Chapter 310 – #3-10 Hero Association 4th Division Captain Ashe (2)
“… It tastes awful.”
With a click, Ashe puts down the cup of coffee.
Even with empty words, she cannot say that the coffee she brews is delicious.
The tools used by Apple are quite cumbersome and complicated to operate for ordinary people to handle, so it was difficult for Hachee to use them satisfactorily even though it took quite a bit of time.
If I didn’t know how to make it well and it was bothersome, I would have compromised in moderation even if it didn’t taste good.
“… What’s the matter. I’m fine.”
“Do~ do~ say~. There’s no way Rahe, who is more picky than me, would say that this is okay while pretending not to.”
“Can you be honest with me?”
“… Wait for a sec. Prepare your heart.”
“Then I will tell you.”
“Because I’m waiting…”
Rahe said as he lightly drank Hachee’s coffee and calmly put the cup down.
“Since the ingredients are precious, I hope you don’t burn them next time. I think that would be fine.”
“… Right…”
“It’s okay though. It’s not like I can’t use it at all. If you say, ‘I’m practicing for later,’ I can fully understand and bear with it.”
Rahe adds that this coffee is like muddy water.
It’s a coffee that Hachee herself didn’t like, but she didn’t expect to hear such harsh criticism.
Moreover, she urged her to speak, so she cannot blame Rahe.
As Rahe said, I don’t think it’s really at the level of muddy water, but if the result is like this with expensive-looking beans and all kinds of tools, there’s really nothing to say…
“Eww~. Apple’s coffee was really good. Once you taste it, you will never forget it again. The standard for coffee has risen dramatically.”
“… That’s right No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make coffee as good as Apple’s.”
“Yes?”
Hachee sits with her feet up on her sofa and her knees upright, out of her manner.
It’s covered by her legs and her arms, but from the position of her rahe, enough of her undergarments are visible.
Ashe has been like that for a long time, and Rahe used to scold her to be more careful, but she gave up on Ashe who had no intention of fixing it until the end.
And because we’re comfortable with each other, we show this side of ourselves, and when we’re in a place where there are other people or men, we show a better side than anyone else.
So even Rahe of her stern nature, she now just lets her do as she pleases without any further pointing out.
“Apple, it is.”
“… ? Anything to do with Apple?”
“You know, the subjugation operation against [Lesserrat] That the 7th Division carried out last time~. Did you know that we are in charge of cleaning up after that?”
“I heard the story.”
“That’s right~ Their base is also in the city we manage~”
Ashe, who was saying that with her eyes closed or open, tilted her coffee cup and drank the coffee she brewed herself.
Then, as if she wasn’t quite satisfied, she made a slight grimace on her pretty face.
“Oh, it’s tasteless. … Well, because of that, I have no choice but to keep coming in contact with that name, whether I like it or not. Then, she remembered the coffee he made, and she came to visit me like this… Huh.”
“That’s right. I’m sorry I couldn’t treat you to delicious coffee.”
“And when I let it down, it was evaluated as muddy water.”
“If you don’t want to hear such words, I think you can do it by not lowering it at all and staying still, or after practicing alone until you can lower it well.”
“That’s right~.”
Ashe admitted plainly, and she took another sip of her coffee.
Neither the feel on her tongue nor the way it went down her throat was pleasant, and most of all it tasted burnt and bitter.
It’s hard to believe that they used the same tools and the same beans as when Apple was there.
“… By the way.”
Ashe continued her words quietly, looking down at the black surface of the coffee she brewed.
“Rahe. I have to ask——the recent 『Lesseret Subjugation Operation』, Did you really conduct that?”
It was still a light tone, but it was somehow different from the playful atmosphere until now.
It was a light tone, but the intention and atmosphere hidden in it inform the seriousness.
“… Why do you ask that? Was there something strange that bothered you?”
“A lot. A lot. Besides, it happened in ‘my district’.”
As I said earlier, Lesserrat’s base was in the jurisdiction of the 4th Division.
However, in the first place, in terms of location, the area is between the 4th and 7th divisions, so I can’t say it clearly.
In addition to that, it is a special area that goes back to a special law, so it might not be right to discuss such things since it was originally from the 4th Division and the 7th Division.
The reason why Rahe was strongly opposed to the subjugation operation was because the area she was involved in was a problem.
A very complicated and dangerous place with various factors, such as drugs and many influential people in the political and business worlds.
Even though the circumstances were circumstances, it was not a very clever act to hastily touch such a place without a report from the superior.
Furthermore, he should have said more to the 4th Division and its leader, Ashe, who were in charge of that area.
