In Terra, a Hunter and a Bad Woman

Hearing Maria's words, Ch'en could not help but retort.

"At least you can tell mine is food, right? Do you think that thing you made even counts as food?"

"...I do not mean to target anything, but everyone has a different definition of food. At least, where I used to live, there was no such thing as... cheung fun. There was no cheung fun where I used to live."

"The place you lived... Ah, you're from Victoria, right?"

When Maria suddenly brought up her past, Ch'en stopped dwelling on the food issue.

Come to think of it, she was rather curious about Maria herself.

So far, the strength Maria had displayed clearly did not belong to some ordinary idler.

Ch'en was certain that without sufficient real combat and slaughter, it would have been impossible to cultivate that distinct aura of an elite that Maria possessed.

This woman had definitely crawled out of a mountain of corpses!

But that raised another question.

Though Terra was far from peaceful these days, where could there still be a war capable of tempering someone like her?

Especially after Ch'en went back and cross-referenced Maria's past, only to find that many details in the application file Maria had submitted did not line up... She was ninety-nine percent certain that entry record had been fabricated.

Though the name Maria might have been real.

Ordinarily, investigating illegal entry was not part of Ch'en's job.

But considering that she had run into the other woman several times in just these past few days, Ch'en had no choice but to become vigilant.

If Maria simply did not want to reveal her identity, then that was one thing.

But if she had come here with some hidden purpose...

Ch'en slowly narrowed her eyes.

Meanwhile, Maria looked thoroughly confused.

"Victoria? That is not a place name..."

"Huh?"

"Victoria was the glorious era ushered in by Queen Victoria. Many things were born during it. It can describe a period of time, or the style of that era, but... it is absolutely not the name of a location."

Maria earnestly explained the meaning of Victoria to Ch'en, but Ch'en's expression only grew stranger.

What was this woman talking about?

Was she doing this on purpose?

On Terra, anyone with even a little education should know about the country called Victoria on the western side of the continent, right?

Had Ch'en not been asking whether she came from Victoria?

Why did it feel like they were talking past each other?

Maria gradually noticed Ch'en's strange expression. After hesitating for a moment, she finally nodded with certainty.

"Yes, I am from Victoria."

Clearly, this world possessed many things she was familiar with, but their meanings had changed.

At the very least, in this world, Victoria was no longer the name of an era, but a specific place.

"..."

"Miss Maria, you do not seem very good at lying?"

Ch'en narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked at Maria, whose expression remained unchanged, and the corner of her mouth suddenly lifted.

She had suddenly discovered something interesting.

Though Maria before her looked domineering and malicious, unexpectedly, she was a good girl who could not lie...

This really was...

Maria Couldn't Lie

Maria could not lie.

Or rather, Maria was not good at lying.

This had something to do with her past experiences.

After all, in a hellhole like Yharnam, she had never needed to lie to anyone... The endless cycles themselves had already drained everyone of their strength.

Arguments, brawls, schemes, and calculations.

Everyone had already played those games to the fullest during the first few cycles.

After realizing they could not escape Yharnam, everyone eventually chose silence, savoring the feeling of hunting others or being hunted by others amid slaughter after slaughter.

Having spent who knew how many years in such a place, Maria naturally had no use for something as meaningless as lying.

So in the face of Ch'en's subtle expression, she merely stubbornly insisted,

"I am from Victoria."

"..."

Ch'en did not reply. After watching Maria for a while, she shook her head helplessly.

Though she wanted to continue questioning her, now was clearly not the right time.

She had come here on official business this time.

"Where is Hoshiguma?"

"I do not know."

"Hm?"

"She only left a note saying there was some urgent mission... As for what exactly she was doing, I do not know."

Maria answered calmly while eating her cheung fun.

But upon hearing that, Ch'en frowned.

"An urgent mission? Then why did I not receive any notice?"

"..."

"Hoshiguma and I are partners. If she received a mission notice, then I should have received one too... There is no way she received the information while I did not!"

"..."

Maria did not answer. She merely stopped what she was doing, turned her head, and looked at Ch'en.

That subtle gaze left Ch'en at a loss.

After hesitating for a moment, she barely managed to speak.

"What does that look in your eyes... mean?"

"Were you disliked?"

"Of course not!"

Hearing Maria's words, Ch'en immediately blushed as realization struck her.

Did Maria think she was unpopular in the Lungmen Guard Department, and that was why she had been excluded from this operation?

That was absolutely impossible!

Though quite a few people were indeed dissatisfied that she had taken charge of the Special Operations Squad as soon as she returned, she believed those people would never target her over such a trivial reason!

There had to be more to it!

Someone must have been deliberately pulling strings behind the scenes!

Who would deliberately prevent her from learning about this?

And if she learned about it, what effect would it have on her, or on that person?

Ch'en knitted her brows tightly and began racking her brain.

Meanwhile, Maria, who had finished her cheung fun, quietly lowered her head.

"This... tastes pretty good?"

"Ah..."

"It is a very interesting flavor. I never ate anything like this in Yharnam."

Though Maria had almost no need to consume food anymore, being able to eat something delicious still put her in a good mood.

But Ch'en immediately caught a strange term.

"Yharnam?"

"...No, you heard wrong. I said Victoria."

"When answering someone's question, you should look at them when you speak. That is proper etiquette... Was that not something Miss Maria said herself?"

"...I forgot."

"Are you embarrassed?"

"I do not get embarrassed."

"Miss Maria, your ears are red."

Ch'en looked at Maria, her own expression becoming somewhat subtle.

Though she was cold and ruthless in battle, in everyday life, this Maria was unexpectedly rather adorable.

Airheaded? Or perhaps... immature?

But no matter what description she used, this sort of Maria was not unpleasant.

Rather, because Ch'en had seen how cold and merciless Maria was in battle, seeing her so innocent now made her seem even more captivating.

Come to think of it...

Captivating...

A delicate fragrance slowly slipped into Ch'en's breath, and the sweet, cloying scent made her heart race.

"What is it?"

Noticing Ch'en staring at her, Maria looked a little puzzled.

But Ch'en merely shook her head hurriedly, her face red.

"N-Nothing."

With her head lowered, Ch'en felt that something was seriously wrong with her state.

What is wrong with you, Ch'en Hui-chieh?!

What filthy things are you thinking about?!

"..." Maria looked at this strange Ch'en and sighed.

"There really are some strange people around Miss Hoshiguma."

"?!"

Hearing that, Ch'en felt like she could no longer sit still.

A strange person?

She was the strange one?

Then what did that make Maria?

But after hesitating for a while, Ch'en ultimately said nothing. She merely sat back down, sullen and unhappy.

"Forget it. I do not know where those operations are anyway, so I might as well wait here. When Hoshiguma comes back, I will ask her what is going on."

"...As you please."

Maria nodded, stood up, and silently walked away.

After sitting alone for a while, Ch'en also found herself unable to remain still.

This feeling was entirely unprecedented.