Skadi, My Wife

Skadi recognized Specter. At her request, Chen An treated Specter's condition. Her severe Oripathy became mild infection—though she had actually been cured—and even her psychological trauma was healed, her sanity recovering from its shattered state, much like Nightingale had once.

After that, Specter remained in Chernobog and became a member of Dawn.

Although she was full of energy after regaining her sanity, with a somewhat impulsive and fiery personality, Specter had always cooperated with Dawn's various orders.

Her life in Dawn was the most comfortable period Specter had ever known. Sometimes, she even thought that even if she managed to reconnect with Ægir in the future, it might not be bad to stay here and remain an operator forever.

Because of that, she had once thought she might work for Dawn for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, that was not to be. One morning, she suddenly heard that Chen An and Skadi had left without saying goodbye.

She had no bad impression of Dawn, and Specter also greatly enjoyed Chernobog's simple folk customs, where people were liable to start fighting at the slightest disagreement. But sorry, that was as far as her feelings for Dawn and Chernobog went.

She had no loyalty to Dawn at all, because Chen An was the one who had saved her. Even her escape from the laboratory had been connected to Chen An.

The reason she had joined Dawn after being cured, and later even developed thoughts of staying here forever, was purely because Skadi and Chen An were here. It had little to do with Dawn itself.

So after learning that Chen An and Skadi were no longer in Chernobog, she made a prompt decision. Using the excuse that she had received news of Captain Gladiia's movements, she left Chernobog.

In truth, having long been captured by the Deep Sea Church and imprisoned in a laboratory, how could she have had any channels to obtain such intelligence? It was merely a lie she had concocted, so she would have a reason to leave Chernobog, act on her own, and search for Skadi and Chen An.

For more than half a year after leaving Chernobog, Specter chased countless vague rumors in search of Skadi and Chen An's whereabouts, but she never achieved any results.

Had nothing unexpected happened, she would have continued this fruitless endeavor. But after following rumors to Iberia, she actually encountered her former captain, Gladiia, there.

Somehow having received intelligence that Specter had been imprisoned by the Deep Sea Church, Gladiia was carrying out operations against the Deep Sea Church in Iberia, hoping to find her.

After exchanging information with Gladiia and learning this, Specter was deeply moved. On top of that, having found no trace of Chen An and the others despite her long search, she was truly discouraged. So she simply stayed in Iberia, planning to join forces with Gladiia to wipe out every Deep Sea Church member here, avenge herself, and then resume her search.

The two immediately hit it off, and so they began a happy life in Iberia of eating, sleeping, traveling, and beating up the Deep Sea Church.

This happy life of eating, sleeping, traveling, and beating up the Deep Sea Church lasted for over half a year. Only after every known Deep Sea Church stronghold had been destroyed and all its members slaughtered did that life finally come to an end.

They spent more time in Iberia searching for the remnants of the Deep Sea Church, but found nothing. After discussing it, Gladiia and Specter both decided to stop wasting their efforts and leave Iberia to do other things first.

So, by the shore, the two began discussing where they would go next.

Gladiia intended to go to Rhodes Island. After leaving the deep sea and arriving on land, she had considered many options before finally choosing it as a partner. Its forces were not particularly strong, but its leader, Kal'tsit, was highly knowledgeable. She not only understood Iberia's situation, but also knew the truth of the sea. She was a suitable partner.

But Specter had absolutely no interest in that. She argued that going to Rhodes Island would be worse than going to Dawn in Chernobog. Dawn was also powerful, and unlike Rhodes Island, it had the large mobile city of Chernobog as its base. Besides, Dawn also had someone who understood the sea—Chen An. Not only did he understand the sea, he even spoke Ægir language.

Their goals completely differed, and the two, who had worked together so seamlessly in their previous operations, broke into a fierce argument.

After trying several times to persuade Specter without success, Gladiia said helplessly, "Chen An this, Chen An that. Specter, just how much love potion did that land-dwelling man named Chen An feed you to make you so obsessed with him?"

"I wish he would feed me some love potion, but he won't."

