Tatiana nearly fainted upon arriving at Mount Noah.
The Ether concentration here was stronger than usual—far more than she had anticipated.
'…There's no way an Ether Adept could be living in a place like this.'
That was how inhospitable Mount Noah was to those with high Ether sensitivity.
Even beasts and creatures, which were often drawn to strong Ether, avoided this place.
'No… It can't be…'
Even as she tried to deny it, she began to see traces—
The remains of beasts.
Signs of human activity.
Clear evidence that someone was living here.
'…Seriously? Someone's actually… living here?'
Half in doubt, half in belief, Tatiana ascended Noah.
Of course, calling it 'instinct' was misleading—
A Level 3 Ether Adept like Tatiana had instincts that were far beyond mere intuition.
"Is someone really here?"
[Yes! Yes! Over here…!]
When she spoke, Ether answered her.
That was the power of a Level 3 Ether Adept.
"Where?"
[This way, this way…]
How long had she wandered?
Following Ether's guidance, Tatiana roamed aimlessly through Mount Noah—
Until she found it.
A hidden shelter, covered in Ark-grade camouflage.
It was concealed so well that without Ether's help, she never would have found it.
'He's… actually alive.'
Someone was living here.
And it wasn't hard to guess who.
If it was someone living outside the Ark with Ark-grade equipment, then it had to be that man—
The one Imosha had recently traded with.
'Then… was it really him who saved me?'
That barbarian saved me?
Really?
Standing at the threshold of the truth she had been searching for, Tatiana's heart raced.
And then—
The moment she first laid eyes on Carl Marcus; her first thought was shock.
'…Wood?'
Mount Noah had no trees.
The only places nearby where wood could be found were inside the Ark or in the Great Forest.
And since it was obviously not from the Ark, there was only one possibility.
'Did he… go all the way to the Great Forest?'
After Mount Noah, he had gone to the Great Forest?
For nothing but wood?
The shock lasted only a moment—
But Tatiana, who still thought of Carl Marcus as a barbarian and a philanderer, had a very poor first impression.
That was probably why—
"…Who's there."
The instant Carl Marcus aimed his gun at her, the Ether around Tatiana surged.
[Hate? Then I hate too.]
"W-Wait!"
She tried to stop it—
But by the time she spoke, the Ether had already gone out of control.
[Hieeeee…!]
[It hurts…!]
[Stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it, stop it—!]
A wave of Ether crashed down upon Carl Marcus.
'…He's enduring this?'
A normal person exposed to a Level 3 Ether Adept's shockwave would have lost their mind instantly.
Yet Carl Marcus stood there, his face only slightly tensed.
Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn't believe it.
'Maybe… maybe it really was him…'
Her doubts slowly turned into certainty.
"I have a question for you."
Tatiana stepped forward from the darkness.
"Did you save me?"
* * *
'...Who is she?'
I had a rough idea why she had come.
But her true purpose was still unclear, so I decided to play dumb.
"…What do you mean? Save you?"
"Don't pretend you don't know."
Once again, the Ether stirred.
She seemed to be holding back this time, but the important thing was—
This woman could kill me anytime she wanted.
'…At least Level 3 Ether.'
I was just below Level 2, and when it came to Ether control, I wasn't even close to her level.
That's how overwhelming her Ether presence was.
Whether she was an Ether soldier who had undergone special procedures or a natural-born adept, one thing was certain—
She was at least a frontline soldier from the Ark.
'And on top of that, she was able to track me down so easily.'
That meant she had intelligence, deduction skills, and the ability to act on them.
In short—
She was someone I couldn't afford to antagonize.
'Most of all… I've never seen her before.'
This was crucial.
If I hadn't saved her that night, she would've died to the horde of beasts.
That meant—
She never existed in the original The Defense.
I wasn't supposed to know who she was.
'…Did I mess up by saving her?'
For the first time, I started to regret it.
If she had been someone from inside the Ark, I would've known who she was—
And I would've known how to deal with her.
But this woman—
I didn't even know her name.
"I don't know who you are. So, I can't say I 'saved' you."
So, I asked—
Because if you don't know something, you ask.
