Guardians of Pure Love
"...Wouldn't it have been better to just ask her to come?"
"She might not have come, saying it was too much trouble," Swoo replied.
"...True, the connection between cyberpsychos and Talos isn't something you can talk about over the phone. But still, I think she would have come if you asked."
That was true.
Swoo had been tormenting Serena all this time.
If Swoo made a request like that, Serena would have sensed something was off and rushed right over.
Swoo knew this, too.
Yet, she had sent Angela's self-introduction video along with a cryptic message. She had even made sure to capture the part where Angela covered her eyes with one hand.
"Actually, I just thought it would be fun."
"I—I figured as much... but hearing you actually say it feels a bit strange."
"She might be angry when she gets here, but once she hears the story, she'll calm down quickly."
"I suppose... But Swoo, did you happen to send it to anyone else? Like Enoch, or Enoch, or... Enoch? Or maybe Frey? You didn't send it to the Elder, did you? You absolutely shouldn't, okay?"
Swoo grinned playfully and licked her soft-serve ice cream.
There was no answer.
Angela let out a low groan.
"...What on earth am I going to do with you? No calls yet?"
"Yep."
She had turned on Do Not Disturb mode since she saw it was an option.
She didn't know if it just silenced the ringer on the other end or played a call rejection message. It wasn't something she needed to know right now anyway.
The important thing was that the phone remained quiet.
"Well... I'll go change my clothes first."
"Yeah."
Crunch, crunch. Swoo, having finished even the cone of her ice cream, stood up.
About two hours had passed. If Serena was rushing, she should be arriving around now.
Swoo sent the photo of her sitting side-by-side with Kou one more time, then moved to another room.
It was the back room of the warehouse, where Kou had retreated to give Angela and Swoo some space. There, Kou had packed his necessary belongings and was sitting cross-legged.
"Are you meditating?"
"Yeah. Meditation is the best way to control your emotions. You should try it sometime. Sitting cross-legged is hard at first, but you get used to it. Besides, you're a girl, so you're flexible. It'll be easy for you."
Kou chuckled and slowly opened his eyes.
His gaze was definitely calmer than when he had first spoken with Swoo.
Meditation.
That was exactly what Serena and Enoch needed.
Swoo made a mental note of it and glanced at the luggage Kou had packed.
"I'm always peaceful. Are you ready?"
"...Well, I'm done. Radolf is almost finished too. But Swoo... are we really doing this today? What kind of plan did you make that lets us pull this off today?"
"You have to pull the bull's horns while they're hot."
"...Bull's horns? What's 'while they're hot'? Is it 'in one breath' instead of 'while they're hot'?"
Swoo tilted her head, wondering if kids these days didn't know such things, but then realized it made sense.
When she thought about it, everyone living in Eden was essentially a descendant of her era.
The first digit of the second half of Swoo's resident registration number had been a 1.
There was a gap of at least two hundred years between her and the people living in this world today.
"It's an old saying. The bull's horns, and the hot steam."
"Are they steaming the bull's head to pull its horns out? Why would they do that? Poor bull."
"I know, right? Why did they pull them?"
"Humans have always been cruel, past or present."
"We had to survive somehow."
Swoo tilted her head.
"But if they were eating beef, weren't they living pretty well?"
Kou's mouth fell open at Swoo's casual remark. He had suspected it during their conversations, but Swoo was definitely a lunatic.
"...Y-You're not wrong."
"Yep. Let's eat beef after we're done today."
"They say synthetic beef isn't real beef, but it's still pretty good."
"We're eating real beef."
"Huh...? You said you make good money, but do you make that much?"
Real beef would cost Kou an entire month's income for just a single meal.
Of course, Kou didn't work for the money, so his earnings were meager, but real beef was undeniably expensive.
"It's not my money we're spending."
"Is that colleague who's joining us buying?"
"Yep."
Swoo licked her lips and nodded.
At that exact moment, the office lost power.
No, it wasn't just the office. Every building in the vicinity went dark.
"Ugh...!"
Kou's face contorted. A low groan of suppressed pain echoed from the back room where Radolf was.
Swoo also furrowed her brow. A terrible ringing noise was blaring through her headset.
There was no need to think.
It was a Netwatcher's hack.
And an indiscriminate one at that, with no set target area.
Swoo grimaced at the ringing in her ears, even though she had no cybernetic implants. What must it be like for those who did?
She didn't have to look far to find out. Blood began to drip rapidly from Kou's nose.
