CHAPTER 322: I WANT IT BACK.

"Duplicates?" Glancing at the pods once more, Dante then turned to the girl, looking confused. "You cloned yourself?"

"Something like that." Saying as much, Suzuka put her mask back on and returned to her work.

[They are androids as well.] Volcan said.

’Oh...’

Androids made more sense than clones. After all, Nobara’s granddaughter was a genius Gearhead, not a biology specialist.

’I wonder if dad-’ The thought spawned in his mind and disappeared halfway through. Rather, he made it disappear, not wanting to think about that particular topic right now.

"So..." Stepping toward the workbench, Dante continued with another question. "You basically send them in your place if you have to be somewhere else?"

"You could say that," Suzuka replied, not looking up from her work. "I needed a substitute for university, so I just made one."

"For university? What do you need a university for? You’re probably better than most engineers out there."

"... Was that a serious question?"

"Nah, not really."

A university degree doesn’t just prove one’s capabilities, it could also serve as a ticket to a corpo job. Even if one doesn’t need that kind of work, it could still be a good hiding spot to avoid drawing attention.

"So... What are you working on?"

"Nothing important." Pausing, the blue-haired girl put her tools down. "Why are you here anyway? I don’t think you stalked me for no reason."

Dante’s left eyebrow twitched.

"I just happened to be in the area when I noticed you," Dante said. "Got a little curious, so I decided to check what you were doing."

"I see..." She stared at him for a moment. "Just to be clear, don’t even think about stealing anything in here."

Dante’s face twitched once more.

"And what made you think I would do that?"

"A hunch."

Though he was aware that he hadn’t made the best first impression, Dante couldn’t help being hurt by the continuous jabs. Tired of carrying mt of the conversation, he kept his silence and waited. It didn’t take long for the blue-haired girl to speak up, though the topic she decided to breach wasn’t something he wanted to discuss.

"You were seriously intent on fighting that hero, weren’t you?"

"... You already know the answer to that..."

"Can you win?"

"I will win."

Dante answered without hesitation, his voice calm and steady, without a single doubt. Taking her mask off, Suzuka glanced at him for a moment, then went back to work.

"Being confident is good and all, but you need to be realistic." She said. "You couldn’t beat that Werewolf. What makes you think you can take on the most powerful Genome in the world?" When he gave her a confused look, the girl sighed. "He’s the rabid dog you mentioned before, right?"

"You figured it out just from that?" Dante raised an eyebrow.

"I figured a lot just from that," Suzuka replied. "Including that spatial gates aren’t your only powers."

The silence lingered between them for a moment, then Dante suddenly burst out laughing.

"Man, it feels like you’re trying really hard to get yourself killed."

"You won’t kill me, though," Suzuka replied. "Grandma won’t forgive you."

"Don’t push your luck, though."

Suzuka ignored his warning, picking up the thing she was working on and examining it with her own eyes.

"You... seem to get along with grandma, huh?"

"Well, you could say that," Dante replied. "I’ve been eating at her shop for almost a year now."

"Just a year?"

"Sometimes multiple times a day."

Looking him up and down, the girl furrowed her brows.

"... and you didn’t gain any weight?"

"I exercise a lot," Dante replied, only to remember that he hadn’t been working out as much recently. Now that he had decided to go fully cyborg, exercising his body no longer seemed like a productive way to spend his time.

"Speaking of which," He remembered something he had been meaning to discuss with the girl for some time now. "That blue arm, the one in the box."

"The one you stole?" Suzuka asked.

"The one I returned," Dante replied. "You made it yourself, right?"

"Obviously."

"Can you make other types of bionics?"

"Don’t tell you want to commission something." Sighing, she picked up her tools and resumed her work. "It’s not that easy, you know. Creating custom bionics."

"Never said it was." Saying that, Dante opened the girl’s contact and sent her a link. "What I want is pretty simple, really."

