Oh yeah, that’s what I have an IHT for.
Zelaide flipped on the IHT panel equipped to the kitchen wall and was bombarded with a wave of incoming email notifications. The majority were from Palmina. Going through them was too much of a pain, so he swiped them away and looked up porridge recipes.
What in the colony am I lookin’ at?
Did he use the wrong search phrase? His results netted him rows and rows of unfamiliar food images and names. Getting a headache from scanning the screen, he randomly selected “Milk Porridge” and read how to make it.
“Easy-to-make, easy to digest, nutritious, etc.” were written in the recipe’s description, so Zelaide quickly pulled out the ingredients. Those were the keywords he was looking for. He found rice retort pouches in the cabinet. Luckily he had all the seasonings on hand too, so he grabbed the nearest pot, put it on the stove, clicked on the flame, and tossed in the ingredients. A delicious smell soon rose into the air. The only thing he had to watch out for was setting the heat too high. All that was left after that was adding in the milk and letting it boil for several minutes.
Seems like it’s comin’ together pretty well for my first go…
Contentment filled him as he looked down at the rice softening in the pot. The man who was never interested in cooking currently stood in the kitchen to make something for his mate to eat. He had a hard time believing it himself, but he didn’t find it annoying to do something for his mate. He actually enjoyed it.
Or he did until his first cooking experience was unduly interrupted.
The IHT beeped. Someone had come to the house. Zelaide turned his eyes to the panel. Palmina’s face showed on the entrance monitor.
Pal? What does she want?
He couldn’t very well leave her out there, so he pressed the button to open the gates. Palmina carefully pulled into the driveway and parked in front of the gate. The front door swung open and he heard wet shoes pounding the floor. Tipsy let out a piercing warning cry and flew off the counter.
“Zel! Why didn’t you contact me if you’re home?!” Palmina stormed into the kitchen nagging him.
“Sorry… Planned to do it later,” Zelaide said, keeping his voice down.
“Do you know how anxious I was when I heard you were arrested…?”
“Sorry. Don’t ask me ’bout it. I can’t tell ya.”
“B-But…as your agent I need to at least be informed of the general details… By the way, what are you doing?” Palmina finally realized that Zelaide was stirring food in a pot.
“Oh…this? Don’t worry ’bout it either.”
“I came at daybreak when your car’s GPS showed you were here. Can’t you please tell me a little bit about what happened?” she asked, a hint of desperation edging into her rising voice.
“…Fine. Stop being so loud though.”
You’ll wake her up.
Zelaide gave up on quickly getting rid of her and turned off the stove. His agent was standing in the living room dripping water from her hair, chin, and raincoat. The rains had ceased. Was she outside for a long time?
“Dry off.”
“I-I will, thank you.”
Palmina pulled a towel out of the cabinet, slipped off her raincoat, and dried her soaked hair. Under her coat she wore a black knit sweater and a tight black pencil skirt. Her clothes tended to be all black as if she were trying to match Zelaide’s style.
“What happened?” she asked as she hung her coat. “You were framed for murdering a prostitute, right? Did someone set you up?”
“Yeah, you can say that. I was set up good. The guy who set me up is lurkin’ somewhere within Yumi’s—Euphemia’s workplace. Lookin’ into it now. But they didn’t have ’nough evidence to hold me. So I’m free,” Zelaide briefly summed up. Palmina looked as though she was going to throw a hissy fit if he didn’t.
She saw his arm and shouted, “You’re badly injured! That looks fresh!”
“They can’t just release a Beast Blood under even the smallest suspicion of being a murderer for no reason, so I had to go along with the deal they cut me,” Zelaide explained, shrugging. The pain didn’t bother him anymore. “Meant workin’ for free. But it’s all good now. They pissed me off. I’ll get revenge for Manuela and protect Saionji’s sister.”
“How will you do that? You can’t look into the inner workings of Biotech as an outsider.”
“A certain contact will give me the intel once they make progress. Besides, there’s somethin’ that bothers me. I can’t go ’round drawin’ attention to myself right after being set free, but I’ve got plans of my own.”
“And what are those?”
“……”
“You won’t tell me, will you? You don’t trust me?”
“It’s not a matter of trust. I don’t want to get anybody else killed because of me,” Zelaide said in a low voice.
“Even though you let the mayor’s sister in?”
“……”
“You called her…Yumi. I never thought the day would come when you’d call a human woman by a nickname… Could it be you…slept with her?” Palmina accused.
