After returning to his bedroom, Ritsu changed out of his jacket into clean clothes. The ones that had been torn were beyond saving, so he tossed them straight into the trash without bothering to wash them. Leaving the research institute, he followed his navigation through the early-morning streets, increasingly convinced that he should buy a car for transportation.
Sekido Town, 3-chome 4, Moonlight Bar.
It was Ritsu's first time in a place like this. Mainly because he wasn't even of legal drinking age yet, it would be absurd to come here just to snack on bar platters or drink beverages that cost two or three times more than those at a convenience store.
The dim yellow lighting created a mellow atmosphere. There was none of the deafening music he had expected, just a young man on stage playing "Because Of You" on a saxophone.
His gaze fell on a seat in the corner. Just as he was about to head over, a sultry woman with long wine-red curls approached him. With practiced ease, she draped her hand over his shoulder, only to be met with an unexpectedly strong reaction.
Almost instinctively, Ritsu grabbed her wrist, his expression turning several degrees colder.
"Hey there, handsome, no need to be so jumpy. I thought you were the herbivore type… didn't expect you to be a carnivore?"
Herbivore? Carnivore? What nonsense.
Ritsu let go of her hand with clear disdain and took a step back, saying coldly, "Please keep your distance, miss. The cheap perfume you're wearing… I'm allergic."
"W-What? This is a limited-edition fragrance, okay?!"
He didn't care. If he didn't like the smell, it was cheap, simple as that. And for women who approached him with obvious ulterior motives, he felt both physical and psychological disgust. Walking past her, he headed toward the corner seat. Just as he pulled out the chair to sit down, he caught a strong whiff of tobacco.
How many cigarettes had Gin smoked sitting here? It was practically choking him.
"I saw everything, Macallan~" Vodka said with a grin, holding a Sledgehammer cocktail. Even though his eyes and brows weren't visible, it was obvious from his tone that he was waggling them playfully.
Ritsu pulled out the chair and sat down, careful not to strain the right side of his body. The most irritating part about that woman earlier was that she had touched his right shoulder… it still hurt.
Reaching into his pocket with his left hand, he took out a USB drive and handed it over. "I already cracked the file's password using a computer. It's 790901."
After putting away the USB drive, Gin's gaze shifted to Ritsu's right shoulder. "How's the injury?"
Surprisingly, even someone as cold-blooded as Gin had moments of concern. Perhaps he simply considered Ritsu a rare subordinate who was obedient and didn't cause trouble.
"Miyano already stitched it up. She said the stitches can come out in ten days."
"Are you close with Miyano?"
How should he interpret that question?
Ritsu pressed his lips together, sneaking a glance at Gin. His expression was calm, he didn't seem upset at all. So Ritsu replied, "We're just ordinary friends. Since we're working on restarting APTX4869, we've had plenty of academic discussions. Talking more naturally led to getting along decently."
Gin nodded. "Try to build a good relationship with her. She's very valuable to the organization. You should know her parents were the primary developers of APTX4869, right?"
"Yes. But there's something I'm curious about."
"Go on."
"APTX4869 has been successfully created before, right?"
Gin picked up his Bramble cocktail and took a sip. After a brief silence, he said, "Yes. What are you getting at?"
"I just wanted to confirm that. I'm a bit worried we won't be able to replicate it," Ritsu said, thinking about the drug's effects. "After all, what was made before was only a semi-finished product."
"For our operations team, APTX4869 is a very useful thing."
"…??"
Lighting a cigarette, Gin smirked. "It's a new type of poison. You'll understand once you make it."
A new type of poison?
Why did it sound like Gin didn't actually understand the drug very well? Ritsu recalled how he had seen the file, it had been transmitted directly to his computer, not brought in by Gin or Vodka.
In other words… Gin didn't truly understand APTX4869, and even regarded it simply as a new poison? Could it be that the incomplete or failed versions of APTX4869 were highly toxic?
Before the topic could go further, Ritsu cut it off. Seeing the atmosphere turn awkward, Vodka waved over a waiter and pushed the menu toward him.
"Macallan, want a drink?"
"I—"
Before Ritsu could refuse, Gin shot him a cold glance and casually flicked his cigarette into Vodka's half-finished Sledgehammer.
"He's not allowed to drink yet."
Vodka looked aggrieved. If he couldn't drink, fine but why ruin his drink too?
Ritsu's stomach was indeed a bit empty. Looking at the menu, and knowing he wasn't the one paying anyway, he said without hesitation, "I'll have a seafood fried rice… and a cola, please."
Ordering fried rice at a bar was quite unusual. Even the waiter seemed surprised, this was the first customer in months to order from the main dish section of the menu.
When the seafood fried rice arrived, the portion wasn't large, clearly intended as a bar snack.
Plump shrimp, scallops, squid tentacles, and diced asparagus were mixed with rice grains evenly coated in egg. A dash of white pepper enhanced the freshness. The dish was of surprisingly high quality, no worse than what you'd find in a restaurant.
Perhaps watching Ritsu eat so heartily awakened Vodka's own appetite, because he soon ordered the same dish for himself.
By the time Ritsu finished eating, Gin had already smoked his second cigarette. In a low voice, he said, "Head back early. Focus on recovering before taking on another mission."
"Yes, Gin-san." Ritsu stood up and politely nodded to both of them. "Then I'll take my leave."
"Wait."
"…??"
As Ritsu turned back, Gin swiftly removed the transmitter attached to him without a trace, saying indifferently, "Nothing. Go on."
Under the cover of night, Ritsu returned to the research institute. He even checked the lab to see whether Shiho had gone to sleep. Only after confirming no one was there did he return to his own room.
Since his shoulder couldn't get wet, showering was troublesome. He carefully washed only the lower half of his body, which still took quite a while.
Climbing into bed, he checked his inbox as usual, deleting everything after reading.
Thinking about how he had just gotten a free late-night meal and how Gin had removed the transmitter from him, he realized he could now find time to visit the National Police Agency and report on the past few months.
In a good mood, Ritsu deleted his alarm and went straight to sleep. There was no need to wake up early, he needed to focus on healing.
For the first time, he found himself hoping his injury would heal a little more slowly.
That way, he could avoid participating in another operations mission…
…and making even more mistakes.
----
Bonus chap @100