Hunter and Bad Woman in Terra

"Really? I thought it sounded like a tongue twister."

Exusiai shook her head.

After getting the agreement of everyone in the room, Exusiai opened the envelope.

But after only a few glances, she felt a little dizzy.

"Hmm... what is it? Is it someone you know?"

Seeing Exusiai's strange expression, Texas leaned over curiously.

"I kind of... can't understand it..."

Exusiai honestly explained what she thought.

The plain stationery was not particularly fancy, but the meticulous cursive handwriting was indeed not something a normal person could write.

As far as Exusiai could tell, she could understand nothing but line after line of looping scribbles.

She was starting to suspect this was someone's prank.

After taking a look, Croissant shook her head and walked away as well.

Texas, on the other hand, did not understand it completely either, but she roughly grasped the meaning of the letter.

"Maria... wants to invite us out to have fun."

Without revealing anything, Texas tucked the letter back into her clothes and looked at her two companions.

"It's set for the afternoon... do you have time?"

"Sora was invited in the letter too, but she's been doing charity performances lately, so she probably won't have time to come."

Texas turned and headed toward her room.

"Team building, huh... that makes sense. Even if this is only temporary, we'll probably be working together for several months... We really should get to know each other better. But where are we going to have fun?"

Exusiai tapped her lips, looking curious.

Croissant, meanwhile, shook her head.

"I'll pass. I still need to set up my stall today... I found a great spot recently. There's a huge flow of people, and hardly anyone has discovered it yet. I need to make some money before the other vendors catch on."

"So it'll just be Exusiai and me?"

Texas nodded to show that she understood.

But Exusiai suddenly changed her mind.

"Come to think of it, I still haven't visited that new dessert shop... How about this? I'll come later. Texas, you go meet with Miss Maria first."

"..."

"Don't make that face. Aren't you two already acquainted? Wouldn't it be good to spend more time together?"

Exusiai looked at Texas and grinned as she struck a victory pose.

Unfortunately, Texas had no idea what there was to celebrate.

She merely felt a headache coming on.

"So what you mean is... I'm supposed to meet her alone?"

"What... you don't want to?"

"...No, it's not that I don't want to."

Texas turned her head away.

She really did not know how to explain what she was thinking.

"If you really don't want to, you can refuse..."

"..."

"What?"

"Nothing. I'll go by myself."

Taking a deep breath as though she had made up her mind, Texas gathered her courage and told her two companions what she had decided.

Then she turned and entered her room.

Click...

As the door shut, Exusiai and Croissant's expressions abruptly changed.

The two looked at each other, both able to see the smiles on the other's face.

"Mmm, just as I guessed. Texas may look all cold and distant, but she really cares about Miss Maria, doesn't she? She wasn't even willing to turn down her invitation."

Croissant covered her mouth with one hand, wearing a mischievous smile.

"She used to reject everyone's invitations to gatherings without hesitation, but now she's actually considering someone else's feelings... Has she grown, or is Miss Maria special?"

Exusiai had one hand in her pocket, the smile on her face impossible to suppress.

"We were originally thinking of inviting Maria next time and secretly following them..."

"Who would have thought Miss Maria would invite her first... That saves us quite a bit of trouble~"

"So, Croissant, are you ready?"

Exusiai turned to look at her companion.

At that moment, Croissant lifted a shoulder bag.

"What are you saying, Exusiai? How could I possibly miss out on something this interesting..."

"I've got everything ready!"

"Is that so~" Exusiai lowered her head slightly before decisively raising it again.

"Then let's begin..."

The Reserved Coffee Shop

"If you want to get along with someone, can't you just invite them out to have fun?"

Faced with Maria's confusion, Hoshiguma did not have much advice to offer.

After all, she rarely thought about such matters... Even when there were friends she had grown distant from, she simply let things take their course and treated them as usual.

Those who could understand each other would naturally understand and accommodate each other. Those who could not understand each other would eventually part ways, even if one side kept compromising.

