Chapter 11

I was being glared at.

And I mean, glared at so intensely it felt like holes would open up in me.

Silently.

With her mouth set in a firm line, she was trying to kill me with her gaze.

"Hmm..."

Having nothing to do, I brew some coffee. But thinking about it, I just had some earlier, so I don't need it.

"Want some?" "I don't."

Sliced down in one clean cut. How cold. Now I have extra coffee.

"I'll take it."

...Her gaze grows even sharper.

Well, I suppose if someone who looks exactly like you is leisurely drinking coffee, you'd react that way too.

Silent beauties are difficult to handle. Their presence is too overwhelming; I prefer when they're casually singing.

"So, Skadi the Corrupting Heart." "I dislike that name." "...Then, Orca." "I'll ask you later how you know my codename."

Scary.

The real Skadi—no, Orca—is sitting about two arms' length away from us around the campfire, alert and cautious.

I know this stuff well; that's a posture that allows her to immediately shift into combat readiness if something happens. Even her sword is positioned nearby, ready to be drawn instantly.

Say something careless and that sword will come flying at me right away, I bet.

But perhaps I should consider myself fortunate that all she's doing is being wary.

At first, it seemed like she would attack without question. Maybe the Cannot-brand perfume is working?

"You seem confused."

She says, stirring the fire with a piece of wood.

"...You are..." "Hmm?"

Come to think of it, I had marshmallows I bought in Laterano. Should roast and eat them.

The Seaborn emerged. Hey, with an Abyssal Hunter, your natural enemy, nearby—are you okay? Won't you be discovered?

Huh, what? You're studying the biological functions of sugar? Aren't you just saying that because you like sweet things?

"You both have a very faint but still detectable scent of the sea. But at the same time, you also smell of dry land. Why?" "Why, you ask..."

Now even Orca is making abstract statements. Is it the destiny of everyone from the sea to make cryptic remarks?

Maybe Perroro would understand. Ms. Dobermann, I'm curious about this!

"My... you should already know. After all, you are me." "...Sea and land fused, everything becoming one. A new path of evolution that transcends even all species." "That's right. You can see it too."

Skadi who's sipping coffee says this, and Skadi who isn't drinking anything makes an incredibly bitter face as she answers.

It's quite interesting to see two beautiful women with the same face and voice converse. They're like twins, but it's amusingly easy to tell them apart. The one with the frown is Orca, the composed one is Skadi.

"Yes... everything is one. If everything was one to begin with, then sea, land, all constraints would become unnecessary, right?" "...Are you saying that in the process of evolution, you've abandoned even the classification of 'sea'?" "Evolution is the change of species. If that aligns with our principles, then we will mutate accordingly."

While feeding roasted marshmallows to the Seaborn, I watch the two Skadis having their complicated discussion.

I've noticed recently that when Seaborn or Skadi are nearby, the humidity in the space becomes just right. Not too damp, not too dry. Just pleasant for most living things.

This is too valuable to give up.

"Are you pretending to be gods? How grandiose for sea monsters who only care about their own prosperity and survival." "Our survival requires this. Because I thought so, because I judged it so, I am here. And I continue to evolve." "...What have you instilled in the sea monsters?"

Hey, don't look at me! Don't drag me into the worldview you two are sharing!

I want to say that, but sadly, I'm weak against beautiful women. Don't pity me like that, Seaborn, or I'll eat you.

...Ah, it escaped to Skadi's side.

"You... look human. By no means a monster." "That's right. I identify as human." "Then why? For us, they are incomprehensible creatures." "But, evolution happened. And will continue to happen, I suppose."

...This is getting tiresome.

I'm not good at thinking about complicated things in the first place. Plus, recently Skadi has become such a mysterious creature that I've given up trying to understand, so I'm not really following the exchange with Orca.

—Time to pull it out! My ultimate move, Kal'tsit!

"That's precisely why I'm going to Rhodes. I want to entrust the future of our evolution to you all." "Rhodes... You, who command sea monsters, think Rhodes can find the answer?" "I place a certain level of trust in Kal'tsit. Someday Rhodes will solve the Oripathy problem, overcome the challenges of the sea, and then turn their eyes to space."

As expected of Dr. Kal'tsit—that's our Kal!

