When Things Have Come to This, Eat First

When Hedley and the mercenaries followed the sound of the explosion to the scene, they found Vera and W returning one after the other.

Hedley's gaze swept over Vera. After confirming that their employer was unharmed, he turned his doubtful eyes toward W.

One look, and he froze solid.

W, who usually looked like she wanted to write "I'm dangerous" across her face, was now hanging her head and silently following behind Vera.

Her posture could even be described as "docile"—if that word could possibly be associated with W.

Hedley could not help looking at Vera again and asked cautiously,

"Are you... all right?"

"I'm fine." Vera waved a hand. "W and I just had a little spar. Loosened up a bit."

A spar?

Everyone's eyes shifted back and forth between Vera and W, before finally taking on looks of understanding and... sympathy for W.

You just had to provoke her. Now you've learned your lesson, huh?

Sensing everyone's stares, W raised her head and glared viciously back at them.

Her lips moved, and one of her trademark [Sarkaz curses] was about to slip out—

Yet just as the first syllable was about to burst forth, her voice caught sharply in her throat, and she forcibly swallowed it back down.

As though remembering something, W shot Vera a quick glance before lowering her head again.

Everyone: "???"

Everyone stared at Vera in disbelief.

The boss lady had... actually tamed W!

And even fixed that infamous mouth of hers!?

Watching this unfold, Hedley was filled with doubts.

He absolutely did not believe that an ordinary spar could bring about such a profound change in W.

Something they did not know must have happened between those two.

"Do you still have something to do?"

Vera stopped walking, frowned, and looked back at the mercenaries who were still standing there dumbly.

Everyone immediately jolted and hurriedly shook their heads.

"...Then go back to camp and rest. The moment it's time, we leave."

"Yes, Boss!" the mercenaries answered in unison, not daring to delay another second.

Vera said nothing more and turned to continue toward the camp.

And W maintained that strange silence, following close behind her like a shadow.

The moment the two vanished from sight, the mercenaries erupted.

"Hey! Did you see that? W... she actually followed the boss lady without daring to say a single damn word!"

"More than that! She even swallowed her catchphrase! My god, it's the first time I've ever seen her like this!"

"What do you think the boss lady did to W?" one mercenary lowered his voice.

"Did she really just... beat her up?"

"Doesn't look like it. W doesn't have a single injury, and her clothes aren't even rumpled."

"Did the boss lady use some kind of mind-controlling Originium Arts?"

"Mind control? Actually, I wouldn't mind being controlled by the boss lady—"

"Ahem!"

Hedley coughed and shot a fierce glare at the loose-lipped fool, cutting off the increasingly absurd discussion.

"Go rest! Anyone who keeps talking will take the entire night watch tonight!"

The mercenaries reluctantly fell silent and dispersed in twos and threes.

After everyone had left, Hedley turned his gaze toward the shadowy corner that had remained silent all along.

"What exactly happened, Ines?"

The shadows twisted, and Ines slowly emerged from them.

Unlike Hedley's solemn expression, the corners of her lips curved upward. She was in quite a good mood.

"Nothing..."

Ines looked toward the direction Vera and W had disappeared.

"I merely... watched a rather wonderful show."

"You can't tell me?" Hedley caught the implication in her words.

Ines turned her head and looked at him with a faint, teasing smile.

"Are you sure you want to know the secret that employer is hiding?"

Hedley fell silent for a moment before ultimately shaking his head.

"Forget it. Only the dead can keep secrets forever."

"You're still as timid as ever."

"I prefer to call it prudence..."

"Whatever."

Ines passed Hedley and headed toward the camp.

"Get back already. There isn't much time left to rest."

Watching Ines's retreating figure disappear, Hedley sighed helplessly.

"...This team is getting harder and harder to manage."

Meanwhile, inside the Vitality Hall.

In the dark hall came the faintest sound of footsteps.

A shadowy figure crept sneakily toward the table, stretching out a hand to quietly reach for Ten Percent Off, who was sleeping on the tabletop...

[What are you doing?]

"Eek—!!!"

Vane suddenly clutched his chest with both hands and turned around trembling. Once he saw who it was, he wailed in the group chat.

[Vane: Boss, why didn't you make any sound?! You scared me to death!]

[Gregor: I never left.]

Gregor's body slowly lit up completely, dispelling the darkness around him.

He shook his head, his tone carrying the irritation of someone who had been awakened.

[Gregor: Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night? What are you doing here?]

[Vane: Hehe... I didn't get to watch it during the day, so I thought I'd secretly catch up tonight...]

[Gregor: ...Go sleep.]

[Vane: I can't sleep...]

[Gregor: Then go outside and gather intelligence... When you went out earlier, did you figure out where you are?]

Vane's face instantly fell, like an eggplant struck by frost.

[Vane: Oh...]

He resentfully withdrew his hand, muttering complaints under his breath.

