About the time I was picked up and adopted by Tallulah

Skadi's voice came from above his head. Not only that, Skadi's red eyes met Orson's gaze directly at this moment.

"Mmmmm... warm and soft, eh?"

The soft and comfortable touch on the back of his head, the wonderful perspective of being able to see the sky and Skadi's eyes at the same time, the faint fragrance emanating from her body -

These clues allowed Orson to instantly deduce that he was enjoying the lap pillow service of the deep-sea hunter on the deck.

"Wuuuuuuuuuuuu!? No, excuse me—Bang!"

Orson, who understood the current situation, hurriedly raised his head and tried to get up from between Skadi's legs, but his forehead bumped into the nose of Skadi, who was leaning over to check on Orson.

"—"

Skadi stood up shakily, covering her nose with one hand which had just been hit by a headbutt.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts... Um, I'm so sorry, Miss Skadi!"

Orson also rubbed his forehead which was smoking from the blow, and then hurriedly nodded to Skadi to apologize.

Skadi loosened her hand, and fortunately only the tip of her nose turned a little red, but she didn't bleed.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Skadi, for causing you trouble just now!"

Although Orson couldn't tell how long he had slept on the killer whale's legs by the position of the moon, he felt very guilty about being rested on the legs of an "unfamiliar" girl in this position, especially on the iron deck in the cold wind.

"Ah."

Unlike Orson who hurriedly apologized, Skadi still had a dazed expression. She nodded slightly to show that she had received Orson's apology, and then -

"Speaking of which, Ms. Skadi, why are you... Uwaaa!?"

Without any warning, Skadi thrust her pale pink lips directly towards Orson. Still searching for a topic to talk about, Orson was startled and hurriedly dodged the killer whale's sudden attack.

"?"

Faced with Orson's panicked dodging, Skadi, whose kiss attempt failed, tilted her head, as if she didn't understand why the boy "avoided her after apologizing."

"Calm down, Miss Skadi?! Were you a little confused now because you were blow-dried for too long? Or did you just act like you weren't trying to kiss me?"

Noticing that Skadi was still ready to attack, Orson stuck to the edge of the overtime guardrail alertly, ready to avoid the killer whale's kissing thrusts like a bull, and hurriedly asked the other party what was going on.

"Not a kiss."

"That's what I said. It seems I misunderstood—"

"It's a French kiss"

"Hey!?"

Orson, who had just felt relieved, let out another cry of grief.

"Why, why are you suddenly talking about a French kiss?!"

Orson asked loudly with a red face, and this expression made Skadi stunned for a moment.

"Kissing with tongue when apologizing is common sense."

"Pfft, cough, cough!"

Skadi's serious words almost made Orson spit out the glucose he had injected earlier.

"Um...I'm not actually Agor, Miss Skadi."

There was no way, Orson immediately realized that this was another misunderstanding caused by the "Chimera" physique.

Although it is incredible that killer whales really have such a custom...

Orson patiently explained his physical condition and the possible impact to Skadi. Didi should have treated him as a fellow tribesman.

"I see. It was my misunderstanding."

After listening to Orson's explanation, Skadi spoke in her usual emotionless tone, but judging from the other party's action of covering her face with a hat, Orson thought it would be better not to bring up this topic for the time being.

After a while, when the evening breeze helped cool down Skadi's face, the white-haired hunter finally put his hat back on his head.

"Why don't you go to the dinner? It's for you."

Skadi asked Orson why he came here instead of celebrating with everyone at the venue.

"Well... technically, I did attend, but I had a few drinks and wanted to get some fresh air, and then I fell asleep... I'm really sorry for causing you so much trouble."

"Um, nothing—"

When she heard the word "apology", Skadi couldn't help but recall that she had just mistaken Orson for a killer whale, and ended up taking off the hat she had just put on and covering her face with it.

——It’s better not to apologize yet.

Orson thought so, but since he was in the wrong, he felt a little strange that he couldn't express it.

"You have a poor alcohol tolerance?"

Skadi asked Orson through the hat, and this time it was Orson's turn to feel embarrassed.

"Uh... that's about it."

In fact, it is not just "bad" that can be described. A bottle of 1° alcohol beverage can completely destroy Orson. This is no longer a matter of "alcohol tolerance" but a matter of "physique".

—Come to think of it, during this hospitalization, Dr. Kal'tsit did mention my alcohol tolerance. She said it was the structure of the 'Chimera Blood' that reacted with alcohol, lowering blood activity or something...?

Because the terminology was too professional, Orson only understood the general idea.

"You're not what I expected, Orson."

After regaining her composure, Skadi looked at Orson and spoke softly.

"no the same?"

Orson was a little curious. He had almost no contact with Skadi before, so of course he had no idea what kind of existence he was in Skadi's eyes.

"I thought you would be more of a leader."

