Wait, My Building Is the One That Collapsed? (Continued)

Miss Surtr's first reaction was confusion.

The point of confusion isn't Skadi's actions, but rather why Laevateinn didn't keep her at bay but instead allowed her to get this close.

This confusion was resolved after she regained consciousness.

Ah... well, it was my fault. I shouldn't have expected Laevateinn to do something he couldn't do.

The girl felt slightly embarrassed—because she found herself tightly hugging Laevateinn in her sleep, the hilt of the sword wedged between her chests, and the blade and hilt tightly bound by her hands and feet—this was a rare occurrence, but she figured it was because Persephone had brought up the topic of their homeland that her sleeping posture was so... conservative.

So she let go.

The sword then floated up, gently burning as always, suspended in the air. She took a light breath and asked the Miss Orca, who was still lying on the bedside staring at her, a question.

"What's up?" The two simple words conveyed a direct and unequivocal rejection.

Then she saw Miss Orca nod.

"Something's up."

So she got out of bed and sat up straight—at the same time she saw Skadi get up from the floor, first stand, then find a chair and sit down, so that her line of sight was level with Skadi's at the head of the bed.

"What's up?"

"Ask for leave."

"... You came to my room at four in the morning and stared at me like a ghost, just to ask me for leave?"

"I am your personal assistant. The document you labeled as the list of powers states that I can enter any room in this building at any time that you haven't put up a 'No Entry' sign—but the clause that I can't enter your bedroom at four in the morning is not on the form."

Miss Surtr, I feel my blood pressure rising a bit.

She nodded and opened the PRTS terminal right in front of Skadi. Ignoring the internal chat group that had been flooded with 99+ messages at this hour, she went straight to the Human Resources Department's internal database. When the document she wanted to see came into view, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Tsk, that orca wasn't wrong—she really did have the right to barge into this bedroom at four in the morning and even jump onto the bed, pushing Miss Surtr onto the floor—although such a privilege seemed like a clause that only a clerk with a screw loose would approve. But at the very bottom of the document was Persephone's handwritten signature endorsing it.

Persephone.

Persephone would never overlook a single clause in a document requiring her personal signature—that was the overarching premise. Miss Surtr was convinced that the purple-haired Doctor wouldn't make a mistake on such a minor detail.

Since it wasn't an error or omission, it meant that it was a necessary clause—she took a small breath, controlling her blood pressure while secretly shaking her head in her heart.

It's normal that I'm not very bright and can't see the deeper meaning of these strange clauses. I'll listen when her actions become too miraculous or Persephone is willing to explain them to me.

Thus, the thought process yielded a result within milliseconds.

"Approved..." The red-haired girl originally wanted to just say "approved" and then go back to sleep. However, the words were on the tip of her tongue when she remembered that she was now a member of the management at Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals, and she couldn't just slack off on the first document.

So Miss Surtr changed her mind.

"The reason? And the timing?" she asked.

"I have a companion, and I need to go pick her up." Skadi looked at her earnestly, her crimson eyes blinking. "I don't know the exact time. Maybe a week, maybe two weeks. But it shouldn't take too long."

--companion?

Miss Surtr's thoughts shifted slightly. Deep within her mind, she retrieved and searched for memories of her past Arknights's adventures in Arknights.

—Ah, I remember now. It's Specter ... Skadi's close companion. I recall that in the game, Skadi joined Rhodes Island to help Specter suppress the Catastrophe Disease symptoms that had reached a dangerous level. And now, although Skadi joined Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals because of me, that doesn't mean her relationship with Specter will be erased.

—She was probably planning to bring Specter over... But then, she showed up at 4 AM on her second day at work to ask for a leave slip. Hmm... judging from the hunting records and my previous interactions with her, she really is capable of doing something so silly.

"Hmm, I understand." Miss Surtr nodded and filled out a properly formatted leave application for Skadi on the PRTS terminal. Before submitting it, she asked, "Do you need any help? I have some free time lately. Please let me know if you need anything."

