Chapter 8
Vodka looked like he wanted to sever ties with him.
Asuka Kazuya was only sad for 0.1 seconds before devising a plan to regain his dignity by burning Gin’s hair. He even wrote a series of proposals, but Vermouth confiscated them before he could implement them.
Vermouth was truly a terrifying woman.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you, Calvados?” In front of a table full of props, Vermouth propped her chin, smiling at him. “Bourbon told me you shot Matsumoto-kun in the head. You clearly had many ways to torture him for information, but you chose the one least likely to leave him alive.”
Asuka Kazuya looked up, stopping his paper airplane folding.
He stared into Vermouth’s eyes for a moment, then leaned back.
“Bourbon also disappeared after fighting him. Why don’t you suspect Bourbon?”
Vermouth noticed his small movement, shrugging indifferently: “Bourbon is a mystery. I don’t know where he is now either.”
So, now being mysterious was a privilege?
Why did Gin call him to get back when he went out for a bike ride, but it didn’t apply to Bourbon?
Asuka Kazuya felt unbalanced, instantly condemning her solemnly: “Oh my god, Vermouth, how can you not care about your colleagues at all? What if something happened to Bourbon?”
Vermouth saw through his little trick, but glancing at the surveillance camera, she still played along.
“Is that so?” Vermouth replied. “Then why don’t we put a locator on Bourbon? That way, you’ll know at a glance.”
Asuka Kazuya: “…”
Asuka Kazuya: “You said it all, what else can I say?”
His prepared string of annoying remarks had no room to be used. Asuka Kazuya, expressionless, slapped the disguise props onto his face.
Calvados was actually a quick learner.
Vermouth still remembered when he first joined, insisting that Rum’s hair affected his luck, then secretly pulling out his hair while he was sleeping.
Rum specifically took him for an IQ test, the results were clear—Calvados was just being annoying.
From then on, Rum simply shaved his head.
The reason was that Calvados didn’t like most of the members in the organization. He had a special ability, and Tequila, tortured and seeking revenge, retaliated against him once, only to roll all the way to the police station the next day.
If it wasn’t necessary, Vermouth certainly didn’t want to provoke him.
Besides, she found Calvados more interesting than the others in the organization. Not everyone could annoy both Rum and Gin so much that they couldn’t sleep at night.
“But what’s the use of this?” After fiddling for a while, Asuka Kazuya pointed at the things on his face. “It comes off with a single tug. The police nowadays don’t use violence.”
Vermouth smiled: “So I never intended for you to use these things. Didn’t you hate Bourbon for that reason?”
Leaning halfway across the table, under Asuka Kazuya’s wary gaze, Vermouth stood up.
“Honey, we’re on the same side.”
Vermouth was a very amazing person.
Asuka Kazuya stared at the long-haired version of Bourbon in the mirror for a while, then, as if remembering something, ran off to find Gin.
Gin was wearing glasses, quietly writing a report. He looked up to see something disgusting.
Vermouth counted. Ten minutes later, when Calvados came out of the room, he was soaking wet, clearly Gin had made him wash his face.
Vermouth naturally received a warning from Gin.
But she didn’t mind, instead reaching an agreement with Calvados: “So, Calvados, now you’re not worried that Gin prefers Bourbon over you, right?”
Asuka Kazuya was exceptionally happy after getting revenge on Gin. He was still spitting out soap bubbles when he heard this and immediately shook hands with Vermouth: “I misunderstood you before, Vermouth. You’re such a good person.”
Hahahahaha.
Vodka, forgetting his previous humiliation, wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to, his shoulders shaking, his entire face contorted, looking like he was having a seizure.
Gin looked at the three of them, feeling like he was looking at three dead people.
This was probably why “that gentleman” transferred him to Japan. Without Gin, the base would sooner or later become a comedy troupe thanks to these people.
“Stop laughing, Vodka.” Asuka Kazuya struck while the iron was hot, closing his eyes solemnly. “Can’t you see that Big Brother’s blood pressure is rising because of you? As expected, I’m the only one in the organization who cares about Big Brother.”
Vodka: “…”
Vodka: You’re faking it! Keep faking it!
Asuka Kazuya smiled strangely and ran away before Vodka could hit him. His lounge was on the third floor of the base. Since he had renovated it himself, he specifically used soundproofing materials.
After looking around to make sure no one had foolishly installed eavesdropping devices, Asuka Kazuya locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief.
He skillfully took out a disposable phone, inserted the SIM card, and replied to the message the executive officer had sent him earlier.
