Profile[]
Mana is a researcher of M.M.R. and a Nikke part of the squad of the same name. She mainly does research at the behest of the Central Government and members of the Big Three (Syuen in particular) and acts as a social worker. She also runs the Rehabilitation Center where dangerous criminals are sent with the intention of correcting their behavior so they can reenter society.
Nikke Backstory[]
A researcher from M.M.R. and a member of the M.M.R. squad. She is a true jack of all trades, possessing both scientific expertise and superlative social skills—but her brilliance often leaves her inundated with work.
Personality[]
Don't tell me I have to work overtime...
Much like Ether, Mana spends most of her time doing research and conducting experiments. Unlike her more morally flexible squadmate, however, understanding Mana is much more straightforward. She is thorough, concise, and easy to approach in all aspects, but those qualities of her’s have placed a sizable workload on her shoulders. Work at M.M.R., managing the Rehabilitation Center, assisting in the reclamation of the surface-Mana has had no small part in all of it.
However, due to the secretive nature of her work as well as the constant badgering she receives from Syuen, Mana drinks extensively and uses it to cope with her day-to-day burdens. Considering her workaholic nature, Mana often times does not have time for others.
Story[]
Main Story[]
Chapter 12[]
Mana was visited by Ingrid, the Counters, and the protagonist so she can inform them about the Heretic Fragment (Material H as she called it) as well as the details regarding the underground facility and the Nikkes held within.
Chapter 13[]
Having recovered from the battle against Modernia, the commander was brought by Andersen to see Ingrid and Mana to discover they recovered the former squad mate in question. She has been corrupted despite not having any NIMPH because Chatterbox physically planted code into her brain, turning her into a "vegetable" for lack of better words. Mana figures the only way to treat her now is to do a full mental wipe which cannot be mitigated by adding NIMPH to her brain which will make her mentally equivalent to a toddler. Not wanting her mind to be damaged any further, the protagonist agrees to have Marian undergo the operation.
Chapter 15[]
Mana appears with Syuen and and Rian as they show the world that Matis has been cured of their corruptions.
Chapter 31[]
Mana accompanies the Counters and Absolute to the crystal region to serve as both a secondary operator and as medical support. She explains that they will be using A Pillars to destroy the newly dubbed "E2 Crystals". She remains by the Harmony Cube and and occasionally gives the group advice or to send them A pillars.
After the group returns, she nurses Grave back to health and manages to replace some of her old parts, making it easy for her to speak.
Chapter 32[]
Mana continues to provide support from the Harmony Cube and assists the group in their efforts to find Glass Slippers to awaken Cinderella.
Once the group returns from their clash with Grave, Mana cares for the Pilgrim once again.
Event[]
Wisdom Spring[]
Mana sends a message to the protagonist about giving him a new weapon courtesy of M.M.R. Only she didn't do that, as it turns out Jien used Mana's profile to lure him into the Deep Sector of the complex. Whatever "Project A.D." is and what it has to do with the protagonist, Mana seems to know, but can't tell him for some reason...
Liberation[]
Mana is present during the protagonist's attempts to rehabilitate Real Kindness to remove them from the prison. She advises him on each inmate's quirks, criminal record, and repeatedly emphasizes how dangerous each one can be.
Bond Story[]
Episode 1 - Tipsy Nikke of the Ark[]
After a long day full of meetings, the protagonist is about to unwind in his room for what little remains of the day. Only for his phone to go off with a Blabla message. It's Mana, asking him to come to the Trendy Bar to discuss some kind of sensitive matter in person. He agrees, but after mulling over his suspicions for some time, decides to call someone else, who picks up immediately.
Ether ponders what "No. 7" is doing calling her so late, sighing when he accuses her of using Mana's profile to send fake messages. She muses that she's probably worn this trick out, but assures the protagonist that unlike previous occasions, this is not a trap to lure him into some kind of experiment or shenanigans. Mana really is at the Trendy Bar awaiting his arrival...
Upon reaching the bar, the protagonist finds Mana with her usual acquaintances Yulha and Brid. All three of them are faceplanted into the bar, visibly intoxicated. Yulha registers his presence and tipsily asks him to drink with her since the other two are unconscious. The two are about to clink glasses, but the protagonist notices that Yulha's glass is oddly empty. That's when Privaty storms into the bar, snatching the glass from her leader's hand and chastising her for drinking again. After a brief tangent involving Yulha remembering Privaty in a maid outfit, the ace of Triangle drags her leader out of the bar.
