Aboard the yacht Eclipse.
Now.
After hearing the explosive shouting coming from the starboard passageway of the aft deck, Vela showed a look of understanding.
Knowing that the Lagoon four-person team had already chosen their "meeting gift," she curled her lips slightly. "Oh, it's them. Let's go take a look, Nova." Rubbing her chin, Vela tilted her head toward Nova, who stood nearby with affectionate eyes, then stepped forward and headed down the stairs.
Clang! Clang!
At the yacht's stern storage bay. A single-seat speedboat slid into the water along its rails, its engine roaring to life. Amid the spectators' cheers, the boat dragged a brightly colored floating target toward the distance.
By the time Vela arrived—
"Hey, Lagoon's Two-Hand, bullying a paperwork guy isn't interesting. Can you even handle a .50? A moving target at twenty-five meters at sea. Don't let it drift into our hardworking recorder."
"Shut up! Don't look down on people! Wanna compare, you freeloading 'tough guys'?!"
"Oh? Feisty enough."
"What, trying to pick me up?"
"Yeah. So what? A woman with taste as bad as yours is rare."
"Bullshit! Don't judge me, you Yankee! I don't have time for your crap."
Before anyone realized it—
Bang bang bang!
Amid the mutual taunts and flirtatious trash talk, dull and sharp gunshots echoed.
Accompanied by a woman's wild, exhilarated laughter.
It was Revy, test-firing.
"Wow, this has kick!" Alternating between long bursts and short taps, she finished an entire thirty-round magazine and inspected the Ash-12 in her hands with lingering excitement. The recoil was much lighter than she had expected.
"Again!"
Beside her, aside from Rock, who focused single-mindedly on loading handgun magazines, were a salesperson from the VAR weapon shop and several combat personnel from the yacht. The one who had been teasing Revy earlier was among the latter.
"Damn, that fierce woman looks pretty strong."
"Fern, don't let your hormones ruin a business deal. Once we dock, do whatever you want. If you mess with a client and damage Boss's reputation, Ivan might drag you into the octagon."
"Does a freebie even count as a business deal? Come on, I just wanted to discuss the philosophy of life with this lady."
"Yeah right. 'Discuss' it in bed, huh? One day you'll die on a woman's belly—ugh, Boss."
Tap, clack. The two were chatting idly when they suddenly heard footsteps. Seeing that the newcomer was Vela, they immediately straightened up.
"Oh, our esteemed Boss, our Venus and Athena. Today you remain as beautiful as ever, like the sun itself, dazzling and impossible to look at directly." Fern, the combatant with binoculars hanging around his neck, removed his boonie hat and placed a hand over his chest in exaggerated praise.
Yes, his seriousness was American in a very specific way.
"Thank you," Vela replied calmly with a smile.
She was already used to Americans' casualness and flirtatious humor.
After all, VAR Company was neither Arasaka nor the Militech or Atlas she had deeply cultivated, nor the monarchic Holy Britannian Empire. So whatever. Internal management and daily interaction weren't overly strict. Unless it involved principles.
"But you should lose some weight, Fern." As she passed by, Vela glanced sideways at the soldier's small belly. "If you fail the quarterly fitness assessment and get sent back to the training center for retraining, don't complain later."
Everyone burst into laughter, exchanging knowing looks.
The salesperson chatting with Fern joined in, nudging his stomach with an elbow.
"Hey, hey! Back off! I'm not gay, quit touching me!" Fern's face instantly turned red as he protested anxiously. "This is powerlifter fat over muscle." He muttered things like, "You guys must be secretly training," "The food's too good," "Boss eats more than me," "I don't understand," "Starting today I'm dieting and quitting alcohol," and other bizarre declarations like, "Boss, believe me."
For a moment, laughter filled the air with joy.
Vela shook her head as she listened.
"Good luck, then."
She waved her hand, too lazy to continue teasing him.
"Oh? You didn't choose a Glock." She looked at the M1911-series pistol in Rock's hand (prototype: TTI2011 Tactical Master). "Good taste. The VAR1995 Tactical Master combines precision and control. Very suitable for advanced users. Ambitious choice."
Just like when he was still working at a Tokyo corporation, facing senior executives.
Rock smiled awkwardly as he responded. "Uh, actually, I didn't think that much. The M1911 family is a century-old classic. I saw it and wanted one for collection. I mainly handle clerical work and miscellaneous tasks in the company, so I probably won't use it much. And…" He scratched his head. "High-end gun shops don't come around often. I'm definitely picking the expensive and rare ones."
Subtle flattery toward Vela.
As he finished speaking—
Bang bang bang—
Gunshots rang out continuously.
"Hey, Rock, come try this! This is the real fun! Only playing with little pistols is like drinking only beer. No matter how much you have, you'll never feel satisfied." It was Revy, who had just eagerly finished two more rounds.
She lifted the Ash-12 with one hand. "Hoo." She lightly blew on the smoking barrel, grinning with the pure joy of a child receiving a beloved toy. "So the big boss is here."
"Great gun. Top-tier stuff." Revy gave a thumbs-up, praising sincerely. "Way better than the fake junk those scammy bitches sell in Roanapur."
Are you insulting me or praising me? Comparing my shop to Roanapur's shady stores.
Vela felt somewhat speechless, though she understood.
Revy, compared to the quick-witted and eloquent Rock, was blunt and straightforward.
Not bad at heart, extraordinarily talented, with the tragic childhood typical of a hardened killer: raised in New York's slums, barely educated, frequently abused by her biological father, ultimately killing him. To survive, she robbed, stole, did whatever she had to. With such a dark past, you couldn't expect politeness or refined speech. The fact she wasn't constantly shouting "motherfucker" was already impressive.
