Secret Viewing

Just past midnight, deep in the night.

The Valkyrie dormitories were hushed, most of their occupants asleep.

And in the single-occupancy room on the top floor.

A beautiful girl sat quietly before a mirror.

Soft, flowing navy hair. Golden eyes.

Rounded eyes, and an overall impression of gentle innocence.

The kind of clean, untouched atmosphere that suggested not a single impure thought.

That girl was none other than Leila — which is to say, me.

To think that I was the one living inside this magnificent little beauty.

I thought about it every time. The sense of transgression was absolutely delicious.

Like pouring water over a sandcastle you'd spent hours building, maybe.

It felt wonderful. Pretty girls really are the best.

"Well then… shall I get started."

My reflection in the mirror looked utterly shameless.

I was completely undressed, wearing nothing but a pair of underwear.

Parts of me that were normally hidden lay fully exposed beneath the light.

…Not that I'd undressed for anything indecent, of course.

I gathered my hair to one side, baring my pale white neck.

Then I reached down and picked up something I'd set on the floor.

*Such a pain…. Having to do Sentiment from scratch.*

That's right. What I was about to do was none other than Sentiment.

All the needles I'd so carefully placed had vanished along with the Regression.

I needed to insert each one again, from the very beginning.

At least I wouldn't have to suffer through a dozen-odd hours like last time.

But knowing where to put them didn't make it any less tedious.

When am I ever going to finish all of this. What a bother, what a bother.

"I wish someone else could do this for me…."

Swipe, swipe.

I wiped down a needle with a cloth soaked in antiseptic.

Then I pressed the pointed tip firmly into my shoulder.

"Ngh! Hah…."

The needle slipped silently through the skin and disappeared inside.

A strange, unsettling sensation, like something rummaging around beneath the surface.

My toes twitched involuntarily.

It wasn't particularly painful, of course.

Valkyries were, in various ways, rather dulled to pain to begin with.

And the needles themselves were fairly short and thin.

Once you got the hang of it, there was a surprisingly addictive quality to piercing the skin.

But that was only true when you didn't make mistakes.

If you accidentally grazed a nerve, a sharp, dizzying pain would shoot right through you.

Inserting each needle came with its own tense, nail-biting anxiety.

*The first time I did this, I actually cried….*

To be fair, the first time I hadn't known the exact positions.

I'd gritted my teeth and kept pushing needles in and pulling them back out, over and over.

Thank goodness I'd pilfered the supplies from the infirmary in advance.

Otherwise my body would have been riddled with holes long before I finished.

"Phew, the shoulders and neck… that should be enough."

The insertion points were the neck, shoulders, and back.

After about an hour of tense, careful work —

I'd managed to place twelve in my shoulders and four in my neck.

All that remained were thirty-four needles for my back and waist.

I let out a long sigh and flopped face-down onto the bed.

After carefully sweeping my hair to the side so it wouldn't get in the way.

I sent a faint current of electricity through the needle I'd set beside my face.

It floated up into the air —

and drifted out of sight.

If my memory was right, it should be around here….

I guided the magnetically controlled needle and pressed it into the area near my shoulder blade.

Then, for just a moment, I misjudged the force — and the needle sank in deep.

"Ow—!"

A sharp pain flared from somewhere inside my body.

It was too late at night to scream properly.

I bit down on my pillow and kicked my legs against the mattress.

The pain was like getting something jammed under a fingernail, and my eyes stung with tears.

Of all the places, why did it have to be somewhere I can't even reach….

I lay there with my face buried in the bed, groaning quietly.

The pain from the needle faded quickly enough —

but the thought of repeating this thirty more times made my head throb.

*I have to go about my daily life with the needles still in. So I can't use painkillers….*

In the end, I had no choice but to grit my teeth and bear it.

Apparently there were people in this world who took pleasure in pain.

I was fairly certain I was not one of them.

Pain is just pain. I genuinely couldn't understand what there was to enjoy about it.

Still — there might come a moment when Sentiment would be necessary.

So I clenched my jaw and pushed the needles in, one by one.

By the time I'd finished, my body was damp with sweat and the faint trace of blood.

When the last needle was in place, two full hours had passed.

"Haah… I'm exhausted…."

It was nearly three in the morning.

After a quick shower, I sat down at my desk in my pajamas.

And opened the notebook that had served me so well before.

"Now then… let's think about how to spend this loop."

I was never particularly clever.

What I was confident in was, at best, shameless lying and performance.

My ability to move people the way I wanted was, at most, third-rate.

So for the sake of enjoying my time with the Commander —

I needed to sketch out the broad strokes in advance.

That way I could make the right calls when the moment came.

Haah. I'd wanted to spend this 3rd loop at a leisurely pace.

So why was I sitting here drawing up new plans again.

The Commander's sudden behavior had given me a headache in more ways than one.

*I can tell he's deliberately acting like a bad person. But… why?*

The Commander was not in a state of despair.

The recording I'd saved to my terminal made that clear.

Which meant there had to be a reason he felt he had to do this.

But I had absolutely no idea what that reason could be.

Was there really some purpose in making enemies of the Lumia Valkyries?

Wasn't there a way to accomplish whatever he wanted without being hated?

Was there some special method I simply hadn't figured out yet?

"Ugh, seriously…. I have no idea! What does he even want!"

