Skadi, My Wife

Don't let her docile, gentle behavior around Chen An—and the occasional airheaded moments that made people laugh—fool you. She didn't show much hostility when others approached him, either.

But that depended on who it was!

Someone like the nearby Miss Dusk was fine. Pure and untainted, cool and refined; her personality might be a little cold, but she seemed like a good girl. Skadi probably wouldn't feel hostile toward someone like her.

But Nian? Being friends with Chen An was one thing. If she tried to make a move on him, Skadi would beat her up for sure!

—Bad women, stay away from Chen An!

Perhaps feeling that their intense attitudes were somewhat impolite, Shining fell silent for a moment before tactfully saying, "Could you two please describe the Chen An you're looking for? I think the person you're seeking may not be the same person as our friend."

"I think it has to be the same person."

Nian muttered, then described the Chen An she knew: "Black hair, black eyes, black clothes. Shameless, thick-skinned, can hold his liquor. A good guy who's always smiling. He's glib, and if you don't give him an opening, he's fine—but once you do, he can talk forever. He's also a little narcissistic and always says he's So Handsome He Has No Friends."

At the last two points, she made an expression mixed with disdain and lingering fear, then couldn't help muttering, "Though he really is handsome."

Extremely, extremely handsome. Yet he wasn't flashy about it at all. If you didn't spend much time with him, you might not even realize just how handsome he was. You would only think he looked especially pleasant. It was too strange.

Thinking about the Chen An they knew, everyone immediately fell silent.

Though they didn't want to admit it, the Chen An they knew seemed to be exactly like that too.

At that moment, Dusk suddenly spoke. "I have a painting of him. I can show you."

Producing a scroll from somewhere unknown, she grasped one end and let go.

With a soft roll, the scroll naturally unfurled under its own weight, fully revealing the person in the painting before Talulah and the others.

Everyone fell silent again, looking at the painting, then at Dusk, their expressions subtle.

Sensing that something seemed off, Nian stuck her head over to take a strange look at Dusk's painting. Her eyes widened, and she nearly burst out laughing.

Holding back her laughter, she said, "Dusk, you took the wrong painting. This is your portrait—the one Chen An gave you. Didn't you say you'd burned this painting? Why do you still have it?"

The painting depicted a cute chibi comic. Dusk, holding a sword, was furiously overturning rocks and flipping tables as she searched for something. Nian lay to one side, drinking with a gleeful expression, while several of her younger brothers and sisters stood nearby. That was what Dusk had brought out.

Dusk: "..."

Her eyes contracted slightly. In that instant, the woman who had always appeared cold suddenly revealed a flustered expression, and her pointed ears even seemed to redden.

With lightning speed, she put away the mistaken painting in an instant and took out another scroll.

She carefully opened it first to inspect it herself. Only after confirming that this time it was correct did she unfold it toward Talulah and the others, explaining with feigned composure:

"Don't misunderstand. A slip of the hand. This is the right one."

She looked unexpectedly adorable.

No one appreciated the rare cuteness of the cold beauty. Everyone was looking at the painting in her hands.

Black hair, black eyes, a gentle smile, black robes... Yes, the man in the painting really was the Chen An they knew.

"...That damn bastard!"

Suddenly gritting her teeth, Ch'en whipped out her phone with a fierce motion and muttered in a vicious tone, as though she wanted to crush her teeth, "He has Skadi and still goes around flirting? That bastard is dead!"

Then she made the call.

Beep, beep, beep—

"The number you have dialed is powered off. Please try again later."

Hearing the voice from the phone, Ch'en, whose furious interrogation had already reached her lips, froze instinctively.

This was the first time she had encountered Chen An's phone being switched off.

Who Is She? My Wife!!!

"The number you have dialed is outside the service area. Please try again later."

Standing outside Exusiai and Texas's home, Croissant—the working warrior, peddling expert, energetic blonde beauty—looked at the phone she had tried twice without getting through and felt rather puzzled.

What was going on? It would have been one thing if one of Exusiai and Texas's phones couldn't be reached, but why were neither of them reachable?

She hadn't called their satellite numbers, but their regular numbers, which couldn't be used outside Lungmen. But shouldn't they be off duty right now, living their carefree little lives in Lungmen?

If they hadn't left Lungmen, how could their phones be unreachable?

