She extended a hand, and Kaname straightened himself up from the car door and obliged the handshake. However, Lily-Kiska’s eyes seemed to focus not on Kaname but on the car. More precisely, on the fact that as soon as Kaname left the vehicle, lines of text large and small streamed across it like racing stickers vanished.
She tilted her head slightly. “What were you doing just now?”
“Oh, just talking to my sister. She went to buy some sleepwear and was asking me whether she should get pajamas or a nightie. In fact, she dragged me into some sort of dress-up pageant video.”
“I see… You’re an overprotective brother.”
“She gets mad if I don’t do stuff like this. And when she gets upset, she starts cleaning up the place. A ‘change of pace,’ she calls it. But it’s my house, too, and I end up not knowing where anything is.”
Anyway, back to the task at hand. Lily-Kiska ran her finger along the arm of her glasses.
“The preparations are complete. Kaname Suou, you are now an official member of Ag Wolves, and as such, we will be working together to obtain the Legacies of Criminal AO.”
“There’d have been hell to pay if you’d turned me away after I paid my 1.7 billion snow.”
“Ha-ha. Well, it was necessary, both as a test and to carry out our plans. Oh, I hope you don’t mind, but perhaps we could save the rest for somewhere more private. I don’t feel comfortable discussing tactics with those things watching us.”
She was probably talking about the security cameras. Several poles lined the beach, atop which sat speakers for use in natural disasters. A perfect spot for a camera. Even from where they sat, you could easily pick out their crude lenses.
“Works for me. You don’t have to take your shoes off or anything; I’m not a stickler about what you do in my car,” Kaname said as he turned back toward the vehicle.
Lily-Kiska smiled and corrected him. “Oh, no, that’s not what I meant. I was saying we should go in my car.”
“?”
She gestured over her shoulder with her thumb.
There was barely a sound as a luxury car with a black finish glided smoothly over. A hybrid, perhaps? It was totally different from Kaname’s coupe. It was long, extremely long. Way too long, like a dachshund that had been stretched on a rack.
It was enough to leave even Kaname puzzled.
“You drive around in a limousine? With all the gunfights and car chases?”
“Oh, it’s not as bad as you might think. A large vehicle allows for more armor and a bigger engine.” Lily-Kiska gave a sly chuckle and continued. “It’s basically a tank. Speed and maneuverability are one thing, but there’s a special kind of thrill that comes from having the power to steamroll everything in your path. Haven’t you ever wanted to drive around in a huge truck like in an action movie?”
Lily-Kiska was starting to sound very different from the diligent impression she had initially given.
Meanwhile, there was a flash of white skin as what appeared to be another AI-controlled Magistellus slipped her bare legs off the driver’s seat of the limousine and exited the vehicle. She was a blond girl with long ears, presumably an elf. She was wearing a dark waistcoat and tight skirt that resembled a dealer at a casino, but the pair of rabbit ears on her shoes and her miniature hat made her look like she was wearing a costume of sorts. Unlike Tselika’s outfit, the brand logos that covered it looked out of place. She opened a thick door at the rear of the vehicle.
Lily-Kiska beckoned Kaname toward the girl.
“Any additional questions?” she asked.
“Ah, yeah.”
Kaname took a tiny step backward, as though taking in the whole sight again. As his bespectacled partner looked back at him blankly, he asked his question.
“Erm, is that a swimsuit or your underwear?”
“?”
“Well, maybe it’s meant to be shown off either way, but it sure is a bright red, don’t you think?”
A few seconds passed as the gears in Lily-Kiska’s head turned. The bright color of her bra was showing straight through her white blouse.
“Huh? Wh-wh-wh-what?!”
Her whole face turned as red as a beet, and Lily-Kiska panicked, clutching her shoulders with both hands…which produced a strange sound.
A click? A snap? There was the sound of tearing thread, and unable to withstand the sudden strain, the buttons around her chest area popped off in quick succession.
“—???!!!”
With an ultrasonic cry impossible to put into words, Lily-Kiska crouched down where she stood. Even her impenetrable visage had fractured. It reminded Kaname of the time his sister’s bathing suit had gotten washed away by the sea. Tselika cackled softly in the background.
Those suspender-like holsters probably weren’t helping. As if her top wasn’t under enough strain as it was. Crouched on the ground with tears in her eyes, Lily-Kiska, ever prepared, produced a sewing set from her underarm holster.
Kaname asked the question that immediately came to mind.
“Why didn’t you buy a different size?”
“The next one up was too big and felt too loose. I’m trying to go for a sniper build, so I can’t be dealing with the constant distraction.”
That must explain the mismatched boots on each foot as well. Different clothes came with different stats and skills, after all.
There was a brief silence as Lily-Kiska completed her needlework. Then she buttoned her top and slowly stood up straight, stretching as though just waking and curving her back to test the strength of the fix. This of course meant that she was showing off her large breasts right before Kaname’s eyes, a fact of which she remained totally unaware.
Humans tended to neglect small details when dealing with the bigger picture.
…The red garment—somewhere between a bra and a bikini top—remained visible through Lily-Kiska’s shirt, but Kaname thought it prudent to discuss it no further.
“A-anyway,” she said at last. “Let’s talk business. (…Geez, why do my buttons always burst off like they’re trying to introduce themselves every time I meet somebody new?)”
Kaname was concerned by whatever curse she appeared to be muttering under her breath, but he let it go. As he followed her lead, he turned to Tselika, who was relaxing atop the hood.
“Tselika, wait here.”
“Oh, it’s ever so dull when there’s no one to whom I can show off my body. Do you mind if I go for a little drive?”
“Fine by me—just don’t leave it by the side of the road. There’s a rule protecting cars in a designated parking space. It seems friendly enough at first glance, but it’s basically giving free rein over a car that’s parked illegally. I don’t want it stolen or blown up.”