erato

Let's go.

It seems I've made the right choice, Erato.

Accompanying you on your journey has been far more gratifying than pouring myself another drink on the bridge.

Are all you priestesses like this, or are you just this boring, Miss 'Goddess of Victory'?

I'm sure you know just how uniquely unparalleled I am.

We've arrived our next destination.

There's no shortage of brilliant engineers on Rhodes Island, so surely we'll be able to find a—

Hey! Erato and Pallas? Giorno to the both of ya!

Hello, Chiave. Are you the only one in here?

Aosta was just here though? Huh, where'd he go?

Aosta? Where'd you go?

Wait, there's no need for that. I'll just talk to you.

As I recall, you're... quite good at designing machines?

'Course I am. My modding skills are first-class, you could even call me a genius!

Wonderful. I'd like to ask you then, have you ever done anything you would consider heroic...?

Here, hold onto this for a sec.

...A hydraulic clamp?

You're asking me about modding, right? When I was still learning how to fix cars, my mentor once told me that it's nice hearing how great something is, but nothing beats experiencing it for yourself.

No, I just wanted to ask you about your own heroic deeds...

Now hold on tight, I'll give you a demonstration.

Of what...?

Ahhh!

Why, why am I flying?!

What do you think? My latest invention, a self-suspension hydraulic clamp!

I have to deal with a lot of heavy equipment here, and it's such a pain lugging my tools up and down the ladders every time!

But now, with this baby, you can float up with them! No more ladders!

It can fly even higher, so don't let go!

Huh?!

I-Its vibrating quite a bit, is this normal?

Vibrating? ...Did I forget to install the motor rotor? Wait, did I even...

It's going wild, I can't hold on any longer!

Careful! It's flying towards you!

Wha—

Yow!

Ow ow ow! Ugh, my head...

A malfunction? How did <i>that</i> happen? Weird, was the jet engine too powerful? Eh, screw it, I can think about it later.

You were asking me earlier if I've done any heroic deeds?

Yes...

Well, I must proudly declare—

Nope!

An unexpected answer.

Well, it's 'cause I give my all to my modded equipment.

So they're the real heroes, the ones who've achieved plenty of unprecedented feats in my place! They're the ones everyone should remember!

As for me, I invented them, so maybe you can call me... uh... a 'Hero Creator'?

Heh, I like the sound of that.

'Hero Creator'? Tsk.

Aosta! What's that 'tsk' supposed to mean, huh? You don't like it?

What 'heroes' are you talking about? The drill that can sing, maybe the wrench that can dance?

Oh, now we have one more: a hydraulic clamp that can fly.

Hey! How can you disrespect your boss like this?!

According to my statistics, the last time you received a modding request was... three months back?

Hey, you sure about that? I've got the feeling I did a real good job <i>somewhere</i>! Definitely!

Just admit it, Chiave. You're hopeless.

Hey, this helmet on the table... I remember seeing it out on a field mission a while back.

A defender operator was fuming: 'I only asked for my goggles to be fixed, but that guy added a whole bunch of extra functions!'

But during that same mission, the squad encountered an unexpected source of Originium pollution.

They lacked proper Originium detection equipment, but the detector on the helmet managed to work and helped them avert a crisis.

Ya hear that, Aosta? I'm out there saving the day!

Tch.

Then why did they send the helmet back?

Oh, as I recall, it started leaking electricity later in the mission...

Anyway, I'll never give up on my creations, and my genius must stay unburied.

For there will come a day when I myself will be worthy of being called a hero, and not just a 'Hero Creator' or whatever. Just you wait, Aosta!

Oh, I forgot you girls were still here. Sorry, Erato. I didn't have any of those heroic tales you wanted.

It's fine.

But I was thinking, if you wanted to ask someone else, I have someone in mind.

And who might that be?

My dear friend, Lancet-2!

She's been down in the dumps lately, even though she's been working so hard.

And while she's always been the negative sort... maybe she'd cheer up if you let her know all the heroic deeds she's done!

Alright, got it.

Come back and hang out if you have time, and let me know whenever if you need anything modded!

Erato, are you seriously considering Chiave's suggestion?

Of course. As it happens, my original plan also included paying a visit to the medics on board.

Do you think this 'quest' of yours, if you'll permit me such a word, will ultimately prove fruitful for your work?

I couldn't say.

I've previously amassed a collection of legends and stories, and for the sake of preserving them properly, I will do my best to act as an earnest recorder.

The key is to not let any subjective emotions and thoughts pollute the record, so that the stories maintain their original form.

Once this journey has concluded, everything I've seen, witnessed, heard, and recorded will gradually settle down within a few nights.

Then, it flows into poetry under my pen, and through my voice presents itself to the audience.

The 'quest' is not yet over, though, so I can only speculate how it will end.

Recording, creating, eulogizing... you've given yourself far more duties to bear than a simple wandering bard.

I like to think of this as my passion.

Or perhaps it's your liberty.

...But I have a hunch that what I see and hear this time won't affect my creation all that much.

Before I was simply curious about your process, but now I've become quite interested in the poem you will write.

We're here.

What do I do... what do I do?

Hello, Lancet-2... what are you doing?

Hello. Based on the status displayed on my motion module, I am currently spinning in circles.

I can see that, but... why?

Doctor... because of the Doctor.

Did something happen to them?

No, it's my fault.

Because I am incompetent, useless, and can't do anything right.

Hold on, could you elaborate? What happened exactly?

Pallas, so you're saying if I hit her twice like this, she'll be able to speak normally?

You can try.

Checking language module—operation will resume when the process is complete.

The reason is that the Doctor has been so busy recently. They have so much paperwork to deal with every day, and are unable to go to bed until early morning.