Surtr's sudden words stunned everyone present. They all looked at each other, and for a moment, no one knew what to say.
Lucas Reeve also quickly asked Surtr for her reason.
Surtr said slowly in her heart, "That blade fragment... although I've never seen it before, its properties seem to match a relatively important memory fragment of mine."
Surtr had far, far more to say in her heart than she ever did out loud.
Normally, at most, she would say...
"Mhm..."
"Ah..."
Or, "I have no money," "Not bad."
In contrast, she was incredibly fluent, even a little talkative, in her mind.
Perhaps...
This was the gap between a closet otaku in person and on the internet.
"A memory fragment?"
"Mhm..."
Surtr nodded.
"Although I don't know why, my memories, and even my instincts, are urging me to go..."
Lucas Reeve didn't say much more, choosing to let Surtr do as she pleased.
Meanwhile, outside.
The girls from Penguin Logistics were all a bit silent.
After all, they weren't on a trip; they were heading out on a mission, a relatively secret and dangerous one at that. The last time Texas and Exusiai went to Minos with the broken blade, they were attacked by an unknown force. The assault was so fierce that the two of them almost didn't make it back, let alone bring someone else along.
Although...
This person looked like she was probably very strong...
But...
She wasn't part of Penguin Logistics, and they had only just met today.
If it were Franka or one of the others who had suggested it, Exusiai would have happily accepted. Texas would have agreed after some consideration, since they were all friends who knew each other well. But... they had just met Surtr for the first time. Bringing her along on a mission after just meeting felt a little too....
Exusiai, on the other hand, didn't mind. Ever the social butterfly, she raised her hand, ready to agree, but Texas secretly gave her a hard pinch on her black-stockinged thigh, making Exusiai wince in pain.
Texas cleared her throat and said slowly.
"I'm sorry, we're just employees of Penguin Logistics. This is a commission from the company. Without the boss's permission, we're not allowed to bring others on missions. I apologize. However, if you really want to join us, and if you don't mind, I can take you to see our boss at Penguin Logistics tomorrow. If the boss agrees, then there won't be any problem."
Texas was speaking in purely polite terms, giving Surtr a graceful way to back down.
However.
Surtr didn't pick up on it.
And besides...
Her mind was already made up.
The straightforward girl simply nodded.
"Okay. I'll meet with your boss tomorrow."
Once these words were spoken.
Instantly.
The large apartment fell silent once again.
The spoon Croissant had put in her mouth fell out. Exusiai was also stunned, and Texas's expression was even more peculiar.
A thought ran through everyone's mind.
Could it be...
Does this Miss Surtr not realize I was just being polite?
She actually....
Does she know the boss of Penguin Logistics?
Otherwise, how could she be so direct and certain.
Texas quickly followed up.
"Miss Surtr, have you met the boss of our Penguin Logistics before?"
"No..."
Surtr replied calmly.
"......"
For a moment, the others fell silent again.
However, the words had been said, and there was no taking them back.
Texas sighed inwardly, ate the last piece of the pocky in her hand, and pulled a new one from the package on the table, sticking it in her mouth.
"Er... since you've said so, Miss Surtr, then tomorrow... how about ten-thirty tomorrow morning? We'll meet downstairs from Sora's apartment at ten-thirty, and we'll take you to see the boss."
"Thanks..."
Surtr's simple word of thanks stunned the others once again.
So...
She knows how to say thank you?
After the ice cream hot pot, they had a proper dinner at Sora's place. When they finished, Surtr, at Lucas Reeve's instruction, said her goodbyes to the four of them with a somewhat 'cool and aloof' politeness and left.
It got dark quickly in winter.
It was already seven o'clock when they left, and the sky had completely darkened.
The sky was dark and the clouds were thin; the cold wind was bone-chilling.
On the street, pedestrians were bundled up in thick cotton coats and scarves, hurrying along, not wanting to stay in the cold outdoors for too long, eager to sit for a while in a warm shop and chat with friends.
In Lungmen.
Three degrees was already considered very cold.
But compared to the minus-twenty-degree weather often seen in Ursus, three degrees above zero here was child's play. Ursans accustomed to the cold temperatures might even down a bottle of vodka, walk around bare-chested in the three-degree weather, and feel warm enough to go for a winter swim in the river for training.
Surtr didn't know what cold felt like.
Walking on the street, she still wore her signature black dress, her fair legs bare. In the Lungmen city center, where everyone was in coats and jackets, Surtr was definitely an anomaly. Coupled with her good looks, she caused many people to turn their heads.
The men muttered to themselves.
Nice legs!
Some of the women wanted to ask Surtr for her beauty secrets or if she had any tricks for going bare-legged in such cold weather. Only the jealous ones silently complained in their hearts.
Pah!
Young girls trying to be beautiful and show off. If she keeps this up, she'll get chronic joint pain from the cold when she's older.
Lucas Reeve said, "That was good, Miss Surtr. You even took the initiative to say thank you. You've taken another step toward integrating into normal society."
Surtr had actually complained to Lucas Reeve in her mind that in all her years of travel, the people she met didn't seem to like her. Some even got angry and developed high blood pressure for no reason, which puzzled Surtr greatly.
When he first heard about it.
Lucas Reeve broke out in a cold sweat.
Isn't... isn't that perfectly normal?
