Monster - Chapter 81
Chapter 81: Silver Stone City - A Method of Training
They had been running around all day, but aside from receiving the mission, they had made no real progress in uncovering the secret hidden in Madam Lilo's last words. That evening, Lou found a very expensive hotel to stay in. This time, she got two rooms. Lin Sandie said nothing, but just as they were about to part ways, she suddenly called out to Lou.
"What? Want to come in with me?" Seeing Lin Sandie approach, Lou thought she was going to follow her into her room. She grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth and very faint dimples.
Although Lin Sandie had merely said she would control herself, Lou knew it wasn't easy for her to suppress the urge to kill. That instinct, constantly grinding on Lin Sandie's nerves, caused her to zone out from time to time, unsure of her surroundings. She no longer had her former composure. This unsettled version of Lin Sandie was interesting in Lou's eyes, but she didn't want to provoke her too much.
She still had to find a way to get that 'Scorpion' off her back as soon as possible.
"Are we still playing house?" Lin Sandie asked.
"We are." Lou watched Lin Sandie draw near. Despite the smile on her face, her hands remained properly tucked into her pockets.
Lin Sandie silently closed the distance, their breaths mingling. After confirming that Lou wasn't rejecting her, she lightly kissed her on the lips.
Lou could smell Lin Sandie's fragrance even more clearly now.
Unlike last night, this was a fleeting touch, like a very ordinary goodnight kiss. The only difference was that they were both staring intently at each other with wide-open eyes, adding a hint of confrontation to the moment.
"Lin Sandie, what do you call this?" Lou asked, her hands still in the pockets of her denim jacket.
"A goodnight kiss," Lin Sandie replied, her expression calm and composed.
"Then come into my room with me?"
"No. I like to take things step-by-step."
"Tsk…"
Lin Sandie turned as if to leave.
Lou saw that the cut on her lip, from where she had bitten it, was still visible. She swiftly grabbed the lapel of Lin Sandie's suit, leaned in again, and licked the wound. This time, her eyes were slightly closed as if lost in the moment. After a long while, she looked at Lin Sandie, her gaze an invitation few could refuse. "Are you sure you don't want to come in with me?"
"Mm," Lin Sandie only hummed in response. She raised a hand to touch Lou's ear and smiled. "Good night."
With that, she turned and went back to her own room.
Lou was left standing innocently at the door, feeling the breeze. She had really thought Lin Sandie would come into the room with her. She hadn't expected that when she said "step-by-step," she actually meant it.
What was this? Were they a couple of middle school girls from a shoujo manga?
"What else can you do besides seduce me, Lin Sandie?" Lou muttered, lightly touching her red lips with the back of her fingers. She waited a good while before opening the door and returning to her room.
Meanwhile, back in her room, Lin Sandie leaned against the door, her beautiful face flushed crimson. Heaven knew how long it had been since she had kissed a woman like that, how long it had been since her heart had pounded so violently…
Lin Sandie didn't like seeing herself this way around Lou. Every time she saw her, she wanted to kill her and be done with it, yet every time, desire for her would arise, mixing murderous intent with lust. It was too strange, too inexplicable.
How could desire mix with murderous intent?
Was she going crazy?
Lin Sandie questioned herself internally, waiting for the 'Scorpion' on her back to once again swallow her emotions. A long time passed before the blush on her face faded, returning her to her usual calm, placid state.
After freshening up, Lin Sandie went through her usual pre-sleep routine. The thought that had surfaced in her mind upon waking this morning was "research what a child from the south should pay attention to when moving to the north." She was pulled from her thoughts by a faint "tap, tap" sound at the hotel room window. She saw it was Miu the crow, pecking at the glass with its beak.
"Crow Lady?" Lin Sandie got up and opened the window.
"I'll be here with you tonight, is that okay?" Miu hopped inside.
"No problem." Lin Sandie knew this was Lou's way of showing goodwill, having Miu protect her. "Crow Lady, I have some questions for you as well."
"What questions?" Miu hopped onto Lin Sandie's shoulder, quite pleased with the form of address.
"Do you have any methods for me to quickly move beyond the level of an ordinary person? At least so I have a fighting chance when facing B-rank monsters?" Lin Sandie didn't like always being the one who needed protection.
"Hmm…" Hearing Lin Sandie's question, Miu fell into thought.
"The fastest way to fight back is, of course, to have a handy magical item. Those monsters look terrifying, but they don't have any magic. They're not too strong yet, just have a few more arms than people."
"I want to become stronger myself, not just temporarily rely on external items. Besides, those monsters seem to be constantly evolving. Back in Center City, the spider-like arms on their backs couldn't move. Now they can be used to attack people. Maybe in the future, they'll evolve to the point where even the eyes on their arms can affect people?" Lin Sandie offered a logical conjecture.
"Yes," Miu said, very impressed with Lin Sandie's observation skills. "When we first came to Leviathan, we wondered if we could save these mutated monsters. Now, it seems they can't be saved."
