NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
Early Morning on a Snowless Tuesday
After cleaning the general store as usual, I returned to quietly contemplate while nibbling on the bacon and fried eggs that Raven had prepared.
“Four days have already passed… and still no word.”
The day I was supposed to go on a date with Sabrina was Saturday. That means today marks four days since the commotion in the underground tunnels.
Despite the time passing, there was still no news from Anser.
Surely, Sabrina and Anser must have exchanged contact information back then—so why was it still this quiet?
What if something went wrong along the way? A wave of unnecessary worry surged within me.
“Hey, temp. Are you eating with your bowl?”
“…?!”
Thanks to Raven sitting across from me, I just realized I had been bringing the bacon to my mouth instead of the bowl.
Ah, this is why I shouldn’t let my mind wander while eating. When I get lost in thought, I often miss what’s around me, which can lead to awkward situations. Once, I even got confused and shampooed my hair while washing!
So, let’s just focus on eating first. Wiping away the greasy mask, I made up my mind to finish my meal in front of me first.
I shoved the bacon and fried egg into my mouth, shot up from my seat with the empty plate, and quickly threw the dish into the dishwasher before dashing to the sink to brush my teeth.
Usually, it wouldn’t be that urgent, and I would tackle it at a leisurely pace. But right now, an anxious feeling crept in, making me uneasy about sitting still.
“Why is she acting like that these days? Aaah, is she going through puberty?”
Who’s in puberty here? I’m serious!
As I silently seethed at Raven’s mumbled remark while he leisurely loaded dishes into the dishwasher, I quickly flopped onto the sofa towards the office and turned on the TV.
Then, I flipped through the channels using the remote until I landed on the news, staring blankly at what was being reported.
In today’s world, is a minor incident forgotten so quickly after just four days?
It seemed like the underground tunnel bomb incident had become an old tale, out of fashion.
Well, that wasn’t particularly strange. Given that from the beginning it had been reported as an underground tunnel bomb incident, there appeared to be strong information control from above.
They had successfully contained the situation before any victims emerged. If it weren’t for the police, there would be no way to know exactly what happened.
“So, is no news good news…? I should be grateful that no issues have come to light regarding Anser or the demons.”
If there were evidence or victims that were so obvious they couldn’t be concealed with information control…
The entire city would probably be in an uproar, rather than just staying quiet like now.
After all, discrimination and conflict usually generate a profit, especially crimes committed by demons, the epitome of evil?
For extremists, isn’t this the perfect bait to raise their voices even louder?
“But why is there no contact?! Anser should have recovered with the Tesseract, and left traces of the shadow behind the giant! It’s about time they checked in…!”
As I stared blankly at the news screen rambling on about topics I didn’t care about, I let out a soundless sigh.
Ah, I really don’t know. Let it be! I’m really going to stop caring now.
Exhausted from the endless wait, I mentally waved the white flag and surrendered.
While I was half-pouting and making a fuss alone, Raven ambled in wearing his usual disheveled suit.
“What’s up? I thought you were going out, but you’re watching the news? Quite the sophisticated hobby you’ve picked up, temp.”
“….”
Watching Raven plop down next to me looking somewhat disinterested, he picked up the remote and asked.
“Can I watch something else?”
“…!”
“Oh, what’s this? Starting this early? Let’s watch this.”
I nodded at Raven, who was deemed to check in with me despite it not really mattering.
He flipped through the channels until he suddenly landed on a movie channel.
The title that popped up in the upper left corner was ‘Civilization 3.’ It was a movie I didn’t remember ever seeing.
Could it be an original piece of this world? There seem to be a lot of those.
Since there was a ‘3’ in the title, it looked like a series, but…
It just happened to be halfway through the movie, so I had no idea what the story was about.
“Hmm… the action scenes are quite something, though. Even if I don’t understand why they’re fighting at all.”
Not knowing the story in a movie felt like having the filling missing from a bun.
Still, the CGI was flashy, and the acting was good. It was fun in its own right.
I quietly watched the movie with my hands folded on my lap, feeling that maybe sometimes it isn’t bad to empty my head like this.
Even if it wasn’t intentional, thanks to Raven, I could ease the heavy burden in my heart a bit.
“Here I am! Oh? What’s with the movie in the morning?”
I don’t know how long had passed.
Today, Alice, looking full of energy, stepped into the office.
She glanced back and forth between me and Raven, then tilted her head curiously.
It seemed our movie watching from the morning was quite a strange sight.
“Hey, Alice. I was just watching this movie because it was on the channel. Want to join?”
“Oh, that’s Civilization, right? I like this movie quite a bit!”
If Alice knew it, then it must be a well-known film.
I blinked in surprise at her enthusiasm.
