"Cough cough, damn it, you hit really hard..."
In the tavern that Fisher had left, Helena alone dragged those unconscious Phoenix Knights and dumped them roughly at the street corner. She was still pondering how to transport them when Pahetz, who had regained consciousness in the room, had already started cursing at Helena by the door.
She rubbed her plump shoulders and glanced subconsciously at Old Jack lying beside her, then swallowed and leaned against the wall.
Helena at the door of the room gave a slight smile upon hearing the voice and completely ignored it. Like Alagina, Pahetz had once been her military instructor, but unlike with Alagina, her relationship with Pahetz wasn’t good; she merely saw him as another subordinate of her mother.
"Are you waiting for that Nali man?"
The Mia Navy Ship was getting closer outside, and many gang members on Patulshen Island were heading towards the harbor, which was why Fisher hadn’t seen many local gangsters when he earlier went to the Nali people’s residential hotel.
Helena wasn’t worried that Mia would do anything to them. To Mia, Sardinia Female Country was just too big, and as long as they didn’t provoke them, they certainly wouldn’t dare to touch her. Hence, Helena’s tone was relaxed, and she felt utterly indifferent to her mission’s failure.
Strangely, she felt much better after the brawl with her sister.
At that moment, Helena turned to look at Alagina, who was standing at the door of the tavern, her clothes stained with blood and her face scratched up. She kept looking in the direction where the Nali man had left, lost in thought.
And behind her stood her Grey Bird Species demi-human guard, Ossie, who had lost the protection of her cloak and was quietly wrapping her wings around her body. This left Steel Blade, the parrot, without a place to perch, so it stopped with resignation on the eaves above the tavern at the side of the street, cocking its head and also looking in the direction where Fisher had left.
One woman, one demi-human, and a parrot all looking in the same direction made Helena wonder if that Nali man was the husband of all three of them...
Despite hearing Helena’s words, Alagina didn’t bother to respond, not even turning her head. Helena didn’t care; she was just about to drag the Phoenix Knights away from there,
"That man isn’t right for you... especially for a woman without ambition like you. A virtuous and proper woman from the Female Country suits you best. He knows a lot, sees a lot; do you really expect him to sit by your side obediently as a docile husband for the rest of his life?"
"Heh, but maybe that’s for the best. I’m already eager to see you abandoned, hiding in your room and crying..."
Alagina still didn’t turn her head. The tall Helena had already dragged several of the heavy Phoenix Knights in another direction down the street, seemingly toward a brothel catering specifically to women from Sardinia Female Country on the island.
She didn’t have a free hand to wave goodbye to Alagina, nor did the sisters need such polite formalities. Their interactions that day had been bizarre. She had come over, knocked out Alagina’s crew, had a fierce fight with Alagina, and then left as though nothing had happened...
But unnoticed by anyone, Alagina lightly pursed her lips after hearing Helena’s words, and even her severely injured fingers couldn’t help but clench again.
Helena might look like a bear, but it would be unwise to overlook her sharp thoughts because of that—just as it would be to overlook a fat old man like Pahetz, who had a cunning heart.
And indeed, Alagina had always felt that there were many mysteries about Fisher that she didn’t know, what he would or wouldn’t do—she had no idea. This feeling of groundlessness towards his thoughts gave her a strong sense of insecurity, just as if Fisher were an elusive mist that she could never grasp.
Yes, even a strong Sardinia Female Country woman like Alagina sometimes felt insecure.
Even though Fisher’s appearance, the feelings he aroused in her, and his personality all fascinated Alagina, it was precisely that sense of uncertainty that suddenly gave rise to a surreal doubt in her.
Could it be, he was just playing with her?
Could it be that he was never serious about her feelings, about her?
Could it be that even the promises he made to her he never really cared about, never really cared about her opinions, and never cared about her at all?
Every time these thoughts crossed her mind, a chill would silently spread in Alagina’s eyes, completely freezing the layer of blue ocean.
Until just then, in the distance, the Nali Gentleman wrapped in Ossie’s scarf appeared in her sight again, and that frost quietly dissipated, allowing Alagina’s expression to return to its usual state.
She hurried towards Fisher’s direction, just in time to meet the questions Fisher had for her,
"How are Pahetz and Old Jack doing, has your sister left?"