Though her bluntness sometimes offended people.
For example—
Nova's brows knit slightly, her expression turning cold as she prepared a sarcastic retort, only for Vela to stop her with a raised hand.
"She means no harm. She's just bad with words. Everyone in Roanapur knows that." Rock stepped forward immediately, explaining quietly at the right moment.
After hearing this, Nova's expression softened slightly.
"Rock, what are you whispering about over there?" Revy shouted loudly as she pulled the charging handle, releasing the Ash-12 from empty lock.
"Nothing! You keep shooting. I'll come over later."
"Hah?" With the massive black rifle resting on her shoulder, Revy turned her head irritably. "Hey, you're not even shooting the little pistol anymore?"
Seeing Rock's flattering expression in front of Vela, Revy cursed internally—idiot. This guy was a complete idiot!
Was this self-proclaimed herbivore Japanese guy planning to keep pleasing this capitalist who deserved to hang from a streetlamp? Did talking to a pretentious noble lady really make him feel honored?!
Ahhh, so annoying!
Suddenly—
Revy spotted the American soldier she had been bantering with earlier.
Her eyes rolled, and she smiled. "Hey, soldier. Wanna play?"
Fern, who had been bragging with his comrades, raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Me?"
"Who else?" Revy shrugged. "Real men should play with a .50-caliber big one. Of course, if you're a coward who doesn't dare compete with a woman, I won't force you. You can just wear a skirt, tie a pretty bow, and go sell your ass at a dance party~" She deliberately stretched her tone.
Interesting. Vela's expression turned slightly strange as she examined the two carefully.
"Ohhh!" The surrounding crowd began to cheer.
"How are we competing?" Knowing that retreating would make him the butt of jokes among his comrades, Fern stepped forward without hesitation. Standing tall with arms crossed and a poker face befitting an expert, he asked, "Handgun twenty-five-meter target. Rifle targets at twenty-five, fifty, and one hundred meters. Grenade throwing. Fast reload and rapid fire. Deep diving, endurance swimming. Close combat…"
"All of it!" Revy grinned wildly.
"Revy, what are you doing…" Rock said anxiously.
Clap! Clap!
Applause interrupted him.
It was Vela.
"Good idea." Vela smiled. "Let's add stakes. Each event scored individually. Winner of each event gets one point. Whoever has the higher total score wins. If Lagoon's Revy wins, everything is free, and I'll personally refund twice the amount already paid. How about it, Dutch?" As she spoke, she turned toward the dark-skinned man approaching with hands in his pockets.
"Huh?" Dutch sounded confused, having only heard the latter half.
But he understood in the next instant.
"Revy! You—!" Dutch forced himself not to explode into curses.
Damn it. While he was busy purchasing and signing contracts, Revy had already caused trouble.
Sadly, despite his anger, he wasn't surprised at all.
"What if Revy loses? What can Lagoon offer?" After calming himself slightly, Dutch asked.
"I don't know. Lagoon doesn't have anything I want. Honestly, your assets wouldn't even cover one maintenance session for Eclipse." Vela spoke casually. "Let's just leave it for now. Maybe I'll use it someday. Maybe I'll forget. Treat it as entertainment."
"…" Dutch finally nodded helplessly.
He couldn't refuse and risk offending Vela.
"Sigh, what a hassle. Can't we just have a good meal?" Benny the hacker arrived quietly, spreading his hands with a sigh. Though dragged into this mess, he didn't complain much, instead grinning mischievously. "Rock, relax. You haven't even seen the worst yet."
Rock sighed repeatedly.
"Tch! Stop looking down on us!" Seeing her three companions acting half-defeated, Revy cursed. "Winning means big money, get it? The big boss doesn't care about small change. Can't you three think positive for once?!"
"Come on! Let's start! I refuse to believe that just because they're rich people's soldiers, they're automatically better than us Lagoon guys!" She looked toward Vela, who had gracefully taken a seat in a folding chair.
"As you wish." Vela nodded. "Begin."
...
Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tat…
Bang bang bang bang bang bang…
Splash, crash, splash, crash…
...
Just as the competition heated up, on the yacht's upper sun deck, private leisure area—
"Explosions, gunshots, shouting… seriously, what is Vela doing out there?"
"Throwing a Texas-style party? Damn it, she didn't even wait for me. I'm holding a grudge!" Having completed deep discussions with Balalaika, achieving their expected cooperation goals and reaching important consensus, Koko happily exited her "serious mode." She frowned, her silver-white brows tightening as she sprang to her feet and strode toward the terrace.
"Vela! You didn't wait for me for something fun!! Eh? Swimming competition? Swimsuits?! Wahaha, I'm coming!"
"Ah, Koko, slow down, watch the steps…"
The girl's melodious voice and Valmet's worried tone gradually faded downward.
"'Devouring five continents and drinking three oceans, yet lacking wings and limbs, helpless before the sky. I am the world serpent.' Comparing herself to Jormungand, hm." Sitting inside, Balalaika murmured words Koko had spoken earlier. She took a deep drag from her cigar, exhaling smoke and letting it drift freely. "Oh, that little one is more interesting than I imagined."
"I suppose I'll indulge her a little and see how far she can go." Stroking the capybara lying at her feet pretending to sleep, Balalaika smiled faintly and stood up as well, walking out.
"So it's Revy again. Can't stay idle, huh? Fine, let her be. Let Vela's people teach her a lesson."