Suddenly, Scotch's phone buzzed with a text. He opened it, a flicker of shock in his eyes.
The message read:
Scotch, look after Stelle and keep her under surveillance. Report her every move, daily! —from Gin.
Next morning, around eight, Stelle's eyes were still closed when a mouth-watering aroma coaxed her awake.
She cracked her eyes open, sniffed the Air, and realized her stomach—now empty after the night—was drumming for breakfast.
She sped through washing up; within minutes she was at the table, clothes unchanged, waiting for Scotch to serve breakfast.
"Gin mentioned you prefer Chinese food, so I tried some Chinese pastries. First attempt—no idea how they taste," Scotch said, setting down the plates with a sheepish smile.
"Scotch, you're too modest!" Stelle gulped down a xiaolongbao and praised, "It's delicious!"
"Glad you like it." Scotch sat, sampling one himself. "The filling's a touch salty; I'll use less salt next time."
"By the way, Stelle, I'm surprised you enjoy Chinese cuisine. Did you try it while working with Miss Himeko?"
Head down, Stelle answered between bites, "Mm, Himeko and I once detoured to a place with an alley full of amazing food. Kafka suggested the detour, actually."
Scotch: "Detour? So you weren't planning to go there. Why did Kafka reroute you?"
Stelle: "To save Ren—Kafka's partner. Wanted posters for them blanketed every street. We almost got arrested as accomplices!"
"Wanted posters?!" Scotch exclaimed.
Stelle nodded. "Yep, Kafka and company are pretty notorious."
Scotch: "..." Notorious? How had he never heard the name Kafka? Clearly, they were no good.
After breakfast, with no missions today, Scotch cleared up and prepared to take Stelle shopping for clothes and daily necessities.
Gin had dumped a whole person on him yesterday without supplies; Scotch had to start from scratch—he could hardly expect a girl to use his things.
But speaking of shopping, Scotch looked at Stelle. "Stelle, do you have money?" Don't tell me Gin didn't give her any and I'll have to foot the bill?!
Stelle: "Of course I have money. Before Kafka left she gave me a card with funds on it."
She'd checked once—so many Zeros she wouldn't need to worry about cash for a while.
Truly, Kafka is one great mom!
Stelle: "Scotch, don't worry—even if I run out, I'll find a job and earn my keep. I won't mooch."
Scotch: "..."
Working for money… It was the first time he'd heard such a normal way to earn cash inside the organization. Apart from Zero using part-time jobs to gather intel, everyone else's methods were illegal.
Scotch studied Stelle with complicated eyes, wondering how long she could hold on to that idea inside the Org.
Still, he hoped the day those clear eyes were stained with blood would come as late as possible