Kitty Killer Isn't Too Cold

Matilda, who had been listening in on her mother and sister's conversation all along, suddenly said that last line... Nana knew the little one was just parroting, but the others didn't.

Hearing that, Su Sulo immediately grabbed Nana's sleeve. Ace did not laugh out loud, merely enjoying the scene from the side, while Blaze boldly pounced at Nana from behind again.

"Don't! Rhodes Island really isn't some heartless corporation! It's just that most of our personnel are still in Kazdel. I promise, we usually aren't this busy..."

Watching Nana dodge the big cat's flying tackle with a sidestep and catch up to her, Kal'tsit continued in an expression that looked as though she could ascend to heaven at any moment.

"Blaze is right, but Rhodes Island being understaffed is a fact. After all, the people in the... old positions over in Kazdel may not all come to Rhodes Island, and maintaining the Landship itself also requires manpower. So I've said many times that you should be mentally prepared.

"And this will be your and Little Cat's home in the future... I hope you can truly become part of it. That's also why I want you to try working in every department... Would you like to visit the Ship Affairs Department?"

Holding back the big cat trying her hardest to hug her, Nana nodded at Kal'tsit. Meanwhile, Little Cat, who was being held by Cole, remembered the friend she had just made.

"Will Amiya come too?"

At the mention of her, Kal'tsit, walking at the very front, seemed to remember that there was a little rabbit beside her.

"Come to think of it... Amiya..."

"...S-Sorry, Doctor Kal'tsit. I'll return to my room right away."

Seeing the little bunny turn around as though she was terrified and ready to leave immediately, Little Cat in her hat instantly became unhappy. But her mother and sister were watching, so she could not do anything... Thus, she decided to glare at this bad person.

Such an obvious movement naturally did not escape anyone present. Kal'tsit was not about to stoop to a child's level... In fact, she had called Amiya over because she wanted her to interact more with children her own age... That little one glaring at her had arrived at just the right time.

"No need. You are free... What I meant was, this little one will be living with you on the ship for a long time in the future... Take her with you... Of course, remember to do your homework... As for Matilda's studies... we'll arrange that after all her medical examination reports are out."

After saying that, Kal'tsit looked at Nana and signaled for her to cancel the Witchcraft.

The potted-plant-colored cat had done so partly because she wanted the children to live alongside peers their own age. On the other hand... she wanted to separate Matilda and Medic, lest the two of them become immersed in the false life created by Witchcraft.

But Nana had no idea what look Kal'tsit was giving her. Still, it did not matter if Nana did not understand. Cole did.

So she set Mia down and let Little Cat run over to take Amiya's hand.

[I think that's pretty good... I was just wondering what to do about Mia going to school...]

[So Mia, remember to do your homework too. Once Nana gets off work, we'll check it together~]

Hearing her sister's teasing, Little Cat puffed out her cheeks unhappily. But when she looked to Nana for help, Nana glanced at Cole, who was gradually disappearing into the distance now that Little Cat had gone away, and said the same thing Kate had.

"If there's anything you don't understand in your homework, you can ask me..."

"Mm! Nana is mean! Amiya, let's go... This ship is huge, we can play hide-and-seek~"

Seeing the two little ones run off, Nana was about to call after them and tell them to be careful when Kal'tsit stopped her.

"Amiya knows where she can and cannot go... And Matilda has no access permissions, so she can only follow Amiya. There won't be a problem."

There would not be a problem...?

Although Nana had not shown it while saying goodbye to Su Sulo, Blaze, and Ace, letting Little Cat run around a ship that had not even finished being outfitted with a new friend she had just met... It would be stranger if Nana were not worried.

Yet Cole and Kate, Little Cat's direct blood relatives, were discussing the feel of flour right beside her as though they were completely unconcerned about their daughter and younger sister. Nana's blood pressure was rising... Or was she the only one worrying for nothing? Do you really not need to stay with Little Cat?

[Don't worry. Mia's Originium Arts are probably the strongest among us... I possess arts that let me discern people's hearts and see through emotions, while Mia can use them almost instinctively. Because of this ability, she is very... straightforward. That's why you often see her getting into conflicts with other children. But it was also why, even after Andy became critically ill and nearly lost his mind, Mia never gave up on her father... She could see whether Andy loved her and whether he would protect her.]

