Léon: The Cat Killer

"So, you really don't want to see what Diana gave you at all?"

“...Diana…”

"An eternal constant, you still don't know the name of your 'mother'?"

Seeing the surprised look on Puff's face, Nana slightly turned her gaze away... If the other party meant that they learned the name of the ICA leader, 'Eternal Constant', through legitimate means—then Nana really didn't know.

After all, Nana learned the name 'Diana Ivy Walter' from the information in the 'Angel Project' facility... Due to the confidentiality level of this document, Nana had subconsciously sealed it in her mind.

So don't ask unless it's absolutely necessary; if you do, just say you don't know.

Speaking of this topic, the manager's surname 'Walter' is quite similar to the surname 'Wolter' of the white-haired man in front of her. If it were someone else, they would probably try to find out about their kinship... But it was Nana sitting here, and she just let the thought pass through her mind. Her brain cells did not retain any memory of this matter.

Ultimately, whether these two people are related or not, it won't affect their interpersonal distance from her. Nana emphasizes "it's none of my business" when it comes to this kind of issue.

In response, the silver-braided woman, who seemed to want Nana to beg her to reveal more about the manager, showed a very disappointed expression:

"Ugh... Nana is so cold."

"Do not look at what is improper, do not listen to what is improper, do not speak what is improper, do not do what is improper."

"You've integrated into the Yan culture quite quickly..."

As they chatted, Kal'tsit's affirmative "yes" came through the phone. While Puff excitedly clenched her fist, Nana noticed the weariness in Emerald Kal'tsit's voice.

Is it because Colombia is also going to join?

Kal'tsit had previously said that it was too early for her to appear under the nose of the Great Yan... But looking at it another way, since the Great Yan has begun to be influenced by Nana and has started to take action, it seems unusual that Columbia, the country that discovered it first, has remained inactive, as if it has ulterior motives.

Puff, as the leader of Colombia's highest combat power, personally placing Rhodes Island is probably a reflection of Colombia's attitude... at least, apart from Nana and the ICA, a relatively neutral organization, it represents the attitude of the pro-angel faction of the Colombian government.

Nana didn't know what the faction that the people who were nice to her belonged to was called, so she just called them the "pro-angel faction".

The assassin wasn't good at politics. As a frontline operative, her interest in analyzing clues had reached its limit at this level... And since Kal'tsit hadn't shown any clear refusal, Nana naturally wouldn't say anything more.

Of course, Nana should refuse those TDD crew members who want to come with her to Rhodes Island... Kal'tsit already has enough of a white-haired visitor, what are they planning to do with three marine squads, two armored pilots and a vice captain landing on Rhodes Island together?

Should we board Rhodes Island and seize control?

However, in order to monitor the TDD members to prevent them from having affairs behind Puff's back, and to check whether the package her manager sent her could be useful in the subsequent battles, Nana agreed to Puff's request to travel back to Rhodes Island with her.

Let's ignore the TDD crew's repeated requests for Nana to take good care of Puff... because they repeated it so many times that, according to their description, the TDD's beautiful captain seemed to be a canary who would trip over her own feet while walking, get diarrhea and collapse from drinking a little dirty water, and suffer an Oripathy attack and fart immediately after breathing in a breath of Originium engine exhaust.

"Don't worry about it, everyone is just being overprotective of me."

Nana tentatively accepted the explanation given by the puff pastry's waving hand and smiling.

"...Anyway, welcome to Rhodes Island... Shall I take you straight to see Kal'tsit?"

Even so, Nana checked the PRTS team status and saw that Kal'tsit was still in the operating room... Seeing this, Puff let Nana help her lift her small suitcase and readily agreed:

"If Lady Kal'tsit is still busy, Nana, would you like to show me around? Or shall I take you to unpack some packages? A lot of your equipment was packed for you by Diana and me... I also know how to use it and stuff~"

Rather than taking this white-haired girl to the logistics area filled with drones to act as a spatial obstacle, Nana, although she didn't believe that Puff was the kind of fragile porcelain doll that the TDD crew members described, but she understood to some extent what a treasure this child's brain was, still refused the request to let her enter the dangerous area for the sake of being safe.

Accidents like having your brain damaged by a drone or a TDD captain dying on the spot at Rhodes Island should ideally be avoided from the very beginning.

