Léon: The Cat Killer

Cole had never imagined that anyone could be more worrisome than his own daughter. He patted his daughter's head, then sighed as he watched Nana's heartbeat return to normal.

Behind them, another land-based ship, even larger than Rhodes Island, made communication.

The hope guided by starlight has finally arrived.

And they will become the force that helps people emerge from the grief of the disaster and move forward.

The elite operators prevented the Blacksteel personnel from seeing Nana's hands or her face beneath her helmet... After taking away the contracted personnel and unclaimed reward supplies from the Blacksteel landship, Rhodes Island quickly changed course.

In the following meeting, Kal'tsit stated that healing Medic would be the primary task, and the ships would head to Kazdel with all their might. As for the originally planned ship outfitting mission in Rembito, Kal'tsit postponed it until Medic woke up.

There was no objection from the entire Rhodes Island community or from Princess Theresa.

Meanwhile, in Kazdel, the person who could cure Medic also received this news.

"..."

However… the hooded man with a chessboard on the table instinctively crumpled the telegram and casually tossed it into the trash can.

In her opinion, this was probably just Kal'tsit making the same mistake again, always bringing home strange little creatures for her.

But after she had done all that, she hesitated for a moment and then retrieved the telegram from the trash can.

She can be harsh and demanding to anyone in Terra, showing an indifferent attitude... but not to Kal'tsit.

But... Kal'tsit was something that person left for him...

"Hey……"

A few strands of white hair peeked out from under the hood as the hooded person moved.

A dull, weary sound echoed in the empty room.

"...Medic...isn't that name a bit too casual?"

P.S.: Ah Xi worked really hard today!

PS2: Waaaaaah, the Doctor makes an appearance too!

PS: Spoiler Alert:

The Doctor before his amnesia might have been a bit of a war criminal... after all, it was during the time of his deceased wife (Priss). In my version, the Doctor is portrayed as someone who raised Kal'tsit as a daughter...

In fact, no one said that the doctor had suffered from amnesia several times, but I'll just assume that she had never suffered from amnesia before.

Also, the setting of the PhD marrying the female PhD in my story... after all, it's an Otome game, and the characters are of special status.

In addition, she might be more like a native of a previous civilization now... We'll have to wait until Nana reluctantly pulls her out of the sarcophagus before her behavior and logic become like a 'player'.

3rd This land: 063 Awake

In the boundless light, Nana took a rare break.

The seemingly endless living room was filled with all sorts of things.

At the front of the line were various weapons. Nana had seen Andy standing in front of that closet, commenting on them, but whenever she tried to call out to him, he would vanish without a trace.

Cole prefers the musical instrument section... It's where you can find the guitar that disappeared in the explosion, and the white lady is still here... When he makes eye contact with Nana, she smiles and plucks the strings nostalgically.

Kate occupied the other side of the kitchen, and this fussy girl kept examining the dishes Nana had eaten all over the world in the refrigerator, saying strange things like, "I'll make this for Mia's bento next time."

Even the shy and socially awkward Colt and Kevin were amazed by Nana's book collection, but they were mostly uninterested in the thick volumes filled with words and numbers... Nana recommended that they look at the natural science section, where the books were illustrated with various pictures, allowing the twins, who hadn't traveled much, to travel the world just like Nana from the bookshelves.

The time I look forward to most each day is probably when the kitten goes home from school with its backpack.

However, her speech in front of Nana was intermittent, or it would be more appropriate to describe it as barely being able to make out her lip movements and not being able to hear her voice.

In the last couple of days, Nana has been able to clearly hear the kitten counting on its fingers and muttering to itself.

The content is very fragmented; if it were a midday chat, the topic would likely be the lunch itself.

If it's evening, then what's being discussed will become today's lessons or homework.

If it's a general education class, it's fine. It's not anything particularly obscure. Even Kate and her brothers would bring out a small table on the cloud to explain things to the kitten.

But sometimes the kitten would complain about why it had to do a lot of physical training every day even though it could fly... Listening to the kitten's description of its instructor as "rough," "unkempt," and "like an army," Nana originally thought it was ACE, the kitten's physical education teacher... But in reality, the name the kitten was complaining about was "Instructor Doberman," a name Nana had never heard of before.

