Sideroca

[Code Name] Sideroca

[Gender] Female

[Combat Experience] 5 Years

[Place of Birth] Minos

[Date of Birth] Mar 17

[Race] Forte

[Height] 164cm

[Infection Status]

Medical tests have confirmed that no infection is present.

[Physical Strength] Excellent

[Mobility] Standard

[Physical Resilience] Excellent

[Tactical Acumen] Standard

[Combat Skill] Excellent

[Originium Arts Assimilation] Normal

Sideroca is an experienced mercenary from Minos and specializes in bodyguard and cargo transport duties. A long-term employment contract with Rhodes Island has been signed, and after internal training, Sideroca has the strength and experience to participate in a variety of missions.

Imaging tests reveal clear, normal outlines of internal organs, and no abnormal shadows have been detected. Originium granules have not been detected in the circulatory system and there is no sign of infection. At this time, this operator is believed to be uninfected.

[Cell-Originium Assimilation] 0%

Is this what an uninfected Minosian Forte's horns feel like? So smooth...

[Blood Originium-Crystal Density] 0.12u/L

Compared to Forte standards, all indicators are excellent.

'How great it is to be young.' —Unnamed senior physician

Sideroca was born in Corinia, a city-state of Minos renowned for its flourishing trade and business, but simultaneously criticized for rampant corruption. Due to the bitter consequences of wealth inequality and classism from a young age, Sideroca left Corinia to wander the various Minosian city-states as a mercenary. In the past, she always wanted to go far away from Corinia to see different facets of life, but after some time as a mercenary, she realized she would never be able to flee from Corinia, the heart of Minosian trade as well as her splendid motherland. However, her struggle was not fruitless - in her line of work, she came across two other nomadic city-states that rivaled her home: Athenus, the spiritual garden of Minos, and Lakedaímōn, the sacred ground of warriors. In these places, she was able to encounter different philosophies as well as different ways of life, and at the same time, it was in these places that the vast world beyond Minos was revealed to her. One day, she will leave her home and travel to a new country. If Corinia taught anything to Sideroca, it is perhaps a lifelong desire for exploration and a deep pragmatism.

Sideroca originally chose to become a mercenary as a method to cover daily expenses, and to leave Corinia as soon as possible. Many people have voiced doubts about whether such a young woman would be qualified for that line of work, but Sideroca's first employer, the president of the Minos branch of Rhodes Island, did not share those concerns. As long as the task can be successfully completed, she cared not for the experience, or lack thereof, of the person carrying out the task. By the time Sideroca officially joined Rhodes Island, she had an impressive track record of zero tasks failed, even completing tasks that allowed the mercenaries to abandon their goods in order to ensure their own safety. Of course, her accomplishments also came at a price, perhaps evident by the extra scars across her body. After several years of cooperation, the head of Rhodes Island's Minos branch decided to grandfather her into the main organization - after all, she didn't want this trusty talent to be snatched up by competitors. As such, Sideroca officially became an operator of Rhodes Island.

During her time as a mercenary in Minos, Sideroca received two different kinds of evaluations. One group of employers called her 'responsible and dedicated to every task.' The other group called her 'nosy, with the very troublesome tendency of asking too many questions.' The reason for these two different types of evaluations is actually quite simple: Sideroca habitually wants to go above and beyond for her employer. While this is beneficial to completing the task, it can also be unsuitable for employers who wish to conceal information from their mercenary hires. The head of Rhodes Island's Minos branch once gave her the following advice: 'Only take on short-term contracts, or stick with one employer until retirement.' She understands that Sideroca's cold personality cannot conceal her inner dedication and work ethic. By working under the right employer, it is possible to achieve twice the outcome with half the effort, but once... because of this very reason, when she learned that the Minos Foreign Trade Union was attempting to strike a long-term deal with Sideroca, she went directly to Sideroca to snag her up before she could sign that contract. When representatives from the Trade Union arrived at Sideroca's temporary residence, she had already left Minos to start a new life at Rhodes Island. However, there was one thing that even the savvy branch leader could not anticipate...

If Sideroca really stayed under the same employer for too long...

'Recently, the Doctor's been taken good care of.'

'The Doctor? Taken care of? I don't know of anyone doing something like that. Unless you're talking about the medical department. It wouldn't make sense if they weren't keeping people healthy.'

'That's not what I'm talking about! C'mon, take a look at this photo from our daily newsletter. Look carefully at the Doctor's arm.'

'What about it...?'

'Wait, I think I see it.'

'The Doctor's putting on some muscle?!'

'Even though it's just a little bit, that is unmistakably muscle!'

'By jove!'

'So, umm, I want to know who's taking care of the Doctor.'

'Isn't it enough to just take a look at the Doctor's record of duties at the office? You're the only one with that authorization here, so I'm counting on you.'

'Good point, let me take a look.'

Fast Forward→

'Did you find it?'

'It's Sideroca.'

'Side-who? That mercenary? Do they train mercenaries for caregiving duties these days?'

'She's probably an exception... I heard that she learned to cook in order to persuade the Doctor to work out. All it took was her borrowing a Leithanian cookbook from the library.'

'How good could something that came off a cookbook be?'

'You've never tried it, have you? The other day, Gummy and I went to try one of her simple meals. Gummy was blown away.'

'What?!'

'That woman's a monster, I'm telling you. I've been cooking for ten years, and even my own mother won't touch my food...'

'I heard that she selects her ingredients in accordance to nutritional theory while accounting for individual tastes. The Doctor, who swore to never set foot in the gym, was seen there the next day after trying one of her meals.'

'So that's where that 'Doctor at the Gym' post came from...'

'Mhm...'

'This person... is she really just a mercenary?'

'Beats me.'

——Cafeteria monitoring camera, unknown time

Perhaps because she had never received prior formal training, Sideroca still clearly remembers her experiences training to become an Operator. At the time, Instructor Dobermann also has very 'vivid' memories of Sideroca. She says that while it is normal for people to proactively improve themselves during Hell Week, it is inexplicable that someone would ever want to put themselves through Hell Week ever again. In her eyes, Sideroca is the kind of person who can incorporate a brutal regimen like Hell Week as part of their own regular fitness routine, even with already excellent qualities. Because Sideroca kept signing up again and again, Dobermann put her foot down and no longer allowed Sideroca to take the same courses as fresh recruits - after all, that would only serve to intimidate them. Consequently, Dobermann put together a specialized regimen, delving into new training manuals, standard army training, and special operations training and incorporating them to meet Sideroca's needs. She even made an agreement with Dur-nar afterwards, gaining her support in exchange for compromises in some other areas, in order to work together against this person who constantly made the life of the instructors that much harder. Eventually, they discovered that only two things could tear Sideroca away from this almost self-destructive urge to train - going out on missions, or diverting her attention onto the Doctor. Thus, after they deliberately 'leaked' some information about the Doctor's recent malady, Sideroca poured all her energy and enthusiasm into taking care of the Doctor. Even with all of that, however, the reserve operators frequently see Sideroca laboring away on the training grounds.