Chapter 10

Truth be told, she hated horror, but she had no choice. Unfortunately, horror was the only genre that gave her a natural excuse to tremble in fear right now.

...Gah!

Lieutenant Erabelle Vermilion clenched her teeth as a ghost suddenly burst onto the screen in the darkened room. Of all things, she had chosen the longest installment in the horror series.

She nearly screamed right beside him.

She had no intention of becoming collateral damage while sitting next to the boss mob. Gritting her teeth even harder, she forced herself to keep her eyes on the screen.

The ghost was busily stabbing people in the throat. Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across the screen in violent bursts.

Startled, she turned her head—and made the terrible mistake of meeting Commander Dezeb Avganis’s eyes. Her whole body jerked in shock.

She nearly had a heart attack. Watching a horror movie next to him made her feel as though her life expectancy were shrinking by the second.

He raised an eyebrow as if to ask, What’s wrong?

Without a word, Erabelle turned back to the screen. The TV was the lesser of two evils. The ghost slashing people’s throats was... at least less terrifying than... than—

No! This is terrifying too!

Clutching her beer can like a lifeline, she trembled violently.

The ghost terrified her. The man beside her terrified her even more. Together, they were catastrophic.

As she sat there shaking, he suddenly let out a quiet chuckle.

Was she really that ridiculous in his eyes?

She desperately hoped she looked utterly pathetic. Maybe then he would grow tired of watching her and leave.

Instead, he unbuttoned the top button of his shirt and leaned back against the couch.

He was settling in.

Erabelle gradually became aware of his gaze.

A slow, unhurried stare that lingered on her.

Simply sitting beside him was terrifying enough, but now he was watching her?

She felt like she might actually die.

Desperate to escape reality, she gulped down her beer.

Rather than endure this nightmare sober, she made the deliberate decision to get drunk.

And she did.

***

“Finally awake?”

My head...

Erabelle’s eyelids fluttered open. Her head throbbed with a hangover, and the stale taste and smell of alcohol clung to her mouth.

Morning...?

Where’s the clock...?

Ugh...

Last night... she had binge-watched horror movies until she passed out on the couch.

And the alcohol... she had definitely overdone it. The small pile of empty beer cans on the table was proof enough.

Already exhausted to begin with, then thoroughly marinated in beer and horror movies, she had finally blacked out sometime around three in the morning.

Turning her head away from the Commander before losing consciousness had been her final act of self-preservation.

Now, with sleep deprivation, a hangover, and lingering terror piled on top of one another, her brain felt like mush.

“Lieutenant, you really can’t hold your liquor. For a moment, I thought you’d collapsed or something,” Dezeb said.

“Ah...”

“Ah?”

He echoed her with a smirk, casually running his fingers through his damp hair.

Is this a dream...?

Erabelle covered her pounding forehead with one hand.

“I’ll make some coffee... There should still be some of Zallo’s cookies left. Would you like some?”

When did I even come in to work...?

“You keep those at home too?” Dezeb asked, raising an eyebrow as though the idea were absurd.

“Home...?”

What does he mean...?

It wasn’t until she heard his low chuckle that her fogged brain finally snapped back into focus.

Ah. Ah...

Erabelle awkwardly pushed herself upright on the couch and looked at him.

The instant full awareness returned, her entire body froze like a frog caught beneath a snake’s gaze.

Meanwhile, Dezeb sat on the edge of the couch, smiling gently at her.

“I showered first. Wash up, and then we’ll have breakfast together, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

Feigning composure, Erabelle sprang to her feet.

She moved briskly, every limb rigid with tension, and made straight for the bathroom. The moment the door closed behind her, she slumped against it.

Trembling, she crawled toward the shower on all fours and turned on the water. Only when the sound drowned out the rest of the world could she finally breathe again.

...Ugh.

She clutched her head with both hands. Tears welled in her eyes as they darted around in confusion.

Still intact...

Thankfully, her neck was still attached. All four limbs were accounted for.

She let out a shaky breath.

She couldn’t stay like this forever. She had work.

Work. Yes. I need to go to work...

...What time is it?

She glanced at the bathroom clock and gasped.

It was already 7:15.

Panicking, she showered as quickly as she could and hurriedly got ready for work. Then she served Dezeb coffee while he sat at her dining table.

If she thought of it as simply going in early, then everything was fine.

Completely fine.

“I’ll make breakfast. If you wait just a little, I can run down to the diner—”

“You already look ready for work, Erabelle.”