"...You don't know me?"
"That's right."
Her expression shifted.
It was subtle, but I caught it.
It was the kind of look that said, 'Ah… I messed up.'
"And even if I did, this isn't how you treat someone who saved your life."
If I showed weakness now, I had no idea what she might do.
So, while keeping my finger ready on the trigger, I pressed forward.
"Ah."
Did I hit the mark?
She made another "I messed up" face and retracted her Ether.
"S-Sorry."
…That was more apologetic than I expected.
Her first impression was terrible, but seeing her now…
She didn't seem evil—just socially awkward.
'…Well, that makes sense.'
Ether Adepts were feared and ostracized inside the Ark.
It wasn't surprising that she had poor social skills.
'Judging by her reaction, the first Ether surge was probably an accident.'
Even at Level 3, Ether wasn't something an Adept could fully control.
Emotions, subconscious reactions—
All of them could affect their Ether output.
"…My name is Tatiana. Major Tatiana Belov of the Navy Line."
…Belov?
Her faction and rank were important—
But the name Belov grabbed my attention more than anything.
And Tatiana…
That name—
I was sure I had heard it before.
"Now answer me, Carl Marcus. Were you the one who saved me?"
…So, she knew about me.
But I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
"Maybe. Maybe not."
I had learned who she was.
Now, I needed to find out why she had come.
Surely, she hadn't tracked me down all the way to Noah just to say thank you.
"Is this some kind of joke?"
"I did save someone outside the Ark frontline a while back, but the distance was too great—I couldn't see who it was."
I needed to shift the momentum.
"Then let me ask you instead."
I looked straight at Tatiana Belov and said—
"Was it you? The one I saved, Tatiana Belov?"
"Ah…"
Tatiana's face froze.
She looked like someone who had just been caught off guard.
"Uh, ahem, well! I wouldn't say I needed to be saved, but… it did help? Something like that."
"So that means yes."
Silence.
Then, after a moment—
"…Well, I suppose you could put it that way. Yes, you did."
I didn't let the silence take over.
I immediately threw out the next question.
"Why did you come looking for me? Don't tell me you traveled all the way to Noah just to thank me."
Now we were getting to the real question.
What was Tatiana Belov's true objective?
In the heavy silence, she opened her mouth.
"…That's exactly why I'm here."
Her voice sounded uncertain.
And I wasn't sure I understood.
"…What do you mean?"
"…I mean it. To thank you."
For a moment—
I was too stunned to react.
"…You're telling me you tracked me all the way to Mount Noah… just to say thank you?"
Tatiana frowned.
"What? Is that a problem? You saved my life—why wouldn't I thank you?"
I mean… technically, she wasn't wrong.
But the problem was—
We were standing outside the Ark, in one of the most dangerous places imaginable.
'…Is she serious?'
It sounded so ridiculous that I actually believed her.
If she had been lying, she would've come up with a better excuse.
"…Fine. But how did you find me?"
"A man named Kurilta told me. He said that if anyone could survive outside the Ark, it would be you. So, I narrowed down the possible locations."
…She figured out I was in Noah just from that?
'…She's not just any ordinary soldier.'
Even without considering her Level 3 Ether abilities or Navy Line rank, she was a highly capable officer.
'And then there's her last name.'
Officially, the leader of the Navy Line was the Chancellor of Pandalim.
But the real ruler was someone else.
Anton Belov.
The true master of the Navy Line—
And the head of the Belov family.
'The conflict between the Navy Line and the Blue Line started after the daughter of the Chancellor died.'
If my memory was correct, then Tatiana Belov was most likely—
Anton Belov's daughter.
And even if she wasn't, she was still part of the Belov family.
That meant she held significant power.
'This is more than I wanted to get involved with.'
Now the real question was—
How should I handle this?
The answer was obvious.
'I need to avoid getting involved with the Belov family.'
Because—
One day, I have to kill Ivan Belov.
The commander of the Navy Line's defense forces—
And one of the key figures responsible for the downfall of the Navy Line's frontlines.
"If that's all, then go back."
I cut her off.
"…Excuse me?"
"If you're done here, leave. I don't need anything from you."