2-3 Presumption of Innocence

Hurry, hide!

I... I need to go.

Take this... this is for you.

This is a protective charm. My mother taught me how to make these...

And this is one that I made.

When you make these dolls by hand, you can keep the ones you care about safe.

Okay, sister Misha, we'll take good care of it!

Good, good.

Now, go hide! And don't make a sound.

Okay!

Where'd they go? ! After them! Let's see how far those Infected can run!

Hmm? Now... what do we have here?

According to Exusiai's data, our mission target should have been staying somewhere around here...

Argh, the terrain around here is really complicated. If we were doing this alone, this assignment might have been quite troublesome...

Luckily, I got in touch with Penguin Logistics beforehand...

...Who's there?

Those people are...!

Baddies! You bunch of baddies! Let go of me! Let... Go...!

Tell me! Where'd she run off to?

Stop playing dumb!

Sister! Sister! Where are you...! Help...

Sister Misha! Sister Misha, save me!!

...

Who is it?

Get back here!

...

...You should leave right now if you know what's good for you.

...?!

Who the hell...?!

You don't like you're from around here!

You're not afraid of us...

Otherwise...

Huh?

Gaaah!!

Wh-what was that?

Arts! Sh-she's using Arts?!

Aaaargh! Stay away from me!

...Don't bully the defenseless ever again.

Aaaagh! Monster!

Heh... Monster, huh?

...

Everything will be okay. You can come out now.

It's dangerous here. You should hurry and find some place safe.

Thank you, ma'am!

Take care!

Amiya, what's going on?

Hm, I saw an Infected just now, probably unregistered...

From Ursus?

Yes. She was heading deeper into the slums.

Franka, gather the nearby operators.

Okay.

The deeper we head into the slums, the more volatile things are going to be...

There are ordinary civilians, criminals, and refugees - all mixed together.

We'll have to make thorough preparations.

Amiya, we have incoming comms.

Please wait a second.

...

That's right.

Amiya, it's the L.G.D.

Was that Madam Ch'en?

Indeed.

... That's right. We've already found a number of unregistered Infected.

... Yes.

... What?

... We're after an Ursus girl, short white hair, height of about 145 cm, called Misha?

That's...?

...Understood.

Amiya, Madam Ch'en wants us to immediately search for the Infected just described.

Once we find her, we are to turn her in to the L.G.D. immediately.

Can I speak to her please?

Hello, hello...

Madam Ch'en, can you hear me?

I hear you.

Can I confirm the validity of that order?

100% valid, effective immediately.

I see.

...

She suddenly hung up...

That Ch'en, she's got a bit of a temper.

So this is going to be our mission for now...

Amiya, I've just received another message from several defenders.

They met some individuals who were openly hostile to Rhodes Island's operators.

Furthermore, those attackers weren't ordinary people, they were... Infected.

... Have the defenders fall back towards us.

Scout team! Our target is an Ursine girl with short white hair, height of 145 cm. Remember to stay hidden, and stay safe!

Other operators, follow your leaders and spread out.

Hey... Not bad.

Liskarm, this kid's pretty smart.

... Dr. Doctor is our tactical commander. You should take this more seriously.

Let's begin.

So... Rhodes Island has to fight against the Infected again...

Phew...

I probably won't be found if I hide here...

But, I won't be able to go back to those kids anymore.

I hope nothing happens to them...

*sigh*... Why...

...!

Who is it?

...

Are you Miss Misha?

...What?

...

I'm sorry, Miss Misha. I hope I didn't scare you...

These are my coleagues, Franka and Liskarm.

Hey there.

Good day.

We're from Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals. As an organization made to serve the Infected, at least...

We hope to be able to help you. That's why we'd like to talk for a bit.

Talk?

Mhm.

This isn't the best place for that though...

As of right now, our top priority is keeping you safe.

For the time being, we'll protect you, so rest assured.

What... are you talking about...

...

You're just going to capture me and lock me up, aren't you? !

Get away from me! My claws are sharp...! If you don't want to get hurt...

...Pfft.

What are you laughing about...

If we really were going to capture you, we wouldn't have given you a chance to resist.

...

Miss Misha, we really do want to help you, so...

I don't trust you...

Lungmen treats the Infected worse than they treat criminals!

Why would you... Why would you go out of your way to help the Infected?

...

--Miss Misha, look...

What... are you doing?

...Your...

Your hand...

You're also... an Infected?

That's right, I'm just like you.

There are a lot of Infected in these slums. Those kids you left behind just now... they trusted you.

Misha, you've already put them in danger.

...Are you going to use those kids to threaten me?

No, I wouldn't. But someone has already started doing exactly that...

We just chased off a group of thugs that was trying to threaten those kids.

...!

Lungmen is also currently searching for the Infected. If Lungmen found you first, it might've already been too late.

We wanted to divert the rioters from those kids by drawing their attention to you...

Looking at it from another perspective, we'd also be able to keep you safe from harm.

...Do you know why they're after me?

What reason do you have... to do all this for me?

We actually don't know why there are Infected targeting you...

But we do care about the safety of innocents, including you. At least, this is the best course of action for the time being. I hope that you'll be able to trust us.

Would you allow us to take you from here first?

...

...Fine... Let's go.

After all, I don't really have a choice, do I?

I wouldn't say that...

But at least, thank you... Miss Misha!