The warm body shifted and rose from his embrace as Jane Doe lightly poked Ignis's chest with her agile tail. With obvious amusement, the lady traced lazy circles along the opening in the black carapace on his chest using the tip of her slender tail.
That spot was The Salamander's neural interface. Compared to the rest of his skin, it was far more sensitive; when stimulated, his body would involuntarily tremble.
After discovering this, the Rat Thiren lady had taken particular delight in teasing him this way.
"What's wrong with that long face?" Jane Doe deliberately put on a sulky expression. "Getting tired of me already?"
Ignis knew she was asking on purpose—just to pull his attention away from his worries, even if only for a moment. The time these lovers could spend together was limited; naturally, neither wanted the other to be unhappy during it.
Still…
He let out a sigh and stretched his powerful arms out, pulling her back into his embrace. Their skin pressed together, warm and reassuring.
"Of course not," Ignis said softly by her ear. "I—"
The Salamander's words were cut off as Jane Doe leaned in and kissed him.
The kiss was brief, but filled with her affection.
"My big hero is worrying again," she said, meeting his eyes, the corners of her lips curving upward. "I know it's because someone out there is suffering again. But…"
As she spoke, she draped herself over The Salamander, her soft body fitting snugly against him.
"At least for now, hold me a little more. I don't get many chances to sneak off and be with you. If Public Security hadn't wrapped things up on their end, I wouldn't have had time to come meet you like this."
What she said was true. Her undercover assignment had temporarily ended. The smuggling group disguised as a rock band had been arrested yesterday, and early this morning she had messaged Ignis to meet.
They were in an apartment in the Vulcan Quarter—one of her many safehouses. All of them were more or less the same: bare-bones living facilities and piles of convenience food.
This time, though, she had prepared more than just alluring lingerie. There was also a stove.
Honestly speaking, apartments with stoves were hard to come by—especially in the worker-heavy Vulcan Quarter. Most people were used to factory-provided meals; few cooked for themselves. An apartment with a proper stove was extremely difficult to rent.
Being intimate with his lover should have been deeply comforting, yet the moment Ignis thought about that damned Slaanesh warband still producing drugs—about people dying because of it—unease gnawed at him.
"See? You're spacing out again." Jane Doe's voice carried a hint of frustration and disappointment. She rolled off his tightly muscled body and stood up, wrapping herself in the blanket.
The thin summer blanket draped over her as sunlight streamed through the window. The bright light passed through the fabric, leaving behind a graceful silhouette. She stretched, her joints cracking softly, her fine figure fully outlined.
She turned back to look at The Salamander as he sat up. Seeing that perpetually troubled expression, she couldn't bring herself to be angry. Who could get mad at someone who was always worrying about others' safety?
With that thought, she could only sigh. After all, this was exactly why she liked him. If this dark-skinned giant weren't like this, he wouldn't have helped her time and again, pulling her back from danger.
Still, she didn't want to see him so unhappy all the time.
The Rat Thiren lady wrapped her arms around his neck and threw herself into his embrace.
"I know you're hurting. I know you're angry. But right now—at least right now—don't wear that look. You know I want you to relax a little."
Ignis understood her feelings perfectly. From the bottom of his heart, he was grateful for Jane Doe's love and devotion. Her body enduring his strength was no small thing; even just earlier, she must have borne quite a bit of discomfort.
But he truly couldn't stop thinking about it. People were being slaughtered, drained of blood, their organs harvested, their souls stripped away. That damned, neither-male-nor-female monster was gathering its strength, waiting for the moment it would erupt and drag all of New Eridu into irreversible ruin.
If it came to that…
He couldn't imagine how he would protect the woman he loved, his new friends, his new life. He had only just begun to like this city, just decided to truly live here. His work as a bladesmith and investigator had only just begun; his relationship had only just started to grow. He didn't want all of it to be buried like this.
"I'm sorry…"
His lips trembled. Panting, all he managed to say were those three words.
She hugged The Salamander's neck tightly, and Ignis could only return the embrace gently. She adjusted her center of gravity slightly, pushing the giant back onto the mattress.
"I know what you're worried about. I've seen what Razor did. I've seen how that owl thing mutated. I evaluated all of this in my reports to Public Security. Without you, dealing with things like that would indeed be extremely difficult."
"The enemy hides in the shadows, constantly expanding its power. And now there's even a human trafficking route that no one noticed before. It's natural that you're anxious—I understand."
She loosened the blanket around herself. Heat passed through her skin, and her slender tail brushed over the Salamander's body, making him itch slightly.
"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on this. And Public Security—more specifically, Zhu Yuan—isn't idle either. She's compiling recent missing persons cases. As the future star of Public Security, she's very capable. Trust her."
Ignis didn't know what to say. She was simply too considerate, always taking his feelings into account.
A criminal psychology expert for Public Security—and his lover. Jane Doe was always exceptionally attentive, especially after they had confirmed their relationship. Even though she still enjoyed teasing him at times, when it came to important matters, she never acted out of selfishness.
