Chương 18: Rolan Sokolov? Yuck

Puppy, get that rock out of your head. Bricks in the mud like him will only drag you down. You need resonance to get stronger, right? You will not find it in him. Veronika opened her eyes to the sparkling crackles of the fireplace. Captain Rolan didn't have a bed ready for her yet, so she spent the night on the couch. LOA was whirring softly in a nearby chair. With no windows in the room, it was impossible to tell how much time had passed. Veronika got up and cracked open the front door.

The light of the sunrise beamed into her eyes. Officer Pereira was standing in the gated yard with a shovel. She was throwing dirt over a fresh grave.

"Kalani?" Veronika asked.

"Uh-huh. Figured she at least deserved a proper burial, despite being a jackass." Veronika was a little disappointed she wasn't given the chance to fight Kalani herself. Guilty Until Purified level two lasted long enough that she could rest and regain the resistance it cost before fighting. She hadn't killed another pawn yet, and she wanted to know how worthwhile it was in terms of XP. Of course, saying that out loud would make her fellow officers dislike her. She always had trouble making friends at home.

Teamwork was essential on the field, but Veronika was more of an assassin, so she never forced herself to learn the art of friendship. Well, you're never too old to learn something new. She put a rigid hand on Pereira's shoulder.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Uh…thanks?" Pereira stared at the hand.

"You're squeezing my shoulder a little tight there, buddy." Buddy? Had Veronika already befriended the woman? Friendship was easier than she thought.

"Were you close with her?"

"Me? Fuck no. I liked her at first, but then she told Rolan that my 'heavy makeup' kept clogging the shower drain. That doesn't even make sense! Now if I wear anything more than light mascara and blush I get chewed out." She smoothed out the top of the dirt pile.

"I'm just not heartless enough to throw her body off the mountain for something so petty."

"Who suggested that?" Pereira tossed the shovel aside and plopped down on a nearby rock.

"It was Reza. You'll meet her later today. She can be a bit cold, but she's mostly harmless, despite how huge she is."

"Perhaps she just wanted to let Kalani's body nourish the wildlife. It's an honorable way to use a body." Pereira shook her head.

"No. Not a witch hunter. We're not food for the animals." Veronika was confused. She had a few brushes with death as a child, and every time she prayed that the Steller's Sea Eagles would make good use of her corpse. Not once did she find the idea of being food insulting. Life feeds life, feeds life, and so on. Her mother said that was a teaching of the Holy Rose. Soldiers weren't exempt from the cycle of nature. Looks like mommy taught you some beautiful values after all.

+1 [Resonance] Veronika almost choked on the air.

"Ahem! I have to head back inside. I'll see you at breakfast." She ran through the halls until she found the bathroom. She locked the door and slammed her back against the wall. The Thorned Devil's little slave thought that teaching was beautiful? That didn't make any sense. The devil didn't agree with the Rose on anything! Well, that's just not true. She doesn't agree with her core ideology, but disagreeing with someone on literally everything sounds exhausting.

And morphing your personality and values to counter someone else's 100%? Come on, she's not that much of a tryhard.

"That's not what-" That's not what mommy told you? Yeah, be careful with mothers. They'll seal your power and leave you in a hole for the rest of eternity. Sorry, ignore that last part. Talk about projection ^_^ So the demon woman had mother issues. Good to know… Alright look, I proudly identify as a hot mess, so don't go thinking you have some sort of dirt on me now.

"PAJIRI-LI!" A fist slammed on the door.

"GET OUT HERE BEFORE YOUR FOOD GETS COLD!" She unlocked the door, but the screaming woman barged in before she could open it. The woman was huge. Veronika's physique was nothing to sneeze at, but this lady had arms that could rip hers clean off. Curly brown hair hung over Veronika's forehead as the woman lorded over her with bloodshot eyes. How long had she been in the bathroom?

"You must be Reza. I didn't realize breakfast was so important to you."

"Pereira said you ran off this morning. When you didn't show up for breakfast, we thought you might've wandered off the mountain or died." She punched the door again.

"They were about to make me go down and look for you when your little friend finally noticed that this door was locked. I don't like my time being wasted." Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I apologize. The system has been messing with my mind since I got here. I didn't notice how much time had passed. Wasn't it the same for you at first?"

"I don't know what the hell you're talking about." She yanked Veronika out of the bathroom by her arm.

"The system called me a dirty witch hunter and avoided talking to me unless I gained XP." She dragged Veronika over to the dining room where a nice plate of foraged root vegetables and sliced meat was waiting. Every other plate was empty. LOA and Pereira were chatting in the corner, and Captain Rolan was nowhere to be found. Reza stormed off and left her to eat. That left one witch hunter she had to meet. Rolan was off-limits for killing. Pereira was the most sane of the people talking through the speaker.