Still, she was rather curious. This cold-looking woman, who seemed like a lone wolf, actually wanted to improve her relationship with someone?

"Communication is necessary... especially when I will be working together with the other party for some time. Sufficient communication can clear up many misunderstandings between us."

Maria lowered her head and began writing on the paper before her.

She was not good at building relationships with people, so after noticing the strange barrier between herself and Texas in the squad, she wanted to remove it as soon as possible.

At Hoshiguma's suggestion, she had decided to take the initiative and invite Texas out.

And since it was an invitation, it had to be formal. First, she would write a letter to confirm whether the other party had time, then settle on a location, and finally explain the destination so the other party could choose appropriate clothing.

Of course, after hearing Maria's old-fashioned speech, Hoshiguma could only smile helplessly.

"Actually, there's no need to make it so complicated. For example, you can mention the time and place together..."

That afternoon, Lungmen Commercial Street.

Maria was still wearing her classic outfit: an exquisite black Hunter's garb and that distinctive tricorn hat.

She stood alone on a street corner, silently waiting.

Passing pedestrians could not help having their attention drawn to her, but not a single one dared approach.

Judging from her stance alone, this woman was terrifyingly strong!

"..."

Feeling all the gazes directed at her, Maria exhaled, her expression somewhat weary.

Over the past few days, she had gradually come to understand that the beastfolk of this world were not all the crazed creatures from her memories, ready to eat people at the slightest provocation.

But the instinctive reactions forged through long years of slaughter could not simply be suppressed by reason.

Back in Yharnam, those Beastified humans had caused her no small amount of suffering.

Even now, though reason told her these people were safe, her instincts still constantly screamed warnings of danger.

Whenever a stranger approached, her mind still instinctively considered how to snap their necks as quickly as possible.

This was wrong...

Sighing, Maria rubbed her brow.

Just then, Texas's voice sounded at her side.

"Good afternoon, Miss Maria."

Texas was still dressed in her Penguin Logistics uniform. It did not appear particularly different, but her glossy lips and nails showed that the girl had made some discreet effort with her appearance.

"We received your invitation, but unfortunately, my two companions have matters to attend to and could not come. So I believe I'll be the only one attending this time."

As she spoke, Texas lowered her head slightly toward Maria.

"It's fine. It was a sudden invitation. The fact that you were still willing to come already makes me happy."

Maria did not mind.

Her invitation had indeed been rather sudden, so it was normal for the others not to make it in time. Besides, her relationship with Exusiai and Croissant was fairly good... They were the sort she could speak with normally.

Texas was the main one.

Now that the person in question had come, that was enough.

"You seem to have been looking forward to this?"

"..."

"I can smell the fragrance on you... I know that scent well."

Maria casually sought out a topic as she turned to lead the way.

Texas silently followed behind her.

Although Texas's outfit had not changed, Maria's sharp senses did not rely on sight alone.

She could easily smell the faint dampness in Texas's hair and that distinctive fragrance... The changes were subtle and few, but they at least showed that Texas cared greatly about this meeting.

That surprised Maria.

Texas's restraint around her before had made Maria think she had done something wrong and caused a misunderstanding.

But now... it seemed things were not quite as she had imagined.

Caught off guard by Maria's sudden words, Texas was clearly at a loss.

After fidgeting with her hands for a moment, she nodded.

"I just changed my style a little. Since it was an invitation, I needed to be more formal..."

"I'm glad you put in the thought..."

Before long, Maria and Texas arrived at their destination.

It was a coffee shop run by Siracusans—Hoshiguma had recommended it.

She did not know where Maria and the others liked to go, but considering that the person Maria wanted to get along with was Texas... Texas was Siracusan, right?

She should like coffee, shouldn't she?

Then going to a coffee shop could not be wrong...

Whether that thought was correct or not aside.

This place clearly had quite a few problems...

When Maria pushed open the door, she was greeted by a group of intimidating men dressed in black suits.

They said nothing, but the synchronized stares they turned toward her seemed to say everything.