[And there's even less reason to worry about violence. In terms of sheer destructive power, she is even stronger than you... That is also why we can stay by your side without worry.]

They did not actually need to stay by her side... Of course, she could not say that.

Feeling exhausted, Nana followed Kal'tsit back to the top-floor command center. Along the way, she encountered the drone that kept circling the two of them several more times.

"The Ship Affairs Department's work is currently handled semi-autonomously through the PRTS system. Of all the matters I need to keep track of, the Ship Affairs Department is probably one of the easier ones...

"Your first tasks here would be planning the route, avoiding sensitive regions, ensuring the ship's supply routes, monitoring reports from Catastrophe messengers, and submitting a daily analysis report on tunnel geological conditions... Don't make that face. The Ship Affairs Department has the most advanced office environment. With PRTS's help, paperwork is actually the easiest part."

Nana asked, "Then... what isn't easy?"

Kal'tsit replied, "...Confirming the ship's condition. For example, daily inspections of the propulsion systems, checking tread wear, activating the communications antennas, and maintaining the masts during severe weather..." "Isn't that the Engineering Department's job?"

Seeing Nana's expression somehow look even worse than it had in the morning, Kal'tsit received PRTS's report and answered listlessly.

"The Ship Affairs Department is the core of the Landship. Here, you provide and maintain the hardware for every department... Everything you do affects whether other departments can operate normally... In short, come help me first."

Kal'tsit did not even bother with words like "try." She directly asked Nana to help... Poor Miss Medic had no way to refuse and could only put on the tool belt Kal'tsit pulled from a cabinet with an expression even grimmer than Kal'tsit's.

In less than a day, Kitty Killer's expression had gradually become similar to that of her new supervisor. She stepped into the command center elevator, put on a beige hard hat with green words reading "Safety First," and stood on the open deck with a fluorescent signaling baton hanging from her lower back, swaying in the wind.

Her target was the communications antenna atop the air traffic control tower... Besides clearing away accumulated Originium Dust and other interference that might affect communications, Kal'tsit had also told her to retrieve some... cargo from the top?

That left Nana utterly baffled. What kind of cargo would be placed on top of an antenna?

"Kal'tsit, tell me the truth. Before I came here, did you really handle all these random things personally?"

[Yes, because everyone has their own work to do... For example, Ace's squad is the only operations team accompanying this departure. Besides serving as the ship's armed force against potential dangers in the wilderness, they are also responsible for maintaining order aboard the ship... And then there's Su Sulo...]

"...Ah, Su Sulo said today was her first day serving as the lead surgeon. She seemed very happy."

Fastening the high-altitude safety clip, Nana tugged at the rather worn-looking rope. She did not know whether she should be more worried about the rope or the climbing ladder made up of metal hooks no thicker than fingers... But chatting with the person on the other end of the communicator while on a mission reminded her of past assignments arranged by her agent. Already familiar with working at high altitudes, Kitty Killer quickly began climbing with practiced ease.

[Su Sulo is a clinical physician from Banka... If she had not contracted Oripathy while rescuing the Infected, she should have become an up-and-coming specialist in minimally invasive surgery within Siracusa's medical system...]

"...Then why would someone that talented come to Rhodes Island? From the way you talk, you seem to feel quite sorry for Su Sulo..."

[Because that is the current state of the world... Aside from Rhodes Island... the companies capable of giving up profits to resettle the Infected and calm internal public opinion are all among the world's elite. Su Sulo had nowhere else to go, but fortunately, I eventually saw the résumé she sent.]

"So... you're also handling Human Resources Department work part-time, Kal'tsit?!"

[By common sense, you were also specially recruited into Rhodes Island by me.]

Unable to refute that, Nana could only continue climbing in silence.

[Have you already climbed onto the air traffic control tower?]

"Yeah. It looks empty inside..."

[If you want to work in the Ship Affairs Department, I may assign you temporary tower duty whenever aircraft are scheduled to land...]

"I could do that... But can Rhodes Island, in its current state, really accommodate aircraft landings?"

