"I feel bad that she just has to sit at the <Infirmary>," Svilran said as we walked back to the <Observatory>. "It's too bad we don't have any books... I wonder if we could get a library somehow... We don't have one in our build options."

"Svilran, I haven't really gotten to talk because of how quickly things have been moving, but there's something you need to know."

"What is it, Fainn?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"The punk--that Neo-Demon or whatever--I'm sure he knew I was watching him."

"What?! Really? You're sure?!"

"He even waved at me before ripping the head off of Kanae's old body."

"That's..." Svilran went green. "That's concerning."

"How do you feel about Kanae?"

Svilran became chipper once more. "She's great! I can't wait to see what she looks like without the burns! I got information on her race too! I can't wait to see all the things she can do! What do you think, Fainn?"

"I think I want to speak to her without you there."

"Huh? Why?"

I kept my expression stoic but spoke gently. "You bring out the best in these girls. But that's not who we need to speak to. We need to speak to their vulnerable sides."

"Oh..."

Throughout everything, it didn't feel like we really connected with Kanae. Even when we all saw her corpse--her reactions--they weren't the reactions I expected. Maybe Kanae was just that strong, or maybe Svilran's aura wasn't letting her react the way she would normally. Regardless, I felt like something was missing between us.

"She's so agreeable even though it sounds like she had a rough go of it. I just want to make sure she's not hurting on the inside," I said.

Svilran held my hand, and I looked at her to see her smiling back at me. "I think it's wonderful you're concerned, Fainn! And I think this is exactly why we're a duo. I can talk to our Heroes in one way, and you can speak to them in another that I never could! Together, we'll cover all bases."

"Heh, that's the hope."

We got to the <Observatory> and climbed back up to the platform, where we sat in front of the telescope once again.

"Is Kanae still doing well?" I asked.

Svilran closed her eyes and was silent for a few seconds. "She is," she said, opening her eyes. "She's resting--I think she's asleep."

"Huh... That's good. So, we should probably talk about this situation. Should we actually prioritize getting a probe?" I brought up the menu with the option. "It costs 400 Build Points... That's a lot of buildings we're putting aside to pursue it."

"It's the only way to find the little boy she was caring for."

"Assuming they're still on that world."

"You don't think they are?"

I looked at one of the screens--the one still locked on to Kanae's corpse. "I don't think they are... Just a feeling."

"Is it the Neo-Demon's actions?"

"Maybe... Be honest, were you expecting to potentially be running into Earth's evil so soon? We're only ten days in, and we already have a pint-sized sociopath literally cutting apart a would-be Hero."

Svilran became solemn as she seemed to be carefully choosing her words. "I... didn't expect this so soon. I don't know what to think... If we find him, I do think we should monitor him, though. We know nothing about these evils. We can't allow them to keep that advantage."

"Agreed." I kissed my teeth as I recalled the punk's face. "I don't know why, but I'm extremely put off."

"By the way... Did you check the other worlds?"

My heart jumped. "Oh no. I forgot! Let's check!"

Svilran pursed her lips and fiddled with the console. "You want to use the Resource Points?"

"Yes, do it!"

Svilran used the special scan function on what she was sure was the same segment. The scanning line appeared, but after it passed, nothing lit up.

"Huh?" I said. "So many worlds and nothing?"

Svilran pouted. "Fainn... We can't expect would-be Heroes to be dying every second of every day... And then, the ones that we did find earlier--they must have--"

"Died." I squeezed my forehead and just wallowed in my failure. "I forgot with everything that happened. Time is always of the essence!"

Svilran got up and stood behind me. She put her soft fingers on my shoulders and started rubbing them. The simple touch sent me into a blissful wonderland.

"Don't get too stressed, Fainn. It's okay. It happens... We won't be able to save them all. We just have to do our best, just like our Heroes. We can't do anything now, but they'll come through for us."

"Right..." I looked at the one screen we never adjusted. "Elma. Dorth. Please get back soon. Once again, we're counting on you."

Sebas_Guzman

I miscalculated the amount of words, so the next new chapter comes right after this one!