Story Reader / Main Story / 26 Cradle Parade / Story
Once the call is cut off, Lamia temporarily reverts to her original appearance. She stares down at her legs, indistinguishable from a human's, lost in thought.
...The orphanage...
Back in Atlantis, she had wished countless times to leave the place sooner and see what the real world was like.
But what happens after that?
Wanna bet on your luck?
Wanna bet that you'd be sent to a legal orphanage instead of getting dragged into some inhumane experiments?
...
No child who falls into that kind of hell has it easy. A premature death might actually be a mercy.
Those unfortunate enough to survive spend decades trying to escape the trauma.
Personally, I think... compared to those people, Ascendants aren't so bad.
With a bitter smile, she handed over her identity to Lamia.
Lamia wanders absent-mindedly along the corridor, preoccupied by past memories.
Gabriel's disappearance didn't phase her.
Roland and Alpha were constantly busy doing what they could for Luna... she had grown accustomed to that too.
Even a certain human who used to contact her often said his wish had been fulfilled and there was no need for them to remain in regular contact.
And even Lillian found a better, more reliable place to be.
And that was how those who had formed fragile bonds with her in the past all left in the end, one after another.
...
Lamia sighs and squats down in the corner.
She's not utterly clueless regarding where to investigate... she'd just rather avoid it if possible.
For she has detected a large concentration of Red Tide under the ground at the end of the corridor, alongside a Punishing Hetero-Hive with an extremely high concentration.
How will she clear the Red Tide, expose the target, and then lure those two unsuspecting individuals over here?
This is exhausting.
If it weren't for how dire this situation is, she'd have snuck off to an unnoticed corner and spent her time gazing at the sky or the sea, indulging in trivial thoughts for at least a blissful moment.
Can't rest now... must come up with something quickly...
Though she is determined, her body refuses to cooperate.
Lamia sighs again, looking down at the basic terminal they gave "Lillian"... and the "mermaid's hand" holding it.
...
There are many dangers here, just like the Gray Raven Commandant said. Cooperation is essential to defeating Lithos and possibly escaping.
Lamia was included as part of the team under Lillian's identity, but all that was just a lie after all.
How much longer can she keep this lie going? Once exposed, she'll be attacked from all sides.
Sigh...
She's no stranger to this feeling of belonging nowhere.
Like the mermaid princess in "The Daughter of the Sea", who gave up her fishtail in order to walk among humans, the palace, no matter how magnificent, was never meant for her.
A mermaid princess...?
That sounds a bit too lavish a title for her. Lamia feels way more like a lone monkey undercover in a crowd of humans.
...
With this thought, she finds it even harder to continue her investigation.
Might as well pretend to have lost the terminal, she tells herself. That way, she can rest here for a while longer, accompanied by her melancholic thoughts and mental exhaustion.
As long as no one finds out, she isn't slacking off, and all investigations are smoothly carried on.
As long as no one sees...
...?
A faint breeze drifts through the silent corridor.
How can there be wind in this kind of place?
She stares toward the direction the wind is coming from. And at the end of the corridor...
A nightmarish figure appears.
FOUND YOU!
