A Hunter and a Bad Woman in Terra

The carefree Exusiai was still grinning.

Beside her, a battered middle-aged man lay on the ground, covered in blood.

A rusty steel bar had pierced through his shoulder. The only reason he was still alive in that state was because heaven had shown him mercy, leaving Exusiai and Croissant to guard him.

Otherwise, he would have already boarded the express train to hell by now.

Even so, he still clutched a document tightly, gritting his teeth to keep himself from passing out.

"This guy just filled out an order asking us to take him to the Lungmen Guard Department... There's a reward of several hundred thousand Lungmen Credits~"

Exusiai held up five fingers, obvious delight written across her cute face.

But Croissant, beside her, could not relax.

"Exusiai!"

"Got it!"

Hearing the call, Exusiai did not hesitate. She raised the gun in her hand and fired another burst at the gang member charging toward her.

As for the axe thrown at them, Croissant blocked it with her shield.

But with wounds of varying severity all over their bodies, they clearly could not hold out for much longer.

More and more people noticed them and rushed over with loud shouts.

"Hurry up, Texas. We can't hold them off much longer."

"Tch."

Texas clicked her tongue and started the vehicle again, forcefully blocking the passage leading to the second floor.

Even so, some people still refused to give up and tried to rush up.

They could not break through the armored vehicle's defenses, but they could still stop the people inside from getting out and moving around.

That made Texas frown in irritation.

Maria, however, watched the chaotic scene with complete calm, as if she were used to it.

"You guard it."

With those calm words, Maria restrained the somewhat anxious Texas. Then she turned around and kicked the car door with an expressionless face.

Bang!

The sturdy window shattered in an instant, and the gangsters blocking the doorway were sent flying backward!

Amid the brutal chaos of the battlefield, it was an extremely terrifying sight.

The tremendous crashing sound immediately drew the attention of a group of nearby gangsters.

They quickly noticed the dark-haired woman stepping out of the vehicle. After exchanging glances, they raised their weapons and charged at her.

But Maria merely looked indifferent.

"No wonder she said this work suited me... It really does."

She reached out. In the span of a single turn, Maria instantly flipped one man over and snatched the axe from his hand.

As for the man himself, Maria casually tossed him away as if he were a doll.

Thud!

What looked like a light movement resulted in a man being embedded in the wall!

The smooth, flowing sequence of movements left the surrounding gangsters stunned.

That effortless suppression fully displayed the combat experience Maria possessed as a battle-hardened Hunter.

A silent sense of oppression spread out in an instant.

It was as though everyone could hear a long, low melody by their ears...

You have disturbed Maria!

In an instant, all they saw was a streak of black flash before them.

After that, all they could hear were the screams of a one-sided slaughter...

Over on Exusiai's side, with Texas blocking the route to the second floor, the remaining gangsters lost their reinforcements and were quickly picked off one by one by Exusiai.

Then she carried the injured middle-aged man into the armored vehicle.

"There's no room left, Exusiai. What do we do?"

"Throw him in the trunk!"

"Got it!"

After that simple exchange, the smiling Croissant tossed the twitching man into the trunk. As she shut it, she thoughtfully pushed his head down a little.

"Watch your head!"

With that, she slammed the trunk shut and ran back into the vehicle.

"Ms. Maria, we can retreat now~"

"Please wait... There are only a few left."

"Huh?"

"Done."

Maria did not make them wait long. After casually knocking down the few people in front of her, she decisively tossed aside her weapon, turned around, and returned to the passenger seat.

Exusiai curiously looked toward Maria's battlefield.

Because things had been so urgent just now, she had not paid attention. But when she came back to her senses, she discovered that in the mere dozen seconds Maria had been fighting, more than ten people had already fallen in every direction.

The speed of that was enough to leave even Exusiai clicking her tongue in amazement.

As expected of a woman who could cut glass apart with her bare hands!

With everyone aboard, Texas decisively started the car.

