Saiyan stowaways on the Ark

Nian presented his reasons with great conviction.

"I think hiring someone to bomb it would have a lower impact."

However, everyone present was convinced that her logic was still flawed, but people stopped at making fun of her and did not delve into it further.

After all, Sarkaz, who are mostly orphans and widows, don't really understand family relationships.

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Eleven - Without Such Worldly Desires

"You're their leader, right? Even if it's a mission, it's too easy for one person to come with us alone. Don't they need you to lead them?"

This was restored years ago in a small hut originally intended for overnight stays.

However, there are now two more beds prepared for the newly joined companions.

The extra figures added a touch of liveliness to the not-so-spacious room.

The four beds were crammed into the same room, without any special separation. The one speaking in the room was Thomas, and the person he was asking was W, who had just finished eating and was lying on the soft bed with his legs crossed, seemingly lost in thought or asleep.

"I'm a mercenary captain, not a babysitter."

Clearly, even a high-end bed that she hadn't slept in for months, even one personally crafted by Nian, wouldn't make W so easily lower her guard and enjoy a good night's sleep.

As soon as Thomas finished speaking, W remained in that position, flicking its tail that was sprawled on the bed, and answered without moving its body.

"Besides, you've made me lose face enough in front of them, so I had to make amends. That's why I accepted the commission as if we were old friends, instead of making it seem like I was being threatened by you."

At this point, W, who was lying on his back, rolled over so that his face was facing the wall and his back was facing Tomat. At the same time, his tail seemed to be expressing his owner's displeasure by swinging and swaying in the air.

"You're surprisingly honest." Honesty isn't a word that's appropriate to use to praise mercenaries, but Tomat still used it to describe this Sarkaz mercenary he had only met once before.

"I only use my leeway in situations where I am in a good position, and I only use my mockery on prey that I know well. You can think I'm crazy, but don't think I'm stupid. I know very well what happens when you're glib."

This collaboration, though described as employment, was in some ways more akin to coercion. Although it appeared to be a lucrative deal on the surface, it was ultimately successful due to W's concerns about "what would happen if he refused."

Although neither Nian nor Tomat, as the employers, showed any overtly hostile intentions, the current passive situation still made this mercenary, who always took the initiative in various matters or made ample preparations before acting, feel quite uncomfortable.

She frankly admitted that she didn't have much free time, and then sat up and walked to the door after hearing footsteps and conversations outside the lounge.

As the door opened, two familiar figures, already dressed in clean clothes, entered the room chatting and laughing.

That was Nian, wearing a loose-fitting white yukata with a gold dragon pattern, her forehead still steaming from the hot water.

And there was Kroos, who had been washed clean, changed into a relatively clean bathrobe, and whose face was flushed from being soaked too long.

"Phew~ beer, beer~~ Even though it's not ice-cold, it feels so good to have a can after a bath. Your camp has a lot of good stuff."

Holding a can of beverage printed with Colombian words, she sat down on the soft mattress. Her whole body, including her ample figure under the loose bathrobe, bounced slightly due to the softness of the mattress. She lifted one of her jade-like feet from under the bathrobe and placed it on her other thigh, wiggling her toes and shaking the slippers on it.

Her white hair, still damp from her bath, was disheveled, and she looked no less elegant than any lady from a prominent family, yet she still struck a casual pose in front of others without any airs.

He took a big gulp of beer, then patted the mattress and said to Kroos, who was already bouncing on it:

"Are you going to sleep with me tonight?"

"Yes! Yes! This place is amazing! The hot water is so comfortable! The bed is big and soft, much better than caves or anything like that!"

Kroos wagged its tail and jumped from its empty bed to Nian's side, sprawled out, and began to roll around on the bed where Nian was already sitting.

"Now it's my turn to wash—no objections, right?"

W had already stepped out the door and was talking to Thomas when she "casually" closed the door with her tail. Before the person she was asking for a reply could answer, her footsteps faded into the distance as she headed towards the bathroom that she had casually built that year.

Although she felt uncomfortable with her current employment relationship, W knew how to enjoy life to the fullest. Just as she wouldn't refuse the food and lodging provided by Nian, she wouldn't hesitate to enjoy a bath, a rare treat in these ruins.

—Then, just a few seconds later, W shouted, “Why does this bathroom look like a dye vat? How much grime did that guy rub off?”

