Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

For new readers: The story will be alternately divided into three scenes: Light's adventure, Hope's adventure, and common activities of their family (Parenting, leisure, friendship, travel, business setup)

There will be three OCs in this story (Two in Light's adventure, one in Hope's adventure), which will play dominant roles to direct Hope and Lightning into their new adventure. Another half-OC is Alyssa. In this story, she became one of the protagonists. However, her inclusion will spark a conflict between Hoperai in the later part of the story.

Original FFXIII characters (Serah, Snow, Sazh, Dajh, Fang, Vanille, Hope's parents, NORA) will still be in the story but they have only minor roles.

Short summary: Hope and Lightning relocated from Paris to Bordeaux and be involved in the new adventures. Lightning and Hope were married and had two children, Hope had finished his PhD in Ecole Polytechnique and received a job offer in Bordeaux, and Lightning quit her job in Guardian Corps. In the beginning of this story, Hope was 28 and Light was 35.

As usual, helpful reviews will be appreciated in chapters you readers find interesting (^^)

Here is the list of chapters featuring an introduction to new characters:
- OC 1 - Hiromi (Chapter 3)
- OC 2 - Alyssa (Chapter 6)
- OC 3 - Felix (Chapter 10)
- OC 4 - Kenichi (Chapter 15)

[From Lightning's diary]

[WRITTEN ON 11 DEC 2021]

Earlier, I have written about my own career transition. Hope also underwent a similar situation. In his case, it was quite different from mine. Being a researcher, his work's never a permanent job. It's always a two-to-three years contract. That applies to all researchers, including the very talented ones. When Valerie had reached six years old, it was time for her to go to elementary school; however, Hope's two-year contract at Ecole, as a research fellow, was about to end. He tried to apply for a professorship position but was unable to secure an offer, as it was a very competitive position with very limited vacancies.

After around six months of job searching, he finally got an offer from Inria as a senior scientist. It is the French government's laboratory for computer science research. The offer came with a thirty-percent pay raise, and with that, he finally out-earned me. The problem, however, was that the place was located in Bordeaux. Hence, we were required to relocate, and it was one of the biggest adjustments to our lives at that time. I needed to tender my resignation from the Guardian Corps to Amodar.

Up until that point, Nora was still able to help in taking care of Valerie and Conroy since Hope's parents also still resided in Paris. Before I went to the police station for work, I drove to their place and dropped off the kids with Nora.

I was glad that Hope had achieved good progress in his career. But on the other hand, I didn't feel very prepared to go through this adjustment. I must admit that up until that point, I was the one always wearing the pants, so to speak, in my relationships with both Serah and Hope. I'm not very good at typical feminine skills like housekeeping and childcare. But now, the situation has been reversed. I quit my job. My kids were still young and required care but no help from the extended family was available. I could still hire a babysitter but I just don't feel comfortable leaving my kids to non-family members every weekday.

We realized that there were many things that we had to do in moving to Bordeaux: finding property for our residence, finding a school for Valerie and Conroy, and enrolling them there. Packing our stuff and our children's stuff. Hope couldn't leave his job - since somebody needed to pay the bills. Hence, I was the one that surveyed the site and had gone to Bordeaux many times. The errands seemed endless. I must admit that I never relocated throughout my career in the Guardian Corps in Bodhum, so it is a very new experience for me. But relocation because of work was far more common here than it was in Cocoon.

Luckily, I knew Serah and Snow also stayed in Bordeaux. I contacted them many times whenever I came to look, and Serah advised me on which neighborhoods were safe and unsafe, helping me in making a better decision. Hope let me make that decision, as I will be the one purchasing the property using my investment funds. We will just rent out our two-bedroom apartment in Paris for supplementary income.

I officially resigned from the GC around two months ago. It was near Christmas time, and I was driving alone, without my kids around. I made an appointment to meet with Serah at her rental house. I planned to be in Bordeaux for two weeks - my agenda included visiting Serah, Snow, and his group NORA. I also made appointments with some real estate agents to help make more decisions on our property and with some private school administrators in Bordeaux to choose Valerie's school.

I reached her residential complex around 2 p.m. It was snowy outside, and I entered my car from the northern gate. It was located about a ten-minute drive from the Basilica of St Michael, near Garonne river. I already knew from Serah that Snow was currently working away from home and that she had informed her landlord that I'd be staying at her place for two weeks. Driving through the small path, I finally reached her home, at the end of the road - the 121st.

The house was a three-bedrooms landed property, with a single garage. The fence was a shiny, grey aluminum and the exterior walls of the house were painted yellow. There was a small yard in front of the house, and I spotted a seesaw in the middle of it. When I honked my horn, I heard a barking sound coming from inside the house. Then, I saw a white-brown rough collie poking her head through the gap in the fence, who then watched me eagerly. Not long after, did Serah appear through the front door, a bundle of keys in her hand. Her hair now had grown longer and was untied. She reached the gate and opened it. Lumina and Robin watched from the terrace as I drove into her property.

I got out, and Serah immediately hugged me, crying. "I missed you a lot, sis..."

"Yeah, Serah...me too...", I replied, kissing her cheek. Serah helped me carry out my luggage from the back seat. Not long after, I watched as Lumina and Robin quickly ran toward me.

"Auntie Claire!", shouted Robin eagerly and he grabbed my fingers, "Did you bring something for us?"

"Robin! Don't say that...", Serah instructed while lifting him from the floor, "and Lumina! I told you to wear your sandals if you go outside!"

She then turned to me, "Come, sis...please come inside. I have prepared lunch for you..."

I entered Serah's house with my luggage in either hand. She guided me to an empty room with a one queen-sized bed and a wooden wardrobe in the corner. There was a small vanity beside the bed. On the opposite side of it, a door led to the bathroom and next to it there was a window with trellis. Her rough collie was still following and sniffing me from behind.

"Kelly...", Serah caressed the dog's head from behind, pushing it to turn her body towards the door, "this is my sister...okay?"

Kelly woofed and followed Serah as she went outside the room. "Take your time, sis..." Serah turned to me again. Her eyes gleamed with joy. "I will be waiting for you with the kids in the dining room..."

"Hi, Claire!", Serah greeted me again, as she waited for me to take my seat, "go ahead, let us eat!"

I looked at the table. Serah prepared grilled chicken chops, a bowl of broccoli and cauliflower, and mushroom soup with garlic bread to dip. Lumina and Robin were sitting in the living room, playing their playstation four with Kelly watching them, her tail wagging.

I took some french fries from my plate, "it has been a while, Serah..."

"I think you haven't changed a bit since the last time we met...", she commented, "how are you feeling about your current life changes?"

I thought deeply for a moment, "From an initially selfish standpoint, I thought it was a bad thing. I needed to quit the Guardian Corps and care for Conroy, so Hope could focus more on his research..."

"But...", I continued, "I'm glad that Hope finally secure a job and I can be closer to where you are...and I can plan for my next phase in life. My job at the Guardian Corps was far from fulfilling. I held onto it just for the sake of Hope, and the kids..."

"Welcome to the life of a normal woman, Claire!", Serah giggled, "finally, you've stopped wearing the pants in the relationship!"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "You talk as if it's good thing for me to be unemployed..."

"Come on, Sis...", Serah forked some pieces of broccoli and put them onto my plates, "you should be happy, right? You already have so much money from the Dissidia tournament...you can support yourself just by those dividends alone."

I shrugged and continued eating, "But I need some activities to kill my time. I cannot take care of my kids the entire day."

While listening to me, she took her kids' empty plates from the table. She brought them to the washbasin behind the dining table and began washing them.

"How about working for a charity? I am doing that currently, I teach various arts and crafts for people who need it for therapy...", she suggested.

"Hmph...I imagine I'd do a bad job...unlike you, I'm a very impatient person..."

"Who said that?", Serah protested, "Claire, don't you remember I was known to be impatient? I was called..."

"Meanie Miss Farron..", I smiled, "but compared to me, you are very soft..."

"Well, people change as they grow...", Serah put a clean plate back on the rack beside the basin. "Especially, becoming the mother of children...it has taught me how to be patient...Maybe not for you, because Hope and Nora were the ones that took care of Valerie and Conroy the most..."

I took a deep breath and sighed. "He insisted...although he knew that it would be difficult for him as well..."

"I know," Serah nodded, "you don't have to feel bad about it, Claire...You have your own strengths. You're a warrior - you're supposed to be determined and strong. I admire you for that!"

"I am thinking of doing something that's more physically intense. Maybe I'll become a part-time mixed martial arts instructor while caring for Conroy..."

"You've been doing that for a while, right?", Serah invited me to sit on the sofa next to Lumina and Robin, while watching them play. They were playing Crash Bandicoot. "I'm sure it doesn't take too much of your time. How about learning a new recipe then? I can teach you some if you want...", Serah drew nearer and gazed at me, "so you can get in touch with your feminine side, Claire!"

"I'm sure that you and Hope would do such a better job than me...but yeah, why not?", I reluctantly accepted her suggestion, "But, don't hold me responsible for the taste, okay?"

"Wah- Auntie Claire wants to cook!", Lumina hyped. "Mom, I want to taste it!"

Chapter Text

[From Hope's diary]

[WRITTEN ON 18 DEC 2021]

After going through discussions with Light for a couple of months, we shortlisted three residential areas as our possible living place in Bordeaux. One of the three of them is Springfield Residence, which is located only a ten-minute drive from Inria headquarters, my office. In terms of location, this is the most strategic one but also the most expensive, as it's located near one of the central district areas. It is only a three-bedroom house.

Another is Green Palace Residence, which is just next to Serah's residential area. The location is near the outskirts of Bordeaux; the place is quiet and peaceful. It is cheap but a longer distance from important places. However, it is a five-bedroom house; and Light personally likes this house better. The last one is Lion's Land Residence, which is only a five-minute drive to one of Valerie's possible schools. It is somewhat between the central and outskirts area, and it is also a three-bedroom house. This is resale, so it comes with its own set of furniture, which is more convenient since we do not need to buy more things, saving our time in renovating the house.

The distance between my office to Valerie's school, and from Valerie's school to Serah's home is thirty minutes driving. So, it's actually a very hard decision for us to make. I personally like Springfield Palace, since it's near my office. But Light preferred Green Palace since it's bigger with more space to put my stuff in from my lab in Paris. The politically correct solution is to choose Lion's Land since it's somewhere between both places, but we decided to survey the properties firstly to examine the conditions of each house.

Light went to Bordeaux one week earlier to visit Serah, Snow, and NORA. Since she'd brought her car, I needed to get there by train. It was 18 Dec on Saturday that I applied for two weeks leave after finishing submitting my paper and source code. Officially my contract ends on 31 Dec. Light told me that she would pick me up at the station in the afternoon. My official start date at Inria will be 18 Jan on Monday, so we have three weeks to pack our stuff and move to Bordeaux.

I arrived at Bordeaux St Jean station at 1:40 p.m and had brought with me my brown luggage bag and just enough clothes for one week. Just after alighting from the train, I saw Light, wearing her black sweater and headscarf. Her hair was cut short in a pixie style, with her fringe covering her forehead, and dyed reddish. She stood near one of the gates.

Light moved forward first and hugged me, resting her head on my shoulder.

"I missed you", I confessed and caressed her hair from behind, "It has been a week."

"Yeah, me too", Light replied wholeheartedly, "I felt so lonely without you."

"A new hairstyle, I see", I commented, playing with her fringe, "It has been a while since you've changed your hair, Light..."

"Do you like it?", she asked, while grabbing my fingers and walking towards the gate. "New appearance for our new life..."

I smiled and nodded as we entered an elevator, leading to the car park, "It's a refreshing change...maybe I should change my style too...". A moment later, the elevator reached the basement. We walked to Light's car, which wasn't far, and put my luggage in the trunk.

"So - what is our agenda for today? You decide...", I asked while entering the car.

"The nearest site from here is Lion's Land. We will go there first," Light fastened her seat belt and turned on the car engine. "Then we will go to Springfield, and then Green Palace. After that, we'll return to Serah's home and put your stuff there..."

"How were your days with Serah and Snow?", I prompted, "Last time we met them was two years ago, when they visited your parents' cemetery.."

"Lumina and Robin were happy when I saw them...", Light replied with a wide smile, "Now, Serah is doing part-time charity work while taking care of them. For Snow, his business isn't doing too well, because of the lack of capital to expand. They do not have any assets or capabilities that enable them to secure a loan, other than the initial seed grant given due to Maqui's proposal. They still have some corporate clients right now, but it is also contract-based. The contract will expire next year, and so far he mentioned that he has not found other clients..."

I sighed. "It's almost the same everywhere in this world...On the surface, it looks better than Cocoon because there is not much war, but job security is non-existent here..."

"But you can't compare it, Hope...", Light argued while she changed gear and turned at the junction in front of us, "Cocoon and even Nova Chrysalia were much smaller compared to here. And the population here is much larger compared to our world...I would say here is still much better..."

We reached the entrance of Lion's Land Residence and we showed both of our IDs to the middle-aged security guard. They opened the gate and Light drove in.

The house that we visited in Lion's Land was two-storey, with one bedroom located on the second floor, and the other two on the ground. There was a wide balcony facing the main street. The living room and family room had all their furnishings intact, like the sofa, television, bookshelf, table, and air-conditioning. When we arrived, we sat in the living room to rest, and Light took some pictures of the room with her phone.

"I wonder why the previous owner would leave all their furniture intact?", I curiously raised a question.

"According to what the agent told me, the owner is in financial strife and they need cash immediately. And this is not their primary residence: they rented it out to someone...", Light answered while taking off her sweater and heading towards the heater on the other side of the room. She pressed the button, but the heater didn't turn on.

"Right...we just arrived and now we already have a problem...", she sighed and put back on her sweater, "Need to check how many of the electronics can still be used..."

I and Light moved to the family room and scanned through all the items of the room. I checked the phone in the corner and tried to call my own and Light's number, and it is working. On the other side of the room, Light was opening drawers inside the cupboard beside the television. She seemed to be looking for something.

"Hope?", Light called me, "Do you see any remote controls for the air-con?"

I began doing the same as her where the phone was. Opening the bottom-most drawer, I saw a white remote, with a temperature display. But nothing was shown on it; I checked if it had no batteries.

"This is the remote, but there's no battery...", I walked to her and passed it over.

"Okay...I'll go to my car...I remembered I keep some spare batteries in the dashboard...let's see if they match", Light spoke to herself and walked outside, leaving me on my own. While waiting for her, I tried to turn on the TV. I saw on the coffee table a black remote control, and I took it and switched the red power button. The television turned on. So far, so good. Only the heater wasn't working, but at least the phone line and television were fine.

But then, I spotted a huge crack at the corner of the wall. Water was leaking out of it, as it was raining outside.

"No way...", I shook my head and sighed. I switched off the television again. Then, Light re-entered the family room with the remote in her hand. She directed it at the air-cons at the top corner of the room, but nothing happened.

"Right...apparently, we still need to buy a lot of stuff, " she raised her voice, in frustration, "I tried the air-cons in the living room, and it's also not working.."

Both of us examined the two bedrooms on the ground floor, the mattresses were okay. But when I tried to open one of the wardrobes, the door suddenly broke. I checked it out, and discovered it was because the hinges were rusted over. I felt frustrated and wondered why the previous tenants lived with a broken wardrobe.

"Hey, Light?", I shouted, "Is everything working on your side?"

"No, Hope...the heater in the bathroom isn't working...", she replied. Not long after, she walked inside my room.

"What do you think? I think that isn't worth our money." She crossed her arms and faced me, while I was still trying to place the wardrobe's door on the wall.

"Definitely not...", I confirmed, "Let's move on to the next one..."

This time our journey to Springfield Residence wasn't as smooth. We were in the middle of a terrible traffic jam, and had spent almost forty-five minutes on the road, and according to Light, this was very unusual.

"I thought you said it would only take thirty minutes to go there from Lion's Land?", I asked her, curious as we still were only halfway there.

"I just checked the map...it turns out that the highway that connects the two places is under construction for a flyover...so the width of the road is reduced to half...", she answered, "This isn't good, Hope...if we use an alternative route, it will take an extra twenty minutes to get to Valerie's school both ways."

"You mean if we decide to take Springfield, it will take you almost two hours to send Valerie to school and back?" I was surprised, "that is what you mean, right?"

"I just checked the website of Civil Transport Authority and also from that of some contractors that are involved in this project...", Light explained, "The construction will take around two years to complete..."

"No way, Light...", I blurted out, "I don't think we can take this option...it isn't very good for you..."

"Hope, don't worry about me", Light replied calmly, "If we take Green Palace, you are the one that will be impacted...You are the one that is supporting our children now, so I need to make sure our decision will benefit your work..."

"Now that you mention that", I recalled the project that was discussed during my interview with the Inria staff. I browsed through the confirmation email from the hiring manager, looking for some details but I couldn't find them. I created a new email to send to them.

"I will ask Inria whether I can work from home for my project", I suggested, "Let's see what their response is..."

