Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Juni
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Tora lay on the bed with his hands clasped behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't even turned on the TV, so the room was utterly quiet.
Eventually, he got up and headed outside. When he reached the living room on the first floor, he spotted Lato sitting at the table in the garden beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
Lato had finally been released from surveillance. More precisely, from intensive surveillance.
Even in the official residence assigned so the two of them could live together, a pair of MPs were posted there, and they had to bring them along whenever they went anywhere, but it wasn't full house arrest.
Yet Lato hadn't set out anything and was just sitting there. So Tora opened the door to the garden and asked,
“What are you doing?”
Lato turned to look at him and replied,
“Just thinking.”
Then, noticing Tora was dressed to go out, he asked,
“Where are you headed?”
“Out for a bit.”
“Come back safe.”
“You feeling okay?”
“Yeah.”
Tora considered saying more to Lato but figured it might be better to leave him alone for a little while, so he turned and headed out. Then he went to Captain Tao's office.
“Captain.”
Captain Tao greeted him first. Tora asked,
“When will the restrictions on Ituha be lifted?”
“Just hold on a bit longer. Sounds like they've nearly reached a decision.”
“What more is there to talk about?”
“It's the process, you know.”
Tora rolled his eyes. This damn process, process. If it had a physical form, he'd love to kick it into pieces.
Not seeing Zain there, he asked,
“What's Lieutenant Summer up to?”
Captain Tao replied offhandedly,
“Off duty.”
“Oh?”
She'd definitely mentioned having something to do today.
Oblivious to the subtle tension between them, Captain Tao blabbered on innocently.
“Heard she's got a blind date.”
“Huh?”
Tora blurted in surprise. Captain Tao seemed even more surprised as he asked back,
“Huh?”
“Oh, I just didn't think you two were close enough to share stories like that.”
Captain Tao's face might as well have had 'No way' written across it as he said,
“Heard it secondhand.”
Actually, now that he thought about it, yesterday before she said she had work, she'd started with 'app...' or something—probably hastily changed 'I have an appointment' to 'I have work.'
“A blind date with Lieutenant Summer? What kind of ballsy guy...”
“I'll head out.”
Tora turned and left in the middle of Captain Tao's sentence. The whole way, his chest felt inexplicably tight.
Probably meeting some human guy.
Some slick, long-legged playboy.
No matter how handsome, could he really be better?
But he probably didn't have a history of being married once, wasn't some vampire over three hundred years old, and hadn't been seen fooling around with every other woman under the sun.
Tora ruffled his hair like he was trying to rip it out.
'If only I hadn't seen him with Emma.'
Wait, was that informant's name Delma? Whatever.
No, calm down. He'd decided to stay just good friends with Zain. Whether she went on blind dates or had a wedding, he'd smile and congratulate her. Smile...
Damn. He'd gone and imagined Zain getting married to some other guy.
It was baffling why he was so pissed off. With that fortress of a personality, she probably wouldn't even look at the guy lovingly or show any affection anyway...
But what if she did?
What if she showed that guy the kind of casual affection she'd never even dreamed of showing him?
His heart started to hurt.
“Um... you okay?”
Tora was standing there looking grim when a woman spoke up timidly. Her face was full of that usual mix of anticipation, excitement, and heat that women always had around him.
Judging by the suit, she was some base admin staffer. Sorry to drag an innocent woman into it, but right now, the sight of one just soured his mood even more.
Tora walked right past without a word.
***
“How was the blind date?”
The next day, Captain Tao asked the moment Zain clocked in. She looked puzzled.
“How'd you know about that, Captain?”
“We're SAU, aren't we?”
Meaning intel work was their specialty.
Zain let out a sigh.
“Guess I need to tell Sara to watch her mouth.”
Sara was another SAU operative. With so few SAU members on base, and considering Captain Tao's connections, there was only one suspect.
Tao asked,
“So, how was it? The type who'd still accept you even after learning you're not some regular soldier, but SAU?”
That was the top priority for any SAU member.
But Zain replied skeptically,
“We met once, and he's already acting like we've reserved the wedding hall.”
“Ituha Captain was pretty shocked too.”
In this context, it clearly wasn't referring to Lato, someone she barely interacted with.
Zain inwardly flinched at the thought that Tora had heard about her blind date, but she feigned nonchalance and asked,
“Why go blabbing about my blind date to Captain Tora of all people?”
“Thought we could gossip about you together. But for a guy with his looks, he doesn't seem to enjoy that kinda thing much. Figured he'd be fun at a drinking session—cheerful type—but guess that's just with women.”
Tao spoke while tending to his work.
Captain Tao had this unique way of talking that left you unsure whether he was a good guy or not.
Zain said, laced with skepticism,
“Leave it alone, would you?”
But Tao didn't so much as blink.
“Occupational hazard. Can't stand not prying into people's business.”
