The clothes handed to me seem to be a military uniform. Chel taught me how to wear them. Apparently, this clothing is standard equipment for the special forces, and all members wear the same thing.
The inner suit, which is stretchy and clings tightly to the body, is a fit I'm not quite used to. The shape is close to a full-body bodysuit, and the feeling of being constricted all over my body makes me feel restless. I wanted to take it off, but apparently, it's made of high-performance special materials.
It has a special fiber structure that protects the skin and allows for some activity even in environments with polluted air while having excellent breathability, and it also has high heat resistance and cut resistance. It doesn't particularly hinder movement, so I'll wait until I get used to wearing it.
"The bra is... well, fine, but there are no panties..."
No problem. I'll just wear the inner suit directly. Over that, I wear the long-sleeved, long-legged camouflage uniform and put on body armor to protect my trunk. This is also made of thin, light, and flexible material, designed with an emphasis on ease of movement.
The shoes, in particular, were quite good. Until now, when running in places with poor footing, my feet would get covered in cuts unless I reinforced the soles with aura, but there's no worry of that now. The movement of my ankles and toes is slightly restricted, which is unfortunate, but not enough to cause major hindrance.
That said, when all this equipment is piled on, it is naturally harder to move compared to being naked, and it has a reasonable amount of weight. I might not be able to move as usual, so caution is necessary. In exchange, if I firmly reinforce the clothes with 'Shu', my defensive power should rise dramatically.
Incidentally, I wondered how there happened to be clothes that fit Quinn's body size well, but apparently, this was spare equipment used by a certain member of the special forces. That member was apparently an adult male, which means he was about the same physique as Quinn, which is slightly concerning in its own right.
Since that member has already passed away, I essentially inherited the equipment. As a result, the size is slightly large and baggy. The shoes are also a little big, but it was within a range that wasn't a problem if I tied the shoelaces tight.
I was also issued a backpack containing necessities. Supplies like food and water are packed compactly. It even contained a full-face type gas mask and an oxygen supply unit. I put my item bag inside the backpack.
Finally, I put on the helmet. With this, the full set is equipped. I meet up with the special forces members I had kept waiting.
"..."
Everyone is frozen, looking at Quinn. Only Chel, for some reason, is puffing out her chest proudly.
"How is it? This satisfying result."
"Why are you bragging, Chel-san? No, I was surprised, but..."
"I felt something shining even when she was covered in mud, but it's different when the dirt is cleaned off."
They are whispering some inside story. I assume it's about Quinn's appearance, but do these clothes look that bad on me?
"No, well, it doesn't suit her. It just feels wrong, like a sheltered highborn lady encased in military special forces gear. Or rather, what is up with that beautiful hair keeping its glossy cuticles? And isn't her skin too white? Does she go to a beauty salon? Is it the mud from earlier? Is Dark Continent mud optimal for face packs?"
He asks questions in rapid succession with a serious expression. It seems he is suspicious that Quinn's skin has not received damage from ultraviolet rays. Since I am not tanned at all despite living outdoors, it can't be helped if I'm suspected.
This is an effect of the 'Idol Worship' constraint that 'design cannot be changed', but I can't explain that as it is. I'll leave it as maintaining skin youthfulness through aura.
"Hey, Quinn-san is troubled. Sorry for the noise. But it just means you're that cute of a young lady. As expected, having a woman around brightens the atmosphere."
"Hah? I'm here, aren't I?"
"Chel-san is in the man slot, ri—gwah!?"
Just as the black-haired youth was speaking, Chel, for whatever reason, drove her fist into his stomach. It was a blow firmly imbued with aura. An ordinary person would surely have suffered ruptured internal organs.
Reacting instantly to that attack, which clearly contained killing intent, the youth had focused aura on his abdomen using 'Gyo' to heighten his defense. Still, perhaps because he couldn't completely nullify the damage, he is coughing painfully.
It was a splendid offense and defense between Nen users, but I can't understand why they started infighting at this timing.
"That's enough playing around."
The man who is the captain shouted, taking control of the scene. If I recall, his name should be Gragg. Being the captain, he appears to have a common-sense personality. However, there are parts of his behavior that are somewhat suspicious, so I can't simply trust him.
His way of walking is strange. When he turns, he pivots on his heel and turns sharply. It's exactly the movement of marching. Besides that, he sometimes makes inexplicable movements as if his joints are fixed in place.
There's one more person, a man named Katroi who hasn't joined the conversation, and he looks strange just from a glance. He is trembling and shaking, and won't make eye contact with me. No, perhaps that is a normal reaction in a sense, but...
Are there no decent humans in this unit?
"First of all, regarding the search for the 'Return', I thank you for offering your cooperation. We would like to borrow your knowledge, experience, and power as someone living in this land. The four here are the special forces unit Quantum. I hope to interact sincerely as comrades who will search together from now on. Shall we reintroduce ourselves?"
I'm not confident I can match their names to their faces right away even if I memorize them, so I'll listen carefully and remember.
The group, a peculiar combination of four special forces members and one girl, was proceeding smoothly toward the destination. Night fell, and the first day's itinerary ended. No matter how little time remained, forcing a march at night is dangerous. Especially since this place is the Dark Continent.
It is a grueling march where a state of extreme tension continues. Rest was essential from both physical and mental perspectives. In particular, Chel, who is the keystone of enemy detection, has to constantly deploy a vast En, so she has accumulated the most fatigue. If we don't let her rest, tomorrow's march will be impossible.
Although not as much as Chel, fatigue was clearly visible on the other three members as well. This was the state of things despite having cleared the itinerary smoothly without encountering a single enemy. Captain Gragg was standing with his back leaning against a tree. It looked like he would lose focus if he sat down.
On the other hand, the girl who is the youngest among them is calm, showing no signs of fatigue. She isn't putting on a brave front. This forest, a den of the extraordinary and unrealistic for the squad members, was everyday life for the girl. One look was enough to tell she was used to walking through it.
At first, there was doubt about whether such a girl could really keep up with the exploration. That's how frail and unreliable the girl's appearance is. She looks just like a child.
However, Gragg and the others honestly admired that the prior information about her being a resident of this continent was no lie. Her carriage, the way she erased her presence, her sharpened senses. Her figure was refined like a wild beast. The 'skills to live' inherent to living things, which one never acquires living within the community of human society, are ingrained in the girl's body.
That is precisely why it was unnatural. The girl's body is too unsullied. She lacks the muscle that should naturally be there if she ran around the forest and lived in nature. She maintains white skin without a single scratch or cut. It is as if she is beautiful because it was determined she should be so.
Her body and the power contained within it are not balanced. She forcibly holds that imbalance together with a massive aura. Normally, one would forge both the aura and the body—mind and physique—through training to produce strength, but in her case, it was skewed too heavily toward reinforcing with aura alone. An average Nen user wouldn't be able to obtain decent power.
However, she realized a reinforcement rate far exceeding general Nen users without training her muscles. It is a brute force method using immense latent and patent aura quantity. It is terribly inefficient and, on top of that, a dangerous way to use power. If she lets the high output speak for itself and releases it as she pleases, her physical body will break from the power she can't handle.
In the first place, normally one cannot reinforce oneself to the point of breaking one's own body. The brain's limiter, working unconsciously, suppresses the output. It is sometimes temporarily released like 'hysterical strength' during a fire, but it's not something that happens often.
There are ways to intentionally remove this limiter. But in almost any martial arts school, it is a technique belonging to the taboos. If one forcibly draws out power, a backlash always comes. Acquiring it requires talent and long, blood-spitting training, and it isn't a technique one can use lightly.