After that, we headed to Springfield Residence, and judging by the style of the houses around its main roads, this was intended for the upper class. The house that was offered to us was built with an artistic style: a lot of them had windows with stained glass, and colonnades of ancient Greek style supporting their terraces. Many garden bushes were trimmed to imitate animals or objects. I learned from the given brochure that there was an amusement park, gyms, swimming pools, tennis courts, and all sorts of enrichment class centers not far from the residential areas, in contrast to Lion's Land.

Both of us were currently in the front yard, admiring the design of the house.

"No wonder it's so expensive...", I commented, "but everything is really good...I mean the facilities..."

"Hope...you only jog once a week...you never play tennis nor swim...", Light protested, glaring at me, "Your side interest is in researching ancient technologies. I also only do mixed martial arts. I honestly think the facility maintenance cost for this house is not worth our money..."

"I don't need the facilities but it is close to the enrichment center, Light...", I argued. "It will be easier if we want to send Valerie..."

"Hope, she is still so young...", interrupted Light, frowning, "It is not good to force our kids to immerse themselves in the study so early...Actually, if not because of the location near your office, I think this option is too pricey. Although we can afford it..."

The phone in my pocket vibrated. I looked that it was a new email. I opened it and saw that it was a reply from my hiring manager.

"Light, just now, my reporting officer told me that I am allowed to work from home for up to three days a week.", I explained, feeling relieved that it partially solved the traffic problem we encountered earlier.

"That's good", she replied, "So, what's your decision? Take it or leave it?"

"Leave it", I confirmed.

After rejecting our first two choices, we were only left with Green Palace Residence. So, whether I liked it or not, that was the only option. Although it is very inconvenient for me since I needed to travel one hour to get to my Inria office, I was glad that the location is near Serah and Snow. It enables Light to go to Serah's house as many times as she wants, and it would make our children and their children closer to each other.

And secondly, since it has five bedrooms, according to Light: she could convert the two extra bedrooms into my private office space and personal research lab. This enables me to move some of my equipment, artifacts, and manuscripts from my lab in Paris. I couldn't do so if I chose the other two options since they were three-bedroom houses.

Both of us also asked Serah and Snow to see our new home in Green Palace Residence. It was only a five-minute drive from their place to ours. We went to the house just after our dinner at Serah's. She had cooked chicken cordon blue with Caesar salad for the four of us. I would say her cooking skill was really impressive, compared to me and Light's.

We reached the house at around 8 p.m. that day. Its house condition was like new, the outer wall on the first floor was painted in light green, and the second storey, was white. The front yard also had a seesaw in the middle, similar to Serah's house. In the corner of the yard, I saw a cage with a raspberry tree inside of it.

"That's Light's favorite fruit...", I teased her while pointing at the tree, "I think we can be more healthy here..."

"This is a very nice house...", Serah commented, "There aren't many five-bedroom houses in my area...most of them were already occupied a long time ago..."

"You guys are really lucky...", Snow patted my shoulder, "Houses like this were supposed to be taken up a long time ago..."

We entered the house and examined its interior carefully. So far, I didn't see any cracks on the wall, unlike the one in Lion's Land. The ceiling for the house was quite high and hence it had a relaxed ambiance. I checked all the water taps in the bathrooms, on both floors, and all were working. Light also tried to switch on all the lights and everything worked perfectly. However, we were told by the agent that currently there was no internet or phone line installed yet, so that was homework for us.

"Can I ask you...", Light prompted Snow, "Is the environment around this area safe? It seems that this is a quiet place, but the security guards are few and far between, compared to the previous homes we visited this afternoon..."

Serah seemed hesitant and glanced up at Snow, but he just shrugged his shoulder. "Go ahead, tell them!"

"One year ago, our neighbor was robbed...", Serah confessed, "The culprit jumped and landed on our second floor. At that time Snow was doing housekeeping and putting equipment into the warehouse..."

"I smacked him and gave him a lesson!", Snow raised his arms, punching the air, "After that, no more robbers..."

"The outskirt residential areas are generally more unsafe compared to central ones," Serah commented, "but Hope, don't worry. My sis will take care of you, right? She is even stronger than Snow!". She giggled, blinking in front of Light.

Light patted my hair and eyed me sternly, making me nervous.

"I vowed to always protect my man...", she declared, "I will crush anyone who dares to touch you..."

"Ah, you're so sweet, Claire!", Serah teased. My cheeks were blushing as Light said this in Serah and Snow's presence. As if I was so weak that I needed Light to take care of me...

The four of us then went outside to the car, where Lumina and Robin were waiting. We went back to Serah's home and then called it a day.

Chapter Text

[From Lightning's diary]

[WRITTEN ON 20 JUL 2022]

Not long after the decision, we went to the management of Green Palace Residence to complete all paperwork. We applied for a certificate of ownership and made the cash payment. I sold my investment funds from the Dissidia tournament some time ago so I could issue a bank cheque to pay for our property. I suggested to Hope that he did not need to pay but keep his money for family emergencies, as he barely worked full-time for two years.

After everything was completed, the management gave us the access card to the front gate and all house keys. I contacted the mover to start picking up our stuff in our apartment in Paris but Hope wants to carry some of his stuff from his lab by car. I also started to advertise online to find tenants for our apartment and to rent some rooms in Hope's lab as a warehouse for my monthly income.

The moving process happened quite smoothly without any missing items on our side. We held a farewell party in Paris and Bartholomew treated Nora, me, Hope, Sazh, Valerie, and Conroy to dine in Le Jules Verne, the restaurant at Eiffel Tower. Although we had been in Paris for quite some time, the last time I visited the Eiffel Tower was after my wedding with Hope, six years ago. It was a nice family gathering and we shared our family and work experience throughout our dinner.

During this dinner, Bartholomew highlighted that he would be 60 years old next year and also thought of quitting his job at BNP Paribas. And after that, he is eager to use his money to invest in small businesses. So, he offered me initial seed funding for me to open my startup. Opening a company was one option I was exploring at that time. But I went through so many changes, so I did not want to say anything immediately to his offer.

One thing that I reflected upon is that once you move to a new place, you lose connection with most of your friends. After I quit the Guardian Corps, I may not see my colleagues such as Amodar, Rygdea, or Cid that much anymore. I will miss my time sparring with them during training. For Hope, things are better because researchers often collaborate online if their expertise is still within the same domain. So even when he moved to Inria, he can help his former Ecole professors to guide new Ph.D. students.

At this time, the arrangement is that I work as a part-time MMA instructor for three days per week when Hope is working from home, whereas I care for Valerie and Conroy when Hope needs to go to the office. We hired a part-time helper to assist us in doing house chores.

And that was the time when I met this interesting person.

The time was early in the morning around 7 am, and the gym is supposed to be open at 8am, so nobody was around. Besides, the gym is not located near any offices, so it is very uncommon to have people come that early during weekdays. I knew this and I like it since it enables me to use all the gym facilities for my training. I also usually trained with my gunblade, which is not a thing I do openly if there are people around. I was scheduled to lead the MMA class for around 20 people there at 8 am, so the gym management knows this, and permits me to come earlier to warm up.

The gym size is about fifteen meters in width and length. In one corner, we have a boxing ring where MMA sparring is usually done. On another side, all the standard equipment, such as treadmills, barbell benches, pull-up bars, mattresses, and so on. Around the middle of the room, there are four punching bags. There are mirrors around all sides of the walls and there are lockers in the last corner, all changing clothes are put there.

I was standing on one side of the mattress, watching behind and approximating the distance to another side. I turned, and jumped backward, performing a backflip three times. After reaching the other end, I faced myself toward the punching bag and performed uppercuts and multiple roundhouse kicks. After that, I rolled forward, took my gunblade from the floor, and performed Army of One. After my last swing, I heard a clapping sound from the corner of the room. I was surprised and turned to see who it was.

I saw a tall young pretty Asian woman, with shoulder-length wavy hair. She wore a brown loose knee-length skirt, orange vest coat with peacock embroidery, white shirt, and combat boots. But what drew my attention was a long katana she was carrying in her right hand. My soldier instinct was immediately turned on when I saw her because somehow I felt she was very dangerous.

She walked towards me with a friendly face, and I was still holding my gunblade. At some distance, she stopped, bowed forward and I was surprised.

"Hajimemashite," she greeted me, "My name is Hiromi, and I am here to practice..."

"Yeah, right...Hiromi...", I cynically replied, "If you applied for registration, you should know that fencing and swordsmanship is not a class today..."

Hiromi burst out laughing and scratched her hair, "Sorry, I am a terrible liar...Lightning..."

Immediately, I swung my gunblade toward her. She instantly unsheathed her blade, blocking my attack, and jumped backward. I was suspicious of this woman, how did she know my real name? Only Hope, Serah, and Snow called me Lightning. I always use Claire for my name in this new world but somehow this Japanese lady knew my name from the old world.

"Oh, come on...don't be so bigoted...", Hiromi posed by putting her katana on her shoulder. "That is not a nice way to welcome a stranger..."

I just realized that she was even taller than me, although her physique was leaner. Her expression was relaxed but confident. She walked sidestepping me, as if looking for the right opportunity to strike...

"How do you know my name?", I asked with a harsh tone but Hiromi was still calm and sat at one of the benches, with her katana on her lap, adjusting her vest coat.

"Ah...that's the thing right, " she teased, "I could tell you straight away...but it would not be very interesting."

She then gazed upon me with challenging eyes, "Let's have some fun first, shall we?" Instantly, she withdrew something from behind her vest coat and I identified it as a crossbow. She shot at me, but I quickly evaded and hid behind a punching bag. The arrow hit. I turned to the other side of the punching bag, shooting with my gunblade toward her. She quickly did a side roll and my bullets hit the mirror behind her.

I saw that she was heading towards me. She sliced her blade downward and I blocked her attack. After that, both of us alternately attacked and parried each other. At the last instant, my gunblade crossed with her katana and we tried to overpower one another. I tried to push but she would not back down...I stared at her but she still calmly smiled. Suddenly, she jumped back and sheathed her blade.

"Time is up...I do not want to disturb your class, Lightning." Hiromi pointed to the clock on the wall behind her, showing 750am. I was amused. Who was she actually and how do she know about me?

"What do you want from me?" I asked while glaring at her.

"What is your phone number?", she casually asked me back, took her mobile phone out from her vest coat pocket, and waited for me to answer. I was still not convinced of her character, so I refused to answer.

She sighed, "My phone number is 8320 5999, you can try it later, " and then she bowed down again, "I apologize for my rudeness...but I wanted to test if you are as strong as people said...". After that, she turned towards the exit and was about to leave.

"Hey, wait!", I shouted but she had already opened the door and walked away.

"You are kidding, Light...", Hope later commented with disbelief, "You mean someone from this world, knew about you and was able to fight evenly against you?"

I told the story about my encounter with Hiromi earlier today. Me, Hope, Valerie, and Conroy were at Snow's house, the time was 530pm. Serah was entertaining the kids in the living room while we discussed Hiromi. I told my sister that I and Hope would eat at our place and that she didn't need to cook extra for us.

"But, sis...I don't get it...", Snow argued, "If she is that strong, why wasn't she invited to the tournament?"

"Nope...that can be true...", I corrected him, "The Dissidia committee only invited people within a certain set of universes they chose, this universe is not one of them. If Hiromi is from this universe, then she would not have been invited to Dissidia..."

"And how did she know you would be at the gym this morning?", Hope further prompted, "Granted, Aoede may have written that article six years ago...but she did not disclose the location of any of us...and even she did not know where you lived or what your real name is. And that was just a small section in the newspaper. It is not like we are superstars..."

"Hope...what are you implying?" I queried. His expression became more serious.

"I don't know if Hiromi is a good or bad person...", he said, "But one thing for sure is that she knew a lot about you...and since she knew your schedule...most likely she is staying near us..."

"Sis, that may be true...", Snow commented after thinking for a while, "But judging from what you said, I feel that she may not be necessarily a bad person..."

"That remains to be seen...", I replied while watching my mobile phone on the table in front of me, "She gave me her contact number, but I have not called her yet..."

The doorbell rang, and the voice of a man shouted from outside, "Pizza delivery for Ms Claire Farron!"

I was perplexed and so were Hope and Snow.

"Light, why did you order pizza?", asked Hope, "I thought we said that we would eat at home..."

"I did not order the pizza!", I protested, "Serah, did you order pizza?"

"Nope, sis...", she shook her head while trying to mediate between Robin and Conroy while they were playing.

The three of us walked to the front door and opened it. The delivery food rider asked me to sign on to his mobile phone to confirm acceptance. There was a message left on the screen above the signature blank:

I apologize for the damage caused by our fight this morning. Hopefully, you are not too angry. I delivered the cheque to compensate you to your home mailbox. You may keep the change - HIROMI

The three of us were shocked.

"So, now she knows where all of us are living...", I muttered, "This could be dangerous..."

"But hey, Light...I think you can try to call her, right?" Hope suggested.

I thought for a while, and then answered him, "Why not?"

So, that night, I sent a text message to the phone number Hiromi gave, me while lying down next to Hope on our bed at our new home in Green Palace Residence. He was watching what I typed carefully. Valerie and Conroy slept in the other room.

[Lightning here, let's meet for further talk...]

[Ah, sure! How about this Saturday at 10 am, at Borders bookstore near Green Palace Residence, it will be 10 mins driving from your place...]

[How do you know where is my residence? Who are you, Hiromi?]

[Cool down...that is a public space and I am not a bad person. No gunblade or katana...we will be there just to talk. And only both of us, please...You can find me in the ancient history section..]

I was thinking about whether I should follow her advice.

"Just bring my pocket knife, Light, " Hope suggested, somehow anxiously.

I shook my head, "At her level, a small knife does not make any advantage, Hope, " I replied, "Her ability based on that time was on par with Dissidia fighters...She was able to match my speed and timing..."

"But I suppose if there is any malicious intention, to be in a public place is not very ideal, " Hope commented.

"I hope so...but bring your Nue with you when you travel to the office tomorrow, Hope...", I advised, "We never know if she has accomplices."

On that Saturday, our usual routine was to bring Valerie and Conroy to an amusement park. However, I had an appointment to meet Hiromi and I had already instructed Hope to bring the kids to Serah's home for precaution. Since she instructed me to go alone, I drove there using my car and parked in the basement below Borders Bookstore. I was wearing a simple white buttoned shirt with dark blue jeans and previously had my breakfast with Hope and the kids. I scanned through the directory in front of the elevator and figured out the social science section was on level 4.

Borders bookstore was still relatively quiet since it was early in the morning. I saw a few middle-aged men reading and chatting at given tables near the history section, and one woman was holding a tablet PC while comparing images from the book she read with the content of her tablet. I immediately recognized her as Hiromi. She was wearing a blouse with light blue color, a dark blue skirt with a flowery motif, and white sports shoes.

Judging from the atmosphere, it seemed that I was overcautious. Her expression looked relaxed and I could not find any threat. I stepped into the reading section and approached her table. When I was near, she sensed my presence. She waved and smiled at me. She closed the book she was reading and her tablet PC and gestured for me to sit in front of her. I saw the book she read had the title, "The Technology of Ancient Egypt".

So she was like Hope, also interested in these kinds of stuff, it seemed.

"Please have a seat, Claire, " said Hiromi, stretching her right hand to greet me as I sat in front of her, "Was the money I gave you sufficient to cover the damage?"

"You gave too much, " I replied while watching her playing with her stylus, "The gym manager still wanted me to explain how the mirror was broken...I told him that a thug came and tried to pick a fight with me...and I kicked him into the mirror..."

Hiromi giggled and put her fingers on her chin, "And he believed you?"

"Luckily, I have been their tenant for some time, and because I overcompensated them, they forgave me..."

She was still playing with her stylus, spinning it while looking amused hearing my story, "I must learn from you...you are a really good liar..."

After that, I started talking while inclining my body forward and staring at her, "Enough small talk...let's get straight to business..."

"Ah, right, " Hiromi crossed her arms, "I owe you an explanation...for your first question: How do I know about you? From Aoede. Six years ago, through investigative journalism, she figured out that you and the other Dissidia participants held a closing ceremony at a mansion in Normandy Beach. Of course, once I knew it, I disguised as a waiter to join the closing ceremony...and I figured out the rest about you from the booklet..."

Tch...that pesky journalist...still does not know when to give up...

"Aoede was my roommate, back then I was still in Japan. She was under a cultural exchange program for 6 months, and she made me interested in this time travel story...", Hiromi sipped the coffee from her cup on the table, "Of course, she tried to figure out from you and your friends but you were not willing to disclose much..."

"And then she decided to do so covertly, " I completed her sentence. Hiromi nodded while gazing out of the window, watching the traffic.

"Could not miss a once-in-a-lifetime chance to investigate people from other worlds, " Hiromi said, "If I was her, I would do the same thing...but no worries, so far only three people know about your past...".

I narrowed my eyes, "You mean there are still..."