He could just play along quietly in the palm of my hand.

Instead he goes and makes everything more complicated!

I vented my frustration by scribbling furiously across the notebook page.

Then, all at once, a good idea surfaced in my mind.

"…If I don't know, I can just find out from him directly, can't I?"

My gaze drifted naturally toward my terminal.

The few recorded words on that device were what had revealed the Commander's true feelings.

I'd already gone this far — what was a little further?

"Right. I'll hide a camera."

What I needed most right now, above all else, was information.

I decided to plant a hidden camera without the Commander's knowledge.

This was entirely the Commander's fault for giving me such a headache.

I wasn't the one doing anything wrong. I genuinely believed that.

*

The third morning of the 3rd loop.

Yesterday I'd been scolded for arriving too early.

So this time I showed up exactly on time and greeted the Commander.

"Commander. Good morning."

"…."

"I'll get started on my duties."

The Commander didn't acknowledge my greeting, just slipped past me to his seat.

But I only smiled more brightly, as if it didn't bother me in the slightest.

Either way, he intended to keep me at a distance on purpose.

The more I refused to be worn down, the more it would sting, wouldn't it?

Heheh. I laughed darkly to myself as I settled into my chair.

Then I casually scanned the room, careful not to be obvious about it.

*A spot with a good view of the Commander…. Yes. The top of the cabinet would work.*

I'd already decided in advance where to hide the cameras.

Three locations where the Commander appeared most frequently.

His bedroom, the Commander's office, and the nearby break room.

I would have liked to put one in the bathroom as well —

but that felt like too much of a privacy violation.

I'd chosen places I thought would be acceptable if our positions were reversed.

The bathroom would be embarrassing, after all. Even I have my limits.

"Commander. Would it be all right if I stepped out briefly? I think I need to conduct an on-site inspection of the civilian companies partnering with the cafeteria."

"…Do as you like."

"Yes. I'll be back soon."

Once I'd identified the locations, I fabricated a reason to go outside.

Perhaps because it was work we'd actually done together in a previous loop —

the Commander showed no sign of suspecting my story.

After leaving the Commander's office, I changed my appearance in the bathroom.

I'd completed Sentiment, so I could alter my voice.

Hide my hair and eyes so they couldn't be seen, and the disguise was complete.

My current look was a suspicious combination of a hat and sunglasses.

I slipped out of the branch, being careful not to cross paths with any Valkyries.

*This is… the black market?*

The southern district, where foot traffic was sparse.

I arrived at the slums and made my way to the black market I'd looked up in advance.

It had existed in the original work as well — an underground market, so to speak.

One where even illegal trading in Erosion Species components was possible.

It was a place I'd had no reason to visit last time, when I'd been glued to the Commander's side.

I stepped into a shop that dealt primarily in electronic components.

And approached the owner, whose complexion reminded me of a sewer rat.

"Welcome! What can I help you find?"

"Cameras."

"Cameras, you say — I have something like this in stock…."

"Six. No backdoors."

My voice, altered by Sentiment, came out as a neutral, low register.

A voice no one would recognize as Leila's.

Even so, just to be safe, I kept my words as short and clipped as possible.

I'd wrapped myself up thoroughly to hide my identity —

but I couldn't actually change my physical body.

It was all to minimize the risk of being recognized.

Fortunately, the rat-faced man didn't seem to notice.

Despite my imperious manner, he answered with an almost fawning cheerfulness.

"Hehe, would we ever tamper with our merchandise like that?"

"If you try anything, I'll snap your neck."

"Oh my, I'll be very careful, I will!"

That was the end of the conversation. The transaction was over in an instant.

Money was never a problem for me.

Even at a slightly higher price, I secured all six cameras without hesitation.

There was a specific reason I'd bought six.

The plan was to hide three cameras at each location first —

then later swap them out for modified versions.

Just then, my gaze drifted to the man busily rubbing his hands together.

This was my first time visiting the black market.

It seemed worth knowing his name, at least.

I asked him in the most insolent tone I could manage.

"What's your name?"

"Dorin, if it please you."

"…Right."

Whoosh.

I turned on my heel and walked out of the black market without a backward glance.

I didn't know when I might come back. I filed the name away for future reference.

*Phew… I wasn't recognized, was I? Better get back quickly.*

With the cameras secured, I returned to the branch and began the installation.

First, one in the break room closest to the Commander's office.

Then one in the Commander's office itself, while he stepped out to the bathroom.

The only one left now was the Commander's bedroom —

*This one's going to be tricky. Getting into the Commander's bedroom without being caught is a whole different level of difficulty.*

The Commander's quarters were in an annex near the branch.

An entire building had been constructed solely for his use.

It seemed like something the previous Commander had built separately.

Perhaps because of how much foot traffic passed through the area —

getting in undetected during the day was simply out of the question.

*Then I sneak in at night? That's not easy either.*

I was going to need some kind of plan.

Just how was I supposed to slip into the Commander's room without being caught?

I was still turning the problem over in my mind when the Commander suddenly spoke to me.

I hadn't expected him to initiate conversation, and I was caught slightly off guard.

"Leila. Come with me. We're heading out for a barrier survey today."

"Pardon? A barrier survey?"

It was a sudden proposal I hadn't anticipated at all.