Léon: The Cat Killer

"I only support Your Highness... As for the Tower of Babel, that organization where the entire army didn't react at all when attacked... and whose commander is suspected of defecting... cough cough cough!!"

Even just thinking about it makes me so angry I can't breathe; W's opinion on the Tower of Babel is just that clear-cut.

It's one thing for her to cough normally, but now Nana is using her X-ray vision to clean and correct a complex hand injury... W's cough splattered blood all over Nana's face.

"Don't get so agitated. Can't even a tourniquet control your blood pressure?"

"Whose fault is this?!"

"The question is, who suddenly delivered several truckloads of bombs to me for a surprise attack... You and your men really are of the same ilk when it comes to acting crazy for no reason."

"...Isn't this normal? What Sarkaz doesn't go crazy? It's just a matter of how crazy they are and how much they can tolerate..."

"It's obvious that you can't stand it for even a second longer, and you wish you could punch this earth to pieces."

As she spoke, she carefully restored the last bone in W that she had misplaced, putting it back in its proper place. Listening to the guy's miserable screams, Nana began to use medical magic to eliminate the inflammation, and finally applied medicine and bandages. Thus, all the treatments that could be performed in the battlefield environment were completed...

"If you don't want your left hand to have strange aftereffects in the future, then you'd better go to a hospital with the facilities to perform neurosurgery for in-depth treatment as soon as possible... And then there are your men, can they handle their own gunshot wounds?"

"What are you saying? Every Sarkaz knows how to treat a gunshot wound... As for my hand... you don't need to worry about it, I'm not that fragile."

Nana realized that W was the kind of cockroach who, even if he were beaten to death, cremated, and still had a mouth left to continue spewing filth... Compared to Nana, who rarely uttered any threats, W's behavior was the complete opposite... Nana thought for a while and finally decided to leave him alone...

Q: How do I handle things I'm not good at?

A: No matter.

Letting the guy in the bomb-damaged little skirt follow behind her, Nana first found Alfred, who was directing the mercenaries and refugees to inventory salvage supplies:

"Afu, how's the inventory of the supplies going?"

"We already know roughly what's here..."

Before Afu could even finish flipping through the list, the white-haired Sarkaz, following behind Nana, adjusted the triangular bandage on her chest against her comminuted fractured arm while recounting what she knew:

"Food, medicine, warm clothing necessary before winter... The previous owner here had been looting and hoarding supplies since the beginning of the year. I've been keeping an eye on him for a long time."

"...But the members of this team were ultimately dealt with by the disciplinary team..."

Even after being brutally beaten by Nana, it didn't stop W from rolling his eyes at her. This Sarkaz said something that made Nana frown:

"Who do you think is tipping off the Infected Squad? Well, the Ursus Squad will probably think it's an informant from that village... It doesn't matter."

Hearing that indifferent tone, Nana turned to look at W:

"...You wear guerrilla armbands and use guerrilla flags, yet you reveal your comrades' locations to the enemy...Is that really not important?"

"It doesn't matter, because I sent the letter with the intention of reporting bandits... and I'm not the only one reporting them. The Reunion Movement unanimously believes that they are trash who are ruining the reputation of the Infected Guerrilla Force... and who can clean up the trash?"

Seeing W's still grinning face, Nana asked curiously:

"So... what exactly defines an 'infected guerrilla force'?"

"What are you asking? A definition? In a broad sense, an infected guerrilla group... As long as you're infected and you fight the picket line, then you're an infected guerrilla group... As for the narrow sense of 'infected guerrilla group,' there's only one, and that's the 'Reunion Movement'..."

"That team was developed from the infected group of the former Ursus soldiers 'Shield Guard'... My mercenary group was also hired by that organization, that's about it."

"...Hired...Sarkaz mercenaries, hired by Ursus infected?"

"A perfect match, aren't they? Both homeless dogs... Your side isn't bad either, you Sarkaz dressed like Sarkaz missionaries... I can only say that you're truly something else, Alfred. Have you finally realized that all that 'history' you've been reciting is worthless in the face of the need to survive?"

