A Hunter and a Bad Woman in Terra

Doll took the object, held it in her hands, and examined it carefully for a while before silently nodding and making her judgment.

"It may have been quite some time... but if you are unwilling to devour this Umbilical Cord, I can use another method to absorb its effects within this mental world, becoming the link between you and your power. At the same time, it will also promote the fusion between those powers and you."

As she spoke, Doll gazed gently at Maria.

But Maria did not hesitate in the slightest. She merely nodded.

"So... you can use it to strengthen my body, right?"

"...That is correct, overly straightforward Hunter." With a helpless sigh, Doll looked at Maria, who had not been moved at all by her words.

Her voice was as calm as ever, carrying a faintly ethereal quality that did not belong to humans.

"With this Umbilical Cord, your body can be greatly strengthened... as for what authority it may unleash within you, we may have to wait until later to find out."

"Then I'll leave it to you..."

Maria did not waste much time interacting with her. Once she had confirmed the Umbilical Cord's purpose, she turned and left.

Watching Maria leave so decisively, Doll hesitated slightly.

She had actually wanted to say a little more to Maria.

But...

"..."

Watching Maria's resolutely departing back, she simply fell silent.

At last, she folded her hands over her lower abdomen.

"Good luck, Hunter."

"Mm..."

Maria did not turn back. She merely gave a faint nasal hum.

Then she opened the door leading out of this place.

But just as she was about to leave, she inexplicably looked back at Doll.

"I'm very happy to see you again."

Without waiting for Doll to react, she decisively left this space.

Doll remained rooted to the spot, blankly recalling Maria's final words.

Very... happy?

"Hehe~"

Without realizing it, Doll smiled.

"I'm also very happy to see you again..."

"Shy Hunter~"

Rhodes Island

"Mm-hm-hm~"

Across the flat land, a massive ship was moving.

What looked like sailing over dry land was simply normal in this world.

Because of Catastrophes and the existence known as Oripathy that they brought, only a small portion of this world was suitable for long-term habitation. The vast majority of people lived within enormous structures known as Mobile Cities.

They moved and relocated within designated areas according to their leaders' orders, evacuating ahead of time whenever Catastrophes approached.

But... unlike Mobile Cities that had places they belonged to, this city belonged to an independent organization.

"Ah! It's Fire God!"

The well-behaved girl spotted her target and excitedly ran toward her. As she moved, the weapons packed across her back clattered loudly.

Her energetic voice also caught the attention of several people who had been talking.

The woman she called Fire God helplessly turned her head, only to see the other girl lunging toward her.

It left her quite helpless.

Beside her, the little rabbit girl was somewhat flustered as well.

When she saw that the girl was merely hugging the Fire God operator and rubbing against her, she gave a wry smile.

"Miss Ceobe, please calm down. Miss Fire God seems a little uncomfortable..."

"Ah! It's Amiya!"

At that moment, Ceobe noticed the little rabbit beside them.

Under the horrified gaze of the girl named Amiya, Ceobe excitedly hugged her and began spinning in circles.

She looked utterly carefree and happy.

"Honestly..."

Watching Ceobe, who clearly looked like a mature and intellectual young woman, Fire God helplessly rubbed her forehead.

When she saw that Amiya, the owner of this Rhodes Island vessel, was practically rolling her eyes back, she hurriedly stopped Ceobe. Turning around, she skillfully pulled a honey biscuit from her pocket.

"All right, stop fooling around, Ceobe. Have something to eat."

"Yay!"

How could the Puppy girl think that much? Upon seeing the familiar combination of biscuit and sweet sauce, she excitedly released Amiya, turned around, took the biscuit, and began munching on it.

At the same time, a blissful expression appeared on her face.

Her tail wagged rapidly.

Watching this from the side, Fire God shook her head.

"Amiya, are you all right?"

"I-I'm fine."

Though she was a little dizzy, Amiya knew that Ceobe was simply a Perro girl and meant no harm.

Her gaze toward Ceobe was full of kindness.

Ceobe... had been an operator of Rhodes Island for a very long time.

