Arlo grabbed the bottom of his T-shirt and wiped his mouth with it, grinning evilly as he did so.
And as expected, Captain Ennessa’s smile rapidly disappear as a vein popped on her forehead.
"You... How dare you! With my brother’s cloth!"
A sad expression immediately appeared on Arlo’s face.
"Oh, it’s your brother’s cloth? I didn’t know that. I’m really sorry."
"But you know this wouldn’t have happened if you had simply given me the tissue. It’s fully your fault..."
Captain Ennessa’s vein seemed to throb even harder.
She looked as though she was about to grab an apple and fling it directly at his head, but eventually snorted coldly and chose to ignore him, turning her attention back toward the device in her hands.
Her expression plumetted once more, and the sudden change greatly piqued Arlo’s curiosity.
"Is something wrong?"
Captain Ennessa turned the screen toward him.
Arlo looked at the picture and read the note beneath it, causing his expression to immediately drop.
"Oh. Guess things aren’t going to be peaceful in that sector anymore..."
Captain Ennessa let out a long sigh before explaining the cause of the new problem.
"Do you know anything about the sectors?" Captain Ennessa asked and Arlo gave a nod.
"Yes. I know, according to you, that Sector Z is a backwater sector where it is an incredibly hot desert, and the last mission we underwent was in Sector X, where there is probably an ongoing war. And, um... that’s all I know," Arlo finished, prompting Captain Ennessa to slap a hand against her forehead.
"It really is a disgrace that there is a person in this world who has absolutely no idea about the sectors. Then let me enlighten you..."
Arlo immediately perked his ears up. This was a chance to learn about the new world he had found himself in, and it was an opportunity he couldn’t afford to waste.
"The number of sectors is divided according to the number of alphabets, from A to Z. They’re also divided into three categories: Vorath territory, Human territory, and Unsafe territory, which is unfit for either race."
"The Unsafe territory consists of just five sectors: V, W, X, Y, and Z. They act as war zones between the two races and sometimes serve as secret hideouts for the Vorath."
"Oh, like the one in Sector X?" Arlo asked, remembering that they had gone there to fight in a Vorath hideout.
"Yes, exactly."
"And with those five places being unsafe, that leaves only twenty-one sectors?" Arlo asked, earning a nod from her.
"Out of those twenty-one, the Human territory owns sixteen sectors."
"WHAT!?" Arlo exclaimed in shock.
"Wait, wait. So if the Humans own sixteen sectors, then the Vorath forces only own five sectors?" Arlo asked in disbelief.
Captain Ennessa nodded.
"Wow. That’s basically an area advantage for the Humans, isn’t it?"
Never would Arlo have guessed that the Humans controlled sixteen sectors while the Vorath controlled only five.
He had assumed that, since it was a war, both sides would own roughly the same amount of territory, with perhaps a slight difference indicating which race was currently winning.
"While the Humans might truly own sixteen sectors, that doesn’t mean we have any advantage."
Captain Ennessa’s expression became serious.
"The Vorath don’t even reach a quarter of our total population, so those five sectors are already more than enough for them. And besides, those five sectors are heavily barricaded. So much so that no Human who has ever entered one of the five great barricades of the Vorath has ever returned!"
Captain Ennessa’s declaration sent a chill down Arlo’s spine.
"But now, Vorath who have remained secluded within those five sectors are being sighted in Sector F, one of the sectors with the highest Human population density.
"We might have brushed it off as the usual stupid Vorath curiosity, where their young ones occasionally wander over here, only to get caught, and either killed or ransomed back for an especially large fee from their leaders."
"But twenty sightings in a single week are definitely not some Vorath curiosity. Most likely, they’re preparing something big, and in a sector with such a high population, whatever they’re planning can’t be anything good..."
Captain Ennessa’s expression became troubled as a gleam of light flickered through Arlo’s eyes.
"So does that mean..."
He had not completed the question, when,
DRIIIIING!
DRIIIIING!
He was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a vibration followed by a short musical tone.
Captain Ennessa reached into her coat and pulled out a smaller rectangular shaped device.
After swiping across its surface, she raised it to her ear.
A voice echoed through the dinning.
"Hello, Ennessa."