At this moment, Nian was rubbing Kroos's long, smooth, and shiny yellow hair with a mischievous grin, but the latter did not know that the "that guy" W was talking about was referring to himself.

Then she looked at Thomas, who was sitting on the bed in a meditation-like posture with a half-asleep expression, and asked with a teasing smile:

"Wouldn't it be too exciting for you to share a room with a beautiful woman and a cute girl?"

Of course, Nian was referring to himself and Kroos—W aside, Nian was still very confident in his appearance. As for Kroos, after Nian cleaned her up with more than ten cubic meters of water, he could tell that Kroos was a beauty in the making, but her young age and personal experiences had left her with some flaws.

"you..."

Thomas placed his hands on his knees, opened his eyes, and looked at Nian, who had a mischievous grin on his face.

It's not that they weren't beautiful as women—in fact, strictly speaking, most of the women Tomat met after arriving in Terra, especially his colleagues, could be described as "dignified in appearance," and Nian was an outstanding beauty among them.

Add to that the bathrobe she was wearing that could be described as revealing, her figure accentuated by the slight dampness after her bath, and the faint mist that shrouded her.

Imagine a man and a seemingly innocent-looking girl with animal ears speaking such provocative words in front of you—who wouldn't be...?

Are you drunk?

...unmoved?

Thomas was confused, and the expression on his face when he said that almost reminded Nian of another operator on Rhodes Island known as The Undertaker.

"Ha! That's so disrespectful."

In fact, Nian didn't expect anything special to happen. It was just a whim that she teased her companion, whose age was much different from hers according to the file.

Tomat's reaction wasn't entirely unexpected for her; in fact, it led her to some other conclusions:

"At least react in a way that matches your physical age, though you might actually be the type who 'has actually lived a long time'."

Knowing that Nian was just joking, Tomat responded quite honestly:

“I wanted to react mentally, but my body told me that I didn’t have any worldly desires.”

[Main Text] Uninvited Guest: Chapter Twelve - Rhodes Island Past

Before everyone finished their bedtime routines, the sound of drizzling rain came from outside. Just like the dense clouds seen when arriving at the ruins of Kazdel, it was predictable that the toxic rain, mixed with a large amount of Originium, would relentlessly pour down on the land that was already barren due to war and natural disasters.

The dimly lit city, devoid of any light, appeared somewhat brighter due to the faint energy emitted by the collision of tiny Originium particles.

The people and animals living in this area have long been accustomed to this dangerous climate, or rather, this level of Originium contamination is far less significant than a real natural disaster or a threat caused by human activity.

However, getting used to something doesn't mean being happy to accept it. Most of the people who gather here are only forced to accept their current situation because they have nowhere else to go or for other reasons.

Even this hastily created, somewhat cramped little house, was a rare and precious refuge for the local residents.

"What a convenient ability, Originium Arts? Or something else? Oh well, it doesn't matter."

After taking a bath, W changed into the red and black dress she had worn in Chernobog, but she removed part of the outer skirt and wore only a black, body-tight undershirt so as not to disturb her sleep.

Instead of using the bedding that Nian had casually made, she folded it into a neat square and leaned against the bed. Her feet, encased in black stockings with hexagonal patterns, occasionally brushed against the smooth sheets, while her sharp tail swung to the side. The redness and swelling caused by Thomas's pulling on her had disappeared after her bath.

W casually commented on Nian's abilities, and then, when Tomat went to wash up and was not present, she asked about some things that she had always cared about.

As a mercenary entrusted with a mission, it's not surprising that he would ask the client about mission-related matters. However, what W wanted to ask at this moment was not about the mission itself, but about Rhodes Island.

"I heard you say before that you wanted your sister to join Rhodes Island. I know that guy is from Rhodes Island, so you are too?"

The "that guy" W was referring to was naturally Tomat. Although she didn't know why she wanted to know about Rhodes Island, she was well aware of how much pressure it would be to negotiate with Tomat. Even though it was just wishful thinking on her part, W still thought it would be much easier to talk to Nian than to talk to Tomat.

Why would a mere mercenary be interested in Rhodes Island?

Nian gently stroked the head of Kroos, who was lying on his lap with drool almost dripping down his face, making him so comfortable that he almost fell asleep right away. When responding to W's question, his gaze never moved.

