Skadi, My Wife

"Nearl? Shining? They're friends. Both very formidable people."

Skadi paused, then added mysteriously:

"Let me tell you a little secret. Nightingale, who's with Nearl and Shining, likes Chen An a lot."

"Ah, how did I meet Chen An?"

Out in the wilderness, Red Skadi and the other two were resting beneath a large tree.

Hearing Lappland suddenly ask such a question, Nightingale looked surprised.

Unlike when she had traveled with Shining and the others before, Nightingale usually did not speak much during this journey after leaving Chernobog with Lappland—Red Skadi was a quiet person, while what Lappland said was usually dangerous, and she did not know how to respond.

So although they had traveled together for quite a few days, Nightingale and Lappland still did not know much about each other.

Now that they were resting with nothing to do, Lappland casually asked Nightingale about this... Well, Lappland was not being casual. She deliberately wanted to find out about Chen An's past.

"I'm a little interested."

Lappland stroked her tail. Finding it less comfortable than when Chen An stroked it for her, she curled her lip and let go.

"At first, I thought Miss Nightingale had followed us because you were worried about Skadi. Later, I realized that wasn't why you left Chernobog with us. You were also looking for Chen An. Miss Nightingale, you care so much about Chen An that you must be very close to him, right? So I got a little curious. How did you meet him?"

After saying that in an offhand manner, she chuckled. "Anyway, it's break time. If it isn't some secret, why not tell us? We're companions on the same road now. Shouldn't we get to know each other?"

Red Skadi, who had been looking down at a leaf on the ground, glanced over with interest.

She was not interested in how Nightingale had met Chen An, but she wanted to hear a story about him.

Nightingale glanced at Red Skadi and pursed her lips.

"Chen An and I are good friends."

She said that, then suddenly asked, "Did you know? I used to be a patient too."

Lappland raised an eyebrow, her gaze slightly surprised.

Red Skadi's eyes remained as calm as an ancient well. She was only interested in the story; nothing else mattered to her—at least, before finding Chen An, Red Skadi would not care much about anything else.

"Several years ago, my Oripathy was very serious. My body was so weak that I often had to rest in my room and could not go outside. My memory was affected as well. My past... I felt like a little bird living in a cage. Even after Shining saved me and took me out of that laboratory, that was still how I felt. So after joining the Followers, I gave myself the codename Nightingale."

"My real name, Liz... I seem to have already forgotten that name."

Nightingale softly spoke the name she had barely used for a long time. Her eyes grew unfocused as she fell into memories of the past.

"It was Chen An who cured me and took me out of that birdcage. How did I meet him? Through Shining."

"After leaving the laboratory, I had always traveled everywhere with Shining and Nearl, saving Oripathy patients like myself and easing their suffering. During that time, my body grew weaker and weaker."

"I was a doctor. I could help treat others, but I could not cure myself. Shining and Nearl had no solution for my symptoms either."

"Worried about me and wanting to give me a good place to recuperate, Shining decided at the time to take me somewhere called Rhodes Island."

"I did not know much about Rhodes Island. I only remembered Shining saying it was a place that could treat Oripathy. Although Rhodes Island was not merely a medical organization and had a dangerous past, for the sake of my health, she was willing to overlook that for the time being and join Rhodes Island."

"And it was then that Shining heard rumors about Chen An."

Nightingale narrowed her eyes as she smiled, gentle as an angel. "There was a highly skilled doctor nearby helping the Infected and ordinary people. Not only could he treat Oripathy, he was also exceptionally skilled at treating all kinds of other illnesses. They said there was no disease that doctor could not cure."

"He treated people struggling to make a living for free, and he taught them all kinds of things. Even the Infected were treated equally. He was like light, illuminating the worlds of everyone who had received his help."

Like light?

Lappland froze for a moment, her expression somewhat strange.

"Because they heard those rumors, Shining and Nearl both became curious about him. So we took a detour to meet him."

"I still remember what Chen An was doing when I first met him. He was holding an Infected child while telling stories to other Infected children."

Nightingale's expression became even gentler. "I had seen many children who were Infected. They had nothing on them but inferiority and numbness. But in those children who were with Chen An, I saw hope... and vitality."

"Chen An really is special. Just like the rumors we heard, it felt as though there was light on him. Everyone who knows him is influenced by him, illuminated by him. He has helped so many people, helped so many people gain better futures, yet he has never thought about getting anything in return."

"I was one of them too."

Nightingale smiled brilliantly, then her smile suddenly turned a little shy. "When Shining brought me to meet Chen An, she only wanted to see what kind of person he was and how he treated the Infected. If they shared the same ideals, she even wanted to invite him to join our team. But Chen An saw through my condition at a glance. He took us for people seeking treatment, and the moment he saw us, he had Shining bring me into his temporary clinic to treat me."