Specter curled her lips, casually planted her weapon in the sand, and put her hands on her hips, looking utterly displeased. "White hair, red eyes, a great figure, a pretty face—where exactly am I inferior to Skadi? But that guy just has no interest in me. I can't even get his door open when I try to sneak into his room at night. I'm not even trying to steal him away from Skadi. I just want Skadi to share a little. Why is she being so stingy?"

After grumbling for a few moments, Specter suddenly perked up. Full of energy, she said, "Captain, I'm telling you, Chen An is amazing. He's a great doctor, he's handsome, and he never discriminates against anyone. Being around him feels wonderful. So listen to me, we should still go to Dawn. Maybe Chen An has already gone back. His medical skills could even cure me, so perhaps he could help with your condition too."

Watching Specter react to herself and begin chattering away, Gladiia could not help feeling a headache coming on.

Specter was her subordinate, but they had been separated several years ago.

Gladiia had no idea what Specter had experienced during those years apart, but after they reunited, her head was filled with a land-dwelling man.

His name came out whenever she opened her mouth, and his name came out whenever she closed it. That alone would have been one thing, but she constantly praised the man extravagantly to Gladiia, trying to brainwash her.

"Captain, Skadi and I are both Abyssal Hunters. We're comrades who acknowledge each other. In a situation like this, isn't it normal to share a good man? I think Chen An is amazing. When we get there, let's share him together."

"Captain, we've lost contact with Ægir anyway. Why not do things we couldn't do before? After coming to the surface, I found marriage seems pretty interesting. I happened to find a good man, so why don't we find a chance to marry him? Good men are hard to find. If you weren't my captain, I wouldn't share a good man with you."

"Captain, Captain, Chen An might really be able to cure your mutation. If he really cures you, how will you repay him? How about offering yourself to him with me?"

Just listen to that. Was that something a subordinate should say when she was acting normally?

If Specter's temper had not remained unchanged, aside from cursing less often, Gladiia would practically have believed that the Seaborn had influenced her and turned her into a different person.

Ignoring Specter's words selectively, Gladiia thought for a while before saying flatly, "You said that man knows something about the sea. Is that true?"

"Of course!"

Sensing something in Gladiia's question, Specter immediately perked up.

Suddenly feeling tired from standing, she pushed the weapon stuck in the sand down with force. When the resistance became strong enough, she used it as a platform, jumped onto it, squatted there, and spoke energetically.

"Captain, you know me. I'm not a scientist like you, all refined and bookish. Cursing people feels so damn satisfying to me. But after Chen An cured me, he told me that it was fine for girls to be a little rough, and that not being ladylike could sometimes be charming, but that I shouldn't always swear and curse people, or I'd never get married. Every time I cursed, he'd come nag me... Hah, that idiot. I'm an Abyssal Hunter. So what if I were as quiet as Alina? As if that would mean I could get married. I'm telling you..."

Watching Specter drift off-topic as she spoke and begin complaining, Gladiia's temple twitched.

It was true that this girl's mouth had become much cleaner after several years apart, but it was equally true that she had become much more scatterbrained. She had been asked a proper question, yet immediately went off-topic without answering seriously at all... Her cleaner mouth had been changed through someone's lecturing, but who had taught her this unfocused, unreliable way of going off on tangents?

Could it have been that Chen An again?

Taking a quiet deep breath, Gladiia said coldly, "Shut up and get to the point!"

"Huh? Hehe."

Only then realizing that she apparently had not been answering the question, Specter stuck out her tongue cutely and hurriedly began answering properly.

"Chen An's lectures are terrifying. Once he starts nagging, he can go on for hours. Begging doesn't work, trying to scare him away doesn't work either. Instead, he pinches my cheeks and bullies me. But I couldn't stop wanting to curse, so later I started cursing in Ægir language. I thought Chen An wouldn't understand and I could keep cursing, but then..."

Specter's expression turned gloomy. "No matter what I said in Ægir language, he understood all of it. There was even one time when he lectured me in Ægir language. He talked from morning until I fell asleep at night, and he was still talking."

Did she think that was the end?

Not even close!

