A Vulpo Lady's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

Hmm... so are people who live a long time usually this calm?

But Doctor Kal'tsit added the prefix "ancient" to Mister Bocorcas!

Fengling's guess from Bocorcas was that Kal'tsit was at least from the same era as that old gentleman.

Then did that mean...

Doctor Kal'tsit had basically added the prefix "ancient" to herself too?

Uh...

And on the other hand, according to textbooks, Wendig o... was a branch of the Sarkaz race.

It was simply nearly extinct.

So her instinctive feeling that the old gentleman was a "Sarkaz" had been correct?!

That was... kind of strange...

Fengling was not entirely sure how she had learned that information.

For now, she could probably only—don't ask; if asked, it was "talent."

"What else did that Wendigo tell you?"

Kal'tsit continued asking.

"Oh, he said, why haven't you gotten old yet?"

Still lost in thought, Fengling answered without thinking.

Ah!

Then Fengling instinctively felt that had been somewhat... inappropriate, hadn't it?

An eerie silence also fell on Kal'tsit's end.

"Um... Doctor Kal'tsit?"

Fengling called out cautiously.

"I'm here."

Kal'tsit's calm voice came through the radio, and Fengling let out a small sigh of relief.

Age was a secret for girls, after all!

If Kal'tsit still counted as a female "girl"...

But Fengling's curiosity had already been piqued. Since they were separated by a radio and Kal'tsit could not possibly crawl through it to beat her up, Fengling decided to press further.

Of course, she still needed to phrase it a little more tactfully.

"So... Doctor Kal'tsit, how old are you exactly? You still look like someone I could call 'big sister.'"

Being a little sweet-tongued would at least make her less likely to get beaten up.

"Age means... nothing to me. But that number... knowing too much about it would not benefit you at present."

Kal'tsit's usual style of answer.

It felt like she had said something, yet also nothing at all.

In summary: "I'm very old, so stop guessing."

"Operator Fengling, if you are safe now, give me a brief report on what has happened over the past two days."

Though Doctor Kal'tsit was asking about serious business, it somehow felt like she was changing the subject...

After all, logically speaking, everything that had happened over the past two days should already have been transmitted to Rhodes Island through Fengling's radio, which she had never hung up.

Still, when it came time for business, Fengling knew what mattered. She never fooled around with such things.

Then she would make it a little more detailed.

Fengling began recounting.

What she had seen and heard over the past two days.

About Talulah.

About the situation in the Reunion Movement settlement.

Kal'tsit listened quietly, occasionally asking about certain details.

Fengling answered every question clearly and methodically.

To become so proficient at an operator's work in such a short time, even Kal'tsit felt that her assessment of Fengling could be raised further.

"You did very well."

Though it was merely a flat statement in Kal'tsit's usual tone, Fengling could not help feeling delighted at receiving such praise.

Being acknowledged still felt very nice.

Knock. Knock!

Someone lightly knocked on the truck door twice.

The truck was well soundproofed. Fengling rolled down the window and looked outside in confusion.

"Miss Fengling, after unloading all the goods, we loaded all the Originium ore that arrived today into the cargo compartment. Would you like to take a look?"

Since this was the ultimate purpose of the transaction, Fengling still needed to confirm it with her own eyes.

"Alright, I'll be right there. Thank you all! You've worked hard, brothers!"

"You're too polite, Miss Fengling! We should be thanking you! You've brought us so many useful things!"

Fengling smiled. "It's mutually beneficial. Let's work together again if we get the chance!"

Fengling spoke into the radio. "Then, Doctor Kal'tsit, I need to get back to work."

"Be careful at all times. Do not let your guard down until the very end. The situation in Ursus, particularly in the border regions and among the lower classes, is extremely chaotic," Kal'tsit reminded her. "Do not forget to stay in regular contact."

Judging from her current progress, though she was still somewhat inexperienced, that was merely due to a lack of experience. She simply needed more time to grow.

Fengling would certainly become an operator Kal'tsit could trust without reservation.

