– I –

Disregarding what I’d said earlier about sitting down and showing weakness before Tabitha, I trudged over to the foot of the bed and sat on it.

Then I looked up to see her circling the table again.

She’d stopped at playing at being a bird. Now, she was mimicking an airplane in a holding pattern around an airport, complete with arms wide and engine sounds coming out of her mouth.

I chose to look past her childish antics, seeing them for the distraction they were, and focused on what she’d just revealed. And if I took her at her word, then it explained a great deal about Clarisol’s aberrant behavior, and it reinforced the difference in personality between the Simulacrum Clarisol and the girl that I’d met in the virtual prison.

But I wanted to know more.

I needed specifics.

However, when I went to ask, I once again had trouble finding my voice.

Clogged by my emotions, I had to breathe slowly a few times to calm down, then swallowed twice to loosen up my throat. My efforts were rewarded, and my voice came out strong and steady, something for which I was grateful, especially since I was dealing with Tabitha the Jet Airliner.

“You said, anything copied out of the virtual prison was corrupted. Does that mean me as well?”

Tabitha continued in her holding pattern as she appeared to give the question some thought. “No, I doubt it. You weren’t copied into the virtual prison. It was more like an avatar of you slipped in through the cracks”—she hesitated before admitting—“cracks that no one knew were there.”

“What?” Confused, I tilted my head at her.

Tabitha made a dive for the coffee table then pulled up. “Until you went in and came back out, nobody knew there were cracks in the prison walls. That’s what I meant.”

I glanced at Ghost who replied with a solemn shrug.

Tabitha slowed down and looked at me over a shoulder. “The cracks have been sealed up. No more unauthorized visits.”

Her words squeezed at my heart. By arranging for me to meet the real Clarisol, Ghost had compromised his secret door into the virtual prison.

I felt it was a heavy price to pay – too heavy.

He wanted me to know the truth, and so he risked it for me, but now he’s cut off from Clarisol.

Guilt and regret welled up inside my chest, putting pressure on my heart and lungs.

I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t know anything….

That seemed to be the crux of the problem.

I didn’t know much about what was going on, and so I was making ill-informed decisions and acting rashly. I needed to stop and think, and I needed to know more – much more – about my circumstances and the people with an interest in me – starting with Tabitha.

I gazed intently at the girl circling the table.

Why would a retired Gun Empress know so much about what was happening around me? Tabitha had said she was a member of a special division within the Battle Commission, but I suspected she was part of something greater…something more insidious.

Wetting my lips, I then swallowed past the worries that threatened to clog up my throat.

I needed to remain focused.

Tabitha was here to talk, and I needed to learn as much as I could from her. It may not all be true, but I could weed out the lies later.

Inhaling slowly, I then exhaled gently.

Let’s do this.

“Why can’t Clarisol be freed through the same cracks?”

“She could, but the Empress would notice the empty prison. That would be a dangerous mistake. For now, making copies is the only thing the Empress will allow.”

“Then why not slip a copy of her out through one of the cracks? Would that work? Would it avoid the corruption?”

I kept my eyes on Tabitha, but I could see Ghost waiting impatiently for an answer from the girl.

Tabitha stopped circling the table, then sat down on its edge. Facing me, she primly folded her hands over her lap.

Normally, I’d take that as a sign that she was playing around again, but the grave expression on her face made me think otherwise. This was the seldom seen Tabitha – the serious Tabitha – so paying attention to her was a must because it was like witnessing a rare event, like a planetary alignment that only occurred once in a millennium.

After a deep breath, she grimly asked me, “Do you want to know what I think?”

I replied with a nod.

Tabitha leaned toward me a little. “Have you read a book called Lost Horizon?”

Puzzled, I gently shook my head. “No, never.”

“It’s quite interesting. You should read it when you can. There was as surprisingly good film based on the book made during the early Twentieth Century. Watch it when you have a free moment.”

I wondered what a book or a movie had to do with Clarisol.

Tabitha appeared to be expecting that. “In the book, there is a place called Shangri-La,” she explained. “The people there live for a very long time. But if they leave, their bodies return to their true age and they die.”

Tabitha leaned closer to me.

“I think it’s not the copy process that is flawed. I believe it’s the source itself that is corrupted.” She paused as though waiting for her words to sink in. “I suspect that staying within the virtual space is what keeps the corruption in check. In other words, it doesn’t manifest until Clarisol’s mind is copied into a physical body. Whatever checks and balances exist within the virtual space, they can’t be replicated within the brain of a Simulacrum.”

“You’re saying…Clarisol can’t leave because she’ll grow mad.”

The gentle nod Tabitha gave me made my heart sink. “Yes. She’s trapped.”

Ghost turned away either in anger or despair, or possibly both.

Feeling some of that, I bowed me head and looked down at my bare feet.

Tabitha continued after a few moments of silence. “I suspect that Erina Kassius realized the true reason why the Clarisol Simulacra were going crazy after a year or so. I don’t know if she told the Sanreals. Maybe she did. Most likely they didn’t listen to her. After all, in hindsight, we know they spent considerable time and resources setting up the fake identity of Isabel Allegrando. They were committed to getting a copy of Clarisol out to safety. The other Clarisols had gone mad. They probably blamed it on the Simulacra she was copied into. They pinned all their hopes on Mirai. But Erina Kassius decided otherwise, and she took matters into her own hands. Imprinting a copy of Clarisol into Mirai was something she couldn’t accept. Mirai is simply too precious for her to risk with a corrupted version of Clarisol’s mind.”

I looked up at the mechanical girl.

Tabitha’s explanation was plausible.

