Kitty Killer Isn't Very Cold

After saying that, Kitty suddenly realized a key point Closure had mentioned earlier and looked toward the only Senior Operator she knew on the field:

"Ace can't do it either?"

"Him? No way... That guy only knows how to swing his hammer around. At best, he'd smash the whole field and the drones along with it. How could he have your precision, Medic... As expected of the Medical Department's newest physician! Incredible!"

Just as Kitty Killer was wondering what being a doctor had to do with this combat test, the subject of their teasing appeared as well:

"I really can't do something that precise... But I'm a Defender. My duty is to protect the companions behind me. Next is the close-combat test... Do you need a break?"

"If possible..."

Wiping the faint sweat from her forehead, Kitty Killer secretly wiped away tears... If this had been a carefully planned battle with suitable weapons and equipment support, she definitely would not have looked this miserable.

But Medic had not expected that what would truly embarrass her was still waiting ahead.

In any case, let us skip over the part where Kitty made a fool of herself and had Warfarin, who was standing by nearby, cackling with laughter. Medic could only say that she had come here to treat injuries, not to undergo a forced march...

In any case, Kal'tsit had indeed gotten Medic's comprehensive physical examination report as she wished.

[Physical Strength] Standard [Battlefield Mobility] Standard [Physiological Endurance] Excellent [Tactical Planning] Outstanding [Combat Skill] Outstanding [Originium Arts Adaptability] ...

Most of Kitty Killer's attributes were basically the same as Kal'tsit had predicted from her combat records. As for the final item, the plant-colored kitty raised her eyes to look at the girl lying on the ground beside Blaze, unable to move and still being tormented by Ace flexing his muscles... Then she took out the permanent marker she carried with her, blacked out those words completely, and added her own note at the end of the examination report:

Following examination, Medical Department Operator Medic was approved for Level Three internal PRTS access.

She was also appointed as a liaison officer for the Human Resources Department.

She assumed the position that very day.

PS: Kitty today.

PS2: Thank you to all new and old readers for your support... Also, I'd like to know when everyone usually reads... If I update at night, readers rushing to their 8 a.m. classes can read it on the subway.

There are still too many distractions when writing during the day...

Axi really dies the moment she sees daylight.

PS3: There is... no information that can be made public today... But I still hope for votes. holds out bowl

The Mystery of the Second Medic: Getting on Track

As a seasoned... "salesperson," it had always been Kitty Killer's business principle to solve her employer's problems at the root.

As Medic, she could naturally participate in treatment, stabilize logistics, pilot the landship, or even personally flip through her little notebook and kill everyone who came looking for trouble... But that still could not solve Rhodes Island's ultimate problem of simply lacking people at this time and place.

Or rather, it was already difficult enough for this mere ship shell to travel across the land without falling apart... Yet Kal'tsit still insisted on maintaining Rhodes Island's corporate culture, helping the Infected, participating in Contingency Contract, and even upholding the oath of medical personnel. Kitty Killer found it utterly baffling.

Of course, as someone who benefited from Rhodes Island's corporate culture herself, with not only her eye treatment but even Little Cat's upbringing and education still depending on Kal'tsit's support, Medic was naturally a loyal supporter of that corporate culture as an official Rhodes Island employee...

And to solve Rhodes Island's current state of lacking everything, Kitty really had to do some actual salesperson work.

Thus, aching all over after the extreme physical examination, Medic endured Little Cat's headbutting pounce and returned to the deep-treatment ward in the Medical Department area.

Watching the little one count on her fingers as she told Medic about her adventures with new friends today, Little Cat's shining eyes made it seem as though she had emerged from the shadow of the previous accident. If one ignored Cole and Kate's translucent appearances whenever they played with Little Cat, perhaps Medic could truly emerge from the shadow of her first independent action as well.

But the more Medic saw the little one trust and cling to her, the heavier the ache in the killer's heart became... Was that guilt?

Or perhaps... was this the so-called... "heartbreaking failure" that made her agent keep her at arm's length?

Medic did not know.

With no past at all, unable even to move forward by herself, she could only do her best to fulfill the contract she had rejected... But for a single cat, the effort required to care for a child in adolescence far exceeded her imagination.

[It's about time. Nana, get ready for a bath. Mia, you're coming too.]

"...Bathing... together?"

Cole's words reminded the killer, who had always lived alone. Medic, who was undressing, frowned when she suddenly heard that she would be bathing with Little Cat... Matilda was indeed visibly filthy from who knew where she had been crawling and rolling around, but bathing... Could a child who had only undergone surgery the day before yesterday take a bath?

No, no, more importantly, why had she let a child who had just undergone surgery the day before yesterday run around all over an unfamiliar ship?!

Seeing Medic start headbutting the wall panel, Kate, who was in some sense heart-to-heart with her, helplessly rubbed her cheek.