Puzzled over what Exusiai and Texas were up to, Croissant thought for a moment and called them again. This time, she dialed the satellite phone number they shared and would definitely carry during missions.

But just as before, the call wasn't answered—it connected, but nobody picked up.

Growing more puzzled but having no idea what had happened to Exusiai and Texas, Croissant scratched her cheek and decided to set the matter aside for now.

She turned around and looked at Lappland, who stood not far behind her, staring at the neighboring door while considering whether to knock, kick it down, or simply split it open with one sword strike.

Because of Lappland's behavior when they met in Chernobog, Croissant felt that she seemed to have changed somehow, but still found her very dangerous.

So although she had thought Lappland's suggestion back then was good, applied that very day to join the diplomatic mission, received permission, and become Lappland's companion on the road from Chernobog to Lungmen, she still kept a respectful distance from her.

Incidentally, Rope had also applied to join the diplomatic mission as a security guard and travel to Lungmen with them, but she was rejected because her combat ability was too weak.

Croissant didn't want to deal with Lappland, but now that Exusiai and Texas were missing, she had no choice—Lappland cared deeply about Texas, so she might know some clues about where Texas and Exusiai had gone.

Croissant asked politely, "Lappland, neither Texas nor Exusiai can be reached. Do you know where they went?"

Lappland looked over, raised an eyebrow, and teased, "I thought Miss Croissant would keep ignoring me and treating me like I was invisible. So you do talk to me after all?"

Croissant felt somewhat awkward and even had the urge to back away.

They had only stopped by to see Texas and Exusiai while passing through, to say hello. Since they weren't home, perhaps she could just greet them next time?

At that thought, Croissant's desire to retreat grew even stronger.

But Lappland didn't tease her further. Instead, she gave a straightforward answer. "I don't know either, but I think Chen An would know. Why don't you ask him later?"

"Huh?"

Croissant blinked, quite surprised. "Chen An? You know him too, Lappland?"

She had thought Lappland was standing by the neighboring house because Croissant was here and she was temporarily avoiding her, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"—Hey, Chen An, come open the door!"

After hesitating again and again, Lappland finally decided knocking was better. She slammed her fist against the door a few times and shouted at the top of her lungs.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After knocking three times and finding that the door still hadn't opened, her attempt to break in failed, and she couldn't help pursing her lips.

Why was a door so sturdy? She should have known and cut it open with her sword.

Unaware that nobody was home, Lappland waited for the Chen An who would never appear to open the door. At the same time, she prepared to swiftly draw her sword and place it against his neck the moment he did, giving him a big surprise. She answered Croissant's question absentmindedly:

"Though I hate to admit it, that idiot good guy saved me. He's my friend... Oh, right. He was the one who introduced me to Dawn in Chernobog. Otherwise, I'd probably have returned to Siracusa by now. Although I've already cut down most of my old enemies, I think there are still people there I want to cut down."

Watching Lappland casually say something incredibly dangerous, Croissant's expression froze, and she gave a dry laugh.

Could she please stop talking about cutting people down at every turn? This wasn't a battlefield. Did she have to be so terrifying?

No wonder even Texas always avoided you, Miss Lappland. You really are dangerous.

...Wait, no. I didn't even bring my weapon or shield. Isn't it dangerous to be alone with someone this dangerous?

Suddenly feeling that her own safety was more important than complaining about Lappland's danger, Croissant's eyes drifted as she quietly took two steps back.

Lappland glanced at her and clicked her tongue.

They were both from Penguin Logistics, just like Texas. How was her courage even worse than Chen An's, and he was just an ordinary doctor?

Too lazy to care about Croissant's little movements, Lappland had waited for ages without anyone opening the door and was becoming impatient.

Today wasn't even a day when he went to the Lower District to provide free consultations. He should have been home. He had heard her calling and still hadn't responded after so long. Had he gotten cocky because she hadn't beaten him up?

Flicking her tail in obvious displeasure, Lappland snorted, took out a key from her pocket, unlocked the door amid Croissant's strange expression of "Why do you have a key to his house?", and swaggered inside.

She still wanted to know where Texas and Exusiai had gone.

Maintaining a cautious attitude, Croissant peeked into Chen An's home. Only after finding nothing wrong did she carefully follow Lappland inside.

"Lappland, are you really that close to Chen An? He even gave you a key to his home."

"Oh, he didn't give it to me. I took Texas and the others' key and had one copied."

"!?"

