"Want to go wash up? I..."
"No... no need!"
Chadite suddenly stood up and walked forward stiffly. She seed to feel Alka’s gaze on her back. She walked quietly, seemingly calm, though her stiff, machine-like walk—arms and legs on the sa side moving in unison—gave her away.
Once she reached the corner of the aftcastle, she was finally out of Alka’s sight.
At that mont, Julia and Matilda were quietly watching from the first-floor corner of the aftcastle. When Chadite turned the corner and saw them, she was sowhat surprised. Then, she suddenly relaxed and collapsed.
The two quickly supported her.
"I... my legs went weak..." Chadite’s voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz as she spoke feebly.
Hearing this, Matilda quickly bent down. "Let heal you a bit."
Julia hurriedly stopped her. "Her body isn’t the problem; it’s her mind that’s the issue."
"Huh?" Matilda was a bit surprised, then clenched her fist with determination. "I will try my best to heal it!"
Julia sighed. "No... Oh, whatever."
Julia helped Chadite fully to her feet. She looked at Chadite’s current state, then glanced towards the rooftop where Number Two was shouting and making wild declarations.
Is this really growth? she wondered. Why does it feel like regression instead?
At this mont, Chadite’s sensitivity to her surroundings had drastically decreased. She looked at Julia, who was supporting her.
"What’s wrong?"
"Do I... really sll bad?"
Julia sighed and slapped her own forehead heavily, her spirits sinking. She handed Chadite, whom she had been supporting, to Matilda.
"Take her to the bathhouse; she surely wants a good bath now."
"Alright." Matilda, although not fully understanding, assisted Chadite upstairs.
Julia stood in place and casually waved her hand. A wave of Coldness flew out, shattering the Mirror beside her. Then she walked out of the corner, looking at Alka, who was smiling not far away. She glared at Alka with disdain, her eyes filled with the kind of scorn one reserves for scum.
With a disdainful "Ptooey!", she turned her head and followed the other two.
Alka stood rooted to the spot, watching Julia leave, awkwardly scratching his cheek.
Darn, it seems I’ve gone a bit overboard, he thought.
At this mont, at the entrance of the first-floor dining room, Juanlu and Simon poked their heads out. Juanlu reached out and shook a bell, signaling that it was alti. Simon, anwhile, slowly extended his right hand and made a gesture. His index finger suddenly vanished, then reappeared, transford, as his thumb. Just like that, Simon gave Alka a solemn thumbs-up, a gesture of complete affirmation from a brother.
As a rope swung down, Jason descended with the Crystal Dragon.
"Aren’t you afraid of getting your head punched off?" Jason looked at Alka, shaking his head a bit in confusion.
Isn’t a gentle little sister cute? he mused. Why must you challenge the limits? Hmm, I don’t get it.
"You better not beco a violent girl in the future," Jason patted the Crystal Dragon’s head and said.
The Crystal Dragon tilted its head. "BUJI!"
"No, no, no, that’s not cool!" Jason said. "You should beco a lady. What you saw just now was Chadite’s hidden side. If you look at Number Two, you’ll see *that’s* her true nature."
Jason, with an air of having seen through it all, lectured the Crystal Dragon.
Alka silently followed behind. Hearing the conversation between the man and the dragon, he rolled his eyes.
Why has he really beco such a doting father?
However, he could understand Jason’s perspective. After all, a few years ago, when Jason had just beco a Toucher, his aptitude for combat techniques wasn’t particularly keen, and he had been thoroughly battered by Chadite during training. That experience had once left him with a psychological scar, and coupled with so embarrassing childhood secrets Gami had revealed, the image of Chadite as violent was deeply rooted in his heart.
The surface of the sea broke with a splash, and Pororo leaped out, still clutching a massive sea fish as he headed towards the dining room. "Haha, what a catch!"
anwhile, up on the aftcastle, Lucilia, awakened by the bell, stepped out of her room. Seeing the Puppet Girls standing around, she asked curiously, "Why are you all gathered here? What’s with those bizarre looks of yours?"
Although the Puppet Girls’ minds had only recently fully matured, they too seed to sense it was better not to speak at that mont.
「...」
"You’ve also been promoted to the Third Stage?" Alka asked, looking at Simon’s sowhat unstable Magic Power fluctuations.
By this ti, everyone at the dining table had already taken their seats. Even Chadite had returned to normal, her hair slightly damp.
Upon hearing Alka’s words, Simon nodded. "Just promoted last night. Can’t let you get too far ahead of ."
Hearing that Simon had been promoted, Alka pulled out the notebook he had written in last night. Simon took it curiously and looked through it.
He frowned at the entries. "Really? Are your detection paraters accurate?"
"Of course they’re accurate. I used the Soul Detection Ring," Alka said, handing the ring-like object to Simon. "You check too. See if your conclusions match mine."
Simon nodded, picked up the detection ring, and began to ditate on the spot.
The few others at the table continued eating, listening to the pair’s incomprehensible discussion. However, they didn’t interrupt; everyone chatted about their own topics. After all, wasn’t it perfectly normal not to understand the talk of technical specialists?
Only Matilda was scrutinizing the records in the notebook with a serious expression. She was also considered one of the ship’s technical personnel; normally, she was the one who primarily used the Soul Detection Ring. Her understanding of the human body far surpassed that of the two n. This Magic Item, capable of precisely detecting conditions of the body and even the soul and providing data, was her absolute favorite.
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