Time rewound to half an hour earlier.
When Asta entered the Data Bank, Arlan did not follow her inside. Instead, he waited outside the train.
He did this because he had a vague feeling.
Although he and the Young Lady were both Chu Mu's friends, not all friendships were the same.
Arlan still remembered how upset Miss Asta had been when she saw Chu Mu playing games with Silver Wolf.
Arlan was also Chu Mu's friend, but he would not have gotten angry over something like that.
The only explanation he could think of was that Asta had invested more emotion in Chu Mu than he had.
Chu Mu had said that friendships all began with mutual benefit. When Arlan first met Chu Mu, he had traded a bottle of water for some information.
The Young Lady, on the other hand, had given him a Star Destroyer.
She had given far more, so it stood to reason that her feelings ran much deeper.
Her grief now must have been greater, too.
So, after hearing the terrible news about Chu Mu, Arlan chose to give Asta some space to be alone.
He stood on the Platform, but Stelle stopped him.
"Arlan, I'm asking for this friend of mine. How do we get to the testing facility?"
"For testing, you can go to the Department of Weird Things. They deal with Strange Objects quite often and have extensive testing expertise." Arlan looked at March 7th beside Stelle and asked, "What do you need tested?"
"This!" Stelle took the red bead from March 7th and said quietly, "You'll be shocked to hear this, but it might be something Chu Mu left behind!"
After a pause, she added solemnly:
"His consciousness might even be inside it!"
Sure enough, Arlan's eyes widened.
Not daring to