Chapter 234: Should We Just Ask Her Directly?
Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M
Chapter 234: Should We Just Ask Her Directly?
The freshly awakened Specter stood still for a moment, her eyes flickering with a strange clarity, as if a trace of awareness had briefly returned to her. Yet before any words could form on her lips, the moment passed, and confusion settled once again across her expression.
She blinked vacantly at both Steven and Skadi, her gaze lingering a little longer than usual, before she finally rubbed her aching forehead and slowly pushed herself upright from the bed.
“Did I… forget to perform my morning prayers? That would be against church doctrine…”
Muttering to herself after a brief pause, she paid no mind to the others in the room and calmly closed her eyes, beginning to recite a prayer as if nothing was amiss.
Steven exchanged a look with Skadi, who then tugged him into the corner of the room with a serious expression.
"Like this... I doubt she’ll remember anything anytime soon. What kind of suffering and torment must she have endured, to bury her memories so deeply that she refuses to face them?" Skadi murmured, her voice tinged with quiet sorrow.
Steven gave a simple rundown of her condition. Her physical wounds were healing, thanks to the potions he had used—but when it came to the mind and memory, he had no way of helping.
"It's fine. Just getting her to this point is already more than I hoped for. I owe you a debt of gratitude," Skadi said, giving a firm nod.
She hadn’t expected a full recovery to begin with. Just seeing Specter alive and healthy was enough for her. Earnest and sincere by nature, she bowed deeply to Steven in heartfelt thanks. Honestly, if he’d asked her to kneel, she might’ve done it without hesitation.
Not that Steven wanted anything like that.
“Alright, alright. There’s nothing else you can give me but words, so I’ll reluctantly accept your thanks,” he said with a chuckle. “Oh yeah, I brought you a little something while I was out working.”
Grinning mischievously, he pulled a small harp from his inventory and handed it to the surprised girl before him.
“A gift? For me?”
Skadi blinked, stunned, her eyes widening in surprise—then softening with a glimmer of joy. She didn’t seem to care in the slightest that Steven’s so-called “work” likely involved robbery.
Music had always held a special place in her heart, though she never thought she’d shown it outwardly. And more importantly… this was the first time someone had ever given her a gift.
She looked down at the harp, uncertain. Her fingers hesitated in midair. Should she accept it?
But Steven didn’t give her the chance to refuse. With a grin, he pressed it firmly into her hands and then turned to glance at the girl still praying quietly on the bed.
“Relax. I hit the jackpot earlier. Speaking of gifts, do you know what Specter likes? I wanna get her something too, but I’ve got no clue. Let’s go shopping later.”
With a boastful pat on his pocket, Steven struck a perfect pose of a man drowning in cash, practically radiating the aura of a nouveau riche.
Skadi, who had been plucking at the harp’s strings with a rare smile, frowned slightly at his words. She bit her lip, clearly troubled.
“Back when Specter was still in the Second Company, we… didn’t talk much. If anyone knew what she liked, it’d probably be the Second Company Captain,” she admitted with a sigh. “As for how she is now… maybe the only thing she enjoys is the thrill of slaughter?”
Her voice trembled with conflicted honesty, and Steven couldn’t help but grimace.
Yeah. That… sounded about right.
There was no helping it—after losing her sanity, Laurentina's likes and hobbies had long since stopped following the logic of ordinary people. As for what she used to enjoy… well, Skadi had been in the Third Company. How would she know anything about the Second Company?
“So, that means… Gladiia would know, right?”
Steven gave a small nod, the gears in his mind already beginning to turn.
“That’s true, but… the Second Company Captain’s gone missing. No one knows where she went or what she’s doing,” Skadi replied with a sigh, her voice tinged with quiet hurt. “Why didn’t she bring us along…?”
To the Abyssal Hunters, comrades were family. Skadi had never been able to understand why Gladiia would leave without a single word.
“Then… why don’t we just ask her directly?”
With a grin, Steven pulled a communication device out of his pocket—or more precisely, an old-school flip phone.
Thanks to Vic's Modern Warfare Mod, this little satellite communication device could connect him across borders to anyone who also owned one of these magical little devices. The funny thing was, despite being called a “satellite phone,” Steven was very sure there were no satellites anywhere in the skies above them.
He casually scrolled through his contacts and selected Gladiia’s name. Frankly, he didn’t have many people in his address book to begin with.