"Swoo! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
Angela, on the other hand, was perfectly fine. In fact, seeing the heat radiating from her body, she seemed to have reacted instantly. Her expression, however, showed exhaustion.
If even Angela was exhausted, it meant the attacker was no ordinary foe.
She's even better than I thought.
The moment that thought crossed Swoo's mind—Crash!—the office door split in half and burst open.
"Found you."
Red hair fluttered. Beneath it, eyes flashed, burning red as if dripping with murderous intent.
"You motherfuckers."
Swoo let out a small chuckle at the voice that sounded as if it were chewing and spitting out every single syllable.
It seemed her feelings toward Swoo, Angela, and Enoch were much more genuine than expected. And she was stronger than anticipated, too. As expected, an executive position at a mega-corporation wasn't something easily obtained.
Swoo took off her headset, realizing she had underestimated her.
"Hi, Serena. And I'm sorry. It was just a joke."
"Do you seriously want to die?"
"I'm sorry. I'll give you some french fries instead."
"Why would I take your leftovers?"
"It's my affection."
"Fuck off."
Serena was sulking. Swoo was trying her best to soothe her, but it didn't seem like she would soften up easily.
"...I'm sorry, Ms. Serena. I should have told you."
"No, it's fine. How could you have stopped this crazy brat, Angela? The responsibility for this mess lies entirely with Swoo."
Growling, Serena turned her gaze.
She looked at Kou and Radolf, who were sitting there with bewildered expressions.
Honestly, even for Serena, who had seen all kinds of people, these faces were a tough crowd.
But what? They turned out to be guardians of pure love?
What on earth was a "guardian of pure love"?
Serena's face contorted even further.
"Why do you guys look like that?"
"Hey, come on. Don't judge a person by their looks."
"I am not ugly. If you are saying that because of my skin color, that is racism."
"Ha, racism? Do you want to go pick cotton for real?"
"Gasp."
Swoo gasped.
If Kou said it, it would just be a joke, but coming from Serena, it sounded genuinely dangerous.
"Do you want some strawberry milk?"
"Do I look like I'm in the mood to drink anything right now?"
"Do you want to touch my tail?"
"Absolutely not."
"Don't be mad."
Swoo looked up at Serena with a sheepish smile. It was a tactic she could only pull off because she knew exactly how pretty and adorable she was.
Indeed, the corners of Serena's mouth softened slightly.
Though she was a lunatic who brought rage just by thinking about her and dragged trouble wherever she went, her looks were undeniably out of this world.
"...Damn it."
Serena chugged the strawberry milk placed in front of her in one go. It was damn delicious.
"So, what is it? If you made me rush all the way here, it must be urgent, right?"
"Yep. It's something we need to take care of before tonight is over."
"If it's something trivial or a request to buy you dinner, I will seriously sue you. I'll make you realize just how expensive my time—"
"Kou and Radolf made a drug that delays cyberpsychosis."
"—is... wait, what the fuck...?"
Serena's eyes widened as she stared at the two men.
"Is this true?"
"Uh, yeah, but I didn't make it."
"I made it."
Radolf raised his hand.
An idiot like him made that drug?
Serena shot him a look of disbelief, but Radolf nodded stolidly.
"I was the chief researcher at Neonic's Biosynergy Research Bureau."
"I don't care about that. What's the mechanism?"
"I cannot leak our livelihood."
"What about selling it?"
Radolf shook his head firmly.
"Not even for money. Pure love cannot be bought with money. No, it is pure love precisely because it cannot be bought with money."
"What the fuck is this pure love nonsense..."
She felt like she was going to lose her hair at this rate.
Even Lui Chen hadn't been able to create a cure for hair loss, but maybe Swoo's magic could do something. A hair loss cure spell had to exist somewhere.
Serena rubbed her face and spoke.
"...Just tell me the details. Where are you planning to hit this time? Neonic?"
At the mention of the mega-corporation, Kou and Radolf flinched. No matter how much they wanted to protect pure love, mega-corporations were terrifying.
They were also unsettled by Serena, who spoke of hitting a mega-corp so casually, and Swoo, who barely reacted.
"Not them this time."
"Then who?"
"The ECPD. Kou's girlfriend is being held there."
"Held? Was she falsely accused of something?"
"Nope, she's held by Talos."
Serena's mouth slowly fell open.
Kou and Radolf, who had finally caught on to Swoo's plan, also gaped in disbelief.
"Serena. Do you happen to want to take a Talos executor and study them?"
Smiling with pure innocence, Swoo offered her a bright red apple.