As she spoke, she stood atop the control tower and fastened the safety clip at her waist to the communications mast. Bracing against the violent wind, Nana glanced down. This spot was not particularly high above the Landship's upper deck, and with her naked eye, Nana could clearly see the unfinished hangar elevator and the deck's exposed patches of anti-rust paint...

But when she looked beyond the ship, added to Rhodes Island's own height, Nana felt as though the horizon were within reach.

For the first time since arriving atop a moving Landship, Kitty Killer could not help spreading her arms into the wind. With the Landship's rapid movement adding to it, Nana felt as though she were standing in the middle of a storm.

[Rhodes Island Landship currently has two aircraft on order... That person said you could operate all vehicles, including Landships...]

"Yes. If necessary, I can operate all vehicles, including Landships, transport aircraft, and combat aircraft... That's why you suggested I could work in the Ship Affairs Department, right?"

[Yes. There are many things you can do... The Medical Department's field operations need your battlefield emergency treatment abilities. At the Medical Department's outpatient clinic, you can perform internal imaging for the Infected. You have also proven your ability in logistics through Witchcraft... If you can adapt to the Ship Affairs Department too, I imagine there will be a place for you in both the Engineering Department and Equipment Department.]

[So have you thought about it? What kind of life do you want for yourself...]

Hearing Kal'tsit's question, Nana answered honestly as the crosswind occasionally slapped her tail and skirt against the mast with loud smacks.

"I don't know... But I will fulfill the contract."

[I have always felt that you are a victim of ICA's pure contract theory... But that person did use this method to build a personality for you that even someone who had lost their place in life could use to adapt to modern society... Very well. It is about time you learned some of Rhodes Island's secrets... Judging from the surgery you assisted with this morning, you do not discriminate against the Infected.]

"...They are just sick. I do not discriminate against patients."

[Well said. Then... as both a Feline and a Sankta, what do you think of Sarkaz?]

Kal'tsit's abrupt question left Kitty Killer thoroughly confused.

Just as Nana climbed to the top of the communications mast and took out a steel wool scrubber to clean the antenna, a white bundle swaying in the wind beneath the antenna mast caught her attention.

"...Put the Sarkaz thing aside for now... Kal'tsit, I think I see the 'cargo' you mentioned..."

[Yes. Look more closely, then remember to bring her back...]

"Who are you calling cargo?!"

"...The cargo talked..."

Calmly responding to the white object fluttering in the wind like a banner, Nana moved closer. Even with her one eye always having some trouble focusing, she could finally see clearly at this distance.

What bundle or cargo was this...? Someone had clearly been tied inside a bag and hung from the communications antenna!

Never mind who had been bored enough to hang a person from valuable technical equipment. Why someone was hanging from the very top of a Landship was the question that confused Nana the most.

Kitty Killer's expression was one of profound contemplation, as though she were pondering the essence of truth, constructing the boundaries of the universe, and considering the limits of mathematics... But in the end, she used the words her agent sometimes muttered when things developed beyond expectation and he did not know how else to describe them.

"...That's incredible... Do you Bloodfiends of the Sarkaz like hanging yourselves up high to sleep?"

Even for a long-lived Sarkaz, the white-haired, red-eyed Bloodfiend, whose brains were nearly being shaken smooth by the wind, was instantly cured of low blood pressure by Nana's words.

"Do I look like I tied myself to a mast because I like it?!"

"...I heard Bloodfiends rest in coffins... Isn't that sleeping bag your coffin?"

"This tent bag does not look like a sleeping bag either, does it?!"

After grumbling for a while, a wave of scarlet blood mist appeared around them. The Bloodfiend, who had previously been fluttering like a flag, finally stabilized herself.

Her disheveled white hair concealed her face. Nana could see nothing besides half of her pale face and the fangs exposed with her smile.

"Still, you really are surprising... Knowing that I'm Sarkaz, knowing that I'm a Bloodfiend, you not only didn't stay away, you kept coming closer to us?!"

"...Kal'tsit told me to bring you down. If you don't want to, then forget it."

"Don't! Take me with you!"

Seeing the cat who had just approached instantly turn around and prepare to climb down the ladder, the Bloodfiend, who had seemed so imposing moments ago, immediately withdrew all her blood mist and wriggled like some kind of insect.

