Hunter and Bad Woman in Terra

"I know, but didn't we beat all of them into submission? I don't remember this woman at all... Is she someone new we offended?"

"Don't know."

Muttered voices kept rising. Off to the side, Texas's tail had gone rigid.

Almost on reflex, she curled up, her mind racing.

Why was she here?

Was she here to find her?

What was she supposed to say when they met?

Long time no see? Um... How have you been lately?

They all sounded kind of stupid...

Texas was clearly in a state of confusion.

But there was one thing she could be sure of.

For the moment, she didn't want to meet the other woman.

Unfortunately, things never went as one wished.

Maria hadn't noticed her, while Emperor spoke up openly from the side.

"I'm the one in charge around here... So, what do you need?"

"You?"

Maria looked utterly confused at the sight of the talking penguin before her.

She walked toward him step by step. Not one of the Penguin Logistics employees around them made any move to stop her.

After all, their boss was a monster who could revive endlessly. Even if he were beaten into a pile of meat, no one knew where he would pop back out from next time.

Over time, no one worried about his safety anymore.

"...You're the leader here?"

Having reached the penguin, Maria regained her composure.

Though he was a talking penguin, Maria had gradually begun adapting to this world.

People who had undergone Beastification were everywhere, but... most of them were rational. Such beings were not on her hunting list.

The ones she wanted to kill were the mad ones.

"I wouldn't call myself a leader. At most, I'm just the boss."

The penguin waved a hand, then casually grabbed a bottle from nearby, poured two glasses of wine, and held one out to her.

"This is good stuff. Want some?"

"...Thank you."

Maria thanked him politely and accepted the wine.

After taking a small sip, Maria lowered her head and looked at him.

"I heard from my friend that you had a decent commission here... I wanted to take a look."

"A commission? Oh, you mean work?" Emperor didn't seem to care about the oppressive atmosphere Maria had brought with her upon arrival. Instead, he chatted warmly with her. "I do have an opening that needs someone... Though I don't know where you heard about it... Do you know what this job actually involves?"

"Running errands for people, right?"

Maria, from an older era, still didn't understand the concept of logistics. But after Hoshiguma explained it, she roughly understood that this was probably errand work.

She didn't mind that.

"That's only one part of the job... What we need are well-rounded talents!"

Emperor shook his head, sipping his wine as he spoke.

"Fists? I'm good at that."

Maria nodded seriously.

Perhaps feeling words alone were meaningless, she thought for a moment, drained the rest of her wine in one gulp, then ran a finger along the wall of the glass.

While everyone watched in confusion, she pinched the rim between her index finger and thumb and applied a little force.

Snap.

A crisp sound rang out, and a clean break appeared before everyone's eyes.

The cut was smooth and sharp, without a single jagged edge...

"I have some confidence in my strength."

Amid everyone's dumbfounded stares, Maria spoke seriously.

Silence...

A long silence.

Nearly a full minute had passed since Maria effortlessly cut open a glass with her bare hands, and no one had spoken.

They looked at one another, their faces filled with shock and incomprehension.

"Did I... drink too much?"

"Cutting glass barehanded... Did she hide some kind of tool in her hand?"

"Doesn't look like it..."

After muttering among themselves, they reached a conclusion.

Clearly, they had drunk too much and fallen into a collective hallucination!

Even Vouivre, known for their physical strength, couldn't cut glass with their bare hands, could they?

And no one had seen her take out a wand or any other casting medium... That meant she had done it entirely with her physical abilities.

What kind of Terra superhuman was this?!

After another stretch of silence, Emperor suddenly burst out laughing.

"Quack, quack, quack... You... quack... You're way too interesting. Can you do that again? That thing."

As he spoke, Emperor grabbed a brand-new glass from nearby and handed it to her, even mimicking Maria's motion with his hand.

Maria was patient enough. She silently accepted the glass, then performed another barehanded cut.

This time, everyone finally believed that Maria had truly done it entirely with her own body.

Even on Terra, where monsters and demons coexisted, this counted as something extraordinary.

Emperor kept laughing.

"Good, good, good. I like your personality..."

"You're hired!"

"So, are you interested in joining Penguin Logistics? I'll give you one hundred thousand a month, plus twelve percent of the profits from every order. How about it?"

As he spoke, Emperor pulled a contract out of nowhere and placed it before Maria.

That salary was considered high even within Penguin Logistics. Emperor was clearly very satisfied with this inexplicable Maria.

Whether his employees were strange had never been a concern of his. If anything, the stranger they were, the more convinced he was that creating Penguin Logistics had been the right choice.

Life was only interesting when dealing with weird people.

If everyone were like that rat and that henpecked husband, he wouldn't even need to wait for someone to assassinate him. He'd put himself out of his misery first.

And clearly, this unconventional way of applying for a job pleased him greatly.

He trusted his instincts. This woman would definitely bring him plenty of interesting things!

Maria did not hesitate either. She had come looking for a job in the first place, and seeing the other party agree so readily, she silently nodded, casually picked up a pen from nearby, and effortlessly wrote down her name.

"Ma... Maria? An unusual name... Are you from Victoria?"

"No. I come from a place called Yharnam."

"Never heard of it... But that's fine. I believe any Yharnam capable of raising someone like you is worth visiting!"

"Unfortunately, I destroyed that place."

"Quack, quack, quack! You really are interesting. I like you!"

Emperor laughed enthusiastically, then jumped onto the bar counter. Facing the employees who were still stunned, he clapped his hands.

"Alright, boys and girls, stop standing around."

"Now, raise your glasses and celebrate Penguin Logistics recruiting its one hundred and sixty-sixth employee!"

"That's a number worth celebrating... Though I haven't figured out why it's worth celebrating yet, but who cares!"

"Let's welcome her with action!"

"Miss Maria from Yharnam!"

Though the surrounding employees had yet to recover from their shock, they gave Emperor plenty of face.

They raised their glasses one after another and warmly greeted Maria before them.

Though Maria couldn't respond to each of them individually, she nodded from time to time in acknowledgement.

Once the atmosphere of the party had returned to normal, Emperor sat back down and looked at Maria.

"Come to think of it, do you have any experience with similar work?"

"No..."

"Is that so... But it's fine. Everyone has a first time. With your abilities, you'll definitely adapt quickly. Before that, though, you'll need someone to show you the ropes... Let's see. Oh, you lot will do."

Looking at Exusiai and the others noisily gathered nearby, Emperor grinned and waved his hand.

"Then it's settled. Miss Maria, you'll team up with them for the time being. No problem with that?"

"Of course not!"

The drunken Exusiai sat nearby with a smile, warmly waving at Maria.

"Looking forward to working with you~"

Though Croissant was already half-draped over the sofa in a drunken haze, she still struggled to greet Maria.

As for Sora, there was no need to mention her. As an idol, she couldn't drink, so she had only had a little juice from beginning to end.

She gave Maria a polite bow as well.

"We'll be coworkers from now on~"

As she spoke, the girl gave her a wink.

Unfortunately, Maria wasn't swayed by that sort of thing.

She merely shifted her gaze and looked toward the last member of the team.

A girl... hiding in the corner of the sofa...

"Ugh..."

Texas let out a mournful whimper.

What Is Your Relationship?

Morning, Lungmen Outskirts.

The hungover Exusiai stumbled out of the dorm room, rubbing her head with an unpleasant expression.

"Ugh~ I'm so dizzy. Croissant, do you have any hangover medicine? I think I drank too much last night."

"Croissant doesn't have any~"

"Then what were you secretly eating just now?"

"You can still see what I secretly ate, so you're definitely not dizzy!"