Chapter 179

We returned to Shigeaki’s house. I let Abigail in the living room. Please come in. It’s a bit messy.

I sat down at the table facing Abigail, while Natsuki offered me a cup of coffee. Yakumo is playing on the sofa with two mini-tarantulas.

“Shall we leave the two of you and go to the room over there?”

“You can do whatever you want.”

Natsuki hesitated a bit before sitting down next to Yakumo. While her face was turned toward Yakumo, her attention was on us.

We first exchanged our stories about what had happened after that day.

I found myself in the forest, covered in bodily fluids and in a tight knot with Titania. My memories of that time are unclear. For some reason, Ferris was nearby, and I moved to the base, taking her with me when she was weak. That’s where I saw your letter but it got eaten. Now Titania and the insects must be waiting for my return at the base.

Abigail looked into my face, frightened.

“I’m sorry about …… that cheesecake. I took it without permission.”

Ah, a cheesecake can.

” Fine, no problem. I still have some.”

She seemed relieved at my positive response.

“Does Abigail like cheesecake, too?”

“Yes, since I was a little girl. It was a treat……. Is Gevaudan also likes Cheesecake since you were little? “

“I don’t know why but I’ve loved it since I can remember.”

At my affirmation, the corners of her eyes dropped.

We got back on topic. After that, I returned Ferris to Lydia, and after a few things with the four girls and Dantalion, I heard that a warrior was coming from another world, Miforsis, although there is a ceasefire at the moment.

When I returned, I found a castle had been built in the mountains. It was the best castle I’ve ever seen. I mean, the mountain itself is a castle.

We unavoidably crashed a helicopter that flew in right after and infiltrated the fort based on the information we got from Sergeant Adams, a survivor of the helicopter.

And then at Pig’s Haven, where I had a fateful encounter with Natsuki. Butcher meets girl.

Then, after crashing the gang’s office and all that, I accidentally took over the house of the murderer, Shigeaki, where I have been watching the snow and doing online shopping and so on.

It took Abigail a while to finish a cup of coffee.

But it was still quick. It’s faster than morse code, faster than writing, faster than typing through a terminal. Stress-free. It was the right decision to rob the place.

“Do you want another cup?”

I asked, and Abigail replied

Then she picked up a bottle of cooking wine from the kitchen counter and drank it. Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Cooking wine…..and that’s a white wine …..

I wonder what has happened since her trip to the Fort. I guess she’ s still very stressed…….

“–Puhah. You’ve been messing around.”

Huff, Abigail frowned.

“That’s not good, is it?”

I am trying to explain my actions and it seems so random that I wonder if I am an idiot.

“That gang office thing, the one that was all over the news. I didn’t realize it was Gevaudan…….”

Abigail let out a drunken sigh and then asked, “Why did you attack the gang?”

“I needed the money to buy Natsuki. But in the end, the drugs I took from Sludge are still over there, untouched.”

I pointed to a large white sack, which was placed carelessly on the floor. Cartridges of drugs were spilling out of the half-open bag onto the floor.

Even with all that, none of the three of us were using them, and we were all three healthy people.

“What do you mean, ‘buy Natsuki’?”

“I mean it as it is. Because I needed some support while I was in town.”

“I’ll ask you again, what do you mean, buy?”

Zummmm …… Abigail now emits a grim aura …….

I almost succumb to the pressure and hurriedly try to change the subject.

“Oh, and what was Abigail doing? I saw you in the newspaper.”

“………… you read that article?”

Abigail has a complicated look on her face.

“Yeah. I’m sure that was enough to keep AASPINT from pulling something stupid. It was a well-calculated article. You gave them the first strike with a journalist pen. Impressive tact. You are a smart woman after all. Well done, Elite.”

“………….right?”

Abigail looked like she wanted to say something in response to my brazen endorsement, but she didn’t seem to be offended and got on the subject.

Abigail’s story was like this. She escaped while I was on a rampage in Faymbaum. She made it out safely. She then retraced the route I had taken and reached the base. There she established a partnership with Niblo.

“Speaking of which, how do you know Niblo’s name?”

“What ……you mean Niblo can talk?”

