However, to Shining's surprise, Nightingale, in the passenger seat of the motorcycle, suddenly reached out and high-fived Goki.
"Liz!"
Facing Shining's questioning, Nightingale merely raised an eyebrow at her and curled her lips into a smile.
"I think, with the strength of Mr. Goki and Miss Skadi, perhaps we won't implicate them—you really should rest, shouldn't you?"
Shining was stunned for a moment. She noticed that Nightingale, who had recently been plagued by nightmares and had a melancholic expression, was now, uncharacteristically, giving her a mischievous smile.
"Then it's settled. I won't ask about or interfere with your objective, but I hope we can cooperate happily."
Goki also lightly clasped Nightingale's delicate hand and shook it twice.
With a mix of coaxing and trickery, Goki finally got the two onto his pirate ship.
However, if Goki were truly just trying to woo two older beautiful girls, he wouldn't have been so persistent; he always believed in letting things happen naturally—except for Titi, their fate was already inextricably intertwined.
"Let's go—Skadi, pick a jeep you like, and don't forget to thank our Disaster Followers."
Through Goki's eyes, which still possessed the power of runes, he clearly saw a dark line on Nightingale's body, binding her heart and connecting it to the distant East.
Undoubtedly, although the source was unknown, this was indeed... the power of a Great One.
There, was the homeland of the Sarkaz, Kazdel.
"Seriously, my work here hasn't even started, so why are the mission objectives for the next chapter already being revealed? Although I'm a Hunter from Yharnam, I still prefer main story flows with a high degree of linearity, okay?"
Silently complaining about this godforsaken place called Terra, Goki sighed, holding Skadi's small hand, and walked towards a nearby jeep.
Before reaching Kazimierz, the journey had already been chaotic; if they reached the Grand Knight Territory... trouble would definitely be unavoidable.
"I hope... nothing unexpected happens."
Goki knew that this journey to hunt the Star God would definitely not be so smooth.
"Ha... Liz, I hope your decision is correct."
Shining sighed, watching the departing couple, and exchanged glances with Nightingale, only to see her confident expression. She then sharply twisted the motorcycle's handlebar.
— — — — — —
"I knew those lunatics who believed in the disaster were unreliable; this job still falls to us—Your Highness, those Rust Hammer guys failed, so we still have to do the work."
A kilometer away, in a desert stone forest filled with cacti, a man in a ghillie suit, perfectly blended into the surroundings, was reporting on a mission over the phone.
"However, the target seems to have met two other travelers and is actually traveling with them? Their vigilance is truly low, Platinum. When should we make our move? Eliminate all three others besides the target?"
The man's tone was exceptionally relaxed, as if he were chatting with a friend.
"Armorless Union does not do unnecessary things. The contracts we accept are only responsible for capturing the mission target; we avoid killing if possible—Platinum, you understand the rules better than I do, you should joke less."
Soon, a cool, clear female voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Don't underestimate an Absolutionist Swordmaster; her combat power is undoubtedly Grand Knight level. With her protection, it will be difficult for us to act."
"But we are Knight Killers, aren't we?"
"Once they enter the mobile city, send people to scout. We need to meticulously plan this operation—I remember you recently took on an apprentice? You can let her try; just external reconnaissance work is enough."
"Ha... her, huh."
Speaking of his "apprentice," the man in the ghillie suit sighed while observing the direction the targets had departed.
"That little slacker, if it weren't for the fact that none of my subordinates could beat her, and she's a genuine Genius assassin, I wouldn't have chosen her—giving her work during her vacation, I'm definitely going to get nagged for ages again."
"Enough idle talk. You made your choice, so you endure it. Don't forget, we have more than one contract—the Nearl Family girl is participating in that broken competition; some want her to win, some want her to lose; and those Gods People..."
"Yes, yes, that's enough talk—I'll go!"
The man called Platinum had just been casually chatting with his colleague.
But the next second, he suddenly noticed that through the high-powered binoculars, a few kilometers away, the black-clad man starting the jeep suddenly looked straight over, his gaze sharp as a materialized sword.
As if... a predator.
Immediately hanging up the phone, the man unhesitatingly lowered his head, completely covering himself with his camouflage.
Half a minute later, that invisible gaze, which made one feel like a helpless prey, finally moved away.
"Phew, phew, phew, what the hell, who is this person?"
Still shaken, Platinum took a deep breath and quickly composed himself. He was about to redial the previous call, but after a moment's thought, he dialed another number instead.
"Hey, good apprentice, Little Platinum, your master has a simple, easy, and well-paying mission—do you want to consider it?"
— — — —
Bright sunlight streamed through the closed window into a somewhat cluttered room.
On a small bed surrounded by soda cans and chip bags, a Kuranta girl with long silver hair was covered in a thick quilt, enjoying the comfortable air conditioning in the scorching summer.
Ding-a-ling—
Suddenly, her phone next to her rang. The silver-haired girl twitched her soft horse ears, and her brown eyes opened a narrow slit.
After hesitating for a while, she rolled over, yawned, and answered the phone.
"This is my vacation time, don't think you can make me work over—Hmm? Hmm... Okay, I'll go, just remember to pay me overtime."
Suddenly, this young Kuranta girl, Platinum—no, the destined future Grand Knight Platinum—sat up.
Although she desperately wanted a vacation, she couldn't help it; they were simply paying too much.
Before the protagonist arrived, the Grand Knight Territory had already begun to surge with undercurrents.
------------------------
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