"Mmm~~"
Raythean Medica.
Jessica lay listlessly on her office desk, opening her mouth as if to say something, but for a moment she didn't know what to say. All she could manage was a sad whimper, like a dejected little cat.
"What's wrong, Jessica? Thinking about Lucas Reeve again?"
In front of the desk.
Franka leaned lazily on the office's guest sofa, her long, slightly fleshy legs wrapped in black stockings and crossed in a rather alluring way. She kept adding sugar to the coffee in front of her until the original bitterness faded, then took a satisfied sip.
After coming to Raythean Medica, Franka had been acting as Jessica's bodyguard-slash-secretary. Of course, there was hardly anything to do, and Jessica would never actually use her senior as a secretary. Often with nothing to do, Franka began to indulge in her beloved sweets, and over time, it was normal for her to have gained a little weight.
"Yeah..."
Jessica sighed.
"It's been almost half a month, but there's been no word from Mr. Reeve. I'm a little worried..."
Franka, on the other hand, was unconcerned. She took another big gulp of her coffee, then decided it was boring without some sweets. She sent a voice message to Liskarm, asking her to bring two desserts on her way over.
"Don't worry. Didn't Lucas Reeve tell you? He ran into some trouble and might need at least two months. You have to believe in Lucas Reeve's abilities. He's omnipotent, how could anything happen to him?"
"No!"
Jessica's cute cat-face was crestfallen.
"I'm worried... that Mr. Reeve will bring some cute and pretty older sisters back with him...."
"?"
Franka froze.
Ah, this...
Just as Jessica was feeling down, a knock came from the door after a short while.
Hearing the sound, Franka immediately stood up: "Liskarm, Liskarm, my dessert~"
However.
When the door opened, there were quite a few people besides Liskarm.
A cute girl with blonde hair, an angel with a built-in lightbulb, a wolf girl with an icy expression, and... a bovine girl who loves money.
"?!!"
Franka was completely stunned.
"Penguin Logistics?"
"What are you all doing...?"
Franka couldn't process it for a moment. Wasn't Penguin Logistics in Lungmen? Wasn't she in Columbia? What the?
"Hello there! Miss Franka~"
Sora greeted Franka very politely, then her gaze passed over Liskarm and Franka and settled on Jessica, who was sitting dejectedly at her desk. Then she happily ran over.
"Long time no see! Jessica-chan!!"
Sora's voice made Jessica freeze for a second as well. She looked dazed.
"Sora-chan... how did you all get here so fast? I thought it would be a while before you had time to come over."
"To give you a surprise, of course~"
"Wow~"
Making herself at home, Exusiai walked in and looked around Jessica's office. As a messenger, she had a keen eye. The office layout seemed simple, but the ordinary objects within were enough to last Exusiai a lifetime. For example, a painting on the wall seemed to be a famous work from Victoria, and an original at that, with an auction price of 300 million. As for the sofa, it had to start at several million...
Tsk tsk....
The most excited of all was Croissant. She felt a bit unsteady on her feet after coming in.
Wealth!
So much wealth!
This was the wealth she had always dreamed of!!
"Miss Jessica! Is your company still hiring?"
Croissant leaned on Jessica's desk, her tail wagging nonstop behind her.
Jessica had indeed invited Sora and the others from Penguin Logistics to come visit. Originally, Jessica thought it would take at least a few weeks or even months. She didn't expect them to arrive in just a week, and without any notice at that. This left Jessica completely unprepared. She quickly instructed another secretary she had hired to pour tea and prepare snacks.
They had happened to run into Liskarm just outside Raythean Medica, so they conveniently came in with her.
"By the way, Sora-chan, how did you know I was here?"
Jessica was a bit confused.
Because as far as Jessica remembered, she didn't seem to have told Sora what company she was at.
Sora smiled sweetly. "Miss Surtr told me!"
"She said Jessica-chan, you're running a company called Raythean Medica."
Surtr?
Jessica was confused again. She looked at Franka and Liskarm.
"Sorry, may I be so bold as to ask a question?"
At this point, Croissant couldn't help but raise her hand. She was too sensitive when it came to money.
