Chapter 153

The sterile clacking of keys echoed through the hollow, inorganic factory room.

In this very space—once the haunt of the old man responsible for igniting the Enzio War—Taro worked in grim silence alongside Marl. Koume had been assisting them until recently, but she had retreated to a separate room to handle the heavy lifting of data integration.

"Check. List 3491. Unknown Function No. 417. Activate."

Taro looked up toward the far end of the room, reciting the operational sequence he’d repeated so many times it was practically etched into his soul. Marl, who had been mirroring his movements at her own terminal, paused. Her eyes flicked toward the dense cluster of machinery at the back of the warehouse.

"…It actually moved," she whispered, her face a mask of genuine shock.

At the end of their gaze, the turret of a Pseudo-WIND unit began a slow, mechanical rotation.

"See? Told ya," Taro said with a shrug, his tone light. "Easy-peasy."

In reality, they were three days into the task. But compared to the months the official Deciphering Team had spent hitting a brick wall, Taro’s progress was nothing short of miraculous.

"I suppose so," Marl conceded. "It’s hard to argue with results, but still…"

"Let’s just keep this momentum going and tear through the rest of the analysis. It’s the same drill as before. Still, man, you never know what kind of random crap is gonna end up being useful."

"True. Without that translation work we did back then, there’s no way we could have cracked this so fast."

Taro watched Marl’s profile as she stared blankly at the machinery, a sense of satisfaction washing over him. He remembered the grueling process of creating the Translation Machine for Phantom. Analyzing the WIND operating programs felt uncannily similar to that task.

"But seriously, how are you doing this?" Marl asked, turning to him. "Experience is one thing, but this is unnatural. You didn’t use that thing to perform an Override again, did you?"

She was likely referring to the core device within the Plum. Taro shook his head. "Nah. Remember when I went to fetch you from the Escape Pod? To figure out which wreck hit you, I had to scrutinize the data for the entire sector. I ended up plugging WIND behavioral patterns into my calculations just to make sense of the debris. I guess it just clicked then. Like, 'Oh, hey, I bet this works.'"

"…Unbelievable," Marl said, her expression hovering somewhere between exasperation and awe. "You really are a freak of nature sometimes."

Taro gave a goofy, "Fuhehe" laugh and buried his face back in his terminal to hide his embarrassment. He hadn't technically lied, but his explanation was miles away from the whole truth.

In truth, predicting code based solely on behavior was a mathematical nightmare. When he’d performed those Future Predictions back then, most of the 'work' had actually been Taro cross-referencing the mysterious, innate knowledge of WIND inside his head with the reality in front of him.

And that knowledge had just been proven terrifyingly accurate.

I don’t remember doing an Override for this. Which means I either had this knowledge from the start, or…

Taro pictured the four thousand souls drifting in Cyberspace.

Does this knowledge belong to one of them? God, I’m starting to creep myself out.

His face twisted into a grimace at the thought of his own fractured identity. If this were before the repeated Overrides, he might have laughed it off. Now, it was harder. Every fragmented memory made the boundaries of his 'self' feel like shifting sand.

"—What's wrong? Hey, Teiro. You okay?"

Marl’s voice snapped him back to reality.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Just thinking. Mostly about how I’m gonna screw these programs up for the enemy. Guhehe."

"If you say so… but you tell me the second you feel off, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I’m not some delicate flower, Marl. I’m not built that flimsy."

"…Fufu, I know. If you were, I wouldn’t be able to hit you so much."

"Could you maybe not do that? To quote Mr. Phantom: 'Pain is painful,' you know?"

Taro traded banter with her, returning to the work with a smile.

Silence fell over the room once more.

A while ago, he would have found the quiet unbearable. Now, he cherished it. This isolated pocket of the universe felt cozy, and the mechanical hum of the factory served as a decent enough BGM. Though, for Marl, the sound of a working machine was probably better than any symphony.

"Hey, Marl—"

"Hey, Teiro—"

Their voices collided. Taro chuckled at the cliché, and Marl seemed to find it funny, too.

"You first," Taro offered. "Mine’s not important."

"Really? Okay then… Hey, Teiro."

Marl looked up at him, her eyes searching his.

"Thanks for saving me. I was really happy… I’m grateful. Truly."

"Oh. Uh. Yeah. S-sure. Really?"

"Yeah. I really thought I was done for. I don’t remember the rescue very well, but the moment I woke up, I knew. I knew you’d done something. You really do pull through when it counts."

"W-well, obviously," Taro blustered, his ego inflating. "I mean, it was light work for the Great Teiro-sama… but, uh, look. I’ll save you as many times as I have to, so… just don’t worry about it. Or something."

"Wait, what?"

"N-nothing! Never mind! Dammit, isn't this the part where the cute girl gets all fidgety and the protagonist is supposed to be dense and hard-of-hearing? Why are we swapped?"

"I’m sorry, what are you talking about?"

"Forget it! Just forget I said anything! Please!"

Taro slumped, feeling like a pathetic failure as his cool facade crumbled. Marl watched him with a bewildered expression.

"If you say so… Anyway, that’s it. I just wanted to say thanks. Your turn!"

She clapped her hands together, signaling the end of her segment. Taro blinked, momentarily forgetting why he’d spoken up in the first place.

"Oh, right. Uh, actually, never mind. It really wasn't anything."

"Ehh? No way! Now I’m curious. Spill it!"

