Kitty Killer Isn't Very Cold

[...Leaving aside the fact that only your right eye is showing right now... what if I told you she's one of our companions too?]

"...Huh?"

PS: Boohoo, kitty.

Which unlucky little fool was told to assist the Homeland Security Bureau, only to get pinned to the ground by Security Bureau agents and think her chastity was about to be taken?~

PS2: My body clock's a bit wrecked... I was rushing to meet the deadline, so I didn't think everything through clearly. I still need to keep chasing the live updates and see whether my brain is functioning during the day.

PS3: This can be revealed now... or rather, it needs to be emphasized: Firearms Arts are devastating against lightly armored targets... Nana's gear can resist stabbing and cutting to some extent, but if she gets shot... especially at close-quarters range, she'll definitely be seriously injured. That's why Nana reacted so strongly and nearly blew off a certain crying kitty's head.

Come to think of it, you took advantage of her one moment and wanted to kill her the next... Suddenly, I realized Nana might actually have... hm... the talent to be a heartbreaker?

Just kidding, 2333.

The Mystery of 2nd Medic: An Awkward Encounter

For an assassin, if there was anything more awkward than targeting the wrong person, it was probably nearly killing one of your own...

Nana had not yet reached the absurd point of accidentally killing a client, but as a self-proclaimed professional with excellent skills, the silence hanging over her now—and the red flushing from her cheeks all the way to the tips of her secondary ears—said more than enough about her state of mind.

Carefully carrying the black-haired Feline lying on the floor onto the bed, then awkwardly tucking her beneath the covers... Nana stared at the file her agent had sent to her phone about this Little Cat who used her real name as a codename. With a headache, the young assassin gathered the firearm parts scattered across the floor and carefully reassembled them.

[All right, although the process was a little bumpy, you did successfully enter the Landship and meet the designated stand-in... You can apologize later. Why not think about how to proceed now?]

"...A stand-in..."

[Jessica... an official Blacksteel Worldwide employee and dispatched operator. Although that is all the official file says, her identity is rather special... As the younger daughter of Raythean Industries, Jessica enjoys access rights and freedom of movement within Blacksteel far beyond that of ordinary employees. Borrowing her identity will let you move freely through most areas of the Landship...]

[Also, regarding the help you received in the Contingency Contract hall... What I can tell you is that the person who helped you has a very close relationship with Jessica...]

"I hope she won't call home and tattle on me..."

[That's hard to say~ After all, you did just act like a ghost... But Jessica herself is a dispatched operator. Once Blacksteel's cooperation with Rhodes Island is confirmed, there is a seventy-five percent chance she'll become your subordinate... When that happens, compensate her properly. Wouldn't that count as giving an explanation to the benefactor who helped you?]

"...I understand..."

If she made a mistake, she had to own it. Still, the young assassin fundamentally distrusted the probability her agent mentioned... The world was huge. How could there be so many coincidences? It would make more sense if the cause and effect had been completely reversed from the start.

Because Jessica was about to join Rhodes Island after Kal'tsit's negotiations, that unseen intermediary from Raythean Industries had been so unexpectedly willing to help Rhodes Island... Put that way, the logic seemed much clearer.

After placing the undamaged firearms back on the bedside table beside the kitty who seemed to be crying even in her dreams, Nana removed her cloak and folded it into the size of a ballistic plate in just a few motions... She glanced at Jessica's chest, then, since Jessica was lying down and Nana needed to confirm the size, pressed her palms together in advance apology before reaching out to feel it.

"About... this big?"

She first turned the cloak into padding of an appropriate size and placed it against the chest of her combat suit as camouflage, while also serving as bulletproof cushioning. Then the young assassin opened the wardrobe and frowned at the uniform rows of Blacksteel training clothes... These were not what Jessica was currently wearing.

[Jessica is an external dispatch officer, after all. This trip to Ticarondo was an emergency recall... She did not bring any spare clothes of her own. Blacksteel prepared a temporary room and a change of clothes in advance for Raythean's young lady, but anyone with an eye for quality would know that a young lady would not wear material like this against her skin.]

