The Helper Was Actually Her / Traveling with an Orca

Chapter 20: The Helper Was Actually Her

"What's the world outside like?"

Ifrit's words were slightly muffled as she ate chocolate.

"Wilderness. Danger. Enemies." As Bai Ye spoke, he took out his spare weapon, Origami. Unlike Arc Light, Origami was only blue-grade equipment, and it ranked near the bottom even among blue-grade gear.

It had no special qualities. The only reason it had been rated blue-grade was its durability and sharpness.

Still, for a weapon, that was enough.

Bai Ye began maintaining his weapon. Though he had not used it many times, maintaining a weapon was also part of a warrior's cultivation.

His fingers traced from the tip of the sword down its blade. Bai Ye felt its cold sharpness, and the sensation gave him immense peace of mind.

Ifrit watched Bai Ye with great interest. To her, this quiet big brother was full of all sorts of fascinating things.

There were few places Ifrit could go on Rhodes Island. Her condition was still under control, and every day, she could only travel between the dormitory and the infirmary. Bai Ye's arrival had added quite a bit of fun to her life.

Bai Ye polished his weapon while Ifrit licked her chocolate, sitting obediently nearby. If Hermo entered the room and saw this scene, she would definitely be shocked.

After all, this was Ifrit—a troubled girl tortured by experiments, with an explosive temper and a heart full of rebellion. How could she be this well-behaved?

Perhaps the Flame Demon within her had become unusually quiet at Bai Ye's side? Or perhaps Ifrit had seen Saria's shadow in Bai Ye.

It was a quiet, reserved sort of gentleness.

"Do you want to hear a story?" Bai Ye was actually rather good at getting along with children.

In his previous life, the older children at the orphanage looked after the younger ones. The old director was getting older and increasingly unable to keep up. Those of them who were older had taken on some of his responsibilities.

"You can tell stories?" Ifrit tilted her head, clearly unconvinced.

Saria had never told her stories.

Naturally, Bai Ye had no idea what Ifrit was thinking. He simply maintained his equipment while recounting stories from his previous life. A mountain fortress forged by dwarves, a fire dragon sitting atop dwarven treasure, short hobbits, a magical wizard in gray robes...

He could not remember everything anyway, so he just spoke about whatever came to mind.

Yet those fragmented stories completely captivated Ifrit.

"Hermo never tells you stories?" Bai Ye asked, somewhat puzzled.

Ifrit shook her head. "Hermo is too busy. She doesn't have time to spend with me."

"So what do you usually do?"

"Get bored, stare into space, lose my temper, destroy things, sleep when I get tired..." Ifrit spoke as if she did not care.

Bai Ye nodded, then stared at Ifrit for a while. In this girl, he could see the shadows of the children from his orphanage in his previous life.

After a moment of silence, Bai Ye slowly said, "When I get back, I'll teach you how to read. Then, once your condition stabilizes, you can go out and play. You can also attend Rhodes Island's school."

"Really?!" Ifrit's little face lit up with delight. "Will Hermo agree?"

"Hermo will agree." Bai Ye nodded. "She's just a researcher. She doesn't understand how to raise children at all."

"But there's nothing she can do about it..."

This pair was far too unusual. Hermo was neither good at being a mother nor suited for it. Ifrit was even taller than Hermo, yet mentally, she had not matured. Her mind was still that of a child.

She was a typical artificially accelerated laboratory specimen, highly dangerous and destructive.

Bai Ye still wanted to guide the girl in a better direction, lest she burn down his room one day...

Early the next morning, Bai Ye got up very early.

Everything was ready. Bai Ye shut down the various devices in his room, then made another trip to the External Operations Department and wandered through the offices.

Finally, he bought breakfast from the cafeteria and headed toward the docking area.

The Engineering Department had prepared a modified vehicle for him. Its fuel tank was full, it was in brand-new condition, and all that remained was to set off.

