"Really?" Neon looked up at Vert with expectant eyes. "But, why would it be in Lowee and not the other three nations?"

"Lowee has had some strange input sizes in the past," Vert explained with a smile. "There was once a disk made in the shape of a character's head, and it ended up wreaking havoc on many disk readers in the nation." She giggled to herself and inadvertently bounced her chest once more before reminiscing, "Blanc was quite furious when she heard the news."

"…Blanc?" Neon tiled her head to the side in curiosity. She paused a moment and began, "I'm assuming that she's Lowee's goddess?"

"Yep," Neptune answered, stretching in place. "Lowee's kinda different since it's got two CPU Candidates. You'll see when we get there."

"CPU Candidate…oh, Uni mentioned something about 'goddesses in training' to me. Is that what a CPU Candidate is?" Neon rubbed her gloved hands together, miming the process of using hand soap. "So then that'd make you the CPUs, right?"

"Did Neptune really not explain that to you?" Noire asked, looking at Neptune disapprovingly. "Sheesh, just how little did you explain to this girl?"

"Hey, now's not the time to be giving exposition!" Neptune weakly defended herself. She lowered her voice and added, "I did say that Nep Jr and I were goddesses…"

"Although I disagree with her sentiment, Neptune is partially right," Vert interposed from the sidelines. "We should move to Planeptune, acquire Neon's armor, and make haste to Lowee. We shouldn't waste any time for our darling earthling," she declared, placing especial emphasis on the last two words.

"R-right," Neon said, flustering at Vert's comment. "N-no time to l-lose, after all…"

"Alright!" Neptune dramatically bounced out of her seat into a standing position. "I'll go get that armor. You guys just stay put!" Before anyone could protest, she ran out to the balcony and flung herself off, re-entering the girls' field of view a few moments later as Purple Heart.

"She's always being overdramatic," Noire said with a groan, trying and failing to hide her genuine smile. "How long do you think it'll take her to get back?" She asked no one in particular, taking another sip from her teacup.

"She shouldn't be too long," Nepgear answered, turning her gaze from the balcony window back to the group in front of her. "Neptune's pretty fast, and Leanbox and Planeptune are relatively close by."

"So," Neon awkwardly broke the silence, "what do you like to do in your free time? For all the time I've been here, I haven't actually just…relaxed with any of you."

Nepgear perked up and answered without hesitation, "I love to take apart and build different kinds of machines! That's why I got so excited about your armor! I've never seen anything like it!" She thought for a moment before recalling, "I never did give it those modifications you said I could make."

Neon nervously chuckled and replied, "Maybe that's for the best…anyways, what about you, Noire?" She looked at the raven-haired CPU expectantly, a warm smile taking over her face.

"I, uh…" Noire fumbled her words, caught off guard by Neon's innocent smile. She regained her bearings and explained, "I don't get much time to myself, since I work almost all of the day. A lot of the time, I just get roped into whatever shenanigans Neptune's doing that day." She flipped one of her twin-tails back and let out a tremendous sigh.

"I spend much of my time playing '4 Goddesses Online 2'," Vert said without waiting for Neon to ask. "If you'd like, you can make an account and I can play with you sometime," she offered warmly.

"I don't know if I can do that," Neon said, regretful. "Once I get this flash drive issue sorted, I was planning on returning home," she muttered, finding special difficulty in the last two words.

Just as the mood was about to be ruined, though, a loud thud was heard from the balcony, and as the group turned to look at the cause of this interruption, they saw Purple Heart deactivating her transformation, with Neon's armor set on the balcony. Everyone began making their way out of the room, and Neptune took her place on a nearby bench.

"Man, I'm beat," Neptune sang, stretching her limbs out tiredly. "I was flying extra fast just to get this suit here."

"I'm…sorry…" Neon stuttered, flustering and looking away. "I…really didn't mean to…inconvenience you, ma'am…I…"

"Hold that thought," the short goddess interrupted, some energy returning to her. "You weren't inconveniencing anyone. Really. And, you don't need to call me 'ma'am' every time you wanna talk to me, y'know?" She pointed a finger at Neon sharply, which only gave the earthling more pause.

"A-Alright…if you're sure," the girl shyly agreed. She pressed her thighs together and pulled her arms closer to her chest nervously, still looking away from Neptune and the others.

"Now, now," Vert chimed in, bouncing her chest outside of the girl's field of vision. "There is no need to be shy or apologetic. You haven't caused anyone any trouble, and, with your nature, I doubt that you will do so."

"Okay," Neon said with a sigh of relief. "Well, Neptune, are you okay? You do look a bit tired."

"Nah, I'm fine," she said, still sitting down. "While you guys weren't looking, I snuck a Nep Bull, so I've got my energy back," Neptune chirped happily, bouncing out of the bench to prove it.

"So then, shall we go to Lowee?" Vert offered, taking a step closer to the balcony edge.

"Finally, we're actually going," Noire huffed, transforming and edging closer to the balcony's end. She took her place next to Vert, who had activated her transformation just a moment after Noire.

"Alrighty!" Neptune activated her own transformation, and Nepgear followed suit. Neon stepped forward and took Purple Heart and Black Heart's hand, and the five took to the skies.

"This is amazing," Neon dreamily observed. "You get to do this every day?"

"Indeed," Green Heart said rather plainly, looking at Neon's amazed face. "Whether it's discussing political matters or simply visiting one another, we tend to fly across these skies daily."

"If you look ahead, you can see Lowee," Black Heart declared, using her free hand to point out the nation. "It's always snowing there. You can see the clouds from a long way away."

A look of realization flashed across Neon's face as she looked at the winter nation. "So this is why you suggested I bring my armor. How cold is it usually?"