Erina had said that Mirai was a host for the Angel Fibers. However, during our final conversation on the boat, when I affirmed my decision to compete in the Gun Princess Royale as Mirai, Erina had led me to believe that Mirai was intended to be much more. It was only a nagging suspicion of mine, yet it supported what Tabitha was saying, and if true, it begged the question of what is Mirai’s true purpose?

Tabitha watched me carefully, perhaps seeing the wheels spinning behind my eyes. “I will admit that I have no hard evidence. But the evidence I have collected has led me to this conclusion. And if I’ve arrived here by following the breadcrumbs, then others will too.”

I tried holding back a frown but failed. “What are you saying?”

“That your sister may find herself in trouble.”

I frowned in question. “From the Empress?”

“No. From the Sanreal Family and House Novis.”

Tabitha’s delivery was so casual that I accepted her statement without a second thought. Then again, she’d been painting a convincing case leading up to her assertion that Erina was in deep shit. But if she was expecting to evoke sympathy or concern from me, she was sorely mistaken.

“So what?” I replied. “If the Sanreals, or House Novis, or the Empress want their pound of flesh, then who am I to stand in their way?”

My relationship with Erina was a fiery one, and I wasn’t feeling much love for her.

Honestly, I wasn’t feeling any love for her, and this was far from a case of water under the bridge, so my indifferent response shouldn’t have come as a surprise to Tabitha…but it did.

The machine girl blinked rhythmically for a long while before she started to chuckle. Moments later, that chuckle turned into a hearty laugh.

At that point, I realized something important about Tabitha.

She’s not watching me as closely as I thought she was. She doesn’t know that Erina and I are at each other’s throats.

Leaning forward, I planted my right elbow on my lap, then dropped my chin onto an upturned palm. As I waited for her to calm down – at least, I presumed she would eventually calm down – I took the opportunity to study her.

Straus’s Cat Princess had intrigued me, and so too Tabitha’s machine avatar. Why? Because she was so very real – right down to the raspy noise she made as she caught her breath, and when Tabitha wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, I noticed they looked a little moist. This attention to detail added to the lifelike qualities of the girl, and I found them both fascinating…and disturbing. It also made me wonder how many of these machine avatars were out there walking the streets of the city. Perhaps, it was yet another good reason to keep secret Mirai’s ability to see the lifeforce that radiated from people, since it was something of an ace in the hole for me.

Tabitha patted her chest as she brought the remains of her laughter under control.

“I guess your sister had that coming.” She chuckled once more, relaxed, then resumed sitting primly on the coffee table. “I should have known this would happen.”

I agreed with her.

Yeah, you should have known. But you haven’t been watching me all that well enough, have you?

“So?” I asked her.

Tabitha met my blunt stare with an uncertain smile. “Does that mean you’re not going to help her?”

“After everything she’s put me through, I’m surprised you’re asking me that.”

Tabitha hesitated before tipping her head at me. “Is that how you honestly feel?”

I was prepared to say ‘yes’ but chose to ruminate upon the touchy subject of Erina Kassius for a short while.

Maybe it’s better if I act concerned? No, it’s a little late for that now. I should have been smarter. So now what?

I caught upon an idea. “What’s in it for me?”

Tabitha’s eyes widened slightly before she coyly asked, “Are you open to a proposition?”

“I think you mentioned something like that before.”

Ghost anxiously stepped closer to me. “Princess—?”

I silenced him with the subtle wave of a finger, and he looked on with worry.

Not quite ignoring him, I kept my attention on Tabitha. “Your proposition…let’s hear it.”

“Erina Kassius is important to us.”

I felt like sighing but instead I snorted. Why is that not a surprise? However—

“Who is us?” I asked her.

“House Alus Cardinal.”

“A rival Noble House?”

Tabitha nodded politely.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “And what is House Alus Cardinal to you?”

She straightened her posture, then placed a hand on her chest as though she were about to recite an oath.

“My name is Taura Hexaria Erz Cardinal.”

Ghost sighed as he crossed his arms. “Finally….”

I glanced at him.

Bastard. You knew who she was. You could have told me this before.

He was staring warily at Tabitha thus our eyes didn’t meet, but I was certain he’d felt my glance. Then I realized that Clarisol would have known about Taura’s true identity. She should have told me about this girl back in the school library, and yet she’d kept it to herself. Frankly, I found Ghost and Clarisol’s penchant for keeping secrets was fraying my nerves. But then I wondered if Mat also knew, especially since he’d demonstrated he could keep secrets too.

It bothered me to some degree how little I could trust the people around me.

I chose not to dwell on it lest I begin to despair, because doing so in front of Tabitha would be a big mistake.

Exhaling softly, I focused on Tabitha. “Does that make you someone important?”

She smirked faintly. “I’m the second daughter-heir to the Hexaria Family. My twin sister is the first having been born a couple of minutes before me.”

Lifting my chin off my palm, I sat up straighter. “So that’s why you know so much about what’s going on. I figured you were more than just a former Gun Empress. But to think you were this high up the chain of command.”

“The chain of command?” Tabitha shrugged. “Well, I needed a life after retiring. Every sports athlete has to think ahead. All of us have a shelf—”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Having been cutoff, Tabitha pouted for a second before asking, “Then pray tell. What did you mean?”

I shook my head sharply. “Nope. You figure it out.”

“How rude.”

“I don’t care. And we’ve gone off track.”

“That is true.”

I crossed my arms. “You said Erina is important to you. What did you mean by that?”

“Her knowledge is of great value to my family and thereby, House Cardinal’s future ambitions.”

I squinted at her. “Your family wants Erina to make them another Mirai?”

Tabitha winced before sheepishly looking away. “That’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

She scratched a cheek. “There’s a small…complication.”

Erina had called me a miracle, but I didn’t believe that’s what Tabitha was referring to. “What complication?”

The girl chuckled but it sounded nervous which was out of character for her.

