Chapter 60

A rare Tuesday morning without snowfall.

As usual, after cleaning the sundry shop and coming back, I was munching on the bacon and fried eggs Raven had prepared, lost in quiet thought.

‘It’s already been four days… Still no news.’

The day of my date with Sabrina was Saturday. Meaning today was four days since the subway line commotion.

But even after all this time, there was still no word from Anser.

I’m sure Sabrina and Anser exchanged contacts that time, so why is it so quiet?

Maybe something went wrong along the way. Worry started bubbling up inside me.

“Hey, part-timer. Are you eating your food with your cheek?”

“…?!”

Thanks to Raven sitting across from me, I belatedly realized I was shoving bacon into my cheek instead of my mouth.

Ah, this is why you shouldn’t space out while eating. When I get deep in thought, I tend to lose sight of my surroundings, which often gets me into trouble.

Last time, I got so absorbed in thoughts while showering that I couldn’t remember if I shampooed my hair.

So first things first, let’s finish eating. After wiping off my greasy mask, I decided to focus on the meal in front of me.

I stuffed the bacon and fried eggs into my mouth, then jumped up from my seat with the empty plate.

Then I rushed to the dishwasher, threw the plate in, and hurried to the sink to quickly brush my teeth.

Normally, since it wasn’t anything urgent, I’d take my time.

But now, a sense of restlessness made me anxious, like I couldn’t just sit still.

“What’s up with him lately? Yawn, is he going through puberty or something.”

Who’s going through puberty right now?! I’m being serious here!

Feeling irritated by Raven’s muttering as she leisurely loaded the dishes into the dishwasher, I quickly sat down on the office couch and turned on the TV.

Flipping channels with the remote, I stopped at a news channel and blankly stared at the screen.

Perhaps in times like these, incidents are forgotten within four days.

It seemed the subway bomb commotion was already old news.

Well, it wasn’t surprising. From the start, the subway bomb incident was reported under heavy information control from above.

Since they successfully controlled the crowd before any victims appeared, unless you were police, there was no way to know exactly what happened.

‘So should I think that no news is good news? It’s fortunate that nowhere mentions Anser’s name or demons causing trouble.’

If there had been undeniable evidence or victims that couldn’t be concealed through information control…

Surely, it wouldn’t have died down quietly; the whole city would’ve been buzzing about it.

Discrimination and conflict are profitable, especially crimes committed by demons labeled as evil?

For extremists, what better bait to raise their voices?

‘But why hasn’t she contacted me! She definitely recovered using the Tesseract and left traces of the mastermind with the giant! Shouldn’t she be free by now and making some kind of survival report…?’

Staring blankly at the news spouting stories I didn’t care about, I let out a deep, silent sigh.

Ah, I really don’t get it. Let things work out on their own. I’m done caring.

Exhausted from endless waiting, I mentally waved a white flag and declared surrender.

As I sat there half-sulking, throwing myself a pity party, Raven shuffled in wearing her usual sloppy suit.

“What’s with suddenly leaving? I thought you were watching some morning anime. News? How sophisticated of you, part-timer.”

“…”

Watching the news isn’t some sophisticated hobby. Isn’t it normal?

Looking at Raven plopping down beside me with a somewhat sour expression, she picked up the remote and asked,

“Can I change the channel?”

“…!”

“Oh, what’s this? Morning drama already. Let’s watch this.”

I nodded at Raven, who at least asked once, signaling it didn’t matter to me.

She flipped through various channels until she stopped at a movie channel.

The title ‘Civilization 3’ popped up in the top-left corner. A completely unfamiliar movie to me.

Must be an original work from this world. There are many of these.

Seeing the number 3 after the title, it must be part of a series…

But of course, we landed smack in the middle of the film, so understanding the plot was impossible.

‘Hmm… The action scenes are decent, though. No idea why they’re fighting, but whatever.’

Not knowing the story of a movie felt like having red bean paste missing from a bun.

Still, the CG was flashy, and the acting was good. In its own way, it was entertaining.

I sat quietly, hands folded neatly on my lap, watching the movie.

Well… Sometimes clearing your mind like this isn’t so bad.

Whether intentional or not, thanks to Raven, I managed to lighten the load on my mind a bit.

“I’m here! Oh, what’s with the movie so early in the morning?”

How much time had passed like that?

Alice, full of energy as always, entered the office.

Looking back and forth between me and Raven, she tilted her head quizzically.

Our morning movie-watching must have looked strange to her.

“Yo, Alice. It was on the movie channel, so we were watching. Wanna join?”

“Oh, this is Civilization! Nice. I actually quite like this movie!”

If even Alice knows it, it must be a famous movie?

