Chapter 23 – #5 What’s in That Drink (2)
After the drinks were ready, Apple pulled up a cushion and sat across from the club.
With the 13th smartphone in his hand, which the club handed over to him for an investigation request.
“As you said, I tried to check the contents of this smartphone, but it seems that a person with considerable skill set up protection.”
“Ah… Right. Obviously, the villain organization [Abyss] Has excellent genius scientists….”
The club recalled the stories of the old 【Abyss】 remnants they had interrogated before.
Even though they endured and endured and endured, the hideout they finally blew has already been completely abandoned, so it is unknown where the remaining members are now.
At least I know about their impressions and characteristics.
Right now there are four people left in 【Abyss】. A woman named Boss, No. 13, a staff member, and a genius scientist named Dorothy.
And then the woman the club missed.
A woman with bobbed hair with dark circles, she must be that genius scientist. I heard No. 13 calling it that.
‘… She missed the important guy….’
As I sipped my drink, reminding myself of that fact, Apple continued to explain.
There were several layers of protection, and I tried to cancel or bypass them somehow.
On top of that, it’s hard to know what’s real or what’s all fake because of the piles of dummy data.
The moment I tried to bypass the protection and check the most important-looking data, the security program was activated.
“――So―――for now――”
Apple’s explanation followed.
There were many unfamiliar words, but it was not difficult to understand more than I thought.
It must be because Apple took care of the club and explained it in an easy-to-understand way.
That’s why it wasn’t hard to understand the explanation, even if I felt regretful.
Not difficult… Place…….
‘…… What….’
‘Why… Little… My head is heavy… Woah… ?’
Echoing Apple’s words, the club continued to sip drinks.
Spicy, sweet, cool.
A very tasty drink that goes well with the character of the club….
“Club, do you like these drinks? … You can drink more. Because there are many.”
“Ah…… Yes….”
The club nodded blankly to her, and Apple took the empty cup from her hand her and filled it again.
Ice and——A strange liquid you don’t know what it isAlso, while cleverly blending them in so that they are not visible to the club.
“Come on, Mr. Club. There are a lot of them, so please eat as much as you like. It’s good if you drink it coolly.”
Apple smiled sweetly and said as he handed the drink to the club.
Some explanation continued, but for some reason, my head was hazy and I couldn’t hear it properly.
Well…….
… Are you drunk… With this much alcohol….
‘If this… I can’t….’
But this drink… Delicious… Delicious….
* * *
……………………………
…………………
…………
… And.
When the club came to their senses at some point, Apple’s explanations were already over.
“Did you sleep well, Mr. Club?”
“Uh, ah, uh?”
The club was taken aback by Apple’s words his, tilting his head slightly and smiling kindly.
Could it be that you fell asleep while listening to the explanation?
No… It’s not like taking a class at school, but with the person who teaches you in front of you?
‘Wow… !’
Club felt his face heat up instantly.
I can’t stand my own ugly behavior.
However, since Apple is also an Apple, it would not be strange for an ordinary person to get angry or faintly annoyed in this situation.
“You must be very tired.”
Just like a saintess, she smiled and said those words.
It’s not like a simple show, it’s because I honestly don’t feel the slightest anger…
The club naturally admired and liked such Apple.
“Ah… I’m sorry, this is what I asked for… Aww….”
“No. It was also a boring explanation for those not familiar with it… Are you weak with alcohol?”
“Isn’t it… I wouldn’t.”
I’ve never drank too much, but I’ve never thought of myself as weak against alcohol.
No matter how much I think about it, the drink provided by Apple is low enough to have almost no alcohol, so getting drunk with something like this is still bad.
But when she tried to drink it again, the glass in her hand her was empty and there was nothing left to drink.
… He drank several cups more than that.
‘…… I drank quite a bit… How to say… I don’t feel that much.’
If you drank this much, what kind of urgency… To put it simply, I thought I would need to pee, but surprisingly it wasn’t.
It’s as if he’s already excused himself before he knew it… That kind of feeling.
“More than that, Mr. Club. Does the club like cats?”
“Yes? Ah yes. I like. I have four of them at my home.”
“I see. I want to raise a cat these days. It’s exciting.”
Club nodded.
Cats are good.
