“Yes, I did, what of it?”

“Just how dedicated are you? I didn’t even use mine,” Claire said. “Well, to be fair, Barnett uses it as a decoration spot.”

“I didn’t know she could do that,” Izabel remarked, glancing at Barnett’s partly transparent figure. Barnett responded with a slight smirk, and with a wave of her hand, a single rose bloomed on her palm, followed by vines slithering along her forearm. 

“Barnett said it’s a convenient spot for relaxing and growing plants, as false as they are, and can be used as a storage unit for information.” Claire said.

“Anyway, what does this virtual entertainment do?” Izabel turned to look at Valerie.

“Just try it.”

“I’d expect another virtual adventure like those the Primeras let us play in the downtime, something about saving everything and all is well at the end of the day, then, black-out and we’re back to the habitation unit– well, this room, more like,” Claire said, sighing.

“Come on, Claire, at least try it.”

“Well, sure, we have time, anyway. Izabel, are you going to try?”

“I’ll have to admit that I’m curious what entertainment that isn’t approved or checked by the Primeras is like,” Izabel admitted. “Even if I don’t have any interest of playing those myself,”

“Alright then, you first.”

Afterwards, they were quiet, letting Izabel figure out the controls as they watched on the side. As the customizations were done and the game started proper, a line of notification, telling the others they were on spectator mode could be seen, right before their bodies became partly transparent, a signal that they could watch, but affect nothing during the game.

Izabel’s expression was a serious one - brows furrowed, lips in a thin line, and body language tense. It didn’t take long for the first enemy to appear, a character wearing an all-black outfit that exposed nothing but their eyes. They approached Izabel, and then, following an unseen prompt, a broadsword appeared on Izabel's hand, right before she slashed the character in a diagonal curve across the torso.

Blood spilled on the virtual room floor, and even though the others were aware it was nothing but simulation, they could smell the tang of iron in the air as the enemy dispersed into pixels.

“... Len,” Claire started, her face blanched in disgust, “Did you have to include the smell?”

In contrast to her, Barnett’s gaze was glued to the sight. It seems that, unlike her host, she found the sight a rather interesting one.

“Hehe, of course! There are no restrictions, so I get to go all out.” Valerie grinned, “and I mean it.”

Next to her, Pestilence nodded, his expression an indication to his agreement.

“I swear, you two, get a less… urgh, disgusting entertainment,” Claire sighed, then she turned to whisper at Barnett, “Hey, Barnett, there’s no need for you to look that interested.”

Barnett turned to look at Claire, smiling with the glee of a child who saw a new, expensive toy that she has to acquire right about now, and replied. No one except for Claire can hear her, however, it was clear from the way Claire shuddered that it was something she disagreed with. 

Their conversation continued for a few more minutes, the two locked in a back and forth, then, with a resigned sigh, Claire said, “Alright, alright, I’m letting you try. Just… don’t make me see that, or something. I’d rather not smell or feel blood if I can help it.”

At that point, Izabel has reached a change in scenery. Now, she was seated at the end of a long table, with her seat bearing an elaborate emblem that looked like a combination of a white wolf and some kind of geometric symbol. On the chairs at the side of the long table, characters with similar facial features were seated, the only thing that separated each character was the different symbols on their clothes.

“I haven’t gotten around to fix their appearance yet,” Valerie said with a shrug right as Claire looked at her.

Valerie and Claire saw Izabel furrow her brows, then she mouthed something. Neither of them could hear what she said, however, soon after, another character materialized, wearing clothes that were less elaborate than those sitting near the table, and bowed to Izabel–

Only for them to reveal a concealed dagger, then stab her on the gut. Blood trickled down the corner of her lips as the surroundings faded, sending them back into the beginning.

“Seriously, Izabel?” Valerie started, barely containing her laughter, “You barely passed the tutorial segment! Besides, you can dodge that.”

“... This isn’t my thing,” Izabel replied with a sigh, then glanced at Hunter, who had her head in her hands. 

“My apologies, I am afraid that navigating an environment of such… intrigue is not one of my strengths,” Hunter said. “You may not realize, but this could be described as a crude approximation of what goes on in the life of a ruler. I do not have enough information to effectively aid you.”

“... aaaand by the looks of it, your Mirror Avatar isn’t good at it, either,” Valerie said. Next to her, Pestilence was covering his mouth with his hand, his eyes sparkling in amusement. From the way he was floating in the air behind Valerie, acting as if he was lying on a comfortable, invisible sofa and enjoying the show, it seems like he had a hand in the creation of the virtual world.

Meanwhile, Claire, who has been silent, spoke all of a sudden, “Wait, Barnett, okay, alright, let me just…” 

Claire fiddled with the settings of her Mirror Device, and then, her gaze changed. No longer did she looked pale, and though her eyes stayed green, now there was a tinge of mischief sparkling within the vivid emerald color. A light blond color has seeped out from the roots of Claire’s brown hair, a phenomenon they both recognized as a sign of someone altering their Number Distribution.

“Hey,” she smiled, her voice now distinctly different, more playful compared to Claire’s usual demeanor. “First time we’re talking like this, right?”

“Hey, Barnett,” Valerie started first, “Go on, then, tell me what you think, and… yeah, can you help her with that?”