"Well… I mean, it’s not like I hate it or anything. But lately… Marl, aren't you kind of close?"

Taro scratched his cheek, looking away. They were currently sitting so close their thighs were pressed together. In a room this size, the proximity was bordering on the ridiculous.

"Am I? I hadn't really noticed… are you telling me you're actually conscious of it?"

"N-n-n-no way! W-w-who do you think I am!?"

"I wonder. I just see a virgin who’s terrible at changing the subject."

"…Fine. I’m bad at it. Whatever," Taro muttered. "I just… everyone’s been worried about me, but I was wondering about you. You’re the one who actually went through hell, right? Also, I am not a virgin."

"Oh, that… I’m fine, Teiro. I can keep going. Because—"

She flashed him a mischievous, innocent grin.

"If things ever get dangerous again, you’ll just save me as many times as it takes, right?"

"……Y-you! You heard me!"

"Ahaha! You were right next to me! How could I not hear that?"

Marl scrambled to her feet and bolted. Taro was hot on her heels. The chase didn't last long; Taro lunged, catching her, and the two of them went down in a tangled heap of limbs.

"Haah… haah… Heh! Caught you at last. Now then… w-w-what should I do with you?"

Straddling her, Taro wiggled his fingers with mock-menace, his breathing heavy.

"Hehe, I wonder. Just so you know, this is an Electric Shock Suit. I wouldn't touch any exposed skin if I were you. You might get a nasty zap."

"Oof, for real? Wait, you're covered from the neck down… oh. I see how it is. So, uh, I guess I have no choice but to touch the parts where there isn't any fabric…"

Taro looked away toward the ceiling, his voice trailing off as he made a show of his 'dilemma.' Inside, his heart was hammering against his ribs so hard he thought it might crack a bone. He swallowed hard, the sound loud in the quiet room.

Their eyes met. Marl was smiling softly now. Taro realized all over again just how beautiful she was.

"Marl…"

He didn't know what to say, her name just tumbling out as a placeholder. Marl didn't reply. Instead, she shifted slightly and slowly closed her eyes.

Is this happening? Are we really doing this? Wait, I’ve never actually kissed anyone. Do I stop breathing? Did I brush my teeth today? Do I smell like machine oil?

Taro’s mind became a battlefield of internal panic. He briefly, unironically considered asking the ghosts in his head for advice. This was Marl. This was a high-stakes operation. He needed a consensus.

…Fine. Let’s take a vote.

In a span of time no longer than a blink, Taro’s consciousness dived inward. Hundreds of 'consultants' deliberated at lightning speed. The result manifested instantly.

[VOTE RESULT: 378 TO 0 IN FAVOR]

[ACTION GUIDELINE: JUST GO FOR IT]

"…A-alright. Going in."

Taro braced his hands on either side of her head and began to lower himself like he was doing the world’s most high-stakes push-up. His arms were shaking from the strain, and a bead of nervous sweat rolled down his temple.

Breath held. Be gentle. Just a touch. Just a touch…

The gap narrowed. Millimeters remained.

"……………………"

Suddenly, Taro felt a presence. A very specific, very unwelcome gaze. He cut his eyes to the side. There, peeping from behind a structural pillar just a few feet away, was Koume.

"…………"

Koume silently raised her hand, made a vividly lewd gesture with her fingers, and gave him a solemn, encouraging nod.

…Koume-san, you’re jumping the gun. By a lot.

The factory remained deathly silent. Then, to Taro’s horror, Etta’s head popped out from directly underneath Koume’s. She stared at them with wide, unblinking eyes before glancing at Koume and mimicking the lewd gesture perfectly.

…No! Stop! Etta, don’t copy that! That’s not for kids!

Taro tried to project his mental screaming through his eyes. Before he could even process the second interloper, Alan’s head appeared at the very bottom of the stack, nearly touching the floor. Alan looked at the scene, let out a silent, weary sigh of exasperation, and then started pumping his fist in a "Go! Go! Go!" motion.

Shut up! I know I'm a coward! Also, how many of you are back there?!

A new kind of internal conflict erupted. He could handle being watched, maybe, but he had no idea how Marl would react to the peanut gallery.

"…………Teiro?"

Marl, wondering why the grand finale was taking so long, slowly opened her eyes. She followed Taro’s horrified gaze and spotted the totem pole of three heads protruding from the pillar.

"……………………Ka!"

Marl’s voice hit a high, strained note. Taro watched her, confused, as the other three did the same.

"KABADDI! We’re practicing Kabaddi!" Marl screamed into the rafters.

A heavy silence followed.

Then, from every single person in the room, came the same silent thought: Yeah, no. That’s a reach.

"…Ahem. Anyway," Taro muttered, trying to salvage some shred of dignity. "Did you guys actually need something?"

He was ready to fly into a rage, but Alan’s answer was enough to douse his anger instantly.

"The new Plum has arrived. We came to give you the news. Sorry for the… timing, but we wanted you to know ASAP. We would've messaged, but BISHOP doesn't reach this deep into the facility, right?"

Taro sucked in a breath.

"The Plum… the Battleship Plum?! It’s finally here?!"

He let out a jubilant shout and looked down at Marl. She nodded with an ecstatic "Yeah!" and grabbed Taro’s hand to pull herself up. Together, they turned and bolted toward the bridge at full speed.

Seriously, normies should just explode.