Arknights, but the Family Has Fallen into Decline Again, Again, Again

Earthspirit said gratefully, "Thank you, Doctor!"

She harbored similar feelings toward the young Eyjafjalla.

After Earthspirit left, leaving only Oute and Specter in the office, she suddenly asked, "What... is that?"

The Cake Isn't Even Finished Yet, and You're Already Thinking About the Cake Knife?

"What do you mean, what is it?" Oute frowned.

"A Catastrophe... Messenger." The nun loosened one hand.

Her heartbreakingly pale jade finger pointed at a document on Oute's desk.

She didn't know?

The land knew little about Aegir, but Aegir should have possessed enough technology to observe the land...

Perhaps Specter simply didn't know?

As an Abyssal Hunter, Laurentina herself was guarded against by Aegir... and as a "second personality," it was not impossible for Specter to lack full access to Laurentina's memories. There had indeed been many such cases.

No matter what, this was a good sign.

Specter's nun persona was far too withdrawn and showed little interest in anything beyond theology. This sort of interaction might mean Laurentina was awakening.

If he answered her... it would benefit her mental health and help her return to normal.

Answer her directly!

"Catastrophe Messengers... on land, the infiltration of the Originium cycle is everywhere. As a high-energy substance, it greatly affects a range of natural phenomena, including geological and atmospheric activity."

"Whether it absorbs or releases energy, it ultimately causes drastic changes in natural activity over a short period. In other words, it produces extremely catastrophic consequences."

"That is... a Catastrophe."

"These disasters in turn affect the Originium cycle, stimulating Originium's self-replication and concentration... The result is frequent Catastrophes, with Originium spreading alongside them."

"And so, for stable production and daily life, a profession emerged among the people of the land that specialized in analyzing and warning against Catastrophes."

"That profession is the Catastrophe Messenger."

Specter tugged at her sleeve. "Catastrophe Messengers... fight Catastrophes?"

Had she thought of the Seaborn and the Abyssal Hunters?

Oute answered, "That can only serve as a metaphor."

"As the Originium cycle has seeped deep into the marrow, this world... Catastrophes have already become part of this land's normal material cycle."

"When everything people do only continues to promote that cycle, opposing this natural phenomenon has become an 'impossibility.'"

Was that answer a little too merciless?

If she really projected those things onto it...

Specter nodded and asked no further questions. Instead, she poured Oute another cup of tea.

She agreed? Why?

The mental link could only force my thoughts into others one-sidedly right now, which was rather inconvenient... But how could it be strengthened?

Looking at the moonlight beyond the window, Oute sighed.

He would give it a try. When he entered a dream tonight, he would try actively pulling someone in.

The first section of the dungeon was ruins, where his ancestors had toyed with necromancy... Since it was the Interstice between another world and dreams, that knowledge should be genuine. It was worth trying.

If Logos weren't absent, pulling him into a dream would have been nice too...

Skadi and Alina joining had been accidents to begin with. There was no need to keep expanding this accidental group.

Oute closed his eyes and sensed them.

Two.

Tonight, he could bring two newcomers in.

Kal'tsit.

And...

"Doctor, you still have a great deal of work to handle... You can't rest yet..." Amiya awkwardly carried over a stack of documents.

Oute opened his eyes and did not bother explaining himself.

He asked, "What are these?"

"Although Rhodes Island's landship is very large, not every employee is stationed aboard Rhodes Island."

"After all, Rhodes Island is a landship. Once it ventures deep into the wilderness and leaves the intercity network, contact between the outside world and the landship will be cut off."

"At times like that, anyone wanting to conduct business with Rhodes Island has to go through these offices!"

Oh, branch offices.

Those miraculous little outposts Rhodes Island used whenever it intervened in local affairs, right?

The ones with basements stuffed full of Originium explosives, battlefield supplies, and medical goods.

After reviewing the documents, Oute realized that Rhodes Island did not seem to have that much money yet...

Most of these branch offices were currently just branch offices, really.

Rhodes Island rented or purchased property in various regions, recruited local employees, and used them to maintain commercial connections with the area. Such properties were branch offices.

