Skadi, I Have a Girlfriend

Texas silently glanced at her hair and thought, Fuck it, I'm dyeing it white tonight.

"So, to sum it all up, it's obvious that this is..."

Skadi patted her chest, and the resulting waves instantly sent Exusiai's blood pressure soaring. She thought, So what if you've got a great figure? If you weren't Mizuki's sister, I'd punch you flat!

At that outrage against heaven and humanity, a voice appeared in the bar—calm, with a hint of madness and delight, and even more joy.

"Ah, are you talking about me?"

Elegantly leaning against the stair railing, one hand lightly resting over her chest, Laurentina smiled at everyone. Her cheeks were still slightly flushed, as though she were embarrassed by what had just been said.

"Shark from Squad Two, what are you doing here!?"

Skadi's mouth fell open in shock. Laurentina's appearance surprised her even more than finding Mizuki.

"Oh my, this sister knows me? That's wonderful. Then you must support Mizuki and me getting married, right?"

"What nonsense are you spouting? How could I possibly agree? I'm the most ideal person for Mizuki to marry! We even used to sleep together!"

Had she met Laurentina before this, Skadi would definitely have been shocked and happily reunited with her former companion. But now, Mizuki was her highest principle. There was no way she would give him up!

"But we slept together last night too, you know. Along with that little sister over there."

The moment those words came out, Skadi froze. Mizuki seemed to hear the sound of glass shattering beside his ear.

As if that were not enough, the devious Laurentina pretended to be innocent and lightly bit her finger.

"That little sister lasted three hours back then. She was only a little worse than me."

With a crack, Skadi's Dao heart instantly shattered. Mizuki could feel as though something within her had awakened.

Grinding her teeth, burning with deep hatred—no words could describe Skadi's current feelings. She had gone through countless hardships to find her beloved little brother, only to discover someone had stolen a bite of him!

And the one who had stolen Mizuki was her former good teammate!

"Laurentina! I'm fucking going to kill you!"

Penguin Logistics Got Wrecked Again, Again, Again

How had this happened? Skadi's head was full of questions.

She had finally found the beloved little brother she had searched so desperately for, and had also encountered the companion she once believed would never appear again, someone long buried beneath the sea. Those two things together should have meant double the happiness. Why had things turned out like this?

Skadi's gaze turned cold. Exusiai could be set aside for now, but Specter absolutely could not be spared. A voice in the depths of her heart told her: Beat her! Beat her to death! Take Mizuki back!

Thus, as expected, Penguin Logistics exploded again.

With a boom, the tempered glass in Penguin Logistics' bar display window shattered under the intense blast of air. Pedestrians on the street jumped in fright. Fortunately, shattered tempered glass did not leave dangerous sharp edges, and the force sending it flying was not too great, so it did not hurt much when it hit someone.

"What happened? What happened?"

People anxiously looked around. Previously, the secret conflict between Columbia's military and the Melnade Foundation had caused numerous explosions in Lungmen, leaving Wei Yenwu with an extremely ugly expression. He had taken the opportunity to clean out a group of usually disobedient mafiosos and declared that if Columbia's people still dared to be this arrogant, they could wait to negotiate with Great Yan.

As for ordinary citizens, they could only feel that Lungmen seemed less safe than before. Lungmen had slums and gangs too, but with Wei Yenwu in charge, any gang that dared lay a hand on civilians would not end well.

But so many explosions had already left people unsettled. Now there was another one. How could anyone not worry?

Yet when they saw the Penguin Logistics sign hanging beside the exploded bar, all the pedestrians merely wore expressions of complete familiarity.

"Oh, Penguin Logistics blew up. I was wondering what happened."

"Come on, it's no big deal. At most, they're shooting it out with some gang again. Want to go watch?"

"Forget it, I'm rushing home for dinner. Wait, didn't we bet last time on whether Penguin Logistics would blow up within a week? Pay up!"

If somewhere else had exploded, everyone would certainly have been panicking. But if it was Penguin Logistics, it was hardly surprising. Out of ten explosions in all of Lungmen, eight could be tied to them.

However, this time really had not been an explosion. It was merely an air-pressure blast caused by the collision between Laurentina and Skadi.

The greatsword and circular saw collided, and the sparks illuminated Skadi and Laurentina's faces. The former was icy, the latter mad. Skadi could tell that Laurentina was seriously different from when they had known each other before, but her anger had already gone to her head, leaving her no mind for anything else.

"Damn... aren't these two a little too ridiculous?"

Her hair blown into disarray, Croissant could not help complaining. Even the tempered glass had been shattered. A pit nearly half a meter deep had caved in beneath Laurentina and Skadi's feet, and everyone had nearly been blown away just now.

"A fight between two Abyssal Hunters is extremely destructive. Superintendent Chen, please evacuate the surrounding area immediately!"

Kal'tsit understood Skadi's combat ability best. Considering Laurentina was also an Abyssal Hunter, even if she could only display half her strength on land, this place could not withstand it. Skadi and Specter alone were enough to tear down this city. Even if Wei Yenwu's Black Raincoats could stop them, there would certainly be heavy casualties.