"Hello, Delaney," she replied.
"Congratulations on your last mission. Your crew has already come to retrieve the reward, but you haven’t, and the same could be said for your last ten successfully completed missions."
There was a hint of annoyance in Delaney’s voice as Captain Ennessa rolled her eyes.
"I already told you to give them to the lesser hunters. I don’t need those rewards."
"How can you keep performing missions and taking no rewards!? It seems to me like you’re just risking your life for nothing. Like, you know, you have nothing to show for it..."
The tiny voice came through the device as Arlo turned toward Captain Ennessa with a raised eyebrow.
Why wouldn’t she take her rewards after almost dying during such dangerous missions, instead giving them to lesser hunters?
It may look like an act of kindness, but Arlo knew there’s no saying what might save one’s life at the last moment.
"The results are the successfully completed missions and the Vorath I’ve sent to hell for their crimes. So I really do get my rewards in full."
"That’s the twentieth time I’ve heard you say that. You really are a bonehead. Anyway, Ennessa, have you heard the ongoing news from Sector F?"
"Yeah. I just heard about it this evening."
"Well, the higher-ups are extremely worried about it, and they’re predicting that it might be the beginning of another massacre like the one in Sector H.
"So they’re sending various Captain-level Hunters to the scene with their crews. Their mission will be to gather clues and apprehend as many Vorath as possible.
"I know you’re not interested in the reward, so I doubt that will be much of an advantage for you, but I will say this might be a really serious case, judging by what the higher-ups are offering as a reward for signing up.
"It’s three times greater than what you received for your last dangerous mission in Sector X."
"Sign me up for it," Captain Ennessa immediately replied.
Arlo furrowed his eyebrows.
"You bonehead! You didn’t even hear the danger level..."
"That doesn’t matter. If they’re sending other amateurs called captains to the scene, then I don’t think it should be beyond my level," Captain Ennessa replied, her expression barely changing.
"The mission will begin just a week from now, so you have a week to rest before it starts. See you soon, Ennessa.
"And those rewards are still with me. I’m not giving away your hard work."
"Hey, Delaney, I said..."
"Bye."
The call abruptly ended.
Arlo stared at Captain Ennessa in silence.
A week.
Another mission.
And judging by the reward, it was going to be far more dangerous than the last one.
"That idiot..." Captain Ennessa said as she put the device back into her pocket before stuffing another piece of meat into her mouth.
"Um, Captain Ennessa, so you’re going on another mission next week..."
"Call me Ennessa when we’re alone. And also, I’m not going on a mission next week."
"Huh?" Arlo raised an eyebrow at her words. "But I just heard you saying to sign you up for the mission..."
"Yes. My crew and I will be going on the mission," Captain Ennessa said, and Arlo nodded repeatedly.
"Okay, okay. You and your crew..." Arlo said, only for Captain Ennessa to shake her head while looking at him as though he were an idiot.
"I hope you know my crew also includes you, right?"
"WHAT!? Of course it doesn’t. I am your forcibly recruited intern, not a member of your crew!" Arlo protested, earning a nod from Captain Ennessa.
"Yeah, that isn’t wrong. But do you know about Act 6 of Intern Recruitment?"
"Here we go again..." Arlo said, his expression plummeting.
"Well, it says that a captain is allowed to take his or her intern along in any way they see fit, provided there is no potential danger to the intern’s life," Captain Ennessa quoted.
"But there actually is a potential danger to my life. I couldn’t do anything except get my arm broken during the last mission, and the Vorath moved too fast for me to even follow their movements."
"And this is a mission where they’re sending multiple people at your power level. I’d just be asking to get killed, wouldn’t I!?" Arlo asked, earning a nod of approval from Captain Ennessa.
"That is right."
"Good. So I’m out of this mission, right?"
"No."
"Huh?"
"You’re unfit to be a crew member because you ought to have fused with your first core at sixteen, then undergone two years of training with the Xecno Military before being placed under a captain. And how old are you even, Kiddo?"
"Sixteen?" Arlo replied, causing Captain Ennessa to raise an eyebrow.
"So, the age when you ought to have fused with your first core."
"Don’t tell me it’s free."
"It’s not. But you don’t have to worry about that because..."