Skadi, My Wife

While Chen An often provided free medical care to civilians in the slums, he also frequently helped the slum orphans. Beyond that, he taught the people there ways to make a living, or used his connections—such as the connections of a certain wealthy lady—to help them find jobs.

He did more than diagnose and treat illnesses; he had genuinely changed the lives of many people in the slums.

Rope was one such beneficiary. It might not have changed her life, but it had changed how she lived. She had gone from barely surviving through petty theft to being able to eat her fill and stay warm even without stealing.

Chen An had taught her to live a different kind of life. He was good to her too, making her feel warm and safe. That was why Rope liked Chen An.

"The police station? Little Rope, do you think I caught you this time to send you to the station? I was originally planning to catch you after a while longer, but now, I think it would be better to send you away first."

Ch'en's cold sneer gave Rope a bad feeling.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing much. I just want to tell you that while you still have time, you'd better think carefully about whether Rhodes Island or Chernobog would be better for your future."

"...Huh?"

Rope froze.

I Suspect I Traveled Through Time Again, but I Have No Proof

A long story short.

Chen An's experiences making house calls in the slums would be skipped over, as would the process of Rope and Ch'en matching wits and courage, with Rope attempting to escape several times and failing every time.

By noon, Chen An could not refuse any longer and reluctantly accepted gifts from his patients, such as eggs and fruit, before leaving the slums and returning to the city district.

On the way back, Ch'en decided that Chen An would be fine on his own for the rest of the journey, so she planned to leave first and take the unruly Rope to the police station.

As they parted, Rope looked at Chen An with tear-filled eyes. "Chen An, are you really not going to save me? This old woman wants to traffic me. If she really sells me off, then if she tries something improper with you later, I won't be able to protect you anymore."

Ch'en: "..."

A vein throbbed at her temple. She kept saying Ch'en wanted to try something improper... When had she ever wanted to do anything improper, this damn brat?

And what was this about trafficking? She wanted to send Rope away for her own good. Both Rhodes Island and Dawn in Chernobog could treat Oripathy. Was an Oripathy patient supposed to stay in Lungmen and wait for death instead of going somewhere like that?

Thinking Rope was utterly unreasonable, Ch'en looked toward Chen An. Chen An wore a helpless smile, his gaze gentle and seemingly lit with light.

At first, Ch'en thought Chen An was looking at her, and she could not help but pause. Then she realized that he was not looking at her at all, but at Rope. She pursed her lips and guiltily looked away.

"Ch'en is doing this for your own good."

Chen An patted Rope's head and smiled. "Stealing is a skill too. It can be used for the right purposes. Little Rope, remember what I told you. Even if you go somewhere else, work hard to become a good girl."

Knowing from Chen An's words that he would not help her stop Ch'en, Rope felt somewhat sad.

She was not sad that Chen An would not help her. She was sad because she might never see him again.

She sniffled, and her ears drooped in dejection. "But I might not be able to be a good person, Chen An. What should I do then?"

"As long as you do not consciously want to hurt others, then if life forces you to do bad things, how can you really be called bad?"

Chen An said seriously, "Do your best. Become the person you want to be, and don't let yourself down."

"Mm."

Rope nodded. She gave Chen An one lingering look, then followed Ch'en away.

"—Chen An!"

After they had walked a short distance, Rope suddenly shouted at Chen An and forcibly dragged Ch'en back.

Standing before Chen An, she said with utmost seriousness, "Wait for me, okay? Once my Oripathy is cured, I'll definitely come back. Skadi and the others are fine while I'm gone, but don't let that old woman get her way. Men can marry lots of little wives anyway. When I come back, I'll be your little wi—hey, hey, you stinking cop, why are you dragging me? I haven't finished talking yet! Chen An, you really, really have to wait for me!"

Watching Rope wave and shout at him as the thoroughly displeased Ch'en forcibly dragged her away, Chen An could not help but laugh.

At home.

"Can I really dress like this? Will Chen An really like it?"

Skadi wore a black-and-white maid outfit, her face full of uncertainty.

Exusiai had bought this maid outfit. According to her, she had learned that Skadi had pursued Chen An for a long time without managing to win him over. Even though they were living together now, nothing had changed. Exusiai had been heartbroken over it and unable to stand by any longer, so she had specially prepared this outfit for Skadi to use as her trump card to win Chen An over.

