"Gavial—"
Accompanied by a cry mixed with surprise and excitement, a small, white-haired girl on a path in the Rainforest called out Gavial's name from a distance, twisting her somewhat thick tail behind her as she charged directly over.
"Ah, this must be someone you know, Gavial, Gavial?"
Looking at the unusually thick, shrimp-like tail that swung back and forth, Goki paused for a moment, then quickly reacted, remembering who she was.
Tomimi, one of Gavial's childhood playmates, and also a future Operator on Rhodes Island.
As a Caster Operator who can only attack units around her after activating her skill, she advocates for melee combat, which is very waaaagh.
Caster Operators need to fight in melee, and Medical Operators also need to fight in melee—this is the style of the Acahuala people.
Of course, she is also a wholehearted Gavial fan—she likes Gavial very, very, very much!
As Gavial's little fangirl, it was her meticulous care after Gavial fell ill that made Gavial unable to do anything, making her feel "excluded," which then led her to angrily run away from home.
So, when she excitedly looked at Gavial beside Goki, waving the black staff in her hand, which was taller than herself, and stomping the wet ground after the rain into large patches of mud, Goki felt as if he saw a Nile Crocodile charging at him.
Goki intended to let Gavial handle it directly—it was their family matter, and Goki, as a guest, shouldn't interfere.
"Oh, no—it's Tomimi!"
The next second, Goki suddenly felt a huge force on his shoulder; with only a slight resistance, he was lifted directly by Gavial from under her arms and held in front of her as a shield.
"Please, Goki, block her for me. This child is always overly enthusiastic—I'll compensate you!"
In his ears, only Gavial's apologetic voice and Skadi's somewhat flustered voice could be heard.
"Eh, eh, Goki?"
The next second, that plump figure directly crashed into Goki's embrace—a "Meatball Onion Chicken"!
At that moment, listening to the crisp sound of a few of his ribs, Goki silently decided on one thing.
Put points into Strength, put points into Strength! Get Strength to fifty first!
Not to mention being able to lift Skadi high, he couldn't let these female superhumans of Terra toss him around anymore!
"Gavial, hehe, Gavial... Gavial's scent, sniff, sniff, hehe."
However, the little crocodile who had charged headfirst into Goki's embrace seemed to have kept her eyes closed during the charge, not realizing that she was hugging Goki instead of Gavial, and was merely greedily sniffing Gavial's scent.
Coincidentally, Goki had a strong scent of Gavial on him, having slept together for a night.
"Gavial, your waist has gotten thicker, and your legs have gotten longer... and your tail, where's your tail?"
Burying her head in Goki's hunter's uniform, this little crocodile, with short silver-white hair, a small white flower in her braid, and an ahoge on top of her head, was probably only twelve or thirteen years old, small in stature but also plump.
Under her grey-black light robe, her pair of small, plump legs were wrapped around Goki's waist, wearing tattered black stockings, the tight edges of which squeezed out her fair, fleshy thighs.
Of course, the most alluring part was Tomimi's small, plump bottom, barely covered by a short, tattered jacket and black triangular panties, and the unusually thick black tail extending from it—about two or three times thicker than Gavial's slender tail!
In the game, Tomimi already had a small appearance, and six years before the main timeline, she was even more like a child—no, she was a child!
"Gavial, you're finally back! You never told me where you went before, and I couldn't find an address to write to you, boo hoo... You still smell of blood, did you fight or hunt?"
With her entire body clinging to Goki like an octopus, Tomimi vigorously rubbed against "Gavial," seemingly wanting to vent her long-unseen longing.
Clutching Goki's back tightly, the little crocodile's hands continuously tightened. Fortunately, Goki had already developed grapple resistance from Skadi's training, and he had previously put points into Physique, so he could barely withstand it, otherwise he would have been directly squeezed in half.
"Ha, but how can a mercenary have a fixed address? Once I become a doctor and find a stable job, I'll definitely give you my address."
Stepping out from behind Goki, Gavial clasped her hands together and bowed twice to Goki with a slight apology—she couldn't stand Tomimi's overly intimate behavior, so having Goki block her was fine.
"Her name is Tomimi, a child I was very close to when I was in the tribe. She's a good person, it's just... she's too enthusiastic."
Gavial shrugged helplessly. She was fearless, even daring to confront the Flame Demon from before, but this child was indeed a bit difficult to handle.
"Wait, too close, why do you all like to be so close to Goki?"
Finally, Skadi, who had been stunned, came to her senses and couldn't help but rush over, grabbing Tomimi's shoulders and pulling her off Goki.
"Look carefully, Gavial is over there, you hugged the wrong person, this is Goki!"
Are land dwellers so casual? They hug on the first meeting? Skadi had specifically confirmed becoming friends with Goki before she would hug him at night!
