Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend

Cooking in the kitchen and listening to the sounds upstairs, Mizuki smiled as he chopped vegetables. This kind of life was actually quite nice. If possible, it would be nice if it could go on forever.

"Is that your weapon?"

Texas, who was helping out, noticed Mizuki's umbrella. Since yesterday, he had kept it by his side at all times, never letting it leave him.

"Probably not. I just don't know why, but whenever I hold it, I feel especially safe."

As he spoke, Mizuki could not help looking at the umbrella. It rested quietly to one side. It could not speak, and aside from being unusually sturdy, there was nothing remarkable about it. Yet Mizuki liked it for no apparent reason. Perhaps because it had originally belonged to him.

"Exusiai is pretty lively. I never expected her to fall for you, but I hope you'll treat her well."

Texas bit through the chocolate bar between her teeth. She did not know what exactly had happened between Mizuki and Exusiai, but since Exusiai had confirmed their relationship with him, Texas felt it was necessary to do something for her good friend.

At the very least, Texas had to keep an eye on Mizuki for her good friend.

Do You Know Talulah?

In the wilderness not far from Chernobog, Hoederer looked at the potato soup before him and could not help letting out a sigh.

"Ah, if Mizuki were still here, why would I have to eat this stuff? O heavens above, why are you so cruel to me?"

"Eat it or don't! It's not like I wanted to cook for you!"

Ines smacked Hoederer on the head with a frying pan, her face full of irritation.

"I spent so long learning this, and you deserve to starve to death."

Listening to the commotion over there, W, sitting atop a crate, could not help rolling her eyes. It was only one month of learning how to boil potatoes, fry potatoes, and braise potatoes—and she had even burned them.

At the thought of that, W could not help thinking of Mizuki. Really, she missed him so much. It was not that she had fallen in love with him, but Mizuki's cooking had truly been delicious. Mizuki had traveled with their group of mercenaries for over half a month, and his cooking had single-handedly spoiled everyone's appetites.

"Potatoes, potatoes, potatoes all day long. Mizuki could turn food into a work of art, while you're trying to stuff us to death with potatoes. Are you Victorian?"

W could only grumble and force herself to eat. But halfway through, when she saw someone walking toward them, she decisively put down her bowl and slipped into Ines's tent to hide.

Ines was still angry over Hoederer's comments, but she had to admit that Mizuki was truly an indispensable member of the team. Even now, she could not figure out why his cooking was so good.

When they heard Mizuki was leaving the team to head north, aside from their former captain Garson, whom Mizuki had already killed, even W could not help trying to persuade him to stay.

Really, who could refuse a teammate who cooked well, thoughtfully tucked you in at night, and woke you in the morning with a gentle voice? Even if he was a boy—no, precisely because he was a boy, Garson missed him. Mizuki was so much more obedient, and he could even keep W's hot-tempered big-sister personality under control.

And since they were both boys, it was easier for them to get along without so many barriers between them.

"What's wrong, Ines? Why are you so angry?"

Hearing that gentle voice, Ines raised her head and looked at the Elafia woman walking slowly toward her in a simple dress. The anger on her face immediately faded.

"Nothing. Hoederer just thinks my cooking isn't very good. Alina, are you here to find W?"

"Yes. She didn't attend class today, so I came to tutor her separately."

Looking into Alina's kind eyes, even Ines, a mercenary for many years, could not help shivering instinctively. As Reunion's instructor, Alina's sense of pressure was beyond question.

Her combat ability was a mystery, but it was said that she was no weaker than their leader Talulah. She was gentle, kind, cultured, and well-mannered. Usually, she enjoyed teaching the children, while also helping illiterates like W learn some basic reading skills.

"W, Teacher Alina is here for you. Come out."

Hoederer could not help calling out gleefully. As the current captain of the Sarkaz mercenary squad, he had more than enough reason not to participate in the literacy program.

But for W, it was torture. As someone who had received an education as a child, the last time she had opened a book was when Theresa had wanted her to have a better name.

She was already in her twenties, yet she had to mingle with a bunch of elementary school students. W felt terribly uncomfortable, so after attending once yesterday, she had no intention of going again.

"Looks like she's hiding."

"It's all right. I should still be able to find her."

Alina closed her eyes and sensed for a moment. When she opened them again, she walked straight toward Ines's tent.

W was not quite trembling in fear, but she dearly wished she had never woken up. Alina was simply too terrifying. She belonged to the same type as Theresa, but she was even better at understanding people's hearts.

"Ah, if Mizuki were still here, we wouldn't have to eat this stuff."

"Stop whining. Third rule of Reunion: no wasting food."

