How can a retired savior be considered retired if his price drops to 40,000?

Chapter 13 Don’t take chapter titles so seriously

The fully dressed Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed... a bit confusing to Savita.

It's not that he realized that there was a deviation in the understanding of the word "dress up" between the two, but that her equipment did not really look like she had combat effectiveness in Sevita's opinion.

Her overall look looked... very un-imperial.Without the knowledge of Isevita, one cannot even judge the possible function of the equipment from its appearance.First of all, the defense seems to be basically non-existent: the chest and abdomen that need the most protection are only wrapped in black close-fitting reinforced fiber fabric, and the arms also lack armor, nerve bridging interfaces and almost no external reinforced tendon structures. Almost only the legs and feet were covered with metal armor, but it was hard to say that it was thick armor used for protection.Savita didn't know the specific purpose of the pair of leg armors. He only deduced from the glimpse of Fujimaru Ritsuka raising his feet when walking that there was a jet-powered afterburner structure hidden underneath.

The overall design of the equipment is obviously tilted in the direction of extreme lightweight on the basis of giving up many functions, including protective power. Another direct result of this design idea is that the structure of the finished product will be as simple as possible.It's not like something that a bunch of oil guys would allow on their casting benches (or a production line, that's a different story).But considering that this small ship called Stormbound is almost equally un-Imperial in Sevatar’s opinion, maybe 1 years later, the Empire’s mainstream technology in war equipment will become this style?But that doesn’t mean there isn’t even a Skyhawk logo, right?
"This is the Otenaus-type spiritual exoskeleton." Fujimaru Ritsuka seemed to be able to read minds, and explained before Savita couldn't help but ask, "Let's call it a self-developed equipment by the Chaldea Bureau. The underlying technology used is different from what is commonly used by the Empire, so it is normal to look very different.”

She paused for a few seconds and then added: "The Chaldea Bureau is a newly formed department under the Star Torch Hall. It is so new that it is not well-known at all. Also, I am not a psyker, and I cannot read minds. I can I can guess what you want to say in advance just because your expression is so easy to understand."

Savita touched her face inexplicably: Did I make any expression?

"It's not very obvious, but it is there." Fujimaru Ritsuka said as if he had no idea, "You don't have to doubt yourself too much. I can tell it just because I am very familiar with you."

Savita really wanted to know how she became "unilaterally familiar" with him, but he did not dare to think deeply about this issue.

The hatch of the boat opened in front of them, and the endless plains of Jestal were once again revealed to them.There were few stars at night, but Savita's eyes could easily penetrate the darkness and see the cargo terminal standing two kilometers away.

Until now, he still couldn't figure out how the ship appeared so close without any sound.He could only infer from the thickness and structure of the hull that he glimpsed when the hatch was opened, and the fact that the hatch was not equipped with airlocks, void gates and other equipment, that she was probably only used for combat within the atmosphere on the planet's surface. .

As the captain, and also as a person with a more relaxed and free mentality, Fujimaru Ritsuka jumped out of the hatch first and happily bounced down the gangway.Savita wanted to just follow him, but he couldn't help but become suspicious when he lifted his feet. He looked around to make sure that a midnight ghost wouldn't suddenly emerge from the dark shadows and drag him back. , then stepped on the steps that were obviously designed only for mortals and were too narrow for him, and slowly descended to the ground.

Fujimaru Ritsuka was waiting for him with her arms folded.

"I feel like you are a little weird." She said, "I can understand that you must have a lot of questions now, but you are so weird that it makes me feel that there is something weird...not as good as what you want to ask. Just ask me, although I can only answer those questions that are 'answerable'."

If other Sevita could think more calmly, he would have doubted whether this was a sign of silence.But at this moment, he was so curious that his desire to live had even temporarily stopped.

So he opened his mouth and asked the question he wanted to know most so far: "Why do you naturally talk to Kurtz in that manner?"

This is a more euphemistic way of saying it. What Savita actually wants to ask is "What is the relationship between you and Kurtz?"But such wording seems a bit questioning. Now that the situation is unclear, Sevita thinks it's better to abide by some social etiquette.

However, judging from the expression on Fujimaru Ritsuka's immediate frown, she obviously understood the meaning behind this sentence.The girl stretched out her voice reluctantly: "Well - have you asked Conrad this question? You must have asked it, right?"

Savita pursed her lips inconspicuously and did not answer.

He did ask about 10 minutes ago.After a brief thought, Konrad Coates gave an intriguing answer:
"My father gave her many titles, but I know these are not what you want to hear." The Primarch of the Eighth Legion said in an exaggerated tone that was close to an aria, "As far as I am concerned, she is my warden. And I am both her jailor and her prisoner.”

"I don't know how Conrad answered you." Fujimaru Ritsuka said in a serious tone, "But I assure you, Savita Leon, things are definitely not what he said!"

"…but can you deny that with such certainty without even knowing what he said?"

"Anyway, he has never experienced any normal interpersonal relationships, and of course he can't say anything about normal interpersonal relationships. I don't expect him to say anything good." Fujimaru Ritsuka said angrily, while starting to talk. Taking steps in the direction of the cargo terminal, "In my opinion, we are just ordinary colleagues who did not know each other originally, but had to start operating together in the same combat team because of orders from superiors." There is not even a clear superior and subordinate - —But I can guarantee that he must think so."

Savita sighed and followed up: "He does feel so. He said you are his 'warden'."

"That's a little better than I thought." Ritsuka snorted, "But I'm still angry."

