Take It Off! (Continued)

That's it?!

Smooth?!

Does this woman have some kind of language problem?

"Hey, not at all... But it's you guys who actually managed to hold on. I'm quite curious... The last person to do something like this was Maria."

Exusiai is quite carefree; you can't really tell anything about her.

Meanwhile, the expressions of several people nearby changed upon hearing that name.

The tall woman and the man didn't look too good, while the other two women seemed quite happy.

This strange attitude only fueled Little Regret's curiosity.

Of course, this curiosity didn't last long.

Soon, the Doll slowly emerged from the mist.

"Thank you for your hard work."

The Doll nodded to Exusiai and Texas as a way of expressing its gratitude.

Then he turned around and looked at the Deep Sea Hunters and the half -Seaborn, half-human.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation. The Hunter will surely be delighted to see you."

The Doll smiled and spoke slowly and steadily.

No one said much.

In fact, they were all a bit bewildered... after all, Maria's invitation to them was completely unexpected, even sudden, so they arrived here somewhat confused.

Everyone has their own ideas about what will happen next.

Just after these people entered the cabin, the Doll turned its head and looked at Exusiai and Texas, who were still standing at the door, its calm smile as if asking them if they also wanted to join the meeting.

Only...

"... never mind."

Texas let out a breath, shook her head slightly, and silently returned to her car. Exusiai, though puzzled, didn't say much. She smiled and waved to the Doll and Little Regret before also returning to her car.

With the engine still barely idle, Exusiai started driving backwards again.

Before long, the two withdrew from the territory.

Exusiai finally voiced her question.

Why aren't you going?

"Um?"

Dexterus, in the driver's seat, didn't even turn her head, but simply stared silently at what was in front of her.

"Didn't that Doll just invite you to meet Maria? Don't you like her a lot?"

Exusiai didn't think too much about it and spoke her mind without restraint.

Texas was stunned for a moment by Exusiai's words, and even stepped on the gas pedal a little harder.

"What... what do you like..."

She lowered her head slightly, her face flushed, and her tail wagged uneasily behind her.

"I have nothing but respect for Lady Maria!"

"Isn't that what I meant by 'like'?"

Exusiai blinked, her face full of surprise. "What else could you possibly like?"

"Forehead..."

"Wait! Texas, what you mean by 'like' isn't...?"

"No!"

"But..."

"No!"

Texas loudly denied it, causing Exusiai to suddenly smile strangely.

As if she had discovered something amusing, the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.

"Oh dear~"

"Exusiai!"

"Okay, okay, don't be angry, it was just a joke."

Knowing that her best friend was easily embarrassed, Exusiai stopped teasing her and instead continued to speak out of curiosity.

"So... why didn't you go in just now?"

"..."

Texas fell silent.

She paused for a moment, then silently bit off the chocolate chip cookie stick in her mouth, her eyes slightly lowered.

"Because I'm too weak."

"Huh?"

Exusiai taken aback.

She thought Texas might offer some special answer, but... it was because she was too weak?

What kind of answer is that?

But Texas has its own set of considerations.

"Ms. Maria's identities... are becoming increasingly numerous."

"Um?"

"You should have also interacted with those Snowfield Guerrillas, and you should know what Maria's status is in their minds, right?"

Texas spoke, her voice low and melancholic.

"I've heard of them... something like the Guardians of Kazdel... I heard they have some kind of ambiguous relationship with the leader of the Banshee Court... but they haven't had much contact, so I'm not familiar with them."

After thinking for a few moments, Exusiai nodded.

A large part of Penguin Logistics' work in Yharnam these days involves delivering food... food to all sorts of people.

Occasionally, I'll stop and chat with some of them.

It would have been better if we hadn't started talking, but once we started, we realized that Maria seems to have quite a few identities.

And each of them sounded somewhat unusual.

For Exusiai, this is just a story to hear, and sometimes she even boasts about working with Maria.

But for Texas and Lappland, who have always wanted to stand by Maria's side, it felt like a series of immense pressures.

The more they dug, the more they realized they didn't even have the right to stand behind Maria and look up at her battlefield!

This put immense psychological pressure on them.

What's even more terrifying is that what they know at this point might not be Maria's limit!

So...

What can they do?

They can't do anything else; all they can do is constantly strengthen and train themselves...

For this reason, Lappland even chose to return to Siracusa and rejoin the Gray Hall, becoming Inquisitors once again.

So...

"So, I don't think now is the time for me to see her."

Texas took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"I need more challenges... more training... Right now, in front of Lady Maria, I'm probably not even a puppy of a hound, and even Ceobe is several times stronger than me..."

"I need to... I need to push myself beyond my limits!"

Texas spoke softly and quietly.

Meanwhile, Exusiai murmured to herself.

"Texas..."

"Don't try to persuade me, Exusiai... this is my choice..."

Texas kept her head down, her closed eyes filled with determination.

She answered Exusiai's call without hesitation.

"Texas."

Exusiai's call rang out once more, tinged with unease.

Texas's answer was the same as always.

"I won't regret it, Exusiai... Believe me, I can do it."

Texas!

Exusiai's voice hardened; as if she had seen through something, she called out once more.

But Dicos turned his head and looked at her.

Don't you believe me?

But... to Texas's surprise, Exusiai's gaze wasn't on her; instead, she was staring at the person in front of her, her face pale.

"No! Texas!"

Exusiai screamed, "We're about to crash into the wall!"

"Ah?!"

Texas paused, then turned her head.

Unfortunately, his reaction and physical condition were still a step behind.

"Bang!"

A loud, muffled thud followed.

Armored vehicles...

It crashed straight through the wall!

The Emperor naturally provides the best possible treatment for his top employee; even a minor impact would only result in a slight dent in the front of the car.

But the house wasn't that sturdy.

The ancient building could no longer withstand such a blow and collapsed with a crash.

The two people inside the car sat there blankly, their expressions subtle...

Inside the Hunter's Cabin in Yharnam.

Maria hadn't even appeared yet, but several Deepsea members had already arrived.

Skadi remained indifferent, silently observing her surroundings as if studying the environment... In reality, Skadi wasn't observing at all; she was simply lost in thought, not knowing what to do.

Specter crouched by the fireplace, watching Kroos, wrapped in a blanket, Ceobe warmly against the fireplace. His delicate and alluring face held a calm curiosity as he tilted his head and silently watched Kroos rest.

Gladiia squinted, as if conserving her energy, while the weapons beside her sent chills down one's spine... In the far corner, there was also a trembling Mizuki.

This extremely androgynous-looking child was afraid that Gladiia next to him might stab him at any moment...

This woman has done this more than once.

To be honest, Mizuki didn't know what she had done to offend the other party. Almost every time the two met, Gladiia would come over with a knife.

Although Dr. Kal'tsit seemed to explain a lot to the other party afterward, those things were not enough to make Gladiia give up her mission.

Mizuki had thought that Maria might know something, so she accepted her invitation and came here.