"Come to think of it, Dr. Kal'tsit also arranged a helper for me..."

Bai Ye was rather curious about who would be traveling with him.

As he walked, Bai Ye removed his Rhodes Island work badge and replaced it with Northern Cross corporate identification.

But when he reached the vehicle docking area, he froze.

Even the movement of his hands came to a halt.

It was so sudden...

The helper Dr. Kal'tsit had arranged for him was actually her!

Bai Ye could not help softly saying her name. "Abyssal Hunter... Skadi..."

The girl was tall, her silver hair cascading down like a waterfall, tied at the ends. Her long hair and cape fluttered gently in the morning breeze.

The most eye-catching thing was neither her long legs nor her crimson eyes, but the enormous sword on her back, nearly as tall as a person.

Bai Ye narrowed his eyes and estimated the sword's weight and length, then instinctively simulated a battle against it in his mind.

But he quickly shook his head.

He could not assess her that way, because more frightening than the weapon was the person wielding it.

In his previous life, he had heard rumors about Skadi, the Abyssal Hunter. Apparently, she had a rather lengthy quest chain tied to her, one that even involved the later main storyline of the world.

She was a being with terrifying physical constitution and strength.

It was said that Abyssal Hunters could even break the sound barrier in battle, and their strength was astonishingly immense.

He had not expected Dr. Kal'tsit to arrange for her to accompany him!

Bai Ye placed his luggage in the vehicle and extended his hand toward Skadi. "Bai Ye, External Operations. It's a pleasure to travel with you."

"..."

Skadi looked at Bai Ye's outstretched hand. She paused before remembering that this was one of the land-dwellers' customs.

She gently extended her hand and lightly shook Bai Ye's. "Skadi. Bounty hunter."

She was gentle because she worried that if she used any force, she might crush Bai Ye's hand.

The girl then released Bai Ye's hand. After touching him, she was somewhat surprised as well. Bai Ye's body seemed fairly sturdy, not as fragile as she had imagined.

At the very least, he was sturdier than most ordinary land-dwellers.

Bai Ye nodded and motioned for the girl to get in.

After setting the map on the terminal, he started the Originium Engine and prepared to depart.

Skadi sat in the front passenger seat with her sword in her arms, sitting in an awkward posture as though she were resting with her eyes closed.

At least, she was quite satisfied with this traveling companion. He was not someone who disgusted her.

Chapter 21: Traveling with an Orca

Long ago, a wizard named Gilderoy Lockhart wrote a novel called Traveling with Vampires. It was said to have later become required reading at some school.

And now, Bai Ye was traveling with Miss Orca.

After several days of travel, the two of them had moved far away from the city and deep into the wilderness. Before they reached the next Mobile City in Laterano, they would likely not see another person.

Miss Skadi was a quiet traveling companion. The words she spoke in an entire day might not even add up to one long sentence. Yet the coordination between her and Bai Ye had grown increasingly seamless. They could understand each other without speaking.

After downing his heated chocolate drink in one gulp, Bai Ye added some fuel to the campfire and prepared to return to the vehicle to sleep. Usually, he and Skadi took turns keeping watch. Skadi took the first half of the night, while he took over for the second half.

After settling on that arrangement the first night, neither of them had bothered changing it.

But Bai Ye's movements abruptly stopped. He put away his cup, climbed onto the roof of the vehicle under Skadi's puzzled gaze, closed his eyes and listened for a moment, then jumped down and drew his weapon.

"What is it?"

Skadi did not quite understand Bai Ye's series of actions, but she also pulled the greatsword embedded in the ground beside her.

"No need to be too nervous. It's just a group of Originium Slugs passing by."

Bai Ye merely assumed a vigilant stance, without the tension of facing a great enemy.

"Originium Slugs?" Skadi relaxed slightly and did not think much of it. She had dealt with plenty of such Infected Creatures during her time as a bounty hunter. Though they were numerous, they were hardly difficult opponents.