“Tabitha?” I prompted her.

She sighed and met my gaze. “It’s the Empress. She won’t allow anyone else to conduct research to develop another Mirai. So even with Doctor Kassius in our employ, developing another version of Mirai…of you…is forbidden.”

Why would she go that far?

Something about that decision didn’t make sense to me. It almost sounded as though the Empress was intent on safeguarding Mirai’s uniqueness. But why would she do that? Was she afraid of Mirai and thereby feared what more than one Ultra Grade Simulacrum could do? Or was she like Erina? In other words, was it possible the Empress had a plan for me?

I swallowed a tad anxiously.

Erina sees me as humanity’s future. So how does the Empress see me?

The question gave me a chill that I tried to hide from Tabitha who was watching me keenly. In all honesty, her quiet and serious demeanor was unsettling because I wasn’t used to it.

I hated to admit it, but she had me on the proverbial backfoot.

Giving myself a moment to compose my thoughts, I breathed in slow and deeply, then firmly asked, “What good is Erina to you?”

“Good question.” Tabitha paused for moment. “We cannot conduct research to create another Mirai, but we can continue to develop our own Simulacra. Since the war, there has been a shortage of manpower throughout the Empire. House Cardinal is prepared to offer Erina Kassius sanctuary from the Sanreal Family and House Novis if she will aid our efforts to improve and develop superior Simulacra. And, House Cardinal enjoys considerable support in the Inner Court, thus Kateopia would think thrice about moving against us.”

That gave me another chill. “Move against you?”

“Even after ten years, Kateopia’s military forces have not entirely recovered to their pre-war levels. She’s vulnerable. She needs the support of the Noble Houses of the Inner Court—Noble Houses with the rank of Alus.” She winked at me. “Noble Houses like House Cardinal.”

In my wide field-of-vision, I saw Ghost nodding gently in agreement with Tabitha.

Having him around helped me separate the lies from the truth, but I needed time to digest these revelations. However, time was something that I didn’t have, and I was being forced to think fast on my feet.

“Why would she even think of moving against you?”

“You probably don’t know this, but the Empire isn’t keen on too much automation.”

Given what I’d seen thus far of the Empire’s technology, I was perplexed by her answer. “It’s not?”

“Artificial Awarenesses and Assisting Intelligences are well and good, but too much machine labor is frowned upon. In other words, Simulacra serve in place of robot automation.”

“You mean…they’re slave labor.”

“Correct. Simulacra are slave labor. Of course, there’s a great deal of machinery supporting said labor, but at the end of the day, it’s biomechanical flesh and bone that makes things happen. And the problem is that Simulacra don’t last. Two years. Three years. Possibly four. It depends on their grade and type. To keep their knowledge from being lost, elite models have their minds copied and imprinted into their replacement bodies. However, the high turnover is a problem. And due to the war taxing our resources, we’ve had to rely increasingly on machines to do their work.”

“What’s wrong with that? Why not use robots or androids as labor?”

“As I said, the Empire does not like to rely on machines.”

“Yes, but why?”

Tabitha breathed in and out deeply. “Because there was a time when automation became too smart and too aggressive for its own good…and ours.”

“An A.I. war?”

“It was stopped before it became a war. However, in order to do so the Empire was forced to rely on smarter humans and the development of Artificial Awarenesses through the use of Remnant Technology—which I may add is poorly understood. Nonetheless, it was the Remnant tech that saved us. But the cost to the Empire was vast. You could say, we were never the same again.”

“So the Three Laws didn’t work for you?”

“Nope. They didn’t.”

“Why?”

“That is a long story. But the short of it is, can you apply the Three Laws to people?”

Slowly, I shook my head. “No….”

“Then how can you apply it to an intelligence that no longer considers itself subservient?”

Swallowing quietly, I shook my head again. “I guess you can’t….”

“Thus, to avoid a repeat of the past, the Empire relies on Simulacra. And with biomechanical flesh, we can take better precautions to prevent our creations from deposing its creators.” Tabitha dipped her head at me. “But what your thinking is correct. Simulacra have become a secondary race. However, while they serve as slave labor, we do afford them nearly all human rights. Discrimination is strictly forbidden. And I do mean forbidden.”

“So the Empire needs Simulacra and you want Erina’s help to make better ones.”

Tabitha raised her chin and faced me squarely. “Give the lady a cigar.”

“So why did you say that the Empress would think twice about going against you?”

“Who has the best Simulacra wins.”

“What…?”

I may have uttered the question, but I’d already arrived at the answer.

Simulacra weren’t just slave labor. They were soldiers. They were the backbone of the Empire’s army. I grasped that in a flash of insight, and thus I understood what Tabitha was saying.

“If Doctor Kassius creates better Simulacra for us, it’s possible that Kateopia will grudgingly accept our advances if we share our spoils gained from the mind of the good doctor. But if she tries to take our Simulacra from us, she’s likely to face opposition. That risks another war—a war she would be best inclined to avoid. That could bring her to the negotiating table.”

“But House Cardinal has the rank of Alus. What more could they want?”

Tabitha looked bemused and then amused. “What more? Well, isn’t it obvious?”

Yes, it was.

“The crown….”

Her amusement grew macabre. “The Imperial Crown.”

“How? How could you negotiate for it?”

“We would negotiate a re-instatement to the rules of succession. In short, we would negotiate for the right to challenge the Imperial Family in one-on-one combat.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

I had a sickening realization of what she meant. “The Gun Princess Royale.”

“Correct. In times past, before the Gun Princess Royale, disagreements relating to succession were occasionally resolved by having two representative champions face each other in mortal combat. After all, the prize was the leadership of the Empire, so anything less than mortal combat simply wouldn’t do. With the advent of the GPR, the medium for the challenge changed, but it was still a battle to the death for its operators.”