“None of your business.” Zelaide turned his back on her and grabbed a bottle of milk from the fridge.
“You slept with her. Now I know why you’re cooking.”
No longer seeing the need to answer her, Zelaide concentrated on measuring the right amount of milk.
“…Why? Why HER?!” Palmina suddenly shouted. Her screaming got even Zelaide to turn around. Slender arms coiled around his back. “Why did you pick a spoiled priss like her? I’ve loved you for so much longer…!”
“Oi…Pal—”
“I have loved you ever since the day I was still a novice agent and you stumbled into my office with wild eyes asking for work!” As she cried, Palmina noticed a white shadow hovering on top of the staircase behind the open kitchen. “Please look at me,” she cooed in a quieter voice, forcing Zelaide’s eyes down to her.
“Pal…stop this.”
“I won’t. Come to your senses. See reality. You just made a small, one-time mistake. I mean, that girl is the mayor’s younger sister and not the type to date a Beast Blood. You’re smart enough to know that.”
“……”
“Aren’t I right? Sure, she’s a cute airhead and I’m sure she tempted you to dip your fingers, but she’s not right for you…”
“Oi!”
“Come on. Look at me,” Palmina coaxed, putting her hands behind Zelaide’s head and pressing her lips against his—fully aware that Euphemia was standing behind him.
“…Tch!” Zelaide jumped away from Palmina’s kiss. “…What’s your aim, Pal?” he growled.
“…Zel?”
The Beast Blood turned around in horror at the sound of that angelic voice. His eyes met square with wide emerald gems that were filled with confusion and sorrow.
“Yumi!”
She woke up?! How?! I didn’t sense her!
“Miss…Palmina?” Euphemia looked past Zelaide to the woman behind him.
“Oh dear…I’m sorry for the show. It’s been a while since we last saw each other; I just couldn’t keep my hands off him…”
“Palmina!” Zelaide only used her full name when he was serious.
Entirely aware of that fact, Palmina still didn’t let her calm façade slip. On the inside, she was in so much shock she felt like she had been hit by a car seeing Euphemia wearing Zelaide’s shirt, the red marks on her neck, and the pink hue of her swollen lips. What went on in this house last night was obvious.
In that moment, she thought, I want to kill this bitch. This is my man…he’s mine! How dare she?! How dare she try to steal him from me?!
However, as a woman used to living on a harsh frontier planet, Palmina didn’t let her inner hatred show through her mask of propriety, she was a consummate professional after all. She maintained her last shred of dignity by sweeping back her disheveled hair.
“…Sorry, Zel. I wanted to make love with you right here and now, but I’ll come back at a better time… I hope I didn’t upset you too much either.” Palmina smiled sweetly at Zelaide and Euphemia and then brushed past them both. Hoping that the little harlot would be tortured by misunderstandings.
The front door slammed shut and an engine roared to life outside. The automatic gate slid open and Palmina drove away, leaving the two dense, young lovers behind.
“Yumi…” Zelaide started. “Pal is just someone I work with. Our relationship doesn’t go beyond that.”
“…Aren’t I just someone you work with too?” Euphemia threw back at him.
“No! You are…” The words he should have said faded into silence without leaving his lips.
What good can come of me shoutin’ that she’s my mate? Zelaide bit his bottom lip. If I can’t be with her for life, I don’t want her to suffer more ’cause of me. I’m the only one who needs to feel miserable.
“I’m what?” Euphemia stared at the man she loved.
“…My companion.”
“Your companion? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Not even Zelaide understood what it meant. After all, it was the first word that came to mind. But now he had to paint over his true relationship with Euphemia with that makeshift lie.
“More than friends,” he ventured.
“……”
“I haven’t slept with her,” he added.
Euphemia remained silent.
Whatever Zelaide did, whoever he made out with, Euphemia felt she had no right to chastise him for it. He was probably telling the truth when he said his relationship with Palmina was work-only. But that only applied to their relationship thus far. Judging by the way Palmina threw herself on him and acted around Euphemia, it was clear as day that she loved Zelaide. She treated Euphemia with the hatred of a love rival. Euphemia was a woman too, she could guess that much.
And it didn’t help that Euphemia and Zelaide’s relationship was going to end soon. At least officially.
Meanwhile, his relationship with Palmina was going to continue. No way was that woman going to quietly wait for him to make a move now. There was no mistaking that she was going to use whatever means necessary to make Zelaide look at her.
“I’m…leaving now. I promised Erica,” Euphemia said feebly.