The lieutenant colonel and Yuri told me they needed to speak to their superiors, then hastily fled the room. They probably didn’t know how to respond to my offer because it wasn’t something they’d expected me to give them.
I kept on eating because my stomach wasn’t quite full. Anton, on the other hand, sat in silence, save for his heavy breathing.
The sound of knives against ceramic plates filled the room.
Did I make Anton angry? I wondered, and decided to talk to him.
“Isn’t the food great, Anton? I wish we had green tea to go with it, rather than just water.”
“I envy you, Kouki,” he said slowly. “How can you be so relaxed at a time like this? I wish you’d take fewer risks. What would I tell Miki if anything happened to you?”
Oh. He’s still angry because I ate without letting him taste my food for poison. I already told him how I knew it was safe. He needs lighten up a bit. I suppose it’s a good time to ask him some questions.
I tapped my finger against my personal terminal, making sure he noticed. Then I opened up a chat window and sent an invitation to his terminal’s address.
“Sorry, but this room might be bugged,” I typed in. “This chat application was made by Noa’s engineering department, so it’s safe to use. There could also be cameras, so please scramble your terminal screen.”
Anton joined me in the chat room. “What is it?” he wrote.
I wanted to ask him about things that had been bothering me. His responses would probably have a major influence on how the negotiations went after the lieutenant colonel returned.
I started with a simple question. “Was the woman dressed as a maid a friend of yours?”
Seeing my message, Anton knitted his brow and typed a brief response. “You noticed? You’re right. Her codename is Sasha.”
“What about the waiter who brought me the knife with a message written on it?” I typed.
“I don’t know. This is the first I’ve heard of that.”
So the maid we saw in the corridor is an agent on our side. That waiter must be a member of Chernobog, too. But why is he asking me to give them asylum?
“The waiter told me that 18 people are seeking asylum,” I wrote. “I think that’s why Sasha was here. Do you know anything about this? Even the most trivial detail could be useful.”
“It’s been three years since I left Chernobog,” he wrote. “I have no idea. I think someone from our intelligence department such as Miki or Clare might know something.”
As always, we can’t figure anything out without getting Mom involved. I sighed. I don’t normally mind asking her, but... she’s going to be angry at me for going to Russia without saying anything. And I can’t imagine how angry Clare must be after I left all that work with her. I can just picture her wearing those glasses that suit her so well, with a blank expression on her pretty face, asking me, “Are you ready to die?” I don’t think I’m ready to face that. And if I don’t want to face the wrath of Noa’s witches, I’ll have to get through this without relying on them.
But without them, there was no more I could do. It was a real dilemma, but I couldn’t just sit here wasting time. If I did that, I’d have to face Macho Man’s anger, too. I knew what he’d say if he was here: “A man doesn’t hesitate!! Don’t just sit there!!”
“There’s no way around it,” I said aloud. “I’ll ask Mom directly and see if she can give us information.”
Anton looked at me in surprise.
I know why he’s looking at me like that. The connection status icon at the top left of my terminal screen disappeared the moment the lieutenant colonel left the room. It might have been a way to keep us isolated and to prevent us from obtaining more information, or perhaps it’s standard procedure. But either way, it won’t work on me.
“Kouki... I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’ve been cut off from communicating with anyone outside this room,” he said. “There must be some sort of electronic jamming.”
“That’s no problem,” I replied. “This terminal is a next-generation quantum terminal made by Luin Corp. And Mom made her own modifications to it. It’ll take more than some basic electronic jamming to affect it.” I looked into the terminal’s camera. “Right, Mom?”
If I’m right, Mom gave up on pursuing me the moment I left the Hakone base, and instead she’s been using the terminal’s microphone to pick up the noise around me in hope of learning something about my situation.
“When did you figure it out?” she asked. “And don’t worry about the room being bugged. Your terminal has electronic countermeasures.”
Yes!! I knew she’d be listening in.
Mom took control of my terminal, and the screen displayed the image of Noa’s demon lord, Miki Arakawa. As expected, her expression was terrifying. I wished I’d been wrong about that.
“I know how overprotective you are,” I answered. “I left for Russia, but you didn’t try to contact me. I knew you had to be listening. Is... Is Clare okay?”
“An hour ago, she took one of Noa’s large transport planes and set out to pick you up. She took a mid-air refueling craft with her, so I think she’s waiting outside of Russian airspace until she receives contact. I can see you’re worried, but I’d advise against avoiding her. She brought a hunting tranquilizer gun.”
If you know I’m in danger, then can’t you stop Clare somehow? I thought, alarmed. I’m not Macho Man. If I get hit with a tranquilizer dart, it’ll kill me! At least I have Anton to use as a shield. Oh yeah, I still need to ask Mom whether she knows anything about what’s happening in Russia...
“I won’t run from her,” I said quickly. “More importantly, I need to know what’s happening here in Russia. I’m sure you’ve heard the whole conversation.”
“Sadly, I have no idea what’s happening,” she answered. “The Russians have been awfully quiet lately. Our intelligence department has been focusing on the United States and the EU.”
Are you kidding? Well, that’s disappointing. I know something has to be going on. If I just had some kind of hint...
“So what was your plan?” Mom asked.
“Plan?”
“I don’t understand what you were thinking when you set off for Russia to negotiate, but I’m sure you had a good reason. If you’d just tell me what you’re planning, I might be able to negotiate for you.”
Should I feel bad for not having a good reason? I was just hyped up because Anton asked me for help, and I thought maybe I could create a new market for anime merchandise here in Russia. I didn’t think this whole thing would be such a pain, but I’m the one who started the negotiation, so it’s my responsibility to end it.
“You don’t have to do that,” I told her. “There’s another little thing I want to do while I’m here, anyway, so I’ll take responsibility for finishing things. Could you take in the people seeking asylum? You might need to make arrangements to extract them yourself in case things get difficult.”
Mom sighed. “You’re growing up so fast. All right. Leave it to me. But don’t forget that a lot of people are concerned about your safety. If you ever feel like it’s all a little much, there’s no shame in asking for help.”
“Thanks. I’ll bear that in mind.”
Mom looked a little sad as she disappeared from the screen and returned control of the terminal to me.
I can’t live my whole life depending on my mom. I wish she wouldn’t look so sad about it. Maybe she’ll feel better if I do something to show her how much I appreciate her when I get back.
With that decided, I went over the whole situation once more in my head.