When she woke up the next day, Specter found Chen An still beside her—he had been waiting for her to wake up.

And after she woke, Chen An nagged her for another two days. He only finally spared her after Specter was so terrified of being lectured that she cried while hugging his leg, swearing and promising that she would turn over a new leaf and never curse again.

That memory was too terrifying. Even now, whenever Specter thought of it, she felt the relief of having survived a disaster, along with wondering how she had endured it back then.

Incidentally, it was indeed after that incident that Specter finally kicked her bad habit of cursing whenever she was in a bad mood. She went from being a hot-tempered girl with a foul mouth to merely a hot-tempered girl—Chen An's lectures had truly scared the nerve out of her.

And incidentally, after that, it was not just Specter. Many members of Dawn who had seen her cry from being lectured developed a fear of Chen An's lectures as well, including Skadi. In Skadi's eyes, Specter was a warrior like herself, someone who could endure any injury and any amount of pain. She should never have cried, yet Chen An had made her cry through words alone. How terrifying did that make his lectures?

Unaware that her subordinate had recalled a painful past, Gladiia frowned, somewhat displeased. "And because of that, you're sure that man understands the sea? Skadi taught him Ægir language, didn't she?"

"I thought so at first too, but later I asked Skadi, and she said no. Chen An already knew Ægir language. He could understand every Ægir song she liked to sing from the very beginning."

Mentioning this made Specter angry. "Why wasn't it Skadi who taught him? If it had been, I could have fought her back then and vented my anger over Chen An lecturing me for three days!"

Gladiia froze, looking somewhat stunned.

Um... had she heard wrong just now? Specter said someone had lectured her for three days?

She hesitated for a moment, deciding that she must have misheard, or that Specter had excitedly misspoken the duration. Lecturing someone for three days—who could possibly do that?

Specter continued, "It's not just Ægir language. Chen An also seems to know a great deal about advanced technology. I once told him about Ægir. There were other people nearby when I did, and they all thought Ægir's circumstances were unbelievable. But Chen An was different. Not only was he not surprised at all, he could even explain to those people how Ægir could exist in the deep sea. Later, he even talked about things that I found unbelievable. I think that if Dawn's conditions had allowed it, and if Chen An had been willing to spread that technology, Chernobog might have become a second Ægir already."

This incident had left a deep impression on Specter, and even now, she still remembered what Chen An had said at the time.

Could that man also be a scientist?

Gladiia raised an eyebrow and suddenly found the matter interesting.

She asked nothing more. After thinking for a moment, she finally made her decision. "Then I'll go to Chernobog with you and take a look first. Since both you and Skadi chose him, perhaps that man will surprise me as well."

"Then let's go."

Jumping down from her weapon lively, Specter pulled it from the sand, waved her hand, and declared spiritedly, "Off to Chernobog to steal a man~!"

Gladiia: "..."

The moment she heard Specter's terrible remark, she began to wonder whether she had made the wrong choice.

But the decision had already been made. It was too late to regret it now.

I hope that man really can surprise me.

With a sigh, Gladiia set off toward Chernobog with Specter, carrying curiosity toward a certain man in her heart.

A bad feeling suddenly rose in his heart, and Chen An stopped talking.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, he suspiciously looked at Ceylon and Schwarz beside her. Schwarz wore a thoughtful expression, as though she had understood something, when in fact she had understood absolutely nothing. After two seconds, he looked away.

Those two girls had only just met. It was unlikely that they were badmouthing him.

His gaze shifted to Exusiai beside him, and he looked her over from head to toe.

Exusiai was baffled by the scrutiny. "Why are you suddenly looking at me like that? You haven't finished talking yet, have you?"

Probably not her either.

Exusiai was blunt and said whatever came to mind, often failing to watch her boundaries. If she had been badmouthing him in her heart, she could not possibly show no sign of it while he stared at her like this—not that Chen An looked down on Exusiai, but she truly had no talent for acting.

With that thought, Chen An looked away again. This time, his gaze fell on Texas.

Texas twitched her ears and swayed her tail, looking somewhat puzzled. "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"

Chen An said nothing. The instant his gaze fell upon Texas, he looked away.

