Chapter 150: I'm Back (Patreon)

In the Administrator's office aboard the OMV Bifang, a white figure came rushing in — Yelena, still dusted with the wind and snow from outside, her expression unable to hide her excitement.

"Administrator, are they finally coming back?"

"Yelena, calm down."

The Administrator set down the documents in her hands with a touch of helplessness. She had been tallying the supplies being delivered to the Ursus Workers' Syndicate — the greater value the Syndicate demonstrated, the more say it would gain within Ursus.

"Sorry, Administrator."

Yelena drew her neck back a little, then settled back into her usual cool, composed demeanor.

It had been nearly a year since Saito and the others had been swept away by the rift. Fifteen-year-old Yelena had grown taller and more graceful, and under Bozkasti's tutelage she had already taken on something of a warrior's bearing.

These days, she and her Yeti Squad had carved out a name for themselves across the Frozen Plains, and people outside had taken to calling her the "Yeti Princess." The change in her was nothing short of remarkable.

But in the eyes of elders like the Administrator, Yelena was still that same slightly reckless white rabbit from before.

"Ahem... So when's Teacher coming back with the others?"

Yelena coughed twice, using her Originium Arts to sweep the frost and snow off herself, then sat down primly on the couch in the Administrator's office.

"Soon."

The exact timing still depended on Perlica and the others — because of the difference in time flow, the Administrator obviously couldn't give her a definite answer.

The girl set aside the documents at her side. In truth, she was the most anxious one of all — otherwise those papers wouldn't still be sitting untouched.

Since she had no heart left for work, she might as well spend the time chatting with Yelena.

The Administrator rose from behind her desk, walked over to a nearby cabinet, pulled out two bottles of drinks, and tossed them to Yelena. The white rabbit caught one in each hand and, with practiced ease, activated her Originium Arts — a thin layer of frost crept over the cans at once.

"Operator Frostnova—"

The Administrator settled down beside Yelena, drawing out the words as she called her by her codename. "...are you there?"

The tone made Yelena's whole body flinch, as though a parent had called her by her full name. Though honestly, being addressed by her codename by the Administrator in a moment like this was somehow even more frightening.

"This is the seventh time. The Operator in charge of maintaining the training grounds has filed a complaint against you for the seventh time."

The Administrator, in a flat, deadpan tone, pulled up a complaint on her Protocol Synchronizer and recited its contents word for word.

"Administrator, please, do something about those two. This is the fourth time this month, and the Operator in charge of repairs is nearly in tears."

The rest of the message was basically one long indictment of the pair's inhumane antics, written with such tearful sincerity it was almost moving.

The Administrator could practically feel the anguish that poor Operator must have felt while writing it.

Truly, it would move anyone who heard it to tears!

It hadn't been so bad before — the two of them rarely crossed paths at headquarters, so a mess this size happened maybe once every month or two at most. But ever since Talulah officially joined Endfield, in just over a month Yelena had already gone all-out against her four times.

Four times! Four whole times!

"It's not like it's only my fault, is it?"

Yelena tried to argue further, but the Administrator shut down her stubborn defense with a single question.

"And who started it? Alina already told me everything, you know."

"Uhh..." Yelena wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant.

Ever since Talulah had joined Endfield, the two girls, close in age, had quickly become friends, and sparring matches like the old days grew more frequent. The first few times had gone fine, with Yelena consistently holding the upper hand.

But once Talulah began training alongside her, the gap between them closed at a startling pace. Talulah still lagged slightly behind in Originium Arts, but at the close-quarters range of the training grounds, her formidable physical strength as a member of the Drak gave her a decisive edge.

She hadn't shown it outwardly, but the white rabbit had genuinely started to get anxious about it.

"Good girl. How about next time you two take it outside the base, hm?"

The Administrator ruffled Yelena's hair, her face full of affection. The white rabbit just nodded silently, quietly adding another mark against Talulah in her mental ledger.

But the warm moment didn't last long. A crisp chime drew the Administrator's eyes back down to the message on her terminal.

The instant she saw what it said, the Administrator shot to her feet and, without a word, ran off toward the deck.

Yelena froze for a moment, stunned, but quickly realized why the Administrator had rushed off so suddenly.

Only one thing could make the Administrator react with such excitement: he was coming back.

With that thought, Yelena hurried after her as well.

As the blinding blue light faded, before Saito even opened his eyes, a bitingly cold wind — one achingly familiar — struck his face.

"Finally... I'm back." There was a note of quiet emotion in Saito's voice. His journey through Talos II had been brief, but it had left an impression on him unlike any other.

Most immediately, he now had one more major goal in this world.

"Welcome back." A familiar voice sounded by his ear. Saito turned to look, and found himself drawn into a pair of eyes as blue as gemstones.

"Yeah. I'm back."

Countless emotions passed between their gazes, and with a veil of white drifting down from the sky above, the moment of reunion took on a faintly dreamlike air.

'So this is what the Administrator actually looks like?'

Behind them, Little Chen looked rather surprised. She'd heard countless legends and records about the Administrator back on Talos II, but she'd never actually seen any footage of her — this was the first time she'd laid eyes on the face beneath the Administrator's mask.

After a moment of surprise, Little Chen — ever attuned to reading the room — immediately grabbed Mudrock, who still looked a bit lost, and leaned in to whisper to her:

"Miss Mudrock, come with me for a moment."

Mudrock, new to all this, naturally had no objections. As Chen Qianyu led her away, she also intercepted Yelena, who had just come rushing up, and steered her back.

Whatever questions anyone had could wait — for now, this moment belonged to the Administrator.

"Uh... how long was I gone?"

After a moment of silence, Saito asked the question with a touch of awkwardness. Honestly, the look in the Administrator's eyes right now was a little frightening.

"Eleven months and nine days. It's now the 9th of February, Terran year 1088."

The Administrator's voice had dropped low. Saito could clearly see her eyes had reddened slightly — it was the first time he'd ever seen her wear that expression.

Letting his heart guide him, Saito walked slowly toward the Administrator, then wrapped his arms tightly around her, murmuring softly by her ear:

"I'm home."