Apples

How did I let Kroos slip away again...?

Don't be mad, Captain. Kroos isn't a bad girl.

I'm not mad.

It's just—I'm supervising her work, and every single time...

She just wants to take it easy sometimes.

Next time, maybe you should be the one keeping an eye on her. It kind of feels like she listens to you more...

It's not like I do anything special either. I just watch her work.

If she needs my help, l help her, and she goes back to doing it herself after a while.

That's it?

Yep, that's all I do.

Well, what can I say? I shouldn't have expected any less from you, Beagle.

I'm not sure why, but whenever she has half a mind to slack off, there is just no way I can keep her working...

Sometimes she's got a stomachache. Sometimes it's Instructor Dobermann calling for her, and I always just believe her.

And before I know it, she's gone.

*Sigh*...

Kroos!

!

There you are.

You aren't getting away!

Beagle, head her off!

Eh?

O-Okay!

*Pant*.

Kroos, back to duty with me!

(I'm just trying to take a short break!)

Stop right there!

(Huh? Why is Fang getting faster and faster?!)

(I gotta come up with something.)

'Is there anything else you would like to listen to?'

Y e s . . .

'Okay, Lens will look it up in the library.'

(Is that Scene?)

(Hm...)

(Okay, let's give this a try.)

Hello~

'Oh, hello, Kroos.'

Is it okay if I sit down next to you, Scene?

'Ooh—'

'Miss Scene says she doesn't mind. Go ahead!'

Thanks~

*Pant*—

'You look pretty tired.'

I mean, there's a Kuranta chasing me~

Kroos!

'Oh, I can hear her now. It's Fang.'

We're actually playing hide-and-seek right now.

And after she found me, it kind of turned into a race~

Hey, Lens. Help me out, will you?

'Ooh—'

Y e s . . .

'Miss Scene says it sounds very interesting. Lens will therefore be providing all the assistance you need, Kroos.'

Thanks~

'However, I can't guarantee that Fang won't recognize you.'

Well, if she catches me, I guess she'll have rightfully earned her victory~

'If you say so—'

*Beep* *beep*!

*Bzzt*—*Bzzt*—*Bzzt*—

*Chime*!

(Oh, have these buggies been here the whole time? I didn't even notice.)

*Beep* *beep*!

*Bzzt*—!

*Chime* *Chime*!

I know she hopped in here for sure.

Just where is she?

She's getting way too good at hiding...

......

......

......

If I was Kroos...

I'd be—

Right around—

......

Fang—I saw Kroos run toward the cafeteria!

Great, I'll be right there!

—

Phew—

'Congratulations, Kroos. It looks like you're still hidden.'

I've seen the way Scene hides on missions before.

It's so amazing~

'Lens uses a revolutionary new camouflage technique that combines stealth and optical refraction technologies, among others, to satisfy Miss Scene's needs.'

......

'I'm sorry, Miss Scene. Lens forgot to put on music for you.'

'And without further ado—'

Ha—This slaps.

Is it okay if I chill here for a little bit, too?

Y e s . . .

'Sure thing!'

By the way, what are you doing here, Scene?

'Miss Scene is brainstorming ideas for her next piece.'

'She may look like she's spacing out, but make no mistake. She's thinking.'

'And while she has her thinking cap on, it is Lens's job to play music and deliver food to her.'

Isn't there anyone chasing her down, trying to get her to work?

'Let's see—Not according to Lens's records.'

'If anyone tried to, Lens would activate these camouflage techniques. No one would be able to find her.'

Sounds so nice~

I wish I could live like Scene does.

'I believe Miss Scene said something similar before.'

'Something along the lines of, 'I wish I could live the way Cautuses do—' Something like that.'

What's so nice about us Cautuses?

It's very exhausting~

Ever since I was young, everyone's always told me that Cautuses are meant to be more energetic, and that I shouldn't be so lazy.

But all I ever wanna do is clear my mind and lay on the couch the whole day.

