Volume Six: What She Lost, What I Gained - Chapter 507: The Life-Saving Membrane Mage (Part One)

This is a large room with a futuristic feel, decorated like the storefront of a large real estate company. Inside, there are purple marble floor tiles, sofas with phoenix feather cushions, a long crystal table, and folding beds for resting—it's clearly a high-end place.

A beautiful young girl in a dress sitting on the sofa, twin sisters huddled on the sofa armrests, two blood relatives snuggling on the bed, an old man smoking a hookah at a long table, a middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses leaning against the wall with a scholarly air, and a young man sitting cross-legged on the floor with a saintly smile that is hard to tell apart from his gender.

"According to reliable intelligence, the targets are about to officially enter the Business Capital."

Valentina took a sip of her milk-infused black tea and looked at the people in the large room.

Is it almost there?

The shorter-haired twin sister looked up.

"We're almost there."

The longer-haired twin sister responded with a playful expression.

"So you're saying we're going to fight?"

"Looks like a battle is about to begin."

"With whom?"

"Let's work towards our goal."

"Will we die? We'll die, won't we?"

"You'll die, won't you? Can you be my scapegoat then, little sister?"

"No way, sister! If you're going to die, you should be the one to die!"

Ignoring the Fais sisters' back-and-forth banter, Valentina sighed and looked at the others.

"Oops! Oh no! I bumped into that! Onii-chan H!"

"Hey~~ I didn't mean to, and it wasn't like I could say it was okay today..."

"Today is the 'back anniversary,' not the front or the chest! So today we can only... we can only play there..."

"Waaah... But I really want to kiss, lick, and pinch Meng Li- chan's tiny breasts..."

"I... I really can't do anything with Onii-chan! Just once, you can only touch him once!"

"Yay~~~~ Meng Li- chan is the best!"

"Eeya~~~~"

The older brother has an average appearance with no particular strengths or weaknesses, an average height and physique, and is the quintessential loser harem protagonist; the younger sister, on the other hand, is indeed charming and cute, with rosy cheeks and a delicate body, making her an extremely lovable girl just by looking at her appearance.

"Ah... ah... not here... there are so many people watching..."

"But who could resist such an adorable Meng Li- chan! Mmmmmm~~~"

"Onii-chan is such a pervert~~~ What am I going to do... So many people are watching... I, I actually..."

"Are you excited? You're so excited, aren't you? Ahhh, my little sister is the cutest in the world!"

... That's disgusting, absolutely disgusting.

Although Valentina had a perverse sense of humor that involved crushing men's testicles, even she found the brother and sister pair utterly disgusting.

And most importantly--

Not only that, but you two, if you were truly a handsome man and a beautiful woman, brother and sister, it would be somewhat entertaining, but...

"First of all, there's something wrong with your gender!" A middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses and a scholarly air roared in a gruff voice that was completely different from his appearance.

"Tch! Onii-chan is a handsome and great guy, he totally blows all of you out of the water!"

"Exactly! Mengli-chan is the most, ..."

"No, no, that can't be right! It's clearly—"

The middle-aged man pointed to the "older brother" who resembled a member of the harem.

"You're clearly the older sister, but—"

He then pointed to the charming and adorable "younger sister".

"--And you're the younger brother!"

The brother and sister... no, the older sister and younger brother scoffed at him.

"Tsk, tsk, is there a problem?"

"Being cute is enough!"

"Being handsome is enough!"

"One stroke, many..."

"Onii-chan~~~"

"You guys are so awesome!"

"Oh..."

The strange men over there were still throwing tantrums. The old man leaning against the table chuckled and took a puff of his hookah. He was holding a rather old copper hookah, engraved with simple yet exquisite patterns. Although the edges were worn, it was easy to tell that it was a finely crafted piece.

"Seriously, these young people are full of energy..."

"That being said, Fisher, you're no less than a young man." The androgynous young man, sitting cross-legged on the ground, smiled. His voice (author's note: let's use "him" for now) was ethereal and beautiful, like that of a priest or singer from an ancient temple.

"Me? Ha..."

The old man's physique was indeed comparable to that of a young man. Standing over 1.9 meters tall, his black trench coat concealed a well-trained and muscular body. His impressive white hair and beard, along with the wrinkles on his face and the scars on his eyebrows, added to his imposing presence. However, in contrast, his cold gray eyes lacked the sharpness befitting his physique, instead displaying a shrewd and calculating cunning.

"Oh, right, what about the three other compatriots?" the young man, whose gender was ambiguous, suddenly asked Valentina.

"Three? You mean...?"

Valentina looked around and frowned.

"Julia is probably tinkering with her gadgets in the basement or something. As for the other two... I don't know where Yu Xun and Chi Ying are."

Strangely enough, it's one thing for Yu Xun to be unfamiliar with her, but Chi Ying would never go out on her own initiative, much less expose herself to the sunlight. She's the kind of weirdo who can't feel at ease unless she's hiding under something like a cardboard box.

"Huh? Two people have gone missing?" the middle-aged man said impatiently.

"Say less, Casey, your gruff voice is really annoying."

"You're the one who should shut up! Hey, hey, hey, two guys are missing, aren't you worried?"