As for Nana's seemingly contagious "protective behavior" from her own crew, Puff could only puff out her cheeks and protest in a sullen voice:

"Hmm... Nana has become a boring adult now..."

"That's right, so would you still like to visit?"

The girl with the braided hair answered YES, of course.

Although Nana still felt that Miss Puff's description of Rhodes Island as a "lost legacy" was a bit biased, the fact that this large integrated medical ship, equipped with a natural disaster early warning platform and a laser mining module, had a troubled fate was still quite remarkable. It was a new land-based ship that had been built for seven years, had undergone more than three major repairs during its short service life, and was still only just restored to a "usable" state.

Nana still remembers the embarrassment of not having done any interior outfitting when she first boarded this ship with her kitten. Kal'tsit actually just put on the hull and drove this thing to pick her up... Now, thinking back, the assassin can even imagine how that Emerald Feline would come looking for her as if her tail was on fire after hearing about her or Rosemary.

Although, having experienced the 'Holy Remains' and 'Mass-Produced Angels' incidents, it seemed perfectly natural for Kal'tsit to react that way towards her, given her 'halo', the contrast between her cold expression and her frantic, almost haphazard, attempts to activate the still-unfinished Rhodes Island from Kazdel to Columbia just to pick her and the kitten was truly hilarious.

Letting her thoughts wander, Nana completed the advance registration using her PRTS privileges and, with the captain sporting braids, entered the 130,000-ton land-based warship from the mid-deck pier...

The middle deck, which is the third and fourth deck of the ship, mainly houses the crew living facilities and supply storage center of the Rhodes Island main ship. It has crew living quarters (operator dormitories), a canteen, a botanical garden and other facilities. The supply store run by Kroos and the "One More Drink" bar operated by the Logistics Department are also located here.

Because the mid-deck is a relatively safe area in the structure of a land-based ship that is not easily damaged by external forces, it is also where Rhodes Island's important assets are located, including the server room for the PRTS core system.

For similar reasons, the medical center and inpatient ward of the medical department are also located at the rear of the mid-deck to house infected individuals who come to Rhode Island for help.

Even though Nana hadn't paid attention to the outfitting progress of Rhodes Island's internal facilities for a long time, seeing that most of the facilities were now in use, the white-haired, braided captain's visit was no longer as embarrassing as it had been in the past when she boarded the ship only to find that the place was completely blank.

As a must-see for most visitors, the Rhode Island Inpatient Center handles an unusually large number of people for a hospital. To be honest, Nana didn't find it particularly interesting...

The decor is white, with white non-slip flooring and gray area indicator strips. Standard multi-functional hospital beds are arranged in groups of five on each side.

Each ward has ten beds, with two beds sharing a pillar-type medical support system and each having its own bedside table neatly arranged. Finally, there are circular ceiling lights arranged according to the area, and curtains that can be pulled up next to the lights to create private areas.

In Nana's view, this was just an ordinary ward for mild cases, with the addition of gravity-type emergency partitions that could be used to create a solid isolation zone at any time to ensure that patients with Oripathy whose condition suddenly worsened would not cause secondary harm to others... According to Nana's memory, this thing had never been activated.

After all, it seems that nothing like the sudden deterioration of a patient's condition, which would ruin the reputation of the attending physician, has ever happened at Rhodes Island.

The captain of the Columbia special forces warship, after toying with his braid, remarked: "So this is the final configuration that balances patient capacity and safety? The medical system alone seems to be among the top-tier in Columbia's star rating system; the initial investment was very high... No wonder only Rhodes Island is willing to provide Oripathy specialist treatment..."

"The main reason is that there's not much money to be made in orthokeratology hospitals."

"Was it really necessary to be so blunt?"

With a slightly amused expression, Puff followed Nana to the Rhodes Island cafeteria.

"Oh! It's very clean, and the decor is a simple, modern style. I love it here!"

Yes, Nana also really likes her newly renovated dining hall. Especially after experiencing the period when Rhodes Island was drafty and used industrial lighting, Nana is very emotional about how well the ship is now dressed up.

Look at the warm-toned decor, the well-arranged tables, the non-slip flooring that is the same as that in the inpatient department, the ample lighting that will fully showcase the deliciousness of the food, and the color strips that indicate the queue for staff and visitors to eat have been changed to a more eye-catching yellow... This is quite different from the inpatient department that emphasizes cleanliness and tidiness.