Sometimes he’s cheeky, sometimes he’s languid, and if you try to get closer to him, you get farther away, but when you get farther away, you try to get closer.
If you feel alone and want to be alone, come over and rub your cheek cutely against someone else’s leg.
“Big… Cat is good cat. This dormitory allowed pets, right?”
“Yes. It will be difficult to grow right now. I will try to find out a little more.”
As he said that, Apple tapped the book he had left on the table.
Pets… It seemed to be a reference book containing information necessary for raising a cat.
I guess you’re the type to prepare for lessons with a book.
For some reason, Apple seems to have such an image.
“I thought it would take some time to get used to… I’m going to practice for a while.”
“…… ?”
‘Practice?’
I did n’t quite understand Apple’s words his, but there was nothing to say, so the club just nodded in agreement.
Only the club has the experience of raising a pet in this 7th Division.
Perhaps because of that, Apple asked the club what it felt like and what experiences they had when actively raising a pet, and the club answered honestly.
The club also likes animals, so rather than thinking that it’s bothersome to answer, the feeling of having fun took precedence.
Until now, it was a club where I had kept some distance because I didn’t know what kind of person Apple was, but the conversation was unexpectedly enjoyable and I wanted to get closer.
Anyway.
The conversation that had been amicable didn’t last that long, and now I got up from my seat saying I had to leave the club.
To that club
“I’d like to get to know Mr. Club more closely. Can we meet more often?”
At Apple’s suggestion, the club readily nodded without hesitation.
… Anyway, I expected a lot.
It’s a pity that there are no results….
* * *
Back… Back….
“Okay, let’s go out.”
Likewise, the base of the 7th division. Evening time.
Spade, who finished dinner a while ago and waited for the digestion to be simple, finished preparing to go out while tying his shoelaces.
She is wearing her favorite crimson short-sleeved shorts and sweatpants.
Unless there is a patrol or routine, he is going out for jogging, which he always does not skip.
“Ah, senior, are you leaving now?”
“Yes! Do you want to go to the club too?”
“I am on patrol today.”
Even if there are no patrols, I have no intention of following them.
Spade’s jogging is rather intense to just call it jogging, so we’ve never gone out together since we joined it the other time.
It doesn’t matter because I’m used to running alone anyway.
Spade was not particularly disappointed, and she left the 7th division base alone.
* * *
The night air was cool and I felt good.
At least not too long ago, it felt chilly, but now it’s cool, even with short sleeved shorts, it’s not cold.
It’s the perfect spring weather, but thinking that it will definitely be summer in just a few more weeks, I feel a bit regretful.
“Whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop…”
With her regular breathing, Spade ran down the dark street in her textbook-like exemplary posture.
With each stretch of her foot her, her healthy spade body her stretches out in front of her, dripping with sweat.
As she finished eating and waited for her digestion, it was already quite late… There were not many people passing by on the street.
If you go to downtown, there will be people walking around noisy even at this time, but there is no reason to run on that course to exercise.
‘Here… Left.’
The bodies of Awoken are basically stronger than ordinary people.
Magical power passed down from the constellation permeates the body, keeping the body healthier and more ideal than that of ordinary people, even if there are individual differences.
That is why, inevitably, the Awakened’s appearance is also more beautiful than that of ordinary people.
It is difficult to determine exactly whether it is because of the desire of the Awakener himself, or whether it is the will of the constellation itself to keep the human he has chosen beautiful.
‘Here again… Left… Then right….’
‘Passing this alley….’
Spade ran straight ahead, relying on the moonlight to advance through a dark alley without a single streetlight.
Not just downtown, but passing through ordinary urban areas, and entering an abandoned neighborhood that is no different from the remnants of the 【Great Disaster】.
No one should live on these deserted streets, but occasionally homeless vagrants settle in secretly.
Even if Spade was a hero, it wouldn’t be a suitable place for a young woman in her prime to wander alone….
Blame, blame, blame, blame, blame.
Chow… !
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha….
Spade, which had been running without slowing down, stopped in front of an abandoned building lightly dragging its feet.
Putting my hands on her knees, I took a deep breath and glanced up at the building in front of her.
“Do… Right?”
I muttered without knowing.
Even so, she thinks blankly with her head wandering in search of her oxygen.
………… What.
…… Why did I come to this place?