"We'll get to that later...", she interrupted, "So, to answer your second question: Who am I? My complete name is Hiromi Kawaguchi. Well, I would say I am considered quite special in this world...although not as special as Claire Farron...the warrior goddess who killed the god of light...". Hiromi smiled wickedly while leaning back, "I trained myself in kendo and archery since I was 12, I have won a gold medal representing Japan in the Olympics. I am from an upper-class family, similar to your husband...and I also used to work secretly with an intelligence agency, to investigate something paranormal..."

"Of course...I cannot say anything more to you right now...or they will hunt you and me..", Hiromi crossed her leg and closed her eyes.

"So, coming to your final question: What do I want from you?" She stood up and walked to the window by the right side of our table, "Basically, nothing...except maybe a sparring session once in a while..."

I was puzzled, also stood up and approached her, "You told me all of these things and you said you want nothing from me...what makes you think I will trust you..."

Hiromi burst out laughing and patted my shoulder, "That is because neighbors should trust each other...I just moved to Green Palace Residence block C number 119 last week..."

I was shocked as I knew that it was just beside our new house.

Chapter Text

[From Hope's diary]

[WRITTEN ON 21 JUL 2022]

I have come to learn that the trend in this world for the last decade is the computerization and adaptation of artificial intelligence for daily life. I am originally quite neutral on this phenomenon (not against nor supporting it), but I realized that this trend will make AI more powerful. I am personally concerned about this thing because I have designed super powerful fal'Cie AI in the old world and know the damage it caused. The direction of the projects I am assigned is always to make AI-based platforms perform larger-scale tasks, not how to use them properly.

In my project with Ecole, the direction was related to novel techniques that can detect or classify certain phenomena for a given dataset in a more efficient manner. However, there is less research related to how to regulate the usage of AI-based software by governments and corporations, in a way that will be beneficial for normal citizens. Neither my professor nor my colleagues expressed interest in researching the ethical use of AI. That concern is even more relevant to my work in Inria. I will be involved in a project which will change my and Lightning's lives dramatically.

The title of the project is Skynet: A principal agent for efficient coordination of autonomous systems. Basically, Skynet is the "head" of computer-based systems. I was told that the motivation was how remote human operators only have partial pictures of sensor data collected from the field, so the project is aimed to deploy AI-based agents to coordinate autonomous systems and complete complex tasks in a more timely manner, like rescue operations or reconnaissance.

Although Skynet has been ongoing for quite some time (at least 5 years), it has not achieved significant enough performance to be used in a real-life scenario. Two major problems are its subpar ability to distinguish between benign and malicious systems. Because autonomous systems will be connected to the Internet, they can be potentially hacked by malicious actors but Skynet so far is unable to identify compromised systems promptly.

Another problem is its poor ability to devise a strategy based on an encounter in a novel situation. Skynet can instruct drones or cars to navigate to certain places only if they have data about the place, but it will perform poorly if only partial data or no data is available. If Skynet needs these systems to be deployed somewhere in a coal mine (for a rescue operation) or caves where maps are not available, the performance will drop significantly.

I can see that this project is potentially very impactful for both civilian and military purposes. And I have heard that big countries of this world (such as the United States, Russia, and China) are also trying to develop similar general-purpose AI like Skynet. I was told by the principal investigator for this project, Phillippe (he has been in charge of personnel hiring for the Skynet project for 5 years), during my interview told me that Skynet will be used for strictly civilian purposes.

I was assigned as one of the lead scientists for this project, supervising one junior scientist and two research engineers. The project will span for 3-years, collaborating between Inria and the Guardian Corps. I heard that Amodar (Light's superior) will be the one that personally tests Skynet during every half-year project review.

This project received attention from high-profile figures from the French government, or so I was told. However, outsiders will not have any information about this project. Unlike in Ecole, all AI-based platforms I developed are for community purposes, so the source code is available online. Phillippe is interested to hire me because after he read my paper, he think that the prototype I developed during my work in Ecole will be useful to enhance the performance of Skynet and eventually cleared it to be deployed in the field.

However, I am thinking that if this system is deployed in the field, this can cause an ethical issue, if it makes the wrong decision then there can be no one to blame or prosecute. But this concern seems to not be a priority for people in power. And this thing will eventually escalate and become our adventure in this new world.

It is Thursday, just a day after Light's encounter and fights with Hiromi in the gym. I used her car to go to my Inria office and brought my Nue with me per Light's advice, although I thought it would be useless, as I have rarely used it since I was reborn in New World. However, I did not want to let her worry, so I just did it to make her happy.

Today, my agenda was to conduct three interviews to hire candidates for the Skynet project. I was surprised that there were so many resumes to be filtered when we posted the job advertisement. Unlike in Cocoon, there are definite headcounts and periods for recruiters to hire people. If we failed to do so, it would affect me during my performance appraisal. It could be because in Cocoon, my dad was the Academy founder, and hence I was given more freedom to recruit people.

Last week, when Light was having her MMA instruction class, I was filtering resumes to see suitable candidates. Phillippe told me to follow exact formulae to recruit people, mainly based on their publication record, domain specialty, and a referral from a previous workplace. The research style of hiring people in this world is like this, so we do not create customized written tests or programming assignments to recruit people.

After filtering based on those criteria, I left with three candidates: for junior scientist, there is a German Ph.D. holder from TUM named Felix Schneider. For research engineers, the most qualified is one Japanese man currently working in the anti-virus company, Trend Micro. His name is Kenichi Nakamura. And the last person is my former colleague from Ecole and the old world...Alyssa Zaidelle.

I contacted them through their university or company email addresses, and they were all available. The interview with Kenichi, however, will be conducted online since he is located in Tokyo at the moment. So, I scheduled the interviews for them today. The interview with Felix will be at 10 am, Kenichi will be at 1 pm and Alyssa at 4 pm.

In other words, it will be a very long day for me...

I set up my laptop in one of the office meeting rooms and eagerly watched the clock on the wall, 9:54 am. Not long after, I heard the sound of a knocking door.

"Please come in", I said. I saw a bearded blonde man, of athletic build, with glasses and spiky hair, as tall as me, wearing a light blue long-sleeve shirt with a red necktie, and bringing a black backpack. I noted that his facial and eye shape looked very similar to mine. When he saw my face, he looked very excited.

"That is you, Hope!", Felix greeted, "It has been eight years..."

I was suddenly confused, looked like he knew me but I do not know him, "Have we met before?"

After I asked that question, Felix looked disappointed, but answered, "We were on the committee for organizing the AI workshop together during our undergrads in TUM...", he put his backpack on one of the chairs, and drew his printed resume out, "You are not usually that forgetful...I guess your work has done this to you..."

I was wondering what kind of life we were assigned before we are reborn in New World. It seems that we have some track records and interacted with native inhabitants. It looked like Felix was interacting with someone who was later replaced by me. Either that or the memories of these people were implanted in the lives of those reborn in the New World. I am inclined to assume the latter.

"Ok, anyway...", I diverted the conversation and opened Felix's resume from my laptop, "Let's start with the discussion of your past project..."

Around the next hour, I discussed with Felix his work for his Ph.D. thesis in mechatronics engineering. His field of expertise is motion planning in cyber-physical systems using machine learning techniques. He has designed novel algorithms to optimize the path searching for robots in rocky environments. I was impressed by the technical details that he has, and his previous advisor also had positive feedback about him.

I figured out earlier that Felix also used to work with my former Ph.D. advisor in Ecole. He is knowledgeable even in some areas outside his expertise and has been participating in some collaborative research. His skills are matched to solving Skynet's problem of navigating uncharted territory. His level and salary expectation also matches my budget. At the end of his presentation, I made my decision to hire him.

After the end of the technical discussion, I asked Felix, "Do you have any questions about us?"

"What kind of application will Skynet be used by Guardian Corps?", he asked.

"As of now, they said that it will be used in remote rescue operations. Right now, during the snowy and rainy seasons, many avalanches and flooding incidents happen. In previous years, Inria had conducted simulations in limited areas and showed satisfactory results. We plan to conduct field trials by the end of this year...", I replied, "By the way, Felix...your work permit..."

"I am a German citizen..", he replied, "Since it is still within the European Union, there is no need to apply for a work visa.."

I nodded, "Sounds good...". Since Inria is a French government lab, we prioritize French and EU countries' citizens. For my team, I only have 1 slot for a foreigner.

"Thanks for your time...", I stretched my hand and shake his, "We will notify you soon..."

"I am waiting for good news, Hope...", Felix enthusiastically responded, "It will be great to be able to work with you again..."

It was a rainy day outside and there were not many people since tomorrow (Friday) is Bastille Day, so they already applied for leave today. I was having my lunch in the Inria canteen, with some of the more senior colleagues involved in Skynet, Phillippe, and his assistant, Louis. So far, I have not got access clearance to the basement site where Skynet's core is stored. So I have to ask for the various necessary procedures required to get myself and my future subordinates to that site.

"There is so much paperwork here, " I commented, "It is easily double from my previous work in Ecole."

"I supposed you already knew that, Hope. University is different from government institutions, " Phillippe replied, "Furthermore, Skynet is quite a sensitive project. Although it is not warfare-related, it is still military usage. How was the interview with Felix this morning?"

"He did well," I said, "I have forwarded you my assessment form for him, you need to approve it before I send everything to HR to process"

"Next time, please also include Louis..", Phillippe glanced at his assistant, "He will handle all administrative tasks for me. Next time, you just need to send me the report for all work that you and your subordinates do every month..."

"Now, I want to talk about the next candidate, Kenichi...", I asked, "He is a foreigner and hence we would need four months to apply for a work visa for him..."

"I suppose that he must be very good if you still pick him...", Phillippe commented, "I would not mind if you want to ask my opinion..."

"Security of cyber-physical systems is still relatively new. Right now, there are few established players in this field. Trend Micro, his company, is one of them. And he is already a principal engineer there..", I explained and Phillippe looked surprised.

"Why would he move here where he already has that position there?", he asked curiously.

"That is the thing that I will ask him later," I replied, "By the way, I heard that people from the Guardian Corps will go to our site today..."

"Yes, that's true." Louis nodded, "I just personally got confirmation yesterday that Amodar, Rygdea, and Cid Raines will attend our site. Not only from the Guardian Corps. We have also PSICOM personnel, Nabaat, and Rosch...There are also high figures from the Ministry of Defence, as well..."

"That is the entire French military force, " I commented, amused, "What will be the agenda for today?"

"I will give the presentation with them related to the Skynet project for the next two and a half years...", Phillippe replied, "Louis will record the minutes and I will send you the summary. Just conduct your interviews and send the reports to me.."

"Understood...", I answered him and nodded. They excused themselves and walked away from me afterward.

Somehow, judging from the involvement of so many high figures, I did not have a very good feeling about this.

The time was showing 1250pm and after lunch, I returned to the previous meeting room to conduct another interview with Kenichi. I connected my laptop to the projector since the current interview would be online over Zoom. I entered the meeting room at 1255pm and Kenichi was there already.

Kenichi was a long-haired man (hair just below his neck), which was partially greying (although I read in his resume he is just 31...), thin build, and he had a long scar on his forehead. He had a thin mustache around his lips, but his beard was cleanly shaven. He is wearing a casual red polo-tee with the card tag of Trend Micro hanging on his neck. He was currently in his cubicle, using a headset and microphone. But there was nobody behind him. From the window behind him, I saw that it was dark outside.

"Hello, Kenichi!", I greeted him, "Hopefully it will not be too uncomfortable for you."

"Yes, Mr. Estheim...it is 9 pm here in Tokyo...nobody will listen to our conversation, " he said jokingly with a wide smile, "Do not worry, I am still single!"

I grinned and put my fingers in front of my mouth. This guy was surely interesting, he could joke in the interview as well.

"Call me Hope...", I said, observing that Asians were more formal, "Just curious, what brings you to apply to this position? Your job title is higher than here, and you also would not get a salary increase..."

"To find a pretty white lady for my girlfriend, Hope...", he said while laughing, "And to experience another culture."

"Ok, that is a very honest statement...", I commented while noting it down, "But seriously?"

"Ahem...I think that the principal artificial intelligence is an exotic project, and I think it will be interesting if I can work on it," he explained, "For salary-wise, I told you I am still single...so I do not have much financial pressure!"

Man, I think, this guy is informal when it comes to interviews. I never encountered such a guy before. Or maybe, I have not been in the hiring process long enough to experience this.

"That's good...so can we start by explaining your project related to automated exploitation of vulnerability for CT Scan machines from last year?"

And so for the next hour, Kenichi explained to me his project, similar to my interview with Felix. However, for his case, I focused more on the coding aspect as he is an engineer. I prepared a simple lab session for him to do a programming test. He passed with ease and I did not spot any mistake from him. I would need his skillsets to strengthen Skynet security, so it would be more immune to hacking attempts.

"Ok, Kenichi...", I folded my hands and leaned back, "Do you have any questions for us?"

"Yes, Hope...", he adjusted his seat and sipped his coffee at his side, "Do you have any single and available ladies in your team?"

I burst out laughing instantly, "After you, there will be a French lady whom I will interview, but I'm not sure if she is single."

He raised both of his thumbs, "I will be looking forward to working with you..."

The interview with Kenichi was the most memorable experience for me. After its completion, I went for a coffee break to the same canteen again while recollecting all his skillsets and also the conversation about other things. My impression is positive, even better than the previous interview with Felix.

Now, I was left with the last candidate. Alyssa. She was my assistant in the old world and Light told me that she had a crush when she worked with me. Somehow, I kept meeting her in my workplace. In Ecole, she applied as an intern to my advisor during my Ph.D. study. I want to avoid hiring her, but we are required to hire a French citizen and she is the most qualified candidate I can find as a junior engineer since she published her paper with me when we were still in Ecole.

Suddenly, someone patted my shoulder from behind. I turned my head and I saw a curly-haired young African man, wearing a Guardian Corps uniform and wielding a gunblade with him. I was surprised, I immediately recognized it is Dajh, Sazh's son. I just heard from Sazh that he has joined Guardian Corps but we never met during our farewell party in Paris.

"Dajh! It has been a long time...", I greeted him and stood up, "You looked so cool now..."

"Never thought we would meet here, Hope...what a coincidence, " he commented and crossed his arms, "I heard from Dad you and Lightning just moved to Bordeaux."

"How old are you right now?" I asked, amazed that he had grown so fast. This was not the original age when he was saved by Light in Nova Chrysalia.

"According to an online database, I am currently 20...", he replied, "But somehow, I am not feeling 20...although physically I am..."

"Now, you are almost the same height as me, " I said, "That is right...but I suppose not all people will be reborn at the age when they were ported from the old world..."

"What are you doing in Guardian Corps? So, did you accompany Amodar here for the Skynet project?" I continued and noted a bit of hesitancy from him.

"I am not that senior, Hope...I am here just to fetch some equipment for our infantry division, I think some Inria scientists borrowed it..it is just a menial task, " he replied while scratching his hair, "Mostly, I am still learning how to do operational work. You know, like inventory checking, operating telecom equipment, and so on..."

"Well, Lightning has already sergeant when she was 21," I commented, teasing him.

"Yeah, don't compare me with superwoman, Hope...I am not that special, " he acknowledged.

I shrugged, "You are still young, just take it as a learning opportunity..."

"I guess so...how about you? Do you enjoy your new workplace?"

"I am excited but also nervous. It seems that this is a very high profile project, involving even some people from the French cabinet, " I responded, "Not sure if I can do well..."

"Ah, do not tell me the Academy founder is not able to do the technical work." He waved his hand, thinking the task would be easy for me.

"Not that simple...although I can do the technical part, I am not sure if I can convince them of the best way to deploy it..."

Another Guardian Corps staff approached Dajh from behind, grabbing his wrist, "Dajh, we are waiting for you!"

"See you later, Hope! We'll meet again!" Both of them walked left the canteen, leaving me alone.

"Alyssa...why are you applying for this job?" I stared at her, she was sitting on the seat opposite to me in the meeting room.

"Hope...you know that we made a mistake in the past...", she muttered, "Are you not scared that Skynet will become another Proto Fal'cie?"

"You did not answer my question, " I responded in a harsh tone, "You know that I have been through this stuff for many millennia...I am not stupid enough to do a mistake twice..."

"Of course, I am happy to work with you," she bluntly said, "If that is the answer you are looking for...why shouldn't I?"

"I have told you multiple times...", I shook my head, arguing, "We should not do this..."

"You are married with Lightning...", she interrupted, "It still does not change my feelings...and I am fine with it...we still have the same interests in working on the ethics of artificial intelligence..."

I saw a tear flowing from her eyes, and she wiped it, "Hope...I was destined to die...and the happiest time I ever experienced was when we worked together...How can you erase the memory of the only person you worked with for an entire millennium?"

"Besides that, " she continued, "You have no colleagues or professors who are also interested in this area...only me. I have helped you publish your paper, and I still want to work on it...I was with you in creating that Proto Fal'cie..."