[What will you do? Strip the clothes off her directly? Like randomly picking an unlucky victim in the past?]

"...That wouldn't be right..."

[True~ What if she calls home and tattles on you? Right?]

"...Even if you keep making sarcastic remarks, Agent, I won't lay hands on a partner again..."

[Then disguise yourself as an ordinary Blacksteel employee in her Blacksteel training uniform? Leaving aside the restricted areas controlled by the Operations Department, how exactly would you explain to the guards why you're wearing Jessica's clothes?]

In the end, what the young assassin needed was Jessica's identity, not the identity of an ordinary Blacksteel operator... The difficulty of moving around under those two identities had never been on the same level.

As for the young assassin's moral integrity... Hm? Did she really possess such a thing? The only reason still stopping her from acting was probably the fact that this unlucky girl was going to be her future colleague.

[...Ha, I'll stop teasing you. Even though you cut off the call, Jessica will receive a message afterward telling her to cooperate with your operation... Just change into her clothes...]

"...At least this unlucky girl brought pajamas."

Taking out the folded pink pajamas from the sports satchel, Nana looked once more at the ally she had knocked unconscious and sighed. Then she started getting handsy.

About five minutes later... Most of that time had been spent changing the clothes of an unconscious person. A black-haired kitty wearing an outdoor jacket worth over a thousand Lungmen Dollars, complete with Blacksteel sleeve patches and Velcro, emerged from the room with a medical eye patch over one eye. Unlike her past rough disguises, Nana now looked exactly like Jessica.

And through the soundproof headphones on her head, countless times more advanced than ICA's, came her agent's voice with clarity at least ten—or perhaps nine—times better than before.

[It seems that even your Originium Arts cannot conceal your own shortcomings...]

"According to the information you gave me, this girl is normally quite clumsy. When she first joined Blacksteel, she even often injured herself during training... I'll just say she accidentally hit her eye when she fell."

[...That excuse somehow sounds worse than saying she failed to dodge during training...]

"Jessica's status may be high, but her social circle is small... And the person she spars with seems to be fixed. A lie like that would be exposed instantly."

[You decide things like that yourself... But are you really going to ask that Little Cat to send your equipment back to Rhodes Island? I did say she was reliable, but...]

As the agent seemed to still be considering whether it was too risky for Nana to pack up and leave behind her valuable rapid-fire Laterano Gun and assassin tools for Jessica—along with a note apologizing and asking her to take everything to Rhodes Island, which could expose their relationship—the sudden announcement aboard the ship made Nana's cat ears perk up.

[...Attention, the third shipboard meeting regarding the discussion of Ticarondo Catastrophe relief will be held in the conference room. Department heads and representatives of operational personnel, please attend and vote...]

[A meeting... We may be able to confirm that captain's whereabouts there. He should attend... With Jessica's identity, finding a seat there should not be difficult.]

Just as Nana nodded and prepared to follow the layout map her agent had sent her to the conference room, a voice from behind suddenly interrupted her.

"Jessica?"

She immediately threw herself into her current identity. With eyes lacking confidence, as if she might burst into tears, a little gesture of poking her fingers together, and finally those half-drooping airplane ears, Nana turned around. At the same time, the information from her agent came through her headphones:

[...Codename Vanilla, a dispatched operator from Jessica's intake. Like Jessica, she belongs to BPRS's support operations team. The two are currently being led by BPRS operators Liskarm and Franka on low-difficulty missions... She does not know Jessica's identity, but the two have become very close friends.]

"...Vanilla? Is... is something wrong?"

"Ahaha, actually, I wanted to borrow Jessica-senpai's book... The one with the special feature on wildlife..."

No matter which book it was, Nana definitely could not let her into Jessica's room right now. Even if she had put pajamas on Jessica, that was still a no!

"Um... I'm going to the meeting room right now, so it's a little inconvenient. Vanilla, could you come back tonight?"

"Mm, that's not a problem. It's just... I wanted to ask earlier. Jessica-senpai, what happened to your eye?"