"Well, I'm not that type of person. Rather than being a leader, I'm more suited to being an executor. Forget about leading others."

Orson rubbed his hair and said a little embarrassedly. Although he didn't know what rumors Skadi had heard, Orson was sure that he was definitely not a "leader" when he was in Rhodes Island.

"Um"

Skadi nodded, and soon silence fell between the two again.

"By the way, meeting like this is truly a wonderful fate. Miss Skadi, would you like to join us for the banquet?"

Orson came up with a good idea to break the silence and invited Skadi to meet with him in front of everyone.

"No, my presence will bring disaster."

Skadi directly rejected Orson.

——This statement sounds a bit like a chuunibyou.

Orson grumbled quietly in his mind.

"Although I'm not sure about the specific situation, I have the ability to [ward off evil spirits], so please don't worry, Miss Skadi!"

Orson patted his chest and spoke confidently. Of course, the so-called "Evil Repellent" was just Orson's nonsense. The only thing he could ward off was the Originium Technique.

"……All right."

Skadi looked at Orson for a while and unexpectedly agreed with Orson's statement.

"Then let me lead the way! We're all actually very easy to get along with, but if you still feel uncomfortable, Miss Skadi, just run away!"

"The reason it feels so good is because it can ward off disasters..."

"Miss Skadi?"

"nothing."

Skadi talked to herself, and then followed Orson towards the banquet venue. As she walked, she changed into the posture of RUA Orson.

"So here it is—uh…"

Although they arrived at the banquet hall, it was already empty. Even the lighting sources were turned off, leaving only the pale blue moonlight shining through the windows.

"It's probably over."

Skadi made her own judgment on the situation.

"Hmm...how long have I been lying on Ms. Skadi's lap?!"

Orson thought the party was probably coming to an end, but he didn't expect that he would lie there until the end.

"4 hours and 34 minutes, my legs are a little numb."

"Oooooh! Sorry—uh, cough."

When Orson thought about how he had been lying on Skadi's legs for so long as if nothing had happened, his face turned red instantly, but fortunately he resisted the urge to apologize.

"Some people came to look for you, but because you didn't wake up, they left."

"Stop talking, really stop talking..."

Orson squatted on the ground, wrapped himself in a rest and turned on the super autistic mode. He was really embarrassing in all aspects today.

Skadi didn't know why Orson reacted so violently, so she could only stroke Orson's hair and abuse her power for personal gain.

"Oh, by the way, although it can't be considered compensation, I'm free anyway, so I'll wrap up this party."

After calming down his shame, Orson stood up again and noticed the violin on the stage not far away.

"Can you play it?"

Skadi followed Orson's direction, noticed the instrument, and asked the boy.

"I'm also an operator codenamed 'Tuner'. I have a pretty good sense of rhythm and melody. Of course, my strength is singing and talking."

Orson smiled, then held up the violin in a very standard posture and placed the bow on the strings.

With the swing of his wrist, the melodious and ethereal sound filled the conference hall under the moonlight.

"..."

Skadi's eyes opened briefly, but the hunter quickly became immersed in the melody.

After the song, Orson carefully put the violin aside and looked at Skadi.

"Well, how do you feel? Actually, I rarely play musical instruments. (Because I usually do comedy)"

Orson asked a little embarrassedly.

"It's great. I've never heard such a melody before, not even in my hometown."

Skadi responded seriously, and it was impossible to tell from her expression whether it was just formal flattery or she really thought it was good.

"hometown……"

This word reminded Orson of the dream he had just had, which was a ruin surrounded by the deep sea.

——It’s better not to talk about this topic.

"Deep-sea hunters can't even trace their homeland. Setting foot on land means saying goodbye to the past. But that's okay. For those of us who choose this path, we can also encounter beautiful things."

Skadi walked to the window and looked at the desert horizon in the distance as if she was looking at the ocean.

"Do good things mean new experiences, or companions?"

"Fully automatic flush toilet."

"……what?"

"Fully automatic flush toilet."

Skadi repeated it seriously.

03. Expelled from Rhodes Island

Orson flipped through his phone, scanning the row of text messages that appeared on the screen.

[Platinum: I've been working for 34 days straight... The Grand Knight's ability to command people is truly terrifying. When will you return to Casimir, Orson? We've saved up two weeks of vacation here, so we can have some fun together.]

Maria: I saw it on the news! As expected of Orson, resisting natural disasters and all that, so cool! He's like the protagonist in a real novel! Speaking of which, school is almost out here, so why not come back sometime?

[Senomi: Little Knight, the bed is ready. When are you planning to come over?]

The knights of Casimir were eager to try and sent text messages to Orson. It was obvious that the Kingdom of Knights had entered a relatively idle and stable period.

Continue to slide down and the screen will come to the 'Checheng Group'