"This confirms the mastermind. You should be a bit happier."
After listening to Lin description, Chiaki giggled nonchalantly. She shook the cola can in her hand and said, "It's all their fault. They're the ones plotting schemes. You're just worried about the safety of the entire headquarters. When the truth comes out, you won't be a villain; you'll be a hero."
Lin picked up a water cup, poured it into his mouth to swallow the pill, and renewed the effect of the Ritalin.
The whole world was shaking, but soon, he regained his composure under the drug's influence.
Was Kevin lying? Definitely. At least two out of his three sentences were false. The remaining one was a truth told to prevent Lin from becoming suspicious—a mix of truth and lies is what deceives the senses.
Hearing Chiaki's words, he didn't react at first. He stared straight at his reflection in the water cup—a person bound by a helmet. What was his expression like under this helmet right now?
It must be one of sadness.
"You intentionally withheld a piece of information, and the fact that Kevin should have asked about it but didn't—because of his guilty conscience—completely exposed the ghost in his heart. That is the specific process of the attack we encountered. To prevent you from remembering the details of that attack, he chose to avoid the subject. But in reality, you had already noted the suspicious points in the fight."
"If Dr. Einstein had murdered Dr. Vil-V, the wound wouldn't be that high. At least, it wouldn't be a horizontal cut, but an upward diagonal slash. Moreover, the one who attacked us clearly had the build of a normal person, not one of those small three-headed dolls."
"Kevin couldn't have failed to notice these details, but he specifically didn't mention them. Either he forgot, or... hehe, he was afraid you'd notice."
Swinging legs, a sneering face, cold words.
Lin listened to the words "slandering" his friend without a word, unmoved. Yet the gaze inside his helmet grew colder and colder.
It was as biting as a blizzard.
To this day, he hadn't told Elysia and the others; he only cooperated with Chiaki. Before this, he never would have imagined himself partnering with a hacker who toyed with hearts.
Perhaps it was precisely because they weren't close that she could put him at ease.
Now they could do nothing but wait.
They had obtained the right to act and investigate from Kevin, but Lin and the others couldn't use it yet. They had to wait for Kevin himself to "find" the stolen goods in Einstein's room. Only then could they move to the next stage.
Before that...
"What exactly is your helmet used for?"
Chiaki's curious gaze darted around Lin head. Perhaps everyone who first met Lin would be curious about his image of always wearing a helmet.
"It's not just for combat. You wear it in daily life too, and you haven't made any lightweight modifications to it. So, is it for the functionality of covering your face?"
"..."
Lin was too lazy to answer her. Anyone could guess his purpose for wearing the helmet; it required no extra explanation.
Chiaki's silver-gray eyes, similar in color to her hair, darted around.
"The more something is hidden, the more people want to see it. You understand that logic, right?"
"..."
"I've been curious since I found your file. Everyone has photo data from when they joined Fire Moth, but you didn't leave any photos or videos of your real appearance. Even I took a headshot. Why were you allowed to join Fire Moth without your appearance being recorded?"
"..."
"How did you do it?"
"I told them I had severe burns."
"...You 'told' them? Meaning you aren't actually burned?"
"..."
Lin turned his head and met Chiaki's eager gaze. Unmoved, he looked away after a glance.
Chiaki was the person who understood him least, so it was only natural for her to ask such things. But right now... he didn't want to engage in small talk with her.
A certain negative emotion accumulating in his chest was about to swallow him. This was a feeling he had never had before, likely caused by discovering that Kevin and MEI might actually be the killers who slaughtered the entire headquarters...
To avoid venting this massive emotion on an unrelated person, Lin just wanted to return to his room and be alone for a while.
So he stood up...
"Don't be in such a hurry. We have plenty of time anyway."
Someone grabbed his hand. Unable to move forward, Lin turned back and looked at the girl whose smile held no warmth with a cold gaze.
Truth be told, even now, Lin couldn't fully trust Chiaki. Kevin and MEI were highly suspicious, but Chiaki's issues were not small either. It was as if multiple people resided in her body; the aura she occasionally emitted—even more cold-blooded than his—told Lin that this person was definitely not the sweet, guileless girl she appeared to be.
"Look, there's no one else here. Can you take off your helmet and let me see?" Seeing Lin stop, Chiaki pressed her hands together and pleaded with a friendly smile. "I definitely won't tell anyone else! Just satisfy my curiosity~"
"..."
"No answer? Is that a yes?"
"...No."
Lin still remembered someone telling him he couldn't take off his helmet in front of others. Except for necessary moments and the exception of Mobius, Lin would absolutely not take it off without authorization.
...Strange, why couldn't he suddenly remember who that person was?
Lin looked at the girl standing so close to him in confusion. A piece of his memory seemed to be missing; he only remembered an acquaintance asking him not to take off the helmet, but he couldn't remember who it was.
It should have been someone very familiar, but why...
Not only that, when he tried to recall other important events, the main figures of those original events had mysteriously vanished.
"Huh? Why? Did someone ask you not to take off your helmet?"
"I... no, nothing..."
Lin shook his head. At this moment, those memories felt like scenes from a dream—too surreal. Isn't that how dreams are? Absurd, lacking a subject, lacking perception. Sometimes normal memories and dreams get mixed up.
So those things were dreams, right?
"Then let me see~ please~" Chiaki began to act spoiled like an ordinary girl, shaking his arm. After a brief moment of confusion...
Lin nodded.
He let go of Chiaki's hand, unbuckled his helmet, and then placed both hands on the sides of the helmet, slowly lifting it up until...
His entire face was revealed.
Chiaki laughed, her eyes narrowing with pleasure.
"Hmm, not bad at all, Lin."
"Especially that expression—it looks absolutely wonderful."