Goodbye

The Deep Space Literature Center.

It housed I.R.I.S., Star Torch Academy's search AI, and was a favorite spot among students.

After all, with the all-knowing I.R.I.S. around, they only had to enter a few keywords to find whatever information they wanted.

Rover and Lynae were there now, investigating the Remnant Star Society's plot.

So far, they had made good progress.

They had learned that the Remnant Star Society intended to lure the monster they had encountered earlier, the Voidworm, into attacking the Research Institute.

They wanted to warn the Research Institute and give it time to prepare before the Remnant Star Society made its move.

"Okay. Then we'll follow the plan."

Lynae patted her chest, brimming with confidence.

Rover smiled softly at her.

While uncovering the society's objective together, she had come to trust Lynae.

Lynae's past might have been ugly, but at least now she genuinely wanted to contribute to the Academy.

"About what Mo Bai said earlier..."

Rover brought up how Mo Bai had refused to join them on the rooftop.

Lynae's past might have been complicated, but to Rover, she was a student here and now.

She worried that Mo Bai's refusal had left Lynae feeling down.

"I'm not that upset. I knew from the start that Mo Bai was different from us," Lynae replied with a smile.

Perhaps she smiled to reassure Rover that she really was all right.

"Mm."

Rover nodded slightly.

Mo Bai had no Tacet Mark, yet he could draw on frequencies from the outside world to use his abilities. That, along with his cursed energy, made him seem nothing like an ordinary person from Solaris.

But in temperament, Mo Bai was much more like an ordinary person than either Rover or Lynae.

Perhaps it was for the best that he had stepped away from this plan.

Besides, they were still friends at the Academy.

"Well, judging by the time, they should be here to pick me up soon," Lynae suddenly told Rover.

Then, just as Lynae had said, investigators from the Research Institute arrived to notify her of a second round of questioning about the Haiveixia Incident.

And...

They had received an anonymous report on Lynae, along with some of her criminal records and details of her past.

That clearly caught Lynae by surprise.

In short, because of the "Lynae" who had once belonged to the Remnant Star Society, she was now suspected of falsifying her enrollment records.

She would have to give the Academy a reasonable explanation.

Mo Bai stepped out of Moqu's Drama Club.

"Sigh."

Thinking back on their conversation, he couldn't help sighing.

The time and place for Moqu's grand production were still undecided. Even the play itself hadn't been fully worked out.

In short, the whole thing barely had a name, let alone a plan.

"Hey, did you hear? The Academy took Lynae away at the Deep Space Literature Center."

"Lynae? What, did she get in serious trouble for racing again?"

"It wasn't racing. It was fraud! I heard her enrollment documents might be fake."

On his way to add a terminal to the tape, Mo Bai slowed at the students' conversation.

Maybe the Academy had found something about Lynae's past when it summoned her for another round of questioning.

Then again, for an Academy this advanced, looking into a student's past would be easy.

What would happen to Lynae now?

The thought left Mo Bai uneasy.

He knew he had turned down her and Rover's invitation, but he still considered them both friends.

Tap, tap, tap.

A flurry of footsteps sounded nearby. Mo Bai looked up and saw Lynae with the academy staff escorting her.

What should he say to her?

Should he ask if she was all right? Tell her he was worried?

But remembering how he had refused her invitation, he couldn't find the words.

"Your face is all scrunched up."

As she passed, Lynae spoke to him first.

"Sorry," Mo Bai said, looking up.

Even he wasn't sure whether he was apologizing for the look on his face or for turning her down earlier.

"Oh, come on. If you really feel bad, wait for me at my dorm. I'll be back soon."

With that, Lynae left with the academy staff.

"..."

Mo Bai didn't dwell on it. He kept walking.

This time, though, he took a detour to the Academy dormitories.

Once there, Mo Bai summoned the White Divine Dog and had him follow Lynae's scent to her room.

Fortunately, since Star Torch Academy had almost no living animals, it had no rule against bringing pets inside.

Buzz—

When the automatic door opened, Mo Bai saw Lynae's room.

The layout surprised him a little.

A large round window greeted him at the entrance, looking out over the Academy. Apart from a few doodles on the walls, it looked much like any other student's dorm room.

There was none of the New Federation's gloomy decor. It looked exactly like the sort of room the Lynae he knew at the Academy would have.

There was something else in the room, too: a person.

Rover.

"Hi?"

Mo Bai thought it was a pretty awkward greeting.

But he couldn't think of anything better.

"Looks like I wasn't the only one Lynae invited."

Seeing that the visitor was Mo Bai, Rover nodded and patted the empty spot beside her on the sofa.

"Have a seat."

Mo Bai accepted the invitation.

He could tell Rover wanted to talk to him.

"Sorry for asking you so directly to help us deal with the Remnant Star Society."

"Huh?"

Rover's opening words caught Mo Bai off guard.

He had imagined all sorts of things she might ask.

Maybe she would ask what Lynae had told him, or question him outright about cursed energy and Cursed Technique.

Instead, she was apologizing to him.

After a moment of surprise, Mo Bai quickly shook his head.

"No. You and Lynae have taught me so much about this world, and you've been willing to be my friends."

His gaze dropped as he spoke, and he stroked the White Divine Dog's head.

Part of why he hadn't dispelled the Cursed Technique was that having another living creature around made things feel less awkward.

"If anyone should apologize, it's me for turning down my friends' invitation."

As he said it, Mo Bai thought back on everything that had happened since he met Rover and Lynae.

"Mo Bai."

"Mm?"

When Rover suddenly called his name, Mo Bai looked up instinctively into her bright golden eyes.

"I knew it. You really are a good person," Rover said with a smile.

"That sounds a little strange." Mo Bai scratched his head.

Her words made the atmosphere feel less heavy than before.

Buzz—

Just then, the door to Lynae's room opened again. Lynae was back.