[You only started thinking about that after letting her run around with her friends all day? Besides, wasn't the doctor there at the time? She didn't say anything... If you're really worried, why not call and ask? This ship has an internal network, right...]

"...Ah, PRTS, connect me to Kal'tsit."

Finally remembering that the Rhodes Island terminal was among her issued equipment, Kitty Killer saw Kal'tsit again. She was half-undressed, one arm still holding the joyous Little Cat shouting, "Bath time!" while the other, driven by salesperson instinct, tried hard to focus the "recording device."

"Mia, wait... Ah, Kal'tsit... I wanted to ask something..."

"You want to ask whether she can take a bath?"

Clearly, compared with Kitty Killer, the plant-colored kitty knew everything about raising children. As a company executive, she barely even reacted to Matilda's antics in the background of the call.

"The Loken Watertank surgery includes healing and anti-inflammatory Arts. As you can see, little Bruce is very healthy now. With no external injuries, she can take a bath... Also..."

Kal'tsit blinked at the expectant Kitty Killer, and her expression unexpectedly softened... Though this suspenseful way of speaking once again made Medic's ears flatten like airplane wings.

"The bathroom mirror slides open. Besides the hair-care set for you, the item box behind it also contains hair-growth medicine for the little one... I put it there this afternoon while you and Blaze were running."

"...Thank you..."

"It's nothing. Tomorrow, remember to make ward rounds in addition to looking after the little one... I need to prepare an office for you in the Human Resources Department, so I won't be with you in the morning. Go meet Su Sulo yourself, then use PRTS navigation in the afternoon... I'm hanging up if that's all. If there's anything you don't understand about taking care of children, ask me directly... Don't make things up on your own."

Watching her plant-like superior, who worked around the clock, hang up, Kitty Killer thought for a moment before looking toward Cole and Kate, who were holding Little Cat for her.

"So... did I make you up in my head too?"

[I don't think so...]

[All right, go take your bath. I'll help scrub your back... And we still need to put hair-growth medicine on Mia, right?]

With the youngest Little Cat raising both hands in delight, Medic sighed and joined them.

What followed was nothing more than washing up all the way through... Though she had no idea why a ward would be equipped with something as space-consuming as a bathtub, since it was there, Medic and Little Cat used it.

And while they were soaking, the now-quiet Little Cat carefully observed the... big sister beside her, whom she was being this intimate with for the first time.

"...Is Nana's shoulder... not clean?"

"My shoulder... Ah... You mean this?"

She brushed at the barcode on her right shoulder. It was the culprit behind Kitty Killer almost never wearing off-the-shoulder clothes.

"No, it won't wash off..."

[That barcode on your shoulder... Nana, you...]

"Kate, are you going to say it's a slave mark used by many human traffickers? Yes, my agent told me something similar, but I don't remember where it came from."

Other than the sound of condensed water dripping, the bathroom fell into an eerie silence... Even Little Cat shrank her head down in the bathtub. Medic thought she found the water too cold and deliberately raised the bathtub's temperature by one degree.

"I asked ICA to investigate my background through this barcode, but my agent's response was that they found nothing... That's why the final digits, '77,' became the origin of my name."

[...You always say you don't remember, but just hearing something like that feels heavy enough to crush the breath out of someone.]

Medic actually wanted to ask whether Kate and the others in their ghostly forms truly needed to breathe, but just as they felt weighed down upon hearing of her nonexistent past, how could Kitty Killer not feel an empathetic crushing weight simply from the way they existed?

So the girls' shared bath ended in silence. To keep Little Cat from soaking until she passed out, the killer almost timed it like cooking—rinsing her off, drying her, and placing her on the bed...

The last thing worth mentioning was probably that, after the lights went out, Little Cat patted the bed beside Medic, who had sat down at the bedside.

Of course, because of the anti-gravity recovery bed, Little Cat was actually waving her hand through empty air... But Medic understood what she meant.

"...Do you want to sleep together?"

"Mhm. When Kate is unhappy... if we hug and kiss and sleep together, she can cheer up the next day. Kate sleeps on the left, Nana sleeps on the right!"

"...Kate and I aren't unhappy... And..." Thinking of how she had always rested in a recliner in the past, maintaining a posture that allowed her to draw her gun and counterattack at any moment if someone broke in, Medic felt there was no need to tell a child about that.

Even though she no longer remembered when she had first been targeted for revenge as a killer, her agent had reminded her that from the moment she killed her first target, she had basically said goodbye to beds—the sort of thing that allowed people to sleep deeply.

So faced with Little Cat's invitation, the killer politely declined... saying she was afraid of damaging this high-tech anti-gravity bed.

Medic hoped no one would expose her later. Little Cat probably would not ask around about such things... As long as Kate and Cole had taught her some basic sense of privacy.

Just like when she had first boarded Rhodes Island yesterday, Nana ultimately sat on the floor and rested against the clean machinery... But there was something different from yesterday.