All he could do was return the sentiment with a tighter, more meaningful embrace.
"Honestly…" she muttered softly. "How many times do I have to tell you? Don't squeeze so hard. You're hurting me."
It sounded more like coquettish complaining than real reproach. Ignis eased his grip slightly, and the Rat Thiren lady wrapped her tail around his wrist.
"That's better."
"Have you contacted Markus?" Jane Doe lay against his chest. "Any news from him? Even if he doesn't deal in human trafficking directly, he must have related information."
"I asked," Ignis said, gently stroking Jane's back, fingers tracing over her smooth skin. "He said he'd keep an eye out. Nothing else so far."
That damned arms dealer. The very first favor Ignis had done for him had involved human trafficking. There was no way he knew nothing—whether he could speak was the real question.
Chances were, he was consulting whoever stood behind him, sorting out what could and couldn't be disclosed.
Still, considering how much his backer despised Fantasy, providing intelligence shouldn't be a problem. It was just a matter of time.
"The people behind him aren't simple, but they're not truly evil," Jane Doe said, yawning.
Being put through her paces by this giant was no easy task. Being intimate with him was genuine physical labor.
"What, too sleepy to teach me how to cook something simple?" Ignis tried to steer the conversation somewhere lighter.
"Do you have zero self-awareness?" She poked his face several times with her tail, making him itch like crazy. "Why do you think I'm tired? Because I'm the one doing all the work!"
"I'd like to take the initiative," The Salamander protested, scratching the itchy spot and grabbing her slender tail. She naturally wrapped it around his hand. "But when I move, you can't really handle it. So, you have to do it yourself."
"What do you think you're doing, fighting someone?" she snapped. "Can't you be just a bit gentler? Thrusting, hugging—control that brute strength of yours!"
"That was just excitement," The Salamander hurriedly defended himself.
"But I'm not built like you," she replied. "I'll break. Be more careful next time."
She let out a sigh.
"If only I could swap to a higher-strength body like Qingyi."
Ignis suddenly wondered whether he should ask how Qingyi was recovering—how that so-called oversized Bangboo's body repairs were coming along.
"Speaking of which, how is Qingyi doing?"
"I hear she's doing well," Jane Doe recalled her casual conversation with Zhu Yuan. "She should be able to pass testing and return to normal duties in a few days. The White Star Institute values her highly—she's a one-of-a-kind AI from the old era. Her body suffered severe Ether erosion. If you hadn't shown up in time, she probably would've disappeared in there."
"Can AI die?" Ignis asked, confused. Didn't they have backup data?
"Hard to say. Qingyi is unique. Even if you restored her from data, would that still be Qingyi? Or just a 01NGVI-type Criminal Investigation Automaton?"
"What's that serial number supposed to mean?" Ignis looked baffled.
"01NGVI," she said, writing it on The Salamander's chest with her tail. "Qingyi's base model. Zero-One Neo-Genesis, Sixth Iteration. Her name came from a researcher who misread the code while exhausted from overtime—blurred vision turned it into 'QINGYI.'"
So that's how that oversized Bangboo got her name…
"By the way," Jane Doe lowered her voice, "Zhu Yuan really wants to thank you. Qingyi is both a senior and a close friend to her. You can probably get her to give you some conveniences. Don't say I told you. You could use this as leverage to sort out Cerakos's identity issue."
"As a Public Security officer, she has some authority over citizen records. If she's willing…"
"Isn't that kind of… repaying kindness with coercion?" Ignis felt uneasy about it.
"Your friend isn't a bad person," the Rat Thiren lady whispered. "I investigated him. A genuinely good man. Even though he's a Hollow Raider, most of his work involves rescue operations inside Hollows. Over the years, he's saved more people than many professional investigation teams. And he has no criminal record—none at all."
"Honestly, compared to many drifters from outside, he deserves New Eridu citizenship more than most. The General Affairs Division handles tons of naturalization applications every year. Zhu Yuan only needs to coordinate with them a little—this would be easy."
"Then I guess I really should talk to Zhu Yuan about it," Ignis said. He had thought it would require something illegal—he hadn't expected the process to be this straightforward.
Come to think of it, there were Outer Ring people in the Faunus Quarter who had obtained work visas or citizenship. That meant New Eridu did grant status to outsiders. Cerakos was an honest man, and the Proxies he worked with likely were too. They probably knew this—but lacked the nerve to apply.
After all, being Proxies and Hollow Raiders wasn't exactly legal. When you saw Public Security, you still had to dodge.
"I can't anymore… I need to sleep," Jane Doe muttered softly.
She rolled off the Salamander and pulled the thin blanket over herself. The air conditioner was running—sleeping uncovered would definitely lead to catching a cold.
Watching Jane Doe drift off, Ignis stood up and walked to the stove. It was small for him, but an Adeptus Astartes' muscular control was precise enough to make do.
He would cook a meal.
When she woke up, he'd make her understand the difference between convenience food and real food.
===BREAK===
Like the story and want more chapters?
Join and support me by joining my Patreon!
[email protected]/SiRoasa