"Ha... I was thinking while walking, and I ran into something... I'm really careless..."

Watching "Jessica" scratch her cheek in embarrassment as usual, Vanilla tilted her head, but quickly pushed the faint sense of discord from her mind.

"Jessica-senpai really does make people worry... It must be inconvenient with one eye covered, right? It would be bad if you bumped into something again on the way. I'll go with you."

"Huh? Ah... then, thank you, Vanilla."

"You help me a lot normally too, senpai~ But going to the meeting room at a time like this... Senpai, are you worried about Ticarondo too?"

"Mm."

Nana did not refuse when the other girl naturally took her hand. She had no idea whether they were normally this close. As for Ticarondo, Nana also wanted to gather some intelligence.

"The captain... still won't let us depart?"

"The old gentleman's attitude is very firm... He's usually friendly when greeting people, but isn't it a good thing not to face a Catastrophe head-on?"

"...Maybe... that's true."

But for the people trapped in the Catastrophe, it was nothing but torment... The same went for someone like her, who hoped to secure every possible source of help.

It was precisely because everyone knew that avoiding the Catastrophe was both the correct and appropriate choice for them that no one could say his decision was wrong... Otherwise, why would they need to hire an assassin to deliver an ultimatum?

"But... if possible... I still hope more people can be saved..."

"Jessica!"

Another voice calling her current "identity" suddenly came from behind. The accompanying footsteps and the soft sensation of someone pouncing onto her back made Nana let out a pitiful whimper almost entirely in character.

"F-Franka-senpai..."

"Correct~ But there's no prize... Hmm... Little Jessica, have you lost weight? Don't overdo your training..."

As she spoke, Franka released the kitty in front of her, whose core self was not remotely the same person. Seeing the medical eye patch over "Jessica's" left eye, both of Blacksteel's BPRS operators and the Rhodes Island members accompanying them froze.

"Jessica, what happened to your eye?"

The white-haired Vouivre frowned, wanting to inspect it, but Nana avoided her. Fortunately, the action also fit "Jessica's" personality. Vanilla, standing nearby, gave another awkward "ahaha" laugh.

"It seems Jessica-senpai bumped into something herself..."

"...So careless..."

Seeing the way Liskarm's words were scolding but her eyes were full of concern, Franka glanced at the Rhodes Island members behind them, whose expressions were strange, and tapped her palm.

"Come to think of it, isn't there a most professional doctor right here? Can you take a look at Little Jessica's injury?"

"I can, but..."

As she spoke, Su Sulo instinctively checked the medical case she carried with her, which had originally belonged to Medic.

But as she looked at that "Jessica" in front of her... Su Sulo found the eye patch more and more familiar...

You were obviously Medic, weren't you?

Medical eye patches were common enough, but an eye patch worn for several days would inevitably retain some traces of use...

Su Sulo did not even want to think about why an eye patch bearing the traces of Medic's medical Arts would be on "Jessica's" face. It was such a ridiculous situation... Nana, couldn't you even be bothered to find a new eye patch?

"Then, please give us some... room for air to circulate... Blaze, take out your phone and give us some light..."

"Oh, okay..."

The two Rhodes Island members, one large and one small, brought "Jessica" over to a corner. It seemed abrupt when considered carefully, but they were doctors, so Blacksteel's Crosstalk Duo gave them plenty of respect...

With Blaze blocking the others' view, Su Sulo lifted Jessica's eye patch. Looking at the unmistakably real penetrating wound beneath it, she pursed her lips. Nana could only secretly raise a finger, pleading for the two of them to keep it confidential.

Of course, Su Sulo and Blaze would not expose a colleague's request... While everyone else discussed the meeting, Su Sulo quietly asked in a low voice:

"So where's the real Jessica? You didn't kill her, did you?"

"...I just put her to sleep in her own room..."

Their brief conversation ended there. Since she had already opened the medical equipment packaging anyway, Su Sulo helped Nana treat the wound again. After putting Nana's eye patch back in place, she even gently wrapped a layer of bandages around it to secure it and prevent her cover from being blown.

