"Hey, what are you standing here spacing out for?"
The familiar voice made Zane's body tremble. He didn't expect that his sneaking out had been discovered by Rover again.
Thinking of this, Zane turned his head with a flattering smile, looking at the girl standing neatly behind him. "Ahaha, long time no see, Rover. I had a reason for sneaking out…"
But before Zane could finish speaking, the girl in front of him slowly opened her mouth. "Who are you? How do you know my name? Do we know each other?"
"Ah?"
In an instant, Zane felt like his brain had shrunk a bit. He sized up the girl in front of him from top to bottom.
Black hair, bright golden eyes, a black combat suit, everything was so familiar… the only difference from before was that the girl now had a straw raincoat draped over her shoulders.
Compared to the girl he knew, the person in front of him carried a bit more of a wandering air, more like a drifter with nothing to her name.
"What do you mean 'ah'? This guy's so weird." Another familiar voice came.
The mark on the back of the Rover's hand glowed faintly, and a fluffy rabbit-dog suddenly appeared in front of the two of them. "Rover, why did you suddenly hit him?"
Faced with Abu's question, the Rover's face stiffened, stammering without being able to explain.
She couldn't exactly say that seeing this boy she was meeting for the first time standing in the middle of the road doing nothing made her want to hit him, right?
Wouldn't that make her some kind of bully picking on Zane?
Seeing the Rover fall into thought, Abu couldn't help but remind her, "Rover, don't forget our mission."
"Oh, right." The Rover's eyes lit up, and she quickly waved at Zane. "I still have to go subjugate the Exiles right now. Let's meet again next time."
Looking at the bright smile on the Rover's face, she had probably taken him for some traveler who had heard of her name.
But just as the Rover turned and began to run off into the distance, Zane spoke up as if possessed, "Wait!"
She suddenly stopped and turned back. Golden sunlight poured down, the tree shadows swayed, and specks of light reflected in her bright eyes. Looking at the boy standing in the shade, she suddenly felt a little at a loss.
Love at first sight?
No. The Rover believed she had seen all kinds of people. A rich young master who carried out justice in the night, a failed art student who went around giving speeches, a blond traveler wandering everywhere…
But a feeling like this was something she was experiencing for the first time.
Why?
In the moment the girl was distracted, the sun-scented white-haired boy had already walked up to her and extended his hand.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Zane."
Looking at the hand extended before her, the Rover didn't hesitate and shook it. "Are you the type who walks up to pretty girls to strike up a conversation and then asks for a handshake?"
As she spoke, Zane could clearly feel the strength in the small hand gripping his increase by a few degrees.
'This little hand is really strong!'
"N-no…"
Zane hurriedly tried to pull his hand back and escape this troublesome situation, but seeing him like this, the Rover suddenly felt like teasing him.
She bent her arm slightly and pulled the little white mouse trying to escape to her side.
Though her voice was gentle like water, Zane could clearly feel that the temperature of that water was already near freezing, "Next time, be a bit more careful. Don't go striking up conversations with pretty girls you see…"
Looking at the sunny smile on the Rover's face, Zane felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar.
"You might die."
"Alright, stop acting lovestruck. We haven't finished our mission yet." Abu's ill-timed words broke the Rover's momentum.
"Who's acting lovestruck! I… I was just kindly reminding him not to talk to strangers!"
"Yeah yeah yeah. Let's go defeat the Exiles and then head back to eat."
The Rover bickered with Abu as she walked forward. After only a couple of steps, she noticed Zane hadn't followed, so she turned back with a bit of confusion.
"Aren't you coming? If you don't, we'll leave you here~"
Although Zane was as dense as wood, Abu sharply caught the faint hint of expectation in the Rover's words. Looking at her, his eyes carried a bit of teasing amusement.
"Oh~ we'll leave you here~"
Being mocked right to her face by Abu, the Rover instantly grew annoyed and raised her fist to hit him.
But in the midst of the playfulness, her gaze unintentionally swept behind her. Seeing Zane follow along, the gold in her eyes grew even brighter.
———
"You're saying you came to subjugate Exiles?"
"Yeah." The Rover shook her head helplessly, glancing at Abu who was quietly snickering about something.
"A group of Exiles have been robbing people on the road. They just happened to rob… Abu's ingredients."
"Hey! Don't talk about me like I'm some greedy little dog!"
Ignoring Abu's protest, the Rover continued explaining to Zane. "There have been quite a few groups formed to subjugate them before, but no one has managed to wipe them out completely."
As she spoke, the two humans and one creature passed through the forest. The deep woods were like a monster with its maw wide open, quietly devouring anyone who dared to step inside.
A sharp whistle cut through the sky. Killing intent rode the wind, tearing through drifting petals.
Dozens of fighters in red combat suits emerged from the shadows. The smell of gunpowder drifted from the weapons in their hands, spreading through the air.
"Rover, we've been waiting for you for a long time."
Hearing that all-too-familiar voice, Zane suddenly lifted his head and immediately spotted the white-haired figure standing among the group in red.
"Scar..."
What Exiles attacking caravans? It was all just a smokescreen used by the Fractsidus to ambush the Rover.
"How do you know my name?" Scar was slightly surprised that this unfamiliar white-haired guy recognized him, but quickly relaxed. "Doesn't matter. You're about to die anyway."
Realizing they had walked into a trap, the Rover frowned slightly, then looked at Zane with a hint of apology. "Sorry, I dragged you into this… in a bit, find somewhere safe to hide. Leave when you get the chance…"
Before she could finish speaking, Zane, face slightly flushed, raised a finger and pressed it against her lips.
"Don't let appearances fool you. I'm actually very strong."
At that moment, a thick vine suddenly shot out from deep within the forest. Its four leaf-like lobes opened like a monster's mouth as it howled toward the Rover.
"Your opponent… is me."
The Rover grabbed the vine and yanked hard, pulling a white figure out from the forest.
"My, my, you're so strong. How exciting~"
At the same time, the Nexus Armament appeared on Zane's wrist. Without hesitation, he fired a stacked beam that shot past layers of Fractsidus members straight toward the completely unguarded Scar.
'Opening with a big move, what do you say?'
———
On the other side, sword and petals intertwined. The Rover stomped the ground, her swift blade tracing a silver-white arc through the air as it collided with the vine, producing a sharp grating sound.
Wherever the blade passed, the thick vines snapped apart, leaving behind clean, neat cuts.
"Hahaha, yes, just like that. Faster, faster~"
A wild laugh descended from above. A sword wrapped in red vines instantly clashed with the Rover's swift blade.
In the next moment, one black and one white figure moved like ghosts, darting through the forest so quickly it dazzled the eyes.
Unfortunately, her opponent was the Rover.
The girl like a flower was just one step slower, and against the Rover, that was equivalent to a complete collapse. Before long, she was defeated.
Yet the girl showed no dissatisfaction or anger from losing. On the contrary, she licked her lips in satisfaction, as if she truly enjoyed fighting the Rover.
At the same time, Zane, busy cleaning up the battlefield, suddenly felt his vision darken. He only felt the scene in front of him gradually receding, everything here becoming blurry.
The Rover's sharp eyes, the fallen Fractsidus members, and...
The smile on the face of the girl defeated by the Rover.
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