She smiled as though everything were perfectly normal.

She buried deep in her subconscious the fact that this was her home and that he was sitting in the very chair where she ate every day.

“I’m fine. But you should eat something.”

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

She took her usual breakfast out of the refrigerator and put it in the microwave.

It probably wouldn’t sit well with her stomach, but he had told her to eat, so eat she would.

Holding the heated meal, she leaned against the sink.

Thankfully, he didn’t tell her to sit beside him while she ate.

If he had, she might genuinely have developed an ulcer on the spot, so she was grateful.

She also did her best not to acknowledge the obvious truth.

This entire situation was his fault.

“You’re having instant food for breakfast?” Dezeb remarked casually, glancing at her meal.

“I eat it from time to time.”

Only occasionally... four or five times a week.

Lieutenant Erabelle Vermilion pulled herself together.

Pretending she was already at work made it easier to maintain the [N O V E L I G H T] proper demeanor in front of her superior.

She looked every bit the model employee.

A perfectly ordinary office worker.

***

After finishing her morning duties, Erabelle headed to the supply depot after lunch.

She had finally taken care of the artifact box rental that had been delayed because of the dogs’ unexpected field deployment.

At this point, minor military infractions like hacking the storage system barely registered with her anymore.

Sure, it had left her with a mild case of stress-induced gastritis, and she had stopped by the infirmary to pick up some medication—but considering the chaos of the previous night, she was holding together surprisingly well.

Erabelle decided to forget the fact that the Commander had spent the night at her apartment.

She shoved the whole ordeal into the deepest corner of her mind and threw herself into work instead.

The more she worked, the more the previous night began to feel like some bizarre dream.

Why had he even come over?

Why had he stayed the night?

Did that actually happen?

Running endless errands for the officers and working her way through a mountain of paperwork helped blur everything into a confusing mixture of horror movies and alcohol.

A strange nightmare.

Nothing more.

Yes.

It had all been a dream.

A bizarre, stress-induced nightmare.

***

“Erabelle, I’m counting on you for the next month and a half. It’s only Day Two, right?”

On her way to the depot, Virgo Hag ambushed her with his usual nonsense.

Aries, walking beside him, added something about how she only needed to survive a month and then she would be fine.

A month? A month and a half...?

Erabelle immediately understood.

...They made a bet.

Those devilish bastards... they bet on me...

Let’s see... combat zones, research facilities... what else could it be?

Her mind went blank as she mentally ran through every possible scenario they might have wagered on involving her.

Of course, she had no time to dwell on it.

The scale of logistics required to keep such an enormous military organization running was staggering.

Which meant her workload was equally staggering.

She was a very busy slave.

Worse still, she had to keep proving just how useful she was, which only made her even busier.

She didn’t have the luxury of sitting around worrying.

Besides, wasting energy getting anxious or relaxed over those devils was pointless.

Even if they really had made some horrible bet involving her, there was nothing she could do about it except focus on her work.

At the moment, her aching stomach was a much more immediate concern.

Rushing through lunch so she could get to the depot had only made it worse.

As she dug into her pocket for another antacid tablet, Erabelle thought,

Tonight, I’ll treat myself. Pizza and a cold beer, nice and slow...

Even as she swallowed the pill, she clung to that tiny, luxurious hope.

But as always, life rarely went the way you wanted it to.

And if you happened to be someone frequently cursed by the gods, even less so.

***

“Um...”

The mashed oatmeal looked soft and... edible.

Well, obviously.

It was mashed.

It almost looked like baby food.

Erabelle tore her eyes away from the watery oatmeal and looked up at Commander Dezeb Avganis.

“This is... why...?”

“You need to eat dinner. Sit down and eat.”

Without a word, Erabelle picked up the spoon.

It was practically a spinal reflex.

Inside her head, her thoughts had already become a raging Sodom and Gomorrah, but none of that showed on her face.

Why?

Why is the Commander here again... in my house?

She mechanically scooped up a spoonful of oatmeal and brought it to her mouth, determined not to think too deeply about the situation.

Nothing good would come from overanalyzing it.

It would only put more strain on her already miserable stomach.

She refused to think about how the oatmeal had appeared in her home.

And she refused even more strongly to think about the fact that Dezeb himself had brought it.

That realization alone could probably trigger a stomach spasm.

Instead, she focused on alcohol.

Anything would do.

I just want to drink until I black out and escape this absurd reality.