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The window was showing a starry night, together with a vast grassland and the sea in the distance. Mirii was sitting in front of a laptop, tapping rapidly on the keyboard and looking at a text forming on a virtual page. She was wearing jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of orange-pink shoes.
"… thus, I would like to meet you and begin the discussions over the new show… kind regards." She tapped the dot button at the end of the word 'show'. "Ok, the document is almost done…"
A music starts playing, coming from the smartphone resting near the laptop: the name 'Greta' was written on the top of the display. The girl's hand grabbed the smartphone, watched the screen and slid her thumb on the green circle at the bottom-left, moving it to the right.
Carrying her smartphone near her ear, she looked back at her laptop.
"Hello?" Her other hand moved the mouse, carrying the white arrow over the option 'Insert Image' on the top.
Hey. I just finished up the most boring meeting I have ever seen! Well, not that boring for you…
"Greta, the answer." Her head rose, carrying a 'Mirii Kelpshell' signature all the way down.
Sheesh, are you wearing your ice queen costume, today? I thought I was talking with a friend!
"You ARE talking with a friend…" She frowned a bit, as she moved the arrow over a floppy disk icon. "… a friend who has no time to waste with any insignificant jokes…" She clicked on the left mouse button, once the arrow was selecting the small floppy disk.
Ooook! Sooo… as I suspected, I can't join the party for tonight. Not even Barsy, since he has some online matches to play.
"Understood." Mirii nodded, as her mouse moved the arrow over the X on the corner. "Then, I will meet with Hunley and begin the operations."
Aaawww, why you haven't told me about their night party before?! I could have patched up the meeting for the next day or two! You are gonna get all the fun with your boy friend!
Mirii blushed, as she frowned some more. She moved the mouse to the bottom-left corner, as the arrow copied the movement and reached a Squid logo.
"Yo-you and your stupid, ridiculous"
Eh eh eh! It never gets old!
"… hmpf!" Mirii's head shook, watching the laptop's screen turning black. "Every day you have some sort of job or meeting to attend… your free time is located towards the summer and other festivities."
Sigh… true, true. But you know what? This stuff is going to be as worth as gold, once I get all my projects started!
"I know that well, Greta…" Mirii stands up. "Now I have to meet with Hunley. He's waiting for me inside his room."
Say hi to him for me!
"… I will." Her eyes closed, as she walked over the door. "See you tomorrow, Greta."
Bye bye!
The girl brought down her smartphone, pressing the red button on the screen.
"… the document just needs a quick check, before I can send it via email…" She opened the door, walking out of her room and closing the door right after. "I can do that tomorrow. For now, I must focus on the current mission…"
"Yo!"
Mirii's eyelids were lowered to the middle, as a little Inkling girl was standing behind her, with her hands on her hips. She was wearing a large black cap with a golden Squid emblem on the middle, a full pajama suit decorated with drawn stains of various colors.
She was chewing a gum visibly.
"Another night with Hunny, hmm?"
Mirii's eyes closed, as she sighed and lowered her head.
"Silin, I don't know where your videogames are… you should start following my wise advices, if you want to keep a solid control over your belongings."
"Wasn't going to ask that, Mirii." Silin shook her head. "I was getting back in my room."
"Really, now…" She sighed. "… I hope you will not spend the entire night, playing those silly videogames." Mirii resumed her walk.
"Don't worry!" Silin's irises went on the top-left corner, as she smiled widely. "I will just watch some TV instead."
"Bah… I would teach her the values of perfection, if I was in her mother." She was looking at the multi-door, while walking towards it. "Although, I don't think that she will understand it…"
The girl stopped in front of the right door, opening it and proceeding on the hallway.
"Fara seems to be more capable of listening to my advices than Silin… and she's younger than her too!" Her eyes closed. "Perhaps, I could make her a role model for Silin to follow… that could help her in the long run."
She smiled a bit, now passing the stairs and facing a shoji. Her smile morphed into a neutral-shaped mouth.
"… sigh… I have to take off my shoes, once more…" She frowned slightly.
Stopping on her feet, she bended on her knees and untied each shoelaces.
"I still don't understand the purpose of this rule… I didn't need to take off my shoes inside the Shrine, so why I have to do it for this part of the villa?!" She snorted, raising back up while holding her shoes. "Did Hunley and Fara agreed with such rule?! It's so imperfect walking on my socks and get them dirty… especially when I can use my shoes to protect them from the dirt!"
A vein popped out from her forehead, as she walked on her magenta socks and reached the shoji. She puts her shoes on the right side of the shoji, before returning towards its middle.
"… now that I think about it…" She opened the shoji with her free hand and went forward. "… I never asked Hunley's opinion on this rule."
She pulled the shoji back, before walking on a green carpet.
"Perhaps, he will fully explain to me why such rule is in place…" She smiled, while closing her eyes. "His decisions are usually perfect, after all… in what cases he would be wrong, anyway?!"
Blushing a bit, Mirii reopened her eyes and took a look at the 5 shojis present in the hallway: two on each side of the wall and one more in front of the girl, which happens to be larger than the others.
"Such a wise choice making Hunley's room, the one holding the largest of all shojis." Her head turned to her right. "Even wiser was my decision to keep the room closest to his… … ah, no!" Her eyes squeezed, returning her head forward. "Why I always forget to not think everything while I'm here?! Someone from the Shrine might hear me…!"
The girl stopped in front of the large shoji.
"… I should use my thoughts only to warn whoever is inside Hunley's room. I'm amazed by the strategy they used for identifying who's walking on this hallway… they hear the thoughts first, before letting anyone enter inside any of those rooms. It's so simple, yet effective!"
The shoji opened slowly, as Fara's head popped out from the opening: she smiled at Mirii.