Regardless of the location, Rhodes Island's interior design has a strong industrial style. The overwhelming smell of engine oil is something Nana can't help but think that Kroos was involved in... Well done. Nana, who hasn't seen much of Rhodes Island since returning in the past few years, also thinks that Rhodes Island is very beautiful now.

Let's keep putting aside the matter of Kroos tricking Kitten into buying archer gloves for a gunner operator like herself... until Nana finds a suitable reason to vent her anger before settling scores with that cola-flavored Blood Demon.

……

"However, not all of Rhodes Island is so glamorous..."

Watching Nana 'fight' against the door that just wouldn't open, with a cup of milk tea in her hand that she had brought out from the cafeteria using her employee card, the braided girl's smile was somewhat gloating.

"It looks like the malfunction might be caused by a mechanical failure or a bug in the control program... Nana, don't you need my help?"

"Don't move around..."

This warning to the white-haired elf, whom the TDD group treated like a treasure, was mainly to warn her not to die in her own home... The assassin frowned slightly, suppressing the urge to violently break down the control panel. After glancing at the text message from Kal'tsit that she was waiting for, Nana patiently opened the control panel and tried to repair it.

What was supposed to be a simple guided tour turned into a nightmare when Nana and her guests were blocked by a door after entering the Rhodes Island staff area.

Nana had just mentioned that Rhodes Island had only recently completed its outfitting and opened to the public, and then they found themselves blocked on their only way... Whether it was because of her praise of Rhodes Island or because Nana was rushing to pick up a package and then go back to prepare for the second round of the Sea King Hunt... it was really frustrating.

Watching Nana contact 'Kroos' and request that the other party over-control the command center, which failed, and then call the senior engineer named 'Wendy', only to find that the other party was busy with some kind of hospital ward water circulation modification and couldn't come, the white-haired captain... Puff, who was also a land-based ship expert in a way, looked at the seemingly extremely depraved assassin girl with amusement and said:

"So, you really don't need my help? I'm actually an engineering major."

“But I feel that if I put you in this kind of job, all my previous insistence will be wasted… If all else fails, I’ll just have to break it down by force… This is actually a major traffic artery…”

Although Nana said that, seeing the cat killer's hesitant look, the white-haired young captain smiled and squatted down, flicking the disassembled control panel with his hand. After scanning it for a moment, he had Nana disconnect two wires:

"Yes, these two... peel the wire insulation off, then connect this here, and that there... Okay, all done!"

With a 'whoosh', the ship malfunction that had previously seemed impossible to resolve without a senior engineer's intervention appeared to be easily resolved... Facing Nana's gaze, which seemed to recognize her as someone new, the white-haired girl smiled shyly:

"Even if Diana taught you very seriously and made you know a little bit about everything, everyone has their own expertise~ Is there a problem with me being more familiar with land-based ships?"

"...I'm just glad that I didn't bring anyone else along..."

Otherwise, given Puff's technical ability to open the door to Rhodes Island's staff with just a quick glance, it seems that Nana's worries about this group conquering Rhodes Island might not be unfounded.

Puff probably didn't realize Nana's subtext; she seemed completely unaware of the psychological pressure her tampering with someone else's access control had put on the cat... The silver-haired girl simply continued walking with the other person.

As the passageway narrowed after entering the staff area, the silver-haired girl with braided pigtails showed a nostalgic expression:

"Once you get here, it's just like any other ship."

"...What's the same as what?"

"The width of the corridor... After all, even in the company headquarters, I imagine only public areas like the inpatient ward and the cafeteria have such spacious furnishings... It's normal here."

Following the girl's description, Nana tilted her head:

"As an employee passageway, this is already the narrowest passageway on Rhodes Island."

"For a land-based ship... especially an experimental ship like the TDD that needs to be submerged, this is already quite a wide passageway... On my end, this width is enough for everyone to run in an emergency. So even a slowpoke who trips over something—huh?!"

Okay, here comes the slowpoke. The culprit is a protruding section of pipe, probably a temporary fly wire.

Despite facing an obstacle, Miss Puff seemed engrossed in chatting with Nana, and ended up getting bumped on the shoulder.

Normally, if someone is bumped while walking, they would only stagger slightly and then return to normal... But in Nana's eyes, the braided girl in front of her seemed to have no weight at all. When she was hit by the pipe, she spun around and landed on her back with a thud.