Alina, who was about to lift the tent flap and enter, heard the conversation between Ines and Hoederer. She could not help stopping and turning back to look at them.

"What did you say? Mizuki? You know Mizuki?"

"Yeah, he... Wait a second, Alina, you know Mizuki too?"

Ines instantly noticed the key point. Alina nodded calmly, then pointed to where her heart was.

"This life of mine was given to me by Mizuki a year ago."

"A year ago?"

Hoederer keenly sensed that something was wrong. He remembered clearly that Reunion had still been on the Snowfield of Ursus last year.

"We met Mizuki half a year ago in the wilderness of Kazimierz. At the time, he said he wanted to visit the Snowfield and see sights he had never seen before."

Ines looked at Alina, and all three of them could see bewilderment and confusion in one another's eyes.

If Mizuki had not lied half a year ago, then he had gone north to see scenery he had never seen before. So what was going on with the Mizuki Alina had encountered a year ago?

"Hm?"

As if something had stirred in his heart, some feeling slipped away. Mizuki paused for less than a second before following Texas into the Lungmen Guard Department.

The Lungmen Guard Department was enormous inside, divided into different sections. There was even a counter specifically for Penguin Logistics to handle their affairs. Of course, it was not because Penguin Logistics had such powerful connections; it was simply because they committed too many offenses.

"You go find Chief Chen first. I'll go pay the fine."

Unless necessary, Texas did not really want to see Ch'en. That upright and impartial officer had a rather rigid temperament and seemed difficult to get along with no matter who it was.

Mizuki did not mind. That day, he had clearly felt Ch'en's goodwill and concern toward him. Of course, it had merely come from her personal sense of morality and conscience.

Arriving at the door to Ch'en's office, Mizuki raised his hand and knocked. He did not wait long before hearing a "Come in" from inside, so he pushed open the door and entered without ceremony.

As a senior superintendent, Ch'en's office was as serious as she was. There were antique bookcases, filing cabinets, and a desk. Even the greenery on the desk was plastic. Ever since she had dehydrated a cactus to death, Ch'en had understood that she was probably not suited to raising plants.

"Officer Chen, this is my written self-criticism."

"Oh, you finished it so quickly? Come have some tea."

Ch'en clearly had not expected it to be Mizuki, but she still welcomed him. Compared to Exusiai and the others, Mizuki was certainly well-behaved. Besides, he was an important victim in a case, so Ch'en always felt a little more sympathy for him.

As Mizuki handed over his self-criticism and accepted the teacup, his eyes inadvertently caught a photograph on the desk. It was clearly an old photo.

A lively and adorable little Vouivre (?) girl warmly had her arm around the shoulders of another girl who looked very much like Ch'en. The latter looked somewhat shy and did not dare face the camera, but she pressed close to her older sister.

Ch'en was not surprised by his reaction. Most people reacted that way when they first saw this photo, because it was difficult to say she resembled her childhood self now. The contrast was simply too great.

"Hard to imagine that was me, right? That was all my..."

"Talulah?"

Just as Ch'en was about to say something, Mizuki successfully froze the atmosphere with a single name.

"You know Talulah?"

Talulah and Alina

Ch'en's only memories of Talulah were from their childhood. Talulah had once been her best older sister. Back in elementary school, Talulah had once been badly beaten by classmates for protecting some char siu cat. Later, Wei Yenwu taught the two of them some simple fighting techniques.

After that, too many accidents happened. Ch'en lost her sister. She only guessed that Talulah had probably grown up to resemble her father greatly, while retaining their mother's features. Though the sisters had different fathers, they truly did look alike.

Ch'en had investigated for many years, hoping to find some clue about her sister. However, after the Ursus Duke Koschei who had taken Talulah away was assassinated, there had been no further trace of Talulah.

Yet today, Mizuki had actually recognized Talulah just from a childhood photo of the two sisters?

"How do you know Talulah? Where did you see her?"

Overcome with excitement, Ch'en knocked over her teacup and grabbed Mizuki by the shoulders. She had truly never imagined that she would hear Talulah's name from someone else through such a coincidence.

"I... I don't know her..."

Mizuki put down his teacup and could not help holding his head. Yet there was no sign of him remembering anything. Still, when he saw the photo, Talulah's name had indeed flashed through his mind.

He must have met Talulah somewhere, but right now, he did not even know who he was.

Ch'en also realized that she had gotten a little too worked up. She let out a breath, then looked at her soaked desk with a headache. She cleaned it up as she sat back down.

"Sorry, I got a little too excited. After all, I haven't had any news of her for many years. Sit down."

"I understand. I also want to know where my sister is."

