A Vulpo Girl's Life as a Rhodes Island Operator

Afterward, Muelsyse returned to her usual slightly mischievous yet adorable self.

"Little fox, can you give me back my picture book now?"

With the misunderstanding cleared up, Fengling had no reason to remain hostile toward Muelsyse. She generously placed the picture book back into Muelsyse's hands.

Having obtained Kal'tsit's permission to pass through, Muelsyse promptly left.

That conversation had actually gone beyond Fengling's understanding.

Still, the content itself was not difficult to grasp.

"Rhodes Island... often has to deal with people like that?"

At this point, only Fengling and Kal'tsit remained in the corridor.

"This land still conceals countless things that modern civilization cannot discover or comprehend. Rhodes Island's existence does provide a relatively stable place for things unknown to the public," Kal'tsit said slowly. "But being overly ambitious does no good for the development of civilization."

Her encounter with the Rhine Lab personnel was only a minor interlude.

It was also a small glimpse of Fengling's future life as an operator—throughout her journey, she would meet many more people like this.

Kal'tsit then handed Fengling a completed ID badge.

"Your ID badge can be used as a pass within Rhodes Island. Wear and safeguard it properly."

Fengling accepted the badge.

It bore the photograph taken before her physical examination.

The smiling Fengling looked naturally adorable, while the traces of mirth in the eyes and brows of this nearly adult Vulpo lent her a touch of charm.

Mm, Fengling was quite satisfied with this photo!

"Thank you, Dr. Kal'tsit."

"Afterward, speak with Amiya about the remaining matters, including accommodations and the benefits owed to field operators. For now, come with me."

With the ID badge in hand, she could be considered officially employed by Rhodes Island.

But they were only talking about benefits now!

Did I accidentally board a shady ship before checking the terms?!

Fengling grumbled inwardly.

Still, it was only a little joke in her heart.

Although she had lost the initiative during this hiring process, she had indeed witnessed a corner of Rhodes Island's operations.

This was a place where dreamers and pragmatists gathered.

The Fengling of the past had never possessed a clear direction in life.

She had merely improved herself as best she could, carrying a faint unwillingness to become numb.

Fortunately, these abilities had given her some capital to step onto her own path in life.

Fengling no longer had many attachments.

But if she remained where she was, she would probably only drift farther and farther away from everything she cherished.

To embark on a journey with Rhodes Island, becoming one of these dreamers and pragmatists, devoting herself to a cause that seemed somewhat foolish, perhaps even cruel, yet full of romance.

That did not sound so bad.

As long as she kept moving forward, there would always come a day in the future when her path crossed with her past again.

Following behind Kal'tsit, there was indeed little conversation along the way. But Fengling's thoughts had already wandered far afield.

At the very least, this might be the most important decision Fengling could make for herself before becoming an adult.

Click.

They seemed to have reached the end of the Medical Department.

The door to a somewhat dim office opened.

The office looked quite spacious.

Besides a large number of unusual medical instruments, there were two areas that appeared to be workstations.

Apart from Fengling and Kal'tsit, someone else seemed to be waiting here as well.

Was that the white-haired Bloodfiend who had been hung from the bridge? Her name was Warfarin, right?

Mm, it looked like she had been let down?

"Oh my, you're here?"

The Bloodfiend girl enthusiastically brought over a chair for her.

"Come on, sit down, sit down!"

Uh... why was she being so polite?

Fengling immediately felt a little uncomfortable.

But under the other girl's eager gaze, she had no choice but to sit down first.

"Good, now hold out your arm and make a fist!"

Wait, what was with that enormous blood-drawing needle?!

However, Dr. Kal'tsit obviously was not about to let the Bloodfiend girl fool around. She snatched the blood-drawing needle straight out of Warfarin's hand.

"Do you want to be hung from the bridge again?"

Warfarin awkwardly looked away and whistled as though nothing had happened.

Suspicions About Fengling

Warfarin's antics were only a minor interlude.

Kal'tsit truly did have something to discuss with Fengling.

But she also offered a certain explanation for Warfarin's behavior.

"Warfarin's feeding must be agreed upon by both parties. Only if she obtains your permission will her feeding be permitted on Rhodes Island... If you do not wish to refuse, feel free to name the compensation you require." Though Kal'tsit's gaze at Warfarin appeared calm as water, it carried an authority that could not be ignored. "A Bloodfiend with a substantial fortune is not someone you need to be polite with."