Ignoring W's sarcastic remarks, Nana glanced at the clearly divided Sarkaz in the camp, and then looked back at W, who never stopped talking:

"If you want to establish a government, you'll have plenty of time after nightfall... Let's talk about the compensation issue for your team's attack on me first."

Hearing Nana's explanation, W looked reluctant:

"Compensation? Please, we were here first..."

“But Mary and Frostleaf are the survivors of that group. Many of these items belong to them. The photos on the luggage and the names on the weapons are evidence of that… And with the first in line to inherit the organization here, it is unreasonable and illegal for you to claim ownership of these items.”

"...Wait, what kind of magic are you using?"

"Colombian Heritage Administration Law..."

"No?! Are you using Colombian law to govern our Sarkaz mercenaries in Ursus?"

"...Then let's not follow the law, let's decide who owns these things by force."

Seeing Nana begin to loosen her wrists, W gave her an expression of newfound knowledge and waved his hand before Nana threw a punch:

"Tsk, I can't stand it... Let me make this clear first, I really can't beat you. Most of those unlucky guys who were just talking nonsense before weren't on my side anyway, so their deaths are no big deal..."

"It's hard to say whether the Sakortas will take care of me, but the fact that I'm here to collect supplies is something the entire Reunion Movement knows. If I can't take anything back with me, then I can only tell them about you and the Babel Tower group."

"Whether the mercenary group will come after you pro-Sarkaz 'traitors' is another matter, but the Reunion Movement is essentially a large infected settlement... After learning that the ordered supplies have flown away on their own, the Shield Guards and the newly trained 'Yeti' will definitely cause you trouble."

"Are you going to go head-to-head with those former Ursus elites?"

The answer, of course, is 'no'...

If possible, Nana would like to make peaceful contact with the guerrillas... but it is the Reunification Movement, not Nana's refugee team, that has taken concrete steps to refuse.

Fortunately, W didn't seem to care much about the casualties of her subordinates, and the subtext even gave the impression that she was not prepared to tell the Reunion Movement members the true news of these 'comrades' deaths.

Nana suspected that the Sarkaz in front of her had already seen through her need... at least her basic strategy of not wanting to strain relations with the guerrillas, which was why he was still so brazenly waiting for a better price after being defeated.

"How do you plan to report to your superior?"

Nana's increasingly indifferent expression seemed to have no effect whatsoever; W's smile, on the contrary, grew even more fervent.

"...If you're willing to share some of this...this inheritance with me...the more left for others, the more effective my words will be in speaking on your behalf...If you fill all of our pockets, then these unfortunate souls can die bravely at the hands of the Infected Patrol..."

"In fact, the inventory here is enough to fill the pockets of your three trucks and my men's, and there's still enough for the other infected to live on. That way, the Shield Guards won't have any reason to cause you trouble... A win-win situation, isn't it?"

Looking at Nana's expressionless face, W's smile turned slightly puzzled:

"...Okay, so you don't seem to be too keen on family-friendly things...No, if that's the case, you won't let me and these unlucky brothers off the hook...So, you want something from me? Let me guess...It's related to that dragon girl?"

"...Dragon Girl?"

"My big boss, the de facto leader of the Reunion Movement... Although the 'Patriots' of the Shield Guard have always been the undisputed leader in terms of force, a cold, hard shield can't attract that many infected..."

"Apart from those infected people rescued from the mine, all other infected people and those who sympathize with them were contacted by that dragon girl... Passionate, resolute, idealistic... Everyone is very curious about how such an oddball came out of this wretched place, the snowfield."

As Nana maximized the sensitivity of the Mind Link, taking advantage of W's slight daze, Nana finally heard this crazy woman's true feelings:

'Just like...Your Highness...'

Unfortunately, Nana couldn't sense anything more concrete after that. The Sarkaz mercenary named W still wore a smile, but his heart was filled with sorrow... Nana could only continue the conversation:

"...You think she's involved in some kind of conspiracy..."