"Um... Miss Jessica, does your company have any relationship with Raythean Industries? I noticed... they both seem to have 'Raythean' in their names."
Franka almost burst out laughing.
"They are indeed related... Jessica is just the sole heiress of the Raythean Industries family, and also the sole future successor of Raythean Industries, that's all."
"That's all"
Franka's words left everyone from Penguin Logistics, including Exusiai, petrified on the spot.
The heiress of Raythean Industries!!
Holy cow!!
What did that even mean?
As members of Penguin Logistics, they were well aware of the scale of Raythean Industries. It could be described as wealthy enough to rival a nation, the world's largest corporation.
No wonder Jessica threw millions and tens of millions at Sora's rankings as if it were nothing.
Indeed...
For Jessica, millions and tens of millions were really like a few bucks.
Jessica was a little embarrassed...
She didn't like to reveal her identity because she was afraid that if she did, her friends wouldn't want to hang out with her anymore....
Exusiai was counting on her fingers, calculating how many Originium Rounds and firearms she could buy with that much money, while Texas was thinking that her former enemies in Siracusa were nothing compared to Raythean Industries...
Croissant, on the other hand, was thinking about how to switch jobs and become Jessica's bodyguard.
"Um... I'd like to ask something."
Jessica didn't want to continue this topic.
"Who is Miss Surtr? I don't think I know her... What does she look like?"
Sora paused.
"Jessica-chan, you don't know Miss Surtr?"
"I don't think so.."
"But Miss Surtr said you two are very close."
"Hmm?"
Jessica was still puzzled, but Franka was the first to react. She whispered quietly in Jessica's ear.
"Say, Jessica, is it possible that this Miss Surtr is Lucas Reeve... After all, he can occupy other people's bodies. If he occupied the body of this person named Miss Surtr, it would make sense."
Jessica had a sudden realization. Thinking about it carefully, it was indeed possible.
However.
Jessica thought of something else.
"Is that Surtr a boy or a girl?"
Sora immediately answered.
"A girl, and a very beautiful Sarkaz girl at that. Most importantly, she has a great figure and wears a short skirt even in the dead of winter."
Boo hoo hoo!!
Jessica leaned back on the sofa in sorrow.
Just as I thought.
Mr. Reeve is out playing with girls!
——————————
"Ooh~ So this is Columbia?"
On the other side.
After getting off the transport landship early, Lucas Reeve, Surtr, and Nian entered the largest mobile city in Columbia on foot.
"Indeed."
"Your first time here?"
Lucas Reeve asked.
"Mhm."
Nian nodded.
"After all, this country of Columbia wasn't even half my age when it was founded."
"It's my first time here too."
A nearby Surtr added coolly.
Seeing that the atmosphere seemed a bit off, Lucas Reeve didn't say much more.
This trip to Columbia was partly to find the other fragment of Laevatain, and partly to let Jessica know he was safe. After all, it had been over half a month without any contact, so he had to report his safety in person to stop the little girl from worrying.
The streets of Columbia's capital were busy, comparable to Lungmen in terms of prosperity, with not much to be amazed by. After all, these big cities were all uniformly filled with skyscrapers. Once you've seen enough of them, they're all the same, nothing much to look at.
Upon entering Columbia, Lucas Reeve and Surtr immediately tried to sense the other fragment of Laevatain. Perhaps because the distance was too great, the two of them didn't sense anything and had to give up.
Originally, Lucas Reeve wanted to wander around the city first, but there wasn't much to see.
After all, Columbia was famous for its short history, and it didn't really have any unique characteristics of its own. At least Lungmen had its own specialty foods or distinctive architecture. Columbia had none of that. Even the food was all just fried stuff or simply dishes from other countries.
On the way, Lucas Reeve bought Surtr an ice cream, paid for by Nian.
After wandering for a while and seeing there was nowhere to go.
He decided to take Nian to Raythean Medica to show her his forged creations. But before that, Lucas Reeve planned to check on Jessica first.
There was no access card needed to enter or exit Raythean Medica; it was completely open to the public. So, no one paid any mind to the two new faces, Surtr and Nian, coming and going.
