Chapter 52
“Nelly. You wash up first.”
“…I’m tired, so I’ll just take a quick shower.”
Usagi dragged her suitcase full of clothes and headed to the luxurious bathroom.
Whether the intruders lacked time or the conditions were poor, the bathroom, where they would spend less time than the bedroom, had no cameras and only listening devices.
It became a space that allowed for a little slack.
“Phew.”
Usagi took off her dress, hung it up roughly, and stared into the mirror wearing underwear that barely qualified as such.
She checked the condition of her prosthetic left arm and chewed over the situation.
“…This is a problem. A huge problem.”
Her mind grew faint at this unimaginable scenario.
Because she had to act like a married couple with Max, not just in Public, but in a closed room.
Having to display a secret private life in a place devoid of other people’s gazes was on a completely different level of intensity.
It was an incredibly daunting situation.
‘I don’t even know how to do that in the first place.’
The Mercenary Usagi, who had devoted her entire life to Man-Sang-Ryu Ninjutsu training and labor. That was Hoshikawa Yukina.
Of course, she had basic sexual knowledge, but no experience. She had never even harbored fantasies about relationships between men and women.
She had simply been too hard-pressed living day to day, without even a moment to catch her Breath. She had lived her life completely disconnected from concepts like youth or romance.
‘Let’s just wash up first.’
Cutting off her thoughts, she entered the ridiculously spacious shower stall and turned the Handle.
Whoosh! Hot water poured down like a waterfall. The strong water pressure felt good.
She meticulously removed her makeup and cleaned her entire body. Out of habit, her shower was a quick affair.
She stepped out, dried her body and hair, and opened her suitcase.
“?”
Usagi’s face flushed with embarrassment as she rummaged around looking for clothes to wear as pajamas.
“How am I supposed to wear something like this…?”
The underwear provided by the Association was all flashy, with a surface area smaller than her palm.
“Do people normally wear things like this?”
She borrowed one of Max’s shirts and wore it over the underwear that had the most coverage.
It was a relief that he had plenty of spare shirts.
“…”
Now all she had to do was leave the bathroom, but her feet were glued to the floor and wouldn’t move.
She kept looking in the mirror.
Standing in front of a man in such an embarrassing outfit was mortifying enough, but the biggest problem was that Hoshikawa Yukina’s role was Max’s wife.
If Max pushed the mood and wanted to be intimate, she couldn’t avoid it.
Refusing would be a shortcut to ruining the request. It would result in instantly destroying the trust she had built up with the Association.
“I am a professional. I have to be a professional. Still…”
She didn’t want it to be like this.
They could curse her as a rotten Mercenary and Ninja lacking professionalism.
She just didn’t want to do anything that would make her Younger Sibling sad when she eventually left her sickbed and listened to the stories of the days that had passed.
‘Let’s find a breakthrough.’
Usagi knew men’s desires very well.
There were bastards who would keep their eyes glued to her cleavage even even as a blade was lodged in their necks. And when she went out for a Part-time Job on her days off from requests, her work had been paralyzed by the barrage of flirtations.
‘But if it’s Max.’
The thought that he might be different filled her head.
Even when they pressed their bodies together at the gala, Max had poured all his attention into carrying out the request.
It probably meant she wasn’t Max’s type.
‘There’s no guarantee Max is even straight in the first place.’
Just as she tried to force her legs to move, thinking she shouldn’t delay any longer.
‘…’
A sharp emotion brushed past Yukina’s consciousness.
A vivid yet terrible self-loathing she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Ah.”
Coldness washed over her in an instant, systematically refuting the thoughts she had just conjured up.
Arbitrarily leaning on someone else’s conscience and harboring hope just because she was cornered - was that even a plausible notion in Haze?
And for someone who made a living as a Mercenary, no less.
She found herself disgusting and pathetic. The realization made her nauseous.
‘Let’s go out…’
With the intention of checking the situation first, Yukina stepped out of the bathroom in her baggy attire.
Max, who had taken off his top and was hanging up his suit, threw a glance toward Usagi.
Perhaps surprised by her outfit, his eyes widened briefly before he clenched his teeth and held himself back.
Likewise, Yukina was also surprised.
She had felt it when they were pressed together, but Max had a highly trained body for a mage.
Looking back, he had shown seasoned movements during the Harbor Request as well.
“Nelly. Is the Hotel bathroom okay here?”
“…It’s decent enough.”
“I’ll wash up quickly and come out too, so just rest comfortably.”
The sound of water could be heard from the bathroom.
Yukina lay down on the bed and pulled up the covers.
It would be nice to fall asleep like this, but her eyes were wide awake from the tension.
The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and the sound of a hair dryer could be heard. Max’s washing speed was faster than hers.
“Ah, that’s refreshing!”
As if on cue, Max, wearing only his underwear, sat on the edge of the bed and patted his thighs.
“Nelly. You said your feet hurt earlier, right? Put your legs up here. I’ll give you a massage.”
“Honey. Today, um…”
“Don’t worry! I can read the room now! After going so crazy yesterday, do you think I’d exhaust my Nelly again today? Especially when you gave me the signal twice that you were tired?”
