[ her assurance is unnecessary; he didn't doubt even for a moment that she would keep that reveal to herself. and isn't that— strange, to trust something like that so completely. it makes him uncomfortable to realise how much faith he'd had in her. he has what she shared as insurance, of course, but... if he hadn't, he wonders if he would have had that kind of trust anyway. it's not a good thought. he needs to get his shit together, stop letting his guard down like this.

the discomfort crosses his face briefly, just a reaction of almost mild confusion when Erika promises not to tell anyone, but Akechi shakes his head soon after and collects himself: ]

Precisely. There's no need to speak up about it, anyway; our goals are still aligned with theirs, after all. Everyone is trying to understand the station and the situation we're in, whatever their reasons for it.

[ he can only imagine how insufferably self-aggrandising some of the people aboard the station would be if they found out, as if it's something to be "saved" from. what business is it of theirs what choices he makes of his own free will? well — not even a choice, really. he has nothing to go back to. but that's not really something they're talking about; it's not something he thinks Erika wants to talk about, so he gladly shifts back to their original topic. ]

I wonder if there are any patterns to the disappearances. I'm not sure that we could ever trace where they're going, but anything we can learn at this stage might be useful.