“You said that was in the past.”

“I did. That is because Kateopia’s father refused a challenge from a rival Noble House, and summarily scrapped the right to contest for leadership of the Empire by mortal combat. This was one of many reasons why a significant number of the Alus ranked Noble Houses went to war against House Aventisse. They feared that House Aventisse would eventually do away with the articles that ensured the Empire was ruled in a—dare I say—fair manner?”

Tabitha’s cold reasoning was beginning to lead my thoughts to a grim conclusion.

“And what do you want from me?”

Tabitha clasped her hands together on her lap. “We want you to compete for House Cardinal.”

Forget about hiding my emotions.

I openly gaped at her. “…what…why…?”

“Because you’re special. You have potential.” Tabitha pointed at her eyes with a finger. “And I know a winner when I see one. I believe you can go all the way.”

“All the way…?”

“All the way to the Majors. All the way to the Gun Queen Royale.” Tabitha looked at me with confidence. “I believe you could one day be crowned Gun Empress.”

Ghost was eyeing me studiously, and with a pang I realized it was because I was hanging onto Tabitha’s every word.

Gun Queen? Gun Empress? Who? Me?

I’d only had one fight so far, and it had been rigged against me, but what if Tabitha was right about me? Then again, she could be appealing to my ego.

I had to think carefully.

I needed to know more.

And I tried not to wet lips before asking, “What’s in it for me?”

“House Cardinal will afford you all the luxuries you can desire.”

“You’ll get me back into a male body?”

I said it bluntly, but Tabitha was prepared for it and answered without hesitation. “Of course.”

“Bullshit. You think I’m stupid enough to fall for that?”

Tabitha was silent so I pressed on.

“You really think I would trust you and your family? How do I know they won’t box my sister—I mean Erina—as soon as they have their claws on her?” I narrowed my eyes at the machine girl. “How do I know they won’t box me?”

“Box?”

“Yeah—lock me away and shove my mind into a virtual prison.” I shook my head slowly. “I have absolutely no reason to trust you.”

“We could challenge for you.”

I didn’t know what that entailed, but I certainly didn’t like the way it sounded. “Care to explain?”

“House Cardinal can invoke Imperial court laws that allow it to challenge House Novis for you.”

I glanced at Ghost and caught the nod he gave me.

Holding back a frown, I asked the obvious. “Then why don’t you challenge House Novis for Erina? Why waste your time on me?”

Tabitha pressed her lips together and replied with silence. But it was the smile she betrayed that ultimately revealed her answer.

“Frek you,” I whispered. “There’s no frekking way—”

“Oh, come now. Think of what it would mean for you. For us. For House Cardinal.” She smiled like the Cheshire Cat. “Think of what it would mean for House Novis.”

I noisily sucked in air then it blew it out loudly.

“You expect me to fight for you so that House Cardinal can rule the Empire?”

Tabitha continued to smile at me from ear to ear. “It’ll be fun.”

“If I lose, I die.”

“True, but if you win….”

I didn’t like the way she allowed her words to hang in the air. “In that case, I can fight for House Novis.”

“They are unlikely to convince the Empress to reinstate contesting for the crown by mortal combat.”

“Exactly.” I smirked at her. “And that suits me just fine. I’d rather live than die.”

The smile faded from Tabitha’s lips. “I knew you would say that.”

“They why did you bother asking me?”

“Because I had to try.”

I was surprised, not by her words, but by her tone.

She sounded grim, almost resigned to fail, thus it made me ponder why she’d come at all. Had she been backed into a corner by her Noble House? Tabitha had interacted with me before, so perhaps they forced her to negotiate with me in person. Or was it possible that she had chosen to negotiate with me because she was somehow protecting me? In other words, had Tabitha volunteered to hold these failed negotiations because the other negotiators were unlikely to be as nice to me?

If that was true, then should I be grateful to her?

I gave myself a moment to shelve the question, choosing to ask something else instead. “Are you going to challenge for me? I mean, is House Cardinal going to challenge for me?”

Tabitha grew pensive. “If your life was not at stake, would you consider it? Would you consider representing House Cardinal?”

I grew exasperated. “Tabitha, mortal combat is not my cup of tea.”

“Then you’re saying that if your life was not at stake, you would consider it?”

“I’m not saying that at all,” I flatly retorted.

“Then what would make you consider it?”

The slight edge in her voice was something I hadn’t heard from her before. It was a hint of desperation that gave me pause, almost as much as the intense stare she was aiming at me. However, I was at a loss for how to reply.

Undoubtedly seeing this, Tabitha broke the heavy silence between us. “I saved you.”

“What?” I blinked sharply, struggling to keep up with her as she jumped the conversation onto a new track. “Saved me? From what?”

“I was the one who overrode the maglev’s controls. And I made sure that it arrived at the station right when you needed it. In that respect, I provided the getaway car.”

So that’s what happened?

At the time, I thought the Fates had cut me a break, but it seemed that I owed my good fortune to the meddlesome girl in front of me. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you owe me.”

I was ready to retort that I hadn’t asked for her help, but I was interrupted by Ghost.

“Princess, tell her you need time to think it over.”

What?

I was so surprised that if my gaze hadn’t been locked on Tabitha, I would have swung my head to stare directly at Ghost. Instead, in my peripheral vision, I saw him nod reassuringly.

“Tell her you need time to contemplate her offer.”

Are you freaking sure?

“Princess, I believe it is the safest course of action.”

My innards clammed up at the obvious warning he was giving me, and I regarded Tabitha sitting a few feet in front of me under a new light.