Anyone would get high blood pressure when faced with someone who wears a constant frown, has a 'holier-than-thou' attitude, and looks down on others with contempt. Although... after Surtr was chosen by Laevatain and their souls were linked, she had already transcended the realm of mortals. Even if not a true god, she could be called a 'demigod'. To be honest, it was normal for a 'god' to look down on humans...
But this was no longer the age of 'gods'.
Whether it was a ten-thousand-year-old monster like Kal'tsit or an immortal like the High Priest, they all chose to live peacefully and normally among humans.
And Surtr had silently asked Lucas Reeve in her mind if there was any way for her to integrate into this society.
Lucas Reeve decisively accepted the request. Along the way, he constantly instilled in Surtr the inherent etiquette and conversational styles of ordinary people living in this society.
For example...
When others help you, say thank you more often.
Or say polite phrases like hello and goodbye more often; it easily creates a good impression.
"How troublesome..."
Surtr said with a cool indifference.
Her brilliant purple pupils shimmered.
"Why do people have so much etiquette? When I traveled in the past, I usually dealt with enemies in a single blow..."
Lucas Reeve, in the form of a small flame, shrugged.
"How should I know?"
Surtr carried her greatsword and walked aimlessly through the bustling city center. Since it was January, close to the Yanese New Year, many companies and schools were already on vacation. There were more people in the city center than usual, shopping, strolling, and chatting, enjoying the rare holiday.
Surtr's sword didn't scare many people.
After all.
It was too big.
It was quite a bit longer than Surtr herself, who was just over 1.6 meters tall. Leaving aside whether she could even use it, for such a slender girl to be able to lift such a large sword so easily while taking a leisurely walk, it was certain that the greatsword was one hundred percent made of foam. If it were pure iron or alloy, how could she hold it so easily with one hand?
In fact, because of the combination of Surtr's appearance and the greatsword.
Many female pedestrians would even proactively approach Surtr to ask for a photo together.
Surtr didn't like strangers getting close to her. In the past, she would have coldly and violently pushed them away, then said in a superior tone.
"Get out of my way..."
However.
Now, wanting to try to integrate into society, Surtr forced herself to endure the instinctive discomfort and took photos with several people, although her face was so long... it was as if the others in the photo owed her money.
After turning left and right...
Surtr left the bustling area and finally stopped under a bridge underpass. Next to the underpass was a sizable lawn.
Without any hesitation, she went under the bridge and sat on the ground.
"You're... you're so practiced at this..."
Lucas Reeve complained silently. There was no other choice now.
Surtr had no money, and neither did Lucas Reeve... they couldn't afford a hotel, so they could only sleep under a bridge. In any case, Lucas Reeve didn't care; he slept inside the sword anyway. Surtr also seemed to be used to sleeping under bridges. She found a relatively comfortable spot and lay down.
Surtr answered Lucas Reeve's unspoken question.
"Because when I used to travel the world, I would sleep in different places when passing through city-states. Park benches, bridge underpasses, even the side of the road. Only in a bridge underpass can I sleep comfortably until dawn. In other places, a person called a policeman would always wake me up halfway through my sleep."
Damn...
Lucas Reeve cursed inwardly.
How did she get so experienced at sleeping under bridges?
"Have you ever slept in a proper bed?"
Lucas Reeve, as a small flame, bounced on Surtr's body.
"I have..."
Surtr said, "In the past, I would also break into empty rooms in some inns and sleep there. Those beds were so soft and mushy, it wasn't comfortable. And the colors were bright red or pink, I don't really like those shades. Plus, I was discovered by the people there halfway through my sleep."
"Wait a minute?"
Lucas Reeve was stunned.
"You snuck in secretly, why would the people there find you? There couldn't have been cameras, right?"
"I don't know..."
Just as Lucas Reeve was about to continue chatting with Surtr.
Suddenly.
Lucas Reeve seemed to sense someone approaching and quickly drilled into the greatsword.
And from the side of the bridge underpass.
A girl with golden hair and strange horns on both sides of her head, wearing a long, jet-black leather dress, walked over with a serious expression. Then, upon seeing Surtr, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
She silently wrote something in the notebook in her hand.
[Lungmen Covert Investigation]
[January 12th, under the great bridge on the west side of Lungmen's upper district, a homeless person is living inside. Investigator's score: 4 points. Investigator's comments: The presence of homeless people in a central area like the upper district shows that Lungmen's economic and social conditions are far from being as excellent as imagined. It is recommended to shorten the interval between Lungmen investigations in the future.]
After the blonde girl finished writing in her notebook, she closed it, put it in her pocket, and then took out a small voice recorder from her pocket, preparing to interview this member of Lungmen's lower class sleeping under the bridge and offer some basic care.
The blonde girl walked forward.
As she got closer, aided by the bright moonlight from outside the underpass.
The blonde girl then noticed that the person sleeping under the bridge was not some ragged homeless person, but a beautiful girl with long red hair and purple eyes, wearing a jet-black dress. And as she approached, the girl had already woken up and was looking right at her.
"Sigh!!"
The blonde girl sighed.
This Lungmen!
Is this how they care for people in need?!!
In the middle of winter!!
Three degrees!!
In such cold weather.
Such a young girl is wearing a dress!! And with bare legs!!!
I will definitely report this situation!!