"He quickly cured my Oripathy, and even treated all my other symptoms while he was at it."

Like a little girl, Nightingale adorably stuck out her tongue. "Physical weakness, memory impairment... I never even asked him to treat those, but he cured everything. Even my psychological issues. What kind of doctor doesn't even ask about your symptoms and just treats everything? He was way too dedicated."

"That was how Shining, the others, and I met Chen An. After I was cured, Shining and Nearl were both shocked by his medical skills and wanted to learn from him. So we traveled with him for a while. It was not until later, when he introduced us to Talulah and we joined Dawn, that we stopped traveling with him."

"But..."

Nightingale's bright expression turned melancholy. "He clearly promised he would come back to see us someday, but after that, I never saw Chen An again."

"I... I want to see him again. I want to hear him tell me his stories again."

Nightingale looked up at the distant sky, clutching the staff in her arms tightly as she spoke almost to herself. "I do not want to keep causing trouble for Shining and Nearl anymore. Even if I am alone, I will definitely find him. Definitely."

Lappland said nothing, still thinking about those words she had heard earlier.

Like... light?

At the same time, in Sargon, Akhura, Gavial's Will Tribe.

"Move!"

Zumama glared fiercely at those trying to block her path, frightening them all away before she swaggered into the residence of Tomimi, chief of Gavial's Will Tribe.

Zumama's footsteps as she entered were obvious, but Tomimi was completely absorbed in reading and did not notice anyone enter.

Without ceremony, Zumama walked over to Tomimi and glanced at the title of the book she was reading—One Hundred Ways to Build Confidence.

She froze, black lines seemingly appearing across her face.

This girl was still always reading these useless books.

"Stop reading. I need to talk to you."

She snatched away Tomimi's book, casually closed it, and put it on the table. Leaning her backside against the table with her arms folded over her chest, Zumama tilted her head and glanced at Tomimi.

"Tomimi, I already know where Dawn is. I'm planning to leave and find Gavial and Chen An. Do you want to come with me?"

"...Huh?"

Her book had been snatched away, and it took Tomimi several seconds to react. She blankly stared for a while at Zumama, whose posture made the weight of her chest especially prominent, as though she were flaunting her figure, before asking in surprise:

"Zumama, why are you here?"

Zumama: "..."

The large tail behind her twitched, and Zumama gritted her teeth, barely holding back the urge to slap Tomimi across the face with it.

Gritting her teeth, she repeated herself heavily, her displeasure practically unmistakable. "I said, I already know where Dawn is. I'm planning to leave and find Gavial and Chen An. Do you want to come with me?"

Tomimi blinked somewhat blankly, finally understanding.

"...What?!"

She cried out and jumped to her feet in delight. "Really? Zumama, you really know where Gavial is?"

Zumama and Tomimi had both told Chen An and the others that once they had settled their tribes' affairs, they would go find them.

In truth, not much time had passed between when they made that agreement with Chen An and the others and when they were ready to depart. In less than a month, they had both prepared to leave Akhura and head for the Reunion Movement.

But!

Just as they were about to leave, they realized something—they only knew that Chen An and Gavial were in the Reunion Movement, but did not know where the Reunion Movement was. They had forgotten to ask, and Chen An and the others had not told them.

Thus, even now, Zumama and Tomimi, who had long wanted to leave, were still staying in their own tribes instead of leaving Akhura to fulfill their promise.

Neither of them was willing to accept that. After the embarrassing situation of wanting to set out but having no idea where to go, they had kept gathering information about the Reunion Movement.

However, the Reunion Movement was in Ursus, far too distant from Sargon. Akhura was also a very remote region of Sargon, where many supplies had to be purchased elsewhere by messengers. On top of that, information did not travel efficiently across Terra. It was mostly passed from person to person in a primitive fashion. So even after a long time, they had gathered very little information about the Reunion Movement.

It was only a few days ago that Zumama unexpectedly learned from a messenger who had recently been to Ursus that the Reunion Movement had already vanished and was now Dawn. Only then did she finally learn the exact location of the Reunion Movement she had sought for so long—in Chernobog, Ursus.

Chernobog was in Ursus. Although she had obtained the information, that was the extent of Zumama's knowledge about Chernobog... No, there was one more thing. Ursus, where Chernobog was located, was very far away.

But Zumama did not care about that.

She had waited too long. Now that she finally knew Chen An's whereabouts, she did not want to keep waiting.

She had originally planned to leave Sargon alone and go to Chernobog. But after packing her luggage, her grandfather, the high priest, told her that Terra was vast, and such a vast world contained many dangers. Traveling alone was unsafe, so he told her to find some companions.

