‘………No, no. No, no, no, no…!!’
Although no sound escaped from my slightly parted lips, chaos erupted in my mind. It was as if my split self was throwing a tantrum.
In such cases, people often say a brain conference is being held, but what was happening inside me now was closer to a riot that lacked even the form of a meeting.
For instance… my rational side was screaming that I had to clear up the misconceptions spun by that incredibly smart guy who had gone off the deep end.
The emotional me just collapsed and agreed to let him go quickly….
The persona of my former lover set clear boundaries and decided to go dark concerning Aaron.
The self of calm composure declared political neutrality, suggesting we should observe the situation a bit longer.
The iron-blooded Anastasia from the research facility wanted to have Zero grab that guy and use his powers to fry him until he lost his memory… What is wrong with you, are you crazy!
“Haa…”
Frustrated emotions forced a sigh out of me.
…First, let’s be clear and deny things.
When was the last time I had a serious conversation with Aaron? A few months back? I think we exchanged pleasantries about how things were going well while I stayed at Schneider’s house.
In any case, the misunderstandings accumulated over a long time wouldn’t just disappear with a few words, but it’s important to clearly establish my stance since I’m not dealing with someone easy to deceive with shallow tricks.
“Could you stop talking about that person like they’re some behind-the-scenes puppet master? There’s someone else dealing with that kind of nonsense right here in Neo Haven.”
“Oh…? Have you prepared a body double just in case you get caught? I wonder what kind of person… Or maybe you’ve bred a doll to fake death right there…”
“Stop twisting my words…!”
Thwack!
I managed to control the hand that was about to point and successfully refrained it by just tapping my forehead.
It’s like I’m a patient with a doubt disorder who can’t take the given script at face value.
Why is that guy’s mind only racing dangerously in one direction!?
This won’t do. If I try to speak kindly and Aaron thinks that I’m just dodging the subject, this will just turn into an endless parallel line.
I need to be clear and assert without any room for misinterpretation, eliminating any unnecessary overlapping thoughts with a definitive statement.
As soon as I made up my mind, I straightened my body that had been leaning toward him.
I leaned my upper body against the back of the chair to establish a firm baseline, and I crossed my arms, clearly showing my displeasure with his attitude.
“…Aaron, there’s no need for such strange exaggerations, so drop it. I may have said I have a goal I must achieve, but when did I imply I intended to play around with power games? …If you’ve come, just say what you need. Don’t give me a headache for nothing.”
“…Is that so.”
With a murmur full of dissatisfaction, Aaron’s eyes narrowed.
A normal person would have their eyes hidden by moving facial muscles, but in his case, it was akin to drawing a blade from its sheath—his piercing gaze revealed itself.
His glistening pupils, swirling like ripples from a thrown stone in a lake, reflected my inner turmoil, causing me to instinctively pull back my neck.
It was as if my awkward excuses were coming to an end.
As if… if I acted that way, he would think he was equally justified.
……Wait, hold on. Did I speak too harshly…?
★ ☆ ★ ☆ ★
The crimson flesh squirmed as it savored the air lingering in the room.
It seemed on the verge of appearing frivolous if it didn’t fit its place, merely wetting my lips as it slightly stuck out, yet even that was enough to make Aaron suppress an ecstatic sensation as if he had tasted something rare in the world.
“Indeed. It seems I was still too early to step in so deep.”
Because… the girl sitting across from me was merely pretending to be terribly flustered.
Each time I pressured her, the prickling discomfort I felt suggested a ferocity hidden beneath her night-like appearance.
Moreover, Aaron himself was, in whatever case, in a position to serve two masters simultaneously.
Though Anastasia didn’t bother with such trivial matters when we joined hands, objectively, he was weighing incompatible values.
The shocking reality of the shattered shards he gathered was too thrilling.
It would be too unsightly to lose his life by crossing the line in a moment of excitement, so he decided he would take his time to ensure she couldn’t wriggle out of it.
Of course, the party in question, Ahsa, believed she was merely proposing a reasonable compromise because her counterpart was too persistent in coveting her abilities and trying to recruit her. However, the form of the verbal contract that neither of them had meticulously defined was open to interpretation.
Thus began their conversation, balanced precariously and miraculously.
“Your expression in Astra Express A-185. You did make contact with the guerrillas belonging to Five Eyes, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
“To my embarrassment, I simply hoped your journey would be pleasant and reserved a seat for you. However, while investigating the outrageous robbery incident, I sensed something. Even if I hadn’t intervened, Miss Ahsa would have shown up right there at that spot.”
They had deliberately chased down the fugitives escaping on a regular train.
Rather than reporting them and claiming a reward, even after deciding to partner with Aaron, she let the insurgents go.
Why? Was it because she was similar to that kind of group? Up until then, it was just one of many hypotheses.
The enchanting poison laid out to bait the ruler known as Aaron Drayfuscus. The possibility that Anastasia could hail from such a background had been discarded, but it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious.
However, upon compiling her tracks a little more meticulously, a completely different aspect emerged.
“Despite not needing to be tied down by credits, you continued to act as a mercenary, didn’t you?”
“For heaven’s sake, now you’re just spouting nonsense. Who is there in this world that is indifferent to money…!”
There was a slight backlash, as if to say who he was ridiculing, but Aaron refused.
No. Even though Aaron had to manage an enormous budget daily, treating money merely as a sequence of numbers, he would never waste it uselessly. Especially when it came to his personal assets.
What drives humans mad is ultimately wealth. And all ancestors in this world forcefully agreed to store that wealth electronically.
Holding a universal key that could potentially annihilate the treasure trove everyone desperately wants to protect, Anastasia didn’t wield it lightly.
She preferred valuing the connections she established throughout the process even more.
While there were thoughts that the personal expenditure showed no backroom deals at all… Aaron dismissed that assumption.
It is only natural for anyone to fall for seductive temptations.
Yet, enduring the sweet allure of those temptations, over a lifetime of 24 hours, can only be done by those madmen who harbor a goal so grand that simply recalling it clenches their fists.
“Surely… Marina Serrano was a free mercenary, right? You used a rather clever woman as a messenger to draw me in, even assigning the errand of tidying up the rookie known as Enema. I got the impression that you wanted to continue your journey for something separate from Ahsa.”
“……You…”
Only then did Anastasia realize the reason for Aaron’s appearance, lamenting inwardly, ‘Marina, this foolish girl…!’ but it was already too late.
Had she deduced something existed between Paradise based on the initial meeting at the police interview and street rumors? No, that can wait for later when we meet again.
For now, it was Aaron.
“How did you know about the internal matters of Enema…?” would be an inappropriate question.
Given the way he spoke, it seemed he had already met them directly. However… she simply didn’t know whether “rookie” referred to Show or the newly settled Kajun.
In this moment, she momentarily lost her words. Trying to conjecture how her background, which necessitated her staying in Enema, was reflected based on suspicious activities here and there.
On the other hand, Aaron knew that since Ahsa had stated from the start that she had business in Neo Haven, he was aware of her intention to move here.
However, he was just careful to scrutinize the exact reasons for Ahsa needing to infiltrate Enema and the intention behind trying to lure in both her and their branch manager, Lagus.
Regrettably, while the poor branch manager was unable to express himself because he turned out to be the one accompanying them, he could finally draw a conclusion by observing the deliberative gaze judging every one of his actions.
…She was slowly gathering.
The verified talents for a moment that would someday arrive, the blades she could wield, and… the servants she could command.