Mizuki, on the other hand, was completely fine. When Skadi and Specter collided, the tentacles swiftly formed a wall in front of him, protecting Exusiai, Texas, and Sora as well.

"Why are they fighting?"

Rubbing his brow, Mizuki rushed forward. From the commotion caused by Skadi and Specter's last clash alone, he had no doubt they could demolish the whole street within a minute.

And this seemed to have started because of him, so Mizuki felt responsible for stopping it.

"Laurentina!"

"Oh? Are you angry?"

Skadi swung her greatsword. She needed no technique. As long as she swung fast enough and hard enough, that was sufficient.

In comparison, Specter moved as elegantly as though she were dancing. Though mad, she knew her strength was inferior to Skadi's, so she tried to avoid taking attacks directly. Skadi likewise had to be wary of her circular saw's sharpness.

Every collision between the two damaged the surrounding environment. A single blow from Skadi's sword into the ground could send cracks spreading all the way to the wall opposite.

"Well, this safehouse is uninhabitable now too."

Texas covered her face helplessly. Thankfully, this bar only had two floors. None of them dared intervene in Laurentina and Skadi's fight. Mizuki, meanwhile, was not worried about getting hurt at all. He had confidence in his recovery ability.

Skadi and Laurentina were both monsters, because their enemies were monsters too. Only monsters could fight monsters. Yet when Mizuki approached, before he even spoke, the motions of the two women raising their weapons suddenly halted in midair.

For some reason, although they were still furious, their bodies simply would not obey them. They could not even turn their heads.

"Honestly, why are you sisters fighting? You're about to tear this whole place apart."

Mizuki could not help complaining. Though he did not know what had happened to them, he was still happy to see his two sisters lower their weapons.

What's going on? My body won't obey me?

Skadi could not help thinking that. Her consciousness was clearly still there, yet she could not command her body.

Laurentina was not panicked at all. The madness in her eyes gradually faded, and she seemed to understand something. Her body suddenly became able to move again, but she did not seize the opportunity to attack Skadi. Instead, she put away her weapon and gave Mizuki a slight bow with reverence and respect.

"If this is your will, then I shall obey it."

Those words left Mizuki somewhat confused, but he still walked over to Skadi, opened his arms, and hugged her.

The anger in her heart was suppressed. With Mizuki stopping her, Skadi could not possibly want to hurt him, so she could only abandon the thought of continuing the fight. Then she discovered that she could move as well.

"This is..."

Kal'tsit, who had just been considering how to stop this situation, froze where she stood. Though she was not an Abyssal Hunter, she was certain that Skadi and Laurentina had been locked in place because of Mizuki. It was an unconscious suppression from a superior being.

So Mizuki was Skadi and Laurentina's superior? No, he was the superior of the Seaborn blood within their bodies!

But Kal'tsit knew people within the Church of the Deep, and she knew very well what was inside Skadi. If Mizuki could make Skadi stop moving too, did that mean he was even higher-ranking than the Firstborn of the Seaborn Brood?

Kal'tsit suddenly realized that Mizuki seemed even more important than she had thought. This unconscious act of stopping two Abyssal Hunters was enough to prove it.

If someone like him was not brought to Rhodes Island, would that not be an enormous loss? No, what did she mean, brought? He was already from Rhodes Island!

"Don't be angry, okay, Sis?"

Mizuki reached out and rubbed Skadi's head. He had originally wanted to introduce his girlfriend Exusiai to Skadi, but it seemed better to forget it for now. He was afraid Skadi would go berserk and chop Exusiai up on the spot.

"..."

Skadi remained silent, but chose to hold Mizuki in her arms, applying just a little force to express her dissatisfaction. Yet that was all the dissatisfaction she could show.

There was no helping it. This was her little brother. What else could she do but spoil him?

Mizuki Has Another Woman Outside

Late at night, in the Ecology Department office of Rhine Lab in Trimmounts, Columbia, Muelsyse looked over the various reports before her and could not help leaning back in her chair with a long sigh.

"Honestly... how did it turn into this?"

With a headache coming on, Muelsyse had never expected that while she was searching everywhere for Mizuki's whereabouts, he would end up in Columbia's military's hands. He had even sparked a conflict between the military and the Melnade Foundation, only to now be left in Lungmen.

Still, that was not bad. Thanks to him staying in Lungmen—Exusiai: Yeah, sure—if Mizuki had truly been brought back to Columbia, Muelsyse would have had a much harder time. Rescuing her boyfriend would certainly offend either the Melnade Foundation or the military, and then she would have to consider keeping Rhine Lab out of it.

"This is the person you've been thinking about day and night?"

Holding a cup of coffee and placing it on the desk, Kristen looked at the documents. Mizuki's matter involved the conflict between Columbia's two greatest powers, and investigating the inside story was not easy. Muelsyse had even gone so far as to ask Yara, the head of Human Resources, for help before obtaining the relevant documents behind the incident.