Who is that?

"Today I met the medical science girl that Teacher Kal'tsit mentioned, her name is 'Aya'... When she was massaging Nana-neechan, she said... Teacher Kal'tsit actually wanted her to learn from Nana-neechan, but Nana-neechan has been lying down lately."

Lying down?

Ah... indeed, it seems I'm still caught in a nostalgic feeling... it's definitely Cole.

But isn't Cole playing her guitar over there?

If she wasn't holding a guitar but me... then what am I?

Consciousness was rapidly returning, and the world of white clouds seemed to melt into a ball of light... Although this state was rare and uncommon, Nana could roughly discern the situation at this moment...

I am currently in a dream.

Realizing this moment, the world of clouds vanished rapidly, and white spots with red halos flashed by in the darkness from time to time... The kitten's anxious question beside me grew clearer.

Slowly, feeling utterly exhausted, Nana opened her eyes and saw little Felin wailing again.

Just like when she cried in front of the apartment building, bullied by other children, even though she had grown taller and the dress that was only suitable for city wear had become a Rhodes Island uniform with a semi-transparent skirt made of Originium-resistant artificial material, her expression and voice when she cried were exactly the same as the little girl in her memory.

Nana felt a pang of heartache and wanted to wipe away her tears with her hand, but her body felt unusually heavy, and she could barely lift her arm.

She wanted to open her mouth, but the mucous membranes of her mouth seemed to be stuck together. Nana had to lick her lips little by little while trying to figure out why she was in this situation… She remembered that her last memory was something like…

“...I’m so glad you’ve woken up again...Nana.”

The sound of the automatic door opening made Nana instinctively want to raise her weapon, but with no weapon available, the fireball that appeared out of nowhere was deadly enough... But as Nana saw the lush greenery that resembled her own potted plants, the room that had just been lit returned to normal.

Kal'tsit, holding the medical record book, and a group of doctors swarmed around her, raised an eyebrow. Nana wondered if it was just her imagination, but the corner of the mouth of the person in front of her, who had a close relationship with her manager, seemed to be curving up like a few pixels... She seemed to be smiling.

"Even if you come back from the brink of death, will you still have this kind of stress response when we meet again...? Well, it's better than remembering you with an epitaph... Rosemary, wait outside for now. The medical department needs to conduct a full check-up on Medic first."

"Ok!"

Watching the kitten wipe away her tears, her eyes red but her face smiling as she left the room with her homework, Nana tentatively noted down the name 'Rosemary,' which left a deep impression on her. Her gaze swept over the crowd behind Kal'tsit... Apart from familiar faces like Touch Mark, Warfarin, and Sussuro, who was also wiping her eyes, Nana also saw some strangers.

First, there was the Ursus girl who helped her adjust the height of the bed so she could sit up instead of lying down. The emerald green highlights at the bottom of her long brown hair gave her a Kal'tsit vibe no matter how you looked at it.

“...That’s Aya, my student...Because she’s a bit older than Rosemary and Amiya, those two kids still need to study, but Aya is already ready for her medical internship. She’s just as hardworking as her mother…Medic, now she’s the intern you’re going to mentor. She’s also been taking care of you and Rosemary for the past few years.”

Hearing this explanation, which seemed to evoke memories from a dream, Nana wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound. She could only look at another pink-haired bunny girl in a white coat who was helping her out.

Although Nana has complained about it many times in her memory, she still has to say it now: Why is it pink hair again?

"Want to ask about Ansel? He's an intern at Touchmark... Although you, as the head of the HR department, fell because of the operation three years ago, thanks to you, other headhunting companies have contacted us, and many ambitious people are willing to join Rhodes Island's cause. Organizations that wouldn't have given us a second glance in the past now have to admit that Rhodes Island is an organization with sufficient ability and determination that cannot be underestimated... This is all thanks to you."

As she spoke, Kal'tsit took out a small flashlight from her pocket. While Kal'tsit observed Nana's pupil constriction reaction, Nana also noticed something was wrong.

She has two eyes again?!

"You noticed? I completed the cultivation of that eye while you were unconscious, just as Loken assured me... It was indeed specially adjusted for you..."