I was deep in thought after her words. I indeed wanted to propose a regulatory framework to deploy Skynet. Alyssa has some connections with people working on an AI ethics think-tank. I thought her connections and interests let me find someone with more legal than technical expertise. However, my heart was really troubled, as if I had committed an affair with Alyssa...although this was a purely work-related relationship...

"I will help you to research your topic, Hope...", Alyssa promised, the tears flowing from her eyes, "I swear when everything is done and you get what you want, I will go somewhere else. I will not disturb your marriage...I just want the chance to repair what I have done to you and others in the past world..."

"Alyssa...give me some time to think...", I sighed and answered her, "I will get back to you later..."

Chapter Text

[From Lightning’s diary]
[Written on July 27, 2022]

Ever since we moved to Bordeaux, Valerie and Conroy have been over the moon. Can’t blame them — our old apartment in Paris was so cramped that they had to share a room even though they’re boy and girl. Now they finally have their own rooms, more space, and a bit more freedom.

Valerie’s the energetic one — blonde hair, sharp green eyes, always tying her hair into a ponytail. She’s got an athletic build too, just like Serah when she was little. Conroy’s different — brownish, spiky hair, lean, with big blue eyes that make him look like he’s always curious about something. Neither Hope nor I have those hair colors, so my guess is Val got hers from my dad, and Conroy’s from Bartholomew.

Valerie’s pretty independent for her age. She can shower, get dressed, wash her dishes, eat with her spoon and fork, even fix her own hair. She loves ball games — basketball, soccer, anything that bounces. I bought her a mini hoop and a small goalpost. Every time she scores, she yells, “Look, Daddy! Mommy! I did it!” I can’t help but smile every time she does that. She’s also starting to understand simple things like keeping promises, not hurting others, and listening before replying — which, honestly, are lessons I wish more adults remembered.

Conroy’s younger, still figuring out the world. He’s just started talking — “Daddy,” “Mommy,” “Sissy” — and can sing short songs and count to ten. He’s steadier on his feet now, even jumping around sometimes. Unlike Val, he’s more into books and drawing. He can already recognize letters and shapes that Val only learned later. He’s a quiet kid, but I can tell his mind’s always busy.

Both of them ask a lot of questions lately.
Why is the sky blue?
Why are boys and girls different?
Where does rice come from?
Why do we wear clothes?
Sometimes I have to come up with creative answers so they can understand. Hope’s the one who talks more naturally, so he usually takes the lead, but I’m learning. They do fight over toys every now and then — and I end up playing referee, teaching them how to take turns instead of throwing punches. Thankfully, they’re good kids. No serious tantrums… yet.

My days in Bordeaux are mostly filled with them — reading, playing, cooking. Serah taught me a few recipes, and now I cook for Hope more often. I still teach MMA three times a week and spar with Hiromi every other weekend. She’s tough — no surprise, since she’s actually on Japan’s Ministry of Sports list of Olympic medalists back in 2015. Took me a while to trust her, but after she kept inviting me over for tea and chats, I realized she’s genuinely kind.

Surprisingly, video games have become our family bonding time. Before this, Hope and I didn’t really share hobbies — just news, family updates, and the usual talk. Now we play games and watch cartoons together with the kids. Hope’s not as obsessed with ancient tech as he used to be when he was at École, and honestly, that’s a relief.

Six months after we moved here, it was finally time for Valerie’s first day at primary school.
She was excited. I was… probably more nervous than she was.

"How is the taste, honey?" I asked Hope as he took another spoonful of spaghetti from his plate. The four of us were sitting at the dining table and starting to chat about the possible activities for Valerie tomorrow. Today, I made black pepper chicken, spaghetti, salad, and tomato soup. For Conroy, I still need to cut the chicken into pieces and put it on a separate plate.

"It's getting better than the first time, " he replied, winking his eye, "Soon, you will be better than me."

"Not a chance," I denied but he stretched his left arm to touch my hair. "I need to do it more often if I want to improve..."

"Mommy, I want Tabasco.", Valerie stretched her hand to take the Tabasco bottle from the middle of the table.

I held her wrist and shook my head, "Val, you are not old enough to taste it."

Soon she pouted her face, "Can I try just a spoonful of it...please, " she pleaded.

"No, " I firmly replied, "But you can try a bit of pepper." I opened the pepper bottle and poured a little of it on her spaghetti.

"Mommy...I want to watch Cocomelon." Conroy pleaded, he seemed reluctant to finish his food. Cocomelon is an online cartoon for infants, and it is Conroy's favorite song series. I have been playing it since he was a baby. Valerie also used to like it, but now she prefers TV cartoons and outdoor sports.

"Finish your food first, Conroy." Hope ordered, "Listen to Mommy and Daddy. You want Daddy happy, right?"

"Yes, Daddy, " Conroy responded while trying to put the fork with spaghetti into his mouth. I helped him to hold his fork correctly as he held it backward and then refilled his cup with more water.

"Mommy, what will I do at school?" Valerie asked curiously, "Will people there be as nice as Mommy?"

"Yes, Valerie...you will learn many things," I answered, "You will also have a lot of new friends."

"What things will I learn?" she asked, "Will it be the same as what mommy reads to me?" She pointed to the poster I attached to the wall just beside the fridge. It showed various pictures of vegetables and fruits with their names.

"Same thing, but there will be more.", I kissed her cheek and hugged her from behind, "More books to read and more games to try."

"What about me, Mommy?" asked Conroy, "I want to make more friends too..."

I looked at him and touched his chin, "Your time will come later, sweetie.", I wiped the stain from his mouth, "But now, you will still spend more time with mommy..."

"Hope, tomorrow you will go to the office, right?", I confirmed, "Could you drop us at the bus stop in front of the complex?"

"Why don't I bring Val with me and drop her off at school?" he suggested, "Have you applied for the concession cards for the kids?"

I put my fingers on my forehead, trying to recall the event, "Yes, I made a payment and requested online delivery. The cards just came this morning."

"Ok, maybe you can use the card to send Conroy to his preschool?", Hope suggested again.

"We need to talk about that later, " I assured him, "Right now, he does not need it yet..."

"Okay." Hope finished the last spoon of his food with a confused expression, because just last week we agreed to send him to preschool in our district, "Alright, Val...time to go sleep...it is 9 pm already..". He rose from his chair, carried her up by her armpits, and kissed her cheeks.

I also approached her and kissed her forehead, "Good night, sweetie..."

After Valerie returned to her room, I switched on our flat-screen TV and played a Cocomelon video. Conroy immediately become enthusiastic and giggled. Sometimes, it can be irritating when my kids are naughty but watching his happy face like this always makes my day.

Half an hour after that, I returned to my room and put Conroy to sleep in his small bed in the corner. Hope was still looking at his laptop, trying to clear his emails. Since he was promoted to senior scientist in Inria, there is more paperwork that he needs to do and there are more emails since he is currently in charge of the grant application, procurement and maintenance of lab equipment, and so on.

I climbed into our bed, approached him, and kissed his ear. He turned and glanced at me, quickly closed his laptop, and put it on the side table.

"Do you enjoy your new workplace?" I asked him while wrapping my fingers around his, "I hope you are not involved in some sort of dangerous project..."

Hope did not reply to my comment immediately, his eyes looked concerned, and he seemed deep in thought.

"Hope...whatever confidential thing that your boss said...you know that you can trust me, right?", I said to him. "During my farewell party with Guardian Corps, Amodar mentioned to me about this Skynet project..."

"What did he mention about it, Light?" He seemed surprised, his eyes were wide...

"Not much, " I replied, "But I know it is related to artificial intelligence for military purposes."

Hope circled his hands around my body and kissed my forehead, "Right now, it does not seem to be dangerous...but I feel that there are some things that my boss does not want me and other staff to know. Like if anyone knew about it, it could be scandalous..."

"How do you know that?" I asked curiously.

"In the minutes he sent to me after the presentation with the Guardian Corps and Minister of Defence, " Hope replied, "My boss mentioned that it has been decided that administrative access to the Skynet system, including original whitepaper and source code, can only be granted to those in high-level position...so not even me and my staff can know what is inside Skynet right now..."

"How do you guys work without knowing its specifications?" I questioned, feeling very suspicious concerning the nature of his project.

"My boss will define certain tasks for me, and we discuss possible best algorithms for the tasks and available open source code which can accomplish the tasks most efficiently...", Hope explained, "But the task description is quite generic, and he does not say in what way the algorithm will be integrated into Skynet..."

"But he wrote the project description in the career portal where you applied...it was written that this project is only for civilian purposes, " I argued.

"That's true...that's why I said on the surface it looks fine...but then if that's the case why I am not allowed to see it?" he wondered.

"So, you deduced that he's trying to hide something...", I concluded and for a short while, I somehow agreed with him.

"Hopefully, I am wrong...", he sighed and kissed my lips, "Let's put that matter aside. Just now you mentioned you want to talk about Conroy?"

"Yes...Serah contacted me this morning...", I responded, "She just obtained her childhood teacher certificate...so she asked if I want to bring Conroy to her for homeschooling instead of sending him to preschool. And as I told you previously, Snow still has not got any new projects yet..."

"I see, so you want to pay her to take care of Conroy...", Hope listened with concerned expression, "I suppose you want to know my opinion..."

"Why not? If it helps her and also creates bonding within our family...", he replied, "He will get to know Robin..."

"Because you are always concerned about enrolling them in good schools...not sure if Serah will be the best teacher...", I commented.

"Light...I also believed that we should help our family in need, " Hope emphasized, "Charity will take precedence over our convenience...and at his age, I don't think school name matters a lot."

I touched his cheek and kissed him, "Thanks, Hope...". After that, both of us fell asleep.

The morning afterward while Conroy was still sleeping, me and Hope went to Valerie's room to wake her up. After grumbling, because she was still not used to waking up in the morning, I managed to get her to go shower and took her breakfast. After that, I took her uniform for her primary school from her wardrobe drawer and watched her wear it.

The uniform for the upper body consisted of a white short-sleeve shirt covered with a navy blue vest and a lime green bow tie. For the bottom part, a long navy blue skirt with vertical brown stripes and long socks. She looked so cute wearing that uniform. I stood with Valerie in front of the mirror in her room, adjusting her shirt to be tidy.

"So Val...behave in the class, OK?" I reminded her, "Be polite to your teachers and friends."

She glanced towards me, giggled, and nodded, "Yes Mommy...if they are as nice as you."

"They will...", I assured her, "Ok, let's take a picture while you are pretty." Hope was waiting at the other side of the room, using his phone camera to take a picture of me and Valerie before we went outside.

"Daddy, I want you to join too, " Valerie pleaded after Hope finished taking the picture.

"Ok...let's do it one more time...", Hope approached us and then bent down, while turning the camera to selfie mode, "One, two, three."

"Yay!" Valerie cheered, watching her picture on Hope's screen, "Daddy, can I have a mobile phone like you?"

"No!" both me and Hope replied at the same time, "Time to go, sweetie."

After that, Hope brought Valerie outside our home. I stood by at the terrace and watched Hope turn on the car engine, while Valerie was sitting beside him. Hope turned down the window and waved goodbye to me. Valerie also followed as the car slowly went backward. After the car was completely outside our garage, I pressed the remote in my hand to close our front sliding gate again.

So, this was what normal life looked like. It was certainly not bad, I thought. Although it lacked the thrill of the Dissidia tournament there is no chaos and our home environment is very peaceful. I glanced at the watch on my hand and it showed 755am. Valerie should arrive at her school around 820am, whereas Hope will reach his office around 850am.

Right now, I need to send Conroy to Serah's house for half-day homeschooling before my part-time maidservant, Paula, comes in at 10 am. Usually, either Hope or I need to supervise her. If I am doing my MMA class, Hope will be at home and if Hope needs to go to the office, I will be at home.

I went back to our room and found that Conroy had already woken up. He was playing with his toy car on the floor.

"Conroy, " I called while glancing at him, "Time to get prepared...we are going to Serah's house."

I brought the stroller outside; I put Conroy inside it. This is the first time I went to Serah's house for walking. It took around 15 mins, as opposed to 5-mins driving. For a kid as young as Conroy, 15-minute walking can be tiring, so I let him relax inside the stroller. While I was walking towards Serah's house, I encountered some of our neighbors. They normally jog around the area, sometimes with their children or pets.

Near our neighborhood, you can find a cluster of commercial properties consisting of shops, restaurants, and a supermarket. I usually bring my kids there when I want to shop with them. On the weekend, it is usually crowded so I prefer to go there on a weekday.

When I passed through that cluster, I saw Hiromi among the crowd who went out from the supermarket exit door, wearing her white sports attire, and carrying two recyclable bags with daily items. She just went jogging and was doing her weekly shopping. I waved at her, she recognized and smiled at me, and looked at Conroy.

"Ah, this is your kid...so cute." She bent down while stretching her hand toward Conroy, "What's your name?"

"Mom said not to talk to strangers, " Conroy pouted and replied. Hiromi burst out laughing at Conroy's honest confession.

"His name is Conroy, " I answered, "Conroy, this is our neighbor, Auntie Hiromi."

"Nice to meet you, Conroy." Hiromi took Conroy's small palm into her hand and shook him.

"Are you not working?" I questioned her, noting that today is Wednesday morning, "I suppose this is already office hours."

"Ah, I did not tell you. I am not working right now. I am doing my masters in ancient history by self-funding...", she explained and opened her water bottle, and drank it in front of me.

"You pay postgrad degree yourself?", I asked curiously, "That is quite unusual...how do you pay for your living expenses?"

"Come on, Lightning." Hiromi crossed her arms, and frowned, "You should know, we have a similar history. I won a gold medal during the Olympics and the Japanese government awarded me 50 million yen - the dividend of that cash prize is more than sufficient for my cost of living..."

"But why here?" I probed further, "It's not like Bordeaux has the best universities here...you would be better off in Paris...or maybe other European countries.."

She grinned and shook her head, "It's not the appropriate time to tell you the reason yet."

I sighed and put one of my hands on my hips, expressing my displeasure, "All this time, and you still play secretive with me...I don't know why should I trust you."

"I also don't know your history in the old world...and I do not ask for that, " Hiromi argued, "Some things are meant not to be known...even to close friends. I seek your understanding, as a friend."

"I see...hopefully you are not involved in something dangerous," I commented while starting to push the stroller forward, "Alright, I need to bring my kid to preschool. I will excuse myself now..."

She nodded, "Enjoy your day. See you."

After my encounter with Hiromi, I walked further and reached Serah's house. I saw that Kelly was lying down on the terrace and when I rang the bell near its gate, he started running towards me enthusiastically, barking and jumping out from the gate. She sniffed the stroller and then climbed upon my body. I caressed her back and watched her.

"I do not have food, Kelly, " I talked with her in monologue, "Play with Conroy, won't you?"

Not long after, Serah came out from inside and opened the gate. We hugged each other and I brought Conroy down from his stroller, and we walked together inside. I learned that Snow had gone to Maqui's vehicle repair shop sometime earlier.

When I arrived at Serah's living room, I saw that it had been dramatically reorganized. The sofas were pushed to the walls and there were many toys laid on the floor in the center of the room, including various mini cooking utensils, a mattress, rubber balls, a ring toss set, and a blackboard. There were also stationeries such as crayons and paint sets, and various books, with names of animals, objects, and places. Robin was sitting at the small table at the center and playing with Lego, whereas Lumina was sitting opposite him, playing with her bear doll.

I was amazed and shook my head. "Wow, you are really into this, Serah," I praised her, "I cannot imagine doing the same thing."

"Of course, I need to teach my son and nephew, " she chuckled, pointing out the obvious, "Lumina, Robin...Conroy is here...". Both kids were excited when they saw each other. Conroy immediately joined Robin to arrange legos on the table.

"Are there any other kids joining you?" I asked.

Serah shook her head, "Nope...it will be nice if you can refer me to someone...I am thinking of teaching up to five children..."

"Why don't we just ask people in our church? It is quite near our neighborhood, " I suggested, "There are a lot of kids their age attending Sunday school, but our church does not have childcare or preschool. So, we can ask the parents of those kids..."

Serah thought about it for a while, "I think it is a good idea, " she replied, "Hopefully, there will not be many competitors around."

"If I am not wrong, Carla and Bethany told me last Sunday that their kids almost reached 3 years old. And they are staying quite near this area, I can message them and say that you are currently looking for students." I took my mobile phone from my pocket and messaged those two friends about Serah.

"Ah, Carla and Bethany...yes I know them...", Serah commented, "Robin is quite close to their kids...I can contact them, thanks, sis."

"No problem...", I answered while getting my wallet from my pocket, "How much do you want me to pay you?"

"Let's just talk about that later after a month, " she recommended, "Then maybe you can see if I am a good teacher or not..."

"I see." I put back my wallet again, "Ok, it's up to you Serah...let me know if Conroy causes you any problems."

"Definitely, " she confirmed. After that, I excused myself and left her with the three kids.

