Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Interlude
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A rare snowless Tuesday, early in the morning.
After cleaning the general store as usual, I returned to find Raven had prepared bacon and eggs. I nibbled on them quietly, lost in thought.
‘It’s already been four days… Still no word.’
The day of my date with Sabrina was a Saturday. Which means today marks four days since the subway commotion.
But even after a decent amount of time had passed, there was still no news from Answer.
I'm sure Sabrina and Answer exchanged contact information back then, so why is it so quiet?
Could something have gone wrong? A needless worry began to bubble up inside me.
“Hey, part-timer. You eating with your cheek?”
“…?!”
Thanks to Raven sitting across from me, I belatedly realized I was trying to put the bacon in my cheek instead of my mouth.
Ah, this is why you shouldn't get lost in thought while eating. When I'm deep in my head, I tend to lose sight of my surroundings, which can be a problem.
Once, I was so preoccupied while showering that I couldn't remember if I'd shampooed my hair or not.
So, let's just eat first. Wiping the grease off my mask, I decided to focus on the meal in front of me.
I stuffed the bacon and eggs into my mouth, then shot up from my seat with my empty plate.
After putting the plate in the dishwasher, I rushed to the sink and quickly brushed my teeth.
Normally, I wouldn't be in such a hurry and would take my time.
But right now, I felt an anxious impatience, as if I couldn't just sit still.
“What's with her lately? *Yawn*, is it puberty?”
Who are you calling pubescent? I'm being serious here!
I inwardly bristled at Raven's musing as he leisurely placed his own plate in the dishwasher, then quickly sat on the agency sofa and turned on the TV.
I flipped through the channels with the remote, settling on a news station, and stared blankly at the screen.
I guess in this day and age, an incident like that is forgotten in just four days.
The subway bomb scare already seemed like old news.
Well, it wasn't that strange. The fact that it was reported as a mere bomb scare from the beginning suggested there was a tight lid on the information from above.
And since they managed to control the crowd before any real victims emerged, there was no way for anyone outside the police to know what really happened.
‘So, no news is good news… is that how I should think of it? In fact, I should be extremely grateful that no one is mentioning Answer's name or blaming the Demons.’
If there had been clear evidence or victims that couldn't be hidden by controlling the information…
…it probably wouldn't have been buried so quietly. The whole city would be in an uproar.
Discrimination and conflict are always profitable, and a crime committed by a Demon, often labeled as an axis of evil?
For extremists, could there be any juicier bait to raise their voices about?
‘But why hasn't she contacted us! I'm sure she recovered with the Tesseract, and I even left a trace of the mastermind on the giant! It should be about time for her to be released and check in… It should be…’
I stared blankly at the news anchor droning on about things I had no interest in, then let out a deep, silent sigh.
Ah, I really don't know. Whatever happens, happens. I'm done caring.
Exhausted from the endless waiting, I waved a white flag in my mind and declared my surrender.
As I was making a fuss all by myself, half in a sulk…
…Raven, now dressed in his usual shabby suit, trudged out from the back and spoke.
“What's this? You rushed out here so suddenly I thought you were watching morning cartoons. The news? You've developed quite a refined hobby, part-timer.”
“…”
Since when is watching the news a refined hobby? Isn't it just a normal thing to do?
I gave Raven a somewhat unenthusiastic look as he plopped down next to me. He cleaned his ear with his pinky, picked up the remote, and asked.
“Mind if I change the channel?”
“…!”
“Oh, what's this? They're showing this in the morning. Let's watch this.”
I nodded at Raven, who had bothered to ask, indicating that I didn't mind.
He flipped through a few channels before stopping on a movie channel.
The title in the top-left corner read ‘Civilization 3’. A movie I had no memory of seeing before.
Probably a movie original to this world. There are a lot of those.
The '3' in the title suggests it's part of a series…
But of all times, it was in the middle of a scene, so I had no idea what it was about.
‘Hmm… The action scenes are pretty good, though. I have absolutely no clue why they're fighting, but still.’
Not knowing the story of a movie... It felt like eating a steamed bun without the red bean filling.
Still, the CG was spectacular and the acting was good. This is fun in its own way.
So, I watched the movie quietly, my hands placed demurely on my knees.
Well… maybe it's not so bad to just empty my mind like this sometimes.
It probably wasn't his intention, but thanks to Raven, I was able to lighten the heavy burden on my mind a little.
“I'm here! Oh, a movie this early in the morning?”
I'm not sure how much time passed.
Alice, looking energetic as always, entered the agency.
She glanced back and forth between me and Raven, then tilted her head in confusion.
The sight of us watching a movie first thing in the morning must have seemed rather strange.
“Hey, Alice. It was on the movie channel, so we were watching. Wanna join?”
“Ah, this is Civilization, right! Yes! I quite like this movie!”
If even Alice knows it, this must be a famous movie, huh?