Blinking curiously at her excited demeanor, I found it intriguing.

But whether I showed it or not, she naturally placed me on her lap as she sat on the couch.

Perhaps people get used to repetitive situations.

This felt like routine by now. Hmm, have I been conditioned?

“Good morning.”

“The newbie’s here.”

“Good morning, David!”

“…!”

A little more time passed, and finally, David arrived at the office.

This sequence was becoming a familiar routine.

At first glance, it might seem like David was the latecomer of the group, but that was an unfair misunderstanding.

David was quite punctual, always arriving exactly 30 minutes before work.

It’s just that living here full-time like me and Raven, or Alice coming over on weekends because she has nothing better to do, made him seem late by comparison.

No matter how you slice it, coming to the office wasn’t more important than living life.

As I silently defended him and turned back to the movie’s next battle scene, David, who had been taking off his coat and organizing his things, cautiously called out to me.

“Yuria, do you have a moment?”

“…?”

“Sabrina wants to talk to you…”

Sabrina? This early in the morning?

Wondering briefly what it could be about, a sudden thought struck me, and I snapped my head up.

Could it be… what I’m thinking of?

“…”

“Yuria…”

With a reluctant look, I asked Alice, who seemed unwilling to let go, to release her grip.

Finally freed, I carefully took David’s terminal.

Of course, unable to speak, communication with Sabrina was via video call.

Not wanting to disturb the movie, I stepped out into the office hallway and connected the call using the number David had pre-dialed.

Had she been waiting for my contact? As soon as the call connected, Sabrina’s flushed face appeared, and she immediately shouted joyfully,

[“Yuria! She’s here, she’s out!”]

“…?”

[“Anser’s sister was released from the police station safely! Thankfully, there were no issues!”]

“…!”

After days of waiting, it was delightful news.

*

A hidden underground space with no windows, relying solely on ceiling lights for illumination.

A man whose bulging muscles threatened to burst through his clothes quietly listened to a researcher.

“We will present the investigation results. This metal fragment… as expected, it doesn’t match any element on Earth. Similarly, when we consulted mages from another world, the results were the same.”

“Meaning…”

“Yes. This is an unidentified metal belonging neither to Earth nor the other world.”

“Hmm, I see.”

CRACK.

The man’s suit screamed under the pressure of his pumped-up muscles.

His tailored suit couldn’t handle the overwhelming force.

But this reaction was natural for the Chief of Police of Night Haven.

Metal that didn’t belong to Earth or another world.

That meant… the Invader who endangered the world was active again.

Soon, an immense crisis might descend upon Earth again.

Thinking about it, even someone as strong as him found it hard to stay calm.

“If the Invader has truly begun moving again… it’s not just Night Haven’s problem; the entire world needs to respond. First, I need to inform the mayor of this fact.”

The Invader was an enemy everyone worldwide needed to unite against.

The potential destruction of the world carried significant meaning.

They couldn’t afford to lose their home to those bastards again.

Unaware that his buttons were popping off from his overwhelming muscles, the Chief of Police continued pondering gravely.

*

CRUNCH.

Between the thumb and index finger of a certain black-haired girl, a sticky red liquid dripped.

What had been between her fingers was a raspberry.

Its blood-red, sticky juice made it her favorite fruit.

Her expression was emotionless.

Yet, she radiated an unmistakable aura of anger.

The unpleasant feeling when plans go awry.

The girl exuded an explosive tension, like a bomb ready to detonate.

Toward her, a man bowed low, sweating profusely, and spoke.

“I apologize, Miss. The plan went awry…”

“…No. Just bad luck. Even I saw no problems with the plan. Did you find out why it turned out this way?”

“Th-that… We’re investigating.”

“Hmm, I see. So you don’t know.”

CRUNCH!

Another raspberry burst between her fingers.

As the red liquid dripped to the floor, the man felt chills run down his spine.

If her anger rose any further, the next thing to explode might not be fruit but his head.

Fortunately, perhaps she still had the composure to avoid unnecessary killing.

Using a handkerchief that seemed to have flown to her from somewhere, she meticulously wiped her sticky fingers and spoke in an icy voice.

“A surprise attack is most effective when unnoticed. This is troublesome. Looks like I’ll have to lay low for a while.”

“Yes. I’ll instruct the subordinates accordingly.”

“Leave. Before my mood changes.”

The moment the girl gave permission, the man scrambled away in a panic.

Facing a monster capable of killing with a mere flick of her fingers, staying relaxed would spell doom.

Left alone, the black-haired girl gazed blankly at the sky and muttered.

“I miss Onii-sama. Hopefully, no one around him is flirting…?”

Her small whisper dissipated into the air with her white breath.

The wheels of fate began twisting in different directions.