Chapter Text

[From Hope's diary]

[WRITTEN ON 27 MAY 2014]

One thing I still hide from Light is that me and Alyssa are still in a professional relationship even in the New World. Frankly, I respected and liked her as a colleague and because her field of interest is quite similar to mine. But I do not love her, as I love Light. However, Light was aware that Alyssa liked me, from working with me in the old world and initially she thought that I would be engaged to her eventually.

However, there are several occasions that reinitiated my relationship with Alyssa.

The first incident was when she invited me to her 17th birthday party in the new world. It was about five months after I was reborn, and I had not married Light yet. On that day, Saturday, I was about to survey some food vendors for our wedding preparation. I was with Light and she was driving to the bakery where we had ordered our wedding cake. My phone rang and at that time, I was not aware that it was Alyssa.

"Hello?" I picked up my phone, and noted that there was no caller ID, which meant the person was not on my list of friends, "Who is this?"

"Hey, Hope, " a girl with a cheerful tone replied, "It has been a while...this is Alyssa."

I was surprised and Light saw my unusually anxious facial expression. She also narrowed her eyes. I had never disclosed my phone number to her, but somehow she got it. My last encounter with her was not very positive. Although initially, we were close, her fear of being erased because of the time paradox caused her to try killing me. I wondered why she contacted me out of nowhere.

"Where do you get my number from?" I probed her with a demanding tone. Light was listening to my conversation intently.

"It's from your personal website from undergrad university, " she answered in a hesitant tone, "I just searched your name online and your website was there...It said that you were a computer science student from a German university called TUM..."

I was shocked as I had never attended university in this world but somehow my online database was there. I was silent for a while, while waiting for her to disclose her intention. I saw that we almost reached the bakery on the side of the street. Light had parked the car in front of the shop and she was concentrating on watching me.

"Ok...what do you want from me, Alyssa?" I asked, turning on the phone speaker, "I am with Lightning right now, if you do not mind we can talk later after this."

"Hope...I am grateful for what you and Lightning have done for all of humanity, including me, " she said with a heavy tone, "And I am sorry for what I have done to you..."

I sighed and looked at Light's eyes, "Yeah, no worries about that." I was thinking that all people in our previous life, including PSICOM personnel like Nabaat, Rosch, Guardian Corps leaders like Cid Raines, and even Alyssa, used to be our enemies. But right now, this is a new world where there should not be any war by becoming pawns of gods, "You can start your new life, Alyssa...don't hold onto our past."

I gave a hint to Light by tilting my head outward to get out of the car. She nodded, both of us released our safety belts and went out.

"Hope, actually...I want to invite you...to my 17th birthday party, " Alyssa slowly confessed and it made me and Light stunned at in place, "I am currently also staying in Paris...so it would be nice if you can attend the event..."

"Wow...congratulations, " I commented while standing beside the bakery's entrance with Light beside me, "When will it be? Where is it?"

"Two weeks from now, 10th of June... at 6pm," Alyssa responded, "It will be at the Marriott hotel on 2nd South Cross Street...7th floor."

I noted that the venue was very near to Light's apartment, just around five minutes walking distance.

"Ummm...do I have to answer you now?" I murmured and clarified to her, I felt uneasy because Light was beside me and her facial expression seemed impatient. I nodded and raised my thumb to indicate I would soon end the call.

"No, but I think for you it will be a good event for networking...", Alyssa claimed, "Actually, my dad is a professor at Ecole...And if you still want to become professor like in the old world, you will need to get a PhD. And you can talk with him if you want...Lightning and Serah can also come."

"I see...that's quite interesting, " I commented, "I will contact you again later."

"Sure!" Alyssa answered, her tone sounded very happy, "See you later, Hope..."

I turned off the call, sighed, and gazed upon Light who obviously had listened to all our conversation. I felt it was very difficult since this was very personal. I was afraid that Light would be jealous and that she would not allow me to attend the event.

"Light...I...", I tried to say something, but the words did not leave my mouth. She stared at me and cornered me against the wall. Apparently, my suspicion was right. She was angry, I prepared for her to smack me and closed my eyes...

But then I felt that she quickly grabbed my ribs with her left hand and tickled me. I burst out laughing and put my head on her shoulders, she patted my hair and led me to enter the bakery, winking her eyes.

"I am not that insecure, Hope, " Light commented while smiling, putting her other hand on her chest, "I know that your heart already belongs to me...let's go together to Alyssa's party!" Light grabbed my waist from behind, pulled me to her side, and whispered in my ear, "If she tries to seduce you...I will kick her ass and teach her who is the boss."

After we finished choosing our wedding cake that Saturday, I replied to Alyssa to confirm that I would attend her party with Light.

It was June 10th at 540pm. Me and Light were preparing for Alyssa's party at Light's apartment. This was the first party I had ever attended in the New World, ahead of Serah and Snow's wedding - which would be three months after this. To be honest, I was very nervous about this. We practically did not know any people there and I still suspected Alyssa had ulterior motives for inviting me. Although, she was supposed to know that Light would also attend and would not do anything funny.

And it had been a while since I saw Light wear a dress. Her dressing style is mostly casual, with either polo-tees or buttoned shirts, paired with jeans or linen trousers. But now, she would be wearing the purple dress which she wore in Yusnaan and high heel shoes. I actually liked the style, it was refreshing since it reminded me of our time in the old world. For me, I would wear my grey tuxedo suit with bow tie and brown business shoes.

I was recalling who else that I knew in the Academy who was also close to Alyssa. I knew that she was quite a communicative person who outreached to many of my staff back then. And then I realized, we had not met our friends from previous adventures in this New World, Noel and Yeul.

"Light...", I prompted her, "Don't you think it is strange? She never told me if she would invite Noel...although he spent some time with me and her..."

"Ah, right." Light was facing the mirror while combing her hair, "I was just actually contacted by Serah, she confirmed that Noel and Yeul will also attend Alyssa's party. She said Alyssa also contacted her, so she will also come with Snow."

"Wow, great." I felt relieved that at least I could still meet our friends and would not be only me and Light, "How are Noel and Yeul? Are they also in Paris?"

"Nope, " Light replied while slowly applying light pink lipstick onto her lips, "Serah said that they were both reborn in a country named Japan...it is on the other side of the globe, so we cannot meet them too often..."

"That is very far, " I commented, sitting on the edge of the bed while putting on my shoes, "But are they ok there? What are they doing?"

"She never said more details...Fang and Vanille's whereabouts are also still unclear." Light snatched her car keys, our invitation card, and her white sling bag from the desk in front of the mirror, "I guess we can ask them later...". She grabbed my wrist and pulled me up, tilting her head towards the door, "Time to go, Hope."

I stood still while watching her dress and face, "I have never seen you this girly for so long." I grinned and teased her

She huffed and rolled her eyes, "Come on...it will be just six more months before I wear a wedding gown."

And so Light drove us to the Marriott hotel near her apartment. While we were in the elevator from the basement to the 7th floor, my mind was rewinding the events from the old world which I experienced together with Alyssa. The first time we met was when she gave a report about the arrival of Serah and Noel in Bresha Ruins to me, there there was the time when we investigated the Oracle Drive in Paddra Ruins, until the time when we worked together with the AI Fal'cie project in Augusta Tower.

I was wondering how she changed after all those times, from having an interest in me to later hating me because of her fear of disappearing due to the time paradox. Actually, at one time, I used to date her for a while. Light was still in Valhalla. However, as hard as it was, I still could not forget Light even after hundreds of years, even when I and Alyssa went out together. My dad actually complained that I should move on with my life and not fall in love with a woman who already passed away.

"Are you feeling nervous?" Light glanced at me, watching that I was sweating and my neck was wet, "Attending the birthday party of your previous girlfriend."

Instantly, I felt my cheeks blushing and I was embarrassed by what she said, "Light...you know that I only love you."

"Hope...let's be realistic, " she said, "Nobody in the previous world, especially a 24-years-old director, should have been denied the chance of having a normal relationship with a sweet and smart girl like her...just because of the memory of a dead woman who was trapped in another realm."

"But in the end, " I held her chin and kissed her, "My faith has paid off...you are with me now."

"But what if it did not?" Light prompted, "Would you still be single for your entire life for my sake?"

"We were not even sure if our world would survive at that time, " I argued, "So, marriage was the last thing on my mind...as long as New Cocoon was not finished, then our world is doomed for destruction."

Light chuckled and lightly punched my shoulder, "You are such an idealistic man."

"Says someone who planned to stay eternally in the realm of chaos to replace the goddess Etro...", I whispered and replied back. Light sighed, closed her eyes, and bowed her head, seemingly contemplating her past. She might have been thinking that if not because of my calling, she would be gone forever and locked with Bhunivelze.

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of the elevator, its door opened and people around us walked out. We reached the 7th floor, what lay in front of us was the large ballroom with a podium at the other end. Around the ballroom, gentlemen with business suits and ladies with party gowns were sitting around dining tables, with a number displayed in the middle of each table. At the corner of the podium, there were many boxes covered with gift wrapping. I guessed they were prepared for a lucky draw.

Near each pillar around the ballroom, were the tables with beverages, juices and wine. I saw that a few cameramen walked around the hall and some of them were standing in front of a few people conducting interviews. From what I overheard, these people were high-level individuals in public organizations. I watched the seats which were located in the first row near the podium labeled "Reserved" from behind. Those could have been for Alyssa's immediate family, I supposed.

"It is quite a big party for 17-years-old, " I commented, "It is almost like a wedding reception." I looked at the number on the invitation card given by Alyssa, looking at the table layout shown on a large projector behind the podium. Apparently, the tables with smaller numbers were located near the podium and larger ones were behind. There were eight table rows and columns. Between the two rows and two columns, there were paths from where attendants were able to leave the table to the washrooms or halls outside.

| [01] [02] | | [03] [04] | | [05] [06] | | [07] [08] |

| [09] [10] | | [11] [12] | | [13] [14] | | [15] [16] |

-X-X-X-X-X-X -X-X-X-X-X-X -X-X-X-X-X-X -X-X-X-X-X-X

| [17] [18] | | [19] [20] | | [21] [22] | | [23] [24] |

| [25] [26] | | [27] [28] | | [29] [30] | | [31] [32] |

Our number was 13, meaning we would sit near the main path, facing the center of the podium. I wondered why Alyssa gave this number to us. I saw that all the people on the first row tables were dressed in white. My feeling was that those people sitting in the front rows were Alyssa's family. We were at the junction between table 12 and 13 when suddenly someone called us from behind.

"Hope! Lightning!", the female voice called me, "You two are so early..."

I turned around, and I saw Alyssa, dressed in a white gown with flower embroidery and several pink roses attached at the corner of her gown on her shoulder. Unlike in the old world, her hair had grown longer and she had made a braided ponytail out of it. She was accompanied by two young ladies, one elderly woman, and a man whom I thought were her parents and sisters. Both young ladies were also blonde, but one was taller than Alyssa and looked middle-age, whereas another one was the same height as her and looked to be in her twenties.

All of them were wearing white gowns but different rose colors. I recognized the elderly man as Prof Nathan Zaidelle, one of the experts in artificial intelligence in Ecole. After Alyssa's invitation two weeks ago, I did research to apply for a doctorate program in Ecole and his name is one faculty member I seriously considered as my advisor, as he has some publications related to ethics in artificial intelligence. However, I still hesitated because of a potential unwanted connection with Alyssa.

"Nice to meet you...happy birthday, Alyssa, " I greeted and shook her hand, "Looks like you were from a well-off family."

"Not as well-off as the son of Academy founder, " Alyssa replied, and I felt a bit awkward hearing her praise, "Hope - these are my sisters, Pauline and Cheryl. Pauline is working as a business consultant at McKenzie. Cheryl is a wedding organizer, so if both of you plan to marry in the future, you can consider contacting her." Alyssa glanced at Light who stood beside me and stretched her hand in greeting, "Nice to meet you too, Lightning."

Light chuckled, but shook Alyssa's hand firmly and both of them watched each other's eyes for awhile...I felt the atmosphere become intimidating...

"It was an honor to have my daughter work with you, Hope, " Prof Nathan went forward to break the uncomfortable silence. Instantly, Alyssa and Lightning released their handshake, "I heard from her all about when you established the Academy in New Pulse. I was a lecturer back in Eden before the Purge happened and I graduated in the same year as Bartholomew, we are from the same high school..."

Well, that was unexpected...so somehow my dad and Prof Nathan knew each other...It meant that my family and Alyssa's were somehow more related than I thought. No wonder she had no problem inviting me...

Prof Nathan withdrew a name card from his suit pocket and handed it to me, "I suppose you are still interested in becoming a researcher in this world. Unfortunately, our ages were assigned differently from the old world. My daughter now is 17, I think you should be 21." He stopped for a while and grinned, "...which means you need to work on your PhD first before you become a professor. I will always be available if you want to choose me as your advisor."

"Ok...thanks, Prof Nathan, " I responded, "I will keep you updated."

"Hope...I think you and Lightning should sit and enjoy the atmosphere. We will have a musical performance at 6pm, " Alyssa suggested, "I have assigned seats for you and all of your friends on table 13...so you can have a reunion with one another."

"Thanks for the arrangements, Alyssa, " Lightning replied with a wry smile on her face while glancing at her family.

Alyssa nodded and winked, "I wish the best for your relationship with Hope."

Not long after we sat at our table, I saw Serah and Snow arrive on the scene. Snow wore his black coat similar to what he wore when he was the patron of Yusnaan. He also had a spiky hairstyle and grew his beard. Serah wore a light brown, striped button shirt, transparent yellow vest, and short skirt. She also wore a polka dot headband on her hair. Both of them looked cheerful when they saw us. Immediately, Serah ran forward and hugged Light whereas I did high-five with Snow.

"Nice event to meet at after our rebirth, Hope." Snow grinned, teasing me, "Are you guys adjusting well to this world?"

"Things are peaceful...this world is so big so me and Light have spent our time traveling to many places in France for first few months...", I explained, "Last week, we rode chocobo together outside Paris at Sazh's farm..."

Serah was bewildered when hearing my story, "How come you have such free time? I thought you would be director of the Academy?"

I sighed, "Somehow, I was reborn in this world inside my house with my dad and mom in Paris. And in their room, they have my birth cert - which was somehow created magically -, and it stated I am 21 years old right now. So, don't say director...I am currently not even a graduate student yet."

"And for some people, they have memories of us as if we were alive for awhile in this world, " Light added, "But they do not have memories of old world...how about both of you?"

"I actually have not said this to you...but when we were reborn, I totally forgot what happened after the fall of Cocoon, " Serah confessed, "I was at my apartment and I just knew that I was a teacher, I was currently engaged to Snow, and I had a sister who was a policewoman...I didn't even know anything about Etro, Bhunivelze, or Yeul...like during our time resolving paradoxes...But I have detailed knowledge of this world, like I knew that I was in France and Bordeaux, I knew the address of my apartment, and I knew the name of my students."

"Wow, that's quite interesting, isn't it, " I commented and listened intently.

"So, how do you recover your memory, Serah?" Light asked her with focused eyes.

"When I touched her, " Snow replied, "When we were reborn, we somehow had each others' number in our cell phone. We met and dated for a while...and every time we touched one another, she experienced flashbacks from our past...For me, I still remembered what happened in the old world, but do not have any knowledge of this world...I cannot even speak French fluently, but Serah can."

"And finally...we found all of you, " a man's voice spoke from behind Serah and Snow.

I was curious and turned my head. I realized that Noel and Yeul were standing behind us. They greeted us one by one and sat at our table. The musical performance had finally started and it turned out that Cheryl, one of Alyssa's sisters, went to the stage and played the piano. Instantly, I recognized the song as the background music of Sunleth Waterscape in Cocoon. And she started to sing at the same time.

Step into the rainbow

World you never knew

Chase the arcs of light

Soar beyond your sorrows

Dance among the colors

Let them be your dreams

Close your eyes and see anew

Dawn of a new day

Clears all the gloom away

This is the hope that we need to go on

I was impressed by her voice. She repeated the song three times, and all the audience stood and gave her a huge applause by the end of her performance.

"Noel and Yeul, what are you doing in this new world?", I asked them, "Do you like your new environment?"

"I am a stunt actor in Japan, while Yeul is a Shinto priestess (miko), " Noel explained, "I would say I really enjoy the thrill, but I need to be careful here as our bodies seem more fragile compared to the old world. And no more access to magic."

I was excited to learn that and prompted him further, "What are your daily activities like?"

"Mostly related to sword fighting and platforming. I did long jumping on rooftops, acrobatic actions, rope climbing, and many more...The simulated battle itself is mostly quite light compared to a real battle with a Bahemoth or Cyclops in the old world...Mostly the scenes are safe as we have safety equipment, " Noel replied, "But the schedule is very hectic...repeating the scene, day and night for several months..."

"What things are required to become a stunt actor?", Light asked curiously, "Sounds like fun compared to what I am doing."