Looking at the report, it seemed that Rahe’s operation itself was very dangerous, and that it needed more of her capable colleagues.
If the opponent was even a little stronger, and the members of the 7th division were even a little bit weaker, it would be easy to think that the mission would have been much more dangerous and risky.
It was difficult for Ashe to understand why Rahe, who cared for her subordinates and was able to make rational decisions, executed such a sloppy and hasty operation.
Above all.
There was a sense of incongruity in the report she submitted.
I can’t express it precisely, but…
“Rahe.”
“… Why, Ashe?”
“You, You’re not thinking strange things, are you?”
At some point, the coffee cup in Ashe’s hand was down on the table.
Hachee is clasping his gloved hands together, and his eyes are slightly open, revealing those eyes, scrutinizing Rahe closely.
The relaxed and laid-back atmosphere that I saw at first is gone.
The present Ashe was exuding a sense of intimidation befitting a commander in charge of a unit.
“Always think. Rahe, since you are innocent and strict, I believe you are a good colleague to trust.”
“But at the same time, you are too strict with yourself.”
“I also think that you look very precarious at the same time as you carry many things on your back as if nothing is wrong and act to achieve perfection.”
“Because now is so upright and perfect, I’m thinking that if I’m crooked then maybe I’ll go farther than anyone else.”
“Rahe, let me ask you. As a colleague, colleague, and friend of the same Hero Association, I ask.”
“Is your heart for “Justice” Still the same?”
“Is there any problem even if you insist on your “Justice” Right here?”
“Can I still trust you?”
“… Rahe, can you answer me?”
Ashe says.
Ashe says.
Ashe says.
Her eyes are watching Rahe carefully, as if not missing a single movement of her, a change in her expression.
Ashe’s abilities seem invincible at first glance, but even if she does her best, she can’t defeat Rahe.
In case Rahe looks suspicious, if Rahe tries to attack Ashe.
Ashe has no choice but to be helpless.
That’s why she’s nervous.
That’s why she maintains tension so that she can engage in battle at any time.
She can’t win a battle, but if she doesn’t relax, there’s a half-and-half chance of escaping.
“My, 『Justice』…”
Rahe half-drinked and looked down at her empty coffee cup, she murmured softly.
She is strict and sincere, a woman who values discipline above all else.
Therefore, it is her unshakable 『Justice』 To punish villainous criminals for a society where order, law and discipline are observed.
But is it still like that?
Was there really nothing hidden about the previous 『Lesserrat Subjugation Operation』?
Is her own mind the same as before?
Rahe thought about those things for a short moment, and then she drank the remaining coffee with a peaceful expression.
“… Ashe, no, Captain Ashe.”
Rahe called Ashe.
She is her friend, and as the captain of the 7th Division, who is responsible for many things, she answers her questions.
“I think I know what you are concerned about.”
“And I know you care about me.”
“But no need to worry.”
“I am the captain of Rahe of the 7th Division.”
“Because my 『Justice』 Has never been shaken.”
“For everyone, it’s about trying, even though you’re lacking, to choose the means you think are best.”
“… Of course, there is no way to prove these things.”
“So, I have nothing to say other than to ask you to trust me.”
“Can you believe me, Ashe?”
“Will you trust me, Ashe?”
Rahe responded to Ashe with her usual, strict and solemn honorific.
But even so, in the end, she returns to her friend’s comfortable tone.
I don’t want to lie to her friend.
I hope only her friends believe in herself.
Such sincerity is contained in Rahe’s words…
* * *
“Okay. Then I’ll go back.”
Hachee suspects her, and Rahe says she herself pleads her innocence.
It was a short discussion, but unexpectedly, the conclusion came early.
『Okay~ I’ll believe it~.』
At Rahe’s defense, Ashe said that she would know right away, and she replied that she would believe Rahe’s words.
After that, without bringing up such suspicion again, we had a few discussions and work-related topics.
Ashe is now going back as if nothing happened.
“Ashe, can you really trust me? Do you believe me?”
Rahe asked Ashe, who approached the door of the captain’s office to leave.
Then Ashe looks back at her, and she smiles at Rahe, and she says.
“Because I can’t imagine that innocent Rahe would be lying~. No matter how much I listen to it, it seems to be true without lies.”
“It’s not very good to keep arguing here.”
“Of course, don’t think that [Lesserrat] Work is a little strange and not right.”
“Rahe is human too, so if you think that he made a rare mistake, there’s nothing he can’t understand~”
Hachee said that with a smile, waved her hand one last time, and left her captain’s room.
Only Rahe remained in the chief’s office, sitting on the sofa and staring at the door Ashe had left in silence for a while…
