Ch.325Old Ties (3)

The underground cave in the warehouse basement was as crude as the long staircase leading to it. It was hard to believe it was built in an era where people could transform planetary environments and travel freely between star systems.

Despite housing dozens of people, there wasn’t a single piece of advanced technology. Not even small electric lights—only candles provided the sole illumination in the underground space.

The Coldblood people praying in this shabby space were in poor condition.

Coldblood are slightly taller than humans. On average, males are about 2m tall and females about 180cm. They’re also much heavier than humans due to their muscle mass and scales. Isabelle, who stands less than 150cm with a slender build, is an unusual case.

But the Coldblood here were even more emaciated than Isabelle. Their scales were dull and in terrible condition. They wore no clothes, exposing their miserable health status.

It was immediately obvious why they were in such a state. Isabelle placed fruits and food items she’d obtained from the store in front of them.

“Today’s provisions.”

The Coldblood immediately stopped praying. They moved almost crawling on the floor and began devouring the fruit desperately.

They showed little reaction to our unfamiliar presence. More precisely, they seemed too focused on the food to pay attention to anything else.

‘Their condition is worse than slaves or employees.’

No one except Space Dogs would manage slaves like this. They’re most likely escaped slaves.

An unpleasant smell hung in the air, and the Coldblood devouring the food emitted a foul odor. Evidence that they lived and slept entirely in this underground space.

‘She asked us to move them to a safe planet, right?’

There were 40 Coldblood in this underground space, excluding Isabelle. Too many to smuggle onto a ship. And their health condition was terrible.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Just then, one of the Coldblood eating the food stood up and bowed to Isabelle.

“We thank you for the savior’s grace.”

“W-we thank you for the savior’s grace.”

“Savior, grace, thank you.”

Following his lead, the other Coldblood stopped eating and expressed their gratitude to Isabelle.

“I am not the savior…”

‘?’

The creature mumbled something very quietly, but I couldn’t hear properly because of the voices echoing off the cave walls.

Isabelle, having received their greetings, approached us.

“Let’s talk about the details upstairs.”

She led us back to the surface. The Coldblood kept their heads bowed until Isabelle was out of sight.

We returned to the old warehouse after climbing the long staircase.

「……」

While Isabelle began erasing traces from the floor, the Sky Mother remained silent. She seemed shocked by the Coldblood’s miserable condition.

‘Come to think of it, she said that.’

She had mentioned something while we were descending the stairs.

That her sister had done something she hadn’t done.

Perhaps she was criticizing her for leaving her behind.

After finishing her cleanup, Isabelle turned to us.

“Ask if you have any questions.”

The Sky Mother was clearly not in a mood to speak. So I had to ask.

“Which planet are you sending them to?”

“A planet classified as jungle-type. It doesn’t have a name yet since it hasn’t been discovered.”

“There are 40 people underground. Are you sending them all to the same planet?”

“Yes.”

“That’s too many.”

“Don’t worry.”

She pulled out a pad-like terminal from her clothes.

“This contains information about the transport ship. I’ve already set the destination, so you just need to get them to the ship.”

I took the pad and checked the stored information with my small arm near my chest.

The transport ship she mentioned was a Cult-style old patrol ship converted for civilian use. Besides transportation information, it contained detailed records about food, fuel, and ship-related personnel.

“There’s a separate owner for the ship? Who is this person?”

“Another slave trader. You should be able to control him easily.”

Isabelle assumed I could use my parasite ability. In fact, in the game, “Mimicry Organs” and “Parasitic Swarm” were my signature traits, so her assumption wasn’t strange.

The problem is that I currently can’t use Parasitic Swarm.

Due to the artifact used by Siheyon Yujin, the Outspacer genes in my body have been lost. I can’t use Parasitic Swarm until I acquire new genetic essence.

So I’ll have to pilot the spaceship myself.

“This ship is scheduled to depart in three days. Deal with the slave trader at least two days before that. That’s when you’ll be able to board them on the ship.”

“Are you going with them?”

It’s not easy to re-enter Beryan02 once you leave, given the surveillance. If Isabelle was going too, there would be no need to return here.

But she shook her head.

“I’m not going. I can’t leave because I have things to do.”

“Things to do?”

Just then, a message appeared on her terminal that I was holding. The recipient name was “Manager.” It was a contact from the hotel that employed her.

“That’s all for today. I need to get back because it’s time for work.”

“How will we contact you?”

“Come to the alley we saw earlier at this time tomorrow.”

After taking back her pad terminal, she let us out of the warehouse and restored the barrier wall to its original state. Then she left without saying goodbye.

“This has become troublesome.”

「……」

“I think we need to rethink our plan.”

「……」

The Sky Mother didn’t respond to my words. She just stared blankly in the direction Isabelle had disappeared.

I nudged her shoulder with my left head. She blinked a few times and then apologized to me.

「…Sorry.」

“Let’s talk about the details when we get to the ship.”

I returned to the airfield where our ship was with her. The Sky Mother, perhaps feeling guilty about how things had turned out, remained silent the whole way.

She came here despite the risks because Isabelle was her old friend. That’s why she probably felt responsible for this situation.

‘Actually, there’s no need for that.’

I had already anticipated things wouldn’t go as planned before we came. If Isabelle had been in league with Cult rankers, or if rankers had hunted her before we arrived, we would be in a much worse situation.

The only part I hadn’t anticipated was Isabelle’s behavior.

‘Saving her own kind, huh.’

As far as I know, she’s being pursued by ruling faction rankers. It’s not easy to protect escaped slaves while being tracked by rankers.