I blinked, intrigued by her apparent excitement.
But regardless of my reaction, she naturally sat on the sofa and placed me on her lap.
I guess people really do get used to repeated situations.
This already felt like part of my daily routine. Wait, have I been trained?
“Hello. Good morning.”
“The rookie's here.”
“David, good morning!”
“…!”
A little more time passed, and finally, David arrived at the agency.
The order of arrival was now a familiar routine.
It might seem like he was the last to arrive, making him the tardy one, but that was a completely unfair misunderstanding.
David was quite punctual, always arriving exactly 30 minutes before work started.
It was just that he couldn't help but be later than me and Raven, who basically live here, and Alice, who comes to hang out even on weekends because she has nothing better to do at home.
After all, coming to the agency wasn't more important than living his own life.
As I was inwardly defending him and turning my attention back to the movie, which was about to start another fight scene, David, who was taking off his coat and putting away his things, called out to me cautiously.
“Yuria, do you have a moment?”
“…?”
“Sabrina said she wants to talk to you…”
Sabrina? This early?
I wondered what it could be about, then a sudden thought made my head snap up.
Could it be… what I think it is?
“…”
“Yuria…”
I gently squeezed Alice's forearm, asking her to let me go. She had a lingering expression, as if she didn't want to release me.
Finally free from her embrace, I carefully took David's terminal.
Naturally, since I couldn't speak, the call with Sabrina was a video call.
Not wanting to disturb their movie watching, I stepped into the agency hallway and connected the call to the number David had already dialed.
Had she been waiting just for my call? As soon as it connected, Sabrina's flushed face appeared on the screen. She immediately exclaimed in a joyful voice.
[ “Yuria! She's out, she's out!” ]
“…?”
[ “Answer was safely released from the police station! It seems like there weren't any problems, thank goodness!” ]
“…!”
It was the wonderful news I had been waiting for all these days.
*
In a secret underground space with no windows, relying solely on the ceiling lights for illumination.
A man whose formidable muscles seemed ready to burst through his clothes was listening quietly to a researcher.
“I will now present the results of our investigation. This metal fragment… as expected, does not match any known element on Earth. We had a mage from the other world examine it as well, and they reported a similar result.”
“Which means…”
“Yes. It appears to be an unidentified metal that belongs to neither Earth nor the other world.”
“Hmph, so that's how it is.”
*Creak.*
The man's suit screamed as his muscles momentarily pumped up.
The pressure was unbearable for the suit, tailored tightly to his body.
But for the man, Nighthaven's Chief of Police, it was a natural reaction.
A metal that exists on neither Earth nor the other world.
That could only mean… the Invaders who had endangered the world were active again.
A tremendous crisis might soon befall the Earth once more.
At that thought, even someone as powerful as him found it difficult to remain calm.
“If the Invaders truly have started to move again… this is a matter that requires a global response, not just Nighthaven's. I must report this to the Mayor at once.”
The Invaders were an enemy that the entire world had to unite against.
The threat of world destruction carried that much weight.
We cannot lose our home to those bastards again.
The Chief of Police continued to ponder with a grave expression, oblivious to the buttons popping off his suit under the overwhelming assault of his muscles.
*
*Squish.*
A sticky red liquid trickled from between a black-haired girl's thumb and forefinger.
What lay between her fingers was a raspberry.
With its blood-red, sticky juice, it was the girl's favorite fruit.
Her face was expressionless, betraying no emotion.
And yet, she exuded an aura of intense anger.
The displeasure of a plan gone awry.
The girl gave off the air of a bomb that might explode if touched.
A man, bowing before her and sweating profusely, spoke.
“My apologies, young lady. The plan has gone completely awry…”
“…No. It was just bad luck. The plan itself was sound, even to my eyes. Have you confirmed why things went wrong?”
“Th-that… is still under investigation.”
“Hmph, I see. So you don't know.”
*Squish!*
Another raspberry burst between the girl's fingers.
The red liquid splattering to the floor sent a chill down the man's spine.
The fear that if her anger rose any further, the next thing to burst might be his own head, choked him.
Fortunately, it seemed the girl still had the presence of mind to deem needless killing unnecessary.
A handkerchief flew to her from somewhere, and she used it to meticulously wipe her sticky fingers, speaking in an utterly cold voice.
“A surprise attack is most effective when they're unaware. This is problematic. We'll have to lay low for a while.”
“Yes. I will instruct the subordinates as such.”
“Leave. Before I change my mind.”
As soon as the girl gave her permission, the man scurried away as if fleeing for his life.
He knew not to linger before a monster who could kill a person with a flick of her finger.
Left alone, the black-haired girl stared blankly at the sky and muttered.
“I miss my brother. I hope there aren't any bitches hitting on him…?”
Along with a puff of white breath, her quiet words scattered into the empty air.
And so, the wheels of fate began to turn, twisting in their own separate directions.