Reza's size was intimidating, but Veronika knew that looks weren't everything. The woman also had a nasty temper. The obedient LOA was much more suitable for teamwork. If Rolan was taking suggestions, Reza was at the top of the list so far. Veronika finished her food in silence. She patted her coat where the two eggs were tucked away. Still there, still warm. Once she had a bed she could put them somewhere safer.

"Madame." LOA hopped over to the table.

"Officer Pereira said we're welcome to join the hunters' daily training exercises. Now that you're done, should we head to the field?"

"Why are you so happy?"

"Wha-excuse me?"

"She's happy that there's finally nice people around her," Pereira shouted.

"I advocated for not killing you; is that not nice enough for your standards?" LOA put her hand to her mouth.

"Madame, was that a joke? Was that the first joke you've ever made?"

"What? I'm not joking."

"Ay, what am I going to do with you two?" Pereira walked over and resumed her guide duties.

"Come on. We need to get you two leveled up asap. I'm rooting for you, LOA." The robot put her hands to her cheeks like she was trying to hide a blush. Why did they make these things so goddamn emotional? The so-called mother of robots focused more on her mother title than the robot part. Too bad no one else can make the damn things. The training field was a far cry from what Veronika's mother put her in. No flying traps and active hazards, just obstacle courses and training dummies.

What was the point of hitting a doll that didn't hurl spells at you? This was just an outdoor gym.

"So…do I just run through the course until I run out of energy?"

"I know it's not advanced, but at least it keeps us in shape," Pereira said.

"If we want witch-bots to fight, we'll have to kidnap a roboticist role or something. Electrical engineers aren't too rare, but we haven't found a single robotics expert yet."

"I know a bit about it, you know, considering I'm made of that technology," LOA said.

"Trying to make the case for your life, huh?" Pereira winked and nudged her.

"Unfortunately I'm not the one you need to cozy up to. Rolan makes the final choice."

"Right. Haha…" They kept walking until they reached the start of the course. A thin woman with light-tan complexion was standing there with a clipboard in her hands. She looked like she could use the basic strength training this place offered.

"Officer Martin! Have you met the new girls yet?" Veronika squinted.

"I'm not a girl. I turned eighteen six years ago."

"Aaand that's my cue. I'm gonna do some target practice on the roof; take good care of my new friends!" Pereira ran off while waving to LOA. She claimed both of them were her friends, but Veronika felt like she was being snubbed somehow… Martin knocked on her clipboard.

"Alright, you two wanna run the course? Reza's already in there, so just be careful."

"Why don't you run it with us?" Veronika asked, holding back the urge to say Martin needed it the most.

"Not my specialty." She clicked her pen.

"I'll time you, though. We've been waiting for someone to beat Reza's score."

"I'll give it a try. It can't hurt to see how much XP it gives me." Martin jotted something down and took their armored coats before letting them through. An obstacle course was almost useless for LOA, whose artificial muscles were incapable of growing or shrinking, so Veronika blasted off and left her in the dust. First was the low crawl under lines of barbed wire. Even without her jacket, the thin wire couldn't penetrate her skin.

But when Veronika had an assignment, she was going to do it right, so she pressed her body as close to the ground as possible and dragged herself through the dirt. Next up was the five meter climb, which was a joke to her after climbing the mountain. Any witch hunter on this God forsaken base could scale a five meter wall. Was it here just to make things look more official? Whatever the case, Veronika stood on two of the lower footholds and jumped all the way to the top.

She grabbed onto the ledge and vaulted right over it to the other side. Whether it was balance beams, pop-up cardboard cutouts to destroy, or monkey bars, Veronika had mastered it all. The only challenge this course posed was the lack of oxygen from its high altitude. Maybe it was good environmental training for the others, but Veronika didn't need to breathe anymore. This was pointless. She finished it off with the rope climb, even ringing the fun little bell at the top.

She could see the vague figure of Martin in the distance and waved to it. LOA was still walking across the balance beams. Knowing her, fear was slowing her down more than physical capability. You completed the witch hunter's custom obstacle course. Uh… I'll give you +30 XP. And no, running through it over and over until you tire yourself out will not give you 30 XP every single time. Martin was furiously writing on her clipboard when Veronika returned. Reza was standing next to her with her arms crossed.

She was muttering something under her breath.

"Two minutes. That's a new record. You almost lapped Reza." Reza glared at her, but had nothing to say. None of her new coworkers knew about her Perfluorohexane condition. Not like it would've made much of a difference. The air quality would've only slowed her down for a minute or two, tops.

"What lab did General Pajiri make you in?" Reza asked.

"No way she didn't buff her kid with something."

"I did benefit from my mother's rigorous training, yes." Reza spit on the floor and walked back into the course. She was going to run it until she beat Veronika's time, which was never going to happen, so there was a good chance they'd find her passed out in the middle of it by the end of the day. That would make her quite easy to kill, regardless of her level. Veronika could do it herself. She just needed Rolan's approval…or a good plan.