Croissant stiffened and stammered, "Y-you had one copied? Then you didn't get Chen An's permission for your key. Entering someone's home without the owner's consent is trespassing. If you get caught, you could end up in jail."

You say that as if Penguin Logistics does honest business.

Lappland found Croissant's reaction speechless, but all she wanted now was to find Chen An and give him a surprise, so she ignored her.

Moving through the living room with practiced ease, Lappland came to the door of Chen An's room. Without the slightest hesitation, she rudely pushed it open.

Then she frowned.

The room was empty.

Chen An wasn't there.

The scene returned to Red Skadi and Nightingale.

Though both were surprised by Swire suddenly rushing over, they felt more joy than anything else.

Nightingale couldn't help asking, "Miss, you mean Chen An, right? Do you know where he is?"

Red Skadi was even more direct. "Where is Chen An?"

"You are..."

Swire looked at Nightingale in surprise, but she had no time to think about it. She anxiously looked at Red Skadi. "Don't joke with me. Isn't Chen An with you? Haven't you two always been together!?"

Without waiting for Red Skadi to answer, she stomped her foot and began speaking on her own, her voice fast and sharp.

"Yesterday, I don't know who he saw, but he acted strange afterward. He suddenly asked us what gifts we wanted, and last night he even broke character and kicked all of us out, refusing to let us stay and play at his house."

"I was going to ask him what was going on today. But when I got up early and went to your house for breakfast, I knocked forever and nobody answered. I opened the door with the key and found nobody home. What was on the table wasn't breakfast, but gifts for us, along with a farewell letter saying that you had left Lungmen last night. Then I went looking for Exusiai and Texas, but couldn't find them either."

"I called Yu Xia and asked whether you had gone to the Lower District to play some joke on me together, but she said no—Skadi, hurry up and tell me where Chen An is! How can you joke about something like this? Do you know that after failing to find any trace of you all morning, I'm practically going crazy with worry?"

Swire rattled off all that in one breath. Although she spoke so quickly and anxiously that much of it was unclear, Nightingale still roughly understood the situation.

This unfamiliar young lady was Chen An's friend, and she seemed very close to him. She ate breakfast at Chen An's home and even had a key to his house.

Like them, she was now looking for Chen An. She had been separated from him since last night.

And one more thing: she knew Skadi. In her eyes, Skadi and Chen An had always been together.

After roughly sorting through that information, Nightingale couldn't help feeling confused.

Skadi had separated from Chen An long ago and had been with them all this time. How could she have been with Chen An?

She couldn't help asking, "Miss, could you have mistaken something? Skadi really was always with Chen An, but that was in the past. Skadi is looking for him now too, and before yesterday, she had been with me in Chernobog the entire time. How could she possibly have been with Chen An?"

"How could I mistake her!"

Swire shouted, "She's very strong, a Kitchen Killer, and whenever she makes a mistake, she plays dumb and tries to get away with it by kissing Chen An. He rejects her every time. She likes taking baths and singing, and nobody except her and Chen An can understand her songs. Also, she used to be an incredible Bounty Hunter and called herself one of the Abyssal Hunters. She disappeared nearly two years ago. Everyone said she was missing, but she actually retired and ran all over the place with Chen An, whom she had known for years. Their relationship was so close that they only lacked a wedding ceremony!"

She glared at Nightingale, her eyes round and ferocious. "And who are you?! Can't you see I'm talking to Skadi? I have something very important to ask her. Keep getting in the way, and I'll throw you in jail!"

Nightingale said weakly, "B-but Skadi really did separate from Chen An long ago. She has been with me recently. We only came here from Chernobog yesterday, and we came here specifically to find Chen An."

Nightingale was an honest girl. Swire could tell that from how she reacted after being shouted at.

As a seasoned inspector skilled in criminal psychology, Swire was very confident in her ability to judge people.

So she was certain that Nightingale wasn't lying.

Then the question was, if Nightingale wasn't lying, Skadi had separated from Chen An long ago and had been with her before this, then who was the Skadi Swire knew?

That bizarre question calmed Swire's agitated emotions. Her brows knitted together as she scrutinized Red Skadi with a stern gaze.

"Are you Skadi?"

Red Skadi did not answer. She merely asked calmly, "Where is Chen An?"

Swire ignored her and looked at Nightingale instead. "Are you sure she's Skadi, and that she was always with you before this?"

Nightingale nodded.