"Yeah. Tch, don't be fooled by that innocent smile of his, like some adorable little puppy. He's actually terribly sly, and he's ridiculously good at flirting. The key is, he doesn't like keeping his feelings hidden, you know? When he liked me, he just said it outright."

At the mention of Mizuki, Muelsyse spoke as though complaining, but the affection in her eyes could not be hidden. Kristen rarely saw her like this. After hesitating for a moment, she still decided not to tell Muelsyse about what Yara had discovered: that Mizuki had lost his memories and had a new girlfriend. She was afraid her pillow would be soaked with ice water when she slept tonight.

"You met him in Sami?"

"Yeah. Mai-Mai told me there were members of my race in Sami, so I went to take a look, and I happened to run into him."

It had been a chance encounter, but one Muelsyse would never forget. The snowfields were dangerous. Setting aside the ferocious beasts, the extremely low temperatures and blizzards alone had buried the bones of countless people.

Yet Mizuki had been walking alone through the snow beneath an umbrella, without leaving even a single footprint.

They traveled together, heading toward the secluded refuge of the elves. But Muelsyse, an elf herself, was disappointed. She felt she did not belong there. She no longer had a family.

Mizuki had merely comforted her. Falling in love with Mizuki had been an easy thing. Muelsyse's confession to him had felt entirely natural.

"Honestly, it was bad enough that he made a girl confess first. Then he said something like, 'If I come back, I'll definitely say yes,' without even telling me where he was going."

Twining a finger through her hair, Muelsyse could not help pouting. He could have just agreed directly. Instead, he made her take action in the middle of the night, and after their intimate night together, Mizuki vanished early the next morning.

"Eternal001, the Immortal—that's the title Columbia's military gave him?"

Kristen sipped her tea. She had read this report as well. It recorded in detail how a Columbia snowfield expedition team had, by chance, entered the deeper north. According to them, they had heard an extremely terrifying sound at the time, but driven by adventure, recklessness, and curiosity, they headed toward its source.

"All sounds disappeared, a massive iceberg, a cave... that's all?"

"There's no helping it. The remaining files were strictly sealed away as physical documents, and Director Yara couldn't access them either. Tch. But according to Melnade's agent reports from Lungmen, Mizuki seems to have lost his memories."

This was what displeased Muelsyse most. Mizuki had amnesia. Did that not mean all the progress she had made with him had been reset to zero? Damn it!

"But at least he's in Lungmen. I heard he even joined Penguin Logistics. He's not in the military's or Melnade's hands."

"Um... Muelsyse, have you considered one possibility?"

Though Kristen herself was a committed single woman—or perhaps simply someone with no real need for romance—as Muelsyse's close friend and confidante, she felt it necessary to remind Muelsyse what color was currently on top of her head.

"Huh? What?"

"You said Mizuki lost his memories. Is it possible he fell for someone else? I heard all the Penguin Logistics employees are very pretty girls."

With a clatter, the coffee cup fell to the floor and shattered. Muelsyse suddenly realized something else: her boyfriend was not simply good at attracting attention. He himself was a remarkable flower, the kind anyone would be unable to resist plucking.

"I'm taking leave!!"

Muelsyse grabbed Kristen's hand, her eyes full of determination.

"How long?"

"One marriage leave and one maternity leave! Paid!"

Maternity leave and paid leave together would amount to roughly a year. That was Muelsyse's determination. She would find Mizuki, and even if she had to tie him up, she would bring him back!

Back in Lungmen, Mizuki suddenly felt a chill down his spine. He tried to struggle free from Skadi's embrace, but failed.

"Sis, I can't cook if you hold me like this."

Because of Skadi and Laurentina's fight, Penguin Logistics had lost another safehouse. Fortunately, the safehouse that had previously been blown up had already been repaired. Mizuki's room had not been affected too badly, aside from losing one wall and gathering a little more dust.

However, Skadi and Laurentina were the real headache. The two of them were now like guardians at his left and right. Wherever Mizuki went, they followed.

Skadi seemed worried that Mizuki would suddenly vanish from the world again. She even tightly hugged his waist while he cooked. Skadi's figure truly was outrageously good, and Mizuki's head did not feel uncomfortable pressed against it, but still...

"Damn it, damn it, that's my boyfriend!"

Lying at the doorway, Exusiai understood for the first time what it meant for strength to let someone do whatever they wanted. If she could beat Skadi, she would love nothing more than to punch her flying. Of course, if she rushed out now, Skadi would probably kill her with a single punch.

Looks like I'll have to spend some effort comforting Xiao Le tonight.

Mizuki thought so helplessly. After all, Exusiai was his girlfriend. Of course she would get jealous. Compared to... Hm, why had he instinctively compared Exusiai to someone else? Who had he just been trying to remember?

Exusiai was cheerful and lively, but Mizuki knew her heart was actually delicate, and she could be a little stubborn.

"Sis."

"Hmm?"

"I really like Xiao Le as my girlfriend."