As I cocked my head, Abigail called Niblo.

Niblo climbed up on the table and began to dance around, tapping the table.

— me, big-sis, protect, boss, praise —

Oh …….

“Niblo, you can use morse code?”

–Yes, boss —

Immediately, I raised my palm toward Niblo.

“……Well done, Second class private Niblo. For this achievement, I am promoting you to first-class private.”

Niblo, who reacted to my attempt at a proper speech, struck a powerful, gut-pose. I could hear the cool music playing behind his back.

“Maybe diamonds can use morse code too?”

Niblo made an x pose.

“Why just Niblo?”

“Niblo and the others seem to be a race called the , and they are messenger familiars in the service of Titania.”

“Hee.”

A phase prompts her to continue.

“I’ve heard that Familiars serve the person who named them, and at the same time, they randomly inherit the master’s skills. So Niblo was named by you and inherited your Morse code skill. Presumably, it also allows him to understand human speech.”

“Heeh.”

I was deeply impressed.

But that’s mean–.

“Is my Morse code treated as a skill?”

“I don’t know how that works either, but it sounds like it does. Niblo doesn’t really understand it either, but now there are two familiars at the same time.”

“Ho-ho.”

I was somewhat pleased with the implication that he was my messenger, so I patted Niblo on the back after a long time. His squatting dance gained momentum with excitement.

–But I hadn’t forgotten Niblo’s refusal to obey my orders earlier in the church. I’m the type of person who holds onto resentment until I get it out of my system. Someday I’ll give him a taste of what being demoted is like.

While I was formulating my dark plan in my mind, Abigail’s story continued.

Then she leaves the letter at the base and moves with Niblo to Fort 88. They had something they wanted to check out. That is, about me.

Sure enough, her current position is like walking on thin ice. She says she is being targeted by AASPINT. The other party is likely to be a man named Damien. He’s the one who set Abigail up.

In addition, she has been under protection by the head of Fort 88, Lieutenant General Penrose, who has hinted that she might have information on the alien city, and if she doesn’t tell him soon, she will be in trouble.

Moreover, for some reason, she is being targeted by the gangs.

“I can understand AASPINT and Fort, but I don’t understand the gang.”

Abigail crosses her arms and groans.

“I think it’s something to do with the local government, isn’t it? the gang and they are connected.”

“Really?”

She looked surprised at my words.

“Rumor at the time was that …… originally, there was only a casino here in the slums. It was supposedly run by a gang called the Sand Brotherhood. Then one day a gang called the Sludge Club appeared, and the two gangs got into a situation where they had to fight each other. Now Sand is the casino. Sludge is a drug. I’m wondering if the emerging of Sludge is connected to the Fort self-government.”

“The Fort and the gangs are ……”

“In the first place, how do they even have access to that large quantities of drugs? You can’t do that without systematic support. It’s not like running a casino. There is no way Sludge is backed by anything but the government.”

“Why would Fort do that?”

“Drugs are not all bad for the Fort. After Sludge’s rise to power, the soldiers’ faces have clearly brightened.”

“Do they condone drugs just for the sake of recreation for the soldiers?”

“From the safe and secure central, it might seem crazy. But here it can be a saving grace. Forced to be on the constant battlefield from morning to night all year round, their minds are in a constant state of overheating. Alcohol, drugs, and women. Without these, they could break down at any moment. Even if they become crippled by overdose, the fact that they can be easily disposed of by throwing them into the battlefield is a big part of it. You can use drugs, but you have an implicit duty to control them properly.

“No way, this is so messed up”

She seems to have a hard time holding her word.

” You know, here in hell common sense prevails, Abigail may not believe it, but it’s really quite reasonable. Or at least in terms of pushing back an alien invasion. The enemy is strong. So we have to push the limits. We have to push all the boundaries with all the resources we have.”

I pointed to a bag full of drugs.

“Drugs are no different than eating a nutritious meal. It just replenishes the cells with chemicals. Even the central can’t afford to lose the strength of the Fort because of the establishment. They can’t complain too much. If anyone wants to be picky about the Fort’s rules, they should make the war situation better before they say so.”

She looked bitter and shook her head in dismay.