Stunned, Liohime stared at them both while Bica, the Security and Weapons-For-Hire Shinigami Soldier discussed adding two extra drinks on Liohime's tab to the bartender.

"B-Bica? And Ophiel…? How did you two…?"

Bica turned to him and flashed a cute smile at him, keeping her left arm on his shoulder while she casually replied:

"Sorry, man, but I'm not like your toxic ass ex who follows you everywhere you go. We just thought that this would be the place where we'd both find you at this time."

"Uh, okay, first of all Tisha was never the stalker type. Also, why are you guys here anyway?"

"Hehehe. It's simply because- EYOUCHH!!"

Feeling a sharp pain on her wrist, she yelped while facing the young woman who pinched her arm fiercely.

"Keep your arms off of him," was the harsh instruction from Shihon, who inched even closer towards her Master, and as Bica pulled her hand back while muttering curses under her breath, Ophiel, the Smuggling-For-Hire Shinigami Soldier, addressed the unusual presence of a person who they were not familiar with.

"...Hey, Lio. Why do you always go for the weird, obsessive types?"

"W-What the fuck are you even talking about?" Liohime questioned while furrowing his brows, but Ophiel put his right hand to his chin, inspecting the woman with the same complexion as him.

"Although, I can't lie, you snagged an upgrade for yourself for sure," he mentioned while grinning mischievously. "Did you guys fuck yet?"

"Who asks that question right off the bat!? You guys are embarrassing me right now…"

"No, we didn't. Mast-uh, Liohime is a coward."

"Why did you answer that, Shihon!?"

Ophiel roared with laughter. "I like her already. So you're Shihon, huh? I'm Ophiel, and this less-pretty girl next to me is Bica."

"All of a sudden, I'm less pretty now, huh? Ophi, you bastard."

Bica nudged him hard with an elbow to the side of his abdomen, and Ophiel nearly toppled over in pain while the former side eyed Shihon, still a bit upset by her pinch.

Refusing to introduce herself, she yawned and passed around the respective drinks that had been brought forward before them by the bartender and they all sat close to each other and took a sip in silence before Ophiel spoke up in a hushed tone.

"We texted you, but you didn't seem to get the message, so we had to physically see you, Lio. It's important."

"Sorry, my phone died. What is it that's so important that you guys need to see me in person?" Liohime questioned, realizing that something was up.

Both Bica and Ophiel hesitated, eyeing Shihon, and Liohime answered, "O-Oh. Right."

"We can talk together in private about it once we finish drinking," answered Bica, before yawning once again. "Fuck, I'm sleepy."

"You always are…"

***

After several minutes, the trio of the Shinigami Soldiers exited the bar alongside Shihon, who probably took a bit too many drinks.

"Hehehe…that was niceee," she slowly mumbled with satisfaction, while Liohime kept her body hoisted onto his own back with a piggyback ride.

Ah, shit, he thought. She's definitely tipsy now.

No, she was actually as drunk as a fish.

"Hey, guys. I might have to drop her off at home, so…"

"You can actually stay with her at the Kimetsu Hotel," suggested Bica. "That's close to where we're all headed and it's only one left turn away from here."

Liohime tilted his head in confusion.

Now that they had left the bar, he had almost forgotten that they had specifically met up with him for an unknown reason.

So…what reason was it, was the question that needed to be asked.

"Hold on. 'Close to where we're all headed'? Are we going to meet up with more members? And isn't the Kimetsu Hotel a-"

"Love hotel, yes," answered Ophiel, scratching his left cheek slightly with a tinge of embarrassment, causing Liohime to be even more confused.

What are you planning to set up here, author?

"Alright, you two. Out with it. Why the fuck are we meeting up with everyone else so suddenly…?"

Again, the duo peeked at Shihon, but she had been half-conscious, slowly descending into a mild slumber as her breath reeked of booze.

Deciding that it was okay to speak on the matter, they huddled closer to him while Bica whispered:

"Emergency meeting. The client of the Paradisus Legion wishes to speak with all of us in about an hour."

A cold feeling clung onto his body on hearing the revelation, and he immediately gulped, realizing that he could not miss such an event.

"It may be a love hotel, but it's only two minutes away from us while your home takes about ten minutes of walking, right?" Ophiel muttered. "And the meeting place will take another fifteen minutes. Of course, taxis are hard to get over here, so it will be a tight gamble to wait for one now, which would take around half an hour. It's your call, Lio."

Liohime pondered on his choices. A meeting with the client of the Paradisus mission? Why? And what would be the best decision to make here?

He had to come to a decision, and fast.

"Walking with her on my back is already a pretty big hassle, and sending her off to a taxi by herself is kinda harsh. I kinda dislike it, but let's go with the quickest option and book her in with myself for a few hours."

"Yeah, and if the meeting ends early, you can still-"

"Stop imagining things that aren't happening, Bica."

"Whatever you say."

Thus, Liohime moved ahead of the duo and walked briskly, aiming to still be the earliest of the group to arrive at the meeting, while Bica and Ophiel trailed him.

Barely out of earshot, they began to whisper to each other.

"Chief really is something, making us do all of this just for a fake meeting."

"At least we're getting paid for it, Bica. Plus…"

Ophiel narrowed his eyes and grinned, keeping his gaze fixed on the young man in front of them.

"...I'm looking forward to seeing how much Lio has improved before the true test begins."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.