White hair, green eyes, a calm expression, and wise gaze.
Goki knew this Researcher Miss.
Fate brings people together from a thousand miles away.
Inside a small marine research institute in eastern Saltwind City.
The surrounding windows were sealed, but the room was not dim; instead, it was illuminated by white energy-saving lights, and one could even see sterilization lamps emitting a faint purple glow.
Goki and Skadi were sitting on a narrow reception chair inside the institute, leaning against a somewhat aged table.
No, it was more like a hospital consultation office than a reception desk.
Besides this area, in the temporal part of the room, there were many operating mechanical devices—lights of various colors, seemingly for detecting something.
As for Goki, an Old Hunter who knew nothing about the research Domain and whose medical knowledge was stuck at the medieval level of Yharnam, he could only spot a microscope among them.
However, in the center of the room, there was a small, disc-shaped facility, primarily golden, but it was not activated.
That was the emergency treatment facility, Aegir technology.
"This is just a marine research institute; there's not much else. An old friend taught me how to brew seaweed wine, so I gave it a try."
Not far away, a young-looking Feline woman researcher in a white lab coat was bending over, rummaging through a small refrigerator.
Skadi was clutching the greatsword in her weapon scabbard, her blood-red eyes vigilantly fixed on the Feline woman a few meters away. She was quite tense, seemingly ready to draw her sword and start a whirlwind attack at any moment.
Goki, on the other hand, appeared exceptionally calm. He twirled the cane on his knee, curiously observing the surrounding research facilities, while quietly waiting for the room's owner to entertain them.
"Goki…"
Skadi looked at her friend hesitantly, her brows furrowed with worry.
She found it strange. Why was Goki completely unguarded against such a highly threatening woman, more dangerous than those Inquisitors?
Could it be… just because she was pretty?
"Don't worry, don't worry, leave it to me."
As for Goki, he seemed exceptionally confident.
In fact, the Hunter's instinct within his body was already stirring.
He deeply realized that this seemingly frail Feline woman in front of him was different from all the terrestrial life forms on Terra he had ever seen.
The scent emanating from her body made Goki instinctively want to draw his weapon.
Not body odor! And the weapon wasn't *that* weapon!
Although there seemed to be a tiny bit… well, this Feline woman gave Goki an extremely dangerous feeling.
It was as if a terrifying beast was lurking within that slender body, and there was even an Aura of the passage of time about her.
However… Goki trusted her, trusted this woman in front of him. As long as he wasn't hostile towards her, she would absolutely not do anything to harm him or Skadi.
"After all, she is also the primary female supporting character — my Doctor Kal'tsit."
Thinking of this, Goki couldn't help but smile.
Kal'tsit, the Old Lynx, the enigmatic riddle-speaker who doesn't speak plainly, the embodiment of green screaming.
If in the game Arknights, Goki played the awakened Doctor, adventuring with an organization called Rhodes Island in a crisis-ridden Terra, walking to save the oripathy infected who suffered on the land.
This Feline woman in front of him would serve as the head of the medical department of the pharmaceutical company, playing the role of a guide.
Before the establishment of Rhodes Island, and even before the appearance of Rhodes Island's predecessor, Babel, this visionary whose gaze encompassed the entire land was still wandering across the land of Terra.
And Kal'tsit's lifespan… was at least several hundred years, even Goki, a Hunter who had been trapped in Yharnam for an unknown number of years, was much younger than her.
Her gaze extended across all of Terra; she walked for the peace of the entire land.
Goki was a little excited, but he still appeared calm.
After all, the current Kal'tsit was merely a researcher.
"Please drink. I am not skilled in this Dao — don't worry, these beakers have been well sterilized."
Soon, the "researcher" walked over with a tray, placed two beakers containing a pale green solution in front of Goki and Skadi, and sat opposite them with an indifferent expression.
"You call this seaweed wine… at least it should be colorless."
Skadi frowned; clearly, this Aegir native was not very fond of the drink.
However, she was more concerned about other things.
"Forget it — who exactly are you, and what do you know?"
Pushing away the seaweed wine in front of her, Skadi stared intently at the woman with triangular ears on top of her head, questioning her half-accusingly.
"Aegir people have been landing on the shores for over a hundred years. Their culture and technology have long permeated every aspect of Iberia. Mastering fluent Aegirian was once a point of honor for Iberia's upper class; they would even use it to compete with each other."
However, facing Skadi's undisguised threat, the researcher opposite remained utterly calm and expressionless.