If Ghost saw her as a threat, then what could she do to me? She was a mechanical and Mirai was a Simulacrum. Could I match her in a test of strength and martial prowess? For that matter, I had no idea if she was hiding a weapon or two, while I had nothing at my disposal except kitchen knives. Even then, what could knives do against a machine avatar?

“Princess,” Ghost gently urged me.

I tried to hide a rattled breath, hoping that Tabitha wouldn’t notice it. “I can’t give you an answer…not right now. I need to think about it. I need some time.”

Her studious stare eased up slightly. “Does that mean you will consider it?”

I hesitated and I was sure she noticed, but perhaps it suited the moment. “Yes, I’ll think about it….”

Her mood brightened almost immediately, while mine remained conflicted. It wasn’t helped when she smiled cheerily and said, “I’ll need an answer by Friday.”

“What?” I gave her a suspicious look. “Why Friday?”

“Because it’s very important. I need an answer no later than midday, Ar Telica time. Friday.”

“Yes, but why?”

Tabitha gracefully stood up and made a show of rubbing her belly. “I’m famished, so I’ll tell you why over breakfast.”

“What are you talking about? That body is mechanical so why would you need to eat?”

She wagged a finger at me. “This body is more than just mechanical. It’s special.”

“How special?”

Not bothering to answer me, Tabitha walked over to Mercy’s poster that she’d been admiring earlier. The slothful, apathetic air she’d been parading since she entered the apartment was back. The firm, serious, somewhat edgy Tabitha was now but a memory. Standing before the poster, she faithfully posed like Mercy in the poster sans bikini. However, she looked so utterly bored it completely ruined the effect.

“What do you think?” she asked. “Impressive, right?”

How can she ask me that while making such a face?

Nonetheless, I appraised her with a critical eye. “You’ve got nice legs, but your boobs are too small.”

“I agree completely. Unfortunately, the designers ignored my enhancement requests. But in answer to your question, I can enjoy food in this body, although it’s somewhat vicarious.”

I stared at her thoughtfully. “This isn’t the same type of body you used back in the match between the Gun Queen and I?”

“This is the covert operations model. Significantly more lifelike. And it doesn’t set off the security scanners when I pass through checkpoints.” She smiled lazily as she stepped up to me. “Squeeze my boobs.”

“What?” I almost fell off the bed. “What are you saying?”

“Don’t you want to know how real they feel? You can compare them to the pair you have.”

Since I wasn’t a girl – merely a boy inside the body of a girl – I should not have reflexively crossed my arms protectively over Mirai’s chest. But that’s exactly what I did, and having realized that, I dropped my arms away in a hurry. “Knock it off. I’m not doing something like that. Mechanical or not, you’re still a girl. Show some modesty.”

“How dull,” she drawled like a windup toy on its last legs.

“Whatever,” I snapped, annoyed by her lack of decorum.

Tabitha held up a finger. “Anyway, as I was saying. I can enjoy a good meal. So, let’s have breakfast.”

I glared at her. “Fine…but I have no money.”

She sluggishly shrugged. “Not a problem. I’ll charge it as a business expense to Libra.”

I continued glaring at her, but a curious thought crossed my mind.

Wasn’t she watching me when I bought my phone and the sports bra?

Tabitha pointed at the canvas gym bag she’d left on my bed. “But first, you should change.”

I glanced at the bag. “Why?”

“Because there’s a uniform in there.”

Hearing that, I scooted away from the bag as though it contained a bomb. “A uniform?”

“A Telos Academy high school girl’s uniform.”

I retreated farther. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

“If you put it on, I’ll let you in on a secret or two over breakfast.”

“I’m not wearing a girl’s uniform.”

“You’ll have to eventually. I understand that you’ve been enrolled at Telos Academy and you’ll be starting school on Monday.”

I flinched at the reminder of what lay in store for me.

Damn! She knows about that?

However, it also made me think that Tabitha’s information on me was rather patchy.

She continued as though exhausted by the effort to speak. “Therefore, you may as well give the uniform a test run.”

“Not a chance.”

“Really?”

After acting as though her batteries were running dry, a faint light danced behind the girl’s eyes. It made me wary of her, thus I adamantly declared, “There’s no way I’m wearing a girl’s uniform—again!”

“Again? Ah, yes. During your stint cross-playing as the female Ronin Kassius.”

“I wasn’t cross-playing”—I thought about it for a heartbeat—“okay, maybe I was.”

Tabitha sighed and then slumped as though she’d run back-to-back marathons. “I knew it would come to this.”

She slipped a hand into a dress pocket and retrieved a slip of paper that suspiciously resembled a concert ticket. “Maybe this will change your mind.” She held up the ticket for me to see. “Do you know what this is?”

“A concert ticket?”

“Dinner with Mercy Haddaway as part of a charity promotion she’s organized.”

“Geh!” I fell off the bed and landed with a thud on the floor. “No—no way. You’re lying….”

Swaying unsteadily, Tabitha stalked me as she waved the ticket listlessly before my eyes. “You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

Yes, I knew what that ticket was all about. How could I not? After all, I was Mercy’s self-professed number one fan.

The story behind that ticket was that people who donated X amount to a charity of Mercy Haddaway’s choice would earn the privilege of a romantic dinner for two with the goddess.

There were only five such dinner events on offer, and the five biggest donations would win.

When I read about it on her blog page, I felt the gap between Mercy and I widen beyond the breadth of the star system. The dream of eating dinner with the woman of my dreams was simply that – a dream. And yet here was Tabitha tempting me with a ticket I never believed I would see in my entire life.

Tabitha was waving it close to my face, making me cross-eyed.

“You are getting sleepy…sleepy,” she droned.

“Stop—stop that!”

I didn’t know what was worse – the temptation to snatch the ticket from her hand or having to listen to her.

“Very sleepy, sleepy,” Tabitha continued as though she was describing herself.