"They're not suicide addicts, so leaving them alone won't be a problem."

"That's not what I meant! The problem is, who knows if they've already set off to steal the credit!"

""""...""""

Everyone immediately fell silent.

To strike early and seize credit?

"Chi Ying isn't like that. If that's really the case, then it must be Yu Xun who dragged Chi Ying out."

Valentina was getting increasingly agitated, but unfortunately there were no slaves here for her to ravage her testicles, leaving her with nowhere to vent her anger.

Yu Xun "Origin Tracer".

"Shadow Seal" Chi Ying.

These two have an unusually good synergy in terms of their special abilities.

If they are well-prepared and work together smoothly--

"... With their strength greatly limited now, they might actually be able to wipe out the entire enemy force in one fell swoop."

"Dear guests, please maintain order and keep a safe distance between vessels. Again, please maintain order--"

Hearing the broadcast seemed to clear my head a bit.

"Hmm... uh..."

I was completely disoriented, and my wet clothes were sticking to my body and feeling uncomfortable, but there was no wind, so it wasn't too cold.

Is this inside... the belly of the Sea Emperor Clan?

I wiped the seawater off my eyelashes, blinked, and looked around—

"--Whoa whoa!"

The space was quite large and brightly lit, like a giant indoor reservoir, with all the boats, including our small boat, moored in deep water. Looking up, we saw a metal arched ceiling with bright, oversized lights, as well as many bridges and elevators for maintenance personnel to walk on.

We were surrounded by huge ships, with massive container ships all around us. The oppressive feeling was suffocating; our ship felt like a small bungalow sandwiched between towering buildings. Each container ship was covered with a transparent protective film that looked like glass but was actually incredibly sturdy. It was an elongated oval shape that fit snugly against the hull, so it didn't take up too much extra space.

"Hey... whoosh!"

Xiao Wu picked up the anchor from the ship and swung it around a few times, the buzzing sound of it cutting through the wind was quite frightening.

What are you doing?

"Aren't we only able to use the same level of power as we did a year and two months ago? I need to get back into the swing of things, so I don't accidentally overdo it..."

"Uh, okay..."

I sat bored on the deck watching Xiao Wu play with the anchor. After swinging it a few times, she let go and let it fall into the water.

Just then, the broadcast started again.

"--This Sea Beast transport will be inspected upon departure and arrival. It will arrive at the third-level city in as little as thirty minutes. All ships are requested to lower anchor and wait patiently in place--"

Thirty minutes? That's not a long time.

"--In addition, our maintenance personnel will patrol overhead in small airships. If any emergencies occur, such as a ruptured protective membrane, please call us immediately, and we will provide maintenance free of charge--"

Oh? That sounds good.

I looked at the small passenger ship. Calling it a passenger ship was a bit of a stretch; it was more like a yacht, since there were only a few of us, and we took turns driving it. Spirit Star's ship seemed to use some racing technology, making it quite easy and comfortable to drive, but it wasn't very fast.

"Haoyue, how bad is the damage?"

"Hmm... some collisions were inevitable when entering the Sea Beast's mouth. They weren't serious, but they weren't very pretty either. It'll be the same when we get out. Other ships with protective membranes will be fine, but it's hard to say about us."

"As expected..."

Since that's the case, wouldn't it be better to apply a protective film now? After all, they said it's free.

Xiao Wu and I exchanged a glance, and they both nodded.

Just then, a rather tiny airship flew overhead.

Then--

"Hey, you over there!" ← Xiao Wu

"Requesting backup!" ← Bright Moon

"Could you please ask the Membrane Mage to help me apply a protective spell?" ←Imperial

The small airship had probably noticed our ship's membrane was damaged, and it immediately descended and lowered an elevator.

A woman about our age descended with the small elevator. Her beautiful long, purplish-blue hair was styled into a neat updo, and she had the air of a sophisticated career woman. She wore a jumpsuit, which, despite being workwear, was quite stylish. The form-fitting design accentuated her well-proportioned figure, making her stand out.

"Excuse me, I'm Fiser Van der, a newly recruited technician in the maintenance department of the extra-large marine vehicles at Matsuki Shipping Company, a subsidiary of the Gray Starling Group. Everyone—wow!"

Her big eyes blinked and blinked, scanning from my face to Little Ying's, her mouth opening wider and wider.

"Wow! Are you all celebrities traveling incognito? You look so beautiful!!!"

"Uh, thank you for the compliment..."

Having traveled through time for so long, I've long since grown accustomed to this beauty that I both love and hate, but it still occasionally amazes people.

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

Xiao Wu said impatiently, then, seemingly realizing it was a bit inappropriate, added, "Thank you for your help."

"Of course, of course! It's my honor to serve such a beautiful lady! Let me check the things..."

There were still quite a few things on the elevator that Fiser had lowered: what appeared to be a protective membrane generator, some rather complex instruments, and cardboard boxes. I offered to help her move them, but she smiled and declined, saying, "It's our maintenance work." I had no choice but to step aside and watch her slowly take stock of the items.

Um...

Fieser van der?

Fisse... feather, meaning feather? Van der... find, meaning to search? These are such strange names.

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