Chapter 64

“Ow, hot.”

After a moment of hesitation beneath the showerhead, Erabelle edged farther under the spray.

She squeezed body wash onto a shower puff and scrubbed herself thoroughly while brushing her teeth. Then, while shampooing her hair, she washed her face and rinsed her mouth, cutting the whole routine down to half the time.

“What the... Why are you out already?”

Freshly scrubbed, she stepped out to find Sanche watching TV with a grave expression—and immediately picking another fight.

“Did you actually wash?!”

Instead of answering, Erabelle attacked her hair with a towel.

“Ah! Don’t do that!”

“Move. I need to put my socks on.”

“You’re not going to dry your hair?”

“No.”

“Why not? It’s dripping!”

It would dry on its own anyway, so why bother? Letting his nagging wash over her, she issued a warning.

“Go start the car. Or I’m going back to bed.”

“Ugh! I should’ve kept my mouth shut!”

Grumbling all the while, Sanche still grabbed the keys and headed out. Because she really might go back to bed.

Once he was gone, Erabelle opened a drawer and took out a clear plastic pill case.

Inside were several dark red tablets. She had nearly finished them over the course of her leave; only a couple remained.

She shook one into her palm.

For a moment, she stared at the pill. It was the same color as the IV solution she had received throughout her hospital stay.

Then she swallowed it dry.

A faint metallic tang, like blood, brushed her nose.

“...”

From the television Sanche had left on, the news droned on in a grave voice.

“[...] With rifts continuing to appear, conflict zones are expected to expand, while monsters are displaying abnormal behavior, leaving citizens increasingly uneasy. Experts are warning of the possibility of a second Wave...”

In other words, things were only getting worse.

This far from the conflict zones, there was no way to know anything beyond what the broadcasts reported. Even Camillia seemed too busy to contact.

Well, I’ll find out once I’m back on duty.

Erabelle put the pill case back in the drawer, stepped out of the room, and immediately threw both arms over her face.

“Ugh!”

Too bright.

Sunlight flooded through the broad corridor windows. Like mold recoiling from the sun, she twisted away from it while the Dogs watched her with looks of disgust.

Erabelle gave them a meek smile.

“Hello.”

“Yes. It’s been a very long time.”

They sounded genuinely sick of her.

“...Even mold would be more active than that.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Erabelle pretended not to hear.

Aside from the Count, who had been warned in advance about the complications surrounding their identities, no one knew the Dogs were staying here. Erabelle herself had seen them so rarely that she had nearly forgotten about them.

And so, on the twenty-eighth day of her leave, she stepped outside for the first time.

***

“Feels good to be out, right? Huh? People need sunlight to live.”

If he knew what was following them, he would never say it felt good.

Letting Sanche’s chatter go in one ear and out the other, Erabelle rested her head against the car window and let the wind batter her face like a dog enjoying a drive.

Well.

The weather was nice.

Deep green trees lined the quiet road. Sunlight flickered through the leaves, and overhead stretched a clear, piercing blue sky.

Sanche drove them to the seaside park where the theater was located.

Being chauffeured around by the family’s one and only precious heir... other people might have had something to say about it, but within the Vermilion household, there was no one who could object.

After all, the person who disliked Erabelle most in the main house was the very same Sanche now yammering away beside her.

“It’s nice being outside, right? Yeah?”

Ignoring his persistent demands for agreement, Erabelle let the cold wind dry her damp hair.

Then she stiffened.

“...What?”

Because something she absolutely could not ignore had just reached her ears.

“What exactly did the Count do?”

“He’s looking for a match for you.”

Sanche glanced sideways at her, carefully gauging her reaction.

Of course.

There had to be a reason the brat had suddenly thrown such a fit about getting her out of the house.

“I’m just warning you in advance. Otherwise you’ll have a meltdown in front of Father—hey, don’t hit me! I’m driving! We’ll crash!”

After all that squawking, Sanche switched tactics and tried persuasion.

“It’s time you settled down. Quit that pointless military life and get married. Honestly, Father’s been patient enough.”

“What kind of nonsense is that... Who even gets married at my age?”

In this world, people usually married around sixty. Unmodified humans lived an average of 170 to 180 years, so even sixty was considered early.

