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ArabicArknights: The Prophet of Penguin Logistics — Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Are You There?
“Texas is just way too reckless.”
Lynn slurped a mouthful of noodles, leaning over the table as he looked at the curious white-haired Lupo sitting across from him. Thinking back on his harrowing experiences with his coworker, he didn’t hold back his grievances.
“She always drags us into some kind of mess, and she does it all with that same deadpan face. I know she means well, but sometimes it is just unbearable.”
“Oh? How reckless are we talking?” Lappland rested her chin on her hand, a faint, raspy amusement in her voice. “Tell me.”
“When normal people drive, they speed. When Texas drives, she flies at low altitude. The Lungmen traffic cops don’t even bother trying to pull over a Penguin Logistics vehicle anymore. Officer Ch’en has personally asked me multiple times to hand over dashcam footage so she can instantly revoke Texas’s license. And honestly? I want to! Every time I get in the passenger seat, I end up throwing up. Who could stomach that? It got so bad once that even Croissant had to bail out and puke in an alley! But every single time, Texas invokes the emergency clause, claiming she only accelerated because we were under attack. There is no legal loophole to catch her.”
“Sounds like you guys live a pretty thrilling life.”
“Thrilling? That is an understatement. In the beginning, we were dodging bombings and ambushes every single day. During that last operation, there were literal Originium explosives planted on the road—carried by suicide runners. Do you have any idea how terrifying that is? If Texas hadn’t spotted them in time, everyone in our transport would have contracted Oripathy on the spot.”
“So, she really is that bold?”
“Bold, sure, but lately I feel like she is completely overstepping her boundaries.”
Lynn ordered a can of cold beer. He popped the tab, the carbonation fizzing sharply, and offered it to Lappland. When the Lupo girl waved it off, he took a long sip himself.
“She won’t let me do this, she won’t let me do that. Go here, do that. How do I even explain it? I know she genuinely has my best interests at heart, and yeah, I have my fair share of flaws, but no matter how you slice it, she is crossing a line. She isn’t my mother.”
“She actually goes out of her way to supervise you? How strange. I have never seen her care so much about anyone before…” Lappland nodded slowly, her silver eyes drifting toward the entrance of the tea house. Suddenly, her furry ears twitched and stood straight up. Her amused expression froze, melting into something far more complicated.
Lynn didn’t notice the shift. He was too busy nodding at his own complaints.
“Right? Isn’t it weird? To be completely honest, at first I thought my springtime of youth had finally arrived, but after these past few days, that is definitely not the case. I am a normal guy with basic self-respect. Isn’t it a bit much to monitor me around the clock?”
Lappland stammered slightly, her eyes fixed on the empty space behind Lynn. “O-Operator Oracle? Why don’t you take a break from talking?”
“Stop talking? Why should I? She has done way worse things than that.”
The ambient noise in the Lungmen tea house abruptly died. Even the distant hum of traffic outside seemed to vanish. The Ursus chef, who had been vigorously kneading dough behind the counter, glanced at the doorway, his eyes widening in sheer panic. He slowly reached up, pulled down the serving window’s rolling shutter, and ducked out of sight.
Lynn remained blissfully ignorant. He raised his beer, chugged the rest of it, and slammed the can down, his face flushed with liquid courage.
“I seriously suspect she acts like this because she is frustrated about not having a boyfriend! Every single night, she forces me into ‘training.’She calls it training, but it is just her beating the crap out of me. Don’t you think that is excessive? It is humiliating enough getting tossed around, but she even drags other people in to gang up on me, claiming it is’growth through live combat.’ Does she think I am an idiot? Since when is pushing someone to the absolute brink good for them? Limits just cause muscle tears, and if I don’t rest, I am going to drop dead! But I don’t dare complain to her face. I can only sneak away to catch my breath. I haven’t even had time to write my novels. Am I pitiful or what?”
He finally noticed Lappland’s frantic facial expressions.
“Huh? What is wrong with your face, Lappland? I mean, the winking is cute and all, but I am being serious here. Everything I am saying is from personal experience; I am not making this up.”
Lappland swallowed hard. “B-Behind you…”
“Behind me? What is behind me?”
Lynn raised an eyebrow, turning around on his stool.
His gaze landed on the iconic Penguin Logistics uniform. He took in the familiar gray-red fur, the exquisite, deadpan face currently chewing on a stick of chocolate, the slender legs wrapped in dark stockings, and the massive, fluffy tail swaying ominously behind her.
As the Oracle, Lynn drew in a sharp, ragged breath—and promptly slid right off his stool, crashing onto the floor.
Texas looked down at him, her voice cool and flat. “Go on. Why did you stop? I was actually quite interested in hearing the rest.”
I knew my intuition was garbage!
A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on Lynn’s forehead. Staring up at Texas, who continued to crunch on her chocolate without a shred of emotion, Lynn felt like a frog cornered by a viper. Every instinct screamed at him to bolt.
However, Texas’s attention quickly shifted. There was a much more significant presence in the room.
She stepped past the trembling Lynn and slowly approached Lappland. The white-haired Lupo had her head bowed, looking uncharacteristically subdued, like a child caught making a terrible mistake. Texas stopped in front of the well-built woman and her dual swords. She didn’t say a word.
Lappland trembled under the heavy silence. After a long, agonizing moment, she slowly raised her head, flashing Texas a slightly twisted, melancholic smile.
“I heard what this Operator had to say, but… I never expected you to become so relaxed, Texas.”
“Perhaps. I actually feel busier these days,” Texas replied, her tone indifferent. She raised a slender eyebrow. “But what are you doing here, Lappland?”
Lynn scrambled up from the floor, thoroughly confused. “Wait, wait, hold on. What exactly is the relationship between you two? I am completely lost here.”
He scratched his head, looking back and forth between the two Lupos. The tension was thick, yet strangely devoid of actual killing intent.
“I am not an enemy,” Lappland said softly from her chair.
“But not a friend, either,” Texas added, standing over her.
“Only a past—and perhaps a future—that must be faced,” Lappland finished.
They spoke in near-perfect sync, answering his question one line at a time.
The Ursus restaurant owner had long since realized the danger. He had clicked off the radio and was currently playing dead in the kitchen. Lynn was the only one left to witness this bizarre standoff.
Lappland looked at the bewildered Lynn, shaking her head with a helpless chuckle, before turning her silver eyes back to Texas. “You really are excellent at hiding things… No, maybe you have genuinely thrown all those old ghosts to the back of your mind, Texas?”
“I am very satisfied with my current life,” Texas said, shaking her head slightly. “And I don’t feel obligated to tell everyone everything.” Her amber eyes locked onto the white-haired girl. “I will ask again. What are you doing here?”