"Making people work overtime in the middle of the night... Capitalists like this should be hung by the roadside..."

[Get out.]

"Right away!"

Watching Vane disappear, Gregor sighed and closed his eyes again.

His sleepiness had already faded. Irritated, Gregor subconsciously opened the group chat and glanced at it. There were still no messages.

Just as he was about to close it—

[Vera: I'm going to the dungeon in seven days too.]

"..."

Gregor's dim body lit up once more. His figure flashed, and he left the hall to continue his journey.

[Gregor: Okay.]

"Iberia! Your king has returned—!"

With that declaration, enough to make any Iberian shudder, Vane reappeared on Iberia's coast.

He spread his arms high-spiritedly, ready to welcome... huh?

Looking down, he saw countless Seaborn of every conceivable shape staring at him, this uninvited visitor. The scene was silent and eerie.

"Huh? Why haven't you left yet?"

Vane scratched his head in surprise, then curiously descended onto a somewhat open reef and swept his gaze over the surroundings.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Amid the swarm of creatures, he spotted a familiar figure—

The Seaborn he had repeatedly harassed before was lazily floating nearby.

"Scribbled War God! You're still here?"

Vane immediately moved closer, squatting at the edge of the reef and greeting it with a grin.

"Did you miss me?"

Seaborn: "..."

Its tentacles swayed unconsciously, and its light-sensitive organs focused on him, but it gave no response.

"Playing it cool by not talking, huh?"

Vane curled his lips, a smile appearing on his face.

"Then what if... I take this out!?"

Scarlet beads of blood seeped out and dripped into the shallow water.

The Seaborn, which had been slowly drifting away, paused and then wobbled back over.

Several thick tentacles emerged from the water, accurately locating where the blood had fallen and beginning to feed.

Vane watched with great interest, reaching out to poke the creature's body covered in slick carapace.

The Seaborn's body shrank slightly, and one tentacle separated from the rest to push Vane's finger away.

Eating. Do not disturb.jpg

Vane narrowed his eyes slightly, seized by a mischievous impulse.

Secretly circulating his energy, he drew out the Seaborn's own life energy through the tentacles feeding on his blood.

Scribbled War God's body went still, and its feeding stopped. Several tentacles swayed in the air in confusion.

Its simple mind could not process such a contradiction—

It was clearly taking in energy, so why was its own energy draining away instead?

After hesitating for several seconds, it resumed feeding.

A while later, Vane repeated the trick.

Scribbled War God paused again. Its tentacles stopped feeding and repeatedly touched the bloodstained reef.

What the hell? Why was it getting hungrier the more it ate?

Seeing that it seemed inclined to leave, Vane immediately stopped draining its energy.

Scribbled War God scratched at its carapace with an extended tentacle, seemingly reassessing its current situation.

After a brief hesitation, its simple mind reached the conclusion: "The danger has temporarily passed, and the food is still tempting."

It wobbled back over, its tentacles reaching once again toward the blood carrying that enticing scent.

When things had come to this, it was better to eat first.

Seeing the creature act as if nothing mattered more than eating, Vane could not help feeling incredulous.

"Good lord, what exactly did the Aegirians do to you? They managed to stress out even such a docile species... At this point, you could practically keep them as pets, couldn't you?"

The word "pet" flashed through Vane's mind, and he suddenly froze.

Keep Seaborn... as pets?

He slapped his hands together as a brilliant idea sprang into his mind.

"Brother War God!"

Vane leaned closer to the Seaborn, which was intently feeding on his blood, his face piled with smiles.

"I have an impertinent request... I wonder if you'd agree?"

Seaborn: "?"

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes!"

Vane directly declared that they had reached an agreement. The next instant, he took the initiative to cut open his wrist.

A great deal of blood poured out as if alive, forming a viscous sphere that enveloped the entire Seaborn.

Scribbled War God's tentacles instantly began to dance wildly, but it quickly realized this was not an attack.

Its struggle swiftly subsided. It quieted down again and began devotedly feeding on this unprecedented feast.

Vane nodded in satisfaction. While the creature greedily fed on his blood, he began a precise operation—

He was not merely allowing it to consume his blood. During the process, he was using his own blood to assimilate and replace the blood within it that belonged to the Seaborn.

As the blood circulated, Vane activated [Immortal Body] and took in the creature's blood at the same time.

Time slowly passed. The sphere of blood enclosing the Seaborn gradually thinned, revealing the Seaborn's new appearance within.

The carapace that had once been covered in slippery fluid had now turned crimson red, like blood itself.

Its overall form had not changed much, though it was a size larger than the other Seaborn.

Scribbled War God also seemed somewhat bewildered, turning its gaze toward Vane, the one responsible for all this.

From Vane, it no longer sensed merely the attraction of a "high-energy food source." There was also something more... an intimacy originating at the level of life itself.

That feeling was vague yet real, as though it were...

[Kin...?]