Hearing Nagami's words, the girl whose identity had just been exposed furrowed her brows slightly.
Even Cocolia, who had been monitoring the situation from behind the scenes, showed visible displeasure.
"You know Bronya?"
Everything was spiraling out of control—no, maybe she had never had control over it in the first place.
This mission had crashed and burned spectacularly.
Cocolia's dazzling eyes stared at the screen, at the black-haired boy smiling calmly.
The recent string of events had struck her so hard that she could no longer even muster a sense of frustration.
She reached for the stack of documents on her desk—files filled with photos from various stages of Nagami's life.
With a sharp rip, she tore through them, reducing the entire pile into fluttering scraps of paper.
They were useless now.
Whether the information had been true or false no longer mattered.
In the face of the current reality, they were completely meaningless.
A wave of invisible energy surged through the air, laced with violent gusts of wind.
From the connection port of Heavy Bunny's mechanical arm, its pitch-black cannon started glowing, forming a dense, swirling sphere of energy—so condensed it looked almost solid.
Yet even as Heavy Bunny prepared to fire, Nagami's relaxed, almost lazy expression didn't waver.
"Of course I know you," he said casually. "In a sense, we've fought side by side countless times."
With a tap of his finger on the tuna Kiana's delicate forehead, he signaled her to let go.
Then, without a care in the world, he strolled over to Bronya, speaking with the warmth of an old friend.
Bronya's eyes, usually unreadable, flickered with the tiniest ripple of surprise as she locked onto the boy casually walking her way.
Her mechanical giant hovered above, still in an offensive stance, its massive palm shielding her as she instinctively took a step back.
"That's impossible. Bronya doesn't know you!"
She quickly scanned through memories of her time as an assassin before the age of twelve.
She was sure—there was no one named Nagami in the soldier training camps, nor anyone who looked remotely like him.
"Ah, people these days are so heartless," Nagami sighed dramatically, still approaching. "You sacrificed yourself to save me just yesterday, and now you're pointing a gun at me. How cruel~"
His exaggerated expression of heartbreak made him look like someone grieving over the futility of the human condition.
Everyone's attention shifted to him.
Mei, who was still lost in thought, C.C., who had been quietly watching, and tuna Kiana, who was now playfully leaning against C.C.
Even Cocolia paused to listen.
Though for a split second the idea of Bronya betraying her flickered in Cocolia's mind, she dismissed it just as quickly.
Impossible.
This experiment was designed to find a way to rescue Seele from the Sea of Quanta.
If anyone understood what Seele meant to Bronya, it was her.
Betrayal? Not even a remote possibility.
Still, as Nagami took another step forward, Bronya instinctively retreated half a step.
Nagami's strength had been on full display during the fight—if you could even call it a fight—with the Third Herrscher.
She knew she was no match for him.
And this nonsense he was spewing? Bronya didn't believe a word of it.
What was he trying to do? Was this some kind of psychological tactic?
Yet… she couldn't sense any killing intent from him at all.
That unsettled her even more.
She hesitated, stopping her retreat, determined to see what exactly this guy was playing at.
After all, as the infamous "Ural Silver Wolf" from the underworld, her ability to sense killing intent had never failed her.
Of course, it also helped that running wasn't really an option here.
Nagami stared at her like a betrayed comrade, his expression exaggeratedly pained.
Then he placed both hands firmly on Bronya's small shoulders, leaned in, and stared straight into her grey eyes.
"Have you truly betrayed our alliance, Bronya? Have you forgotten our brotherhood forged in battle? The great Metal Gear Wolf Fang unit!?"
He began shaking her tiny frame dramatically. "Did you forget the you who sacrificed everything last night just to help me get that pentakill!?"
The moment Nagami started shaking her, Bronya instinctively tensed her shoulders, like a compressed spring snapping loose.
Her hand shot behind her—grabbing a white stocking—ready to strike.
Just as Bronya was about to strike, her movements froze the moment her brain processed the words she'd just heard.
But due to sheer momentum, the pristine white stockings in her hand still wound themselves around Nagami's neck.
Stiffly, like a rusted machine, Bronya slowly raised her head.
Her steely gray eyes locked onto Nagami, and—for the first time ever an actual emotion flickered across her lifeless pupils.
Even her usually expressionless, doll-like face showed visible confusion.
"One-man… bot lane god?"
Her voice was flat and emotionless, as usual—mechanical, almost like a tool.
But to those familiar with her, the shock hidden beneath that tone was unmistakable.
Nagami glanced down at the white stockings swaying in front of his chest, still slightly warm, carrying a faint floral scent.
He couldn't help but mentally roast the absurdity of the situation.
'Seriously? These are the real deal. I bet if I auctioned them online, they'd sell for a fortune.'
This was the Ural Silver Wolf? He almost wanted to laugh.
So cute.
"That's right! Surprise! Bet you didn't expect that one!" Nagami grinned proudly, clearly enjoying her reaction.
He casually removed the stockings, crumpled them into a ball, and—under Bronya's bewildered gaze—stuffed them into his pocket.
'Ahem'.
Don't get the wrong idea—Nagami wasn't some kind of pervert.
He was the one who helped C.C. put her stockings on, after all.
He just didn't want some random creep picking them up later and doing something… weird.
It was a precaution.
Really.
"You knew Bronya was monitoring you all along?" she asked, reverting back to her expressionless, cool demeanor—though somehow, even that blank look had a strange charm on her.
"Nope. Two months ago, you hadn't even arrived in Nagazora City yet," Nagami replied instantly, shooting down her own question.
At the same time, the energy building at the barrel of the heavy-armored bunny's cannon began to dissipate.
"Then question: how do you know about Bronya's personal information?"
The realization hit Bronya like a lightning bolt—her online opponent for the past two months was now standing before her, an enemy.
Even after all her years in the assassin business, she never could've predicted this.
Of course, that didn't mean she'd abandon her mission.
This experiment was critical—it could determine whether Seele could be rescued from the Sea of Quanta.
Yes, playing games with Nagami had brought her some rare moments of joy.
But that alone wasn't enough to outweigh the chance to save Seele.
Bronya would never give up on that—not unless she had absolutely no choice.
If Nagami wanted to use their brief online friendship to get close to her, then so be it.
She'd play along, pretend to go with the flow, and try to extract more information.
That was the real Ural Silver Wolf.
"This is ridiculous…! A tense standoff suddenly turned into an IRL meet-up between online buddies?" tuna Kiana groaned, facepalming at the absurdity.
Nagami narrowed his eyes slightly.
Of course, he didn't think Bronya actually saw him as a "friend."
Playing a few rounds of co-op games didn't mean anything.
He knew full well that such a shallow connection wouldn't make her waver from her mission.
But Nagami wasn't trying to win her over completely.
He just wanted a chance to talk.
He was lazy like that. If something could be solved with words, then why bother fighting?
Well… if the opponent was a cute girl, anyway.
Otherwise? He'd just take them out and move on. No need for pleasantries.
"That's a long story," he said casually. "But hey, since we've finally met in person, shouldn't we at least talk about something interesting?"
Bronya expected him to bring up gaming stuff—some shared in-joke or strategy—to get her to drop her guard.
But when Nagami's light, almost teasing voice reached her ears, her pale gray eyes suddenly narrowed with razor-sharp focus.
"For example… how to rescue Seele from the Sea of Quanta?"