Watching this unfold, the protagonist turns to the two remaining drunks. Diesel shows up to take Brid back to a proper sleeping area, asking the protagonist if he's Mana's escort. The fact that he's here comes as a relief to her, given how Mana tends to be the only one left after debacles like this occur. Grabbing her drunken cohort, Diesel bids him farewell.
Now only Mana and the protagonist remain in the bar. His attempt to wake her up succeeds, but upon hearing his suggestion to take her home, Mana refuses and instead asks for another drink...only to fall unconscious and slump into his chest in the middle of asking. Now with an entire scientist sound asleep on him, the protagonist muses that this is going to be a long night...
Episode 2 - Late Night Bar[]
Some time later, the protagonist is still stuck in the bar with Mana sleeping on him. The weight of the scientist forces him to sit in an awkward position, causing him no end of leg cramps. He calls Ether for a solution. Sadly, she cannot come pick up Mana, as her work with M.M.R. will apparently leave her stuck at her desk all night again.
On that note, Ether asks the protagonist to take care of Mana, especially since the latter had loudly proclaimed her intentions to drink lots of alcohol for the evening. Ether posits that Mana got yelled at by Syuen again, and her self-control has snapped. With that in mind, the protagonist suggests taking Mana back to her lab or the dorms, but Ether vetoes that. Without an access pass, he could get into some real hot water trespassing into Missilis and/or government facilities. Instead, she suggests he simply remain at the bar and keep Mana company until she sobers up. Once that happens, she'll shamble to her feet like a zombie and go back to where she's supposed to be, or so Ether claims before hanging up. Now left by himself with the drunken Mana, the protagonist ponders on how long this will take...
After about an hour, Mana wakes up in the middle of nuzzling the protagonist's chest. To say the least, she's mortified by the compromising position she's woken up to. After jumping to her feet and recomposing herself, Mana asks about where her drinking buddies went, simply accepting that their own cohorts came to take them back. The protagonist assures Mana that it was no trouble to look after her this late, given how she'd gotten wasted on liquor. If anything, he's more concerned about her mental health, given the quantity she imbibed, and isn't buying her excuses for a second. From what he can see, the scientist downed five bottles of liquor, which is already bad enough. But this is the Outpost Trendy Bar, where their drinks are strong enough that one bottle is enough to make someone blackout drunk.
Mana doesn't see the problem, given how five bottles is apparently normal for her and her drinking cohorts. Part of which apparently stems from their shared tendency to vent their frustrations as they drink, meaning they stay longer, meaning they vent more, meaning they drink more, and so on. The protagonist muses that Mana must have a lot to vent about, which sets her on a long-winded rant about Syuen, and how the CEO keeps barging into the labs demanding results...
Episode 3 - Lonesome Barfly[]
The rant continues for some time, with the most recent grievance occurring just yesterday, as Syuen came in and demanded a research report that wasn't anywhere near the deadline. Despite Mana's initial refusal, she ended up caving and writing and submitting the report that very day. As her rant continues without losing any steam, the protagonist suggests she have a drink and calm down a little. A notion she would go along with, were it not for the fact that both their glasses are empty. In fact, the protagonist cannot recall when that glass appeared in front of him, but (drunkenly) decides it doesn't matter.
Moving right along, the two clink their glasses and drink, groaning at the taste of the liquor before immediately agreeing to another cup. Then Mana notices that the bottle they have is already empty, which is odd since (as far as she can drunkenly recall) they just ordered it. In fact, the protagonist can see two empty bottles in front of him, with no recollection of how they got there. Eventually, they decide not to think about it and order another bottle.
Mana asks the protagonist if he'll be fine with this unknown brand of liquor, given certain aspects of it. Seeing Mana's breadth of knowledge on alcohol, he asks if she's a frequent customer of the bar. After a while, Mana answers that she comes often with Yulha and Brid, once a week after they somehow connected over the experience. The protagonist muses that the bond between working individuals can even transcend manufacturer differences.
The protagonist asks Mana if she drinks with anyone besides Yulha or Brid, which she doesn't. Her hours as a scientist mean most of her day is holed up in a lab, leaving her very little time to socialize. That's not to say she only drinks once a week. If a day turns out particularly stressful, she may just come to the bar by herself and drink away her frustrations. After sidling past the ensuing awkward silence, Mana brings up the protagonist's earlier comment about her familiarity with liquor. Due to the general lack of company when drinking, the scientists muses that she kept exploring her options as she downed the drinks, picking up a few nuggets along the way.
