Chapter 90

The flow is a bit strange. …Very strange.

And that flow is based on the twisted premise, “Anastasia Valentine has been chasing the Five Eyes.” It’s so bothersome. When Zero brings back a drink, I’ll take my antibiotics one by one and sleep well.

Oh? You say there’s too much circumstantial evidence to dismiss it as mere speculation?

…And I’m saying it’s not me, yet you’re speculating again? It’s infuriating.

“Huh.”

This is not a sigh but a lament. It’s a lament that serves as an unpretentious evaluation of my miserable situation.

I uncrossed my legs, and for a moment, rubbed my tired eyes with the back of my hand.

Of course, even doing that didn’t cause the serious-looking Asyef or the oddly bright Rosaline to vanish from my sight like magic.

The excitement of gradually approaching the original stage, and the joy of seeing new sides of acquaintances and potential teammates, were slowly being overtaken by fatigue and annoyance.

Moreover, if I were to dismiss them in this atmosphere, it would practically be a banishment.

Conversely, my leaving… considering how far I’ve come, I’ll have to reject that. I haven’t done anything wrong, so why should I?

“I’ve said it multiple times. I’m just an ordinary citizen chasing money without any grandeur.”

“Then was there a request to prevent us from leaving the city? If you simply wanted to convey a message, you could have just written a few words in Rosaline’s notebook.”

You got the part about the request right, but I wasn’t planning to meet you all this often, you know?

I reached out my hand to stop him from taking flight on his wild imagination. However, the abrupt mentioning of Rosaline’s participation came even faster.

“Wait, Leader?! I’m not that easy to push around!”

“…I didn’t say it was easy. I merely asked why you chose the second-best option over my best option, according to my standards.”

“Ugh! This is why amateurs…! In our world, if such things are allowed unilaterally, we’ve already lost terribly at that point!!”

“Hmm… Is that so…?”

There are rules to follow even when hackers squabble, they say that hacking isn’t just about finger exercises on a keyboard but rather a shootout in real time with defenders, and not to underestimate one’s long-constructed security systems. I don’t understand why they only glare at me for that last part.

Listening to the argument roll off into a whirlwind without a chance to intervene… I felt utterly drained.

I raised my outstretched hand high. Even though sitting here wouldn’t reach the ceiling or either of them, I stuffed this frustrating feeling until it was overflowing.

Seriously, this is all wrong, people!

BAM—!!

“Eek?!”

– !! –

My hand, swung toward the table in the guest room, trembled violently.

The agents derailed by the intense noise turned their attention this way, as did Zero, who was crossing the platform outside the window. To add to that, my palm turned bright red.

– Should we return immediately? –

– It’s not a particularly urgent situation! –

I quickly retorted, asking them to bring me the drink that I wanted to pour down my dry throat, while quietly returning my hand to cover my forehead.

The pain wasn’t due to frustration or a headache, but because I’d failed to control my strength and hurt myself too much… I’ll only say here that it’s a bit embarrassing.

Anyway, while they can leap to wild conclusions as they please, I hoped they’d at least listen to the fundamental facts from me and add some flesh to the skeleton. I opened my mouth.

“There’s something totally unrelated to you all, a sort of request for a named quest, and I’m on my way to Neo Haven. The overlapping guest rooms… well, that’s something I’d rather ask you about! Do you have some lingering attachment to me or something?”

Though I did plan to stay behind after the work was done, there was no need to explain that much.

Having poured out the declaration I’d wanted to make all along, I brought my body back to its original position.

I surveyed their expressions.

Rather than distrust or hostility, it was quite positive that a mild suspicion and incredulity coexisted. As long as I didn’t open my eyes to see the gun barrel pointed at me, that was good enough.

But it seemed I was a bit too quick to feel relieved. I got hit with a response to my offhand remark that was entirely unexpected.

“…Well, Rosaline has been going on about you all day. With a personality as freewheeling as hers, and an appearance like a doll, her abilities are unmeasurable, like a devil… Ahem, she’s a woman.”

“……What?”

Huh… What did you just say?

Is there really such a thing as scoring points directly in front of someone?

Whether her chatter constitutes praise or insults would depend on the words Asyef stammered in response, but this uncle was letting it slip.

“?! What on earth is this Hajji doing?! The team leader suddenly pulling this stuff on me!!”

“Well, since that lady showed her true feelings, shouldn’t we reveal some of our concealed intentions too?”

“Why do you have to use me as a stepping stone for that?!”

Rosaline, her palm as hot as her infuriated face, glared at me while grabbing Asyef by the collar.

How tall was she again? Is she similar to me now?

Considering physical attributes, it was ludicrous for her to be above me, but he was just laughing it off while indulging Rosaline’s tantrum.

…Even while being shaken around by the breeze, he still hadn’t withdrawn his gaze from us.

Dull yet sharp, loose yet tight. He was merely a mercenary entwined with the Five Eyes for personal revenge. Come to think of it, wasn’t this uncle the evolved version of Schneider known as “Dark”?

It wouldn’t do to make racial jokes with those fierce eyes staring right at me. I’ll keep those thoughts to myself.

“So, does Miss Anastasia mean to say it’s all a misunderstanding? To have two freshly renewed top-level criminals tied up at a train station swarming with cops, and all that’s just a ridiculous coincidence?”

“That’s exactly right.”

Fearing that directly mentioning it might seem forced, Asyef brought up the word “coincidence,” which I had hesitated to say. I jumped on that opportunity as if I’d been waiting for it.

At last, there was a crack in the blockade that had formed in my heart.

Once I purged all the accumulated frustration, I felt like I could breathe again.

