Chapter 14: Mr. Garde, Please Sit Up Straight!

As the lifting platform landed on the ground, and the two researchers appeared a bit unsteady on their feet, Garde assisted Saria in moving a small engineering vehicle out of the platform.

He powered it up.

"Beep beep! Esteemed Rhine Lab personnel, I am the third-generation Raythean developer™ Plus six-wheel work platform from Raythean Industries. You can call me Survival-3."

This was a nearly 1.5-meter-tall engineering vehicle equipped with advanced artificial intelligence, suitable for transportation to some extent on the plains.

"Alright, we'll leave it to you."

"Yes, leave it to us."

Although Garde had previously avoided discussing the expedition to the Foehn Hotlands, the two Rhine Lab researchers did not hold any grudges. In a way, the current Rhine Lab was purer than the one to come.

With Garde's help, the two researchers removed two control stations from the lifting platform, along with six similar underwater drones and six Soaring Dragon support drones.

"I'll handle the underwater part."

"I'll take care of the skies."

Each had their own specialty.

These two researchers were skilled in outdoor exploration, part of Rhine Lab's Scientific Exploration Division. This time, Rhine Lab hadn't brought many professional archaeologists because they understood that once they entered the Foehn Hotlands, scientific research would be secondary. The most important goal was to bring back the serum that could suppress the ore sickness.

Six underwater drones were sent into the river to search for any possible Seaborns, while the six Soaring Dragon drones took to the skies for observation.

Due to Terra's unique natural environment, wireless drone control suffered from signal reception issues beyond a certain distance without a base station. So, when operating drones, the engineering vehicle extended its body, allowing the two researchers to control them from inside, right behind it.

After dropping them off, the lifting platform retracted, and Rhine Lab personnel near the waterfall lowered two off-road motorcycles.

"Garde, have you ever ridden this type of motorcycle before?"

Saria straddled one of the motorcycles, twisted the throttle, and the previously quiet motorcycle roared to life like a fierce beast.

Seeing this, Garde finally couldn't help but say, "If Zumama saw these things, she'd be very excited, wouldn't she?"

"Zumama?"

"She's from the neighboring tribe, and she has a good relationship with Gavial. She's quite interested in these machines."

"I see. If you don't mind, after this is all over, I can introduce her to attend the Columbia School of Engineering."

"Is that possible?"

"Since it's someone you know, Mr. Garde, there should be no problem."

Garde hadn't ridden this type of motorcycle before. He wondered if an electric scooter counted?

The kind that shouldn't exceed 25 kilometers per hour.

After closely observing Saria's starting technique involving ignition, clutch, and throttle, Garde sat on the motorcycle and squeezed the clutch, twisting the throttle.

However, the motorcycle suddenly accelerated with a "whoosh" sound.

"Wait, Mr. Garde, don't go so fast!"

Splash!

Before Saria could finish her sentence, Garde failed to make a timely turn, and both he and the motorcycle ended up in the water.

Saria, who was lying on the water, closed her eyes and counted to ten before standing up.

Ten minutes later, the motorcycle's engine restarted, and Garde, who had wrung his pants dry, sat behind Saria, looking as obedient as a child who had made a mistake.

Garde's motorcycle had been successfully written off by him. This time, Rhine Lab had only brought two off-road motorcycles, and seeing that the other two researchers had already gone ahead, Saria had no choice but to let Garde sit behind her.

"Hold on tight!"

The motorcycle's engine roared, and with a twist of the throttle by Saria, the motorcycle shot forward like an arrow.

The speed was fast, but in Saria's hands, it was nothing like Garde's earlier attempt.

Saria's riding skills were not only fast but also steady.

In less than half a minute, the two caught up with the two researchers ahead.

The motorcycle's speed was too fast, coupled with the rough terrain of the wilderness, making it feel a bit wobbly. Anyone who had ridden a motorcycle with a girl in front knows the kind of feeling it was.

Wanting to suppress any wandering thoughts and maintain focus was simply impossible, especially with someone like Saria sitting in front.

Her long silver hair was tied in a bundle over her pair of dark red horns. Saria's waist wasn't particularly slim, but if she lifted her clothes a bit, you could probably see some abs.

However, compared to Garde, Saria's waist could definitely be considered slim.

Garde could easily lift Saria with just one hand.

Originally riding smoothly, Saria suddenly sensed something was amiss. As a researcher with outstanding medical knowledge, she knew exactly what it was.

In her usual cool tone, Saria said, "Mr. Garde, please sit up straight."

"Huh? Okay."

At first, Garde was a bit reserved, but upon hearing Saria's words, he quickly straightened up.

Then, something unexpected happened.

The motorcycle flew over a steep slope, and due to inertia, Saria's body slightly separated from the motorcycle before landing back on it.

The two researchers riding ahead heard a "bang" and turned around.

Saria and Garde had fallen off the motorcycle.

Both researchers' faces changed, and they quickly stopped the engineering vehicle.

"Director Saria, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

In the instant of the crash, Saria had used her Art to protect herself. She turned to look at the alligator-man who had rolled several times on the ground, and a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face.

That scoundrel Adakrys dared to do such a thing to her.

Even though their races were different!

However, Saria also understood that sometimes certain reactions were unavoidable.

Although she was quite unhappy, Saria ultimately restrained herself from running over to pick up Garde and give him a good beating.

"Hmph, Ulysses, Gene, have you found any traces of those Seaborns?"

"Uh, not yet."

"After all, we don't even know what Seaborns look like."

Seeing the expression on Saria's face, the two researchers quickly operated the drones, pretending to examine disturbances in the river through the transmitted drone footage.

Suddenly, one of the researchers exclaimed, "Hey, it seems like my Water Otter No. 4 drone got entangled with something. Let me see what's going on— Mr. Garde, could it be that what you called Seaborns is this thing?"

The researcher exclaimed in surprise, and Garde, who had been pretending to play dead on the ground, immediately got up.

Honestly, he didn't know what Seaborns looked like on this side, so he had killed anything that seemed suspicious.

If Seaborns could reproduce asexually, one Seaborn could become two, two could become four, and in a couple of years, Acahualla would be done for.

Walking in the direction of the underwater drone that was entangled, Garde held his battle axe in hand.

To be precise, the weapon in Garde's hand should be described as a polearm, not an axe.

The difference between a polearm and an axe lay in the fact that the axe blade was narrower than that of a polearm, which had a wide, crescent-shaped blade.

This weapon had followed Garde after he loaded the alligator template, and it could be considered his companion weapon.

As Garde approached, he didn't forget to say to Saria, "Saria, protect your people. Our cooperation is limited to helping me find the Seaborns, and I'll handle the combat against them."

"Hmph."

Hearing the cold snort from behind, Garde realized he had misunderstood Saria's intentions earlier.

But it seemed that Saria had given him a good lesson, so they were even now.

Clearing his mind of the cluttered thoughts, Garde reached a deeper part of the river. His expression became serious once more.

He squinted his eyes and saw something beneath the water's surface entangling one of the underwater drones, seemingly mistaking it for food.

Just as Garde was approaching, the creature that had been entangled suddenly stopped moving.

An almost imperceptible whip-like shadow shot toward Garde.

Garde focused, not retreating but advancing. The whip hit him, but it didn't change his expression in the slightest.

Splish!

He took a step forward, causing water to splash around.

Garde's large polearm came crashing down heavily.

Boom!

A fearsome fish met its demise.

"It seems to be just a low-level Sea Terror."

Seeing the creature he had smashed into pieces, Garde breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking in the direction of the river's flow.

"Keep going. Next one!"

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