bluep

...Have you considered that you're a little oversensitive?

Still, there's one thing that's kinda bothering me. Those natives... Like, what race are they?

We have no data on it. Supposedly, they don't have any particular distinctive features, but...

They're Anura.

Just like me.

...How do you know?

Because they're from my tribe.

Kerthun is my homeland.

What? Why are you only telling us this now? This is news to me!

I had no reason to bring it up, Glau. I wasn't lying when I said I'd never been there. I grew up in Iberia.

Everything I know about the place, I learned from my grandmother.

Kerthun. That the name of our homeland.

Only there are we not treated as outsiders.

Only there can we truly live a peaceful life.

Only there are we not burdened with being a 'poison.'

So what's it like?

Hm, I'm not too sure myself. My grandma told me a lot of stories, but honestly she made it all sound a bit too wonderful, like a fairy tale.

My people moved from Sargon to Iberia over a hundred years ago. 'Moved,' she told me. Even that is something of a euphemism for the bitter truth.

We were sold to Iberia as test subjects. Our lives are inseparable from poison from the moment we're born. It's an unfortunate talent, but some people always see things differently.

Conspiracies and poison. Two sides of the same coin, don't you think?

Listen, we don't have to talk about this if you don't want to.

I'm fine. But thanks for worrying about me.

Truth is, I've only heard about these experiments secondhand. Ever since the disaster, Iberia's been too busy sorting out its own mess to deal with outcasts like us.

That cruel past is now nothing more than stories passed down by the older generation, and Kerthun itself is even more of a legend to us.

My grandma always started off like, 'A long time ago, when we were still in faraway Kerthun...' You've all heard stories like that too, right?

'A long time ago, when the Ægir still lived under the sea...'

'A long time ago, before Laterano was completed...'

Hehe, see? All legends start the same.

Yeah... I don't think I could laugh that off.

It was those legends of beautiful Kerthun that kept my family going, from one generation to the next.

It was a paradise. A place where no one would fear or scorn us as 'toxic.'

My grandma always said our life of ostracization and fear was just a trial for us to endure. Once we were back in Kerthun, everything would be better.

This might sound funny, but it was only on her deathbed that she finally told me that she'd never even been there either. And she was the oldest in our family.

All those stories she'd loved telling us were made up, based on the stories *she'd* heard growing up, and her own imagination.

She didn't even know where it was.

But now we do.

Yeah. And I never imagined I'd find out like this.

Great! Like, now you get a chance to go back home! Does it really count as home, though...?

Speaking from experience, you should keep your expectations in check. The actual Kerthun might be nothing like the legends.

(Uneasy) And you'd still rather stay at Rhodes Island, right?

Only there are we not burdened with being a 'poison.'

Blue Poison?

Yeah, perhaps.

But if that's the only place where I can be myself...

Doctor?

I smelled cake.;I'm here for a snack break.

Phew, don't scare me like that. I'm not slacking off, okay?!

Doctor, want to try some cake that Blue Poison baked? It's fresh out of the oven.

B-But...

May I, Blue Poison?

U-Um, if you don't mind, I have some antidotes prepared...

No, wait, your situation is a little unique. Let me get Dr. Kal'tsit first—

(Munches)

Delish.;(Continues munching);The berries, plantains, and nuts make it so good.

Um... Are you really okay?

You've had two people trying out your cake today. That's a new record.

Yep, a new record.

Don't overthink it, Blue. You've always belonged here.

Thanks, Ambriel, Glaucus.

And thank you, Doctor.

If... If I can really...

No, never mind. Please forget I said anything.

See you at the meeting, Doctor.

Have you all read up on the mission?

Yes, we're quite familiar with the details.

But I would like to repeat my request to be removed as team captain. I'm not the right person to lead a team in an operation.

Everybody knows that my toxins could harm others...

You're our best candidate.;I trust you.

Really...?

That's right. We're counting on you, Captain.

'Sides, we've got, like, tons of antidotes.

Apple-flavored, too.

Haha... I guess.

Can I leave this to you, Captain Blue Poison?

I will give it my all.

Okay, off we go now.

Yep, see you in a little.

Let me help you clean up your files, Doctor.

(Did our hands... just touch?!)

I'm so sorry I touched you!

Please come with me. We need to head to Medical to get it cleaned up! If not... If not...

It's okay.

I've checked, minor contact isn't a problem.

But...!

Relax, Blue Poison.

But I... I'm 'toxic.' Anything that touches me is in danger.

You're a member of Rhodes Island.

Am I really allowed to be?

Of course.

—Phew.

In that case, I'd like to remove an application from that stack of documents.

I actually submitted a transfer request not too long ago. I was hoping to be stationed at the Kerthun safe house after the mission.

When I was a kid, my grandmother told me that Kerthun was the only place where we could ever live without being branded 'toxic.' And I believed her.

But I'm the only one who can decide who I am, aren't I?

I'm a member of Rhodes Island, and I like my life here.

So please, let me withdraw that application before anyone reads it.

Oh, and one other thing, Doctor...

I have an idea for a new dessert. Would you like to try it later, if you have time?