Not only was there none of the dignity expected of a long-lived Sarkaz in her tone, but in Nana's eyes, her entire image had been reduced to that of "a lunatic hanging herself from a mast to get blown around."

After Nana untied her as Kal'tsit had instructed, the white-haired Sarkaz woman smoothed down the hair scattered by the gale, finally revealing her beautiful face...

She was completely unlike the Bloodfiends Nana had encountered in all kinds of literature and art, who would slaughter your entire family without a word. The Bloodfiend calling herself Warfarin had already thoroughly surprised Nana with the first sentence of her introduction.

"So you are the... exception Outcast mentioned? I actually wanted to pick you up yesterday, but Kal'tsit said she didn't know how you felt about Sarkaz and refused to let me see you no matter what... But you came to see me in the end~ Do you find me disgusting? A Sarkaz?"

Looking over the white-haired woman wearing the same medical armband, Nana tied her safety harness for her and spoke in a muddled order.

"...Normal. Not as scary as in stories... But... dangerous... yes... Still manageable..."

"Because of your Guardian Gun? Though I really didn't expect you to possess a genuine Laterano Gun..."

Watching the other woman casually take her pistol from her satchel, Nana puffed her cheeks slightly and immediately snatched it back.

"This is something important given to me by someone important... Don't touch it carelessly..."

"Mhm, mhm... Kal'tsit, even when I grabbed her Guardian Gun, she didn't shoot me. I think you can stop worrying about that thing you've been concerned about."

Ignoring Warfarin's report, which was clearly testing something, Nana became a little angry... Her agent had told her never to test friends.

Then was Rhodes Island, which had tested her, a friend?

Even if Nana did not mind a Sarkaz touching her gun... Such behavior had indeed lowered Nana's opinion of Rhodes Island and Kal'tsit, who might have known about it.

Fine. Tomorrow, she would deliberately slack off in front of that potted-plant Feline... No, this was called protesting. It was called striking!

For now, she would set the time from midnight to four in the morning.

Thinking that, Nana puffed out her cheeks and carefully cleaned Rhodes Island's communications antenna. She then placed the steel wool scrubber covered in Originium Crystals into the special Originium Dust disposal bag hanging from her engineering tool belt. After that, Nana stopped speaking to the Sarkaz woman who was smiling as she observed her.

Kitty Killer grabbed the safety rope and began the descent to the ground alongside Warfarin.

"Eh... Oh no, Kal'tsit, your new little cat seems to be angry... Ah, it's fine, it's fine. She's throwing a tantrum and dragging me toward the deck right now."

Seeing that Nana could not even be bothered to look up and was only fastening the safety clips one section at a time, Warfarin's smile gained a hint of helplessness as the two climbed down.

"Actually, I was hung up there because Kal'tsit would not let me see you. Sorry, testing you was just something I thought of on the spot. After all, Outcast said you are a Sankta acknowledged by the Law, and like our little Amiya, you are also a Chimera... But since you are connected to that 'Law,' I, a 'demonic old hag,' had to test you a little... Don't be angry, okay?"

"I'm not angry."

Once she heard that the little cat below her had stopped tormenting the safety clips, the white-haired Sarkaz simply made a small leap off the ladder. Swinging her body outside the safety railing, Warfarin held the handrail with one hand and kept her descent speed level with the other's climbing speed, as though she were stepping down invisible stairs.

"Then let me introduce myself? This time, I was the one at fault. How about I treat you to something delicious once we get to Kazdel~ I'm Rhodes Island Medical Department's blood bank manager, codename Warfarin~"

Watching the other woman support her body weight with one hand on that strenuous lever, Nana suddenly wondered whether, with Warfarin's physique, she could be thrown directly from the mast to the deck without getting hurt.

Thinking that, the cat with beautiful blue eyes responded as well.

"Medic... Nice to meet you."

PS: Today's kitty.

By the way, did anyone know that Su Sulo had long hair when she was job hunting before joining Rhodes Island?

PS2: Publicly available information... When she learned there was a second "Chimera" in this world, Warfarin, Amiya's attending physician, was the most shocked person in all of Rhodes Island... and even Babel...

That was why Kal'tsit hung her from the mast... Because that Bloodfiend, with her eyes shining so brightly, really looked like she wanted to eat Nana...