“Even if it wasn’t her, it’s definitely related to her… After all, the sudden appearance of someone who wants to integrate the infected to go against the nobles is the biggest anomaly in the snowfield… And if you do mercenary work a lot, you’ll find similar things everywhere, but none of this has anything to do with me, I’m just here to make a living…”

"...With your strength, you're just barely scraping by in the Reunion Movement?"

"What else? I'll call the Dragon Girl 'Dragon Girl'... Want to guess why? Here's a bonus: 'Patriot's' name is 'Zhuobokasti'... Does that name ring a bell?"

Seeing that Nana immediately turned to look at him, Afu bowed slightly and said:

“That was… 150 years ago… Ah, perhaps a memory from 200 years ago… Zobocasti… This must be the name of a pure-blooded Wendigo.”

"...The court of cannibals?"

"No, it's the Wendigo clan that withdrew from the royal court and relocated as a whole due to internal factional conflicts against the Sarkaz... I see, they were serving Ursus... But even as infected... the power of the Wendigo should not be underestimated. How did Ursus let them leave?"

Seeing that Nana seemed to believe Afu's words, W once again reached out and hooked his arm around the shoulder of the Sarkaz in front of him:

"Ursus is as bizarre as my hometown... They even force the infected to rebel. If you put something like that in Kazdel, even the oldest chieftain wouldn't understand what they were thinking... So stop wondering why, let's talk about what to do~"

“Old Afu still has a large group of old friends willing to follow you. I think you are different from those guys who pull out guns as soon as they see us... Those guys who would jeer and pull out weapons as soon as they see you are all dead. It doesn’t matter. I said before that we are not on their side... So this matter can be left as it is. I don’t care.”

Watching W's restless hand slide down her shoulder and arm, finally groping for the white sleeve and refusing to let go, Nana tilted her head in confusion:

"what do you want to say in the end?"

"...I'm explaining that we can be on the same side...Kazdel doesn't have Sakorta, the Royal Court doesn't have them, and neither does the Tower of Babel...You were able to save Old Alfred and the others, so you must have come from outside...And among outsiders in Kazdel, the one with the most unimpeded access is definitely Rhodes Island...And only the Sakorta of Rhodes Island would uphold reason. I've seen someone similar before, an old woman...I think her name was...Oh...Oh something...Ah, never mind that."

"Nana, may I call you that? Anyway... you're a member of Rhodes Island, right?"

Nana didn't respond to W's reasoning, but her expression clearly conveyed the answer, 'So what?'

Seeing that Nana did not refute him, W continued:

“Rhodes Island, I can sense that Her Highness really likes it there. It seems that the ship holds a very special meaning for her, and she goes to stay on that ship whenever she has the chance…”

“As Athena said, Her Highness recently had a conversation with me and that… oh, that old green woman… You probably don’t know her exact identity, but I must say that her identity on Rhodes Island is actually a disguise. She is actually a high-ranking member of Babel Tower, a direct participant in the civil war… and also a friend of Her Highness.”

"Although I hate to admit it, that old woman is exceptionally knowledgeable, and His Highness looks at her differently than at others... but that does not absolve her of suspicion of being a mole."

"Although I don't yet have evidence to prove whether His Highness's assassination attempt or the lack of response at the Tower of Babel is related to that green guy... that doesn't stop me from taking out those assassins... I can find the mastermind slowly, but those involved in this operation, I have indeed taken them all out..."

“Although I only did this to avenge His Highness, tell me, did I help you or not… Afu, this Sakota listens to you too. You should know what it feels like to be chased by royal assassins. In the last few months of your escape, were you ever caught by assassins? No, right? I did all of that…”

"Get to the point..."

As Nana slapped away W's hand that was tugging at his sleeve, the white-haired Sarkaz winced in pain from aggravating his wound, but managed to force a smile: *crying*

"I'm trying to build rapport with you, big sister... For Afu's sake, could you let me complete a basic task quota? I need to eat! Besides, Rhodes Island is an ally of Babel, so you should at least support my actions."

