Chapter 47: Professor Ratio has Fainted!
『 After transporting the last injured Hollow Raider to the temporary safety zone, Seed clapped her hands with satisfaction.
"Ugh, ughhh…"
"H—Hey, little miss, think you could let us down now…?" The Hollow Raider first soothed his churning stomach, then looked at Seed and asked.
"Hm? Do you need to get down to tie your shoelaces?" Seed asked.
"No… uh, let's just say that's it! Put us down to tie our shoelaces!"
"Not a chance. The mission I received is to bring you safely out of the danger zone. The probability of a newly generated fissure spitting out a watering can and hitting you is not zero~"
"How could something like that possibly happen!" the Hollow Raider retorted loudly.
"Alright, break's over, let's continue on our way~."
"S-still?! Spare us—we were wrong! We'll never do bad things again!" The Hollow Raider struggled in Seed Sr.'s grip as he spoke. 』
『 ....』
〘Qingyi〙: So this is how you get Hollow Raiders to stop entering the Hollows and turn over a new leaf?
〘Zhu Yuan〙: Senior, we can't do this!
....
『 "Don't move around, Seed Sr. might let his hand slip!" Seed warned.
"For Hollow Raiders who have decided to turn over a new leaf, it's even more important to lead you out safely~" 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Fun! Better off not saying that at all.
....
『 "I object! Uh... sure, we messed up by attacking the Defense Force and—and tried to smuggle stolen resources through the Hollow..." The Hollow Raider raised his hands and protested loudly. "But according to Article 17 of the New Eridu Hollow Rescue Management Regulations, Hollow Raiders engaged in illegal activities still retain their basic human rights!" 』
『 ....』
〘Hollow Raider Phoenix〙: Are you serious, bro? Do you have to be well-versed in the law to be a Hollow Raider now? 666, evolution didn't include me.
〘Hollow Raider Ghost〙: Grind, grind, just keep grinding! Grind until there's no money left for Hollow Raiders to make, and we all starve on the street!
....
『 "We've walked the Hollows for years. Although we've been caught many times, the crimes we've committed shouldn't warrant such suffering…" The Hollow Raider looked at Seed, puzzled.
"We've already lost many men in this operation… If it weren't for that, we would never have lowered ourselves to beg the military for help…"
The pained groans of the surrounding Hollow Raiders rose one after another. Hearing this, the Hollow Raider finally summoned his courage and looked at Seed with a firm gaze.
"Please allow us to withdraw from the Hollow on our own; you only need to cover us from the side… We are very grateful for your assistance, but some people are seriously injured, and everyone can't take this kind of tossing around anymore…"
Seed shook her head after listening: "Mm↑ mm↓. No can do. The Hollow's dangerous, and you guys are way too slow — That's not what I'd call finishing my mission."
"In any case, I won't let you lose any hands, don't worry~"
"Wh-what? Hands?" The Hollow Raider looked at Seed in shock and repeated.
"Mm-hm! Seed Sr.'s hands have also been destroyed many times in battle, but it doesn't matter; the doctor will reattach them completely. If you lose hands too, I can help you apply for some~" Seed clapped her hands and said. 』
『 ....』
〘Sushang〙: I feel like something is wrong, ah, I get it! Ordinary people's hands can't be reattached if they're gone, right?
〘Stelle〙: What are you talking about? Even Seed Sr.'s robot hands can be reattached; surely ordinary people can too.
〘Kiana Kaslana〙: What's wrong with that?
〘Ratio〙: ...
〘Intelligentsia Guild Scholar A〙: Someone help! THE PROFESSOR HAS BEEN STUNNED STUPID!!!
〘Aventurine〙: Hope he's okay.
....
『 "Are you kidding me… are you kidding me! Some of us are already on the verge of death, and some might even end up with lifelong disabilities… and you can actually say something like that!" The Hollow Raider yelled at the heartless Seed.
"Even if we are Hollow Raiders, we are people of flesh and blood, and we feel sad about the casualties of our companions! You cold-blooded animal… don't you feel even the slightest ripple in your heart seeing us like this?!" 』
『 ....』
〘Qingyi〙: An old saying goes: One who sows his own misfortune cannot live.
〘Qingyi〙: The authorities have explicitly forbidden non-investigators from entering the Hollows privately, but some people, for the sake of small gains, rushed in and ended up like this. Who can you blame for that?
〘Hollow Raider Gil〙: Got it, next time I'll ask Phaethon to be the Proxy, that way I can get out safely!
〘Belle〙: What exactly did you get? Still, Seed's perception is so different from that of ordinary people.
〘Trigger〙: Ever since Seed was brought out of Hollow Zero by Seed Sr., she grew up in the military and had almost no social interaction other than with us, which is why she developed this kind of personality and perception today.
....
『 "Suddenly, such a big reaction. Is it because of the pain caused by the limb fractures? Then I'll help you… as long as Seed Sr.'s big hand gives a gentle squeeze, it can snap your broken arms back together." Seed said.
The Hollow Raider was scared out of his wits by these words and shouted at the approaching Seed: "Don't come over here! Monster!"
He turned his head to look at Veronica on the side and pleaded, "This lady, save, save us!"
"Enough, Seed, stop tormenting them. Human life is not a game." Veronica said sternly after hearing this.
"Doctor, what's wrong? I'm still in the process of executing the mission." Seed looked at Veronica, puzzled.
"Bringing these Hollow Raiders out of the Hollow is my mission; your mission can end early. I already know… You can't understand the pain of others, right?"
Seed shook her head: "I can understand. The connection screw for the external floating turret went missing, and it turned out it had fallen into the abdominal armor during the last maintenance… that's the feeling."
"As expected, you don't understand at all." Veronica sneered.
"…Is that so?" Seed's tone was full of confusion.
"When others face the fear of death and seek your help, what you should do is protect them, not cause them secondary harm."
"Death? Up to this point, none of their heartbeats or pulses have disappeared. None of them is dead." Seed retorted.
"Moreover, I have already excluded the elements that would harm them…"
"You are the source of the harm to them, Seed!" Veronica yelled loudly.
"Being young is not your umbrella. After Seed Sr. left, you really haven't grown at all." 』
『 ....』
〘Hanabi〙: Because the intelligent construct that was supposed to teach her these things has left, after all~
〘Stelle〙: Why do you always have to twist the knife?
〘Hanabi〙: It's fun~
....
『 Seed didn't speak, her face still wearing that unchanging smile.
Veronica looked at Seed's unchanging smile and said, "Still wearing that smile without any emotion? Sure enough, compared to humans… You are more like some kind of creature that resembles a human."
"I don't think there's any need to continue cooperating… I will complete my plan on my own. As for you... Since using me as your "Nitro-Fuel" for Seed Sr. didn't work, feel free to try "salt water" or "plant juice" next, whatever suits you."
"Your mission ends here, Seed." 』
『 ....』