Chapter 19
Makima was still struggling to adjust her clothes.
Denji, meanwhile, had already finished tidying up.
Just as he reached for the doorknob to leave the office, Makima—still forcefully tugging her shirt to fasten the last button over her chest—spoke up in reminder:
"I 'previously' supported certain people with resources to set up a little trap for you. The clues are 'knife,' 'snake,' and 'gun.'
If you're willing to tell me more about yourself, I wouldn't mind casually helping you deal with those minor annoyances."
Right hand on the doorknob, Denji listened to her words, then raised his left arm in a casual wave.
Not a goodbye wave—more like "sorry sis, you're not doing it for me…" cough cough—wrong set, my bad.
"Thanks for the heads-up. See you later~"
Denji completely ignored the second half of her sentence and only responded to the first part.
Door opened~
A soft, fragrant, adorably fluffy body crashed (or rather—tumbled?) straight into his arms.
Whoa!
What kind of grand entrance gift is this?
Oh—it's Power~
"What are you doing, Power?"
Time rewind.
While things inside the office were burning "hot and heavy,"
Outside the door.
After escaping that terrifying pressure, who knows how much time passed before Meowy finally stirred awake in Power's arms.
The moment she noticed Meowy was awake, Power seemed to find her anchor.
She immediately wanted to pour out every messy feeling in her heart to the clueless little cat.
"Meowy, this great one has to tell you…"
But cats don't understand these things. Meowy only cared about her Denji-sama meow~
She wriggled free from Power's hold, darted to the office door, meowing and bouncing, trying to paw at the handle.
Even a cat knew gratitude—yet this great one…
Who knows what profound struggle went on inside her.
In the end, when her gaze finally hardened with resolve,
She marched straight toward the office.
Scooping up the wriggling Meowy, she tucked the cat under one armpit, wrapped the other arm around her, then placed her free hand on the doorknob—twisting it to the very edge of opening, then pressing her body weight forward to jam it in place.
She pressed her ear flat against the door, listening carefully.
In her mind: the second she heard any fighting or conflict sounds inside—she'd burst in to help!
She listened for a long time. Nothing.
Power thought: are those two just staring each other down in silence? How is there zero noise?
This dummy never considered: maybe the office has perfect soundproofing?
Obviously not. And the cat in her arms seemed infected by her foolishness—also pressing an ear to the soundproof door, listening to… who knows what…
Perhaps from focusing too long, both of them slipped into a dull, zoned-out state.
It's like in a shooter game when you're holding an angle: players twitch left-right occasionally to stay sharp and focused.
Some stubborn players just lock onto one spot forever.
On the surface they look dead serious and locked-in… but their soul has been drifting for ages and nobody notices. (Example applies to some players only meow~)
Back to the present.
So when Denji opened the door, Power's soul still hadn't returned. With her entire body weight leaning on the handle, she simply tumbled straight into his chest.
Creating exactly this effect.
Hearing Denji's voice, Power's brain hadn't yet processed what he said—but her body instinctively clung to him tightly.
"Sorry… (super quiet)"
"What?"
Denji genuinely couldn't hear what Power mumbled in his arms.
The voice was so tiny it felt like she spoke and didn't speak at the same time.
He asked again. No answer—just her hugging even tighter.
Denji scratched his head, glanced at the "silent" Power in his arms, then looked back at the "focused" Makima…
Hm. Makima still wasn't speaking—just head lowered, hands on her chest, for some reason still fiddling with the already-fastened button.
Confusing.
Seeing the sky had darkened.
After one last glance, Denji added "See you tomorrow" and walked out, closing the door behind him.
With a soft click of the latch, the office returned to its usual silence.
The lingering sunset glow flickered faintly. A crescent moon hung in the opposite high corner. Streetlights had already come on early, guiding pedestrians forward.
In the dim space, the hazy halo of light pulled her involuntarily into memory…
Fingers lightly pressed against her still-thumping heart. When Makima finally came back to herself, she glanced at the dog leash now loosely draped over the desk after being untied.
Her hand reached over—gripping it loosely, then tightly.
She walked to the hidden bookshelf compartment, pulled out an elegant briefcase. Empty.
Set it on the desk and opened it.
Picked up the leash, about to put it inside—then paused, remembering something.
In this silent, dark room, her deepened breathing stood out starkly.
Makima suddenly collapsed into her chair, clutching the leash to her chest.
The chair swiveled half a turn. After adjusting the backrest angle, she leaned fully back—perfectly positioned to stare up at that single hook of crescent moon.
Perhaps because the sunset hadn't fully faded, the moon looked slightly yellower than usual.
From silver-white tinged pale yellow, veiled in white gauze over cream filter—gradually transitioning to the faintest warm ivory.
But in Makima's eyes, the color was different.
Yellower.
Redder (?)
And once again—the leash suffered…
…
Denji had no idea what would happen in that office later. Right now he just wanted to handle what was in front of him.
With Power in his arms, he lightly patted the shoulder of Aki—who was standing guard by the door.
Aki—completely unaware of the time skip—first thought upon snapping back:
Hm? We were talking with Makima-sama that long already? It's dark outside now.
Then:
Huh? Who patted me?
He turned toward the touch.
Oh—the new squad member. Name was…
"Denji. My name's Denji."
Denji said while extending the hand that had just patted Aki's shoulder.
Aki reflexively shook it and replied:
"Hayakawa Aki."
"Then I'll just call you Aki from now on?"
"Uh… sure."
Under the corridor lights, Denji's fully relaxed, happy smile carried an oddly infectious warmth.
Feeling a flicker of warmth in his chest, the hard lines on Aki's face softened just a fraction.
Hearing the smile, Power—teary-eyed and curled in Denji's arms—quietly lifted her head, gazing up at his light… her light…
--------------------------
You can support me here patreon.com/inkshield
Your support boosts my motivation and confidence, helping me focus and release chapters more consistently.
Every bit of support inspires me to keep creating better content.