“Easy, she’s not going to see it,” Barnett smiled, showing her hand. Vines has surrounded her arm, from the tip of her fingers and disappearing under her sleeves. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“Good, well, have fun, then.”

“You could at least let me dodge so I don’t lose that early…”

“Correct, but you dodged attacks from a Primeras, albeit one that underestimated your capabilities before its demise. Assuming you were not too tense, you should have been capable of dodging it yourself, too,” Hunter said with an easy smile, the kind of smile reserved to goad someone into doing something they wouldn’t want.

In response to that, Izabel frowned.

“You helped me dodge the initial attack, why not the second one?”

“Did I?” Hunter asked back, her smile still present, “Putting my distaste for court intrigue aside, you were paralyzed by the available choices, and fearing the wrong one, your body tensed, causing the loss as you were unable to dodge that surprise attack.”

Meanwhile, Barnett, using Claire’s body, has started the game. Even with a cursory glance, it was easy to tell that she was much more at ease than Izabel was, and even without being able to hear her voice, her body language conveyed that she was at ease. Unlike Izabel, she dodged the initial attack, then summoned a weapon, a long, wooden spear with an iron tip, right as the character attacking her stumbled. She then stabbed the attacker at the back of their neck, killing the character in a less messy way than Izabel did, before flicking the spear, cleaning it off most of the blood, and wiped the rest on the fallen character’s clothes.

“That. Is. Cool,” Valerie said, while letting out a whistle. “Do you often play?”

Of course, Barnett does not reply, after all, she was currently engrossed within the virtual world. Just like with Izabel, the scenery soon changed, now they were in the courtroom with the group of officials and Barnett sitting at the end. She seemed completely at ease, and with a sentence or two from her, all spoken with the same ease of someone talking about their day, the characters were immediately enraged at her. 

Barnett has managed to rile up the characters in the room, and from her playful smirk, it is obvious that it was intentional.

The room erupted into chaos, the faceless characters now materializing their weapons and charging at Barnett. Unperturbed, she simply dodged the combined attacks, taking advantage at their sloppy movements.

All the while, Valerie was watching, clearly enjoying the display, while Pestilence was floating, lying down on his stomach with his chin propped up with his hand, the way one would relax on a bed. In a way, there was something amusing about how relaxed he was in the current situation, compared to how silent and serious he seemed to be while on the mission not that long ago.

Alas, as with all things, the display comes to an end. Barnett was caught off-guard, and with the distinct scent of blood being splashed across the floor, she was decapitated. Izabel watched as their expression changed almost as quickly as the situation.

For a moment, the metallic tang made Izabel forgot that they were not in an actual battlefield.

“Whoops,” Barnett said, with a grin, while moving her head around as if the previous event was nothing but a minor inconvenience. “Can I try it again sometime?”

It took a moment for Valerie to pick up her wits, but right afterwards, she laughed, and nodded. “As long as Claire is okay with it, sure.”

“No worries, I made sure she’s safe. I’m returning her to you. Again though, thanks for the chance~”

Barnett did a bowing motion, her movement reminiscent of an act of obeisance - except, as Claire was not wearing the necessary garments for it, it came out as her trying to pick up the air in an awkward manner. She seemed to realize, too, but the smile still etched on her lips was a wordless confirmation that it didn’t bother her in the slightest.

“Let me try that again, but for now, ta-ta~”

With that, there was a perceptible shift in the air, and Barnett reappeared next to Claire, sitting on the handle of her spear. She jumped down, bowing correctly this time, and waited as Claire adjusted the numbers. Claire’s movements were groggy, just like the way one would be when woken up from a nap.

“--you’d like to try that again sometime? Sure, just don’t involve me,” Claire mumbled, then stretched her limbs. “Alright, alright, you get it.”

“How do you feel?” Izabel asked, staring at her. 

“Like I just woke up, really. Did she cause any problems?”

“Nope, in this case, she really did keep her promise,” Valerie nodded.

“Good to know– oh, she tells you that next time, try to reduce the possible failure points.”

“Sure, for the next time I revise things, then,” Valerie nodded. Meanwhile, Pestilence’s expression soured a little. “Let’s try it first before you judge, okay, Lenny?”

Bad move. As an onlooker, Izabel had never seen Pestilence bear such a serious expression - at least, not outside the battlefield. Valerie too realized it, and she raised her hand in surrender, even though the twitch from the corner of her lips suggested that she was close to a full-blown laughter. “Right, Len, not that, I won’t call you that again, I promise.”

When one thinks about it, the situation felt normal, too mundane, in contrast with what they have gone through not even a full system month ago.

As if to mock the thought, everyone felt a notification from their Mirror devices. Even though no one had seen the message, they all knew it was the same kind of alert as when they were first invited as a Heart Mirror user. At the same time, all three opened the message, the expressions of their Mirror Avatars equally serious.

[Subject: Mission Complete]

[From: CORDIS#404]

[The Spires have been unlocked, and communication between Domes is now possible. As the wise says, all journeys start with the smallest steps, and we have taken ours.]

[In accordance with the current situation, it is time for us to move again. All Heart Mirror users are advised to find a safe place to enter the virtual space as soon as you are able.]

[Automatic transport to the virtual space will occur in 1 hour, 59 minutes]