"Then... next time, definitely." Fengling quietly retreated behind Kal'tsit.

She was not desperate enough to need to sell blood for compensation.

If it were a favor between friends, there would be no need to discuss compensation... but she clearly was not close enough to the Bloodfiend girl before her for that.

Maybe in the future, but not today.

"Then I'll get straight to why I called you here." Kal'tsit brought the conversation to business.

"Finding lost things... is that your Originium Arts?"

Ah... so it really was about that.

Still, Fengling had not intended to hide it anyway.

"It isn't Originium Arts... it's more like an inborn feeling?" Fengling curled a lock of hair around her finger as she thought. "After all, I lived in Lungmen's slums for so long... that place... always had a lot of discarded things."

"At first, I thought I was just lucky. But after a while, I realized I could not only vaguely sense things that counted as 'high-value,' but I could often even match what I found to the person who had lost it. As for why, I can't explain it either. As long as it works, that's enough."

"Things..." Kal'tsit softly repeated Fengling's choice of words. "In other words, it is not limited to objects?"

"I have at least helped people find cats before. It feels the same as finding other objects." Fengling answered, "So... Dr. Kal'tsit, do you know what's going on?"

"My knowledge is not enough to completely answer every mystery on this land, but years of experience allow me to make certain conjectures."

Though Kal'tsit called it a conjecture, her expression gave the impression that she had already determined the truth.

"Originium, even though we may not wish it so, has become inseparable from this land."

"It carries immense amounts of information, from ancient times unknown to all, to villages in the corners of the land today."

"Some specific wavelength of information within the Originium scattered everywhere can be sensed by you."

Great. After hearing that, Fengling sort of understood, but when she thought about it carefully, she understood absolutely nothing.

To ordinary people, Originium basically meant "very dangerous," "stay away from it," and "but it's very valuable."

As for Originium's other functions... they were simply too far removed from daily life.

Still, Fengling understood that her talent for finding treasure came from Originium.

"That settles my understanding of your situation as well." Dr. Kal'tsit seemed to have resolved some of her questions about Fengling. "I have a surgery to perform shortly. Warfarin will conduct a specialized examination for you. Cooperate with her... at the very least, it will let you understand your current physical condition more clearly."

Decisive and efficient.

That was truly the only way to describe Kal'tsit's manner of doing things.

After explaining the matters that needed attention, Kal'tsit left.

Leaving Fengling alone with Warfarin.

...Alone with a Bloodfiend?!

Wait!

Hey!

"Caught~ you~"

Eek!

By the time Fengling came back to her senses, she had already been forcibly pressed onto the operating table.

The sinister cackling of a certain Bloodfiend girl occasionally rang in her ears.

Though Kal'tsit had warned her, Warfarin would not truly do anything excessive to Fengling.

But as a researcher, she could also derive pleasure from the process of discovery.

Besides touching Fengling here and pinching her there, Warfarin quite unapologetically drew several samples of blood from different parts of Fengling's body.

Judging by the amount, it was probably harmless and merely for testing.

Warfarin then dripped the fresh blood into her own mouth according to the different sampling locations...

Fengling's fists immediately clenched tight.

If Warfarin had not looked so serious at that moment, Fengling might really have hit her.

"So it really is like this..."

After a while, Warfarin murmured.

"Did Dr. Warfarin sense something?"

"Very delicious... ah, no! I mean, the results are excellent!"

Warfarin instinctively answered, then hastily corrected herself.

This plot seemed awfully familiar...

Fortunately, she was not facing Kal'tsit this time.

Unlike the blood normally drawn by other medical operators in the Medical Department, Warfarin had chosen to collect blood from different parts of Fengling's body because, as a Bloodfiend, doing so truly allowed her to obtain more information.

Of course... not every Bloodfiend could do that.

Among Bloodfiends, there were probably very few who applied blood research to medicine and scientific research... or rather, it could simply be said that Warfarin was one of a kind.

But there were even stranger oddballs among Bloodfiends...

For example, Closure, one of the old hands of Rhodes Island's Engineering Department, was also a Bloodfiend. But what flowed through that girl's body was probably not blood, but engine oil.

She had completely broken free of the Bloodfiend impulse to drink blood, throwing herself wholeheartedly into engineering and data research.

Compared to her, Warfarin was practically a normal Bloodfiend.

"The blood in your body is indeed very pure overall. But Originium's influence on you has also undeniably occurred..."