What Amiya had brought over were the recent correspondence documents exchanged between Rhodes Island's landship and its regional branch offices.

Most were reports on orders for precious metals, sales of painkillers, and inhibitor allocations for staff.

Important, but not terribly important.

If they were handled properly, great.

If they were botched?

It did not really matter to Rhodes Island as a whole.

From one perspective, these might have been documents Kal'tsit had sent him to practice with after believing he had lost his memory. Or perhaps she was handing authority over to him.

Which was it?

Kal'tsit herself probably could not tell.

"Mm, I understand." Oute quickly went through them first.

One document caught his attention.

"Providing painkillers to Karlan Trade?"

It was a document submitted by a Victoria branch office.

In essence, the branch had provided the local Karlan Trade subsidiary with the full amount of painkillers stipulated by contract. Its stores were now empty, and it requested that Rhodes Island's landship transfer a batch of painkillers to replenish them.

"Ah, it's Karlan Trade's order. I remember this contract," Amiya said. "Mr. Silverash not only purchased a medical coverage agreement for all his employees, along with painkiller quotas for every subsidiary, but his younger sister is also receiving treatment here at Rhodes Island."

Oute remembered Enciodes Silverash.

Back when the game first launched, that warlord tag had looked quite intimidating... After all, no one had known what Kjerag even was back then.

But after two installments of the Great Snow event, his image had thoroughly turned into that of a college graduate returning home to start a business.

Even funnier was that this university student from the snowy realm had suffered a tremendous spiritual shock from "Terra's modern society" while studying in Victoria. He had completely turned around, and for a long time had looked down on his hometown's "superstition."

"A major client."

Kjerag's mineral grades were actually excellent, but due to transportation issues, it was often the one kneeling on the ground and begging others to buy its goods. Without considering Kjerag's future, Karlan Trade's long-term commercial contracts would almost all have to be classified as loss-makers.

And that was precisely what Rhodes Island, with its severely troubled cash flow, needed to value.

Yan, Rim Billiton, even, even, even Kazdel... every last one of them could provide Rhodes Island with the necessary raw materials, and do so far faster than shipping goods from Kjerag...

But Rhodes Island had no money.

Oute tapped the desk.

Kjerag at the end of 1096 was still in a fairly isolated state. If luck was bad, Enciodes was still back home... Considering that once one entered the snowy realm, communication was basically done by shouting, they needed to contact him now.

That Actually Seems to Make Sense?

"Kal'tsit!?"

The Sarkaz girl's eyes blazed as she pointed at the person sleeping on Kal'tsit's lap and cursed, "You old hag!"

"What the hell are you doing!?"

"As you can see." Kal'tsit remained perfectly calm. "When I found him, Doctor Oute was unconscious."

"You're still playing dumb!?"

W trembled with rage.

This was Hamlet, a small harbor town whose port had long since fallen into ruin. What remained of the town was practically huddled inland. Rotten wooden civilian buildings mingled and piled together with crumbling stone military structures, forming a settlement that resembled ruins.

At the entrance to the town, near the carriage station, six people had gathered.

Beside Kal'tsit and Oute, Specter knelt nearby, muttering to herself. Across from the three of them, W glared furiously. On either side, Skadi silently gripped the strap around her sword's hilt, while Alina stood at a loss.

"You put his head on your lap!? Don't tell me you actually believed his bullshit!? Amnesia!?"

"Even if I take ten thousand steps back! Even if this bastard really lost his memories! What about you!?"

"Have you gone so insane that you've mixed up hatred and being in heat!?"

"Kal'tsit!"

Kal'tsit's expression did not change as she calmly replied, "His amnesia has been confirmed. Furthermore, his life is one of Rhodes Island's most important assets. Protecting his life is my duty."

"Protecting him on your lap!? Why don't you fucking protect him in bed!?" W was completely furious.

"Um..." Alina tried to mediate between them. "I don't know what happened... but Mr. Oute is a good person..."

Mr. Oute?

She knew him?