter the Elysian Realm, it'll be hard for me to explain things to others."

"I'll help you complete your mission."

"If you need to submit a report to Schicksal, I can write one for you as well... though given your status, I don't think you'll need it."

Raven spoke.

Compared with acting alongside a spoiled young master who would drink oath-bound brotherhood wine with his fair-weather friends before carrying out a mission, she felt she would be more efficient acting alone.

"Mm, I roughly understand that you don't want to see me. But I think it'll be impossible for you to complete the mission alone from here on."

The boy tilted his head and spoke calmly.

"Because—"

"The vessel is me."

Doctor Mobius

The Elysian Realm.

A place that World Serpent executives were bound to visit.

The Memeory Bodies of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers were stored in this area.

Raven did not dislike this place.

—Although most World Serpent executives had their issues, the Flame-Chasers one commonly encountered in the Elysian Realm seemed fairly normal and respectable. Compared with getting along with people like Jackal, interacting with the Flame-Chasers was not difficult.

Of course, Russell's situation might be rather different.

He had sold himself off. Well, barring any surprises, Mobius was already waiting inside to catch him.

"Doctor Mobius, are you waiting for someone at the entrance right now?"

Russell followed behind Raven, heading toward the Elysian Realm while chatting with several people in the group.

"Of course."

"I'd like to see what strange footage that fatty Elysia recorded."

Mobius replied.

Sure enough, the boss was blocking the door right from the start.

Russell rubbed the Tiger Talisman around his neck and thought, Bosses these days are getting more and more ruthless. She's directly camping at the main gate of the newbie village, waiting for some dim-witted hero to barge in and get beaten up.

"By the way, do you need to give your subordinate some end-of-life care?"

The snake-like scientist suddenly spoke.

"Ah? What end-of-life care?"

Russell froze.

"Probably creating an illusion. I'll act as a teammate and help him defeat the illusion, allowing him to rest in peace."

"Then, while he's immersed in the dream, kill him and take his body."

"...How is that any different from killing him directly?"

Russell's expression turned rather strange.

Listening to a perverted murderer explain how she would kill him felt rather bizarre.

"Perhaps it could give him a nice dream?"

"Don't boys all like stories about defeating the Demon King and becoming a hero under the admiring gaze of cute little girls?"

Mobius spoke as though she were making perfect sense.

"Of course, if possible, you can also help me investigate whether he has any enemies or family members who need looking after."

"I'll help him resolve those problems."

"From the perspective of a butcher, that's quite thorough end-of-life care."

Russell nodded, then spoke solemnly.

"My cousin probably owes me two hundred billion. Help him pay it back."

Mobius: "..."

After a long while, she finally replied.

"Do you think I look easy to fool?"

"I don't know, but I had to try. What if it worked?"

Russell considered it for a moment before speaking.

"It's been a long time since anyone dared to joke with me like that."

"The way you joke is somewhat similar to Elysia's."

Memeory Body Mobius smiled, a trace of nostalgia appearing in her eyes.

"It's a little nostalgic."

"You can think of me as a friend too. I'd be very happy to be friends with you."

Russell considered it for a moment and said so.

"First, Elysia and I are not friends."

"Second, I don't need friends."

"Lastly, a deal should remain a deal. Don't mix other things into it."

Mobius, sleeping within the palace of memories, sneered and rejected Russell's offer of friendship.

Tsk—

So she won't be friends with me. I'll remember this grudge!

When I get the chance, I'll make sure to squeeze every last bit of value out of this snake.

For now...

For now, he would vent his anger on World Serpent's walls.

Russell clicked his tongue, then pulled a Kunai from his pocket and scraped it against the wall.

Are you some kind of child?

Even the Prompt Device mocked him.

"Hello, I'm eight years old today."

Russell declared proudly.

Well damn, you're directly matching Kiana's wavelength now, aren't you? If you really want to experience being a child, you could try shrinking your body into a child's and burrowing into the arms of that girl beside you. She seems pretty sympathetic toward you right now, and she's unexpectedly overflowing with maternal instincts.

Huh?

Russell paused, then, unsurprisingly, discovered that Raven was indeed staring at him.

Raven looked at the boy who had come here with her, her expression forlorn.

He was about to die.

No, rather, he was already dead.

The Schicksal Bishop had dispatched an S-rank Valkyrie to escort him to the Elysian Realm so that an esteemed figure could complete their reincarnation.

The instant the so-called Bishop had issued the order, the life of the boy named Russell had already ended. Yet earlier, she had even been upset because he was thirty minutes late...

It really was quite sad.

Although his background was truly awful, he was actually quite good-looking.

His features were remarkably well-proportioned, his contours smooth, his irises a rare ice blue, and his hair a rare gradient. It was black overall, yet its ends were a faint blue-gray. That touch of blue-gray was beautiful beyond words, making one want to extract that color and paint it into a hazy sky.

Someone so beautiful should have been adored at school.

He absolutely should not have been here.

Raven felt unprecedented sorrow in her heart.

But what could she do? In the end, she was merely an executive of World Serpent. Even if she wanted to save him, there was nothing she could do...

After all, the one who had made this decision was the Schicksal Bishop...

The girl's heart felt heavier than ever.

Yet in stark contrast to the girl, the one being watched wore a perfectly calm expression.

"Ah... Don't look at me with such a burning gaze. I'll think you like me."

The boy scratched his cheek, looking a little shy, but he showed no intention of avoiding her. He even seemed faintly inclined to strike a pose.

Raven: "..."

Why was this young master so narcissistic?

"Unfortunately, I have no interest in rich young masters like you."

"Not to mention a young master who's about to die."

After a long while, the woman spoke, her words exceptionally cruel.

"I think you're lying. I'm this good-looking—how could you possibly not be moved?"

"You must feel inferior and think you're not worthy of me, so you're saying that."

The boy snorted coldly and declared arrogantly.

Raven: "..."

She suddenly felt that her previous sadness had been rather unnecessary.

This young master really was narcissistic.

But after thinking it over carefully, a bitter smile appeared on Raven's face.