As she spoke, she opened the bedside table and took out a mirror. Nana saw a gaunt face and her left eye... an eye whose pupil shone like a green diamond.

Originium organoids, Kate's eyes.

"The examination results of the touch mark are correct; that eye did not show any rejection reaction... It effectively reduced your cell origin stone fusion rate. The reason you can't move now is mainly due to muscle atrophy and ligament adhesions over the past three years. You can start rehabilitation afterward..."

As she spoke, Kal'tsit frowned slightly and looked towards the door, and before she knew it, a large group of people had gathered outside Nana's door... Even without being able to tilt her head, Nana could hear Blaze's distinctive voice:

"Hey, don't push me... Dr. Kal'tsit is looking over here!"

Clearly, the name Kal'tsit was incredibly intimidating. As soon as Huang mentioned it, the noisy atmosphere outside the door dissipated by more than half... Afterwards, watching Huang being helplessly saluted by the back of his neck by Ace, Kal'tsit simply closed the medical record she had finished recording and then prepared to leave.

“I think you have a lot of questions right now, and temporary speechlessness is normal. Your teammates will explain to you what happened after you lost consciousness... As for us, Rhodes Island has completed its outfitting and is heading north from Rembiton... You, me... we still have a lot of time together... Sussuro and Aya, stay here, the rest of you come with me to the next room…”

As the entire medical department, dressed in white coats and exuding an imposing aura, filed out, the corridor suddenly fell silent except for the sound of indoor cloth shoes stepping on the anti-static floor.

After sitting up with Aya's help, Nana looked at Sussuruo, whose eyes were slightly red and whose cheeks were puffed out in dissatisfaction. She couldn't speak and could only roll her eyes.

"...I had originally written down a lot of swear words with Franka, planning to unleash that entire book of vile insults on you once you woke up...but seeing how miserable you are now, I simply don't even feel like cursing you..."

As Susuluo spoke, she carefully held Nana's right hand, which did not have an IV catheter, but the mere act of pulling on her arm and tugging at her muscles was enough to make Nana's eyes well up with tears from the pain.

"...To make you feel better after you wake up, Huang and I have been spending almost every week of our holidays on you... But even with massages and using cutting-edge equipment like a zero-gravity bed, the muscles are still sticky and uncomfortable... To be honest, you had great difficulty moving after the surgery... Do you know what you looked like when you were brought back? Your cat was so scared that it fainted, do you know that... And even then, it kept babbling at me during the operation... So who is the one who is really making us uneasy?"

"Looking back now, of course it's our lovely captain! Oh dear, he's been lying down for three years... How many three-year periods does one have in a lifetime?"

“But when I look at the medical records, the captain’s somatic cell fusion rate is much lower than yours… If anyone’s going to die, it’ll probably be you first, Franka.”

Even after three years, Franka's cheeky tone remained unchanged... The little girl codenamed Aya seemed to have noticed Nana's desire to turn her head, and with the girl's soft instruction, "Then let's massage your neck first," Nana was able to slowly tilt her head.

Then she saw Franka, who was wearing the same Rhodes Island uniform, but whose arm patch was still the Blacksteel International arm patch, and Razer...

Whether it was Nana's imagination or not, Franka, who was always sharp-tongued, didn't express any opinion on Razer's aggressive statement. Miss Fox just shrugged at Nana as if complaining about her wife's lack of understanding... Then she reached out to touch a can of fruit that Razer had placed on the bedside table, but was slapped away by the white-haired Vayvan.

Seeing that the two still had such a good relationship, Nana felt relieved. Then she heard ACE's voice coming from outside the corridor. The reassuring uncle seemed to be maintaining order.

Faintly, Nana heard a familiar voice again.

"Um...I'm...a team member..."

"Hmm... let's go in..."

"Um, thank you."

"Thank you so much!"

As the automatic door opened, Nana saw a familiar face again... Jessica wasn't wearing Rhodes Island's uniform like her predecessors, but rather her own casual clothes, just like during the Blacksteel era.

