10:45 a.m. Clear skies. Visibility sixteen kilometers.
Wilderness outside Chernobog, in an uninhabited zone. Inside the Penguin Logistics off-road truck.
Lucian stared at the distant Landship and let out a low whistle.
"So that's the legendary Rhodes Island. Looks a lot more ordinary than I expected. Doesn't it have, I don't know… a positron fortress cannon or something?"
On Terra, from massive mobile cities like Chernobog with populations in the millions to little mining towns on wheels, people lived on platforms that could move.
But a mobile city was one thing. An armored Landship was something else entirely.
Sure, nations fielded land battleships. But a private company maintaining a vessel like that? Hard to imagine.
So when Lucian first heard Rhodes Island was a Landship, he'd assumed it was some walking war machine bristling with guns. From the outside, though, it looked almost… normal.
Exusiai gave a wicked grin. "Don't get disappointed yet. Once we're inside, it gets really cool."
"Rhodes Island isn't just Operators. There are tons of Infected patients, and their lives are totally normal. There's even a whole farm out behind the deck! Isn't the idea of farming on a Landship romantic?"
"Coming from a woman who can't keep a cactus alive," Lucian said dryly, "that's a weird pitch for romance."
He looked again at the Landship.
"But turning a ship into a home ordinary people can live in… that's kind of nice. Romantic in its own way."
If you thought of Rhodes Island as some giant RV, it felt like you were always traveling.
Lucian wouldn't mind driving across Terra someday—assuming he had food and water.
He cleared his throat. "One last check. El, the Guardian Gun ready?"
Exusiai pushed her sunglasses up with theatrical flair. "No problem! Not a speck of dust on it. Zero chance of jamming."
Lucian nodded in satisfaction.
Then he addressed Texas behind the wheel and Croissant in the passenger seat.
"For safety: when we board, they're definitely going to confiscate your sword and hammer. If things go south, El and I will start the first wave. You two focus on retrieving your weapons. Good?"
Croissant gave a thumbs-up. "Got it, boss! But aren't we here for business? Why would we fight Rhodes Island?"
"Because it never hurts to be careful." Lucian grew serious.
"I'm still not convinced about this so-called 'Infected rights organization.' Sounds shady as hell. Blaze is kind of gullible. Maybe someone upstairs tricked her. And their leader is a fourteen-year-old rabbit, right? A child labor boss—that isn't suspicious?"
Croissant gasped. "Wow! Coming from the man who picked up a random high-school girl and took her home, that is some world-class hypocrisy!"
Lucian punished her with a Holy Son Justice Punch.
Unfortunately, Croissant's head was as tough as a day-old baguette. In the end, Lucian only hurt his own hand. Completely not worth it.
Their Penguin comedy routine was interrupted when Texas spoke.
"They're coming. The long-haired Feline at the front is Blaze."
After two days apart, Blaze gave them a casual greeting and led them straight into Rhodes Island.
The Operators with her seemed completely normal. They even helped park the truck in the hangar.
No one confiscated their weapons. No one surrounded them or watched them suspiciously. The atmosphere was so relaxed it felt like checking into a regular hotel.
Lucian felt almost embarrassed by how tense he'd been.
"Blaze," he said slowly, "you just… let anyone on board? No checks or anything?"
"Medical checks are required," Blaze said matter-of-factly. "To prevent anyone from bringing in weird pathogens. After you talk to Amiya, I'll take you. Half of Rhodes Island is residential—we have to prevent cross-contamination."
"And besides that? No security checks?"
"Oh, that." Blaze nodded. "If you were civilians seeking help, then yeah, your weapons would be confiscated."
"But you're not here for treatment—you're here to cooperate, right?"
She smiled broadly.
"Rhodes Island sees you as equals. The moment we invited you on board, we chose to trust you. Our people also have personal boundaries. As long as your gear isn't too outrageous, it's allowed."
She pointed at Lucian and Exusiai.
"And come on. There's no way we'd confiscate an Sankta's Gun. If we gave special treatment only to people with Halos, the rest would feel left out. Easier to just allow weapons across the board."
Lucian nodded. "Makes sense. Pretty diverse place."
The Sankta of Laterano treated their Firearms like extensions of their own lives, carrying them everywhere unless under extraordinary circumstances.
Back home, everyone did it, so no one questioned it. Abroad, though, it was rare—except in open cities like Lungmen, where special law allowed Sankta to carry firearms.
Rhodes Island seemed to operate under a similar philosophy.
Not because they were naïve.
But because they were confident—confident enough that if anyone tried anything, their Operators could neutralize the threat immediately.
Lucian appreciated that kind of boldness. It made him warm up to Rhodes Island—
Texas froze.
As they rounded a corridor, her entire body tensed. The fur on her tail exploded outward. One hand instinctively reached for her sword.
Lucian grabbed her wrist first.
Without breaking stride, he shook his head and spoke casually to Blaze.
"Blaze. Rhodes Island allows weapons. But to prevent trouble… do you assign someone to shadow us?"
"What are you talking about?"
Blaze frowned. "That's rude. I just said Rhodes Island doesn't do stuff like that. Why are you so suspicious? Look—besides me guiding you, do you see anyone else?"
"…Fair enough. Sorry."
Lucian smiled lightly and dropped the subject.
But he, Texas, and Croissant had all felt it—the discreet gaze of someone monitoring them.
Not hostile, but cautious. Ready to act if needed.
Texas reacted the strongest.
Tail twitching, ears quivering, she leaned close and whispered:
"Lucian, something dangerous is nearby. I'm sorry—but if we fight that thing, I will die."
"I know. Stay beside me."
Lucian tightened his hold on her hand, keeping her close.
He didn't know what had spooked Texas this badly—but anyone who could make her tremble like this had terrifying strength.
Meanwhile, the other two of Penguin Logistics…
Exusiai felt no murderous presence whatsoever. But she did sense Lucian's hand-holding—and the jealousy flared instantly.
"What do you two think you're doing!? Is this really the time, you idiots?!"
Yet she still scooted closer and latched onto Lucian's other arm.
Croissant's eyes sparkled. "Huh? What's going on? Are we playing the stick-close game? Count me in!"
The bread woman launched herself up, clamping her legs around Lucian's waist and riding on his back.
Lucian nearly choked. Do these two have soy milk sloshing around in their heads?!
He didn't even get the chance to pry Croissant off before Blaze opened a door and led them into a study.
A small rabbit girl peeked up from behind the desk and spoke politely.
"Welcome, members of Penguin Logistics. I'm the director of Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals. Please call me Amiya…"
Her polite smile faltered as she took in their group.
"Um… may I ask… are these interesting poses your attempt at mimicking Penguin family ecology?"