However, you did need to be announced to enter the main office building; it wasn't a place ordinary people could just walk into.
And at this moment.
Jessica, who was happily chatting with the girls from Penguin Logistics, suddenly heard a knock on the door. It was the secretary she had hired to run errands.
"President, there are two ladies at the door who say they're here to see you."
Jessica paused.
"Did they say who they were?"
"Surtr."
The secretary's words made Jessica freeze for a moment, and then she frantically rushed out of the office. If Surtr was Lucas Reeve, then it meant Lucas Reeve had come to see her. This got Jessica, who hadn't seen Lucas Reeve for over half a month, incredibly excited.
It wasn't just Jessica.
Franka, Liskarm, and the members of Penguin Logistics also hurried out.
After arriving in the lobby, Jessica immediately had the people there disperse, then she grabbed Surtr's hand. Although she didn't recognize the girl before her, she was certain that she was Mr. Reeve.
"Mr. Reeve, you're finally back. Boo hoo! I missed you so much."
However.
Jessica's longing was met with Surtr's cold reply.
"Who are you?"
Surtr quickly pulled her hand away from Jessica's. She didn't like being touched by others, except for Lucas Reeve.
And the little fire person on Surtr's shoulder suddenly coughed.
"Um... Jessica, I'm over here."
Lucas Reeve's words drew the attention of everyone present.
"Mr... Mr. Reeve!!!"
Jessica was completely shocked. She stared at the little fire person in front of her, feeling a bit skeptical for a moment.
"Mhm."
Lucas Reeve nodded.
Lucas Reeve had thought that Jessica wouldn't be able to accept his current form right away and was just about to explain, when suddenly!
Jessica snatched Lucas Reeve up and held him in her palm.
"Wow!!! Mr. Reeve is so cute!!!"
Franka also had a sudden burst of girlish feelings and playfully poked Lucas Reeve with her finger.
"He really is cute."
As for the three from Penguin Logistics, they already knew Lucas Reeve's identity. Only Sora didn't. She stammered a bit.
"Tex! Tex, that little fire person is talking!! So cute!!"
Texas sighed and explained to Sora.
"That is Miss Surtr's and Miss Jessica's second personality."
"Second personality?"
Sora didn't know what Texas was talking about.
"It's..."
Texas began to explain.
"It's like, when we first met Jessica, Miss Jessica would often switch between being shy and being serious. That's because the serious persona is the second personality, which is this little flame person. It's the same for Miss Surtr."
Texas's explanation was simple, and Sora understood it easily.
Due to the considerable amount of information.
Sora couldn't quite process it for a moment. After a little while, she finally said.
"Tex, are you saying... the Jessica who saved me before... was... this flame person named Lucas Reeve?"
"Uh... that's right. After all, you should be able to tell from their auras. Miss Jessica's own aura is completely different from Mr. Reeve's."
"How... how did you all know...."
"We just found out."
Texas said, "During our last mission."
"Hmph."
Surtr was very displeased.
Especially when she saw Lucas Reeve being held in Jessica's arms, her displeasure reached its peak. She snatched the little fire person version of Lucas Reeve back from Jessica's embrace, placed him on her shoulder, narrowed her eyes, and snorted coldly.
In her eyes.
Laevatain was her only friend and only family. She couldn't let anyone else take him away!
Surtr's almost cold and domineering action also stunned both Jessica and Franka.
The two of them raised their heads.
After a moment of shock, their gazes gradually sharpened, intertwining with Surtr's. Sparks even seemed to fly where their eyes met.
If it were anything else, the kind-hearted Jessica might have taken a step back. But when it came to Lucas Reeve, Jessica was not prepared to back down, and she couldn't possibly back down!! No matter who it was, they wouldn't take Mr. Reeve from her side!
As for the nearby Nian, she was stunned for a moment, then said.
"Hello, my name is Nian. I am Mr. Reeve's match-made-in-heaven confidant."
Match-made-in-heaven!!
Jessica and Franka's eyes widened at the same time.
The enemy was two people, not one!!!