Clover Bloom (5)
“…….”
I blinked awake and stared up at the ceiling.
The night before, I had dreamed something fairly unsettling. Even calling it a nightmare, though, I could not remember the details with any real clarity. Only one scene lingered vividly in my mind: being seized by a monster and unable to move.
On top of that, the previous night’s hangover still clung to me, leaving my whole body heavy. Hoping a splash of water on my face might help, I pushed the covers aside to get out of bed.
“Ugh…….”
The moment I threw back the blanket that had been covering the bed, I found Sinel clinging tightly to my body. She had taken off the goggles she usually wore and was sleeping pressed right up against me.
Only then did I understand why I had dreamed of being held captive by a monster. If she had been latched onto me like this the entire night, it would have been stranger not to have a nightmare.
“Haah…….”
What on earth had she been thinking, sticking herself to my side like that while she slept? No matter how I looked at it, she was one remarkable young lady.
I reached out and gave her sleeping cheek a firm pinch. The soft flesh stretched under my fingers, and Sinel, who had been sleeping so peacefully, opened her eyes.
“Auh……?”
“Sinel.”
“……Boss?”
I released her cheek and spoke.
“You’re awake.”
“Yeees.”
“This is my bed, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“So what exactly is this situation?”
A brief silence. Sinel’s eyes flicked between the blanket and me. She seemed to be thinking hard, her gaze shifting for a moment, before she finally looked at me and opened her mouth.
“Last night the weather was a little cold.”
“And?”
“The weather was cold.”
“…….”
So she was saying she had crawled into my bed because it was cold. Fine. I could understand needing a blanket when the weather turned chilly. Most people, though, would look for a spare blanket or something else to cover themselves with. So why leave the sofa alone and climb into my bed?
I stared at her with that question in mind, but the answer that came back was the same as before.
“The weather was cold.”
“……Right.”
“Thank you.”
I had no idea what she was thanking me for, but it was clear that asking further would not produce any real conclusion. I rose from the bed with a hollow smile, then picked up the shampoo and soap I kept in the corner for washing.
“Are you going to wash up?”
“You get ready too. We’re eating breakfast and then heading out.”
“We’re going outside.”
“I’m planning to buy you a gift.”
At the word “gift,” Sinel’s expression turned oddly complicated. I could not tell whether she was happy about receiving one or simply puzzled about why I would give her anything. Her face still gave nothing clear away.
She fiddled with the nearby blanket for a moment, then lifted her head again to look at me.
“A gift…… What kind of gift is it?”
“Who knows. I’ll only know exactly what I’m getting once we get there. But one thing is certain—it’s something you absolutely need.”
“Something I absolutely need?”
“That’s right. Sinel, do you think I can call you no matter where you are?”
I possessed a telepathy magic that could convey my will over a wide range. As long as she stayed within the spell’s effective area, I could continuously issue her orders.
Sinel nodded, affirming my question.
“Yes. Because of your magic, Boss.”
“But the reverse would be difficult.”
“That’s true.”
“So I’m thinking of arranging a way for you to contact me.”
Even if the distance between Sinel and me grew a little, there would be no problem with me giving her orders. But what about the other way around? We could not stay glued together in every situation. There would inevitably come times when Sinel, acting alone, needed to report to me. I intended to put something in her hands that would let me remotely confirm her location and exchange messages quickly even then.
“Are we going to the Black Market?”
“Gear like that tends to run pretty expensive. If you plan to use it for a long time, it’s better to buy from a reliable place.”
“Then……”
“We’re going to the department store in the central district.”
Lesert Industries handled more than just firearms. They also supplied the department stores with items that civilians could reasonably use. Unless we needed weapons, a department store was more reliable than the Black Market when it came to quality.
“A department store…… It’s been a while since I heard that word.”
“If you understand, hurry up and get ready.”
The thought of visiting a department store brought one particular incident briefly to mind. I reached for the mobile phone on the table and checked today’s date.
Fortunately, the department store raid that had happened in the original story was still a long way off. Even if we moved today, we would not get caught up in that event.
Probably.
A dark alleyway. In the shadows, Calvin, who had been leaning quietly against the wall, opened his eyes.
People called him Runaway Train Calvin. Clad in custom-made full plate armor, he was a wanted man with a fair amount of notoriety even in the underworld.
And standing before that Calvin was a single masked client.
“You look like you’re doing well.”
Calvin gave a silent nod at the masked man’s words. He did not know the name. He did not know the face. Even so, the man in front of him was Calvin’s customer. He always put down a large advance payment when he hired Calvin’s team, and once the job was finished successfully, he paid an enormous fee.
The masked man was fairly suspicious, but then again, the back alleys of the city were full of suspicious people. As long as the money was paid properly, Calvin had no reason to pick a fight.
Suppressing the usual curiosity about the client’s face, Calvin asked the masked man,
“What did you contact me for this time?”
“You’re the impatient type. We could take our time talking, you know.”
The masked man made a theatrical little gesture as he spoke. Calvin could not see the expression behind the mask. Yet for some reason, facing that mask, he felt as though the client in front of him was laughing at him.
From start to finish, the man was someone he could not stand. If it had not been for the money, he would have already put a fist through that mask.
“I’m not much for small talk. Isn’t it cleaner if we each just state our business and part ways?”
“Living like that must be boring, don’t you think? Calvin, you ought to mix with people a little more.”
“I don’t have a hobby of chatting long with people whose faces I don’t even know.”
“Not being trusted is a sad story. Well, fine. Then shall we talk about the job you’ve been waiting for so eagerly?”
Right after that, the man pulled a sheet of paper from his coat and unfolded it. Printed on the paper was a single silver-white earring. It had an elegant design, but aside from that it looked like nothing more than an ordinary earring.
Calvin looked at the paper the man had spread out and said,
“What is it? Looks like an earring.”
“It is an earring. Just not an ordinary one.”
“Not ordinary?”
“This is an earring made with mithril mixed in.”
Mithril. A metal so expensive that even a tiny fragment commanded an astronomical price. Calvin’s expression hardened at the man’s words.
Mithril possessed enough beauty to be worked into jewelry, but its true value lay elsewhere. That was why Calvin simply could not understand why anyone would make something as trivial as an earring out of it.
“An earring with mithril in it? What kind of lunatic makes something like that?”
“Who knows. There are quite a few people in this world with money to burn. Somewhere out there, someone must want to flaunt their wealth this way.”
“So you’re telling us to bring this thing back?”
“You’re getting used to this, so you catch on quickly. That’s right. That’s the job I’m giving you this time.”
Bring back the earring that contained mithril. Hearing the man’s request, Calvin ran the numbers quickly in his head. The fees the man usually paid were never small. But if the target was mithril, the profit he could make even without handing it over would be considerable. Plenty of people would want an item like that. As long as the information and the chance of seizing it were solid, it was not a bad deal for Calvin himself either.
“Where is the item?”
“In the vault of the department store in District 3. Of course, I don’t know a more precise location than that.”
“So you’re saying we should tear the department store apart until the thing turns up?”
“But if you find it, it will be an opportunity beyond compare. Naturally, I’ll pay you properly.”
“It’s not about the fee. The central district is too high-risk.”
“If you and the fortification specialist move together, dodging the security forces isn’t completely impossible, is it?”
“…….”
A once-in-a-lifetime chance. Would he shoulder the risk and overturn his life in one stroke, or abandon the job and lose even this client?
After a moment of thought, Calvin made a firm decision and looked at the man.
“How much can you pay?”