As for alternative methods of decompressing, Mana...doesn't have any. She's never felt the need to do anything other than drink to manage her stress. Sidling past that, Mana offers the protagonist another drink...
Episode 4 - Nectar of the Gods[]
Sipping his drink, the protagonist can't quite identify the flavor, but at least it goes down smooth. He compliments the drink, prompting Mana to explain that the smoothness going down makes this drink an excellent choice for beginners, and is in fact the first drink she ever tried. The bartender gave her a recommendation when she first came here, and she went for it. After readjusting her glasses in silence, Mana decides to open up about her past.
Back then, there was a time when Mana just wanted to...leave everything behind. Her work as a scientist, her duty as a Nikke. It all started on what seemed to be a day like any other. She was half-listening to another of Syuen's moronic complaining sprees when a thought trickled into her head. Being yanked every which way by Syuen and still getting yelled at for "not doing good enough." Being unable to confide her worries and stresses with anyone because of how secretive her work was. The burden of knowing that humanity's future hinged on her work. Even with all of that...she wanted to just...drop it. Leave it behind, go, and never look back.
With that thought in her head, she tuned out Syuen and wordlessly stormed out the lab. She passed by this very bar, and remembering that she hadn't touched a drop since becoming a Nikke, but at the time, getting wasted on liquor sounded like a great plan to her. So she stepped into the bar, which contrasting the current emptiness was packed back then...
Swirling her glass, clinking it, and taking another sip, Mana continues her story. Back then, as she skimmed over the menu, she overheard snippets of conversation between other Nikkes. Heart-to-hearts, banter, idle gossip. Everyone around was, in their own way, lightening their burdens. That's when she realized that, beyond their walks of life or who made them, Nikkes weren't so different from one another. They'd all come to the bar to vent the negativity accumulated from their work or their personal lives.
That's when the bartender came over to her and recommended her the drink they're having now. A mild drink with a smooth texture, suitable for first-time drinkers. Sipping at it while watching the other Nikkes go about, Mana felt a sense of belonging, that she wasn't so different from them. That good feeling gave her the boost she needed to keep going at the lab, just for a little longer. Ever since, she's come to the bar once in a while, to have a drink, unwind, and take in the flow.
Mana worries that she's spent all this time just talking about herself, but the protagonist doesn't mind. Rather, he's happy to get to know another side of her, and wouldn't mind if she invited him to another round of drinks. He offers to be a listener to all her troubles, asking for little in return beyond the same for himself.
Clinking their glasses and downing their drinks, Mana and the protagonist share stories, banter, serious talks, and chatter. The drinks also build up, ever on and on...
Episode 5 - Repeat Offenders[]
After who knows how many drinks, Mana and the protagonist have gotten completely wasted. The two keep repeating the same things, forgetting how many bottles they've drunk or when they ordered them. The protagonist even forgets a question he was about to ask the moment he opens his mouth. A cycle of drunken nonsense that simply repeats in an infinite loop.
After an unknown quantity of time, the protagonist's head is pounding, and he has no idea what time it is. Mana tries to check her phone, but drops it on the floor and cracks the screen. The scientists shrugs, decides it's fine since she set an alarm, asks the protagonist to wake her up later, then completely blacks out into his chest. The man himslef wonders how he ended up in this mess when he didn't even plan on drinking. He figures Mana would know since she's smart and all, but she's asleep so he can't ask her. With how heavy his eyelids are becoming, the protagonist decides tomorrow's problems are for tomorrow's him, and falls asleep.
The next day, the protagonist learns that putting off problems is a mistake, and shambles back into his room after a sizable amount of meetings and a comparable amount of regret. While setting into a chair to unwind from Rapi giving him the lecture of a lifetime, his phone goes off.
It's an invite from Mana to go out drinking. Contrary to what he thinks, this isn't actually Ether pulling the wool over his eyes, especially since Mana brings up last night's promise to listen to her vent if she needed. The protagonist decides he needs the same after Rapi chastised his ears off, and decides it won't hurt to have just one drink.
Some time later, the protagonist learns another lesson; having just one drink is an impossible ask...
Story appearances[]
Main story[]
Side stories[]
Events[]
Character story[]
Brief encounters[]
References[]