"...All right, this should be fine now."

"Thank you, Doctor Su Sulo."

"You're welcome, Operator Jessica."

"Oh, oh, it's treated... Wait... Why does it somehow look even more serious now?"

Faced with Franka's soul-searching question, Su Sulo did not dare say that the injury itself was already extremely serious. She only gave a bitter smile and explained.

"Because the later swelling and inflammation will make the entire eye socket puff up... An eye patch alone won't be enough to cover it..."

At Su Sulo's explanation that it would "affect her appearance," Liskarm, who had seemed serious the entire time, tilted her head in confusion.

"...We're a PMC. We wouldn't laugh at a companion over a minor bruise..."

"Well~ Well~ Jessica is still a young girl. It may look a little more serious this way, but everyone is already used to her getting hurt every other day, aren't they?"

With the argument that "Jessica hurting herself was itself a sign of immaturity" as the foundation, Liskarm and Franka launched into a fierce debate. Amid all that bickering, they arrived at the conference room.

The Mystery of 2nd Medic: May God Guide Us

Although running into Su Sulo and the others had not been part of the plan, being able to follow BPRS members to the conference room openly and get a seat was still a good thing.

The fact that Nana would think so fully demonstrated just how little progress the meeting itself had achieved... She did not see the captain. The Ship Affairs Department representative merely held a printed sheet and used the questions written on it to plunge everyone into silence.

Although, in Nana's view, Su Sulo had done everything possible to explain Rhodes Island's position and stance, as well as the assistance Kal'tsit, the agent... and even Medic had sought throughout this incident, and the key role Blacksteel Worldwide's Landship occupied in all that assistance... in the end, Su Sulo still could not persuade the Ship Affairs Department representative.

First, the Ship Affairs Department openly stated that they could not bear the cost of damage to personnel and equipment not belonging to Blacksteel. The other reason was... Blacksteel was the only large Columbia vessel nearby. Together with the two high-speed ships Kal'tsit had found, they were the closest rescue force to Ticarondo, but only Blacksteel's vessel could carry city-scale relief supplies... If Blacksteel's ship remained silent, aid for Ticarondo would not arrive for months, perhaps even half a year.

"In the end, it seems to be a matter of risk... The key point he keeps arguing is that he has no confidence in taking an old warship with a maximum speed of only twenty-three knots through a Catastrophe unscathed. Once the Catastrophe reaches its final crystallization phase, any random chunk of Originium could destroy both personnel and equipment..."

At this point, Nana silently tapped out an encrypted message to her agent with her fingers.

"What would it take for this ship to pass through the Catastrophe without damage?"

[From the beginning, that assumption has been impossible, because no one can guarantee such a thing... But if we are talking about reaching the destination with the least possible loss... With supplies, manpower, and equipment all nearly waiting for Blacksteel to make a decision... what they lack is probably...]

"...A navigator daring enough to point them forward through a Catastrophe..."

[...That is an extremely risky idea... Personally... along with Kal'tsit, neither of us supports you doing this... But you are the one who truly makes the decision. The organization has always cared only about results... You know that, Number Seventy-Seven.]

The agent on the other end of the headphones fell silent. Faint, scattered discussion echoed around the meeting room. Watching the department heads of Blacksteel stare miserably at the voting pages on their phones, Nana unhappily twitched her cat ears... Then immediately returned them to Jessica's half-drooping shape.

"Looks like everyone is having a hard time choosing..."

Once again, Franka had somehow sidled up beside her. Nana did not know whether she was imagining things, but this future colleague named Franka always seemed to look at her with a faintly amused smile.

"After all, they have to place their lives, responsibilities, duties, and radiant ideals on opposite sides of a scale... Anyone would find that difficult."

As she spoke, the swordswoman stretched lazily, displaying her lovely figure without reservation before continuing.

"Looks like this will be another complete victory for the Ship Affairs Department... If they keep dragging it out, they might really manage to delay things until Ticarondo's Catastrophe is over..."