Doesn't that sound wonderful~

Y e s . . .

'What Miss Scene is saying is you can make your own decisions, and that is a joy in itself.'

Huh?

'Let's use Lens as an analogy.'

'Lens is able to take photos very quickly. Through the use of my system's auxiliary operations, Lens is capable of snapping photos of running Kuranta and storing those photos in my album without issues.'

'But Miss Scene can't do that.'

'Even when she's photographing people, Miss Scene takes a very long time, almost like she's sketching.'

'That's why Miss Scene is a good scenery photographer. She's not good at it because she likes taking photos of landscapes.'

'She wants to take photos of everything, but, most of the time, she's only able to take photos of still objects. Only they have the patience to wait until she's done without moving.'

'And that's what Lens meant.'

'You don't like to move, but if you put your mind to it, you can still be pretty agile.'

Hm, maybe~?

'Both Lens and Click have edited operational records of your missions, Kroos.'

'You usually just hang out around the destination, but once an order comes, you always head towards the new destination quickly. That makes you no different from the other Cautuses.'

That's just because I could die if I mess up~

Missions are hard~

'Without Lens, Miss Scene wouldn't even be able to move to the next location.'

'Lens believes there's a difference between can't do and don't want to do.'

Yes...

'There are too many things that we can't do, so let's do the things that we can do the best we can.'

'This is something that Scene told Lens before.'

'Of course, Miss Scene may be able to do fewer things, but the things that she can do, she does with relative ease.'

'In your case, Lens supposes you probably focus on putting your energy where it matters because you know your limits?'

Oh, that might be it~

'Looks like Lens's deduction is correct.'

But it could also be because I don't wanna work.

'Lens believes in you, Miss Kroos.'

*Bzzzzt*—

What's wrong?

'Oh, sorry about that. The reception here isn't very good.'

'The motivational r-routine that Lens s-selected to inspire you had a few e-errors.'

Ugh...?

'It looks like y-you w-w-w—'

—

Eh?

Lens?

—

(The buggies stopped moving too.)

(Did they break down?)

—!

Scene, are you trying to say something?

M m—

Take your time~ I'm listening~

M m e h—

E h h—

Let me guess~

Oh, is it—Mayer?

U m m—

Gotcha. I'll look for Mayer. You stay here to look after Lens.

I won't be long~

See ya~

U m m—

Y a—

I'm sorry, Fang, I got mixed up and went after the wrong person.

You know, there's quite a bit of difference between Leonhardt and Kroos...

Even if they're both Cautuses...

I'm so sorry! I should've been more careful!

It's fine. Let's look for her again. If we don't find her, we'll have to ask Meteor or Gitano for help.

Kroos isn't going to get away.

It kind of seems like she's got your full attention today, Captain.

You usually turn a blind eye, but you seem really mad this time.

I'm not mad.

You know what Kroos said when she ran away?

What?

She said today's the anniversary of me becoming our leader, so she was going to pick out a present for me.

Isn't that a good thing?

She never came back, in the end. I didn't even realize until you returned to the dorm.

Is today really the anniversary?

It is...

Then that's really mean of her.

I'll give her a good scolding myself.

Good.

Oh, right. Captain, happy anniversary!

Oh, yeah. Thanks.

Eh?

Was that Kroos just now?

I hope I'm not seeing things again...

No, that's Kroos alright.

Looks like she's in a hurry.

Come. Let's go take a look.

Okay.

This should be it~

(Isn't this an automatic door? Why isn't it opening?)

Mayer, are you home~?

(Ohh—)

(The door's broken.)

(Is it this button here?)

Mayer~

I need a favor. Is it okay~?

May— *cough*...

Hm? Need me?

Ehh, my ventilation fan is on. Why is it so strong over here?

I'm painting right now. Why don't you step outside first?

Let me finish up here. I'll be right with you!

Okay, *cough* *cough*.

*cough*.

Phew—

Here I am!

So, what's up?