Nana didn't try to pull her up, because this white-haired sprite's balance was far worse than Nana had expected... If she had grabbed her in that state, with her spinning around like that, the damage from grabbing her arm would probably have been far greater than the damage from falling to the ground...

Looking at Puff, who was crying out in pain on the ground and then silently getting up, Nana now had to think about what the TDD crew members had said... that the girl in front of her had a high probability of being a joke on Rhodes Island.

"What do you mean you might encounter danger on Rhodes Island? With your ability to bump into obstacles even on flat ground, I think you've basically given up on leaving the island..."

"Hey, I can hear you!"

With puffed-out cheeks, he followed Nana's footsteps, and the two of them passed through the staff passage to the medical department.

After nodding in the direction that was empty but had a familiar aura, Nana knocked on the door of Kal'tsit's office... Following her conversation with the Great Flame Dragon Gate, the representative of the second core circle nation formally requested a meeting with Rhodes Island... no, with the silent guardian of the land, the eternally unchanging Lady Kal'tsit.

"Nice to meet you~"

Although the fall was slightly embarrassing, Miss Puff's attitude at this moment is impeccable:

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Kal'tsit!"

PS: Waaaaaah, kitty

PS2: This volume is roughly about everyday conversations during the day, and then transforming into a hunter to hunt nightmares at night...

PSSS: But compared to the plot, I think what's more difficult is my current physical condition... I'm seriously considering taking a break in June...

9th Dragon Gate Seafood: 342 Welcoming Dusk

Nana was a little unsure how to describe the current scene... Although the captain had previously expressed her fervent respect for Kal'tsit as if she were a fan, seeing this guy who could trip even on flat ground (as has been proven) taking three steps at a time and then rushing forward with shining eyes to shake hands, Nana stood there speechlessly for a while.

It turned out that, apart from shaking Kal'tsit's hand up and down, creating afterimages, Puff didn't seem to have done anything else. After making eye contact with Emerald Felin and receiving a nod in response, the assassin quietly slipped out of the office.

Listening to them talk about book titles that Nana had never heard of before, and occasionally spouting professional terms she had never even heard of, Nana finally realized that they had actually designed the TDD airship and commanded that ship to achieve victory in a head-on confrontation with Siesta and Haisi not long ago.

This girl is truly a genius; I always subconsciously overlooked that... probably because she seemed a bit silly before.

So, this person can really trip and fall on flat ground... So, would she get diarrhea if she drank Rhodes Island's standard drinking water?

Nana couldn't help but start to wonder about this.

However, regardless of the circumstances, it's still a bit too much to ask a frontline combatant who already has other missions to worry about the health of vulnerable friendly units.

So, after sending Puff's physical condition to Kal'tsit and having her resident trainee and assistant, Aya, inform the emergency department to prepare to help the fragile elf, Nana thought about the work at hand... She mentally wrote down all the ultimate enemies that kept her up at night, such as Hai Si and the demons, in her little notebook, and then returned to the corridor door that Puff had just solved in a few words.

Sure enough, before continuing with my work, I need to address the blind spots in the security mechanisms that I've identified.

At least replace the electronic lock that you disassembled with a brand new one.

"...Why is this door still under repair?"

"W齐磷坝儛肆流扒qi祁箘?"

Looking at the Sarkaz beauty she hadn't seen in a long time, Nana temporarily put down the magnetic card lock she had just removed and revealed a slight smile:

"Long time no see, how have you been?"

"What do you mean 'long time no see'? You've clearly forgotten that I'm still waiting for you... Well, lately... it's just so-so... I'm still alive for now."

Although it was just a normal conversation, Nana still had a vague feeling that... the W in front of her was surprisingly in a slightly depressed state.

It's surprising that this guy who was crazy on the battlefield now seems surprisingly quiet... So the question is, isn't it strange that W is depressed?

And the second investigation led to the three garments...

"Waiting for me?"

Seeing Nana tilting her head thoughtfully, W's expression instantly turned fierce:

"You... don't tell me you forgot? Do you want me to remind you? By the way, my reminders are always quite impactful..."

Watching W pull out a bag with a strong Originium aura and toss it around, Nana sighed and stood up speechlessly.

"It's about the Doctor again? No... It's been a year since you brought the Doctor back... at least half a year... and you haven't even met with her?"