"Gavial... Eh, eh, eh? Who are you! Ah! Bad person!"
Just moments ago, immersed in the joy of reuniting with her idol, Tomimi opened her dark golden eyes, saw the strange tall person in front of her wearing a tricorn hat and a black trench coat, and was startled.
"Wah—who are you, where did you take Gavial, ah, here she is! I can't break free, you're so strong, boo hoo..."
Lifted into the air by Skadi, Tomimi saw Gavial nearby and immediately wanted to rush over for another hug.
But after several attempts to struggle, she failed to escape Skadi's large hands, and tears instantly welled up in the little crocodile girl's big eyes.
"See, this is one of the reasons I left Acahuala. This child, Tomimi, is really too enthusiastic about me. Alright, Skadi, give her to me."
Taking Tomimi from Skadi's hands, Gavial grinned. Before Tomimi could pounce, she held the little crocodile's head with her hand, extending her arm.
"Alright, Tomimi, let me introduce you. This is Goki, and this is Skadi—they are my guests and my friends. We're here to do something and won't be staying permanently, understand?"
"F-f-friends!"
In unison, Skadi and Tomimi both exclaimed, looking at Gavial in disbelief.
In Skadi's view, friends were a very precious relationship, but in Gavial's mouth, it sounded... very casual!
"Could it be because of last night... sleeping together?!"
Recalling what happened last night, Skadi nodded—it seemed to make sense. Since they slept together, they must be friends.
However, hearing that Goki had another friend, Skadi still felt a little disappointed.
On the other hand, Tomimi's reaction was even more severe.
"Gavial's friends—are they as strong as Gavial?"
Hearing that the two strangely dressed people in front of her, especially the tall, thin one who now looked particularly weak and was still injecting himself in the leg, were Gavial's friends, little Tomimi tilted her head, a bit disbelieving.
"Gavial, this person looks so weak—to become Gavial's friend, you have to pass my approval! Come on, let's fight. If you agree, I'll acknowledge you as our guest!"
Saying this, Tomimi picked up the black staff, which was much taller than herself, and looked eager for a fight.
Compared to the game, Tomimi was six years younger, but her personality seemed to be much more combative and enthusiastic.
Although it was just childish talk, Goki, whose ribs had just been broken by her, narrowed his eyes and showed a somewhat interested smile, asking Gavial.
"Can I hit a child?"
"No problem, the rule of Acahuala is that the one with the biggest fist makes the rules! We Aegir, no, Tiakau people are very tough, you can't break us."
Gavial nodded, tacitly approving Goki's request. Tomimi was also full of Battle Intent, raising her weapon, which was called a staff but was actually a warhammer.
"Good, Gavial, let me show you my progress since you left—"
— — — — — —
"Waaah... My dad never hit me like this, Gavial—he's so strong, I can't beat him!"
Clutching her somewhat red and swollen little bottom under her short robe, Tomimi tearfully followed behind Gavial, still clutching her bottom, looking fearfully at the tall man behind her.
"You challenged him anyway, I'm not going to stick up for you. You deserved it, heh."
Following Tomimi with a smile, Gavial turned her head and gave Goki a thumbs up.
Goki merely clapped his hands, looking calm and collected—he wouldn't be unable to beat a little girl.
Moreover, this plump little crocodile's bottom felt really good to spank, and her big tail was very exciting to touch.
"Honestly, I feel like I'm going to defect to the thick-tailed faction."
"You—forsaking friends for beauty! Tomimi is still a child!"
Gavial turned back in disbelief, immediately pulling Tomimi into her embrace, and stuck out her sharp little tongue at the man who had previously claimed to be indifferent to tail thickness.
"Alright, no more idle talk. I didn't come back to participate in the Mavesotia—is the Shaman Grandmother who taught you Spells still here? I need to ask her about the legend of that Flame Demon, and also about the several forest temples nearby."
Leading everyone towards her tribe, Gavial finally brought up the main reason for her return to her homeland.
"Flame Demon? There's no Flame Demon here, it's just been a bit hot these past few days, and it hasn't rained in a long time."
Rubbing her red little bottom, Tomimi thought for a moment, then added.
"Oh, right, I saw someone unconscious in the forest a while ago, and she's still in the tribe. Her mind seems to be troubled, she doesn't remember anything. Recently, people from the Inam Merchant Guild seem to have also hosted some foreign guests, saying they came from Columbia, or some place. They're in the forest, fiddling with strange machines all day—and those bodyguards are really fierce!"
"Hmm?"
Goki keenly noticed something and looked at Skadi beside him. The Little Orca also nodded.
Both of them remembered Kal'tsit's instructions before she left.
"Columbians... Tomimi, first take us to see the person you found."
Goki nodded, vaguely feeling that there might be some connection in all of this.
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