"Lowee's average temperature is below 10 degrees," Purple Heart answered. "I tend to stay in the Basilicom or the Guild when I come here for that very reason."

"If you had bothered to put more insulation on that hoodie of yours, it wouldn't be a problem," Black Heart chided, a smile forming across her face.

"Uh..Noire?" Neon asked, looking up at her carrier. "Your dress in your human form doesn't look very warm either."

The CPU's smile faded as she redirected her gaze in front of her. "It may not look it, but it's quite warm. Better than a hoodie that isn't even a windbreaker, at least."

Green Heart chuckled and asked, "That reaction tells me the opposite of what you meant it to. It really is quite cold for you, isn't it?"

"That's not true!" Black Heart exclaimed, her tone of voice signaling otherwise. "I'll prove it when we land!"

"It isn't exactly a competition," Nepgear stated, trying to end the debate. "I feel a bit cold in Lowee, too."

"Uh…excuse me?" Neon meekly said. "We missed the entrance gate." She nodded towards the structure as best she could, trying to direct the goddesses' attention.

"After what you pulled last time, we're going straight for the Basilicom," Black Heart explained. "Although, something tells me that Neptune just spaced out and didn't think that through." She turned back to Purple Heart, a cocky smile on her features once more.

"I…had that plan in mind before we even left," she hastily rebutted, trying to retain her dignity. "I just knew that you would have been thinking the same thing."

"That pause was quite noticeable, Neptune," Green Heart said with a chuckle. "Are you sure you didn't zone out, as Noire said?"

Purple Heart promptly looked away, eliciting a hearty laugh from the group. As they approached their destination, the goddesses began to slow their flight, and begun their descent a few moments afterward. Within a few moments, they had passed through the clouds and were above the entrance to the Basilicom.

"Is there no balcony to this one?" Neon asked as she was set down. "I didn't see anything like it on the way here."

"Nope!" Neptune responded, having deactivated her transformation. "We hafta go in through the front." She pulled her arms together and rubbed her elbows, trying to stay warm.

"Let us hurry, for Neptune's sake," Vert proposed, walking towards the Basilicom doors. She gave the door a hearty tug and pulled it open, holding it for the rest of her friends with a warm smile.

"No reason to delay," Noire followed up as she made her way towards the open door, tapping the snow off her shoes as she entered. "Come on, you three!" She yelled at the remaining girls, gesturing for them to hurry.

"Got it!" Neptune exclaimed as she ran in, not bothering to dust her shoes off before leaning against a wall and basking in the building's warmth.

"Uh…coming!" Neon sauntered into the open door with Nepgear behind her, following Noire's practice of respect and drying her armor's boots before entering.

Vert closed the door and looked at Neon before suggesting, "This Basilicom is rather maze-like, so you should stay near one of us so as to not get lost."

"A-Alright," Neon agreed, shifting over to Noire. "Got it."

The girls walked without many words, stopping only for Neptune's random shenanigans throughout the hallways. Neon silently admired the building's ornate design, from the decorative and elaborate paintings on the walls to the beautiful and vibrant carpets lining the floor.

Suddenly, though, a large book fell from on high and struck Neptune square on the top of the head, knocking her to the floor in a groaning mess. Everyone stopped and looked around for the cause of this trouble, though they knew the culprits preemptively.

"Direct hit! Good going, Rom!" The more energetic Lowee twin, Ram, ran out into the hallway and recovered the projectile, holding it tightly in her hands.

"Will Miss Neptune be…okay?" She nervously asked, looking at Neptune's distraught figure on the ground. "That looked…painful…"

"She'll be…fine!" Ram answered, her hesitation on Neptune's condition quite obvious. She walked over to her victim and stood over her triumphantly, and Rom followed suit.

Seeing all this, Neon's face contorted with an unreadable mix of emotions. She took slow, measured steps towards the twins, her armor's boots thumping along the ground and sending an echo throughout the halls of the Basilicom. She reached the two Candidates and sat seiza style in front of them.

"Rom and Ram? Are those your names?" The earthling's voice raised and softened, and behind her helmet, the corners of her lips had curved upwards into a bright smile.

"Yep!" Ram seemed quite enthusiastic to meet a stranger, so she jumped in and introduced herself first. "I'm Ram, and this is my sister Rom!" She pointed rather melodramatically towards her sister, which caused her to back away a small bit.

"Hi…what's your name?" Rom shyly asked, looking directly at Neon's helmet.

"Neon," she responded. "I'm named Neon, and I come from Earth." She undid the latch on her helmet and removed it, a slight hissing sound emerging as the air within was released. As she fully removed the item, she pushed some hair out of her face and, somehow, her cap was still on. "Would you…like to…play with me?" She flushed a little bit as she said this, but a huge smile crossed her face as she asked.

"Sure! Rom and I have a ton of games we can play together!" The younger twin enthusiastically bounced towards a room down the hall, leaving her sister and Neon's group behind.

"Wait for me, Ram!" Rom called out, following her sister's track.

"H-hey! No hitting anybody with books!" Neon yelled, following the twins towards the CPU's office, the place of their demise.

"Well, no point in waiting," Noire dryly said. "Let's go." She began to walk rather haughtily towards the office, not waiting for Neptune or the others at all.

"Ugh…did someone get the number of that book?" Neptune grumbled, sitting up and regaining her bearings. "Hey, where did Neon go?"

"Neon went ahead with Rom and Ram," Nepgear explained, helping her sister to her feet. "She seemed really excited to see them."

"We should go as well," Vert said. "We shouldn't make any more delays." She led the way towards the office, and the two Planeptunian goddesses followed suit.