That was why she changed her mind about leaving immediately.

Logically, as a tribal chief, Zumama should have brought people from her own tribe on a long journey. But she had no intention of doing that.

There was not a single person in her tribe who could fight alongside her. If she wanted to bring people from the tribe to improve her sense of security, she would have to take quite a few.

The jungles of Akhura were no kind place. The tribes needed guards, and if she took away too many people, her tribe would become unsafe.

Although she was already preparing to leave Sargon and might no longer be a tribal chief in the future, Zumama did not want to do something like that and put her tribe in danger for her own selfish desires.

So after much consideration, she came to Tomimi's tribe to find Tomimi—Tomimi's desire to go to Dawn to find Gavial and see Chen An while she was at it was just as strong as Zumama's desire to go to Dawn to find Chen An and see Gavial while she was at it.

At the same time, although Tomimi sometimes seemed a little foolish and made Zumama think she was an idiot, she was very strong. After all, she was the chief of Gavial's Will Tribe.

Zumama was very confident in her own brain. All she needed was a capable companion, and Tomimi was more than enough.

Incidentally, Zumama actually had her own companion: a machine she had built. But that machine was huge, and the place she was going was far away, so it was unsuitable to bring along. Otherwise, she would never have come looking for Tomimi.

Seeing Tomimi still standing there with a delighted expression and saying nothing, Zumama grew a little impatient. She smacked the table hard with her tail, making a noise to bring Tomimi back to her senses.

"So what's your answer? If you're not coming, I'll leave by myself. I packed my things ages ago. If Grandfather High Priest hadn't said it was unsafe to be alone out there, and if I had wanted to bring people from my tribe, I wouldn't have come looking for you."

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Wait for me. I'll pack my things, then I'll go find Gavial with you."

Afraid Zumama would really leave without her, Tomimi nodded frantically without even asking another question, then turned and hurried off to pack.

Back to Chen An's side.

Chen An was very talkative, but being talkative was not an inherent trait of his.

When facing someone taciturn, burdened with misery, lonely, or someone who liked chatting, Chen An could be extremely talkative—talkative enough to make people question their lives and want to punch him.

But if the other person preferred quiet, wanted to talk, or liked confiding in others, he became very quiet.

Ceylon belonged to the latter category among the latter category. She somewhat liked talking about herself.

Perhaps because she had never had many friends and rarely had the chance to speak much with others, she seemed very excited whenever she chatted with Chen An, and her words never seemed to stop.

At first, she had been a little shy and embarrassed to speak much. But after Chen An humorously broke through Ceylon's restraint and got her talking, she truly became like that—Schwarz said she was a friend, but she was actually more like an older sister, and Schwarz already knew most things about Ceylon, so there were many things Ceylon did not need to say.

She went from telling the story of Siesta to talking about her own childhood, then from her childhood to her years studying in Victoria, and finally about returning home, noticing something wrong with the volcano, and working tirelessly over it. By the time Ceylon had talked to her heart's content, it was already past ten.

Realizing that, Ceylon immediately felt embarrassed. She lowered her head slightly and placed both hands on her lap. "Sorry. No one has ever listened to me talk like you do, Chen An. I got carried away and talked too much."

"It's fine. I like listening to other people's stories."

Chen An, who had gradually become quieter after Ceylon began talking more and had remained quietly listening, only occasionally responding or offering an opinion to show that he was paying attention, smiled and shook his head to show that he did not mind.

Ceylon still kept her head lowered, looking a little embarrassed.

Chen An did not comfort Ceylon further, because he knew that embarrassment was difficult to dispel with comfort alone. Sometimes, comfort could even have the opposite effect.

Seeing that it was getting late, he thought for a moment and said, "It's about time to prepare lunch. Ceylon, do you want to stay a while longer? I'll make something tasty to treat you later."

Huh, was this hospitality from a friend?

Ceylon raised her head, her eyes shining. "Can I? Wouldn't it be too much trouble for you?"

Chen An: "..."

Could you maybe hide that obvious expectation in your eyes when you say that?

Good thing I really did want to treat you. If I were just being polite, you'd make this very awkward for me.

After silently complaining to himself, Chen An nodded readily. "Of course not. It's only food for two more people—Texas, Exusiai, come downstairs and help entertain Ceylon. I'm going out to buy groceries."

He stood and called upstairs to Texas and the others, who had all gone up early in the morning and had not come down since, apparently doing who knew what. Then he instructed Ceylon:

"I'll go buy groceries first. Sit here for a while. If you get bored, Texas and Exusiai can take you upstairs to watch TV or play games."

Ceylon smiled lightly and nodded, indicating that she understood.