Since it was meant to be a winning trump card, the maid outfit Exusiai had specially prepared for Skadi was naturally different from an ordinary maid outfit.

The skirt was so short that it did not even fully cover her thighs. The upper half had no collar, and the neckline plunged low. On beautiful, pale-skinned, long-legged Skadi, it was incredibly provocative and overwhelmingly seductive—practically a lingerie costume.

No, not practically. It was a lingerie costume to begin with.

Exusiai said nothing. She stared blankly at Skadi's exceptionally full chest, where a large swath of delicate, snowy-white skin was exposed.

She had never noticed before. S-so Skadi's chest was that big?

Texas glanced at Skadi, then quietly lowered her head to look at herself—nothing obstructed her view, and she could see her toes at a glance.

After a brief silence, Texas's ears drooped, and her mood sank.

"Exusiai? Exusiai?"

It took several calls from Skadi before Exusiai finally snapped out of it.

She put her fist to her mouth and gave two embarrassed coughs. Having cast aside the envy, jealousy, and resentment stirred up by Skadi's bust, Miss Exusiai confidently said, "Don't worry. The plan I prepared for you is flawless. When a woman chases a man, it's only separated by a thin veil. Based on my many years of romantic experience, I can tell you that when you appear before Chen An dressed like this and sweetly call him Master, Chen An will definitely be overcome by his animal instincts and eagerly pounce on you."

Texas said faintly, "A reminder: Exusiai has never dated even once. All her many years of romantic experience come from games and novels."

After thinking about it, she added, "Whenever we run into trouble while making deliveries, she always says her plan before taking action is flawless. But in the end, I always have to clean up her mess. If anything unexpected happens later, remember to adapt to the situation."

Exusiai: "..."

Skadi: "..."

Exusiai flew into embarrassed rage. "What's wrong with never dating? It's like you've dated before, Texas! Even if I've never dated, I still know how to help Skadi. What about you? You can't help and still make sarcastic remarks. Get out of here already. Go keep watch outside the hallway and see if Chen An is back yet."

Texas snorted. She did not argue with Exusiai and left the apartment to keep watch outside.

Chen An noticed something was wrong.

When he returned to the apartment building, he saw Texas watching him from upstairs.

But after seeing him, Texas did not nod in greeting. Instead, she hurriedly turned around and went back into the apartment, as though she was afraid he would notice her.

What was Exusiai up to again?

Chen An raised an eyebrow but did not think much of it as he made his way back to his front door.

Skadi was home, and he had just seen Texas enter, so Chen An did not take out his key. He simply opened the door and walked inside.

Then—

"Welcome back, Master. Would you like to eat me first, or eat me first?"

Seeing Skadi standing at the entrance to welcome him, wearing a provocative maid outfit, blushing furiously, and speaking such shameful lines, he paused briefly before using Rewind at the speed of light to exit. As he went out, he did not forget to casually close the door behind him.

Standing outside his home and staring at the number on the door, he could not make sense of it no matter how hard he thought. The apartment number was right, so what the hell had he just seen? Could it be that he had accidentally traveled through time again?

Texas's Contempt

After thinking outside the door for a while, Chen An decided that he probably had not traveled through time again.

Then, recalling Texas keeping watch upstairs when he had seen her below the building, he suddenly understood. He guessed that Skadi's lingerie maid outfit and those lines had to be one of Exusiai's terrible ideas.

Otherwise, there was no explanation for why that had happened.

Skadi was fine in battle and could be considered both brave and clever, but when it came to matters between men and women, she was as innocent as a little white flower. She could charge in without thinking, but asking her to come up with seductive tricks and all sorts of strange methods was not making things difficult for her—it was something she had no concept of at all.

Only Exusiai, with her quirky nature, love of games, and abundance of shameless ideas, would think of something like this.

For proof, Skadi had launched many nighttime raids on Chen An. But her raids simply involved sneaking into Chen An's room at night and sleeping beside him.

She was innocent to the extreme!

If it had been Exusiai, then he probably would not have gotten any sleep at night after one of her raids.

