The man's left brow twitched at the blatant insult, but he still kept his fake smile on. He seemed to be in his late twenties, with dark brown skin, short raven hair, and hazel eyes.
Mark wasn't that well-versed in the military but he was sure he never saw the insignia on the man's uniform, which depicted a knight holding up a sword with both hands.
"Master," Lara spoke up. "No matter how terrible the smell might be, it is still improper to mention it in such a direct manner."
Her words, enhanced by the calm tone of her voice, stabbed the man right in the guts.
"They…" he held his stomach as if in pain. "They had salmon today… in the cafeteria…"
"HAHAHAHAHA! They got you good, Ramsey." A loud voice echoed in the room.
Mark looked around trying to find the source. Just then, the wall behind the strange man split up and a door appeared. The door opened the next moment.
"Head General…" The man grumbled. "Not you too…"
The new arrival was a woman so large she had to lower her head to pass through the door. Mark didn't have a measuring tape on him but he had no doubt that she was well above two and a half meters. That wasn't the most impressive part about her, however.
To put it simply, she was a wall of muscles. She wore a tank top that revealed her arms, and those biceps didn't seem to be the cosmetic kind. Her hands were massive, like those of a man who spends his days working in construction.
The wide grin she wore revealed her pearly whites, giving her a friendly air despite her rough features.
"Before you ask, I'm 100% natural." The wall of muscle spoke. "And 100% female as well. Down to the DNA."
"Ah, Sorry…"
Though the thought had yet to cross his mind, Mark was sure that it would have at some point. It was difficult to believe a woman could grow that kind of form without the super soldier serum so it was only natural to think she used to be a man at one point.
"Well, that aside," motioning toward the door with her chin, she continued with the same grin as before. "Now that you're awake, we need to have a talk. Get changed and-"
A loud growl resounded in the room cutting her off. All eyes turned to Mark who was holding a his stomach, looking quite deflated. With a deep frown of his face, he sighed then looked around the room.
"I could go for some salmon right about now."
~[ ]~
After a quick shower, Mark put on some clothes the brown man handed. They then made their way to the cafeteria where the Large woman was waiting for them.
Apparently, it was past midnight when Mark woke up. Dinner time was already behind them, but the cafeteria staff were still making food for those who took on the night shift.
Mark thought he was overdoing it by getting two servings of salmon and mashed potatoes, in addition to all the side dishes and dessert, but when he saw the muscular woman piling meat on her tray he realized he had nothing to be ashamed of.
"I have yet to introduce myself, haven't I?" The woman spoke after swallowing what she had in her mouth. "I'm Natalia Greenhorn, the Head General responsible for the PK delegation handling this entire world. Welcome to our headquarters, kid."
Mark choked on his food. He had several questions, but the most important one came first.
"PK?"
"Short for Peace Keepers."
"And Player Killer."
Though he made that comment, Mark was concerned about something else entirely.
'So it was her after all…'
The shower he took just now helped steer his memory. Though he was barely conscious back then, Mark still recalled getting a glimpse of the person who defeated Malarak.
They were clad in a suit of full body armor back then so it was difficult to imagine them as anything other than a massive man, but now that he was sitting across from her, any doubts he had about her being that person vanished entirely.
Natalie laughed for a good twenty seconds before speaking again.
"We get that a lot. You don't have to worry, though. This isn't a game, after all, and you aren't a player."
Her tone turned serious and Mark stopped the spoon full of mashed potato an inch from his mouth.
"You have received it, have you not?" Natalie asked. "The Lower Realm Guidance System."
Keeping his silence, Mark put the spoon in his mouth.
"Cautious, aren't we?" A grin returned to Natalie's face before she stuffed it with a piece of steak. "You don't have to be so on guard."
"Can't exactly do that." Mark swallowed and said "Not when I'm trapped with a bunch who call themselves the Peace Keepers."
Player Killers sounded a lot less shady than anyone claiming to be a Peace Keeper. At least the former are honest about their goals.
"Trust issues?" Natalie raised an eyebrow.
"You people are shady as hell." Mark replied.
"Master, " Lara chimed in. She stood behind him like a maid would do, though it felt a bit odd without her uniform. "If you are having trouble trusting these people, would it be wise to indulge in their food?"
Mark came to a halt. His eyes slowly went down to the half-empty tray －he had eaten through most of the grilled salmon and was working on the other plates. After a few silent seconds, he went back to moving his fork as if to say he didn't care.
"Can you blame me?" He said. "I barely ate anything in three days."
He really didn't trust the people calling themselves the Peace keepers, but with a stomach as empty as his, resisting food was way too much to ask. He was a normal guy, after all.
With the last meal he had been the light breakfast from two days ago, he couldn't say no to a proper lunch.
"Rest assured," Natalie bit into another piece of steak. "There are about a thousand ways we can kill you, and poison isn't one of them."
"That didn't sound very peaceful," Mark replied.
"How do you think we keep the peace?" Raising her arm, the woman sitting opposite to him flexed her biceps. "Violence! It's the only way!"
Mark stared at her while chewing. He didn't find the joke too amusing even with the amount of truth in it. At that moment he seemed to recall something and turned around to his maid.
"Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.
"I dined not long before you regained consciousness." She replied.