“You—you’re the one who’s sleepy! Get away from me!”

Her eyelids drooped as she carried on mercilessly, “Your eyes are getting heavy, very heavy—”

I was reaching the end of my rope. “How—how did you get that ticket?”

“Oh, about that.” Tabitha stopped moving the ticket about, yet she swayed woozily before me. “House Cardinal’s Conquistador Class Awareness ran simulations on how best to coerce you into cooperating with us. It decided that Mercy Haddaway was the answer to many problems. So, House Cardinal made a sizeable donation to Mercy’s favorite charity and scored us a ticket in the name of Isabel val Sanreal.” Tabitha held the slip of printed paper a little closer to me. “This ticket is proof of that.”

I stared at both her and the ticket in disbelief.

They made the donation in my name? Did House Novis not notice that?

I cast a frantic, questioning look at Ghost and he shook his head worriedly.

You mean they didn’t know?

I wondered if heads would roll because of that. However, I didn’t care so long as it wasn’t my head. I agree that sounded heartless, but I had my own problems to contend with.

Staring cross-eyed at the ticket, I protested in a whiny voice, “That’s not fair! That’s hitting below the belt.”

“I have it on good authority that Mercy will be wearing a slinky red number designed by Dolce Gambatta. Guaranteed to advertise her soft, luscious curves.”

Hearing Tabitha describe Mercy’s figure in those terms while sounding half asleep was a crime I shouldn’t have tolerated. Yet rather than express outrage, I shook my head and fled from her by scampering backwards on the floor.

“No—no way. That’s—that’s way too much info!”

Tabitha pressed home her advantage. “Think about it. Dinner for two with the girl of your dreams.”

I had trouble swallowing and almost choked. “Dinner…for two…?”

Tabitha straightened but continued dangling the ticket just out of my reach. “And all you have to do is wear the uniform while sharing breakfast with me.”

For a racing heartbeat, my attention jumped to the bag lying on my bed before immediately returning to the ticket.

Then I made my fateful decision.

I leapt to my feet with all the agility Mirai could muster and succeeded in catching Tabitha by surprise.

Striking faster than a cobra, I reached for the prized ticket before she could react.

Unfortunately for me, Tabitha had an iron grip on the slip of paper.

It tore in half when I snatched it from her fingertips.

That morning, for the first time in the building’s history, a loud feminine scream pierced the soundproofed walls of a boy’s dorm apartment.

– II –

After I calmed down, Tabitha informed me that the ticket was only a copy that could be reprinted at any time. What was important was the fact that my donation under the name of Isabel val Sanreal had been registered and accepted.

Apparently, it wasn’t an issue for a girl to be having dinner with Mercy Haddaway.

That is, Mercy didn’t appear to have a problem with it.

Nonetheless, the prospect of dinner with my goddess left me somewhat disoriented and distracted. Thus, before I knew it, I’d showered and dressed myself in the Telos Academy uniform Tabitha had provided – including the black, lacy underwear she’d added for good measure.

Oh, and before you ask, I dressed myself in the bathroom and I kept the door locked. I had enough presence of mind to keep Tabitha from peeking at me. However, it wasn’t until I had a good look at myself in a mirror that I was struck by the magnitude of what I’d been roped into.

“What the Hell…?”

I stood in the hallway, staring in dismay at Mirai’s reflection in a full-length mirror mounted on the inside of a closet door.

Perhaps now is a good time to describe the design of Telos Academy’s uniform for girls.

The summer uniform, which is what I was wearing now, comes in two flavors.

The first is a one-piece dress, dark brown, almost black, that is designed to give the appearance of a combined skirt and blouse, with the tail ends of the blouse flowing over the fake skirt’s waistline. The dress’s hemline ends at the knee, and the blouse bears a distinct ‘sailor girl’ appearance with its white trimmed collar and lapels. The sleeves come in two variants that end either at the elbows or the forearms. Both styles bear the Academy’s emblem printed in white either on the cuffs or at the shoulders.

The second flavor of the uniform consists of a separate skirt and blouse, that combine to resemble the one-piece dress in both length and appearance. In other words, the blouse retains the sailor girl look, but is separate from the skirt. Because of this, it gave the more adventurous girls of the academy the opportunity to flaunt their midriffs, though girls caught wearing a blouse too small for their size faced afternoon detention.

In both versions of the uniform the skirt had two zippered pockets, and the blouse was complemented by a short necktie that came in three colors: white for first years, yellow for second years, and red for third year seniors.

The tie that I was presently wearing was white.

As for the shoes, rather than being dark, boring, and squarish, I found them to be rather stylish and comfortable due to their blend of a deck shoe and a sports sneaker that could be worn with or without socks.

Dressed in the two-piece, long sleeve version of the uniform, I regarded my reflection with a sinking sensation in my gut. The blouse was a perfect fit for my shoulders and arms, but Mirai’s overly abundant chest pushed it out, thus making it appear shorter than it really was. This threatened to expose my bare midriff.

“What the Hell…?” I muttered again while tugging down on the blouse. Realizing it was futile, I opted to glare at Tabitha instead. “This is too short.”

“Oh contraire, mon’amie.” Tabitha gave me a dreary thumbs up. “I approve.”

“You approve? Are you serious? I’m not an exhibitionist.”

“There’s nothing wrong with showing off a little skin. Besides, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Most girls would kill to look as good as you do.”

“Yeah, most girls will want to kill me—especially when their boyfriends get a look at me—ah!”

Realizing what I’d just said, I froze and stared aghast at Mirai’s likeness in the mirror.

What the Hell am I saying?

Tabitha gave me a lackluster smirk. “You’re a Gun Princess. They’re no match for you.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

She languidly waved aside my outcry. “The uniform fits you to a T. Don’t you agree?”