Max lifted Usagi’s stiff legs and placed them on his thighs.
“I’m going to live with my Nelly for the rest of my life, so I can’t be a terrible husband who can’t hold back for one day! Let’s see if I can score some points today~”
He pressed firmly on her muscles while fabricating trivial small talk.
Max’s hands only wandered around her calves and the soles of her feet, never once moving up to her thighs.
It was a dry, businesslike touch that pursued the efficiency of a massage. There was no sleazy ulterior motive felt from his fingertips.
Yukina felt her mind calming down. She was certain that she had shown her anxiety and worry to Max.
“…Honey.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Hoshikawa Yukina met his gaze and raised the corners of her mouth.
It was the most natural smile Max had seen from Usagi so far. It was beautiful enough to evoke admiration.
Max finished the massage, likewise smiling.
“Shall we go to sleep soon? Let’s wake up early tomorrow and go eat breakfast.”
“Yeah. You lie down quickly too, Honey.”
At Usagi’s gesture and permission, Max offered his arm as a pillow.
Max pulled her prosthetic arm and placed it on his chest so Usagi wouldn’t have to worry about it.
“As expected, Nelly’s prosthetic arm is nice and cool. I do run a bit hot, after all.”
“Hehe.”
The two hugged each other, pressing their foreheads together in attire that was practically nakedness.
They turned off the lights and closed their eyes, but both of their minds were clear.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
It reached Usagi’s ears. The sound of Max’s heart picking up speed.
She could feel it through her skin. The inevitable changes and heat occurring in Max’s body.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t disgusting at all. She came to understand many things.
Ah, Max was just holding it in for her.
Even if he had tried to forcefully relieve his desires, there was no one to curse him, yet he hadn’t even attempted it. He had read her condition and endured, not letting himself be swayed by desire.
‘The 'In' (忍) of patience, central to Ninjutsu… Max might have more talent as a Ninja than I do.’
Reading Max’s consideration, Yukina’s heart melted softly.
At the same time.
“…Arrhythmia?”
Her heart pounded as if it were broken.
Heat laden with emotion wafted up from Yukina’s cheeks.
‘I don’t know if I feel comfortable or uncomfortable…’
As her tension unraveled, a wave of sleepiness washed over her. Unconsciously, Usagi burrowed deeper into Max’s embrace.
Max patted Usagi’s back with a steady rhythm.
“Mmm, Honey…”
That day, Hoshikawa Yukina was able to get a comfortable, deep sleep for the first time in a long while.
At the same time, Flora Crimsonhowl, who was studying, and Ellen Clements, who was organizing her merchandise, simultaneously perceived an indescribable sensation and looked out their windows.
* * *
Receiving Geum San’s report, Geum Jong-Hwa stroked his chin.
“There’s nothing particularly strange about their behavior?”
“Yes. The guest room is currently under surveillance. I ordered them to notify me immediately if there are any unusual developments.”
“What about the Background check on the information written on the business card?”
“We’ve also verified the identity of Chris Garland, the fourth son of the Anchor Security Chairman. The slump in his new business is also confirmed.”
“So you’re saying it’s the undeniable truth that he went around handing out business cards to find work, since there are many Corporation figures at the Corporate Gala.”
At Geum Jong-Hwa’s muttering, Geum San neither affirmed nor denied it. It wasn’t an area where he dared to add his own words.
“It makes sense. There’s nothing strange about it.”
However, there was no sense of relief. He hadn’t found any tangible evidence, but something still felt off.
Trusting his own intuition, Geum Jong-Hwa still couldn’t discard his suspicions.
“Geum San. You worked hard today.”
“Not at all.”
“Go back and rest for now. Continue to monitor those two tomorrow as well.”
“Yes, sir!”
After Geum San bowed politely and withdrew.
In the quieted room, Geum Jong-Hwa continued his contemplation while tapping his scabbard.
‘Since I can’t make a judgment, simply cutting them down would be one method, but.’
Killing them and dealing with the aftermath would be nothing.
But the real problem lay elsewhere.
Even if he handled it quietly, if it became known that a death occurred at the Corporate Gala, the corporations and families that were planning to join might defect.
Chris Garland had been acting exceptionally conspicuously, hadn’t he?
If someone noticed his absence or contacted him to actually give him work, a difficult situation could arise.
“Should I pin a crime on them that everyone would accept and then dispose of them?”
He thought about it for a moment before dismissing this as well.
Blood flowing at the Corporate Gala itself was not the direction the higher-ups desired.
They needed to present the newly seated figures with the perception that this gathering was safe and enjoyable, bringing them to the point where they couldn’t back out.
That was why Geum Jong-Hwa had mediated the dispute between Nagayama Shunichi and Toby Steiger.
“What a headache.”
Not being able to use a primal solution was the biggest stress.
The more he agonized over it like this, the more he wanted to cut someone down with his sword. His grip repeatedly tightened and loosened around the sword’s hilt.
“I should go out for a brief stroll.”
Geum Jong-Hwa took out his vehicle and headed to the Lower District alone.
The next morning.
Returning with a much more refreshed complexion, Geum Jong-Hwa continued his inspections for the final day of the Corporate Gala.