"Still the same Lightning, " Noel commented and chuckled, "Cannot seem to adjust to the normal world, can you? Anyway, that depends on the scene you need to perform. If you perform a fighting scene, you need to be certified preferably by the national association of martial arts for advanced level...but right now, I understand that you are a member of the police force...I think you should be able to apply for an exemption..."

Lightning nodded, "But I suppose I cannot participate in those stunt scenes if I am still working at my job currently..."

"There are pros and cons, it is true that the pay is good, but the competition is tough. Mostly, you need some experience in acting as well...the working hours are insane, and mostly it is contract work...for me this job will end after 3 months...I think you are better off in this aspect, Lightning. It is a routine but stable job."

"Anyway...", Yeul interrupted, "I heard that Serah and Snow will marry soon, and that Lightning and Hope will follow afterward...congratulations to the four of you!"

"Uh, yeah, " I answered her nervously, "When I was reborn, I was immediately contacted by a guy who claimed to be my wedding organizer. He said I have already booked a place at a resort outside Paris for my wedding venue with Lightning..."

"Interesting world, isn't it? When Bhunivelze said he created his new world, actually the planet had already been inhabited. What he created is just the memory of the people who used to live in Nova Chrysalia for its original inhabitants...", Yeul postulated, "The God of this universe created both the spirit of humans and also the physical world. Furthermore, God with its demigods, referred by humans as angels, mostly reside in the spiritual realm and are not like Fal'Cie that could physically interact with us.."

"You mean that most times, gods of this world cannot be seen?" Serah clarified, "But then how do we knew that they exist?"

"Recently, I received a revelation...", Yeul confessed, "Unlike in our world, they do not have Oracle Drive here, but gods can communicate through dreams. Recently, I was warned that although the world is in a peaceful state, we still need to be watchful as there are evil people who try to rule this world secretly."

"So, it means that even now you are still seer, " Light concluded, "Do we know the identity of these people?"

Yeul shook their head, "There is no single individual leading these people, but the organization for these people is known as Freemasonry in the Western world..."

"I heard that name somewhere, " I commented, "That people that were involved in this organization are secretly communicating with a demonic entity, although most media and politicians dismissed this as conspiracy theory."

"Many powerful people in this world are involved in Freemasonry or connected to them in some way, " Yeul claimed, "But unlike l'Cie in our world, they are humans and mostly unable to do magic. And so far, they are not bent on destroying the world, just that they like to obtain power to enrich themselves by exploiting less fortunate humans."

"Sounds much better than fighting Fal'cie or Bhunivelze, " Snow commented, "Anyway, are you guys married?"

"Yes, I learned from the civil registrar that I had married Noel when we were reborn...and we already live together in one house, " Yeul answered while glancing at Noel, "It is a good thing as we do not need to prepare for our wedding."

I felt that my phone was vibrating inside my pocket, I took it out and checked the messaging apps while they still talked.

[Hope, Alyssa here...Can we talk outside the ballroom at the lobby? Only the two of us...]

Although I did not feel very comfortable, I excused myself from my friends and Light and said I wanted to go to toilet. I knew that I was not supposed to lie, but I sensed that Alyssa needed to inform me about something important. I headed to the lobby and saw there was a transparent glass window facing outside, with many sofas near the windows. There were some vending machines on the corner and an information counter at the center. I saw that Alyssa was sitting on the sofa nearest to the information counter, her facial expression looked anxious and she repeatedly glanced at her watch.

I sighed, and quickly walked approached her from the hall. After awhile, she finally noticed me and looked so happy. I sat on the sofa opposite to her and across from a glass table.

"Hope...thanks for coming here, " Alyssa started, "I promise that it will not be long."

"Ok, so what do you want to say?" I asked.

"I will be joining Ecole as an undergraduate student in computer science next year, " she confessed, gazing upon me nervously with hopeful eyes.

"You cannot be serious, Alyssa!", I was shocked and replied in loud tone, "I am about to get married and you still want to approach me?"

"Hope, both of us are staying in Paris...", Alyssa tried to explain, "And Ecole is the best university here. I am the same as you, I still want to be a researcher in this new world..."

"Why are you telling me this? Don't tell me you plan to work together with me on some projects at Ecole...", I asked, feeling suspicious while narrowing my eyes, ''Beside, I applied for Ecole because I will be married to Lightning. You are still single, you can attend universities overseas. Many of them are even better than Ecole..."

"I still want to work with you professionally, Hope, " Alyssa claimed, "I am not asking you to have an affair with me. I will not disturb your relationship with Lightning."

"But this is complicated...because we used to date each other, " I argued, "I do not think Lightning will like it..."

"Initially, I also thought so. But she permitted you to attend this party...", Alyssa gazed upon my eyes and leaned back, "We are people from the old world, and our way of doing research is very different from the native inhabitants. For you, it is also easier to work with me compared to your other colleagues..."

"Well, I can always adjust, " I postulated, "Sooner or later, I need to adapt myself to their ways of thinking. We live on this planet anyway."

"That is true, " Alyssa nodded and admitted. She became silent for awhile, and then tears started to flow from her eyes, "But, I am still your best friend. Even more than Lightning, Serah, or Snow. I am more similar to you than all of them. Our family backgrounds are the same and our parents knew each other. We have the same profession and interests. We have worked together for centuries. If you are honest with yourself, you would know it is true."

My heart pumped hard and I was consumed by a sense of guilt. I became sad and realized Alyssa told me the truth. When Light was trapped in Valhalla, we shared each others' feelings related to the Academia project and how it would benefit society and I remembered that I always felt so enthusiastic every time I talked to her. But somehow, I could not bring myself to be attracted to her. I only love Light, but I still thought of Alyssa as my close friend.

Can men and women be close friends without being a couple? I knew that it was possible if they had some family connections, like Light and Snow but Alyssa and me were not connected by family. Normally, one of the partners becomes consumed by jealousy and they either separate or divorce. But Light knew about our relationship as she told me earlier.

"Even if I cannot own you, it will hurt if you won't talk to me forever...", Alyssa sobbed, "How about you, Hope? Won't you feel hurt when our friendship ends?"

I wanted to reply her, but suddenly I was struggling to find words. I did not answer her and both of us remained silent for some time.

"I have finished what I wanted to say." Alyssa wiped her tears and stood up, "Thanks for taking time to meet me here, Hope...enjoy your time with Lightning and the others."

Chapter Text

[From Lightning's diary]
[WRITTEN ON 14 SEP 2022]

Although my relationship with Hiromi had gradually deepened over time, I still had this unease that she had hidden something really important from me. I understood that my status as a person from a different world also contributed to her interest, but the fact that she worked for an intelligence agency and that she did not disclose much about her family really bothered me.

I did not have much good experience encountering organizations that worked in secrecy. Children of Etro was the last instance, and they tried to kill anybody who looked like me in Luxerion. And I remembered during Alyssa's 17th birthday party, Yeul mentioned Freemasonry, the occult organization that is controlling history from behind the scenes and is motivated by the desire to obtain power and wealth. Was Hiromi one of them? However, if her intention was really malicious, she would not even tell me that much.

It has been two months since our first meeting and we practically knew each other's activities throughout normal days. She went to her campus three times per week, and sometimes she visited my house or Serah's house to see and play with our kids. We also went traveling together to the park, gym, shopping mall, library, and museum. However, the topics of our conversation were not very personal, only about the latest news in France, my participation in the Dissidia tournament, her childhood life in Japan, her study, and my family here.

I knew that Hiromi's study is related to medieval Europe and its important events, such as the Fall of the Roman Empire, Crusades, and Black Death. Particularly, she seems interested in the role of the Catholic Church throughout civilian life in that era. For her family, she told me that she has a brother who is currently working in a software company, her dad is a professional antiques collector and owner of a large auction house in Tokyo, and her mom is a karate instructor. All of them are staying in Japan. However, she did not mention names so I cannot verify the truth.

Once, we sparred at the open field not far from our residential complex after I finished my MMA class. The location is near a forest so nobody was around. I wore my Equilibrium garb with Ultima Blade, and she wore her previous peacock orange vest, wielding her katana. While we were fighting, I openly interrogated her this time.

"Hiromi, tell me, " I spoke as I dashed forward to target multiple slashes on her, while she was busy parrying them, "What is your real motivation to approach me? I do not think you befriend me to know about my daily life."

"As sharp as always, aren't you?" Hiromi replied, as she thrust her blade multiple times forward and I dodged sideways. Both of us stepped back, panting and recovering our stamina. She wiped the sweat on her eyebrows and gazed upon me for a while. Her expression indicated anxiety but excitement at the same time.

"I guess it is the time to tell you the truth," she continued while sheathing her samurai back, "I told you earlier that I used to be a part of paranormal investigation when I was with the intelligence agency. Specifically, I did research on the whereabouts of mystical artifacts which are claimed to possess the power to open a portal to another world."

"As I suspected." I also put back my Ultima Blade and stared at her. "Are you thinking by approaching me you will be closer to that artifact? Because I used to participate in the Dissidia tournament?"

"Let's just say yes." She bowed and sat down on the grass to rest, "I have identified the approximate location of the artifact and also the portal, but I suspect that you can help me to gain access to those places..."

"Are you still working for that intelligence agency even now?" I prompted her, narrowed my eyes in suspicion, "Are they connected with Freemasonry in some ways?"

Hiromi looked surprised, her mouth was open, her eyes were widened, and she stared at me, "So you knew about Freemasonry..."

"Not much, but I know that they are not good guys, " I answered while massaging my shoulder, "But the fact that you have disclosed this to me, I can think of two possible things: You are either investigating them or you are part of them and tried to lure me into a trap..."

She sighed and tidied her wavy hair, "If you knew about them, you should notice that they are not transparent about what they are doing. If I am part of them, I would not even let you know that I am searching for mystical artifacts..."

I thought about what she said for a while, and it was definitely plausible. From what Hope told me, these people promoted common secular laws and peace among humanity. They actually actively promoted science as a means to understand reality and reject religions of this world as superstitions that need to wither away in order for humanity to progress.

Hiromi leaned forward and looked at me seriously, "I am currently a member of Lux Veritatis, the international organization of followers of Creator God. We are actively monitoring and fighting against Freemasonry activities in this world...", she confessed.

"So, is this the intelligence agency you talked about previously?" I clarified, "It sounds more like a secret society!"

"Yes, I am sorry to just inform you right now, " she acknowledged and apologized with a guilty expression. "My organization required me to provide evidence that you and your circle of friends are trustworthy. So, for these few months, I provided a report to them about your life. Only after that, they allowed me to disclose this to you."

"So, what makes Lux Veritatis interested in me?" I probed, "I do not think it is just because I am from another world...and I am not a believer of Creator God of this world, so I don't know if I am even eligible to join your organization..."

"That's a very good point, " Hiromi nodded, and stroked her chin, "But I think that you have a good potential to believe in the Creator."

"I did not have a very good impression of the creator god in my universe!" I burst out in anger and stared at Hiromi, "He took my sister and my husband captive while trying to eliminate countless souls without my knowledge! How do I know this God of yours will not be the same as my god?"

"Lightning...I cannot comment on Bhunivelze or Etro since I am not from your world, " she admitted, but her face still looked calm, "But here is what I knew about God - He saved my brother from Freemasonry when they were about to kill him."

I became interested in her story, "Tell me more, " I requested.

[Hiromi's story]

I have always admired my brother for his character. Although he has so much burden due to his psychic abilities, he is able to care about his family and live a normal life. He has the ability to see supernatural beings from spiritual dimensions. Since he was a child, he often pointed to or stared at empty spaces where there was no one. Initially, my dad and mom disbelieved him and said it was just a kid's imagination. However, when I was 10, our family moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo. When we surveyed the property, my brother was able to pinpoint when the house was haunted by evil spirits. When my dad asked the previous owner, he admitted that the owner before him killed his entire family before committing suicide and that many paranormal activities happened there. From thereon, our parents believed him.

He did not disclose his ability to many people. The only people who knew about this were our family members and two of his childhood friends. Actually, at one time, he despised his condition and rhetorically asked why God gave him such ability. I could only sympathize but was unsure how to help him. He decided to pursue a career in information technology as he thought he could deal with less mystical stuff and be surrounded by people with more scientific minds. I was very close with him, as we also trained in kendo since we were in secondary school. We sparred regularly, and I was thankful for him inspiring me to keep improving my skills.

That day came, sixteen years ago. We had just walked back from our school to our home. Both my dad and mom were busy working at that time, so we always went to school and returned home together. We left late that day since we had just finished our kendo class around 6pm. We were the last ones, so nobody was inside that dojo on the 2nd floor. When my brother and I waited for the elevator, I noticed at another end of the hallway two big men, dressed all in black suits, cloak, and glasses, were standing near the stairs. They smiled wickedly when they saw us.

"Hiromi, " I saw my brother clench his fists but he still trembled, "I saw evil spirits behind those men...with horns and wings."

"Don't tell me...these guys are sorcerers, " I muttered in fear, "Oni-san...we have to leave."

Those two men walked towards us slowly, I pressed the elevator button repeatedly in a hurry. Why did these things need to happen to us? What were they looking for? Was it because of my brother's psychic ability? One of them withdrew a big knife from his pocket and licked it while staring at me.

"HELP!", I screamed as loud as possible, "Somebody help us!"

Immediately, I heard a security guard from the floor below us reply to me, "What happened? Are you OK?"

But after that, that security guard also screamed, and I heard the sound of somebody stabbing a knife multiple times, followed by the sound of a collapsing body on the floor. That was the first time in my life I seriously prayed to God to save me. My brother moved forward and prepared a fighting stance to face those two guys. When the elevator door finally opened, I was surprised because another guy with black cloak appeared from inside. He quickly covered my mouth with a handkerchief, and instantly I felt my body weakening and I fell asleep...

When I woke up, I realized that I was inside a small room like a warehouse, likely underground. Around the room, there were many metal shelves with containers and cardboard boxes. I was sitting tied with a rope on the wooden chair, with my hands behind my back. In front of me, there was a wooden table with a dagger soaked with blood, still dripping to the surface. I realized that two big guys I saw at school were sitting on opposite sides of the table. I turned my head to the other side of the room, and I was horrified with what I saw and was about to scream, but instantly a hand covered my mouth from behind and tied me with another rope.

I saw my brother was tied on the large cross, he was naked with only his underwear, there were countless cut wounds everywhere on his body. Apparently, he was tortured when I was unconscious. His eyes slowly opened, he coughed and spilled blood, panting hard. My heart was broken watching his condition, and tears were flowing from my eyes. How could this happen? And who were these people? We had done nothing wrong in our life and yet they targeted us.

"Hi...ro...mi..." my brother called me with a very hoarse voice, "Are you OK?"

"Right now, she is still fine, " the guy that covered my mouth from behind answered, "But, that can change...if you still refuse to release your power."

"Don't touch her...I'm warning you..." my brother started and threatened the guy behind me. But the guy laughed loudly and grabbed my hair.

"What can you do to stop me? Will you release the energy within you?" he taunted, "Sweet girl, your brother looks more powerful and important than what you are thinking...if he decides to join us, he will become a higher mason than our boss. Unfortunately, he refused and chose this fate..."

"Who are you guys? And what do you want from me?" my brother growled. The guy behind me walked to the front and faced me. I was surprised and terrified by his appearance, as he was bald, his skin was so pale and white and when he smiled, I saw all his teeth were sharp. He was wearing a black suit with a skull necklace. He was really like a vampire. Another two guys were bearded, with long and curly brownish hair but still looked human. But I saw they had a lot of demonic tattoos on their upper arms and the view of it really made me sick.

"We are elites of this world, " that vampire-like guy proclaimed, "By harnessing the power of the gods, we shall be immortal and rule nations forever..."

"And you have potential within you if you cultivate it." The vampire took the dagger from the table and traced it on my brother's shoulder. I felt very sick to see his expression, "With such power, you can read people's mind, levitate yourself, and even control elements...it is a pity you refuse to release it."

I really did not understand what that guy said at that time and who those guys were. I could only cry and pray in my heart. Suddenly, I heard an explosion and realized that the ceiling above me was crumbling, and falling concrete hit the table in front of me. I saw that two white-haired guys, wearing something like medieval battle armor, jumped down and both of them wielded very long and bright luminous blue blades. I recognized them as claymore. There were shouting and roaring sounds as those two guys were fighting with the vampire and his two minions. My chair was overthrown when they landed. My head hit the floor and I was knocked unconscious.

When I woke up, I saw that I was in a room similar to a hospital ward. I felt my entire body was in pain and noticed that my arms were full of bandages. I was wearing something like a light green hospital patient shirt. I turned to the right side and saw a table with a plate of porridge and a cup of tea, and a barred window, facing the blue sky. The sunlight from that window reached the side of my bed.

And when I turned to the other side, I saw a teenage guy, his entire body was wrapped in bandages. He was unconscious in supine position. I realized that it was my brother and stretched my hand, wanting to touch him...