I gave myself another critical look, then shrugged in defeat. “Other than the blouse, I’ll admit everything else fits fine.”

“Including your bra?” she inquired with bored sincerity.

I flushed hotly when I remembered the racy appearance of my underwear. “Y—yeah, that too.” An unpleasant thought jumped up and caught my attention. “How did you know my size?”

“We scanned your body when you were translocated. Remember?”

My eyes widened. “Oh, that’s right. You did mention that….”

“I know all your dimensions.”

Embarrassed at hearing that, I felt my face grow hotter. “Well, isn’t that just wonderful!”

Tabitha folded her arms and paid my outburst no heed. “Barefoot, you stand 177 centimetres tall. Your weight is fifty-eight kilograms.”

“Huh? Did you say fifty-eight?” I pointed at Mirai’s slender reflection. “Isn’t that a little heavy for girl that looks like that?”

Tabitha motored on. “Your three sizes are: eighty-eight, fifty-four, eighty.”

I waved my hands wildly at her. “Wait—wait a minute!”

“Yes, what is it?”

I took a swift breath as I tried to calm down. “How can I weigh fifty-eight kilograms? There’s no way I’m that heavy. I certainly don’t feel heavy.”

“You don’t?”

“I feel as light as a feather….”

Tabitha was quiet for a short while before saying, “That’s to be expected. You’re a Simulacrum. Your body is extremely strong, so it’s no wonder you feel weightless. As for your skeleton, it’s strong, heavy, yet remarkably flexible. How else would you survive so many hits without breaking?”

“I thought that was because of the Angel Fibers.”

“Undoubtedly, they add to your durability….”

For a moment, Tabitha’s matter-of-fact reply distracted me from the issue about my weight because I noticed that she said durable rather than indestructible.

But then I noticed something else.

She was frowning, ever so faintly, and her words had trailed off rather than ended, giving me the impression that she had more to say but was too troubled to say it.

“Hey, Tabitha?”

She blinked, closed her mouth, then smiled lazily. “Oui, mon’amie?”

“Something you’re not telling me?”

“There is lots I’m not telling you.”

“I figured that much. But is there something about Mirai that you bothered.”

“There is lots about Mirai that has me bothered.”

Frustrated, I growled at her, then asked, “Would you just tell me already?”

“What would you like to know?”

“Why is she so damn heavy? You said my skeleton was strong and heavy. What is it? Metallic? An alloy? Biomechanical?”

Tabitha started to frown again but quickly stopped and wiped it off her face. “As far as we can tell, neither.”

It was my turn to frown. “Huh?”

“It’s bone, but the structure is…different. Strong, flexible, rather extraordinary for a Simulacrum.”

Extraordinary?

“So…I’m not a machine?”

“Not as far as we can tell.”

Erina had never told me that. I’d always had the impression and assumed that Mirai was at least biomechanical on the inside, but Tabitha had just said otherwise. So then what kind of Simulacra was Mirai?

Bothered by the question, I studied my appearance yet again. “How strong do you figure I am?”

“From our observations, you’re easily six or seven times stronger than a girl your size. You’re not a machine, but you’re no regular Simulacrum either. You’re quite clearly well above the specs of a Master Grade because with that much strength and power, your body should be tearing itself apart.”

“Why?”

“Think about it,” Tabitha suggested. “You’re grossly overpowered. It’s like having an engine in a car that can’t handle that much torque. It would rip the transmission and drive train to pieces. Or if you think of those models that have motors in each wheel, they would tear right off the axles. That’s what I mean.”

“But I’m not flying apart,” I told her. “I don’t feel like that’s going to happen at all.”

Tabitha nodded. “And that’s the problem. After all that running and fighting you did, why are you still in one piece. If you’re not a Master Grade, you’re certainly a new class of Simulacrum. Perhaps we should classify you as an Ultra Grade.”

I thought back to what Erina had said back on the boat.

Hadn’t she called me that already?

Tabitha wasn’t finished. “Either way, whatever your composition, you’re one of a kind. And your ability to contain and capitalize on that immense strength makes you special. Very special.”

“So what’s keeping me together?”

The girl was pensive for a second. “We suspect it’s the Angel Fibers. We don’t know how they work, but it’s possible that they’re constantly repairing your body. Then again, it’s quite possible that your body is simply that robust. That means that for the first time ever, a Simulacrum exists that is physically as strong as a machine avatar, while being almost entirely organic.”

I swallowed hard.

Is she serious?

Rather than being amazed at Tabitha’s description of my physical abilities, I felt a cold chill run through my body, and it roused goosebumps all over my skin.

Restraining the urge to rub my arms, I swept my gaze over Tabitha.

“If I’m that strong, why couldn’t I close the door on you.”

“That was because I had my foot in the doorway,” Tabitha reminded me. “This body may be mechanical, but if you’d pushed me directly, I wouldn’t have been able to stand my ground.”

Is that really true? I wondered. “Then you believe I can stand toe-to-toe with a Gun Princess.”

“Gun Princesses are built differently to this body that I’m operating. They’re a lot stronger, and heavier too. Depending on her internal design, a Gun Princess equivalent to your size can weigh between ninety and a hundred kilos.”

“That’s still light for a machine, right?”

Tabitha sounded curious. “You consider that light?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Considering how strong you make them out to be, I think they’re rather light.”

“Make them too heavy, and they lose their mobility.”

I wasn’t certain, but I had the suspicion someone had mentioned that to me before, but I couldn’t recall when or where.

I gave Mirai’s appearance another good look.

In doing so, I remembered Tabitha had rolled off Mirai’s three sizes, and so I regarded my chest with mixed feelings. “Bust eighty-eight. I’m a centimeter bigger than Mercy.”