The content was nothing more than some recent developments in the organization. Asuka Kazuya kept blood samples from each time the drug’s effects kicked in, occasionally sending some out when Gin wasn’t paying attention.
“You mean the Port Mafia might cooperate with the organization recently?” The executive officer’s voice on the other end of the phone was steady, immediately taking this matter seriously. “I understand, continue observing, don’t act rashly yet.”
“And Matsumoto, I’ll negotiate with Public Security. Eliminating the suspicions of others in the organization is the most important thing right now.”
Asuka Kazuya opened his mouth, wanting to ask how they planned to handle the matter of the body and his family, but the executive officer’s tone had already given him the answer.
In the face of greater interests, some things could be sacrificed.
This was also one of the reasons why Asuka Kazuya had accepted this job. The previously sent undercover agent had been eliminated by Rum within a few days. Asuka Kazuya was worried that the Special Abilities Division wouldn’t take action, so he felt reassured only after accepting it himself.
“Can you look into Bourbon for me?”
Asuka Kazuya leaned against the bathroom doorframe, holding his phone in one hand, the other hand fiddling with the chips he had brought from the club in his pocket.
“Matsumoto-senpai told me to get along well with him before he died.”
“Of course.” There seemed to be someone else at the Special Abilities Division. Asuka Kazuya heard the executive officer instructing someone, before finally promising, “Anything else?”
“Hmm…”
Asuka Kazuya paused.
He looked at himself in the mirror, feeling lost.
After a few seconds, he relaxed his tightly pursed lips.
“Although I don’t know why, Dazai seems to think I know A5158.”
A5158 was the Special Abilities Division’s designation for the gravity manipulator, Nakahara Chuuya. Asuka Kazuya really had no such memory. He had suffered a head injury when he was young, and some of the things in the slums were told to him later by Chief Taneda.
“…”
The executive officer was surprised by this.
“A5158 joined the Port Mafia recently. [No Longer Human] is a cunning fellow, he might be trying to extract information.”
Then came the sound of a pen being put down.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “Kazuya, I’ll report this matter to the higher-ups.”
The communication ended there. Asuka Kazuya broke the SIM card and flushed it down the toilet along with the disposable phone.
He touched his forehead, noticing that his temperature had gone down.
“Calvados.”
There was a knock on the door. Asuka Kazuya turned around and saw Scotch’s face when he opened the door.
His hair wasn’t dry, and his shirt was slightly damp. Calvados looked listless, standing there staring at him motionlessly.
Scotch was stunned, momentarily unsure what had happened to him.
“The report for this mission.” Scotch came to his senses, handing over the documents in his hand. “Remember to sign it, Rum said to submit it as soon as possible.”
Asuka Kazuya reached out.
“My signature is useless,” he said. “Ever since I approved a million for Chianti to buy a car last time, Rum confiscated my signing authority.”
Chianti’s sports car was flashy and cool, a black body with red butterflies painted on it, even Gin’s Porsche paled in comparison.
Scotch: “…”
Scotch: “So why did you approve a million for Chianti?”
“She wanted to buy it, so she bought it.” Asuka Kazuya took the documents and casually flipped through them. “It’s not my money anyway.”
…That seemed reasonable.
Scotch fell silent, wanting to say something more, but saw Calvados put the documents away.
“I’ll take it to Gin to sign later,” Asuka Kazuya replied. “You go rest, there’s another mission tonight.”
Scotch didn’t refuse, looking down at the hand extended towards him.
“Do you have anything to eat?” Asuka Kazuya’s tone was sincere. “A sparrow ate my lunch.”
“…”
The longer he spent with him, the more Scotch felt that Calvados wasn’t an Earth creature. He sighed, probably knowing that he would have to spend a long time with him in the future, and finally placed his own dinner in Calvados’s palm.
“There are nuts,” Scotch considerately reminded. “If you’re allergic, it’s best not to try them.”
He left after saying that, not wanting to talk more.
Asuka Kazuya responded with an “Oh,” went to the second floor, and slipped into Gin’s lounge as before.
In the face of absolute luck, passwords and locks were mere decorations. Gin’s temple twitched. He simply closed his laptop, turning to look at him impatiently.
Asuka Kazuya’s actions were also straightforward.
He held the compressed biscuit to Gin’s mouth, his expression innocent: “Take a bite.”
Gin narrowed his eyes, asking what he was up to again.
As the saying goes, one either explodes in silence or perishes in silence.
Asuka Kazuya nodded, speaking righteously: “It’s nothing.”
“I just want to see if they poisoned it.”
