About that smirk...(spoilers)

[Sakuraluna]

It's a literary device called foreshadowing.

Which is exactly what I was getting at. We're being told a story through a medium that is quite expensive and takes up time and resources. If it isn't relevant to the story, then why spend those resources to keep placing these odd little inconsistencies when they could be going into some other part of the game's design. It doesn't mean that Tataru is automatically evil, they could end up taking things in a completely different direction with her, but at the same time it's not impossible. The theory itself might not end up being accurate but I doubt people are reading too much into details.

[Cilia]

Which is exactly what I was getting at. We're being told a story through a medium that is quite expensive and takes up time and resources. If it isn't relevant to the story, then why spend those resources to keep placing these odd little inconsistencies when they could be going into some other part of the game's design. It doesn't mean that Tataru is automatically evil, they could end up taking things in a completely different direction with her, but at the same time it's not impossible. The theory itself might not end up being accurate but I doubt people are reading too much into details.

If you want to go down that track, why is there anything in the game not devoted to advancing something? There are a lot of superfluous elements, such as purely vanity items, unused areas, models, junk items, etc. A couple lines of dialogue is far from the most wasteful thing they can spend resources on.

Is it possible Tataru isn't who she seems to be? Of course it is. But that's Ancient Aliens logic, which doesn't run on evidence - and without evidence, your argument has no standing.

An offhanded comment and a smile do not constitute foreshadowing foul play on Tataru's part.