Vita glared, teeth clenched, at Jun An who was about to stir up trouble again. She could only allow herself to be pushed forward in a doggy-style position ("or2") by Jun An until her hands braced against the door.
Jun An teased her: "Better answer quickly, or Little Orange will get suspicious."
Vita shot a fierce glare at the Captain and his twisted humor. Knowing it was impossible to make him withdraw at this point, she steadied her voice and said, "Little Orange, what is it? Sister Vita is here."
Orange carefully explained, "It's about our memories. I just secretly found Blue. She mentioned that Froth experiences a great flood periodically and told us to prepare for evacuation."
"Mm~ I see Little Blue still cares about you... mmph~"
"Um, Sister Vita, did you just make a strange sound?"
"N-no, why would anything be wrong with me?"
"But you're breathing heavily while talking, and speaking through the door is unusual. You never do that."
"Well, this..."
Vita was too overwhelmed to think clearly. She glared at the Captain behind her, who only grew more excited seeing her struggling.
The Captain said, "If you don't open the door to see Little Orange, she'll definitely get suspicious."
"If you'd just pull out now, there wouldn't be any suspicion at all, would there?" Vita said through gritted teeth. "Aren't you afraid of being seen by the children?"
"I'm just a stranger they've known for less than a day, so it doesn't matter."
Jun An curiously asked, "Besides, do they even understand what this act means?"
The Little Vitas were small, with behavior patterns as innocent as children, and those who seemed more mature were only that way because of the virtues separated from Sa.
So Jun An was genuinely curious—did they actually have any concept of these matters?
Should they be educated about these things sooner? After all, understanding some things earlier wasn't bad, and having Vita as their sister teach them might put Vita's mind at ease too.
"Of-of course they know," Vita replied with a trembling voice, speaking softly. "They may look small, but they've been managing the development of an entire city! Froth has developed for generations now—if people were being polite, they could call them grandmothers."
That made sense—if the Little Vitas truly knew nothing, they couldn't properly manage a city.
However, those few moments of conversation made Little Orange outside grow anxious. "Sister Vita? Why did you stop talking?"
"I..."
Just as Vita was about to answer, Jun An pulled the door handle, pushing her against the door crack. To avoid falling, she could only grip the edge of the door tightly.
"Sister Vita! Are you alright?" Orange looked worriedly at Vita, who had suddenly appeared, as if someone had pushed her from behind.
"I-I'm fine, just a bit eager to see Little Orange, that's all."
Vita consciously tried to tense her body, hoping Jun An would end her torment quickly.
"Then why are you bent over?"
"Obviously so I can see our Little Orange better~"
"Where are your clothes?"
"I was in the middle of changing, so Little Orange absolutely mustn't peek."
"But your body is still swaying..."
"Just a bit tired from traveling these past few days."
"But Sister Vita, your face is so red."
"It's-it's just from the fatigue of traveling these past few days~"
"Are you sick?!"
Orange anxiously touched Vita's forehead, "You're burning up!"
That touch startled Vita, making her body tense up like never before. Even the Captain could feel the difficulty in progressing.
Captain's stamina -10. Vita's stamina -10.
"N-no, I'm not sick," Vita nervously explained. "Haha, I've been running around looking for clues about Sa for so long, it's normal to get hot after so much exercise."
"So Sister Vita's work is that tough? Let me bring you a wet towel, wiping down when you're hot will feel refreshing."
Orange's pure smile and innocent heart made Vita feel ashamed, while a certain someone kept probing her depths repeatedly... Vita couldn't tell if he was righteous or evil.
"Mmph!!!"
Vita's stamina -10.
"Sister Vita, what's wrong?!"
"N-nothing, just a leg cramp!"
Faced with Jun An's dishonorable attack on her weak spot, Vita could only endure silently.
"Don't worry, it's already much better."
Vita forced a smile. Though she wanted to close the door immediately and end the conversation, the Captain, in high spirits, definitely wouldn't allow it to end—at least not until one health bar was depleted.
Now all Vita could do, besides tensing her body and trying to deplete his health bar, was to placate the Little Vita.
Although similar situations had happened before, back in Salt Snow Holy City, Jun An had used mental control and perception modification. There was no risk of discovery—they could even do it on the street in front of others without issue.
Not to mention, Vita didn't particularly care about Salt Snow Holy City.
But the Little Vitas were different—they were her family! There would be many more meetings in the future, and if this was discovered...
Thinking about this, Vita tried even harder to compress the Captain's health bar, though it had the same effect on her. But to end this absurd act quickly, Vita had no choice but to give it her all.
"Never mind about me, Little Or~ange, wh-what did you come here for?"
"Oh, right."
Orange nodded, then looked toward the room with slight suspicion. "The Captain isn't here, is he?"
"!!!!"
"Whew~" Jun An felt another wave of pleasure; that last squeeze was almost as powerful as when Theresa exerted herself.
Captain's stamina -10.
"Of-of course not!"
Vita broke into a cold sweat. Had she been discovered?!
Would her image as the caring big sister, built up over so many years, collapse just like this?
Would Orange think she was a bad sister who liked to seduce young boys?!
"That's good."
Orange suddenly sighed with relief, making Vita realize she hadn't been discovered—Orange simply didn't want Jun An present during their conversation.
"It's about our memories."
Orange explained, "I've talked with Blue and found some discrepancies in our memories, so I'm not sure which version is true. I wanted to ask you, Sister Vita."
"Do Fu Hua and Captain really have the ability to brainwash people?"
Faced with Orange's serious inquiry, Vita couldn't respond with the same mindset. Apart from grinding down the Captain's health bar, she could only spare a fraction of her attention to think.
"If-if they had such abilities, wouldn't discussing this be meaningless?"
Vita struggled to answer with a clear mind, feeling her own health bar becoming increasingly dangerous.
"After all, my-my memories could be tampered with too~"
"But I believe in you, Sister Vita!"
Little Orange said earnestly, "Whatever Sister Vita says, I'll believe it!"
For Orange, compared to Moriarty, Fu Hua, and the Captain, Vita—who she had lived with for a long time and considered family—was more trustworthy.
Besides, at this point, Orange couldn't distinguish whether Blue's memories were wrong or her own. Since she couldn't tell, she might as well trust someone first.
"Yes, we do indeed have memory-related powers..." Vita struggled to stay conscious, fighting the urge to stick out her tongue as she tried to respond to this trust. "But I don't agree that he would use them on you."
"And memories—your memories are all real, just diff-different. You've all just forgotten certain things. What they remember, you and Little Harmony can't recall. What you remember, they've forgotten."
"This is one consequence of Sa's cycle."
"Sa, again..."
Little Orange was now somewhat angry. "Why would she do this? Not only making us lose our memories but also destroying Froth..."
"Moriarty bears some responsibility too. After all, he's the real culprit causing confusion among you."
Vita's stamina -1. -1. -1...
"Sister Vita, are you alright?! Why are you shaking so violently?!"
By now, Vita could no longer hear what Little Orange was saying. Under the Captain's assault, she could only grip the handle tightly.
As a big sister, how could she collapse in front of her little sister?!
She could only mentally recite her original purpose to fight against it!
"Don't worry, Sister Vita will definitely help you all remember."
Everything for my little sisters! Everything for my little sisters! Everything is for...
"I—I can't take it anymore~~"
"I'm sorry, Orange!!"
With a slam, the door was shut tight, and Vita collapsed, trembling all over. Both of their health bars were depleted simultaneously—this round ended in a draw.