But whether I showed my surprise or not, she slid onto the sofa and plopped me onto her lap.
Has everyone become accustomed to repetitive situations?
It already felt like a part of daily life. Huh, have I been conditioned, maybe?
“Good morning! How are you?”
“A new one, huh?”
“David, good morning!”
“…!”
A bit later, David arrived at the office.
This had become a sort of routine that didn’t seem too unfamiliar anymore.
If you think about it, he could appear to be the latest to arrive among the office staff, but that would be a misunderstanding.
David had always been punctual, arriving thirty minutes before any work began.
So, he could only arrive later than me, Raven, and Alice, who had nothing to do at home and came to the office even on weekends.
Still, even so, coming to work was not more important than living life.
As I defended him in my head and tried to refocus on the fighting scenes about to resume in the movie, David, who was organizing his belongings after taking off his coat, cautiously called out to me.
“Yuria, is it okay for a moment?”
“…?”
“Sabrina wanted to talk to you….”
Sabrina? This morning?
What could it be? I pondered briefly before a sudden thought popped into my head, and I quickly looked up.
Could it be what I’m thinking?
“….”
“Yuria….”
I pleaded with Alice, who was giving me a clingy look like she didn’t want to let go, to let me go by gently rubbing her arm.
Finally freed from her grasp, I carefully took David’s device.
As expected, since I couldn’t speak, contacting Sabrina was through a video call.
Not wanting to interrupt the movie, I stepped out into the office corridor and connected the call using the number David had pre-dialed.
Had she only been waiting for my call? As soon as the call connected, Sabrina’s excited face appeared, and she shouted with a delighted voice.
[“Yuria! You’re here!”]
“…?”
[“Anser was released safely from the police station! Thankfully, there seems to have been no issues!”]
“…!”
It was the joyous news I had been waiting for days.
*
A secret underground space, illuminated solely by the overhead lights with no windows in sight.
A man whose clothes looked like they might burst due to his impressive muscles quietly listened to a researcher.
“I will announce the results of the investigation. This metal fragment does not match any known elements on Earth. Similarly, even summoning a mage from this world yields similar results.”
“That means….”
“Yes. This is an unidentified metal that belongs to neither Earth nor this world.”
“Hmph.”
CRACK.
The man’s suit cried out as it was suddenly stretched against his burgeoning muscles.
For the police chief of Night Haven, this was a completely natural reaction.
A metal that did not exist on Earth or in this world?
That meant the Invader that threatened the world had started to act once more.
It was possible that a tremendous crisis could once again confront Earth.
Thinking that, despite the strength he possessed, maintaining calm was no simple task.
“If the Invader has really started moving again… it’s not just a problem for Night Haven; it’s a global issue. First, I need to quickly notify the mayor.”
The Invader was an enemy that everyone in the world had to unite to confront.
The implication of annihilating the world carried significant weight.
He could not afford to lose their home again.
The police chief was so deeply immersed in thought, he didn’t even notice the buttons of his suit being torn away by overwhelming muscle.
*
CRACK.
Between the thumb and index finger of a black-haired girl, a red liquid dripped sticky.
The object trapped between her fingers was a raspberry.
With a juice as red and sticky as blood, it was the girl’s favorite fruit.
She wore a blank expression devoid of emotion.
Yet even so, there was an unmistakable air of anger surrounding her.
A mood that reflected the irritation felt when things don’t go as planned.
The girl exuded an aura akin to a bomb ready to explode if disturbed.
Facing her, a man stooped and sweating profusely said,
“I’m sorry, miss. The plan has gone awry….”
“…No, it’s just bad luck. The plan didn’t have any issues—have you figured out why this happened?”
“Uh, that’s… still under investigation.”
“Hmm, I see. So you don’t know.”
CRACK!
One more raspberry exploded between the girl’s fingers.
As the red liquid fell to the floor, the man felt a chill run down his spine.
If her anger rose any further, the next thing to burst might be his own head.
Fortunately, the girl seemed to have enough presence of mind to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
Wiping her sticky fingers meticulously with a handkerchief that had appeared from nowhere, she spoke in a chilling tone.
“Ambushes are most effective when the enemy is unaware. This has become troublesome. I’ll have to lie low for a while.”
“Yes. I’ll instruct the subordinates accordingly.”
“Get going. Before I change my mood.”
As soon as the girl granted permission, the man hurriedly dashed away, anxious at the thought of being in the presence of a monster who could kill with just a flick of a finger.
Left alone, the black-haired girl stared blankly at the sky and muttered.
“I miss my brother. I hope there aren’t any tailing brats around…”
With a white puff of breath, her soft words disappeared into thin air.
Thus, the wheel of fate began to twist in its own direction.