A speeding vehicle was not something ordinary people could resist, and there were no caster-type fighters among these gangsters. Texas easily rammed her way out.

Though some still tried to give chase, Exusiai picked them all off.

"Phew~"

After breaking out of the chaotic factory, Exusiai let out a long breath.

"That was really exciting..."

"Croissant's head is all dizzy."

"Can't be helped. You took that explosion head-on just now. Impressive, impressive~"

"Hehe~ Then I should get a bigger share this time."

"No way. A new dessert shop opened on the commercial street recently, and I still want to go try it."

"Then treat me to a serving~"

"I only recommend apple flavor~"

The two girls began bickering again with practiced ease.

It was as though the life-and-death struggle from moments ago had merely been a dream.

Maria looked at the two girls in the rearview mirror and let out a long breath as well.

"Are they always like this?"

"Yes."

Perhaps because of what Maria had said before the explosion, or perhaps because of the battle in the factory afterward.

Texas's attitude toward Maria had changed considerably.

Her voice was gentle as she silently glanced at the other woman.

Then she continued.

"Exusiai and the others... are usually like this. Do you find them noisy?"

"No... It is a sign of vitality. Though too much noise can indeed be irritating, I think it is still better than lifeless deathly silence."

"Is that so..."

Texas lowered her head, smiling faintly for once.

Beside her, after Exusiai finished messing with Croissant, she curiously leaned over.

"What is it? Talking about something fun?"

"Nothing... What was up with that man just now?"

After Exusiai leaned over, Texas quickly returned to her expressionless appearance and asked.

"We're taking him to the Lungmen Guard Department, right?"

"Yep. He was really generous. He put up an order for five hundred thousand to have us take him to the Guard Department... You don't see orders like that often."

Exusiai grinned as she waved the gun in her hand.

She was incredibly excited about this unexpected windfall.

I can eat more snacks now... And my little savings should be enough by now too. I can buy a new gun.

So happy~

Maria, however, was curious about that.

"Are such orders... uncommon?"

"The order is uncommon... But fights are pretty common. Come to think of it, Ms. Maria, you're amazing. You took down so many people all at once."

Exusiai shook her head.

An order worth five hundred thousand was indeed uncommon for them, but fighting... that could be called part of daily life.

It happened every few days.

But compared to that, she was actually more curious about Maria.

If cutting glass apart barehanded relied on strength, then that clean and efficient fighting style could only come from experience.

Did Maria often face situations like this?

"I have a great deal of experience dealing with frenzied beasts."

"Eh, now I'm curious where you used to live."

"Yharnam is not a place worth talking about..."

"Eh, is that so?"

Dear Detective Girl~

Perhaps because yesterday's revelry had exhausted the girls too much, Exusiai did not ask many more questions before falling asleep.

Maria did not show any annoyance at Exusiai's curiosity either. Rather, she was actually quite fond of socializing.

It was just that there had been nowhere in Yharnam where people could truly relax, leaving her with no choice but to endure loneliness.

But now... Although Exusiai's personality was a little strange, after spending time with her, Maria realized that the girl was very thoughtful. Whenever she sensed that Maria did not want to discuss something or found it difficult to talk about, she would proactively change the subject and never make Maria uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Texas honestly took on the role of the armored vehicle's designated driver and continued driving dutifully.

Only when they reached temporarily safe stretches of road would she occasionally glance at Maria.

It was obvious that the girl had many things she wanted to say to Maria.

But the relief after the battle seemed to have taken away the girl's courage as well. When facing Maria, she had once again become that reserved girl.

That gave Maria something of a headache, but she did not say anything.

Before long, they left the civilian district and the Lungmen Outskirts behind, arriving at the boundary between the core city and the outskirts.

Along the way, their battered armored vehicle bristling with weapons had been extremely conspicuous... Of course, that was mainly because the axe stuck in the windshield was far too eye-catching.

Even as a custom modification, it was absurdly excessive.