"Oni-san..."

"It is really a miracle that he still survives, " a voice said from behind the wooden door on the opposite side of the room. Instantly, the door opened and I saw a blonde guy with glasses dressed in a white uniform like a hospital doctor. On his left and right side were standing two guys with medieval battle armor who I recognized earlier in the warehouse. Their claymores were sheathed behind their back, no longer luminous.

I also noticed that the doctor and both of those guys had this strange symbol like a black arrow pointing down on their uniform (on the shoulder) and battle armor (on the chest). It could be the symbol of their organization, I supposed.

"Hi, gaki (kid)...good to see you awake, " one of the soldiers greeted me, "How are you feeling right now?"

"I am fine, " I replied, "But my brother...". I pointed to him on his bed, his condition looked so terrible.

"He will be just fine, " the doctor answered, "But, I should say that it was a miracle he is still alive. I thought we lost him yesterday..."

"Yesterday, he lost so much blood from his bleeding that his pulse and heartbeat stopped, " the doctor explained further, "I tried to do CPR but still no effect...eventually they prayed for him, and suddenly his heart started to beat again...this is the first time I witnessed such thing...most casualties are still dead even after prayer."

I sighed, and really gave thanks to God from my heart at that time. That was the first time I really sincerely prayed for an immediate answer.

"How many days have I been unconscious?" I asked, "What happened after..."

"We fought against those bastards who tortured both of you and prevailed, " the first soldier explained to me. His hair was curly and he had a roundish face, "By the way, my name is Karel. This is Larry, my senior...and this is doctor Hans...". Karel tilted his head toward another soldier with spiky hair and a long face.

"Karel, I told you repeatedly, do not use obscene language in front of minors, " Larry reprimanded and elbowed Karel. "You are not setting a good example."

"Who are you guys? Why did you rescue us?" I probed further and ignored the mentioned trivialities. Hans, Karel, and Larry looked at each other for a while. After that, Larry moved forward and stretched his hand to greet me. I felt awkward and hesitated to shake Larry's hand initially. But I eventually greeted him.

"We are Lux Veritatis...nice to meet you."

And that was the moment I learned about the existence of this organization.

"So, they rescued both of you." I listened to Hiromi intently and really felt sympathy for her, "You had a tough life..."

"Maybe not as tough as you, " she commented humbly, "I never needed to fight to rescue people's souls...but it was definitely a life-changing experience for me..."

"So, why did those guys target your brother?" I asked and slowly stood up, "Shall we have lunch together while continuing this conversation? My husband is working from home today, so I can use my car to bring you to a restaurant..."

"So nice of you..." Hiromi also stood up and we slowly walked toward the road in front of us, "After all I have said, I am thinking of bringing you to meet my colleagues. The reason why I studied here is because Lux Veritatis has a hideout in Bordeaux but not Paris. I mentioned to you earlier that you can help me with tracking this mystical artifact..."

I thought about it for a while, and questioned whether it would be dangerous. So far, I perceive Hiromi to be likeable and trustable. But then, so did Bhunivelze, before he betrayed me. However, I knew that apparently she is still a normal human and does not have supernatural abilities. If she betrays me, I can quickly eliminate her and she should know that.

"Would you expect me to go alone to your hideout?", I verified as we reached the road. I am watching for the traffic to cross the road to the parking lot where I put my car.

"Unfortunately, yes...", she responded and followed me from behind, "But you can bring your weapons if you think I am lying. And I am sure you are capable of defeating most of my colleagues with your power..."

After we crossed the road, we went to a public toilet near the parking lot to change our clothes. After that, we reached my car. I put my Equilibrium garbs and Ultima Blade in the back seat. Hiromi also did the same with her peacock vest and samurai. Hiromi told me the address of a building at the outskirts of the city, and I set it as a destination in Google Maps before we left that place. I estimated the journey will take around thirty minutes.

When we were on the road, I messaged Hope that I will have lunch with Hiromi.

"Your question on why they targeted my brother. Basically, Lux Veritatis and Freemasonry always fought on three things - the activation portal to other worlds, potential humans with exceptional talents or gifts - preferably supernatural one, and mystical artifacts...There are many of those things around the world but it is quite difficult to identify them. Obviously, both parties are interested in those things because it grants them more powers. When you activate the portal, spirits from other worlds can go to this realm and grant those that open the portal with their power..."

"And then some people are naturally endowed with such gifts like my brother. Although he tried not to be involved, it became impossible. Both parties have their scouts to identify these potential people and quickly approach them to join their side. After that incident, my brother had no choice but to join Lux Veritatis. He is not the type of person interested in obtaining personal glory or being involved in grand schemes but just to live a normal life. However, Freemasonry already identified him and if he did not join Lux Veritatis, his life would be in danger from time to time..."

I chuckled and commented, "Sounds like me and my friends when we become L'Cie..."

Hiromi nodded, "Yes, but at least here you are part of the bigger groups. You had it worse than me because only six of you...you need to fight against the entire Cocoon..", she unwrapped and sucked a candy from my car dashboard, "After that incident, my brother needed to change his identity and our family needed to report him as deceased officially. Lux Veritatis provided him with a new name, residential address, passport, birth certificate, phone number, and so on. And we cannot contact him directly but only through Lux Veritatis, once a year. Our family was very sad, but at least we knew that he was alive. And he will be trained to develop his psychic skills for noble purposes..."

"But then...", I interrupted, "You have no supernatural ability, yet you are still part of them..."

"Yes, I am one of the rare cases...", she grinned, putting the candy wrapper to the trash can near the gear, "I worked insanely hard to be very good at kendo and archery, so they can think that I am a capable fighter. I also acquired espionage skills and educated myself in ancient history and languages. Plus my dad owned an antique auction house and hence I have unique access to materials which are potentially able to locate the artifacts. After considering all these things, they eventually let me in when I was twenty-two years old...twelve years after that incident...That year after I won the kendo championship, I immediately joined Lux Veritatis..."

"But you do not need to change your identity like your brother?", I asked in surprise, "Are you still able to contact your parents?"

"Yes, but only through an offline channel...", Hiromi replied, "I am not really essential enough for Freemasonry like my brother. However, after I joined Lux Veritatis, I cannot have a job with public institutions. I also cannot have close friends or spouse outside the organization. Otherwise, it is easy for Freemasonry to track and hunt me down.."

"You live a very tough life, Hiromi...", I sighed, "I used to live a harder life than you, but now I am practically living a normal life...I suppose you also cannot leave Lux Veritatis freely..."

"I can, but they will change my identity again, and practically I would not have any parents, siblings, spouse or children...", she lamented, "And I cannot contact Lux Veritatis again forever. I will lose touch with my brother..."

"You seem very close to him...", I commented, "It is almost like a lover..."

Hiromi giggled, and I saw her cheeks become reddish, "Some people said that...I wished that he is, but we are siblings..."

"I am sure that Lux Veritatis have a lot of single guys...", I patted Hiromi's hair to console her, "Anyway, do you approach me because of my Etro's power?"

"Yes, but like what you said...", Hiromi acknowledged, "You are not a believer. For now. But I think you at least will need to be convinced that we are working on the good side. But I am glad you are open to try meeting my colleagues..."

"Do I need to join Lux Veritatis in order to work with you?", I queried, "It is like leaving a normal life behind..."

"Of course not...", Hiromi waved her hand away, and answered, "You will join as a temporary staff member. After the mission is completed, you are free to go. But we need you not to disclose this. Even to Hope or Serah. At least, for now..."

"And what will I get in return for working with you?", I asked, "At least for you, you can be close to your brother. And you believe you do this work for your God..."

"God will also reward those who help His people, including unbelievers, in the afterlife..", Hiromi responded, "We have some monetary compensation, but of course it will not be as lucrative as Dissidia or the Olympics. I suppose money is a secondary factor when you work to fight evil..."

I thought that if what Hiromi told is true, then it means there is a hidden war in this world. On the surface, this world looked more peaceful than Cocoon. The war actually is happening behind the scenes through these secret societies. Should I help Lux Veritatis? But then, what if Freemasonry targeted me and my family like how they targeted Hiromi's brother?

"You will get one sacred artifact from our repository after mission completion...", Hiromi suggested, "I understand that Hope is also interested in collecting these artifacts for his side research. He searched everywhere, but usually these artifacts were either not sold in public or very expensive. How about that motivation? You can help us fight against evil and also to please your husband..."

"And maybe more personal thing, you will also help me as your friend...I helped you to keep your fighting skill sharp...", Hiromi grinned. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. Is she really a friend or just trying to take advantage of me? Who will know if she said the truth? But so far, her story seemed very convincing.

"How about my family? Will Freemasonry target them if I work for you?", I asked in a suspicious tone.

"If you do not disclose this to anyone, then no...", Hiromi replied, "My dad and mom are also fine until now, because we worked outside the grid of mainstream society..."

"We have already reached...", I announced as my car approached the dead end of an old industrial area. Hiromi's given address pointed to a red-brick building like an abandoned factory at the end of this road. We unfastened our seatbelts and went out of the car. I took my Ultima Blade but Hiromi left her orange peacock vest and samurai inside my car.

"I will leave my stuff there, just to prove that I am not getting you into a trap...", she said while raising both of her hands up and walking away from my car.

I looked at the building, it looked very old and not maintained. It is four-story and most of the windows were broken. The bricks were mossy near ground level and rubbles was scattered everywhere on the road leading to its main entrance. There were old rusty black metal stairs attached to the wall of the building, from ground level to the roof. Both side of the building were surrounded by a barbed wire fence, and I can see a chimney on its rooftop. If we come here during night time, it will definitely feel like a scene in a horror movie.

"It looked more like gangster hideout than headquarter of religious organization...", I commented, putting my hand on my hip while dragging my Ultima Blade on the road.

"Do not judge a book by its cover...", Hiromi argued while glancing at me, "Come on, let's get in..."

We approached the sliding door entrance and Hiromi knocked on the door. There was a silence for a while before eventually a man's voice responded from inside.

"Keyword, please...", the voice demanded. It looked exactly like Children of Etro, I thought.

"Blessed be the Lord my rock, who trained my hands for war, my fingers for battle...", Hiromi replied. The words were somehow similar like some kinds of ancient poetry. I wondered if I used to hear that somewhere. After Hiromi's words, the sliding door started to open from below. It continued until half-way and then it stopped. But it was enough for us to bend down under.

As we reached inside, I saw that it was practically empty space. However, there were two big guys standing on the left and right side of the door, wearing gray military uniform, wielding rifles. I saw that on their shoulders there are black arrows pointing down with letters imprinted in their uniform: Lux Veritatis. Hiromi raised her thumb up to those guys, they nodded and smiled. One of them held a remote in his hand, pointed to the floor in front of us, and pressed the button. Instantly, the dusty floor in front of us shifted open like a trap door, and there was a stairs heading to the basement with a wooden door on another end, with style like a gothic church door in Notre Dame.

Hiromi slowly descended through the stairs and I closely followed behind her. When we were close to the door, I heard the sounds of some people talking from inside. She withdrew something like a badge with a strange symbol from her pocket, and put it on a small crevice on the right wall beside the door. I heard a clicking sound like some mechanisms were activated and the door was opened inward.

I saw that inside the door, there was a place that looked like a meeting room where five men, all dressed in white robes, surrounded a table in the middle. On the table, you have something like a layout of the building, and a couple of markers. I also saw some weapons hanging on the wall, ranging from swords, axes, clubs, spears and rifles. Those five men turned to see me and Hiromi, with curious faces.

She turned her body facing those guys, glanced at me, and started to speak.

"Gentlemen, let me introduce to you Lightning Farron...", Hiromi proclaimed and stretched her hand to me, "The warrior goddess from Nova Chrysalia..."

After she said that, those five guys were very shocked and started to whisper among themselves. I realized that this will be a very long day for me...

Chapter Text

[From Hope's diary]

[WRITTEN ON 17 SEP 2022]

Since Valerie was enrolled in her school, I observed that she became more eager to ask questions and talk about her new friends. I was particularly annoyed if she compared her own toys with her friends. But hey, I remembered that I used to do the same with my mom. I had just been promoted and didn't have a mortgage. Light had finished the last installment for our apartment in Paris and our property. She also paid Paula's salary. So, I had a lot of cash for her and Conroy for their toys. During the first month since she went to school, we went to the shopping mall every week. She always asked for new toys and somehow I granted her wishes. This was because I felt guilty. We did not have much space in our apartment in Paris. Hence, she did not have many toys and could only watch TV shows.

Then, I realized that there was little space remaining in her cabinets. I made the rule that she needed to wait for at least three months for asking new toy. She also needed to dispose of her old toys or sell them online. Light also told her to be content with what we have, as her friends will also have similar limitations. Luckily, Conroy is not like her. He is relatively quiet and he enjoys playing with any available toys.

Light also wanted our kids not to just play, but to start doing house chores to train them about responsibility. Our house is bigger than our apartment in Paris, hence we need more people to do housekeeping. Although we have Paula, we do not want to ask her to do housekeeping on weekends. So, Light and I discussed on Friday night how to brief kids to schedule their chores. We decided that everyone needs to do housekeeping before we go for travel or play outside.

On Saturday, we had just finished our breakfast when I started to talk to them.

"Alright, Valerie and Conroy, " I began the conversation, "Aunty Paula will not be here on weekends. You need to help daddy and mommy..."

"Here are things we will need to do, " Light continued, "Wash the car, tend the raspberry tree, go shopping, clean the house, and cook for lunch..."

"Daddy, can I watch Robocar first?" Conroy pleaded and pouted his face, "I did not watch it yesterday..."

"Conroy, do not be a lazy bum!" Valerie complained, "You watch too many shows..."

"This afternoon, uncle Snow will visit us with his friends...", I announced to them, "We need to cook for them. And you will help daddy and mommy..". It had been a while since we moved to Bordeaux and we still had not visited NORA. I just knew from Light that Maqui's vehicle repair shop was still operational but Snow's business was struggling. Other than that, I did not know how the NORA members were doing.

"Val, you help mommy to tend the tree...", Light requested, "You can have the fruit after that..."

"Yay!", she cheered when Light said that. Soon, Light brought Valerie to the storage room. Then, she pointed her to the rack where we kept a trowel to remove the weeds, jerry can with nitrogen fertilizer, and blue watering can. Valerie brought the can to the basin in the kitchen and filled it with water.

I knew that she seemed always to prefer to do physical activities. She also initially liked to watch cartoon shows but unlike Conroy, she did not usually watch until the end. Every time we go to Serah's house, Valerie likes to play with Kelly a lot. She chases her around the front yard. That's why last night I discussed that it will be better to assign her that task.

"And Conroy, you help daddy go shopping, " I demanded, "Daddy will teach you how to buy stuff..."

"Right, first thing," I demonstrated slowly to Conroy, by standing in front of our kitchen cabinet and opening the drawer, "Take one bag from here...". Inside the drawer, there were recyclable bags we usually used to put our shopping items, I took one bag and I let him try to take another. He grabbed another bag and pulled it, but it stuck between gaps since he pulled it downward.

"Pull it upward, " I told him and raised my hand. He watched and pulled it upward and finally took the bag.

"And you need to close the drawer again, " I instructed and left him to try closing the drawer. He grabbed the drawer knob and closed it.

"Clever boy...", I praised him, stroking his hair, "Alright, we will go to the supermarket, " I took my tablet PC from the kitchen table containing the list of ingredients Light wanted me to buy and put it inside my sling bag. The ingredients would be used for our cooking.

Light was about to go out to the garage with Valerie to do gardening. Before she went out, I approached and kissed her, "See you later, Light..."

As our environment in Bordeaux was different from Paris, we went through a bit of adjustment. It would take a considerable time to walk to the nearest supermarket, unlike our previous apartment. We were not interested in buying a second car as we thought the maintenance cost would be too high. Usually, Light would wash our car on Saturday morning. Hence last week, I bought a bicycle with a kid's back seat so we could go around faster if we needed to go to Serah's house or somewhere else.

I lifted Conroy to the back seat and locked its safety belt. This was his first time riding the bicycle and he looked very excited. Light pressed the remote to open the front gate and I rode the bike outside with Conroy. I noticed that day, that when it was still early in the morning on a weekend (around 830am) not many people were around. I felt refreshed by the morning air and enjoyed my time. But not long after that, I noticed something unusual.

When we were about to reach the commercial cluster where the supermarket was located, I saw Hiromi was sitting at a table outside a cafe beside the supermarket. I saw that she was eating Chinese steam buns with another black-haired European lady. She wore thick glasses with an electronic device on its right frame sitting opposite to her. I realized that it was Aoede. I was wondering what things they were talking about as I knew from Light that Hiromi was a close friend of Aoede. Hopefully, not about Light or me. I stopped my bike for a moment as I observed them from afar.