One casual sweep of her sword could take down a whole swath of them.

Yet five minutes later, Skadi's body involuntarily tensed again. Her expression turned serious as she prepared to raise the greatsword in her hand.

"Shh. Don't be nervous. It's fine." Bai Ye reached out and pressed a hand against Miss Orca's sword, which was faintly poised to strike, while inwardly marveling at the force gathered within it.

As expected of an Abyssal Hunter. What terrifyingly pure power.

Abyssal Hunters had a flaw in their Originium Arts adaptability. In other words, they could not use arts, but in return, their powerful bodies were their finest weapons.

That was far more useful than a staff.

"Um, it's really fine?" Afraid of accidentally hurting Bai Ye, Skadi hurriedly withdrew her strength.

"Just watch. As long as we don't disturb them, it'll be fine."

What had made Skadi so wary?

It was an enormous Originium Slug. Its body was like a small mountain, and when it migrated across the land with its colony, it created deafening rumbles as the ground began to tremble.

Skadi stared at the enormous creature before her.

Her body trembled slightly, not from fear, but from trying to suppress her impulse.

She always felt a deep hostility toward such gigantic creatures.

Bai Ye, meanwhile, admired this miraculous creation. Size was a burden, because its body had to be tough and strong enough to support its own weight.

The giant Originium Slug ignored Bai Ye and Skadi standing nearby. It calmly passed them with its colony, eventually vanishing beyond the horizon.

"Phew..." Skadi let out a breath.

She lowered her greatsword and gently shook her head. "So there are giant creatures on land too."

"Good thing it doesn't have tentacles..."

"It should be easy to cut down."

Bai Ye had already put away his sword. He had encountered giant Originium Slugs like this in his previous life. Though they were dangerous creatures, as long as no one provoked them, they generally caused no trouble.

"The Originium Slugs are migrating..." Bai Ye felt the breeze brush past his ears, then spoke after a moment. "We need to pick up the pace. This is a sign that a Catastrophe is about to occur."

"You know a lot." Skadi praised him.

But Bai Ye did not think much of it. "It's just basic wilderness survival knowledge..."

"That's not right. As a bounty hunter, you should know this stuff too."

Skadi tilted her head, indicating that she had no idea what Bai Ye meant.

"..." Bai Ye was speechless. He finally understood. This girl simply crushed everything through her personal strength. Much common knowledge was not particularly important to her.

Sure enough, Dr. Kal'tsit had really found him a thug...

Sighing, Bai Ye said helplessly, "They should have taught you some of this. Avoiding meaningless battles and needless exhaustion is what a wise person does."

Skadi said nothing. Though she agreed with Bai Ye, no one had ever taught her these things.

She was very well-known among bounty hunters. Everyone feared her, and when they encountered her, they deliberately kept their distance. No one would approach her.

At Rhodes Island, she usually only carried out solo missions. She was used to being alone.

"It's fine. There's still time to learn." Bai Ye relit the campfire he had extinguished earlier.

Skadi looked at the young man sitting beside her and blinked. "Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Of course not. You're not a monster." Bai Ye looked at her with some amusement. "You're too guarded. You even deliberately chose to exile yourself."

"You didn't talk to me before either." Skadi's crimson eyes flickered.

"Cough, cough..." Bai Ye choked. Was she sulking? "That wasn't fear. I just didn't want to disturb you—after all, you don't talk much either."

Skadi suddenly understood. "I just didn't know what to say."

Bai Ye smiled. This girl was actually rather adorably clueless... At first, he had thought her withdrawn and difficult to communicate with. He had not expected her to simply be a little airheaded.

Skadi looked at Bai Ye, then said, "Talk to me more now."

This place was far from the deep sea. Evil tentacles and monsters could not approach, and for the moment, she did not need to worry that Bai Ye would be drawn into the calamity that always followed her.