Folinic quickly abandoned the topic of the Ursus Empire.
She placed Lucian's blood sample into the analyzer and said matter-of-factly,
"You're not Infected, right? Blood pressure is normal, and your physical condition is good. As long as nothing strange shows up in the blood test, you're basically clear."
"Next, we'll head to logistics to see what kind of uniform you want... Oh, right—what kind of Operator do you want to be?"
Lucian raised a brow. "Operator meaning what, exactly?"
"It's basically your specialization."
Folinic elaborated:
"I heard you're all heading to Chernobog, right? Normally Rhodes Island doesn't classify collaborators as Operators unless they specifically request it—we don't want to put civilians in danger. But Chernobog is a mess right now. If you're going with Rhodes Island, you'll have to act as Operators and follow command. That's what Kal'tsit said."
Lucian nodded. "Makes sense. Pretty thorough."
If they were entering a combat zone, they needed centralized coordination—for everyone's safety.
Lucian wasn't going to argue with a reasonable point.
"So how do you classify Operators?" he asked. "What's the standard?"
"First is personal willingness. Then we evaluate suitability. If you don't have a preferred role, we base it on your Originium Arts potential and your physical ability. After full testing, we place you where you're needed."
She finished organizing his paperwork, then stood. "Your companions should be getting tested too. Let's go."
Moments later, in Rhodes Island's training hall.
Exusiai shouted, "Time for full firepower! Apuru Pai! " she cheered enthusiastically."
She unleashed eight Guns at once, shredding every target into sparkling confetti.
Behind bulletproof glass, Folinic's eyes nearly fell out of her skull.
"A-amazing! These readings are insane! Forget accuracy—why can she use that many Guns at once?! Her rate of fire and reaction speed are equivalent to three Sniper Operators combined! Is she even human?!"
Lucian corrected her calmly. "She's an Sankta."
Nothing about Exusiai's performance surprised him.
Yes, Rhodes Island had other Sankta, but none near her rank.
Exusiai was one of the finest shooters in Sankta history. After becoming Infected, spatial manipulation from her Originium Arts had shot through the roof—and even after her Oripathy healed, she hadn't declined.
But compared to her, Penguin Logistics' proud driver was... having a rough day.
Lucian squatted beside Texas and poked her cheek.
"Texas, you okay? You look completely wrecked."
"...Lucian..."
Texas lifted her head weakly.
Normally she radiated cool confidence, but right now her hair was a mess, and she sat curled up like an abandoned puppy.
If he didn't know she'd been with Red earlier, Lucian might've thought Rhodes Island had done something unspeakable to her—and he'd be seeing red, literally.
But for Texas, the emotional trauma was about the same.
She reached out, grabbed his sleeve with trembling fingers, and said with misty eyes,
"Lucian... if no one will marry me now... will you take me?"
Oh.
Lucian felt his heart melt instantly.
He took her hand and said affectionately,
"Forget being unable to marry. Even if you tried to run away at your own wedding, I'd charge in and steal you back. You're my ride-or-die, after all."
"Lucian...!"
Texas practically collapsed into his arms, cuddling up to him like a girl in love.
Folinic stared blankly. "What am I even looking at? And that Lupo—she's not actually dying, right? What happened?"
Croissant munched a stolen snack. "Don't worry, cher~. Earlier a little red she-wolf was guidin' us around, right?"
"She's suuuper fond of Texas. Spent half the time petting her fur. But Texas was scared stiff for some reason, and, uh... she ended up like this."
"Hah... Lupo are weird."
Folinic brushed the topic aside without concern and continued recording data for the Penguin Logistics group.
"Exusiai, Sankta, best suited for high-speed single-target Sniper. That one's obvious enough."
"Next is Texas, Lupo. Good with swords... whoa, these numbers are beautiful too!"
"And Croissant, Forte... wait, you're a cow? With a name like Croissant?"
Croissant shot back, "It's just a name! You think there's actually bread-people walking around out there!?"
Lucian had almost forgotten—despite her pastry-inspired name, Croissant was actually a Forte, a cattle race. A beef cow, to be precise.
They teased her about her name so often that Lucian sometimes forgot she wasn't actually made of dough. Though if anything, she'd be premium marbled wagyu...
A beautiful, well-marbled beef cow...
Lucian's gaze heated up.
"Mm. Full in all the right ways. Your thighs have great shape too. Lots of exercise—must make for a delicious balance of fat and lean... Say, Croissant, want to drop by my room before dinner? I'll pour you some fancy wine Swire gave me."
Croissant hugged herself. "No way! If it were a normal boy-girl invitation, that'd be fine, but you definitely wanna turn me into wine-braised beef! I'm a young lady, y'know! Stop seducing people's appetites!"
"...Boy–girl... relationship..." Folinic whispered, cheeks flaming as she rolled the words around.
Lucian could believe this girl had never even held a man's hand. Kal'tsit was the very definition of asceticism, and Folinic was clearly her student.
But repression had its limits.
Folinic was still a teenage girl—going from bare arms to imagining full nudity wasn't a stretch at all.
Lucian waved a hand in front of her dazed face.
"Hey, Miss Folinic? Stop stripping me and Croissant in your head."
"No matter how desperate I get, I'd never sink low enough to roll around with this carbohydrate-coated bread-person. Please respect my dignity."
Croissant exploded. "Who's a bread-person!? This is maidenly skin! And what do ya mean dignity?! Would sleepin' with me damage your dignity!? That's too much! Ya better pay damages this month or ya won't fix my emotional trauma! I'm callin' this employee abuse! " she pouted."
So compensation was negotiable through bonuses...
Everyone present gave the pair identical looks of disgust.
Leaving aside the sentient pastry with a mouth—
Folinic took one step back to create distance from Lucian and said,
"You're the last one. Since you're a Sankta, should we run the same live-fire test Exusiai did?"
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50 p.s for extra chapter!
Show some support guys or I'll just lose the motivation since its 1800+ chaps...
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