She suddenly dreamed.It was a night when, unusually, there was no mission, the day they dropped by a tavern with her family.‘Hey, I saw it, Aquila.’‘Saw what?’‘You getting confessed to by that Crow from the assault unit the other day.’‘And?’‘Pfft! Khff—!’Across the table, at the gray-haired boy swinging his short legs and teasing, Aquila only asked back, flat. The loud reaction came from beside her.The black-haired man hacked so hard he nearly sprayed his whiskey, and the boy snickered.‘That wasn’t the first time, was it? You’re popular. Even over in our intel unit, there’s more than a couple punks who try to pump me—asking if you’re seeing anyone. Little shits are, like, head over heels.’‘…That doesn’t matter. More than that, Gio. Why is your mouth getting filthier by the day? You didn’t talk like that before.’‘What’re you on about. I’ve always talked like this.’Watching the boy who started out teasing and ended up clicking his tongue like a thug, Aquila reached over and thumped the back of the man who still couldn’t stop coughing hard enough to make people stare.Seeing that natural gesture, the boy’s eyes immediately went hazy.‘Do you feel no embarrassment at all?’‘Mm… if Nero doesn’t stop coughing, I’ll be embarrassed in a minute. Nero, drink some water.’‘Kff— khm…’The man, calmed at last after drinking the water Aquila handed him, shot the boy a sour look.‘Gio, don’t say pointless crap.’‘What did I even say? Whatever I say, she never knows a thing. I’ve never met anyone this dense. How do you even do assassinations being that oblivious?’‘Grigio.’‘Mm, it’s true I’m dense enough I don’t realize someone’s feelings until they confess, but this topic ends here. I’d have preferred Nero didn’t know. It’s my subordinate; it’s awkward.’‘……’‘……’Grigio and Nero went silent at the same time. Aquila took a sip of beer, a step behind, and tilted her head as she finally grasped what their looks meant.‘…Why?’‘…Hey, Nero.’‘Enough. Don’t butt in—stay quiet…’‘Hang in there.’‘I said shut up.’Under the table, angry kicks flew. Dragging her chair back and away from the silent, lethal skirmish, Aquila was quietly widening the distance when the shop door opened and a green-haired slip of a girl ran in, flustered.‘Sorry, I’m late…!’‘Welcome, Ver. Good work.’‘Try showing up earlier. You’re the one who said today—Verde, you—urk! Nero, you bastard!’Unlike Aquila’s plain greeting, Grigio, who’d been giving the latecomer the side-eye, took a clean shot to the shin from Nero’s foot and ground his teeth.It was nothing new, so Verde sat by Grigio as if it were nothing. Then she ducked her head and set down what she’d brought in front of the boy muttering low curses.‘I’m late because I went to buy this. Gio, o— well, anyway, it’ll be nice to toast together, right?’‘…Hey.’‘Pfft.’At the pure-white bottle of milk set before his eyes, Grigio clenched his jaw, and Nero and Aquila clapped hands over their mouths. Even seeing the two of them shaking with barely contained laughter and the boy about to explode, Verde added brightly:‘They say the milk here is so good. A new recruit in our infiltration unit grew twenty centimeters drinking this place’s milk since he was little.’‘…Oh yeah. Next time we coordinate, send that ba— no, that guy. Such great intel deserves a personal. One-on-one. Lesson.’‘Okay, got it.’Maybe the dense one isn’t me—it’s Verde.Watching Grigio unable to snap at sweet, smiling Verde, even holding back his foul mouth, Aquila barely smothered her laugh with beer.Nero, who’d been watching the same funny scene, suddenly spoke to her.‘Aquila. Do you have someone you’ve set your heart on?’‘What? Why that, out of nowhere?’‘…I wondered if that’s why you turned down the confession.’‘Ah. Not particularly.’Surprised he’d ask, rare for him, Aquila still answered evenly.‘It’s just—I’m busy right now. Romance or whatever else, it won’t be late to start after the world we want comes.’‘…True.’Nero’s faint smile said he accepted that.‘You’re right. Helping His Highness Joshua make a “world with no slaves” matters more than anything.’‘Yeah… really.’‘Let’s do our best together.’‘Of course.’As she clinked her glass to his, Aquila murmured inside:‘Sorry, Nero.’She wasn’t oblivious. She prided herself on being quicker on the uptake and more realistic than anyone here.