She had few memories of where she came from. Her mind was simple, and she did not even know her own name. It was only later that everyone began calling her Ceobe after the name engraved on her weapon.

In truth, the way she had met Rhodes Island was also a strange twist of fate.

Many things had happened in between.

But as time passed, everyone gradually came to like this innocent, naive, and very hungry girl. She had practically become the group's shared darling.

Whenever they had the chance, they liked feeding her something tasty.

Incidentally, Amiya herself also seemed to be one of Rhodes Island's shared darlings.

Noticing how much Ceobe liked honey biscuits, she thought for a moment, then took out a pile of sweets from her own pocket and approached her with a smile.

"Please, Miss Ceobe."

"Mm!"

Before she had even finished the honey biscuit Fire God had given her, Ceobe saw more delicious food. Without thinking much about it, she happily accepted the sweets in Amiya's hands, her face full of bliss.

"Thank you~"

She happily responded to Amiya's kindness.

But among the items in Amiya's hands, the honey biscuits Ceobe should have liked most were not accepted...

"Four..."

"Huh?" The little rabbit tilted her head.

"Today... I've eaten four honey biscuits already!"

The Puppy girl answered seriously.

Amiya, meanwhile, fell into confusion.

Four... did that mean she only ate four honey biscuits a day?

But... why?

The rabbit girl was confused, while Fire God, who was already familiar with this, shook her head.

"Ceobe... apparently heard someone say before that she could eat at most four a day, so she limits herself to four honey biscuits each day... That person was probably worried about Ceobe getting cavities or something, but Ceobe insisted that she was being obedient and would not eat too many honey biscuits, so it was fine."

"Ah..."

Amiya was stunned when she heard that. After a long while, she could only smile helplessly.

Clearly, she did not know what to say about Ceobe's almost evasive train of thought. But seeing the blissful look on her face, Amiya could not bring herself to say much. She merely shook her head helplessly.

But... now that she thought about it.

"Miss Ceobe... actually listens to other people?"

In Amiya's memories, Miss Ceobe was an exceptionally free-spirited person. She would listen to others, but she rarely treated their words as rules she had to follow.

Temporary orders were fine, but trying to change her habits or anything like that was basically impossible.

Yet she actually had an order given by someone else that she had always upheld?

How rare.

"I'm curious too... but Ceobe said she has forgotten what that person was called. She only remembers her scent and appearance, as well as the things she taught her. Apparently, there was even a note left behind by that person... but Ceobe accidentally ruined it before she could fully understand it."

As Fire God said this, she helplessly shrugged.

Amiya smiled as well.

Although Miss Ceobe looked like an adult, her mentality was really no different from a child's.

As for the kind person she mentioned who had taken care of her... that person probably had some special relationship with Miss Ceobe.

But they had later been separated.

Thinking of that, Amiya lowered her head, her eyes somewhat dejected.

Noticing this, Fire God understood what she had thought of and quickly changed the subject, continuing with her question.

"Let's continue our earlier topic... Miss Amiya, where did you say we were going next?"

"Our next destination..." Hearing the question brought up again, Amiya came back to herself.

Although she rarely thought about such matters, Amiya, this thirteen-year-old girl, had indeed gradually begun to familiarize herself with and take on the role of leader of the vessel known as Rhodes Island.

Faced with Fire God's question, she seriously raised her head and spoke with a solemn expression.

"Next..."

"We're going to Lungmen!"

Maria Is a Tsundere

"..."

When Maria woke up once more, she found herself among a crowd.

Around her, many tents had appeared at some point. Destitute refugees had gathered together, but few of them spoke. Even exchanges between passersby were scarce.

Everyone was conserving their strength, and the air between them was filled with suspicion and vigilance.

Only a small number of people protected one another in little groups.

Maria sat quietly among them.

Silent, she leaned against a huge rock and rested.

Quite a few people had noticed her, but no one dared approach. They merely watched her warily, their eyes fixed on her exquisite clothing.

She did not look like an ordinary person at all.

As for Maria... she was already dumbfounded.