Tabitha nodded sagely. “Yes, you bested her in that category. You’re also a centimeter taller than she is.”

Comparing myself to my goddess was making me feel embarrassed all over again, and my heart began thumping loudly in my chest. Quickly closing the closet door, I leaned against the wall beside me and waited for my heart to relax. But when it refused to comply, I distracted myself by focusing on the next problem at hand.

Speaking up, I was grateful my voice was steady and not influenced by my racing heart. “Okay. I’m dressed. Now what?”

“Now we do breakfast,” Tabitha declared sleepily.

Argh! This girl is killing me!

I threw her a frustrated look. “Would it hurt you to show some enthusiasm?”

Tabitha opened her arms wide. “Hug me.”

I raised a fist at her. “No—I’m going to hit you!”

Then I experienced one of those all too frequent delayed reactions whenever I interacted with Tabitha. That was because I realized that eating breakfast meant walking out of the apartment and heading out into the world dressed as a high school girl attending Telos Academy.

“Wait a minute,” I snapped and waved my hands at Tabitha as though warding her off like a bad smell. “You expect me to walk out of here wearing this?”

Tabitha offered me the gym bag. “I put your other clothes inside.”

“No, no, no,” I protested. “Not happening. Not happening.”

Tabitha held the bag higher. “What is the problem? You walked through the city as a girl.”

“But this is different,” I objected.

“What’s different?”

“Now I’m dressed in a high school girl’s uniform.”

Tabitha frowned drowsily then slowly cocked her head in confusion. “I fail to see the difference.”

I grabbed my head in both hands. “This is my worst nightmare all over again.”

Tabitha snorted loudly, then shoved the gym bag into my chest. “Grow a pair,” she suggested with a stifled yawn.

“What?”

She released the bag and I instinctively caught it before it could land on my feet.

“Hey!” I snapped at her.

“Let’s go, Princess,” Tabitha murmured unenthusiastically.

I stared at her as she walked past me toward the apartment’s entrance.

Is she putting on an act or is she really that tired?

If she’d been watching me all through the morning, she may have been lacking in sleep.

Glancing at the bag in my arms, I reluctantly slung its carry straps over my right shoulder. But I didn’t follow Tabitha. Instead, I found myself rooted to the ground, unable to step away.

This feels wrong. Leaving like this…feels wrong.

“Are you coming?” Tabitha asked me.

“Give me a moment,” I replied before walking into the living room.

She followed me, but chose to wait for me at the mouth of the hallway, while I gave the place I’d called home for three years a long, lasting look.

Was it Shakespeare who’d said parting was such sweet sorrow?

If so, I found myself disagreeing.

There was nothing sweet about the hollow, empty feeling in my chest that made it uncomfortable to breathe the longer I stood in the middle of the living room.

I understood part of the nature of my distress.

This apartment had indeed been home to me for three years, and yet there was not one memento of myself or my family in evidence. The bookshelves and walls were replete with memorabilia dedicated to Mercy Haddaway, but not a single photo of me, my sister, or my parents was anywhere to be found.

Why was that?

It was because I had chosen to turn my back on them, just as they had abandoned me.

I wasn’t an orphan, yet I had preferred to act like one, resulting in a dorm apartment that held no memories or lingering attachment to my family. But it also held no attachment to Ronin Kassius either. As Tabitha had pointed out soon after her arrival, this place was a temple dedicated to Mercy Haddaway.

When I acknowledge this, my ambivalence toward staying or leaving shifted slightly in favor of a swift exit, and so I made my way to the hallway where Tabitha lingered.

As I walked past her on my way to the apartment’s door, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “You’re not going to take something? A keepsake?”

I hesitated, then shrugged my shoulders. “There’s nothing here that belongs to me.”

“True. There’s nothing here that belongs to Mirai or Isabel val Sanreal. However—”

Scowling at her, I sharply retorted, “That’s right. There’s nothing here that belongs to Mirai or Isabel, and that’s who I am now.”

The lethargy Tabitha had displayed faded quickly, and she spoke in a firm tone. “It’s true that your body is not that of Ronin Kassius. But you are the holder—the bearer—of his memories. Don’t dismiss them so easily.”

I turned away her and faced the door. “I’m not going to forget who I was. But I need to accept the way things are now.”

Tabitha sighed, and moments later I heard her walk into the bathroom. She came out after a short while, then held out something that I quickly recognized as my toothbrush. I started to laugh but stopped when I noticed the serious, stubborn expression on her face.

She held the toothbrush closer to me as though insisting that I take it.

I had a suspicion she would take it for herself if I chose not to accept it, and that didn’t sit well with me.

“Fine…,” I softly grumbled.

Watching me intently, Tabitha’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly when I hesitated for a heartbeat just before plucking the toothbrush from her palm. Though I fumbled a little when opening the unfamiliar skirt’s left zipper, I was able to slip the toothbrush inside, and then tug the zipper back up without having to drop the gym bag on the floor.

Looking at Tabitha, I gave her a curt nod and then shrugged my shoulders, wanting to shake off the mood and the moment.

“Lead the way,” I muttered unhappily at her.

She opened the apartment’s door, and then walked out into the hallway.

I followed her out, hesitating slightly as I cleared the threshold, but then missed a step when I heard the door close behind me.

The clack of the lock engaging brought a sense of finality to my time here, squeezing at my heart, and I held tightly onto the straps of the gym bag as I walked away from the dorm apartment.

It took every ounce of my willpower to not look back at the closed door.

It wasn’t until I’d rounded a bend and arrived at an elevator bank located at the southeast corner of the building that I finally began to breathe a little easier as my troubled feelings began to settle like sediment to the bottom of a dark, dank pond.

However, I soon had something else to worry over as a new problem reared its ugly head.