A Cup of Premium Tea
The dinner arranged under the pretext of Fuji Junpei's death proved a thoroughly profitable occasion for both Benjamin and myself.
"Once the interior work is finished, have a telephone installed. No—wait. Once it's done, I'll send someone through that girl Jamie."
"Understood."
"Good. Until next time."
Benjamin saw me out as far as the first-floor lobby; after that, Ms. Secretary took charge of me.
She'd left the engine running, so the car's interior was pleasantly warm.
A comfortably full stomach, plush seats, the heater's warmth wrapping around my body.
"What if everyone found their happiness in little things like this?"
"If such a world existed, it would be remarkably peaceful."
I watched the scenery outside begin to drift past for a moment, then rested my head against the seat back and nodded.
"And remarkably dull."
"Isn't that a contradiction?"
"Humans are walking contradictions by nature."
"I can agree with that, to a point."
Our eyes met through the rearview mirror.
She wore the look of someone hoping I'd ask why her agreement wasn't complete. So I closed my eyes.
On the blank canvas of darkness I freely imagined whatever expression she might be wearing, and let the quiet rumble of the wheels serve as a lullaby while I dozed for a while.
"Priest."
I opened my eyes at Ms. Secretary's call.
I hadn't been asleep—merely resting my eyes—so the moment the car stopped, I knew we'd arrived home.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Not at all."
Ms. Secretary went so far as to get out of the car and open the rear door for me herself.
"Jamie doesn't seem to have returned yet."
"So it seems."
The building was dark, and Jamie's car was nowhere in sight.
Sector 12 was the sort of place where even a member of Mad Dog couldn't casually leave a car parked and walk away. Yet whether out of drug-addled poverty or a simple desire to stay clear of anything involving the absolute beings called gods, the area remained fairly quiet for now.
"I'll attend you in Jamie's place until she returns."
"Then let's go up and have a cup of tea."
I moved to the second floor with Ms. Secretary.
Click.
I flipped on the lights to banish the dark, then switched on the magical heater—a collaboration between mages and scientists—to warm the chill that had settled over the second floor.
"I only have one kind of tea."
"I'll gratefully drink whatever you offer."
"Alright."
I'd been settled here less than a month. How would I know any proper channels for acquiring decent goods in a place like this?
I pulled out the "Xing" tea packs I'd bought from the Benefit Shop—Chinese green tea bags—dumped one roughly into a cup, and poured hot water over it.
Why Xing, the Chinese brand, instead of Han, the Korean one? Because it cost a little more. Humans can lie, but the Benefit Shop runs on a system.
A higher price meant better quality.
I might skimp on clothes, but I never skimp on food. That's one of the mottos of my life.
"Here."
"Thank you."
Ms. Secretary accepted the cup with a slight bow of her head.
"This fragrance and color… green tea."
I nodded, settled comfortably on the sofa, and took a sip.
Nice aroma.
The distinctive scent of green tea swept gently through my mouth, and then—strangely enough—a faint sweetness rose at the end before vanishing cleanly.
"You made it sound like nothing special."
Ms. Secretary, who'd taken a sip of the same tea, looked at me with a complicated expression.
"This is Taitcha."
"…?"
For the first time since I'd started living here, my head tilted of its own accord.
"I'm asking just in case, but… you didn't know?"
The angle wasn't extreme, but my head had cocked at a crooked slant, and even she couldn't quite let it pass.
"No. I just bought it because it caught my eye."
"I don't know where you sourced it, but as expected of you, Priest—whether people or goods, your eye is truly… special."
It could be taken as flattery at a glance, but she'd said "special," not "excellent." In other words, it was praise and a declaration that I was an odd one, all at once.
"Taitcha is the most premium brand among green teas. A refreshing fragrance, a subtle sweetness, and a clean finish that anyone can drink without burden."
"It is clean, I'll give you that."
"On top of that, it possesses numerous actual benefits for the human body—fatigue recovery, skin care, and more. No exaggeration."
Ms. Secretary made no sound as she sipped the Tait—no. Just call it green tea.
And if I had to guess, the human who named it almost certainly had one Japanese parent—from the Archipelago.