Still, thanks to this, I did learn something important. Human relationships could be so difficult to repair if the first button was not fastened properly.

When we arrive at Neo Haven, I’ll have to be extra careful, doubling or tripling my caution. After all, I never know when an important character might pop up, so it’s better for the cautious side to be careful.

“……Alright, I believe you. The elusive mercenary says I can pretend I didn’t see anything, so I’ll gladly accept that.”

“Oh?”

“Leader…? Did you get a hold of some weakness? Or is there a turban hidden in your head?”

With Asyef’s nonchalant acceptance, Rosaline and I both expressed our doubts.

It could be the typical decisive resolution of a former mercenary… or perhaps there was some other reasoning behind it.

No, more than that, I don’t understand how this person can smoothly integrate such harsh language into conversation. Was he always this foul-mouthed?

Having caught my ambiguous gaze, Rosaline awkwardly twirled her disheveled hair around her finger, avoiding my eye.

If her talk was this good, I might consider that what she said about me was actually a genuine compliment.

“People should learn from their mistakes. Recently, I learned the valuable lesson that when told to go away, it’s not going to be handy to bluntly sever someone’s arm during a fight.”

“Ahem…!”

With that last grumbling remark, Asyef closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. As he tried to cross his arms, his arm that flinched midway obediently returned to the armrest, an almost silent protest.

And what was my response to that protest?

Nothing! Aside from clearing my throat once, I didn’t take any action at all.

Effectively, a truce agreement was reached so that if there was nothing genuinely urgent, we could divide the guest room and refrain from interfering with one another, so there was no need to create a fuss.

Well then, should I calmly try to catch up on some sleep… and while trying to find a comfortable position to squirm in…

“…Um, can I ask you something?”

“……?”

However, it seemed that the girl, who had patiently waited for the adult conversation to finish, still had something she wanted to say, specifically to me.

With a creaking sound, Rosaline leaned her arms on the table, adopting a somewhat shy posture.

The slightly darkened and anxious expression on her youthful face stirred a protective instinct in me.

Was there even a problem for a girl who seemed like the embodiment of self-esteem to look so sullen?

“Were the things you said about me being a hypocrite… and childish… really true?”

“…Oh dear.”

It seems that the youthfulness was more than just the face.

Even a slight bump against a failure, not an obstacle but a wall, appeared to have been a monumental shock for this brilliant hacker.

Sending me a gaze that seemed to plead for an answer from someone like me was simply too touching.

She’s still young… so young.

“It’s good to have a belief in doing the right thing, but don’t get too absorbed in the philosophy of the Five Eyes. That’s what I wanted to say.”

Though unnecessary meddling could lead Rosaline further astray, I knew she was a fundamentally good and upright person, so I threw out my honest advice.

“…Why?”

“Having a belief means setting up your own standards. But being enslaved by a philosophy means blindly following while discarding the self that should be prioritized above all else.”

To her pouting question, I quoted a famous saying for someone who might hear it someday. I caught a brief glimpse of Asyef’s eyelids twitching. I’ll definitely have to find out what it feels like to hear his own words being said later.

“A massive system like a nation could be revived, with several supervisory organizations hovering over corporations, but it doesn’t dramatically change reality. It merely shifts the pursuit of profit from a corporate to a national scale.”

Rosaline wore a bewildered expression at my voice, filled with conviction.

She seemed to want to ask about the source of this insane confidence, but regrettably, I could not disclose it. Few would believe my experiences living in both towns, and she seemed too mentally immature to be one of them.

“The sense of belonging you cherish is something you can throw away as soon as it starts to deviate from your beliefs. Frankly, what’s the difference between a corporation and a secret society? Both are similar groups and organizations, after all—the missions, tasks, and hierarchies are all the same. The truth is, they’re quite similar.”

“That’s… too….”

Rosaline, whose mind was becoming clouded due to the absurd bundling of concepts, tried to come up with a counterargument, but I had no intention of waiting patiently.

In the first place, this wasn’t about persuading her but rather a form of self-talk, letting her decide whether to listen or not.

“At least when taking action, always proceed in a way you can understand. Even Asyef, who’s pretending to sleep over there, didn’t dive into this mess with an naïve mindset. …You’re a genius too, so you can probably manage that, right?”

“Uh…?!”

Swoosh….

The sight of her stubbornness deflating was too cute, so I gently ruffled her bangs.

Even just a while ago, she had been going on and on about the Five Eyes and enlightenment, acting like a spokesperson, and now she was embarrassedly retreating back to her seat, reddened, escaping her previous range.

– Astra Express A-185 is departing. Please move inside the station for the protection of the facilities, as a track change and platform adjustment is taking place…. –

Having given an unexpected life philosophy lecture, time had flown by unexpectedly.

It seems I’ve inadvertently set the stage for a barrage of questions throughout the journey. But then again, even while explaining what I already knew, I felt like the shaky state of my mind and footing had solidified just a bit, so I was relieved.

And… ultimately, it all worked out nicely.

Asyef was observing, and Rosaline was in a meditative state.

Though the next seat felt a bit empty, the fact that there was an open seat nearby on the plane had always been the most comfortable….

“……Oh.”

I jolted up from my slouched position.

Crap, the train is about to leave, and I can’t be absent from the seats here, what the hell am I thinking, you idiot!

In a hurry, I scanned the platform, where Zero was hoisting a station staff member by the collar with one hand while bending the vending machine corner with the other… Hey!! What are you doing there instead of getting on?!

– The deceitful vending machine has seized Ahsa’s credits and is demanding a legitimate refund procedure for not providing the corresponding product. –