Chương 19: Death by a Thousand Prideful Cuts

"LOA, hide on the roof and monitor Officer Reza for me. I want to be the first to know if she wears herself out."

"Oh…is that why you asked me to sit out here with you?" Their legs swung over the edge of the mountain. Veronika had taken LOA out of the fenced-in base area to a lower cliff. They were discussing things far too treasonous to stay where the others could hear them.

"Why else would we be here? If I wanted some leisure time, I wouldn't have invited you."

"Right. Of course. How silly of me." She slouched over and frowned.

"This spot is so nice, I thought maybe you were going to just chill out for once""Chill out? Wha-are you-chill out? Are you crazy? I can 'chill out' when a one in six chance of death isn't threatening me." Her flustered response made LOA giggle. What a traitorous escort. She was the reason Veronika even needed to take out another hunter.

"Honestly, Madame, I don't think you should go out of your way to kill another hunter." She sighed.

"If Captain Rolan decides to spare me, that's another story. It's his right to choose which of his teammates live, not yours or mine." Veronika felt her eye twitch. What a little nuisance LOA was turning out to be. She was only useful for her programmed obedience, but now she was trying to go against Veronika's will? Why even bother trying to keep her? Veronika grabbed the collar of LOA's jacket and shoved her forward.

The bot's lower body was now fully dangling off the cliff, Veronika's grip the only thing keeping her from free-falling.

"Madame!"

"If you don't care about your life, why don't I just drop you now?"

"I want to live, I do!" LOA shouted.

"I just don't want to kill my new coworkers when they've been nicer to me than you!"

"How do you expect to make it as a full-fledged hunter when you care about how nice people are?"

"I don't know! I didn't program myself. Every day since I got on that ship with you I've wished that I didn't have feelings!"

"Don't tell me I'm the first witch hunter who's ever yelled at you."

"YOU ARE!" Tears started falling down her face. Another unnecessary design flaw from her cruel creator.

"You're the first witch hunter I've talked to. I was built two days before we fucking set sail."

"Ugh." Veronika felt the struggling robot body go limp as LOA lost her fight.

"Mother sent me with a baby as an escort?" Veronika pulled LOA back up to solid ground. She stared at the vast jungle beneath them. This was supposed to be the most important mission in human history. Take down the Thorned Devil and free humanity from the clutches of witchcraft for good. Yet, mother sent her with a fucking baby? All hunter units had emotions, but LOA was particularly whiny. No wonder.

"I'm from a newly upgraded line, if it makes you feel any better," she whispered. Veronika rubbed her face.

"We all know the new upgrades don't mean shit until there's been five consecutive years of them."

"Well, I think General Pajiri knew that you were the most fit to train me."

"What? Fuck that. You're already shedding your loyalty programming because someone nicer made you feel better. Pereira's the type that should be training new recruits, not me."

"You're right. I'm just trying to make you feel better." Veronika snickered. For real. An actual laugh pulled out of her shriveled heart from a robotic neonate. LOA had the widest grin on her face despite being threatened seconds earlier. A simple bot. It didn't take much to appease her. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. [Resonance] increased by +1. You're growing so fast now that you're free from your mother's constant presence.

Simple bullshit like a chuckle increased her resonance? Veronika was never going to understand this bullshit… Girl, not the laugh. The glimpse of connection with your stupid little robot baby. God, what am I going to do with you?

"I'll do what you asked. I'm programmed to, after all," LOA admitted.

"I'm not going to like it, but do what you have to do, I guess." With that, their cliffside excursion came to an end. Veronika kept watch while LOA climbed to the roof of the base. The other hunters weren't going to put the newcomers on any of the mounted guns, so LOA had to find a place that was hidden away from those spots. She ended up lying behind the chimney from the cozy fireplace. It was the first and last time Veronika would be grateful for that thing. They had four days left.

Plenty of time for Captain Rolan to make an informed choice, but what if he made the wrong one? LOA, despite her ineptitudes, was more useful than a standard witch hunter officer. Even if he did choose to spare her, it didn't guarantee that he'd dispose of the right hunter. He seemed like a rational man, but Veronika was never good at letting anyone but her mother make choices for her. Their team needed to operate as a single machine. There wasn't room for two lone wolves like her and Officer Reza.

One of them had to go. Accidents happened all the time on mountain peaks. Though, one happening the day after Veronika and LOA showed up was a little too suspicious for her liking. The safest way to deal with Reza was to keep pushing until she started the fight. That way Veronika wouldn't have to hide the confrontation, so if Reza's skills ended up being too much for her, Rolan and the others could step in. There was no word from LOA when the sun started to set.

They were expected to help in the kitchen that evening, but first they reconvened on the cliffside.

"She never lost consciousness even though she ran the course for hours. She was out of breath by sunset, though," LOA said.

"So her physique isn't just for show. If I keep goading her into pushing herself to the limit, she may be suitably weak in a day or two."

"So, you're hoping to goad her into a fight after that?" Veronika nodded.

"I can be very irritating when I want to."

"You don't have to convince me…" LOA whispered. They returned to their domestic duties and were rewarded with another night on the couch. Technically Kalani left a bed open, but Captain Rolan decided it was unfair to assign it to either Veronika or LOA since they had equal seniority. It was ridiculous considering LOA didn't sleep the same way a human did. But, the boss was the boss, and Veronika wasn't going to yell about sleeping arrangements.

She had to save what little will she had to defy authority for the important things, like who would be dying soon. Morning came and she found Reza on the training grounds as expected. The woman turned towards her and gave one dismissive grunt. Veronika let her get halfway through the course before jumping in. This time, she successfully lapped the woman, returning to the starting line with her hands crossed. She watched Reza crawl her way through the rest of the course. Her veins looked ready to burst.

Veronika managed to twist her lips into a smirk when Reza finally reached the rope climb.

"Better luck next time," she said, turning her back and returning inside. Me-ow! I need to prepare popcorn for the upcoming cat fight! +1 [Presence] and +10 XP, you little menace. Veronika had no clue what a cat fight was, but at least the most irritating woman in existence approved of her performance. LOA once again stood watch over the course and reported her observations at the end of the day. Reza continued pushing herself, and this time she even screamed to the sky in a deranged display of her determination.

The kettle was close to its boiling point. One more day of grueling work and Veronika would be ready to start a fight. Reza was hunched over the dining table during dinner. Her fork was dangling in her trembling fingers. Pereira put a hand on her shoulder.

"Yo, Reza, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Reza shrugged her shoulder until the hand fell off.

"I just need some sleep." No amount of sleep and exercise would get Reza to Veronika's level. Perfluorohexane seemed like a cheat, but Veronika was the only hunter that survived having more than a microscopic amount infused. There had to be something special about her besides having a general for a mother. Most insisted she was chosen by the Rose for such an honor. Is being chosen by God the same thing as being a nepo-baby? She'd need a priest to answer that question for her.

Captain Rolan had been absent from the dinner table since LOA and Veronika arrived. He was locked away in his own private quarters ever since he introduced himself. She felt a little disappointed. For some reason, she wanted to talk to him more. But she did respect his commitment to his position. Every captain is expected to make difficult decisions, but who to execute in cold blood was another story. Hopefully he wouldn't have to get another hunter's blood on his hands. She wanted him to feel lighter afterwards.

Less burdened. But Veronika wasn't that naive. No matter the circumstances, officers fighting to the death under his command was worse than pulling the trigger himself. What kind of captain couldn't wrangle his subordinates into order? The one who got stuck with Veronika Pajiri-Li.