So she only needed to let Fengling handle things freely.

Fengling stepped out of the truck.

That truckload of supplies, aside from some important strategic reserves, had already begun to be distributed.

The children could receive new toys and put on new clothes.

The women would receive new cooking utensils and seasonings.

And the strong men who hunted for food now had new hunting knives, as well as oil and whetstones for maintaining them.

The crops in the fields had also been sown just before the final planting window closed.

The men hauling carts full of Originium ore were also hauling things back to their original villages and settlements.

Talulah had not lied. Selling that truckload of goods to her was practically the same as selling it to the surrounding villages.

Though one truckload of supplies could never possibly satisfy everyone.

It had undoubtedly eased many urgent problems at once.

People's faces were filled with smiles.

Fengling briefly inspected the Originium ore in the cargo compartment. It had been stacked neatly and arranged systematically, reducing the risk of unstable Originium activation.

After all, the men transporting the ore dealt with Originium minerals regularly. Even if they had been forced into it, they still had no choice but to learn how to handle Originium ore properly.

As for the raw Originium ore exchanged in the first village, the men had already carried it away and thrown it out.

In Talulah's words, she would definitely fill Fengling's truck with good ore before letting her leave.

Just as Fengling had done some things within Reunion Movement territory that she had not actually needed to do.

Talulah was willing to repay Fengling in this way.

"The Originium monitoring instruments in the cargo compartment... all green lights. No problems. They're operating properly."

"This reading is also within the safety threshold."

"There are no problems at all!"

Fengling got out of the truck very satisfied.

The moment she stepped down, Fengling saw Alina waiting nearby.

"Talulah told me that the rest of the ore is still being sorted out and may take a few more days to arrive. If you need anything in daily life over the next few days, you can tell me!"

When Alina saw Fengling get out, she approached with a warm smile.

After all, Talulah, FrostNova, and the others were quite busy. For the Reunion Movement's survival, they often had to travel around.

So the task of hosting Fengling fell to Alina.

Fengling's Lesson

To be fair, though it was obvious they lived together, Alina's whole vibe was completely different from Talulah's and FrostNova's.

A little deer that had been well protected could easily forget the dangers around it.

But conversely, someone like Alina really was very suited to looking after children and being a teacher.

Sitting at the back of a small classroom in the wooden house and listening to Alina teach the children, Fengling thought absentmindedly.

With nothing in particular to do, Fengling had simply been brought into the classroom by Alina to serve as a mascot "assistant teacher."

But judging from the results, Alina's move seemed to have had the opposite effect.

Seeing the children's curious gazes drifting toward her from time to time, Fengling knew those kids probably had no mood to listen to the lesson anymore.

Especially since Alina was trying to teach them a literary work that was still a little too early for children their age.

She could understand the limitations of the teaching materials, but to the children... it would definitely seem boring.

Seeing that the children's attention had basically been drawn to Fengling, Alina puffed out her cheeks in slight displeasure.

Could the work of a literary master not compare to a fox big sister who had just arrived?!

But Alina also understood that, for children, focusing on and comprehending the words in a literary work was indeed far harder than looking at a pretty fox big sister.

"Fengling..."

Under Alina's gaze, Fengling could only blink innocently and spread her hands.

She did not want this either!

"Ha..." Alina sighed helplessly.

There was definitely no way she could continue teaching today.

"Fengling... why don't you see if there's anything you can teach the children?"

Since their attention was all on Fengling, she might as well have Fengling teach them a lesson.

"Huh?" Fengling froze.

Have her teach?

What could she possibly teach them!

Fengling was not so uneducated that she could barely read or write, but she had basically come up through unconventional means.

Beyond the most basic educational content, everything else had been learned by Fengling herself through unstructured trial and error.

Teaching others with that half-baked level would be extremely irresponsible.

This truly troubled Fengling.

What was she good at, and what could she teach these children that would genuinely be useful to them?

Fengling looked at the expectant gazes of the children around her.

Then she looked at Alina.