"This is only a rumor, but there's talk it even works for hair loss."
"That would be a lie."
Hair loss, if nothing else, was a disease humanity had no way of conquering. Science had advanced far enough to reattach bones and reconnect the nerves of severed hands and feet, and still modern medicine had never overcome baldness.
A little tea wasn't going to cure an incurable disease.
"I think so as well, frankly."
With that, we spent a while quietly savoring our tea.
"Is living with Jamie inconvenient for you?"
Originally, two people were supposed to handle my security. But our Jon had thoroughly gotten on the wrong side of Jamie—his senior by a wide margin—and was removed from my detail the very next day.
Ms. Secretary had relayed through Jamie that she'd assign new security personnel, but I'd refused.
I wouldn't be going out all that often, but having to come home on a shift schedule was a considerable nuisance.
"Not at all."
"Well, you're not the type to put up with inconvenience, Priest."
"Well. These days I'm trying to be a little more faithful to my emotions."
Her, and Jamie who wasn't here right now, and even Benjamin, ruler of the northern slums.
They were the people who'd left the deepest impression since I'd crossed over to this place, and in all my conversations with them, I'd never once hidden my true feelings. I'd held back a few words now and then, of course.
"She's here."
Ms. Secretary rose from her seat, and I followed, lifting myself off the sofa.
"Thank you for the tea."
"Consider it repayment for today's champagne."
"The boss would be disappointed if he knew."
I gave a light shrug at her joke that wasn't quite a joke.
"If he's disappointed, tell him it's because his rear end is too heavy."
Ms. Secretary held her tongue.
It was the kind of response you could only make when you fully understood that whatever reaction you showed in this moment would eventually reach Benjamin's ears through me.
"Someone will be coming soon, introduced by the boss."
"I welcome commissions. Honestly, ever since I got here I've done nothing but spend money."
"So you did intend to earn some."
"Of course."
The early expenses were nothing more than an investment in the future.
Naturally, I planned to recover every bit of what I'd spent.
"I'm back."
Jamie opened the door, greeted me first, then gave a slight nod toward Ms. Secretary, who was already standing to leave.
"Well then."
Once Ms. Secretary had gone, Jamie casually shrugged off her coat, hung it on the rack by the door, and came over to me.
"I'll take those."
Jamie collected the empty cups Ms. Secretary and I had used for our green tea and headed for the kitchen.
"I'll wash up first."
"Yes."
As the master of the house, I used the bathroom first. When I came out, Jamie was waiting in her underclothes; she grabbed a towel and went in.
The long, continuous sound of the shower.
"Hoo."
Normally you'd wrap a towel around your body, but Jamie walked out with a towel only around her wet hair and changed clothes right in front of me without the slightest self-consciousness.
"They say work starts tomorrow morning at nine."
"I see."
"And I received word from the boss. Additional personnel will be provided, so there's no need for you to go pick them up yourself."
That's Benjamin for you. Fast work.
"Also, your security detail has been extended until the third-floor interior work is finished."
"About ten more days, then."
"Assuming nothing unexpected comes up."
I lay down on the bed. Having shaken the water from her hair, she turned off the lights, climbed onto the bed, and lay down beside me.
"I was thinking of taking a look around the western border tomorrow."
"I wouldn't particularly recommend it."
True to her role as security, she stated her opinion—but she didn't try to stop me outright. That was one of the good things about her that earned my favor.
"We'll watch the interior work for a bit, have lunch, then amble over."
"Not on foot."
Sleep was creeping in, so I pulled her close—fresh from the shower, smelling good, radiating a pleasant warmth.
"Jamie already compromised once, so I'll compromise that much."
"I won't say thank you."
Jamie turned gently onto her side and nestled into my arms.
And so another day in the slums passed.
The next morning.
As usual, I opened my eyes to Jamie's warm body heat.
Up to that point, everything was the same as always.
"I've come to fulfill the second contract."
"Ahem. I was introduced by Boss Benjamin."
I was blinking against the living room wall when Jamie, fully dressed, stepped out of the bedroom and whispered to me.
"I'm afraid you'll have to cancel your afternoon plans."
Of course, despite her words, she didn't look the least bit sorry.