“You sure know how to dress up voyeurism.”
“Voyeurism's the perfect quality for an SAU operative.”
“That's why they say we should change the unit emblem to a tailor's shop (The only guy who peeped on the naked marching Lady Godiva was Tom, the tailor shop employee.).”
Zain walked out of the office as she spoke. But she hadn't gone more than a few steps before she stopped.
Why did her heart feel so unsettled? It wasn't like she'd done anything wrong.
“Hi, Zain.”
Just then, Gammal passed by, greeting her on his way somewhere. For the record, Gammal never called Zain by her rank either.
“Hi.”
Zain turned and greeted him back. But suddenly, Gammal halted, turned around, and asked point-blank,
“What's a blind date?”
“Huh?”
Zain was startled.
“Why ask something like that all of a sudden...”
Had Gammal heard about her blind date too? Had SAU's secrecy really tanked this bad?
“Someone said they were going on one, but I don't know what it is.”
Gammal said it with complete innocence.
The timing was awfully convenient, but Zain believed he wasn't the type to play dumb so convincingly. So she racked her brain for an explanation and said,
“Um, it's when a guy and a girl meet up. But who was talking about...”
Before she could finish, Gammal suddenly grabbed a passing male soldier and asked,
“Are we on a blind date?”
“Huh?”
The soldier responded in confusion. Gammal pointed back and forth between them and declared,
“We met.”
Zain hurriedly told the soldier it was nothing and pulled Gammal away.
“That's not how it works.”
“Then how does it work?”
“It's... assuming you'll keep meeting from then on, I guess.”
“Zain.”
Then Gammal spoke to her exactly like an aunt doling out advice to a young niece.
“Natural's the best way. Natural.”
Zain was utterly baffled. Then Gammal pulled something from his pocket and handed it over.
“And take this.”
***
“Captain.”
The Ituha squad members, gathered in the base bar, welcomed Tora as he entered.
“How'd it go?”
With Lato still under surveillance, their attitudes and gazes toward Ituha had inevitably shifted somewhat.
One of the Ituha members answered,
“There are some prejudiced stares, but it's fine.”
Tora eyed him steadily.
“Did you win?”
He nodded, as if to say, what else?
“Yeah, I won.”
Tora gave him an approving fist bump. They were enjoying drinks happily for the first time in a while when suddenly his wristband buzzed.
[Tora, come to D-3 Building A-1.]
The sender was Gammal.
Looked like he needed a favor.
“Matty. Be right back.”
“You coming back?”
“Probably. No work piling up yet anyway.”
Tora left the bar and headed to the spot Gammal had indicated.
“Matty?”
A-1 was like a classroom. It was empty, apparently not in use today.
As he called out while entering, the person who turned around wasn't Gammal.
“Tora?”
It was Zain.
Stunned by the unexpected face, Tora blanked out for a second. Then, at a sudden noise from behind, he started to turn—
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
They both startled and looked at the door. Tora turned to Zain and asked,
“Did Matty call you here too?”
“Yeah. He gave me a note earlier...”
She showed him the memo.
- D-3 Building A-1
It was just that, but since it came from Gammal, she'd come without suspicion.
Tora knocked on the door.
“Matty, open up.”
There was no response from the other side.
“Matty, cut the joke. Zain's supposed to be working.”
Still silence.
Tora sighed and turned to Zain.
“We could break it down to get out, but it'd make a racket.”
“It's fine. You're not planning to keep me locked in here till tomorrow, right?”
Then Zain looked at the door and said,
“Major Dufay sometimes looks at Mr. Gammal and mutters 'Wow, that guy's nuts,' and if I said I get why now, would that be rude?”
“Can't argue when it's our Matty.”
That brought an awkward silence. To break the ice, Tora gestured to a chair nearby and asked,
“Wanna sit?”
“Sure.”
They sat down side by side.
Tora wanted to ask about the blind date. But what right did he have?
Still, they'd agreed to be friends. Couldn't friends casually ask how it went?
“My dad.”
But Zain spoke first. Tora flinched inwardly but turned to her calmly. Zain continued with a face showing no real emotion.
“He was like you.”
“Me?”
“Women absolutely loved him. Counting flings and all, I can't even remember how many wanted him to call them mommy.”
Apparently the guy had decent looks despite being a child abuser. He'd guessed as much from Zain's own appearance.
“My dream is just to live normally. I'd want a husband who can cook well. Doesn't even have to work.”
Zain shrugged.
“Since I move around so much, someone without a fixed job would actually be ideal. Someone who likes kids and is kind. We'd go to the pool together in summer, skiing in winter, throw barbecues...”
It felt like the dream she'd always cherished was unfolding right before her eyes.
Zain tilted her head back.
“Someone I wouldn't have to worry about the neighbor lady doing god-knows-what with while I'm at work.”