“That’s because you’re a Transferee, so—ow! Stop hitting me! Stop!”

Erabelle smacked him on the back of the head and grimaced.

“Useless. All of it.”

“Useless? What you’re doing is useless! Why are you even a soldier with a body full of defects? Your body’s trash, so you should have kids while you’re still young—ow! Stop! Aagh!!”

Some nonsense could only be cured with a beating.

So she hit him again.

“That hurts!”

“Shut up. No wonder I haven’t seen the Count’s face lately.”

“That’s because you never come out of your room.”

It sounded as though he were defending the Count, but it was true that the Count had recently begun quietly avoiding his adopted daughter.

“Enough. Next time you see your dad, tell him I’m not going on any blind dates.”

“He’s your dad too!”

“Whatever. Just tell him.”

Sanche met Erabelle’s scowl with one of his own, looking every bit as offended.

“Are you still living like you’re ready to leave at any moment?”

“Leave what?”

The Dogs can hear all of this...

They probably already knew she was a Transferee. Even so, she had no desire to announce it aloud.

“It’s not like that. Just pass on the message.”

“If it’s not that, then what is it?”

“I’m staying single for life.”

“What?”

Sanche’s face scrunched up as though his pride had been wounded, and he snorted.

“You like men that much, and you’re staying single for life?”

“I do not like men!”

Lately, people kept accusing her of being some kind of flirt with absolutely no evidence. Erabelle bristled.

“You do. You stan, what, a dozen male celebrities?”

“Celebrities are celebrities! Do celebrities even count as men? Whatever. If someone wants to get married so badly, tell the Count to do it himself. He’s single too. Who is he to tell me to marry?”

Sanche shook his head at her irritation.

“You’re probably the only person alive who talks to Father like that. You do realize he rules this planetary system, right?”

“...I’m your sister, brat. Your sister.”

“Ah! Don’t hit me!!”

The siblings glared at each other with undisguised hostility.

Barely ten minutes into sharing a car, they were already thoroughly sick of one another.

“Just give me some cash and get lost.”

The seaside park was quiet.

There were still people around, though, so Erabelle extorted some pocket money from Sanche and then tried to put distance between them when he continued trailing after her.

The Vermilion family could not compare to the great central nobles who ruled anywhere from several to dozens of planetary systems, but the Count’s house still governed this one.

To the people who lived here, the Count was far more intimidating than some distant noble in the capital.

Given Erabelle’s cautious, safety-first nature, the Vermilion count’s house was not somewhere she would have willingly gone near either.

She had simply been dragged into it and never managed to escape.

“What are you, a gangster?”

“People are staring because of you. You’re making a scene, so let’s split up here. Why are you even following me in the first place?”

“You think they wouldn’t stare if I wasn’t here? And what do you mean, following you? I’m the one who asked you to come out!!”

“Well, we’re out now. So go away.”

Erabelle held out her palm.

Sanche’s face twisted in outrage.

“You little...! I’m watching the movie too!”

“The only entertaining thing about this movie is James’s face.”

“Ah! I said I’m watching it!”

“The runtime is ridiculous. Three hours.”

“I... I’m still watching!”

He was absolutely going to regret it, but Sanche remained stubborn to the bitter end.

Apparently, spending too much time in the hospital had left lasting side effects.

“Then run an RBD.”

“What’s that?”

“Recognition Breakdown Disk.”

“...Isn’t that military equipment?”

“You run factories for the military too.”

“That’s for wartime stockpiles. What kind of life are you even living?”

“...Go buy me a beer. Pistis.”

Having run out of arguments, Erabelle abruptly changed the subject and headed toward a nearby bench.

Behind her, Sanche exploded again.

“Are you insane? A patient drinking beer?!”

“I was discharged ages ago. Pistis beer. Or I’m taking a cab home.”

“Argh! Do whatever you want!”

He snapped at her, but he would bring it anyway.

Otherwise, she really would go home and sleep.

Yawning widely, Erabelle dropped onto a wooden bench with a decent view.

Silver scales of light shimmered across the deep blue sea.

She exhaled slowly at the distant sound of whales and slumped against the backrest.

Being near the ocean really was nice.