"You just said you want to get stronger. We Guides have limited physical strength; we can never compare to a Sentinel's constitution. If you want my advice, I think it would be better to spend your time and energy honing your mental training. You have to understand, what a Sentinel truly needs is your mental power. Guiding their actions is our job as Guides."
"But Lou, she…"
"She's a madwoman." Miu cut Lin Sandie off, feeling it was absolutely necessary to pull her back from the wrong path. "Lou is an exception. I don't want to praise her, but she truly is one in a million, the sole daughter of a god. To go far, a Guide cannot be separated from their Sentinel. So don't think about handling everything yourself. You need to learn to cooperate with your Sentinel. That's the whole point of a team."
"I understand." Lin Sandie nodded. She felt the gods must despise her utterly; otherwise, why would her path in life be so difficult? "Then, given my current state, do you have any training advice for me?"
"I'll think of some methods for your mental training. We're not in the Main World, so none of our usual training programs are available here. Hmm, for now, you should stick to what Lou said before and work on your physical fitness first. You should at least be able to run 10 kilometers without getting out of breath." Miu circled back to the original point. "Don't be in a situation where you can't even run for your life when danger strikes, especially when you're with us. You're more likely to end up in danger."
Miu stated an unspoken truth: being with Lou meant there would be no shortage of desperate, life-or-death situations.
"…Alright." Lin Sandie had considered herself someone who exercised regularly, but she never imagined that in Lou and Miu's eyes, she was still so subpar.
"You need to eat properly. I've noticed you eat very little every time," Miu continued. It was a crow, after all, and naturally chatty.
"Alright," Lin Sandie agreed, setting her phone alarm two and a half hours earlier than usual.
The next day, she got up at five and went out for a run. Miu went with her. As they were taking the elevator down, they ran into Lou, who was also already up.
She had likely already gone through a round of training in her room. Her hair was still damp, and sweat on her neck caused a few strands of her black ponytail to stick to her skin.
"Hehe." Lou grinned at Lin Sandie. She was wearing a black T-shirt.
"Morning."
"Morning, Lin Sandie."
What followed was another round of "encouragement" from Lou. They ran together around a nearby park lake, but typically, Lou would have completed several laps by the time Lin Sandie finished just one.
Lin Sandie ran until she was panting and drenched in sweat, her heart constantly welling up with the urge to kill Lou, who greeted her every time she passed.
But the more it was like this, the more Lin Sandie refused to admit defeat. She stared at Lou's ponytail swinging from side to side in the bright morning sun, and the thought that filled her mind most was that one day, she too would save this crazy woman. To ensure she had the ability when that opportunity came, she was willing to pay any price.
The 10-kilometer run took over two hours. It was almost eight o'clock when Lin Sandie, dragging her numb legs, finally returned to the hotel, leaning on Lou's forearm. She had intended to eat breakfast as Miu suggested, but she had absolutely no appetite and just nibbled on a piece of bread.
Lou, however, was like a devil. During breakfast, she added insult to injury, telling a pale-faced Lin Sandie, "Besides building up your physical strength, next you need to continue practicing your shooting. That's the most basic thing."
"Mm."
"And in the evening, we'll add close-quarters combat training. That's also basic, right, Little Crow?" Lou asked Miu, who was shaking its head while eating breakfast. The crow didn't answer her, which was a tacit agreement.
"Alright." Lin Sandie propped up her chin, her eyes staring blankly at the table in front of her. The longer bangs at her temples hung down, and she didn't bother to tuck them behind her ears. Her face and lips were a little pale.
But Lou didn't let her catch up on sleep. After breakfast, she dragged her back to her room, had her take a shower, and then the two of them went out again to investigate Madam Lilo's last words.
Miu, who had gone out ahead of them, returned with concrete news.
"Julian is in a small pavilion in the cemetery. She left home very early to avoid the people who wanted to ask her about Madam Lilo."
"The ones doing the mission by the book right now probably aren't the heavy hitters."
Miu hopped in through the car window and saw Lin Sandie dozing in the passenger seat.
Miu had a good impression of Lin Sandie. It immediately hopped onto her shoulder and released a healing skill, wanting to see if it could alleviate her fatigue, but the effect was still very poor.
"She's as stubborn as you are," Miu complained. It was a rare occasion for it to use its healing skill on someone other than its partner, yet it didn't get a good result.
"Lin Sandie's first Sentinel will probably be very happy," Lou said with a smile. Sentinel-Guide partnerships were also a matter of compatibility. The more one resisted external influence, the higher their compatibility would be when they finally found their designated Sentinel, because they would be more focused, dedicating almost everything they had to that first one.
When they arrived at the cemetery where Madam Lilo and Charles were buried, Lou shook Lin Sandie awake.
"Why don't we slow down? Step-by-step."
"I'm fine." Lin Sandie's steps were unsteady. "I just thought of something. What if Madam Lilo's last words weren't meant as a confession to someone, but as a way to tell the world something? I was looking at her file earlier, and it mentioned a lot of charity work she did. After she died, she donated her entire estate to organizations for women and children. She was a philanthropist who cared deeply about public welfare."
Lou and Miu both froze for a moment.
"An interesting perspective."
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