"In return, I can help you. In the name of the Tower of Babel, and Princess Theresa's follower... you must have a mission, otherwise I can't understand why Rhodes Island, which was just caught up in the Battle of Babel, would send out such a capable operative as you alone... unless you're saying that old woman has finally developed dementia." (Umbrella)

Nana resisted the urge to correct W, telling her that Kal'tsit wasn't old... and given that W had offered to cooperate as a member of the Tower of Babel, Nana suddenly felt this was a very promising idea.

After all, this guy in front of her was a madwoman who would throw a bomb at her just because she was wearing that princess's clothes, so Nana was surprisingly credible about her account of chasing the assassin.

Especially since Afu didn't refute the other party, the basis for cooperation between the two sides could exist.

but why?

Why would Sarkaz, whom he had brutally beaten and even humiliated, be willing to try so hard to persuade him with his less-than-stellar speaking skills?

Why did she mention her prince so many times, and why did her tone change drastically when she spoke of Kal'tsit?

Thinking about all this, Nana glanced at the guy whose left hand she had crippled. He was staring intently into her eyes, a guy who, if left untreated, might only ever be a third-rate mercenary. He was pleading with her to accept his help.

She was convincing herself that she was trustworthy.

So why?

W's situation is very similar to her own. She simultaneously possesses multiple identities and motivations, including that of a Sarkaz mercenary, the leader of the Reunion Movement, and a remnant of the Tower of Babel. Combining these elements, the reason why W suddenly wanted to cooperate with her, which Nana had not understood before, became clear.

"...You want me to help you investigate Kal'tsit?"

"Aha! ~ Are you willing?! You know, Kal'tsit has seen me, and with Rhodes Island gone, it's difficult for me to meet her now, let alone investigate whether she's related to His Highness's assassination... So, I can say that those unlucky guys died in the Infected Squad, I can give you the information I know about Reunion Movement, and I can even directly bring you into our team as Infected members."

"That dragon girl is just a substitute for His Highness's meal to me at most. I don't care if you want to fry, cook, or stir-fry her... After months of chasing those assassins, I've calmed down a bit..."

"Originally, it was said that the investigation into His Highness's assassination could not continue, and we could only wait for an opportunity to blow up the false king's backside... But with your help, whether Kal'tsit is a traitor or not is another matter, at least I can get information about Kal'tsit... The investigation can continue! And you, my friend, you shouldn't want someone who betrayed an ally and even killed her best partner to lead you, right?"

Looking at Sarkaz, whose eyes were practically gleaming, as he once again grasped her palm with his intact right hand... Nana opened her mouth but said nothing.

More than half a year has passed since the end of the Kazdel Civil War. In this time that cannot be called a "short period of time", if Kal'tsit was the one who determined that horrific outcome of the civil war, then there is no reason for her to still keep the evidence that W wanted.

This Sarkaz girl is just a little crazy, she's not stupid... how could she not think of that?

"...Even if we investigate, it will most likely be in vain...Is that okay?"

"...No problem, you don't even need to investigate, you just need to ask...ask her why..."

Why, Your Highness… why did such a good person… why did the White Emperor, who was willing to listen to a lowly mercenary like me, disappear so abruptly…?

Why?! Everyone was gone when His Highness needed support the most—!?

Why did you join the Tower of Babel in the first place?!

Isn't there even one person willing to carry out His Highness's ideals?!

……

The two girls stared at each other in silence.

Meanwhile, in Nana's thought process, doubt and anger flooded her mind, and the questions that W could have answered on her own... were deafeningly loud in Nana's ears.

"……it is good."

"Eh?"

“I said, I agree to cooperate…not with the mercenaries, but with the allies of Babel.”

Seeing W shake off the crazed gaze for the first time and reveal an almost innocent smile, Nana added:

"But in return... I need your help..."

"Sure! Just say the word! I'll do everything in my power to help... even if you want to become the leader of the Sarkaz mercenaries, I can find a way for you!"

"...No need for that...firstly..."