"Howdy, Technie!" She closed her eyes.
Mirii smiled at the little girl.
"Hunley is in his room?"
"Yes!" Fara pushed the shoji more. "Come in!" She bounced in front of the taller girl.
"Thank you." Mirii nodded, as she stepped in the room.
The girl was noticing two large letters depicted on the top-left corner. A small garden was sitting on a large, round table, filled with pebbles, bonsais and a waterfall coming from a little mountain: a window stood behind it, covered by a curtain depicting a drawing of the Shrine.
A green Squid had a rope around his body, which was tied to a stone block: the Squid kept pulling the block, though a thin, rectangular hole on the floor. The Squid went over the hole, as he looked over Mirii.
"Mirii!" Hun turned into his humanoid form, as he shook off the rope out of his body.
Hun was wearing his usual clothes.
"Hunley… you have gotten strong, since you started your Squid trainings." Mirii blushed, lowering her hands and smiling at him. "You are truly a role model to follow…"
Hun blushed too, as he nodded.
"You told me that this…" He began massaging his chin. "… don'trememberthename, place accepts Squids who can only use their other form." He panted. "So, I thought to prepare myself in case I need to use my strength."
Mirii giggled, putting her hand in front of her mouth.
"I don't think you need to utilize your strength, once we infiltrate inside that building… but I appreciate the intelligent thought." She twirled her right tentacle. "You always need to hold various options, if you want to reach high levels of performance."
"Indeed!" Hun looked over his sister. "Fara… did you brought that paper or I was remembering wrong?"
"No, big bro…" Fara formed a downturned mouth. "Kelly was supposed to come here too…"
"Why?" Mirii's head rose. "What kind of"
"Tee hee hee!" Hands covered Mirii's eyes. "Guess whooooo…!"
A vein popped out from Mirii's forehead.
"Kelly… today my patience is rather low…"
"Aaaaww, don't be mad!" Kelly jumped backwards, as she began dancing in place. "I'm your friend!"
"Hmpf!" Mirii turned behind, as she folded her arms. "What reason do you have for coming here?"
Kelly ended her dance, by standing on her right foot: her arms stretched sideways and her hands opened as a pile of papers appeared on her left hand and a brush appeared on her right one.
"I'm here to help you!" She grinned. "Buuuut… for a little condition!"
…
"Ah, well…" A sweat drop grew on Fara's head. "… Kelly told me about that, before…"
"She did?!" Hun opened his mouth, while turning his shoulders over his sister.
"Sorry, big bro…!" Fara sticks her tongue, while clasping her hands. "I was thinking that you might let Mirii know about her condition beforehand, if I told you about it too…"
"And why is that a problem, exactly…?" Hun frowned slightly.
Sweat formed on Fara's forehead.
"B-because I-I didn't wanted to ruin everything an-and"
"Fara, this is not a game!" He shook his head. "We are supposed to stop those bad guys, not playing around"
"M-Master Hun!" Kelly jumped in front of the boy, making a sad face. "D-don't pick on Master Fara! Please!" She sniffed. "I-I involved her into this, b-because I was a bit unsure about asking this condition to you and Mirii…"
Hun stared at Kelly for a brief while… before sighing and looking at Mirii.
"… what do you say about this, Mirii?"
Mirii's head lowered, as her eyes closed.
"Kelly, I don't know exactly what kind of conditions you have in mind…"
"I just want to come with you!" Kelly chuckled, as she moved her legs in place.
Mirii's eyes opened, growing quite a bit and raising her head back to neutral position.
"You can't!" She snorted. "There are Squids who know nothing about the Shrine! Not to mention… you tend to cause trouble…" Her eyes squeezed slightly. "Which will hinder our performance… thus, will put my perfect reputation into jeopardy!"
"I-I promise to not cause the tiniest, little mistake…!" Sweat jumped out from Kelly's head, as her knees kept waving up and down. "… well, mmmaaaaybe a cute one if I happen to do it!" She chuckled.
Veins popped out from Mirii's forehead, as she gritted her teeth and grimaced visibly.
"She's truly going to ruin all my operations, if I let her come with us!" Her eyes squeezed. "And if I tell her to remain invisible in front of the others, she will be nothing more than"
Her mouth opened, as her eyes reopened. Kelly waved her mouth, as her eyes went watery…
"Technie!" Fara frowned at Mirii, pointing her glove-like hand at her. "You and your anger! There wasn't any need to say all that"
"Kelly, I have a question…" Mirii's eyes blinked, as she took some steps over the girl.
"Y-yes…?" Kelly sniffed loudly, while keeping her eyelids down.
"You… you know how to use a smartphone?" Mirii's hand picked her smartphone. "Can you do it, while you are seen by just the two of us…?"
"A smartphone…?" Kelly's eyelids went up to the middle. "You mean… that little device you are holding in your hands…?"
"Yes! Perfect!" Mirii smiled widely, as she stared back at Hun. "Kelly can help us make photos of that building!"
"Photos…?" Hun's head tilted over a direction. "… an image?"
"Photos that show crucial evidences for our fight against Project Neo!" Mirii nodded.
"Really?!" His mouth opened. "Then, that would be useful to us!"
"Ooooooh, please please please!" Kelly jumped in place, while laughing slightly. "Let me come with you! I will make all the photos you need!"
The taller girl turned her sight over Kelly.
"Very well… just to make sure, I will teach you how to make photos with this smartphone." She lifted her smartphone, showing its display. "If she manages to take those needed photos… then, I can truly attack that ridiculous Happy Squid Land for all the trouble it keeps causing to innocent Squids!"
Mirii brought her smartphone in front of her face, as her thumb began tapping on its screen.
"It's time to bring justice… with intelligence!"