‘And she’s doing this while living as a slave herself.’

Such behavior is impossible without a very strong sense of purpose.

‘Is she aiming for an ending?’

The ultimate goal of these reptilian people is to lead their kind to paradise. It doesn’t end simply by evacuating to a safe place.

For Coldblood to see their ending, they must kill Voltex One, the greatest threat to paradise.

‘More precisely, they need to sacrifice another Voltex One to destroy the curse placed on their entire race.’

What’s needed for this process is a special place for the ritual, an altar built with extremely rare materials, and ritual tools. Once everything is prepared, they must kill a Voltex One and offer it as a sacrifice.

‘It’s impossible to prepare this while caring for escaped slaves.’

Obviously, achieving these conditions requires powerful strength and vast wealth. The dozens of Coldblood in the underground cave are nowhere near enough. She must have other reasons for such behavior.

While thinking about Isabelle’s motives, we arrived at the airfield.

“Welcome. Task. Complete.”

MPS-05, who had been waiting inside, greeted us as we opened the ship’s door.

“Everything okay?”

“‘Little baby’. Headache. Headache.”

“That’s from the hangover. Give her plenty of water.”

“Main controller, water. Supplying!”

MPS-05, specialized in communication connections and machine control, is currently synchronized with its main body, PS-111. As long as they’re within communication range, they can exchange messages anytime.

“Oh, and I think we’ll need to stay here a bit longer.”

“Confirmed.”

After contacting the mansion using MPS-05, I lay down on the ship’s floor. From that position, I faced the Sky Mother who was sitting in the guest seat.

“I expected things would get complicated, so you don’t need to feel sorry for me.”

「……」

“If anything, I should apologize for putting you in danger.”

「…It’s okay. That was my choice.」

“The same goes for me.”

Understanding my meaning, she stared at me for a moment before nodding slightly.

“Let’s move past that.”

「Okay.」

“You heard Isabelle’s request. It’s difficult to resolve this easily without being able to use the parasite.”

She looked at my arm, which wasn’t moving properly, and spoke.

「What if I lead them instead?」

“I’ve considered that, but it’s not a good option. Here, you’re only seen as a slave. Unless we forge your identity, someone will become suspicious.”

「Then what about using Starlight Coordinates? We could move the Coldblood by implanting symbiotic spores.」

“I’d like to keep that as a last resort, as a trump card.”

「That’s… certainly true.」

She immediately agreed, knowing the potential of Starlight Coordinates.

“The method I’m considering is to secretly board the slaves onto a different civilian ship.”

「A different ship? Like smugglers do?」

“Yes. Once they leave this star system, the slaves can take over the ship and head directly to their destination.”

「Would that be easy? They all seemed in very poor condition.」

“We can restore them using symbiotic spores and nests. If we provide weapons too, they should be able to take over the ship without much difficulty.”

「How will they pilot the ship?」

“No need to worry. I plan to send MPS-05 with them.”

“Business trip? Business trip!”

When it comes to ship control abilities, MPS-05, comparable to the main body, can easily take control of a ship. The problem lies in the process of getting there, rather than controlling the ship.

Even if we restore the Coldblood and give them weapons, they aren’t combatants. Even if they could use Voltex One’s power, they need training to use it well. Otherwise, they might harm themselves or their companions by misusing the power.

Without someone’s help, they’re likely to shed considerable blood during the ship hijacking process.

「…That’s too dangerous. At least half of them would die before reaching their destination.」

The Sky Mother also pointed out the danger in my thinking.

「Isabelle would never allow it. Those people must be precious to her.」

“Precious?”

「Yes. That look, those emotions. They’re exactly the same as what my husband showed.」

She chose to mingle with the inhabitants of this world, abandoning her relationships with players. Bonding with the “Father Land,” the powerful creature worshipped by the Volf, was part of that. That’s why she was called the “Sky Mother.”

Although she failed to see her child, she cared for and looked after the Volf natives instead. If Muriel hadn’t killed all the Volf natives, she would never have followed me. She would have dedicated herself to the remaining Volf.

‘Is Isabelle similar?’

The Sky Mother seemed to think Isabelle was similar to herself.

「Can you give me one more chance tomorrow?」

“Chance?”

「Let me try to persuade her. If she leaves with the Coldblood, there’s no need to take risks. We can all board the ship together.」

As she said, if Isabelle is persuaded, other concerns become unnecessary.

‘If she can be persuaded.’

Without evidence, I feel Isabelle’s motivation might be something beyond saving her family. There’s a sense of madness and obsession similar to when the Sky Mother took revenge on Muriel.

Of course, this might just be my perspective as someone who hasn’t experienced losing precious ones. If No. 26 or Adhigh Orr were hurt or killed, I might not maintain my sanity either.

「I still don’t know why she’s staying here. It must be important. But I want to help her reconsider whether it’s worth separating from her family.」

She hopes her old friend won’t experience the same sorrow she did.

‘Should I entrust this to her once more?’

It’s not particularly disadvantageous to me. If this goes well and we can receive Isabelle’s help regularly, it would be beneficial.

Even if persuasion fails, the situation doesn’t change much. We just need to think of another way to move the Coldblood.

“Alright. You know Isabelle best among us. Let’s talk properly tomorrow.”

「Thank you for trusting me.」

“And tomorrow, we’ll bring MPS-05 too. If we need to hijack another ship, we’ll need this one.”

“Needed. Needed.”

That concluded our discussion about Isabelle.

How effective would the old bond between them be?

We’ll find out tomorrow.