In Terra, a Hunter, and Also a Bad Woman

But... this was her own home, wasn't it? Why did she even have to consider whether it was the right time to return to her own home?

Come to think of it, even old Ch'en could make that kind of expression... No wonder people said love changed a person.

So it was true.

Ch'en stood at the door, deep in thought.

But Maria had already done what she needed to do.

She rose mercilessly from the bathtub. After nodding to Hoshiguma, she left behind the Ch'en who looked ready to cry and silently walked out.

As for Maria's temperament, Hoshiguma said nothing. She merely looked helplessly at Ch'en in the tub, her expression subtle.

After leaving the bathroom and drying herself off, Maria changed back into her classic hunter attire.

This set of hunter clothes had accompanied Maria through who knew how many years. The fact that it had survived at all was miraculous. Perhaps because it had been stained with too much Old God blood and other strange things, the clothes had now developed quite a few unique properties.

For example, blood that got on it would be absorbed automatically; tears would repair themselves; stains would only remain for a while before the fabric cleaned itself... In a sense, it counted as an alternative form of life.

Once she was dressed, Maria did not hesitate. She turned and returned to the living room, sat upright on the sofa, and quietly closed her eyes.

Before long, her consciousness gradually sank into her core. When she came to herself again, she had returned to the Hunter's Cabin she knew so well.

At the entrance, the gentle Doll had already been waiting for quite some time.

"We meet again, kind Hunter."

The Doll spoke, her face still wearing that barely noticeable smile.

But Maria did not give it much thought. She merely lowered her head.

"What was that?"

"Are you referring to your companion from just now?"

"So you really can see outside..."

"Whenever you ask, I shall answer you truthfully, suspicious Hunter."

The Doll's expression was subtle and delicate, but Maria could sense that she was somewhat dissatisfied by such a probing question.

After all, even if Maria had asked normally, she would have answered without concealing anything.

Maria felt guilty for an instant, but quickly came back to herself.

"Since you saw it, then... do you know what happened to her?"

Ch'en's condition just now had been very wrong.

At first, Maria had assumed it was simply the restraint of a shy girl.

But as time passed, she realized that the situation was clearly not so simple.

Those eyes...

"I smelled the scent of a beast on her..."

Maria turned and looked seriously at the Doll beside her.

She had been in this world for some time now. Although Maria could not say she had completely relaxed, she had gradually begun learning to let go of her vigilance toward beasts.

Though many people in this world had beast-like traits, Maria truly had not sensed the scent of beasts from any of them.

Ch'en had not had it before, either.

But just now, while the two of them were bathing together, Maria had suddenly caught an abnormal scent of blood!

Without question, a trace of a beast's aura had begun to spread from Ch'en's body!

Maria could not understand it.

According to what she knew, the scent of beasts only appeared on people who had used Blood Ministration. It would not suddenly emerge, either. From the first time it was used, it would give off a distinctive scent. As time fermented it, once it reached a certain threshold, that scent would become disgustingly rotten.

But... she truly had not smelled it before.

Back at the Lungmen Guard Department, when they had captured those fleeing Reunion Movement members at the factory, while they had been eating.

Several times, she had been pressed close to the girl at point-blank range.

Yet she truly had never smelled anything unusual on her.

But just now, she had caught that scent belonging to a beast.

It instantly stimulated Maria's physical instincts.

She pinned the girl down, wanting to confirm it.

And when she leaned closer afterward, she had indeed smelled it.

Though it had been extremely faint, Ch'en truly was giving off the scent of a beast!

It left Maria utterly agitated.

And just as she was considering how to deal with Ch'en.

Hoshiguma returned...

That made Maria choose to retreat for the moment.

On one hand, she did not think someone who had never witnessed a Beastification disaster would attack an old friend based on her word alone.

On the other hand, Maria could not understand why the scent of a beast had suddenly appeared on the other woman.

So, after leaving the bathroom, she immediately went looking for the Doll.

After all, so far, the Doll was the only one she could communicate with.

When the matter of beasts was mentioned, the Doll's expression also grew a little more serious.

Faced with Maria's question, the Doll merely shook her head silently.

"I do not possess your talents. I cannot distinguish such matters."