She continued, "I know you. During the Lungmen offensive of the Reunion Movement, you were in charge of leading the Sarkaz mercenaries sent by that brat Theresis. Even before that, you were a well-known Laterano assassin. More than half of the Laterano goods in the Kazdel black market's 'Scar Market' were supplied by you."

Theresis – the nominal ruler of Kazdel, and currently the supreme commander of the Sarkaz.

However, due to constant warfare, the entire royal court moved to Victoria, which is now without a ruler. While interfering in Victoria's internal affairs, it controls the territory of Kazdel, thousands of miles away.

Indeed, it was he who chose to establish a cooperative relationship with the Reunion Movement and send his own mercenaries to support them in order to acquire a group of infected people who were "of sufficient value".

However, judging from the casual changes of mercenary captains and the losses suffered by the mercenary forces after the defeat of the Reunion Movement, this king, who is thousands of miles away, does not seem to care much about these matters.

Now, setting aside Nian's unexpectedly detailed understanding of W and Theresis's current uncertain fate, the man who is undoubtedly a genuine "king" is being contemptuously called a "brat" by the woman in front of him.

"Maybe this woman is even more difficult to deal with than that bald man with the M-shaped hairline," W thought in an instant.

"Interest? I have no interest in pharmaceutical companies. Even if I weren't a mercenary, I wouldn't work in a pharmaceutical company."

W suppressed his inner emotions, maintaining his casual tone, emphasizing that he did not like a monotonous or rule-bound life, while also revealing his interest in the current state of Rhodes Island.

"I'm just curious, if a pharmaceutical company has people like you, what is it like now?"

"Um......"

Nian didn't ask any further questions, but paused slightly in stroking the fur on the Ceobe's ears, which caused the latter to hum softly and twitch its ears, seemingly having fallen asleep.

After a moment, she turned to W and replied with a slight smile:

"A chaotic scene? It's quite lively, though not exactly harmonious, but it's still a nice place, full of the warmth of everyday life, which I like very much. And right now I don't have any big plans, but I guess I will eventually. As for whether I can accomplish it, I don't care, I just want to watch."

"The combination of the older Felin and the younger Carter, plus an amnesiac weirdo, is inexplicable, but it is still quite orderly."

"Perhaps it's not as 'imposing' as before, but it's more harmonious."

"And I've also heard that Rhodes Island once absorbed a Sarkaz mercenary force..."

When W said the word "in the past," his tail twitched noticeably.

She turned her head and stared intently at Nian, who casually recounted Rhodes Island's past history, with her upright, brownish-yellow pupils. The playful expression that always played on W's lips vanished completely.

She stopped talking, offering no further questions or doubts, remaining silent just like Nian, who abruptly stopped mid-sentence. The only sounds that could be heard were the soft snores and sleep-talking of Kroos as she drifted off to sleep.

"Ah... Honey cake, don't run away... I won't eat you..."

W doesn't know if Nian deliberately revealed these things because she knew something about them, but it does suggest that she knows Rhodes Island better than she thinks—just like W herself.

However, the current plan has been disrupted by a sudden instability, and the sacrifices made to carry out the mission now seem exceptionally bitter.

"What's wrong, little Sarkaz girl? Your gaze isn't just 'interested' anymore. What are you unhappy about? Now that you've stopped hiding your true feelings with that contemptuous expression, what are you planning to show me—a member of Rhodes Island?"

The relentless questioning over the years felt like an omniscient person subtly coaxing the other person into revealing those things.

"You know a lot, but there are some things you don't know, and I'm too lazy to explain. I'm just a lone clown who put on a comedy without an audience, and nobody can laugh at it."

W experienced many things; the people he admired and the places he found solace in all vanished with an unexpected accident.

The regret caused by unfulfilled obligations and the tragedy that could not be prevented has been hidden under his casual and frivolous behavior. Years of words have stirred up the past, but W himself has not chosen to be open about it.

"Has anyone mentioned comedy? Are we going to watch movies all night or what?"

But Tomat's next sentence immediately broke the delicate atmosphere.

W breathed a sigh of relief at the man who always made her nervous, and Nian smiled, picked up Kroos lying on his lap, indicating that there was no movie to watch—it was just time to rest.