"But after The Great Silence, everything related to Aegir became a complete taboo. The Inquisition strictly prohibited any Aegirian texts or records from appearing, and even Aegir people became objects of suspicion… Was the sterilization not done well?"
Picking up the beaker in front of her, the researcher calmly took a sip, her delicate brows slightly furrowing as if the taste was not good, but her tone remained calm.
"However, none of this concerns you, Nona, or rather… Abyssal Hunter. You have no relation to the Aegir people on the land. Your proud race still exists in the ocean — and you are worried about whether your body will undergo undesirable changes."
"You — who exactly are you? What do you know?"
Slapping the table, leaving two palm prints on the sturdy alloy product, Skadi stood up abruptly, her vigilance deepening into intense suspicion.
One table, two emotionless faces, four eyes meeting. It was clear who was truly expressionless and who was merely feigning composure.
Although the woman in front of her had just been met, her profound gaze was sharper than the pincers of a Seaborn, easily uncovering many secrets Skadi had buried deep in her heart.
"What does this woman know?"
Skadi hadn't fully disclosed this information even to Goki beside her, but had introduced her destroyed homeland to him little by little.
But… this woman from the land, clearly not an Aegirian, knew everything about this Aegirian.
How could Skadi not be vigilant?
Opposite, the researcher — Kal'tsit — still maintained her calm, like an ancient well without ripples.
And internally, Kal'tsit was indeed thinking rapidly.
"Perhaps a great change has indeed occurred underwater. Abyssal Hunters leaving the sea and coming ashore is absolutely not a good sign — the worst-case scenario is that the Abyssal Hunters have already severely wounded the Seaborn but have also lost their organization… What about the situation in Aegir?"
Kal'tsit, the lonely traveler.
She had walked too long a path, seen countless things on the land, witnessed the rise and fall of Dynasties, and Iberia was merely one of them.
Decades ago, when The Great Silence occurred, she was in a prosperous and open Iberia.
The rulers ignored her, a "common Leithanien scholar," when she warned against over-utilizing Aegir technology and venturing into the ocean.
And after The Great Silence occurred, she was directly expelled from the country.
Now, her re-entry into Iberia was not through legal channels.
"This city has been infiltrated by the Abyssal Church. By myself, I may be insufficient. Alliances with Inquisition forces might push the situation to extremes… Only by uncovering the truth can we delay the ocean's encroachment on the land."
Her thoughts quickly concluded, and Kal'tsit maintained her indifferent expression.
She was not cold; she was merely… numb.
Her pale lips parted and closed, and she spoke the words in Aegirian.
"Abyssal Hunters are Bloodline-bound — I know everything."
Clang —
Almost instantly, the silver weapon case from Yharnam opened, the folded dark greatsword extended, and Skadi drew her weapon, her vigilance now transformed into hostility.
Kal'tsit remained seated, calmly holding the beaker.
"Phew… spicy! Although there's some sweetness, overall it's not bad!"
However, at the most tense moment, the person who had been ignored during the standoff suddenly spoke up beside them.
Goki stuck out his tongue and put down the empty beaker — he had finished the seaweed wine.
For him, who knew the identities and relationship of the two women in front of him, no matter how tense the atmosphere, he wasn't worried.
"This conversation, however, happened a bit earlier. I didn't expect Kal'tsit to be here."
"Compared to that, Young Misses, before we continue our conversation, we need to deal with some uninvited guests first."
Goki caught the sounds of colliding slime and rubbing bones from outside the room.
Clearly, it could only be Seaborn.
Although according to Skadi, Seaborn skilled at moving on land were not yet numerous, it seemed they had all come here.
"Besides, haven't we introduced ourselves yet?"
With a flick of his cane, transforming it into a whip over a meter long composed of countless small blades, Goki threw open his trench coat and drew his Hunter Pistol from within.
"Doctor Kal'tsit, could I trouble you to assist us in combat?"
Kal'tsit's expression remained calm, but her pupils suddenly contracted to tiny pinpricks.
Doctor… she hadn't been called that in a long time.
Skadi, beside her, suddenly felt an Aura emanating from this woman that startled her.
But then, that Aura vanished instantly, as if nothing had happened.
"I am merely an ordinary marine researcher. I will help you activate the rescue equipment — please don't damage valuable instruments. Consider this my compensation."
Gazing at the man who had been very low-key from the start, not an Abyssal Hunter, but very close to them, Kal'tsit realized… she couldn't see through him.
She wasn't truly omniscient as she claimed.
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