There was Alina, stuck somewhere in Ursus; a little bird in Iberia; that big cat Kal'tsit; and now, his latest "adoptive daughter"—Gladiia, who he’d just handed one of these communication devices to.
Letting her run off alone with zero way to check in… well, even Steven felt a little uneasy about that. Especially considering how Gladiia loved solo missions, and that anything involving the Church of the Deep carried the potential for serious danger.
At least with a communication device, he could bail her out if things went sideways.
After a short silence, a cool voice flowed out of the speaker.
“Technology from the surface is more advanced than I anticipated… or is this something unique to your own strange tricks?”
A rustling sound accompanied the voice—metal scraping, tools being handled. Steven could already imagine her fiddling with the communication device on the other end.
At the sound of Gladiia’s voice, Skadi’s expression lit up with uncontained emotion. Even Specter, who had been silently praying just moments ago, abruptly abandoned her ritual and darted across the room barefoot, appearing beside Steven like a phantom. Her wide, curious eyes were locked onto the communication device in his hand.
“Of course it’s one of my special gadgets,” Steven bragged. “If you want, I’ll whip up one with video chat next time. By the way… what’s all that noise on your end? Are you fighting?”
From the speaker, a faint squelch could be heard—something being cut, followed by the wet splatter of some fluid spraying.
“Just dealing with a few pests,” Gladiia replied coolly.
At the same time, she calmly pulled her long spear from the corpse of a man dressed in Church of the Deep robes. Without even looking down, she flicked the blood off the blade, eyes still fixed on the communication device in her hand.
“That aside—I hope you contacted me because it's something important. Don’t waste my time.”
Though her voice remained as cold as ever, anyone familiar with Gladiia would’ve noticed the subtle change in tone—a slight lift, a soft undertone that hinted at something very rare for her: happiness.
“Hah~ if you put it that way, then maybe it’s not exactly urgent or anything,” Steven said with a grin. “Just wanted to ask what your little shark teammate likes to do in her free time.”
He glanced sideways at Specter, who had quietly scooted up beside him and was now peeking curiously at the communication device like a cat sniffing a new toy.
“You mean Laurentina?” Gladiia's voice sharpened a little. “Why are you asking that? Did she get into trouble again?”
“Whoa, whoa—nothing like that,” Steven said as he reached out and ruffled the top of Specter’s head. Her cheeks puffed up and she gave a soft little glare, like a kitten threatening to scratch… but never quite daring to do it.
“She’s been surprisingly well-behaved so far. I just made a bit of money earlier and thought I’d get her something nice. Skadi said you’d be the best person to ask, so… here we are.”
As he dodged the shark girl’s half-hearted attempts to chomp his hand in revenge, Steven explained the situation, still smiling like he was chatting about what groceries to pick up.
“…So both Skadi and Laurentina are with you? And they can hear everything I’m saying?” Gladiia paused, instantly picking up on the situation on his end.
“Yes, Second Company Captain. Are you fully recovered now?”
Skadi leaned forward, her voice practically brimming with joy.
Just hearing Gladiia’s tone was enough to confirm it—she wasn’t the same fragile girl from before. She was back to her old self again.
“Mm~ You’ve done well, Skadi. I’ll need to leave Laurentina in your care a little longer. There are still a few small matters I have to clean up.”
Gladiia’s voice softened noticeably at the sound of Skadi’s familiar voice.
The gratitude in her tone was clear—even if it was wrapped in her usual aloof phrasing.
“That’s great to hear! Laurentina and I will be waiting for you to come back, Second Company Captain!”
Skadi’s eyes sparkled, the relief and happiness impossible to hide.
For someone like her, nothing meant more than the return of a comrade. It made the lonely surface world feel just a bit less empty.
“Okay, okay, can we save the reunion drama for later?” Steven cut in impatiently. “This communication device isn’t a one-use magic scroll, you know. You guys can cry and hug all you want later. Right now, can we focus on the important thing—like what your little shark friend actually likes?”
Gladiia let out a small sigh.
She clearly found Steven’s personality a little exasperating, but behind that sigh was a quiet fondness—and maybe a hint of suspicion.
“…Before she lost her memory, Laurentina really enjoyed carving. If you’re serious about getting her something meaningful, that’s probably your best angle.”
Even as she answered, Gladiia couldn’t help but feel something strange creep into her thoughts.
Why did it feel like this guy was trying to win Laurentina’s affection…?
He wouldn’t actually… make a move on her, right?
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