"No need, it's just picking someone up." Skadi simply shook her head, her gaze still fixed on the unpressed submit button on Miss Surtr's terminal. "There's no danger on the road. I mainly have some personal matters to attend to, so it might take a while."

Okay, looks like Skadi is planning to go solo.

Given Skadi's individual combat capabilities, this journey should pose no significant challenge for her.

—And she doesn't seem to be planning to tell me anything about the Specter... Is it because we're not very close, or does she have some other concerns?

Well, let's respect her privacy. But just in case, I'll still leave an insurance policy for her.

"Very good." Miss Surtr then pressed the submit button, stood up, and headed towards the living room. "But please wait a moment before you leave."

She left and returned a few seconds later. When she returned, she was carrying three gift boxes stacked together, none of which were of equal size.

Skadi looked at the three boxes, which were clearly quite heavy, with some curiosity—she had seen them when she came in, but hadn't paid much attention to them because of the time that had passed.

"This is an apology for breaking your sword." — The first box contained a reforged alloy sword. It was made of the same material as Skadi's original greatsword, but its internal structure had been restructured, increasing its strength, toughness, and other parameters by approximately three times. A wisp of Miss Surtr's flame resided within the sword's core; of course, this was a precautionary measure and didn't need to be mentioned here.

"This is a welcome gift—I originally intended to make only one for you, but I got carried away and sewed a few more. I imagine you must have seen several Rhodes Island operators wearing new clothes while you were on duty?"—The second box contained a Yharnam-style hunter outfit. A tricorn hat, a cloak, clean and tidy. Of course, most importantly, everything was well-covered and had self-cleaning and self-repairing properties.

"Finally, this is a supplementary gift—I felt it was necessary to give you a non-combat gift. So after much thought, I finally decided to give you this." — The third and largest gift box was opened, revealing a large red orca pillow, one and a half meters long. This was the gift she had commissioned in Chernobog when she went to see Warfarin. In terms of materials, design, and craftsmanship, this pillow was the best in the entire city.

Three gifts were neatly placed in front of Miss Orca. The red-haired guy then put his hands on his hips, looking at Skadi's obviously shocked expression, and felt a little satisfied.

"The cushion might be a bit difficult to carry, so you can leave it with me for now. But please take the sword and clothes with you. They're sturdier and more durable. It's just a small token of my appreciation."

This might be a shock.

The shock was so great that Miss Orca's gaze towards Surtr became somewhat strange.

"You..." Skadi's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but another thought blocked her tongue.

"That's for the best," she said, her eyelids slightly lowered as she spoke. "That woman didn't lie to me; only by staying by your side can I be sure you're a decent person..."

"What?"

"Thank you for the gift, I really like it." Skadi put away her clothes, hung the sword on her scabbard, and then hugged the red orca pillow. "I will make good use of these gifts."

"Um... you can put the pillow in the packaging box first..."

Miss Surtr saw Skadi swing the cushion like a giant sword. She could clearly sense at least a hundred different forces flowing between the cushion's elastic leather and inner cotton—forces powerful enough to demolish a building in an instant. Yet, they were completely contained within the cushion, not even tearing through the air in front of her as she swung it.

Flowers and leaves, grass, trees, bamboo, and rocks—all become swords— Skadi's combat skills have clearly reached this level. This means that in her hands, the alloy sword with its hidden internal safety mechanism unactivated is essentially no different from this red orca pillow.

—That's good. If she doesn't use that sword normally, the chances of my safety device being accidentally triggered will decrease.

—Anyway, even if she uses a body pillow as a weapon, it's the defeated one who loses face in the battle, not hers. Besides, if this body pillow breaks, I can just give her a few more.

—Yes, that's a good idea. A win-win situation.

—I just wonder if she'll name this 'weapon of mass destruction' the Pink Mohair Whale.

Since the outcome was good, the process didn't need to be emphasized too much. Miss Surtr's words of dissuasion ultimately turned into a faint smile, accompanied by a slight nod of approval.