Suzuka once again paused her work, likely checking what he sent her. A few seconds later, she creased her forehead. "This is..." She looked up at him. "You want this? Seriously?"

"Surprised?" Dante said.

"Yes..." Staring at the empty space for a few seconds, she then added. "Actually, this makes sense. You use power suits, after all."

"Oh, so you get it already."

"Yeah... wait." Fixing him with a stern look, she asked. "Don’t tell me you plan on going full cyborg."

"Oh, so you figured it out already?"

"Full cyborg... are you sure about this?" She asked.

"I don’t exactly have another choice."

Though he shrugged with a smile, Dante considered her question a second time, not because he was doubting his decision, but to reaffirm it. Using VOLCAN threatened to rip his body apart each time, and to mitigate that, he needed a sturdier body, one that could seamlessly integrate the armors bestowed on him by the relic.

"I... see..." Suzuka cast her gaze down, appearing to consider his request. She took her sweet time, and when she finally looked up, her eyes were full of determination. "Alright. I will make it for you."

"Now we’re talking." Dante grinned.

"Slow down, we have yet to discuss my conditions." She said. "And payment."

"Are those two... different?"

"Of course. The conditions are for me agreeing to help you." She replied. "The payment is for me finishing the job."

Dante got a bad feeling about this, but he decided to hear her out anyway.

"First condition is... You have to let me take a close look at your power suits. All of them."

And just like that, she almost convinced Dante to pull out of the deal.

"... you want to see the suits?"

"Not just see them." Suzuka clarified. "I need to look inside. Check everything."

"Why not just ask for the schematics?"

"You have those?" Her eyes widened a little.

"Uh..."

’Volcan?’

[Yes, we do have the schematics for all armors.] Volcan replied. [Unfortunately, I do not have the authority to share them.]

’Well, I guessed that much.’

Sighing, Dante was about to relay his resident AI’s answer when the girl spoke again.

"Did you contact someone just now?"

Taken aback, Dante was frozen still for a second, but he quickly composed himself.

"I was checking if I could share them with you."

"And?"

"I don’t have the authority. Sorry."

"Oh..." Looking a bit disappointed, she cast her gaze down for a moment, but then she looked up. "I can still get a look, right?"

Pressing his lips into a line, Dante turned inside.

[It is possible.] Volcan replied. [Though that will require damaging the armor to some extent, since their outer shell is not designed to be removed.]

"Alright, you can take a look," Dante said. "Can’t guarantee that you will learn anything, though."

"That is acceptable," Suzuka replied. "As for my second condition," Pausing, she seemed to consider her words carefully, adding to Dante’s anxiety. "You’ll owe me a favor."

"... what?"

"I can’t give you the details." She said, her gaze swimming to a corner. "Let’s... let’s just say I’m planning something, and I might need some help."

"That... way too vague." Dante shook his head. "What if it doesn’t work for me?"

"I very much doubt that." Said Suzuka. "We have the same enemies, after all."

"The same..."

Now it was Dante’s time to widen his eyes. His mind quickly raced to discern the meaning behind her statement, and it didn’t take him long to understand, only taking a few seconds to connect the dots.

"You..."

"You didn’t want us to pry, so don’t." Suzuka shut him before he could ask the question. "You’ll know in time, when you decide to open up, of course."

"... that’s fair."

Just like how he had things he didn’t want people to know, and things he didn’t want to talk about, the same could be said about others. His partnership with the blue-haired Gearhead was going to be a long one, so he didn’t mind waiting a while to hear her story.

"As for my third condition-"

"There is more?"

"Yes." Suzuka nodded curtly, her expression blank. "I want the Blue Oni suit back."

"Al-" Just as he was about to agree, Dante’s thoughts suddenly halted. He turned to the girl, confused.

Still giving him the same blank look, Suzuka explained herself.

"Klaus Stahlwölfe

." She said. "He was wearing a unique power suit when you took him, right?" She narrowed her eyes. "I want it back."

"You want it... back?"