‘How many times has it been. And how many more are left.’The lies she’d told her family—and would have to keep telling…In the knife-edge peace, the bitter aftertaste of beer slid down her throat.***With a sudden chill, Aquila opened her eyes. On the dim retina, a wavering candleglow swam; the haze cleared and focus returned.‘Nero. Grigio. Verde…’Not bound by blood, but precious comrades—family in all but name.It felt like she’d just been laughing and talking with them, but now only cold silence filled the air.Waking alone on the bed, Aquila weakly closed her fingers over the hand that lay slack at her side. The owner of the warmth that should have been there was gone; only a faint after-scent remained.‘How long has it been…? That man…’Aquila stared blankly at the slowly listing wall, then pushed herself up. As she did, what lay over her shoulders slithered down.“Ah…”It was the ornate robe Noce Mostro had been wearing. The material was exceedingly soft, and southern traditional patterns were worked into it in complex, intricate detail—it looked like it would fetch whatever price one named.And under that expensive garment, her body was bare. …Bare, but—‘What is all this…’Words failed Aquila at the red and purple marks blooming over her white skin. It looked like her whole body had become a flowerbed.Her breasts were the worst of it. With her ears burning, Aquila tugged the robe back up around herself.“Nngh…”But the soft cloth rasped her areola and a hiss slipped out on its own. No wonder. Right up until she’d blacked out, that beast of a man had been kneading and sucking her breasts without rest…‘Hff— nn— s-stop— ah, mm, mm—!’‘Don’t hold back. Let me hear you.’“…”Along with the traces on her body, the memories she wanted to forget came back.Aquila’s ears burned and then her face went scarlet; she bowed her head. On this mattress, wrinkled here and there, the way she’d clung to him—what face she’d made, what sounds she’d let out—was all too vivid…Sssl—ack!She hurriedly slapped both cheeks with both hands. She squeezed shut her shaky eyes and drew a long breath.‘…Composure.’She forced down the heartbeat that had started to race. A seasoned assassin stays cool in any situation; she does not lose her head.She kept her eyes closed for a few seconds like that; the heat in her face gradually ebbed.When the red eyes opened again, they were clear.‘It was treatment. Don’t get dragged around by useless feelings.’There was something more important.Aquila loosened his robe again and touched herself, checking, all over. The marks he’d left swam back into her sight, but she didn’t waver anymore.Soon she realized the gunshot wound had healed clean, leaving only a faint scar. Her fist closed with its usual strength again.‘It really healed…?’The man hadn’t lied. Aquila’s red eyes sparkled.‘I can escape.’If so, there was no time to waste. She pulled his robe tight in a quick wrap and was just about to move—KWA-BOOM…!With another thunderous blast the hull tilted. Aquila grabbed a bedpost fast to steady herself and snapped her head toward the window.‘Cannon fire?’What was happening outside?But with the heavy fog, she couldn’t see out properly. From the solid drums on the panes, she could tell only that rain was lashing down hard.KWA-BOOM!At the second report of cannon and another violent lurch of the hull, Aquila rose, awkward but ready; her eyes sharpened.‘An attack?’Maybe that was why Noce Mostro wasn’t here.Just then—Footfalls pounded past outside, urgent; a heartbeat later, the cabin door flew open.“Hah—hah…!”A small figure with a big bag on their back darted in, slammed the door, and barred it.They let out a breath of relief—then finally saw Aquila, who wore an unmistakably sour look.“Ah…! You’re awake!”“What?”“You collapsed like that—we were worried.”KWA-BOOM!Even as the ship reeled under another cannon hit and the child had to cling to the knob to stay upright, the small one—Milio—beamed at Aquila.“Thank goodness!”“…”At the kidnapper being greeted by the kidnapped without a shred of fear, Aquila’s face turned comically blank.‘Don’t tell me… every human on this ship is a lunatic like Noce Mostro?’It was a misunderstanding that would have made the underboss, Siobhan, very, very sad.

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