Luckily, Skadi was not Exusiai.

Chen An thought this in relief, then hesitated before opening the door again and walking inside.

Skadi was still standing there, but the deliberately seductive charm on her face was gone, replaced by grievance.

"Why did you run away like you were scared, Chen An? Do you not like me?"

"Of course not."

Chen An comforted her. "I was just surprised to suddenly see you dressed like this."

"Really?"

Skadi was doubtful. Chen An's reaction upon entering—like he had seen a ghost before turning and running—had truly dealt her a heavy blow.

"When have I ever lied to you about something like this?"

Chen An pinched Skadi's springy cheek and changed the subject. "By the way, Exusiai gave you this outfit, right? Ask her later whether she did not pay enough when she bought it. Otherwise, why would there be so little fabric on it? Also, remind her that if she buys you new clothes in the future, she should tell me first. That way, she won't run short on money again and buy clothes that are missing half their material and can't be worn outside."

Exusiai: "..."

Using a special method, she had overheard Chen An next door, and now she was questioning her entire life.

You could see Skadi's legs without walking anywhere, and see her chest without even lowering your head. Skadi was dressed like that, yet instead of immediately going over to touch her up and take advantage, Chen An focused on how little fabric the outfit had and suspected Exusiai had not paid enough for it. What kind of thought process was that?

He was too much of a gentleman, wasn't he? He did not usually act like this.

Texas had heard Chen An's words as well. She gave the life-questioning Exusiai a subtle look, held back a laugh, patted her shoulder, and earnestly said, "In the future, maybe stop saying you're experienced and a master of romance."

Her prediction had been completely wrong. Experienced? A master of romance? My ass!

Night, far away.

Red Skadi joined the group, turning Shining's trio into a group of four.

With a shared goal, the four continued wandering across Terra, following their previous direction as they searched for Chen An, whose whereabouts were unknown.

But after traveling with Red Skadi for a while, Shining and the others discovered a problem—Red Skadi's problem.

One day, after checking into an inn, Shining waited until Red Skadi had fallen asleep before going to the next room, where Nearl and Nightingale were staying, to discuss it with them.

The softly flickering lamp illuminated the room. Shining frowned tightly. "It seems my feeling when I reunited with Skadi was not an illusion. There truly is something wrong with Skadi's memories."

"I noticed it too."

Nightingale's voice was very soft, filled with worry. "She cannot remember many things. Last time, when I casually mentioned Chernobog to her, she actually asked me where Chernobog was. She clearly lived in Chernobog for a period of time."

"Is it the same symptom Nightingale had before?" Nearl asked.

"Probably not."

Nightingale shook her head. "Although I have not examined her, I am certain Skadi's body is healthy. Her memory loss does not seem to be missing memories, but rather..."

Nightingale hesitated for a long while but did not explain exactly what was wrong with Skadi.

Shining was also puzzled. She even wanted to examine Skadi herself, but judging from her interactions with Skadi over the past few days, that idea clearly had no chance of succeeding.

"I tried asking Skadi indirectly, but she said she was fine... Mm, Nearl, do you have any clues?"

"Clues? Like you two, I have no clues. But I did notice something else strange about Skadi."

Nearl lifted the black tea she had brewed herself and took a sip. After exhaling softly, she continued, "Skadi's weapon is gone. In the past, whenever I saw her, she never let that weapon leave her side. Also, two nights ago, I accidentally heard her singing... How should I put it? It felt somewhat wrong, as though it had magic in it. I heard Skadi sing back in Chernobog too. Her singing was sad then, but it did not feel like this."

"Her personality too. She was never particularly energetic before and was somewhat aloof toward others, but sometimes you could still see her smile. Yet during this time, I have not seen Skadi smile even once. It is like she has become a different person."

"You feel that way too?" Shining sighed, seemingly deeply affected.

Nightingale looked somewhat melancholy. "Skadi became like this, and Chen An is not by her side. It seems that after leaving Chernobog, she must have encountered something terrible as well."

Shining and Nearl fell silent. Neither offered an opinion, and the atmosphere became somewhat oppressive.

After a moment, Shining broke the silence. "I want to return to Chernobog and take a look."

"Return to Chernobog?"

"Why?"