Texas simply was not the type to badmouth people in her heart. Besides, they were close enough that he could freely pet her tail. Nothing had even happened right now, so it was even less likely that she would be thinking bad things about him.

His gaze shifted again and again, finally landing on Skadi.

Skadi blinked with an innocent expression.

Chen An: "..."

After two seconds of silence, he withdrew his gaze with a look of disdain.

That fool was even less likely. She did not have the brains for it.

He had looked over everyone around him and found no one who could have caused his bad feeling. So Chen An began wondering whether some friend who was not nearby had been thinking about him.

But before he could reach an answer, Ceylon, who had been listening seriously despite beginning to doubt life and herself, could not help speaking when she saw him remain silent for so long.

"Sir, what's wrong? Why did you suddenly stop talking?"

"...Ah, it's nothing. I just suddenly thought of something."

Ceylon's question disrupted his thoughts. Chen An lightly shook his head and decided not to dwell on who had been thinking about him and caused him to suddenly feel uneasy. Such things happened often, and he could never guess who it was anyway, so there was no point wasting brainpower on it.

He had already said almost everything he needed to say. What remained was not important even if he left it unsaid.

Chen An waved his hand. "All right, miss. Thank you for coming out to warn us, but after everything I said, you should know there's no danger here now, right? So if there's nothing else, please leave. My friends and I still want to keep having fun."

"But..."

"No buts. I know what you want to say, but we're only outsiders, people who might leave in a few days. This city's future has nothing to do with us. All we can do is give you a reminder and do what little we can. We've already given the reminder, so the rest has nothing to do with us... Oh, right."

Suddenly thinking of something, Chen An gave her a well-meaning warning. "If you want to tell others what I told you, it would be best to tell your father, the mayor, directly. This city banned the mining of obsidian long ago and enacted policies to treat Oripathy patients well. Yet even now, not only have those patients' conditions failed to improve and remain terrible, but obsidian also seems to still be circulating on the market."

"And Siesta has its own Catastrophe Messenger, doesn't it? The volcano's abnormalities are so obvious that even someone like me, who only knows a little, can notice them. That Catastrophe Messenger could not possibly be unaware, yet he said nothing and made you run around personally. So if you do not want to run into trouble, it would be best not to trust people too easily or tell others what I told you."

"Oh, right. I know a little medicine and have some understanding of treating Oripathy. If this young lady is interested, she can come find me in the western district when she has time. I'm staying there now, and barring any surprises, I'll continue staying there for some time."

Giving Schwarz a friendly smile, Chen An called Exusiai and the others away.

Ceylon was a somewhat naive young lady, but she was not stupid. Naturally, she understood the information hidden within Chen An's warning.

Are there pests in the city?

Ceylon bit her lip and watched Chen An and the others leave without saying a word.

Having understood Chen An's meaning as well, Schwarz frowned, her expression turning grave.

Exusiai: I'm Super Brave

The sunlight blazed with passion, embracing the blue sea and sky.

The sea breeze stirred the waves. Azure, glimmering swells rose and fell, rolling onto the beach one after another and leaving behind countless white bubbles.

A little tired from playing, Skadi lay on a cloth spread over the sand beneath a parasol, her eyes closed as she took a nap. Chen An's clothes covered her body to protect her from the wind.

Chen An sat cross-legged beside her, quietly gazing out at the sea.

Taking two cans of iced drinks from a cooler packed with ice, Exusiai left a string of small footprints in the sand as she walked over to Chen An.

"Here, this is for you."

Handing the iced drink to Chen An, Exusiai opened her own drink and casually sat down beside him.

She sat very close to Chen An, their hands touching, skin against skin.

They were used to casually putting their arms around each other's shoulders, holding hands, and fooling around, so neither of them paid it any mind.

Chen An truly did not mind. As for Exusiai... let's just say that, like Chen An, she truly did not mind either.

She drained half her drink in one gulp. The refreshing coolness made Exusiai reveal a blissful expression as she grinned. "So? This place is nice, right? Let's come again tomorrow?"