October 5, 2053 – 10:06 a.m.

In a laboratory, also on the second floor of the Gotha building, a woman dressed in a white coat with her brown hair tied back in a ponytail is working with test tubes. She is Sayuri Chiba, the chemistry member.

A few seconds later, Junna bursts into the room, throwing the door open without warning and rather violently, frightening Chiba so much that she drops the test tube she was working on, smashing it on the floor.

“M-Miss Junna.”

"You should call me Member of Logic Miura, we are on the same level."

"O-of course, I'm sorry, Miss Junna."

"Oi, oi... what did I just tell you?"

"S-sorry, Member of Logic Miura!"

The girl trembles like a leaf and avoids eye contact with Junna, keeping her blue eyes downcast. Her behavior is due to her shyness and a series of difficulties in relating to other people. In fact, Chemistry Member Chiba spends all her time locked in the laboratory, trying to avoid contact with anyone. At this point, Junna sighs heavily, as if giving up, and addresses her by name.

“You're always so nosy, Sayuri.”

"B-but shouldn't you... um... call me by my title too?"

"Forget the formalities... I was just teasing you. You're always so scared of everything and everyone." Sayuri doesn't reply, aware that this is the truth, so after a few moments of silence, Junna addresses her colleague again.

“You should go out more, you know... if you always stay cooped up here in the lab, you'll never find a boyfriend.”

Sayuri blushes with embarrassment and, with great effort, tries to respond. "W-what are you talking about?"

Junna laughs heartily. "Sorry, I was just teasing you... it's so easy with you that it's almost no fun. Anyway, as a woman older than you, I really want to advise you to get out of here from time to time. At least go for a walk in the city. As much as you may fear the world outside your laboratory, this country is the safest place in human history.”

“Actually, I used to go out a little, but since he abandoned us, I've become afraid again...”

“I understand... In any case, I'm here to ask for your advice. This is a threatening letter that was left at Jin's door. Could you analyze it and figure out whose fingerprints they are? Maybe that way we can track down the culprit behind such a cowardly act.”

“O-of course.”

Sayuri takes the letter Junna hands her and starts working on it with a machine. “I'll start scanning it, then we'll match it with the fingerprints in the database, since we have the fingerprints of everyone in the country with a microchip on file here. It will take a few minutes to get the results, if you want to come back later...”

“No, I'll stay here... there's something else I want to talk to you about.” Junna replies, sitting down on one of the stools in the lab. The Chemistry Member Chiba continues to work on the sheet handed to her, so the Logic Member takes up the conversation again. “Why did you vote to sentence Jin to death during the Council? Are you perhaps a follower of Domon?”

Sayuri doesn't turn around and starts to sweat cold. Being in obvious distress, she doesn't answer, so Junna presses her.

“Did you hate him so much that you wanted to see him dead, or did you really think he was guilty even though he was catapulted here from the past?”

Sayuri is increasingly uncomfortable.

“Or do you think he's just an impostor and that this whole story is a sham?”

At this point, chemistry member Chiba can no longer contain himself and explodes.

"Shut up!"

After this outburst of anger, which takes even Junna by surprise, Ada begins to explain her reasons.

"I believed in Jin, I really believed in him... I owe him everything, he saved me from this horrible world. In the past, when I was still a young researcher at the university, I had to endure all kinds of harassment on my way home. People would stare at me if I wore a dress that showed a little skin, men would shout horrible things at me on the street even though they were strangers, and sometimes they would even try to touch me under the pretext of being crowded on the subway... until that time...”

“I already know the story.” Junna interrupts her.

"Then you know that I owe everything to him, that I owe everything to Gotha! On the evening of May 13, 2040, I stayed later than usual at the lab, and even though some of my colleagues wanted to walk me home, I didn't want to bother them. On the way, the streets were dark and deserted, and a man appeared from that tunnel... who... who...”

"Who tried to rape you, but before he could go through with it, the Gotha police, who had just been established, arrived and captured that criminal. That guy was then sentenced to death and, in his own way, went down in history as the first citizen to be executed by Gotha, when our institution was not yet in its final form, or at least when the Council of 11 Members did not yet exist.”

“Exactly… when, some time later, I heard the news that the Council was to be established, where they were looking for the most knowledgeable people in what were considered the 11 fundamental disciplines for the advancement of society, I tried to apply for the position of Member of Chemistry, even though I really just wanted to meet the man to whom I owed my life. I never thought I would actually join the Gotha Council”

Junna smiles. “You have always been very humble, so much so that you don't recognize your own talent. Of course, there were people more qualified than you at the time, but you had such significant room for growth, and it was he who wanted to assign you this role at all costs. To this day, you are still the youngest member of the Gotha.”

“So you understand that I could never hate him.”

“Then tell me, why did you vote against Jin? Did Domon brainwash you somehow?”

“Of course not. It's just that after that story, I mean... the accident... I... became afraid again. He was gone, and everything the Gotha had built was in danger of falling apart at any moment. I was desperate, I didn't know what to do, so I locked myself in the lab. Come to think of it, I haven't left since that day. I'm afraid things could go back to the way they were at any moment.”

“If these are your concerns, I can't understand why you voted against my proposal to save Jin from his sentence.”

“I don't want it to happen again, I don't want to live with hope only to see it destroyed by the same person.”

At this point, Junna stands up and hugs the girl. "Don't worry, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again this time. You know... I also suffered a lot because of that accident." Sayuri starts crying, while Junna tries to comfort her by gently stroking her head. "Don't worry... we'll protect this world, but we need him in his place, so I'm counting on you from now on."

Sayuri raises her head and, her eyes still teary, looks at Junna. "All right... I trust you, but promise me that this time things will be different, that we will all continue to live peacefully."

"I promise" Junna replies with a reassuring smile and at the same time with strong determination, then walks away from the Member of Chemistry Chiba, heading towards the laboratory exit. At that point, Sayuri asks her a question. "Where are you going? Don't you want to know whose fingerprints are on the letter?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm sure you'll only find mine, Jin's, and Member of Jurisprudence Suzuki's… the people who have touched it since I found it this morning. The real culprit will surely have taken precautions before writing it, being careful not to leave any traces."

Junna leaves the room, Sayuri looks puzzled and, returning to the machine she was using to analyze the letter, reflects. So she only came here to understand my position towards Jin. It's clear that Miss Miura was born for politics. In any case, the scan is finished, let's see the results... Chiba looks at the analysis results on a monitor. The screen displays the people whose fingerprints were detected, namely Junna Miura, Member of Jurisprudence Suzuki, and Jin Kuraishi.

“Just as she said... only their fingerprints are here. Who knows who the real culprit is... I'm sure Miss Miura already knows.”