After learning that he had a sister who was not related to him by blood, Mizuki could hardly say he did not want to find her. But now that he had only just settled down at Penguin Logistics, finding his sister would probably take some effort.

"You have a sister too?"

"Yes. Though we aren't related by blood, I miss her very much."

"Your memories..."

Ch'en looked somewhat puzzled. She also knew that Mizuki had amnesia, which was why she felt sorry for her earlier behavior. But why did it seem like Mizuki had recovered some of his memories?

"They haven't returned. Someone just told me that. It seems my memories will take some effort to recover."

Mizuki smiled and pointed at his head. He did not seem overly concerned about it, or perhaps he simply had a very easygoing personality.

"Since you know Talulah, you must have had some connection with her in the past. But you've forgotten everything..."

Ch'en found the feeling difficult to describe. If she had to give an example, it was like being accidentally dazzled by a light, feeling a sneeze coming on, and then being unable to sneeze.

"Sorry."

"No, you don't need to apologize. It isn't something you wanted. But at least I know that you and Talulah knew each other once. That proves you may have spent some time on the Snowfield of Ursus."

The Snowfield. The last information Ch'en had received about Talulah was that someone had seen her, covered in blood, entering the Snowfield of Ursus—a place many would rather die than visit.

"Also, Rhodes Island has submitted a docking application to Lungmen. The first group will arrive tomorrow. If we can learn something about you from them, perhaps it will help you remember something."

Ch'en rubbed her brow. She needed some time to think about how to bring this matter up appropriately during tomorrow's talks.

"Sorry, I need some space to think. Could you come by when you have time?"

"Okay."

Mizuki still had to take an accelerated driving test, so he left first. Ch'en rubbed her brow. After thinking for a moment, she still turned to look out the window.

"Talulah, where exactly are you?"

"Achoo!"

Talulah, who was studying a map, suddenly felt her nose itch and could not help sneezing. She wiped her nose, then looked at Alina beside her.

"So you're saying Ines and the others know Mizuki? No wonder they're so well-behaved."

Ines and the others had not been invited into Reunion by Talulah. They represented the people behind them. But after spending so many days with them, Talulah had more or less come to understand that this group of Sarkaz mercenaries might be rough and somewhat bloodthirsty, but they knew restraint. It seemed to have something to do with Mizuki, since his ability worked unconsciously.

"According to them, Mizuki half a year ago had no memory of ever visiting the Snowfield. But Talulah, you should understand, shouldn't you? The fact that I'm standing here proves that Mizuki's existence was not some illusion."

Alina gently placed a hand over her chest. Even through the fairly thick fat, she could feel the heart that had not originally belonged to her beating vigorously.

On that snowy afternoon, she had once stood at death's door. Even now, when she thought back on it, everything felt like a dream.

"Of course I know. Patriot and FrostNova know too. Forget it, Alina, come take a look. This is Chernobog's defense map, sent by our companions inside. In one week, we'll use the Catastrophe to take it swiftly."

"That's fine, but remember the resettlement work afterward. Our targets are only the Core City and industrial facilities. We can't drive those innocent civilians into a corner."

Alina nodded. If Reunion wanted to grow, it was impossible without an industrial base and territory of its own. Relying on Talulah's identity, Reunion could temporarily deceive Ursus, but Ursus would soon discover that the plan was not progressing as expected. That would be when Reunion had to face its real challenge.

"Don't worry. Even without the Core City, the other urban districts will be enough to sustain them until Ursus takes control again. Let's go. It's time to find our general."

Talulah put away the map and was about to leave when she suddenly remembered something.

"Say, if I told FrostNova that Mizuki found another girlfriend outside, would she blow up?"

"Then you'd better not sleep too deeply tonight, unless you want her stuffing ice cubes down the back of your neck in the middle of the night." Alina smiled and waved her fist. "And then I'll beat you flat."

"All right, all right, I get it. Mizuki belongs to your family, okay? Ow!"

The moment Talulah finished teasing her, Alina gave her a vicious smack on the head. Mizuki's heart had granted her new vitality, and it had also given the once-frail Alina strength comparable to Talulah and the others.

Back at the Sarkaz mercenaries' camp, W kept glancing at Ines, who was still pondering how to make dinner taste better. If W remembered correctly, Ines seemed to have some feelings for Mizuki, didn't she?

Ambush

It was a snowy night—no, strictly speaking, it was afternoon. It was just that heavy clouds had blotted out the sky. On the Snowfield of Ursus, there was no real distinction between morning and afternoon.

Alina only felt terribly cold. Her blood dyed the snow red, and her body was weak. The exiles Talulah had released had first chopped off her hand and taken the food she had traded for, then taken one of her legs to prevent her from sending a warning.