Shiro’s voice rang out from outside the sanatorium entrance.
Seeing him appear, joy unconsciously surfaced on Aponia’s face.
Meanwhile, the previously hostile Kalpas and Sakura both fixed their gazes firmly on the young man.
With their level of strength, they hadn’t even noticed when the young man had appeared.
As Sakura watched the young man, her expression changed instantly once she saw his face clearly.
As a member of the Flame-Chasers’ “Poison Chrysalis”…
Even if she wasn’t qualified to know certain classified information, every member of the Flame-Chasers knew who the organization’s current strongest combatant was.
Information regarding this individual had been extensively collected by the Flame-Chasers as early as after the eruption of the Third Herrscher.
Scanning his gaze over the group, Shiro chuckled softly.
“Rather than looking like you’re about to tear each other apart, why don’t we sit down and talk?”
His suggestion caused Sakura to fall silent.
The hand gripping her hilt relaxed slightly.
Facing Shiro, even the usually taciturn and decisive assassin couldn’t help but feel constrained.
It wasn’t until she heard her superior’s voice over the comms that the pink-haired Damselette’s expression shook slightly.
Then, changing her tone, she spoke to Shiro with respect:
“Mr.
Shiro, I did not know this place was under your command.
This visit was a transgression; please forgive us, Your Excellency.”
“To make up for this mistake, if Your Excellency has any requests, we will do our best to fulfill them.”
Shiro could tell from her tone that this was a message her superiors wanted her to convey.
But then again, the Flame-Chasers were about to belong to him anyway.
Therefore, Shiro magnanimously decided not to take offense this time.
Having received a definitive reply, the pink-haired Damselette breathed a sigh of relief and bowed gratefully to Shiro before leading her subordinates away.
Shiro was somewhat puzzled by Sakura’s behavior.
But then he noticed that the departing Damselette did not have that familiar pair of fox ears on her head.
Only then did Shiro realize that his impressions from before his Transmigration were simply too deep-seated.
This caused Shiro to view the Thirteen Flame-Chasers as they were in their powerful MANTIS forms.
But now, since even the Super Transformation Surgery hadn’t happened yet, most of the Flame-Chasers’ strength was far from what Shiro expected.
Thinking about it, Sakura—who hadn’t yet become a MANTIS—facing off against Kalpas early…
Just thinking about the outcome made Shiro’s heart skip a beat.
The Thirteen Flame-Chasers almost lost a member.
Sakura truly was stubborn; even when sensing the threat of death, she still insisted on completing the mission.
Fortunately, Shiro’s arrival prompted her superior to cancel the mission.
By a stroke of luck, Shiro had gained a significant amount of favor from Sakura.
On one side, no one knew how dramatic Shiro’s inner monologue was.
On the other side, Kalpas and Pardo seemed to be standing rooted to the spot in a daze.
Coming to his senses, Kalpas realized that Shiro had dismissed the “invaders” with just a few words, without even a fight.
He gave Shiro a deep look before turning to return to his room.
With the tiger gone, the fox—no, the cat—also tucked away her Tail.
Pardo crept up to Aponia’s side and whispered, “Sister Nia, this gentleman…
no, boss…
do you know him?”
Looking at Pardo’s timid kitten-like appearance, Shiro couldn’t help but feel it was a pity.
If she were already a MANTIS, he would definitely be able to see Pardo’s cat-like airplane ears right now.
“Pardo, Shiro used to live here as well.
It’s thanks to him that the symptoms of those severely ill Honkai patients in the sanatorium could be stabilized.”
Aponia introduced Shiro to Pardo in a gentle tone.
At the same time, Aponia introduced Pardo to Shiro.
Shiro sized up the brown-haired Damselette before him.
Not counting that previous glance, this was the first time he was officially meeting Pardo.
Looking at the youthful girl in front of him, images of this “Dream of the Void” Flame-Chaser kept surfacing in Shiro’s mind.
The thirteenth Flame-Chaser, a girl with cat ears and a cat Tail who walked as silently as a cat.
In the original timeline, without even understanding the nature of the Flame-Chasers organization, she had relied on her cat-like agility to bypass the perimeter guards and was only discovered after slipping deep into the base.
As a result, the staff inside mistook her for a volunteer for the Super Transformation Surgery.
“What is your name?”
“Pa…
Pa…”
“Don’t be afraid, it’ll be over soon.”
“Huh?”
“You probably think that if you win this gamble, you won’t have to worry about food or drink ever again, right?”
“?
Yes, that’s right.
(How does she know I’m here to stock up on goods?!)”
At that time, Pardofelis, who had been inexplicably taken into the operating room and was lying on the operating table, failed to truly grasp the situation.
“It’s okay, there’s no shame in admitting it.
Most people who come here think the same way.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is?
(Is the competition in this business really that fierce lately?)”
“Ah…
maybe.
(Those bosses who often buy my stuff would definitely be shocked.)”
“I’ll confirm one last time: the success rate for this is quite low, and it’s not too late to back out now.
But…
if you have something you’re determined to do, I will naturally do my best to help you out.”
After a conversation where neither side understood the other, the staff member concluded that Pardofelis was the kind of person who would risk her life to achieve a goal or uphold a conviction.
A pure warrior, or a pure Gambler.
Meanwhile, Pardo thought the staff member in the white coat was a fellow professional.
Not only had they infiltrated the Flame-Chasers’ base a step ahead of her, but they had also discovered her coming in to ‘restock’ and offered her two choices: cooperate or leave.
“Okay!
Then I’ll leave it to you!
Let’s pull off something big together!”
Pardofelis chose to cooperate.
The staff member, feeling both surprise at her optimistic attitude and a sense of pity, injected the anesthetic and let Pardo fall asleep.
The words many volunteers spoke before being anesthetized often became their final last words.
The operating table became an altar, and the staff members were like sorcerers listening to people’s prayers.
They themselves had become somewhat numb.
Until Pardofelis woke up on the operating table and became a MANTIS.
When the staff member excitedly reported to their superior, they discovered that her name wasn’t in the volunteer files at all.
Countless Flame-Chasers members were dumbfounded, but the preciousness of a MANTIS was beyond doubt, and so Pardofelis joined the Flame-Chasers from then on.
“Hello, Pardofelis.”
Shiro greeted Pardo in a friendly manner.
“He…
hello.”
Meeting Shiro’s gaze, Pardo felt a bit of psychological pressure.
Her innate good luck and sharp intuition told Pardo that the person in front of her might be even more formidable than Brother Kalpas.
So, she originally intended to follow her instincts and add the suffix “Brother” to Shiro’s name, but just as she was about to say it, she upgraded the title.
“Brother Night…
ah, no…
Boss Shiro!”
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!