Although the Mad Hatter organization gathered people with all kinds of personalities, its overall culture emphasized low-profile behavior and caution.
Back when Vill-V held the position of Mr. Mad Hatter, leaking organizational intelligence carried severe consequences. It was only after Su took over that these harsh measures were gradually relaxed.
However, the organization's careful and cautious style remained.
Liora understood this principle well.
Whenever others asked about her identity, she would casually name some other organization and let them take the blame.
That was how she had previously claimed to be from the National Boundary Guardian.
Looking at the charming beauty before her, Vill-V asked, "Queen of Hearts? Is that your title?"
"You don't know? You... could it be that you're new? You don't even know the cadre titles?"
Liora covered her slightly parted lips with a round fan in mild surprise, looking toward the girl in front of her... who was currently using an excavator to dig up a giant fat chicken.
How could someone not even know the leadership of the Mad Hatter? Could they really be newcomers?
It wasn't that being new was a bad thing, but what kind of place was this?
A battlefield of multiple organizations—the city of Barcelona.
This city was currently a chaotic mix of forces. Even Liora herself couldn't guarantee her own safety.
Sending newcomers here—wasn't that just handing intelligence to the enemy?
And such cute young girls at that. If they died here, even Liora would find it a pity.
"Eh? Well... I guess you could say I'm barely a newbie."
Vill-V was well aware that she had never been a particularly good leader.
Even when it came to work, she was rather casual—once she laid out the overall plan, she would slack off.
As for naming cadres, such trivial matters couldn't be expected of Vill-V.
After all, with Magician around, even the smallest matters would turn into major events.
As a hands-off boss, she specialized in being relaxed and carefree.
The upside was that Su faced no restrictions and could exercise his authority however he pleased. Even if he held a wild party within the organization, no one could stop him.
The downside was that the pressure that should have been borne by leadership all ended up on Su's shoulders.
Still, this couldn't entirely be blamed on Vill-V. Her time was tightly squeezed by Conductor—or rather, Expert was constantly being forced to produce all kinds of tools.
Of course, the Mad Hatter organization couldn't do without Vill-V. Technology, funding, and major strategic decisions all required her involvement.
Vill-V narrowed her eyes and examined Liora carefully. Suddenly, inspiration struck—she clapped her hands, and the stray hair on her head seemed to perk up like an exclamation mark.
"Oh, I remember now—you're that upgraded version of the Ana set, the farmable ice-type G4 stigma!"
The one whose illustration had no detail or hidden elements...
Whose skill names were casually lifted from fragments of Liu Yong's poetry...
A completely mismatched, slapped-together stigma with no connection between its name, effects, and background...
She hadn't expected such a lazily designed stigma to appear in this Previous Era.
Nice! One of my subordinates is a stigma!
Too bad I don't really know its personality or abilities.
Maybe I should equip it on Bronya...
Oh, right. I'm the Herrscher of Reason now—I should try equipping it on myself and see if it boosts ice damage.
"What Ana set? What priest-type stigma?"
The humanoid stigma's expression darkened.
Clearly, this newcomer was truly new.
First of all, that St. Freya graduate was already quite capable.
But she was too young and inexperienced—she had revealed her affiliation the moment she appeared, unaware of the importance of secrecy in covert operations.
Setting aside the risk of the enemy escaping or having real-time communication equipment that could leak Mad Hatter intelligence...
From a tactical standpoint, once you expose your organization, the enemy will prepare accordingly.
This wasn't some jungle where the strong devour the weak. Modern society had too many technologies and methods that could cause even the strong to fail. Keeping a low profile was the most important thing.
The number one principle of a Mad Hatter squad—stay alive at all costs.
Just when Liora thought that the St. Freya graduate was already inexperienced enough, another clueless novice had appeared.
They didn't even understand the organizational structure of Mad Hatter.
Lady Moon, just what kind of people have you introduced?
"Sigh... Are they really making me play kindergarten teacher? If headquarters had sent two Constellation-level cadres, we might have been able to rely on brute force to strike straight at the enemy. But as things stand, this decapitation plan will probably just end with us being the ones decapitated."
Hearing the senior say this, the diligent student Inori thought she had made a mistake and instinctively reflected on herself.
"It's because I was too hasty. My decision-making had flaws..."
Although Inori came from a criminal background, she behaved very reservedly in the academy.
In order to rid herself of those habits, she had overcorrected—she was even more humble and polite than the average student.
Liora lowered her gaze slightly and waved her hand.
"Don't bring that academy behavior here. I was just speaking casually earlier. I'm not your teacher, so I don't need reports from you. And of course, I won't take care of you like a teacher would."
"Top student, I'll assign you your first task. Go ahead and re-explain the Mad Hatter organization's onboarding training to your future teammates."
These were basic things that any external operations member should already know, yet they had to be taught on the spot.
"Yes, Lady Liora."
Inori pulled a blackboard out from the clothing store and began explaining seriously:
"First, the Mad Hatter organization—the savior of human civilization. Its founder is the greatest magician of the Dusk Era, Mr. Mad Hatter..."
As she spoke in an impassioned tone, Inori projected the silhouette of a human figure using a portable device.
It was even the recorded projection used to inspire recruits when they accepted their Departure Mission.
This interactive recording created by Magician had 1,028 different variations of performance.
Conductor had approved Magician doing this only to keep her from interfering with the work of the other Vill-V personalities.
But someone had actually recorded and preserved it—something Vill-V had never expected.
No way, no way... don't tell me someone actually enjoys listening to Magician brainwashing speeches?
Normally, St. Freya members would politely skip them, right?
Those speeches recorded by Magician were basically like the terms and conditions before starting a game—who would actually read them?
Just the opening ten minutes of slow, elegant music was enough for a normal person to have already accepted the mission and left.
If you failed to skip within those ten minutes, then you were doomed—the animation, with a minimum length of one hour and a maximum of ten hours, would become unskippable.
And the confirmation button for completing the Departure Mission only appeared after the animation.
That meant you had to patiently watch the entire thing before finishing the graduation process.
Even the teachers and coaches at St. Freya Academy advised students to skip the animation directly.
In a certain sense, skipping Mr. Mad Hatter's animation had already become a mandatory ritual for graduation.