In Terra, a Hunter, and a Bad Woman

It wasn't body scent, nor was it perfume. It was simply the smell of gunpowder mixed with sweet apple pie...

"You only came over after realizing that?"

"Not entirely. I really did want to scare you just now... I still remember the way your tail puffed up last time~ Texas, show me again? You know, that~"

Exusiai's grinning words were impossible to read.

But... Texas could indeed feel the concern behind them.

As fellow members of Penguin Logistics, she and Exusiai had spent more time partnered together than anyone else.

Though neither of them said it aloud, they really were very close.

That was also why Exusiai had chosen to come over and defuse the situation after noticing Texas's wariness.

It had looked as though Exusiai had been steadily approaching Maria, but in truth, her hand had never left her weapon.

Exusiai understood as well that anyone capable of making Texas show such an expression was definitely no ordinary person...

"So... is she from that, um, family you mentioned before?"

Exusiai remembered Texas mentioning a few times in the past that she had once been a member of a family.

Though that family no longer existed, its debts had not truly been wiped away.

For certain reasons, Texas had ultimately come to Lungmen... Though she had never intended to hide it, everyone at Penguin Logistics knew that something terrible must have happened to this girl in the past.

They had simply been kind enough not to bring it up deliberately.

But...

Maria's appearance made Exusiai feel that she needed to ask.

Before Maria appeared, even if they were besieged by three or four gangs at once, this Lupo woman would never show the slightest trace of fear.

Yet just now, when Maria had been only a pillar away from her, Exusiai could clearly see the change in Texas's expression.

Who exactly was that Maria...?

An enemy? Or someone like that strange Lappland, both friend and foe? Or something else entirely?

Exusiai was very curious!

But this time, Texas, who never hid anything, refused in an unprecedented manner.

"I can't say..."

"Huh? I just wanted to ask whether she's from that family... I can't even ask that?" Exusiai looked somewhat dejected, and the girl's mood showed clearly on her face.

Her little face instantly fell.

"I don't mean to hide it, but... Exusiai, we'd better not have too much contact with that woman."

Texas covered her face, her complexion pale.

She hesitated, then raised her head and looked at Maria's retreating back. After struggling for a while, she turned around, walked around Exusiai, and resolutely left.

Exusiai, standing nearby, was somewhat startled as well, then turned and chased after her.

"Hey~ Texas, wait for me."

"Don't walk so fast~"

Hoshiguma and Maria

"Strange woman..."

After leaving the two women behind, Maria recalled the feeling of interacting with them.

Maria was absolutely certain that she had never met either of them.

Yet that woman had looked as though she knew her, her face full of shock.

Had she mistaken her for someone else?

Or perhaps...

"System?"

Maria softly called out to her system.

"I'm here..."

Little Regret's voice was still listless.

Clearly, Maria's earlier disdain still weighed heavily on her.

Sob, sob, I'm such a useless system... And if a system can't even help its host, then what meaning does it have?

My career as a system... is over...

"..."

Hearing those strange mutterings in her mind, Maria fell silent.

Was it just her imagination?

Ever since coming to this world, she felt as though she hadn't met a single truly normal person...

Was it because of Beastification?

After thinking it over, Maria felt that this was the most likely explanation.

After all, up to now, she had not seen a single true "human." There was either that foolish Puppy, that madman, or refugees and the like.

The two girls just now had been quite pretty, but they were not human either. Their inhuman traits had been obvious.

And that guess only strengthened Maria's resolve to hunt Great Beasts!

"Sure enough... as long as Great Beasts exist in this world, they only bring abnormalities, don't they?"

With a sigh, Maria shook her head. No longer paying attention to Little Regret's strange muttering in her mind, she turned and began waiting patiently.

After some more time passed, the staff came out, and the crowd began lining up for inspection.

This time, they did not ask anything important. They merely asked what Maria had come here for.

Maria simply answered that she was here to travel, and they let her through.

That gradually made Maria realize something.

"For people of unknown origin, this world seems to care more about those 'Infected'?"

"So... what exactly are the Infected?"

Thinking as she went, Maria stepped into the real Lungmen...

After leaving the sparsely populated checkpoint, Maria found quite a few drivers waiting outside.

They noticed the neatly dressed Maria. Realizing that she might be from a wealthy household, they immediately came over to strike up eager conversations.

But unfortunately, knowing she had no money, Maria refused them all.

She merely walked calmly through the city alone.

She was considering a problem...

"Even if I need to earn some money, I... don't seem to have any skills suited for making money in peaceful times?"

Maria looked up at the sky and could not help frowning.

When it came to hunting and fighting, Maria was unquestionably first-rate.

But aside from that, she truly had no other abilities.

Cooking, carving, handicrafts, art, research...

Maria had no experience with any of those kinds of work.

And in a city like this, fights certainly could not just break out everywhere.

If so, what else could she do?

For a moment, Maria fell into confusion, her thoughts gradually beginning to wander.

By then, she had reached a bustling downtown district.

Most of the people moving about there were manual laborers. They wore simple, rough clothes, and even when those clothes were dirty, they did not bother cleaning or hiding it. Instead, they displayed it openly while drinking beer and playing games Maria could not understand, their faces red and necks bulging.

By comparison, Maria's exquisite outfit, resembling formal wear, was especially conspicuous.

Quite a few people had already noticed her.

Most were simply curious and did not think much of it.

But Maria could tell that some people bore her ill will.

That made Maria frown.

She did not want trouble the moment she arrived in this city...

After thinking it over, she turned and silently slipped into a small alley beside the street.

After several men noticed this, they exchanged knowing glances and quietly followed her.

Many people realized what was about to happen, but everyone merely lowered their heads and continued doing their own things.

They had no intention of interfering.

In the chaotic Lungmen Outskirts, the best way to protect oneself was to mind one's own business and do what one needed to do.

Just as they believed another tragedy was about to unfold, a tall woman silently stood up.

She was dressed casually, her posture relaxed, and she was not even carrying her signature weapon.

Yet even so, her six-foot stature and distinctive horn gave her an aura far greater than anyone else's.

"Old Yang, I've got something to handle. Can I pay you next time?"

The oni-horned woman spoke, and the stall owner she called Old Yang glanced at her before smiling and shaking his head.

"Sure. Be careful."

"It's just a small matter."

The woman smiled. Then, ignoring everyone's strange looks, she headed straight into the alley where Maria and the men had disappeared.

"Seriously... another rich young lady wandering into a place like this? Feels like I've seen this sort of thing more than once lately."

The oni-horned woman rubbed her head.

A little beer was not enough to make her uncomfortable, but it still left her mildly tipsy.

She was simply a little puzzled.

Had she really been running into this kind of thing so often lately?

"But... the priority now is finding those guys, right?"

"Those brats should know their limits. Stealing money is one thing... but if they hurt some little princess from who-knows-what family, that'll be serious trouble."

"Honestly, nothing but trouble."

The woman shook her head with a sigh.

And at that moment, something strange suddenly reached her nose...

"Is that... blood?"

An extremely faint scent of blood filled the air... It was weak, but Hoshiguma, who had spent years around fighting, immediately recognized what it was.

That discovery gave her a jolt.

Her steps quickened.

No way?

Those brats actually made a move?!

She did not know who that woman was, but anyone who could wear clothes that fine could not be some nobody, right?

She had heard that quite a few people from Ursus had come to Lungmen recently... Could she be the daughter of some Ursus merchant?