An invisible yet tangible embrace gave the killer a comfort she had never known before. After five years without sleep, she finally dozed off for a while on Rhodes Island.

On a new day, there was no unlucky superior suddenly opening the door, no Originium reaction from door-breaching explosives, no disorderly detectives keeping watch nearby. As "Medic," the girl enjoyed a normal and lawful routine... It made Medic feel slightly unaccustomed.

But after climbing up from the floor, shaking out the Rhodes Island medical coat that had served as both blanket and gun concealment, Medic tugged at her shirt, which had not been ironed in a long time, and tried to smooth it out. It was time for a new day of work.

After organizing her belongings and stepping outside, she unexpectedly ran straight into Amiya in a white dress. Compared with yesterday, Little Bunny had a pile of extra rings on her hands. Medic could sense that they were all Arts mediums... But... they did not seem intended to spread or amplify Arts... They seemed more like... limiters?

"Ah, Operator Medic, good morning."

"Good morning, Amiya... Aren't these rings a little large for you?"

Hearing Medic say that, the little bunny shyly placed her hands before her chest.

"They are a little large, aren't they... I think so too. But Dr. Kal'tsit said I'll grow up quickly, so in about three years they should fit perfectly. For now, I can only hold them in place by clenching my fists... It's a little inconvenient, but I think it's better to get used to it early."

"...Get used to it early... I think children do not need to force themselves to get used to things they are not used to at all..."

Lifting Amiya's hand to inspect it for a moment, Medic could naturally tell from her own Arts proficiency that these things had been made by an expert. Being able to restrain runaway Arts without affecting normal casting made them "intelligent" Arts units.

And by gradually reducing the number of rings, the restrictions could be lifted step by step... The person who made them must have hoped from the beginning that this little bunny before her would one day master her own power without relying on them. Nana could feel the... love contained in these objects as well.

"...These are radiating casting restriction units. Although they were made into rings, they do not actually need to be worn to work... The person who made them must be an Arts master. Their effect is extremely powerful. As long as they are within one meter of you, they can take effect... So we can do this instead."

Watching Medic pull a length of paracord from her sleeve, Kitty Killer swiftly cut off a section of fiber cord and simply threaded the rings onto it, turning them into a... necklace.

After hanging the necklace—adorned with ten rings and looking intensely punk, like the accessory of some strange hip-hop rapper—around the little bunny's neck, Nana adjusted its length.

"...Well, it may not look very good with such decorations on a plain-colored dress, but as long as you wear a coat when leaving the ship, you can hide them underneath it."

Having Medic free both her hands, even if it was only with a simple string, Amiya looked very happy as she played with the "necklace."

"Thank you! Ah... Mia is currently..."

"She's still asleep. Could I trouble you to wake her up so she can get ready for breakfast?"

"Okay!"

Nana patted the bunny's head, especially her bunny ears, which were nearly as tall as she was, then smiled as she watched her enter the ward while holding the completed medical records.

And seeing that if she continued walking, yawning Cole would disappear, Nana could only stop and ask helplessly:

"So, you really can't stay by Little Cat's side... Compared with me, she needs you more, doesn't she..."

[...Nana, you need to face reality. We're already dead... Although we have confirmed that we can touch reality through Mia's Originium Arts, we still need to keep investigating when you will be able to keep seeing us...]

"...As for that, I already have an idea..."

[Oh?]

"Maybe as long as Little Cat can see you, I can see you through her emotional connection..."

[That makes sense... But if the reason we can manifest is Little Cat's Arts, there is actually another way for you to see us anytime. Then you won't be startled all day as if we are deliberately trying to scare you.]

Tilting her head, Medic looked at the PRTS navigation and waited for Cole's explanation as she headed toward Su Sulo's dormitory.

[Unlike you, Mia has always been able to see us clearly... Compared with the Arts trigger of the chain of thought you analyzed, that cannot explain why the little one can see us when we are attached to you... Rather than her connecting to your senses through the chain of thought and then recreating our forms through her memories, I am more inclined toward the straightforward answer that she herself can see us.]

"...How can a person directly see people who have died... I still can't even confirm whether you truly exist..."

[Yes, so... why not look directly through Kate's eyes?]

Hearing Cole's "suggestion," Medic remembered those "Originium-transformed organs" that she had subconsciously ignored and still had not handed to Kal'tsit, her attending physician.

"You want me to use Kate's eyes... But..."

[...It's time to move on, Nana...]

Just as Medic was about to say something else, Kate's voice, as though she had just awakened, sounded beside her ear.

[Talking about something so serious first thing in the morning, and you didn't even invite me, the person involved. What are you doing, Mom?]

At that moment, Medic seemed to feel Cole move away from her side, as though giving up the stage for Kate... But she could not see him, nor had he made any sound... Why could she have such a clear "feeling"?

Just as Medic wondered how crazy she had become, Kate leaned close to the killer's ear: