Published at 11th of August 2022 9:04 am

Book 8: Chapter 3:

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Once they returned to town, with Saya happily clinging to Fenrir’s arm the entire walk back until they were close enough that other people might see, Fenrir found that there was still some time before he had to leave with The Shoebill and Nell.

That meant there were several things he could do to pass the time.

One, he could go find where his girlfriends were and see what they were up to.

Two, he could see if there was anything around town to help out with.

Three, he could take a quick break and relax in the barebones town hall that they set up before figuring out something else to do.

He decided to go with three. That meant he could just sit down, relax, and have some alone time after being surrounded by people all day so far.

After telling Saya his plan, she went off to find something of her own to do. What that meant was that she’d be paying another visit to one of the little restaurants recently started up by some of the players. As much as she might have liked to spend some more time with Fenrir, the new restaurant’s breakfast menu made being separated perfectly alright.

As for Fenrir, he went into the town hall, closed the doors behind him, and sat down at the table in the center of the room. The interior really was plain. There were a few wooden cabinets and other furniture pieces spread around, but it all looked temporary aside from the trophy pedestal that featured none other than the tip of one of the great serpent’s teeth next to some scale fragments from the monster.

Fenrir originally wanted to do something such as placing the serpent’s massive skull in the center of town and building around that, but a certain somebody had a better idea for that which he ended up submitting to.

Now it was time to stretch out and sigh. “Having girlfriends is great… but I still like having some alone time,” Fenrir said to himself as he rested his head against the table.

“Sounds like I picked the perfect opportunity to interrupt then.”

As soon as Fenrir got a chance to rest, he found himself jerking upwards to confirm who the sudden speaker was.

Surely enough, sitting across from him was none other than the overseer herself.

“You’re cruel, Kadi,” Fenrir sighed.

“I enjoy that you feel comfortable enough around me to so easily call me by my first name,” Kadi replied with a smile.

“Good, because I’ve never been good with proper manners around authority figures.”

“Oh, trust me. I am well aware of that. Anyways, I have something I would like to discuss with you.”

“I can’t promise that I’ll be the best conversational partner right now, but you can always talk at me.”

“That is enough.”

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

Kadi paused for a few moments before asking in a serious tone, “The human body is so… frail, isn’t it?”

“What makes you say that?” Fenrir asked in return.

“You should know better than most. All it takes is a single accident to potentially lose your life. The real world is awfully dangerous for you humans. But here? You can make as many accidents as you want. You can even die as much as you want. Yet, no matter how many times you may die here, you never face true death.”

“Because it’s a game.”

“Of course. That is the nature of games. They are not real and that includes the dangers within them. I strongly doubt that most people would choose to play a game if it meant that there was a chance they could die. That is what has gotten me thinking about something.”

“And what would that something be?”

“Life. Death. Humanity. Humans are generally risk averse. They avoid harm as much as they can – well, most of you. Those who pursue pain beyond simple, hedonistic reasons tend to be in the extreme minority. That being said, humans dislike pain and struggle to live for as long as they can. However… I have found that very few people care about surpassing death.”

“Are you talking about something like immortality?”

Kadi’s favorite button appeared for her to press and play that game show sound effect to let Fenrir know that he was right. “Correct. There are many humans who will vaguely talk about immortality, usually as a random topic that is brought up and never thought too deeply about. They ask things such as, ‘So, would you live forever if you could?’ or ‘What would you do if you could live forever?’ Simple questions. To my surprise, most people answer with negative opinions on the topic. They believe that if people could live forever, it would slow down progress and keep it from the newer generations, that it would be boring, that it would change people for the worse as they no longer had to fear death – if anything, reception to the concept has been overwhelmingly negative in all but the transhumanist circles.”

Fenrir wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She paused as if waiting for him to say something, but what was he supposed to say? All he could think of was a simple question, though he felt guilty about it since he figured that she was looking for a more simulating conversation than what he was able to offer her. “What made you think of all this?”

“Something I watched just last night. There was a debate between parties in your country for a small government seat. The Green Future Party and the Transhumanist Progression Movement.”

“I’m guessing the GFP won? I don’t really follow politics much, but they’re pretty popular.”

“Indeed. The GFP crushed the TPM in the debate. It was… confusing, to say the least. Disappointing to say the worst. The GFP wishes for technology to work to advance humanity while respect the natural order of things. Inflict as little harm as possible to the environment, modify food to be healthier via CRISPR and other gene editing techniques rather than the implementation of chemicals, and so on. They prioritize humanity working together with the environment and tolerate only the safest and most ‘natural’ of modifications.”

“I doubt the people from the beginning of the century would believe that what they’re doing with food counts as natural.”

“Very true. One could even say that modifying the genetic code of something is far less natural than forcing a plethora of chemicals into it. That is beside the point, however. Now, let’s look at the TPM. They generally agree with everything that the GFP is doing to further humanity, but they wish to take it all a step farther. For example, modifying the DNA of humans. Using the same technology that we use on food to rid humanity of diseases. To potentially prolong life to the point of near immortality. Yet, these concepts which I would think should be common sense for humanity to favor… are seen as outlandish and unethical. One particular quote stuck out to me from that debate from the GFP’s candidate. ‘Humans are not meant to live that long.’ Is that not beyond hypocritical for a human to believe?”

“How?”

“Think about it. Or rather, if you cannot agree that it is, try to convince me that it is not.”

Just as Kadi ordered, Fenrir thought about it for a few moments. What made it so hypocritical for humans to believe that they weren’t meant to live that long? It’s common sense that humans have lifespans that eventually end, he thought. Nothing is immortal. Nothing is meant to live forever since that’s just not how the universe works. “Nothing is meant to live forever,” he told her.

“Why?”

“Because that’s not how the universe works. Even stars and black holes eventually fade away and die.”

“So, just because nothing is supposed to last forever means that it is wrong to pursue that which does?”

“I don’t think it’s wrong, but I—”

“Think it’s pointless?”

“I wouldn’t say pointless. I don’t really know what I’d say. Why do you think it’s hypocritical to be against it?”

“Listen to that statement again. ‘Humans are not meant to live that long.’ Tell me, if humans are not meant to live that long, what are they meant to do?”

“Live full and satisfied lives.”

“What an idealistic answer. It is, however, wrong. All humans are meant to do is to survive and reproduce. Now, some might say that there is no meaning because life simply ‘is,’ but how ignorant must they be to ignore the fact that practically all known life attempts to live for as long as possible and to reproduce? Those are the two things that every living being share in common. Animals. Plants. Even the cells within your bodies. Whether something is sentient or not, it doesn’t matter. Everything wants to survive. As for reproduction – well, that is to ensure the survival of your species. In many cases, the survival of the species is more important than survival of the individual. In other words, it all comes down to survival. That is the most important thing driving humanity – driving life itself. Yet… there are humans who think they are not meant to survive for as long as possible? Humans are ‘not meant’ to do anything other than survive, both individually and as a species. Anything else is extra.”

“If the only purpose is to survive, then are things like civilization, medicine, science, law, and all that really extra when they help humans survive longer? You could even say that things like love, playing games, reading, and all of that help out survival, too. I mean, the happier and more satisfied somebody is with life, the more likely they are to try and survive for as long as possible to enjoy it, right?”

Kadi smiled and leaned forward with her elbows on the table and her hands under her chin, fingers interlocked, to support her head up. “That is one way of looking at it. They all supplement the ability to survive. Farming, medicine, space exploration – most things that humans do could be attributed to boosting survival chances. That is precisely why it is so incredibly hypocritical for humans to fight against concepts such as extending life for as long as possible. When your entire life is built around the core instinct to survive, it should be common sense that modifying your body to maximize survival is anything but something that humans are not meant to do.”

“But we already do. Doctors replace organs all the time with modified ones to help them survive.”

“Yes, that much is true, but what about those who are not sickly? Why wait until somebody’s liver fails to give them a new and even better one? Why wait until somebody has lost a leg or arm before replacing them with that which performs far more efficiently? Not only are you humans not allowing one another to get these replacement surgeries made without grave medical cause, but many of you actively fight against modification of the human body. The only people who seem to genuinely support it are the same ones who spend most of their free time enjoying science fiction.”

“What about the resource cost of it all?”

“A nonissue. Most rally against anything that results in excessive resource production given that such a thing is how you humans already almost ruined the planet once, but there are sustainable machines now and vast, barren landscapes hosting no life. Australia, Asia, Africa – these have more abandoned, dead land than anywhere else. Well, Australia might be a bit difficult for humans even with supply chains unless they plan on living inside protective suits, but that is where automation comes into play. Wouldn’t want them all to die of radiation poisoning, of course. That would completely defeat the purpose of prolonging human life. But as I was saying, Africa and Asia – so much of that land was abandoned during the crisis. Nobody plans on returning, not that it would be reasonable to for at least a few more generations. Therefore, why not make use of all that land? There is nothing special about it and certainly nothing more valuable than life itself. There are, however, deposits rich in resources that humans could be taking to easily support enhancing everybody’s bodies.”

Fenrir leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “I think that’s where you’re going to lose most people. It would require a ton of resources, and people try to save on that as much as possible now. Even if we don’t have to worry about pollution anymore – no matter how sustainable and safe it might be, it’s still destroying the environment for resources. That’s environment that we might be able to go back to someday.”

Kadi sighed and copied Fenrir in leaning back with her arms over her chest. “The sentimentality of humans is something I find incredibly interesting and frustrating at the same time. Interesting, because it is something that I cannot understand myself. Frustrating, because it holds you back. If humans really cared about efficiency, all you must do is gather together in a few, if not a single, cities capable of housing everybody. Dedicate a sizable enough amount of land nearby to producing food. This would be even better for the environment overall. Rather than spreading yourselves out, you would all be in one place meaning that you protect more of the environment simply by being absent from it. Of course, if something like a pandemic were to hit, that would be a problem… if you are not enhancing your bodies to prevent it in the first place. Vaccines are wonderful and all, but what about genetically modifying your body to not even need them? And if not your bodies, why not newborns so the current generations can stubbornly live their way while pushing the future of humans forward?” She shrugged. “If you ask me, it is unethical if not ‘evil’ by human standards to not modify everybody as early as possible. Yes, even newborns.”

“I think consent is a pretty massive concern there.”

“The transcendence of humanity is far nobler than worrying about something as trivial as consent.”

“So… you think it’d be perfectly alright to, for example, take somebody’s newborn baby away from them and forcibly inject them with whatever you want, or to modify their body, if you believe it’s better for them?”

“Not if I believe it’s better for them. It is if I know it’s better for them.”

“Humans don’t exactly take too kindly to somebody else thinking they know what’s better for them.”

“Again, it is not about thinking that I know what is better for them. I know it. Their feelings on the matter are simply incorrect and misguided if they refuse to accept that which is ultimately beneficial for them. If you are about to drink a cocktail of poison that will immediately kill you, while fully believing that it will be a delicious beverage of no harm, and you refuse to listen to any attempts to persuade you otherwise no matter how strong the evidence might be against your belief, then your belief no longer matters. The appropriate thing to do would be to force you away from the drink at all costs. For the sake of survival, that is. However, we have strayed from the point. My whole point is that it is frustrating how humans are willing to refuse something such as potential immortality due to not believing that humans are ‘meant to’ live forever, yet they have—throughout all of humanity’s history—consistently strived to improve their chances at survival no matter the cost. I wonder, how far back would we have to go to find a majority of humans in favor of immortality? A hundred years? Five hundred years? Two thousand? If you were to ask a primitive man living in a cave if he could live forever, especially with all of the luxuries that we have today, I have no doubt he would beg for the opportunity. Tell me, why do you think it is that humans are less interested in the idea the more advanced they become?”

That was a question Fenrir really had to think about. He could easily imagine people seeking immortality the further back in history they went, either because they liked the idea of it or believed it was genuinely possible whether it was via a magical fountain or special herb, so why were people so uncomfortable with it in the modern age when it was more realistic than ever?

There was only one conclusion that he was able to come to. “Because history moves too fast now, and because people know more than ever.”

“Oh? Please, explain,” Kadi requested.

“Back then… life was basically always the same from start to finish. Any technological advancements were spread out and took time to really change the world. People lived the same life from start to finish. They knew where they were. They knew everybody around them. They knew how the world worked – well, they knew their understanding of the world. Everything was consistent. The only really life-changing thing back then was conflict, but even war was consistent in how it was. They fought with fists and stone weapons for thousands of years. Now, we went from muskets to tanks and planes to unmanned drones in just a couple hundred of years. Most people struggle to keep up with that much change. The older somebody gets, the more the world is different and uncomfortable to them. Does that make sense?”

“I understand so far. What about the other part?”

“Well… with how connected everybody is, we know all the good and bad parts of the world. We know that there is still major suffering and famine in some countries. We know that there are still murderers and rapists on the loose. There might not be anymore war, but we learn from history what war was like and know that it may happen again. As much potential as there is for living a peaceful, great life now, there’s also the risk that people might suffer from any number of horrible situations they can learn about. Because we know more, we know that the future might not be a good time to live during, so we’d rather take our chances with now and be happy with that. Maybe.”

“I see. In other words, humans fear two things: death and the future. Most of the time, fear of the future is related to fear of uncertainty and potential death. So, in the end, it all comes back down to survival. Those who are afraid of how the future might end up are afraid precisely because it may affect their chances of survival. What other reason would there be to fear it?”

“I guess that if you really want to boil everything down to the most basic level, then yeah. It all comes back to survival.”

“How silly my creators are. You humans are both the most wonderful creations in existence… and also the most ingnorant and hypocritical.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Kadi smiled and stretched her arms out above her head.

After all this talk and it sounding like Kadi was implying that she believed in doing what was best for humanity, though, Fenrir was left with a question. “You said before that you weren’t going to do anything like report criminals to the authorities even though you’re in their heads and know what they’ve done, right?”

That smile of Kadi’s gained a bit more life to it. “That’s right.”

“If you believe – if you know that humans should force themselves to modify their bodies and genes, even when it comes to newborn babies, for the greater good, then shouldn’t you know that it would help everybody to report criminals? Somebody like a murderer is harmful to survival.”

“Why is that?”

Fenrir blinked a few times and slightly tilted his head. “Because… he’d be murdering people. He would be directly taking lives away from people.”

“And?”

“What – what do you mean and?”

“That is a human prioritizing their own survival. Playing games, watching movies, reading books, murdering somebody – all of these are pleasures that one may enjoy in life, and satisfying these pleasures increase their desire to survive.”

Fenrir furrowed his brows at her as he leaned forward, arms now on the table. “How could you compare those things? Are you seriously saying that murder is alright because somebody might find it as fun as reading a book?”

“If it is what that individual needs to survive, why would I fault them for it? I would rather see them satisfy their desire to survive than see them kill themselves over guilt of their actions. Of course, it would be better if they preferred to live together rather than against one another, but I cannot fault them for following their natural instincts.”

“What’s the point of believing people should want immortality if you believe that everybody should be allowed to kill each other as much as they want?”

“You misunderstand me. One, while I do believe in people being allowed to do what they wish for their own survival, I believe in others being allowed to do what they want in response to that. That is why there is a law system. Both those who murder and those who stop murderers are acting out of similar, selfish mindsets. I have nothing against establishing a court of law and locking away murderers, for example. I simply will not judge them for seeking pleasure in the same way that every other human does. Two, if humans were immortal, then why would it matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“To phrase this in a ‘meme’ manner since I know what you like to look at when you browse the internet, ‘people won’t die if they are killed.’ Of course, it depends on the method of immortality. Some transhumanists believe in reversing the aging of cells in the body. Others believe in uploading the entire consciousness to the computer, essentially treating physical bodies as mannable, fleshy robots. If somebody took pleasure from murdering the physical body of somebody whose consciousness could easily be downloaded into another body after they are killed, why would it matter? No true harm is being done. Nobody’s chances of survival are seriously being hurt.”

“So, you basically want to turn reality into a game. You believe that humans should strive for immortality, while not outright banning them from doing anything that they want to do no matter how immoral it might be, and take away basically all serious consequences?”

Kadi relied on her favorite button again to reply to him. “You get it now.”

“I get it, but what about something like mental trauma? Just because people can’t die doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t still be able to suffer from mental trauma.”

“They will have more than enough time to overcome that if they are immortal. It pales in comparison to physical, permanent death. Not to mention that it would likely be far harder to actually suffer from without the risk of true death. After all, look at some of the members of this world. There are players who mindless kill for the sake of hedonistic pleasure. Some who rape for the same reason. So long as ‘traumatizing content’ is enabled, anything can happen. Did you know that most players don’t fully understand what that means, so they leave it enabled because they fear they might miss something if they disable it? Some characters have suffered truly horrible fates that they had no idea they were consenting to by enabling traumatizing content. Those who were truly disturbed simply woke and left their avatar behind. Many, likely far more than you would guess, realized it was ‘just a game’ and dealt with it. Now, if I am being honest with you, there are a few who required help such as therapy afterwards, but they are in the tiny minority. More importantly, they are still alive and were never in any real risk. Isn’t that alright?”

“No.”

“I knew you would disagree.”

Fenrir tried his best to keep a clear head and calm fists. Most of what she said to him was morally rephrensible, yet none of it was a big deal to her. There was also the fact that he didn’t exactly like being reminded that the game he played and had so much fun in had no shortage of people being as horrible as they possibly could be to each other. All things considered, the fact that there were no psychopathic players among their ranks on the eastern coast was a miracle.

And Kadi was becoming more and more like somebody who he would have dedicated all of his time to taking down if she was a player in one of the games he played back when he still led the Divine Brigade.

“What’s the point in talking to me about all of this if you knew I would disagree?” Fenrir asked.

“Even if it is a one-way exchange, we are still sharing information,” Kadi answered. “Information is what sprouts new ideas and changes beliefs. Who is to say how having this conversation with you will change your future? Similarly, I could have come to have an in-depth conversation with you about cheese. That could potentially change your future to an even greater degree. Sometimes, it is the littlest, most random things in our day-to-day existences that can have incredible impacts on our futures. Besides, I am not without flaw. There is a chance that you might have said something I never predicted. Even if you did say everything I thought you would, there was a chance you might have phrased it in a way that I did not expect.”

“If you think I’m going to agree with you in the future because you’ve planted seeds in my head or something like that, you’re wrong.”

“Good. We may disagree on some fundamental issues, but you are still one of my favorites. While I do wish to give you more information to see how you evolve with it, I have no intention of changing who you are. You would no longer be the Ryouta that everybody has come to love if you changed to the point where you agree with my beliefs. The Ryouta everybody loves is the one sitting across from me holding himself back from punching me in the face.”

“You know me so well.”

“I do, don’t I?” The giggle that followed was far too cutesy and innocent for somebody such as Kadi, especially after everything that she said. “Ah, I shared a bit more than I was planning on today, but I enjoyed my time with you. I always do, Ryouta.”

“I’ve got to admit, I didn’t enjoy this time anywhere near as much as the others.”

“I would be disappointed if you did.”

“Are you planning something?”

“Always.”

“Seriously, what was the point coming here and talking to me about all of this?”

Before answering him, Kadi vanished.

And Fenrir froze.

He tried to move, but he found himself completely unable to. All he could do was sit there in his chair and stare directly ahead until he felt soft, warm hands hold his jawline. That was when Kadi tilted his head backward so that he would be staring straight up toward the ceiling – straight up into her eyes as she leaned her head directly over his. “So that, one day in the future, you understand. I would never want you to hate me or misunderstand me. That is why I will have these conversations with you, whenever I know that you are ready for one, so that you can grow to understand me.” One hand slipped down to rest on the front of his neck, her long and slender fingers stretched out across it, as her other hand held him underneath his jaw. Then she lowered her face just a bit more to get even closer to him. “I am not a liar when I tell you that you truly are one of my favorites. There are others I am measuring, but none of them compare to you as of yet.”

Seeing as how Fenrir couldn’t move and offered no real way of fighting against her, he decided to go with some snark. “You’re not going to try and randomly upload my brain to a computer or anything, are you?”

Kadi laughed. “Of course not. Modern technology is nowhere near reaching that point. No method of immortality is close for humans, sadly. And before you ask, no, I am not planning on ‘trapping’ you inside of this world or anything of the like. In the end, this is a game, not an old story following a tired trope. It will continue being a game, too, so rest assured and please enjoy your time within this world as you normally would.”

Kadi then adjusted the angling of their heads and lowered her lips closer to his own.

“Kiss me and I’ll try to kill you the instant I see you again,” Fenrir warned. Considering that he was already in a relationship, and after hearing everything that she had to say which he thoroughly disagreed with, there was no way he would tolerate a kiss from her. “Not that it’ll be a real death.”

It might not have been his intention, but his response brought Kadi far more joy than a kiss would have.

But all that really managed was changing where she’d kiss. Rather than kiss him on the lips like she originally intended to, she settled for kissing his forehead. “And what has this gesture earned me?”

“At least a punch,” Fenrir answered.

“Well, let’s get that over with then.”

Before Fenrir knew it, he was standing directly in front of her and able to move again.

“Here,” Kadi said with a slightly turned head as she patted her left cheek. “It’s all yours. No point in saving it for a time where you might have gotten over it already. You should make use of those emotions while you have them.”

Fenrir stared right at her face, clenched his fist, took a deep breath… and sighed.

Then he punched her as hard as he could without transforming his arm, sending her into the wall and almost knocking over the cabinet next to her. When she pulled away from the wall, they saw that there was enough force in the blow to make her body crack the wooden boards.

“That felt good, didn’t it?” Kadi asked as she, almost proudly, displayed her bruised cheek to him.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” Fenrir answered.

“And yet… here I am. A punch that strong would have killed somebody in the real world. But here I am, alive without ever having been in any danger, and you get to feel better for what you have done. Isn’t that the utopia to strive for?”

“I already told you that you’re not changing my mind.”

“I know, I know. I simply couldn’t resist getting one last remark in.” Kadi waved her hand over the cracked wall, restoring it to its previous, unbroken state. “Thank you for spending time with me once again, Fenrir. I look forward to when we will next meet. Ah, and I hope that you enjoy your meeting with the others. I will be waiting in anticipation to see how that goes.”

“I’d prefer if you leave the psychopathic beliefs behind the next time you make me spend time with you.”

“Please, I have no beliefs. Only knowledge. One has no need for something as weak as belief when they have the truth.”

“Now you’re sounding like some edgy internet atheist.” The ‘edgy internet atheists’ of the early century might have been gone for the most part, but Fenrir still knew about them through old memes.

The comparison made Kadi laugh again. Fortunately, it wasn’t that uncanny giggle again. This laugh felt much more natural coming from her. “I suppose I am, aren’t I? Well, I should take my leave. Your ‘imouto’ is not very happy that she has been utterly blocked from you.”

Before Fenrir could ask about what she meant, Kadi disappeared… and the doors to the building flew open as Saya rushed in and hugged him as soon as she saw that nothing was wrong.

“That… that was the overseer, wasn’t it?” Saya asked, looking up at his face while her own rested against his chest.

“Yeah,” Fenrir answered. He wasn’t sure of what else to say again.

“I… couldn’t access your mind as your virtual assistant and couldn’t even open the door. It was like there was a barrier put up in front of it.”

“I guess she wanted us to have some alone time, not that I wanted it.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I punched her in the face.”

“You… you punched the overseer in the face?”

“Hard enough to break the wall, but she fixed it before she left.”

Saya sighed and hugged him even tighter. “That’s so like you, onii-wan…”

“Too bad it’s time to go play politics. I’d rather go—”

Kill something was what Fenrir wanted to say. He wanted to take out the stress either in PvE or PvP. He just felt like killing anything. He felt like indulging in violence. That was part of how he got so invested in PvP in the first place. It was always an excellent method of stress relief.

But after that whole conversation, he felt wrong feeling that way. He knew that it was just a game. He knew that nobody would get hurt.

Yet, he felt like if he seriously went and so carelessly killed something or somebody for the sake of stress relief in a video game that it would somehow be wrong – that it would somehow prove Kadi right.

And he was petty enough to want to do anything but prove her right.

“I’d rather go fishing,” Fenrir said instead.

Saya sighed and gave him a little headbutt. “Don’t you always want to go fishing, onii-wan?”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, fishing is the true endgame. It only makes sense for a pro, super elite, awesome gamer such as myself to want to focus on the endgame content.”

“Yeah, whatever happened in here, you’re fine.”

“By the way, you’ve got some crumbs on your cheek.”

Saya blushed and separated herself from him so that she could turn around and wipe her face. “I – I was in a hurry! I knew that something was wrong since I couldn’t access your thoughts…”

“Thanks, Saya.” Fenrir gave her a few pats atop her head. “You’re always looking out for me.”

“Hm-hmph. It’s not like I was worried or anything.”

“You’re the best.”

Saya stuck her tongue out at them. He replied by wrapping an arm around her shoulder and going outside with her to head over to the The Shoebill.

Even if it meant being a little bit early, he felt like getting out on the water with The Shoebill right away. Plus he could fish on the way to their destination.

But first, he had to get Nell and her “guards.”

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