"Then just now..."

"I merely understand you, simple Hunter... I believe you would never make a meaningless move."

"...So there are no clues?"

Maria lowered her head and pressed her lips together, her brows gradually knitting together.

At her side, the gentle Doll said nothing more. She simply took Maria's arm and led her into the warm Hunter's Cabin.

There, beside the fire in the hearth.

The Geometric Crystal Lens that had previously attached itself to Maria was now floating in the air... Along with it floated a carefully tailored maid outfit.

It had slipped itself inside the maid uniform and was cleaning shattered ceramic fragments from the floor.

It seemed this thing had once been a teacup...

"What is this?"

Maria turned her head in confusion.

Though she had obtained the powers of the Outer Gods, Maria still retained a human form, and those powers were too complicated for her. Her mind simply could not make use of them.

Thus, it had always been the Doll who handled such things.

"I merely saw a useless object attached to you and brought it here to make use of it."

The Doll spoke blandly, ignoring Little Regret as it diligently cleaned, and led Maria to sit down.

"Although I do not know what exactly is happening, but... I believe this did not arise suddenly. Kind Hunter, we have already left that nightmare. What you fear will not catch up to you again..."

"...I hope so."

Though she understood that the Doll was comforting her, Maria still could not put her mind at ease.

The sudden scent of Beastification had thrown her emotions into disorder.

At that moment, Little Regret, having diligently cleaned up the fragments of the teacup, returned.

After listening to the two of them talk, she thought for a while before suddenly having an idea.

"Maybe..."

Oripathy

"People influence one another... Even the simplest contact can very likely produce outcomes that are difficult to predict."

"No matter how much Maria says she is human, in reality, your body is not something an ordinary human could possess."

"I heard the Doll mention it before. Maria, you lived in a world filled with Beastification, right?"

"And the ones who caused Beastification were those Outer Gods... But later, you slaughtered those gods and seized their power."

"Perhaps you have no intention of using that power, but... before you completely master it, the original marks of that power will not disappear. Instead, they will gradually spread through your contact with others."

"This Ch'en was probably affected by your power... That might be why you smelled the scent of a beast on her."

In the warm little room, the Geometric Crystal Lens wearing a maid outfit explained the cause of the situation to Maria and the Doll.

Though it sounded somewhat complicated, in simple terms, Maria had absorbed the Outer Gods into her body, but their power was still spreading. Unless Maria completely mastered that power, anyone who stayed around her would undergo Beastification...

Everything had come full circle again.

"So I need to continue collecting Umbilical Cords to control the power..."

Maria nodded, understanding the current situation.

But...

"Why was it only that Detective Girl?"

"Hm?"

"I've clearly spent more time in contact with other people, but... why was it that Detective Girl whose body carried the scent of a beast?"

That was another problem.

Logically speaking, shouldn't it have been Hoshiguma or the people from Penguin Logistics, who had spent more time around her?

Why had she instead smelled the scent of a beast on a girl she had barely interacted with?

"This..."

Hearing Maria's question, Little Regret could not provide an answer either.

She merely scratched her head. After hesitating for a moment, she continued.

"Maybe... the contact wasn't intimate enough?"

"Hm?"

"You didn't have direct physical contact with the others, but with Miss Ch'en..."

As Little Regret spoke, she cautiously glanced at the Doll beside her.

When Maria had been in the bathroom, she and the Doll had seen everything clearly from within this cabin.

Little Regret felt she might never forget the expression the Doll had made at that time.

That expression had completely confirmed that the Doll truly came from the same place as Maria.

Killing intent had practically been leaking out of her!

Fortunately, she soon realized that Maria had not suddenly awakened some strange desire, but was examining the other woman's body, and only then calmed down.

Still, Little Regret did not dare provoke her lightly.

Who knew what that seemingly gentle, lovesick woman might do.

She definitely would not harm Maria... Little Regret knew that much.

But as Little Regret, who was parasitizing this place, her days would surely become difficult.

"So... it was something special?"

Maria fell into thought.

After exchanging a few more thoughts with them, she did not remain in this consciousness space for long. She turned and returned to reality.

Over here, not much time had passed.