I saw that Aoede took out a laptop from her backpack and played a short video to show to Hiromi. Their facial expressions looked very tense when they watched the video. After a few minutes, the video ended. Aoede also took out a brown envelope and passed it to Hiromi. She took out some photographs from inside the envelope and examined them carefully one by one. Then, Hiromi said something which made Aoede looked fearful. I saw her covering her face with both hands and bend down her head. Hiromi looked sad and embraced her.

After that, Hiromi whispered something which made Aoede quickly put her laptop back. Hiromi took out her mobile phone and opened an app. After a while, I saw a car stop in front of the cafe, both of them entered the car and left. It looked like Hiromi booked from the ride-sharing app on her phone.

"Daddy, why did we stop here?" Conroy asked from behind with curiosity. "Is daddy angry with aunty Hiromi?"

"Daddy needs to check something, Conroy, " I replied but started to push the pedal again, "We will go now..."

I was disturbed and wondered about what was discussed between them just now. But then, there was no way to figure it out. I was not as close to Hiromi compared to Light. Even if I asked her, I don't think I would get a helpful answer. So, I decided to just move on. I parked my bicycle in front of the supermarket, attached the lock on the wheel to the parking rack, and lifted down Conroy from his seat.

I took out my tablet PC from my sling bag and browsed through the list of ingredients as we entered the supermarket. I told Conroy the names of fruits and vegetables and asked him to pick those in our list with the appropriate amount. It let him learn to count. I was also interested as he pointed out various items (sauces, snacks, and toiletries) and asked me about their names. And I also showed him various notes of euro and let him match them with the price tags on supermarket shelves.

But then, I realized I needed to be quick as we needed to prepare cooking for five people. So, I carried Conroy so that he would not roam around. He was also excited since he loved the height. Luckily, the queue was not too long since it was still early in the morning. After one hour, we finally got out. I put all items in two recyclable bags we brought just now. I put one of them in the basket in front of the bicycle handlebar and asked Conroy to put another one on his lap when he sat on the back seat. When we reached home, I saw that Light and Valerie also had finished car washing and gardening.

"So now, we need to clean the house and cook at the same time. Otherwise, there will not be enough time until Snow and NORA come, " Light explained, "Who wants to help mommy with cooking?"

"Light, I suggest you let Conroy do it. I do not think he is old enough to know how to clean the toilet," I suggested, "He also just learned the names of the ingredients, it will be better if he also knows how to prepare it. Also, we can switch partners..."

"Sounds good, " Light commented, "Val, you help daddy to clean the house."

"Alright, " I started, "Val, I need your help to clean our bathroom. I want you to wipe the mirror, bathtub, and water basin, scrub the toilet bowl, replace the toilet roll, and mop the floor..."

Valerie instantly pouted her face expressing her displeasure and gazed at me, "Daddy, why do I need to do dirty things again? I just helped mommy..."

I caressed her, squatting down and holding her hand, "Because daddy will clean the rest of the kitchen and living room. " I explained to her, "Daddy gave you less tiring and quicker tasks. It is a bit dirtier but you have more free time to play after that..."

After hearing my answer, a smile grew on her face and she nodded.

"Okay, daddy!" she answered with satisfaction.

Unlike Conroy, Valerie tended to question us more. It was not necessarily a bad thing as she was more curious about how I and Light spent our days. But I got the impression she was a less obedient kid. Conroy usually always did the work without any complaint. Although, she also committed to things we assigned to her.

So I prepared her own separate cleaning kits, such as liquid cleaners, mop, and wiping cloths. I showed her how to apply the liquid and let her tried it. After initially hesitant, she did what I asked as I monitored her for a while. After that, I left her to do her tasks, prepared my own cleaning kits, and then cleaned the kitchen and living room. Light said she had used our vacuum robot to remove the dust, so I did not need to sweep the floor.

Light showed Conroy how to wash vegetables and break them (broccoli and cabbage) into small pieces. She also took out a table in our storage shed and asked Conroy to wipe it clean, and covered it with a tablecloth. I watched how he took the plates and utensils. He also took extra chairs from his own room to arrange them around the table. Roughly, it took Valerie and Conroy around forty minutes to complete their tasks. After that, they played with their toys in Valerie's room while I and Light were still cleaning and cooking. Time showed almost 11 am and it was almost the time NORA would come to visit us.

I almost finished my cleaning task when I recalled the scene I saw this morning when Hiromi met with Aoede. Our kids were not in the kitchen, as I was mopping the floor and Light was cooking. I decided to discuss Hiromi with her. I knew they went for lunch together this Wednesday.

"Hey, Light...," I called her, "This morning I saw Hiromi had breakfast in the cafe beside the supermarket..."

"That's nice, right?" she replied, "Did you have a chance to chat with her?"

"No, but do you know who was with her there?" I walked to stand beside her as she was stirring the rice with seafood on the frying pan to prepare paella. According to Serah, it was one of Snow's favorite dishes.

"It was Aoede." I claimed. And Light's turned her face towards me, a shock was reflected in her eyes, "They were having a very serious conversation..."

"Could you hear what were they talking about, Hope?" Light asked curiously as she added more peppers into the paella.

I shook my head, "Nope, I could not, " I answered, "But if I may speculate, it seemed related to an intelligence gathering. Aoede showed Hiromi some photographs and she commented on them. After that, her face looked very fearful..."

"She never told me that she was still in contact with Aoede, " Light claimed, "Hiromi only told me that she knew that we moved to Bordeaux from her..."

"From my observation so far, I am pretty sure she has a lot of skeletons inside her closet, " I commented, "Light, I know that both of you are friends. But just be careful. We don't know if she will drag you into something fishy, okay? We do not know about her past. What did you ladies talk about during your lunch last time?"

Light was silent for a while; she looked in deep thought as she turned off the stove. She picked up a spoonful of the paella, blew it a bit, and tasted it.

"She talked about her study here, " Light replied. I was bewildered as far as I knew, Hiromi talked about that sometime ago when she visited me and Light. She scooped the paella and put it in my mouth. I liked the spicy and salty taste of it.

"But she just talked about that in front of us last time, right?" I clarified, "How about from her side? Did she specifically probe you about something?"

"Nope, nothing..." Light confirmed, "If she did that, I would be already suspicious of her."

There was a part of me that felt somehow Light did not tell me the entire truth. I got the impression from her facial expression when I asked her about their lunch. It looked like she knew something important but she chose not to disclose this to me. What was it? Did Hiromi threaten her? But what kind of person could make Light feel threatened? She is a warrior goddess! But if it was really important, why did she refuse to disclose this to me?

I sighed and embraced her, "Light, I have known you for a thousand years. I want you to know I always will be with you. Even if you go to chaos..."

She bowed down her head and intertwined her fingers with mine. She turned and looked in my eyes, as she seemed to want to signal me to trust her.

"I know, Hope..." she acknowledged, "Anyway, it is almost 1130am. Snow and NORA will be here soon. I need to wrap this up first."

Light quickly finished the cooking and put all the dishes on the newly prepared table in the living room. Other than paella, she also cooked chickpea soup and baked raspberry muffins using fresh produce from our garden. I was impressed as she kept improving and even tried menus that I did not try for four years when I still did my PhD in Ecole.

I was thinking that since our table was just enough for six people, some of us would need to sit on the sofas or floor. Hopefully, they would not mind. Usually, when guests come, we did not need to cook like this. But that day was a special moment, as I had not met with NORA for six years.

"Yuuuhhhhuuu...," I heard Lebreau's voice calling me from outside, "Hope and Lightning, NORA are here!"

Valerie and Conroy looked excited, they ran out of their rooms, and peeped from the window in our living room. Light picked the keys hanging on the wall beside the door. She went outside to open the gate as I watched five NORA members stand in front of our gate. I carried Valerie and Conroy alternately to greet Gadot and Snow. Light and Lebreau hugged each other and I did high-five with Maqui and Yuj. They took off their shoes and entered our home.

I, Light, Snow, Maqui, Yuj, and Gadot opted to sit at the table while Lebreau opted to eat with Valerie and Conroy on the sofa.

"Why didn't Serah join us?" I asked Snow, "Did you guys meet her before you came here?"

"We met her almost every week before you came here." Gadot answered, "And we will meet her after this..."

"And we have big news for you!" Yuj grinned as he grabbed Maqui's shoulder who sat next to him, "Maqui and Lebreau officially got engaged!"

Maqui looked shy and glanced at Lebreau, who also seemed embarrassed. I wondered if he intended to announce this himself or that Yuj did this within his expectation. However, I teased him by raising my glass filled with lemon tea to Yuj, "Congratulations to both of you!"

"They tried to hide it from us!" Gadot claimed, "But then, Yuj caught them when Lebreau secretly went to his shop to get her new motorbike maintained every week. She brought him to the amusement park using the bike..."

"Gadot, give us privacy!" Lebreau complained and stared at him, "We prefer to talk about this ourselves!"

"So, when did it happen? Maqui, why didn't you inform us personally?" Light took the paella from a big plate in the middle and distributed it to each person's plate. I helped her by pouring lemon tea into glasses for NORA. Each of us started to take the food and eat.

"It was two years ago...," Maqui replied, "We spent some time after we were reborn before we announced it to the others. It just happened that in this new world, my repair shop and Lebreau's restaurant were located quite near to each other. We often visited each other and eventually got engaged..."

"He has beaten us. Damn you, Maqui!" Yuj poked Maqui's ribs, teasing him. I and Light burst out laughing watching both of them. I was actually surprised that Lebreau chose Maqui over Yuj as she was taller, older, and more mature than him. But hey, so was Light compared to me. Who am I to advise people whom to date?

"Snow, how is your business? Are there any grants or projects you can apply to?" Light asked, "Right now, I can help you by putting Conroy in Serah's hands. It should be enough to pay the rent." Light referred to using our budget to pay Serah to homeschool Conroy. This was important for her since it involved Serah's welfare.

Snow sighed and scratched his hair, "Not good, sis. I applied to so many banks, credit unions, and government grants. Nobody wants to give us loans or projects. There are just six months left before our contract with the Guardian Corps expires. They told me that they already found a new vendor and will not renew the contract. I will need to start to convert most of my full-time staff into temps by the end of this year..."

"Temporarily, to pay for office rent I and Snow became security guards in an apartment complex," Gadot mentioned, "But, we need to downsize if things do not change..."

"You have a contract with the Guardian Corps?" I asked in surprise, "What things have they asked you to do?"

"We help them to package, deliver and install various electrical equipment from their vendors to branches in Bordeaux. Things are hard because the government has limited slots for local mover vendors. In most cases, they just use big vendors like FedEx or UPS. But, we still have an advantage. Despite limited capacity, we can help to do the installation of those pieces of equipment. As you know, I have received my electrician license some time ago..." Snow explained in detail.

"We also have regular personal clients, but they do not pay much compared to the Guardian Corps. Lebreau helped to find those clients through her friends..." Gadot added.

"But they said they have found a new vendor, who also can do the installation at a cheaper price. I do not want to cut my salary or my staff's salary to compete with those people. The Guardian Corps said they need some local vendors to help transport safety drones and robots from factories in Paris to Bordeaux. But those projects require more capacity and we do not have the capital to expand..." Snow poured wine into his glass on the table and gulped it instantly, "We are not citizens of France, so everything is very expensive. I cannot even qualify to apply for public housing. Luckily, you help by letting Serah take care of Conroy..."

Hearing his story, I could not help but felt sympathy for Snow. Unlike in Cocoon, life in a big city in this world is really challenging if you do not have professional education or specialized skills. Unfortunately, we did not bring our reputation from the previous world. Otherwise, Snow might be able to become a patron like in Yusnaan.

"I wish I could help you, " Light sighed as she distributed raspberry muffins to each person's plate, "But I have quit from the Guardian Corps. So, I cannot persuade anyone there to hire you as a contractor..."

"Are you content with your life now, Lightning?" asked Snow and I wondered why he asked such a question.

Light crossed her arms and looked at Snow intently, "At this stage of my life, I feel satisfied with how things are right now. Hope has a better job, kids are growing well, I enjoy my freelance job, and we are financially stable. I cannot ask for more."

"Have you thought about opening your business like me? Well, I mean that your MMA class is OK but you could have more connections and various interesting things to do. I think your MMA class will become routine after a while," I could tell that Snow was trying to persuade Light, "I mean you have the potential. You were in the Guardian Corps for fourteen years. It will be much easier for you to apply for projects with them..."

"OK, so what is your point, Snow?" Light challenged him, "You want me to help your business? Is that what you want?"

"I mean I can still support Serah and kids, even if I become security guard, " Snow clarified, "But we aspire to have our own house. Right now, I have some savings by running this business. But if we close down, we can afford just the bare minimum. I am not forcing you to get into this. But it is something for you to consider..."

"Snow, we have talked about this with my family," I informed him, "Right now, my dad will retire in a few months and when his pension fund is released, he will have a lump sum of cash. He told me that he was actually interested in investing in small businesses."

"Then, it is perfect!", Snow clapped his hands, "Bartholomew can become my investor and we can keep going..."

Light chuckled and interrupted Snow, "How will you assure him that he will get the return for his money? Right now, your contract will also expire in a few months!"

"Snow, my dad has been a fund manager for quite a long time, " I advised gently, "If you want large sums of money being invested into your company, you need to prepare a convincing business proposal for him. Just a company with conventional products or services will not cut it. You need to do market research to identify potential industries and clients, and then you need to explain that the capabilities of your team will be sufficient to exploit the opportunity..."

"I have tried to craft such proposals so many times," Snow explained and looked frustrated, "The problem is always with team capabilities. People in this world like high-tech companies, but such field requires many years of formal education experience..."

"Have you tried to attend online courses?", I asked, "At least, you can demonstrate that you have some knowledge..."

"No, Hope. It's not that easy..." Light argued and she also showed sympathy look to Snow, "Practically, almost all city dwellers in this world have access to online courses. Snow is also not young anymore. At his age, his chance is quite limited. You are an outlier. Not many people have such a lucrative job like you, Hope."

I really wanted to kick myself for forgetting such an important thing. Both Light and Snow had very limited formal education. However, Light was still a bit better than him since she joined the Guardian Corps at a very young age, which provided her with a connection to a corporate environment.

I put my hands on my chin, thinking hard about how to help Snow. I did not want to break trust with my dad by letting Snow spend his pension fund as he wished. But, I could also understand his difficulty. It was not his fault that he was born with such a background. Now, I wished that there was a fal'Cie who was able to provide us with basic necessities like Cocoon. People would not need to experience job insecurity. But I supposed such a wish is futile since no world is perfect.

"Basically, there are two ways of solving a financial problem, " Light suggested, "You either generate more revenue or cut costs. If you cannot afford to live in the city since it is too expensive, you can try to relocate to the village. Would you consider working for Sazh's chocobo farm?"

"It would be very disappointing for Serah if I did that, Lightning...", Snow gulped another glass of wine. He looked depressed and I felt for him. But then, how should I help him? Even for myself, I am still under three years contract and my job as a researcher is also volatile. In my department in Inria, other than Phillippe and Louis, no staff work more than five years.

"I will try to help you, Snow, " Light suddenly declared, "Give me a look at your previous proposals and I will see how it can be improved. If the proposal requires someone with expertise in handling military or safety equipment, I may be able to help you..."

Instantly, Snow's face became enthusiastic and he took out a thumb drive from his pocket and quickly passed it to Light.

"I knew you would try, sis! Thanks!" Snow responded, "Please talk with Jonathan. He is the person in charge of communicating with vendors related to the new Guardian Corps projects. I will send his contact number to you..."

Man, I thought. How can Light be so kind? She already helped to fund my study and now she still wanted to help Snow with his business without hesitation. But she has a way to do it as she is now financially independent. Right now, Valerie is already enrolled in school and Conroy is also in Serah's care. So, Light actually has some free time to do things like this. Sometimes, I envy her for this freedom. But hey, she said similar things about me being from a privileged background, having a good education, and a lucrative career.

I am thinking that instead of viewing a problem like this as an inconvenience, I should instead treat this as an opportunity to do charity. There will be always less fortunate people in many aspects, either less talent, wealth, or even health. I can either focus on my own problems and be selfish, or I can practice giving more to others. Light came from a less privileged family, and she is a woman, but she was still willing to provide for my study. I should actually practice similar things...

"Snow, I will also try to see if my department needs local logistic vendors." I promised, "I suppose it is also quite similar to the Guardian Corps. Inria is a government institution, so it should have the requirement to hire a certain percentage of local contractors. Light, I think you can also share his proposals with me..."

"Thanks a lot, Hope!" Gadot replied, "Your help and Lightning are invaluable to us!"

"Hey, we are not promising anything, OK?" I clarified, "For all these talks, the decision to take contractors is not within my hands. But I suppose if you got Inria as another corporate client, you can make your company's portfolio better. Hopefully, I can convince my dad to invest in your company after that..."

"Alright, to show your gratitude, " Light grinned to Snow and Gadot, "Please help me to wash your dishes. And Snow, cook for Serah tonight! Ask her if there is anything that she wants to eat. I will ask her to ensure you do that!"