If you just want some quick repairs, you should try Engineering. I don't think I'll be much help.

*cough*, actually...

Oh—Lens is dead? Shouldn't you get Closure then?

Scene thought you'd be better~

Okay, sure.

You're in luck today. I don't have anything in that much of a rush. Otherwise, you'd have come all this way for nothing.

Keep in mind, though, if those A.I. things with the four wheels run into problems, you should try Closure first.

Okay~

Let's go, then.

Mmm——

Looks like Kroos is actually busy!

Let's go back.

Huh? We don't need to follow her anymore?

If she's actually busy, then let's not get in the way.

We'll clean up Kroos's mess for her and get something to eat.

Right!

Here we are~

Hey, slow down. I haven't had breakfast...

Scene~

Y e s . . .

Lens?

'Why, hello, Kroos.'

'Oh, you're here too, Mayer. Welcome!'

She looks alright to me.

Uh... hm?

'Lens actually rebooted not long after you left.'

'Lens sometimes runs into problems with certain functions. It isn't uncommon for Lens to reboot.'

Then...

'Oh, you mean what Miss Scene was trying to say? She was trying to tell you that it's okay.'

'She takes a liiiittle while to get her words out, so she might've given you the wrong impression.'

Aha, guess I misunderstood~

Y e s . . .

Well, guess I came all the way here for nothing.

'Sorry about that, Miss Mayer. Lens is doing very well.'

Well, let me take a look...

Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong on the outside.

You said you crashed just now, right?

'That's right.'

Then that should be a problem with the system.

You said it yourself. You reboot often, right?

Y e s.

Closure didn't try to fix that for you?

'Closure has already ordered replacement parts for Lens. It won't be long before Lens receives an upgrade.'

Oh? Ohh—

So those parts were for you, huh?

I visited that dungeon of hers yesterday. She was working for the better part of the day.

She said it was some kind of 'advanced component used in extreme circumstances to be installed on a high-end mobile photography platform.'

So she meant you, huh?

Well, this is perfect. Let's go pay Closure a visit now. We'll take care of this problem of yours.

That way, you won't find yourself freezing up or having to install OS updates while you're out on a mission.

'Thank you very much, Mayer.'

'But Lens is afraid it takes Miss Scene a while to get around too. Lens will walk with Miss Scene, so we likely won't be able to come with you straight to Closure's.'

I'll walk her there~

Is that okay, Scene~?

Y e s—

'If that's what Miss Scene says...'

Okay, let's get going, then. Get it over with quickly, and I'll get to go to bed early. I have lots of work to get done tomorrow.

'Oh, Mayer, please don't push me around like that!'

Y e a h—!

Don't worry, Miss Mayer's just a little impatient~

Let's just take our time and walk there slowly~

I know the way~

Y e s . . .

I'm back~

Oh.

Welcome back.

Fang, here's some dessert I picked up for you~

Happy anniversary!

Wow, muffins!

Thanks.

Leave them on the table. We'll share them tomorrow.

Okay~

Is anyone using the bathroom~

We're going to bed. It's all yours.

Okay~

See, Fang? Kroos actually worked all day.

She even bought you a present.

Yeah.

I wasn't trying to reprimand her, you know.

If she really wants to take a break, all she has to do is tell me. I'm not going to say no.

It's just the way she goes about makes me kinda upset sometimes.

Kroos is too shy to actually say it. She's actually really thoughtful.

I kind of think she's just toying with me.

Well, she's really close with you.

Kroos doesn't do that to most people.

*Sigh*... I'd rather she treated me a little more normal...

Let's go to bed. We have training first thing tomorrow morning.

Be sure to wake Kroos up. She looked pretty tired when she got back. She just might not get up on her own.

If she oversleeps, Instructor Dobermann...

Relax, Fang, I'll drag her there if I have to.

I hope so...

Whatever, not gonna worry too much about it.

Bedtime now.

Good night.

Good night, Captain.