Hearing my somewhat dismissive words, Orca let out a sigh. As if exhausted, she went limp and slumped down onto the ground.

"...I've been dreaming for a long time."

She began to mutter, speaking in bits and pieces.

"People joined hands and spun around in a circle. Humans and beasts, land and sea, earth and space... a world without any misfortune."

She asks for coffee, so I quietly pour some. She requests marshmallows too, so I eagerly prepare them. Asked to roast them, I hastily heat them over the fire.

Since I'm scared to get too close, I offer them on a tentacle.

"But that was just a fleeting slumber. It was merely one species exterminating all others and conquering the star."

...Ah.

Skadi is coming out behind Orca and pinching marshmallows.

"I was at the center of it. That's what I hated most and feared. ...And yet, before I knew it, I was excluded from that circle." "We were divided in two. Because I wished for it." "Seems like it. And you are trying to evolve beyond the yoke of being sea monsters."

Skadi, who tried to steal food, was repelled by Orca, and now floats about looking like she has something to say.

Seeing this, Orca let out another massive sigh.

"Abyssal Hunters are only capable of killing sea monsters. ...Please don't make me think about such troublesome things."

She gulps from the cup as if drinking to forget, then slams it hard on the ground. When she asks for another cup, I quietly comply. I wonder if Abyssal Hunters have resistance to alcohol and caffeine too. I think I remember her drinking alcohol before.

Wait, there's a handprint on this steel cup... and the ground is dented too...

"You there... um, the other me's handler, don't let go of the reins."

Um... so, what does that mean? Explain, Seaborn!

"Ga, let me explain!"

I see. Orca is an Abyssal Hunter so she tried to kill sea monsters, but we are evolving beyond sea monsters into something more powerful. So we, who have received Cannot-brand disinfection, are no longer clearly registering on Orca's monster sensor, and moreover, since Skadi and Orca were originally the same entity, they resonate with each other and don't feel like killing each other. The "wedge" driven into Orca's mind no longer recognizes hostility toward us.

I see. ...We?

Well, anyway, this means the threat from Orca has diminished, right?

"If you want to meet Kal'tsit, then do so. And you should tell her about the world that the other me envisioned."

After saying this decisively, Skadi drained the second cup of piping hot coffee without the slightest hesitation. Her [Physical Strength] is no joke.

"Ah, that's right."

I forgot something.

I rummage through my pockets and grab what I'm looking for. This item, perfectly sized for my hand, is a fragment of what I once picked up and arbitrarily named "Chopper," probably a piece of an Abyssal Hunter's weapon.

Though I've used it extensively and wrapped it in cloth to customize it for myself, its brilliance never dulls.

"That is..." "It probably belonged to a former colleague of yours."

I've used this knife freely to fillet terror fish and dissect Seaborn, but I think it should be returned to its rightful owner, where it belongs.

Orca timidly accepted the knife that I thrust forward. The hand that touched mine during the handover was cool like some monster's, but had a certain warmth to it.

"When things are done, give it a proper burial, whether at Rhodes or Ægir."

Because I think the owner of this spear was surely a warrior who fell in past battles.

"...Sea monsters don't have a culture of mourning fallen comrades."

Orca, who grabbed the blade with her bare hand (which caused my hands to become bloody when I did it), tucked it away.

"You really are human after all."

Hmm... when they both stay silent and solemn like this, both Skadi and Orca are truly stunning beauties.

"Why mourn those who have disappeared? Eventually, everyone will converge into one principle." "Ah... humans with their many social constraints are freed from troublesome bindings through death. The living, while envying this release, celebrate it and vow to meet again someday. That's what a eulogy is." "So it's like 'death is salvation'? But I've heard death is sad. And that killing people is wrong." "Exploration is a privilege granted only to the living. That's why humans with their short lifespans cling more to life than death. What about you?" "Exploration... that's important. Very important."

Hmm, good!

But well, things have gotten rather solemn. Orca doesn't hide her exhaustion, and I feel like I might get a fever from thinking too hard.

Skadi... along with the Seaborn, is the same as always. Well, that's fine.

Let's cool our heads.

"Shall we eat some gelato?"

Actually, I had been preserving some that I bought in Laterano.