The distance of two kilometers is not that far. When Savita was captured by Coze, the latter only took two or three minutes to fly across this distance.But now it was Fujimaru Ritsuka who took the lead, using his short legs to measure the distance at a walking pace. This small distance would probably take about half an hour.Fortunately, it was still late at night, and no one on the deserted plain saw the two of them, who looked suspicious in the general environment.

The silence lasted for about 50 meters. When Savita patiently took three small steps of No. 60, he finally couldn't help but said: "...So, what is all this going on?" This is a very general statement. question, but Fujimaru Ritsuka did not ask what specific part Sevatar wanted to know, but directly gave a partial answer: "Well... in short, the Emperor assigned us two to complete a secret mission. We need some soldiers for this, so we started trying to clean up the Night Lords to see if we could get some useful people. During this process, we heard that the first city in the world where the airport is located in Jestal The number of disappearances increases every thirty standard Terran years. I suspected that a Night Lords warband came here to raid periodically, so I came to see if I could find any clues - and I found you."

"...That's really a coincidence." There was a bit of self-deprecation in Savita's tone.

"Maybe there is something interfering in the dark." Fujimaru Ritsuka said in a relaxed tone, obviously not taking what he was saying seriously, "After all, I have always been very lucky, and I inexplicably found celebrities from the Great Expedition. It’s also normal.”

"What's the name, notoriety?" Sevatar smiled bitterly, "The Midnight Lords don't care about honor. In these years, I even wanted to throw away my past."

"...This is not something that can be thrown away just by throwing it away."

"Who says it's not the case? Didn't my 'past' come to my door in the middle of the night?" Sevita shrugged in a pretentious manner, "But at first I thought it wouldn't be this 'past' that came to me. "

After he finished speaking, he pursed his lips and tightened the muscles on his face, making sure not to let the little girl walking in front of him to his right see any of his emotional changes.

Before he made up his mind to say that he wanted to stay on this planet, Konrad Coates told him a little prophecy:

"If you could see what I saw, what would you choose?" When he said these words, Kurtz's mental state seemed to be in danger, but there was still some distance before Sevita felt that the problem was serious. , "I saw you go back, I saw you die. I saw the battle barges of the Dark Angels appear above this planet, and I saw the world of Jestal being burned by raging fire. I saw the inhabitants of this planet without any Once it is spared, the destruction is still delayed, and the real disaster will still pour out from the wound here and flow to the entire galaxy... But there are already many such small wounds in the galaxy."

These detailed but fractured descriptions unnerved Sevatar.He was certainly aware of his genetic father's prophecy gift - or curse - that the future Curze foresaw would always come to pass.What's more, his own premonition also partially overlapped with it, which further proved the accuracy of the prediction.

Although he had decided about an hour ago that he would stay here and fight a life-or-death battle with his cousins ​​from the First Legion, the more scenes Curze revealed still made him anxious.A slight change in mentality is not enough to sway an Astartes' decision, but it still makes Sevatar care about what the "real trouble" in Curze's words refers to.

Thinking about this did not affect his conversation with Fujimaru Ritsuka.In order to liven up the tense atmosphere caused by the brief silence, Sevatar pretended to be relaxed and asked: "So, you insist on disembarking because you want to investigate the 'Chaos War Gang' who comes to cause disappearances once every 30 years? Do you want me?" That's not a wise thing to say, there's always a greater chance that they're not on the planet at this point in time."

"Not the Chaos War Gang." Fujimaru Ritsuka replied, "Somni has reviewed all the records uploaded to the server by the planetary government within two hours. He believes that there is clear evidence to prove that the disappearance case that occurs every 30 years It’s the local governor’s fault.”

"...Can the Forbidden Army do this?" Savita raised his eyebrows, "Okay, I'm starting to get curious. The governor here has always had a good reputation. How did he make this judgment?"

Fujimaru Ritsuka was silent for a while, and when he spoke again, his tone was a little gloomy: "...because the local governor, Jessamine Deville, is a good person."

Sevatar thought it was a bit ridiculous, but it was the Custodes who made the judgement.Although he didn't like these golden and cold guys who symbolized the imperial power of the empire, he had to admit that their working ability in all aspects was outstanding.

He decided to listen to the reason: "...how to say?"

"In the more than [-] years since Jessamine de Vere was promoted to governor, the local government's archives have been very detailed. Somni easily found the records of every relevant case - although it was very simple, only the name of the missing person and basic information ——Most of them are old and weak civilians. The amount of accident compensation and the date of payment. It can be seen that the local government is very conscientious in this matter. The efficiency of the civil servants in handling this work is so fast that I doubt my own eyes. "

Savita didn't hear anything wrong.Even if he has never lived on this planet, this narrative alone can confirm that Governor De Vere is a good man.

Starting from the one on the throne, there are rulers of the empire, and most of them treat the people under them as expendables.Almost no one really cares about the living conditions of ordinary people.

But Governor De Vere was different.Although she doesn't have enough power to prevent such disappearances from happening, at least she still remembers - wait a minute?
According to the definition of imperial law, the scope of compensation for accident compensation is generally limited to losses caused by production accidents.Do the compensation clauses on the agricultural planet, or in other words, Jestal, apply to such man-made accidents?

"So I say, the problem is that the local governor, Jessamine Deville, is a good person." Fujimaru Ritsuka's gloomy tone sounded in Savita's ears, "She will still be punished when she uses the lives of her people for some purpose. She was condemned by her conscience, and in order to make up for this, she even did not hesitate to amend the local law, adding supplementary clauses to the accident compensation that were strict but seemed to be tailor-made for this kind of disappearance case - just in the first similar disappearance case It started happening 90 years ago."

Fujimaru Ritsuka took a deep breath:

"Conrad saw some omens that were not good. So I thought, I have to figure out what's going on on this planet."

(End of this chapter)