Upon entering and meeting Nana's gaze, Jessica, who was already known for being easily moved to tears, immediately transformed into the tearful cat head that Nana remembered. Behind Jessica, who was holding flowers, Katie and her friends, carrying woven bags like Razer but instead of canned goods, were fresh fruit and entered the house.

These three members, personally recruited by Nana into the temporary action team, are now all wearing Rhodes Island's action uniforms.

"Captain!! You're finally awake!"

"...Yes, she's finally woken up, hasn't she..."

The last one to enter was Huang, who was holding a little white cat and seemed to have been wiping the little guy's face for a long time outside the door... Although he was holding a tissue, what was subtle was that Huang himself was the one whose tears were the least valuable among everyone present, except for Jessica's.

Finally, leaning against the door frame were ACE and Outcast, along with a few others who also had veteran operator patches on their shoulders, but whom Nana had never seen before.

Everyone greeted Nana in their own way, some respectfully, some solemnly, and some lively. Although Nana couldn't speak, she hoped she could express her gratitude with her eyes.

"Nana..."

It's unclear whether everyone reached some kind of consensus at that moment, but as Huang put Matilda down and came to Nana's side with a kitten carrying a potted plant, everyone quieted down at the same time.

"We're safe..."

A lush potted plant was placed on Nana's bedside table. Nana could tell that even when she wasn't there, someone was taking good care of it.

"Nana can sleep peacefully now, without being afraid of enemies pushing open her door, without worrying about someone suddenly breaking down the door and throwing bombs into the house... I will stay by your side like Mom and my sister do, and I have become very strong... Nana... I will protect you."

Without any context, the kitten blurted out a nonsensical sentence... It was obvious to the naked eye that Katie and Jessica's expressions and minds were completely knotted up, as if they were pondering the true meaning of the universe. Franka almost laughed out loud... Why almost? Because Razer quickly covered his partner's mouth.

Sussuro frowned as she listened to the kitten's words, clearly remembering something. Meanwhile, the ACE and elite operators in the distance had different expressions, and Aya sighed helplessly as she took care of Nana and massaged her.

The only one present who wanted to run away was Huang, and it was obvious that the cat's words were inseparable from Huang.

Susuru: "...Huang, I should have told you not to take the kitten to see those messy things... I can already imagine the little guy's embarrassment a few years from now when he thinks about this and wants to stuff his tail in his mouth. Are you just trying to give the kitten some childhood trauma?"

Huang: "Um... I don't remember the original line being like that... I was just echoing the little one's idea of ​​helping Nana!"

ACE: "...Anyway, go take care of the kids first... Shouldn't Medic have other things he wants to know? Where's the mission report I asked you to bring back?"

Huang: "...I was so busy coming to see Nana that I forgot!"

Looking at the chaotic state of the room, Nana narrowed her eyes slightly... Although the liveliness was a bit beyond her capacity to handle, whether it was Franka's cheers after successfully sneaking the can of fruit, or the little white cat's pitiful expression as it looked at Aya with a face full of confusion... everyone seemed very close.

This is not the usual environment where mercenaries gather, where everyone is polite to each other but their eyes are full of consideration or murderous intent.

This made Nana feel very relaxed. Whether it was Sussuro, who was nearby and started scolding Huang like a mantra, or Jessica, who was grabbed by Katie and asked what 'chuunibyou' meant and had a wry smile on her face... everyone was here like family.

Recalling how he had subconsciously used Originium Arts when he first woke up, he realized that he should indeed listen to the cat's advice here.

I'm safe now.

Rhode Island is indeed different from the ICA.

With this thought in mind, Nana's breathing weakened once again.

She returned to that world full of clouds, where Cole and Kate replaced the crowd outside and began to celebrate Nana's awakening.

Finally, it was Aya who clapped her hands to stop this chaotic frenzy involving elite operators.

"Everyone, please be quiet. I know you are all excited to see Medic wake up... but Medic is still very weak. Today, you all rushed in after Kal'tsit made her rounds, so let's leave it at that... Next time, the maximum number of visits to the doctor will be three per day, and please do not exceed thirty minutes... Today we have already exceeded the time limit, so please go back first. For specific visitation requests, please register with PRTS according to Rhodes Island's medical department procedures... Rosemary Operator and I will handle it."