After finishing their preparations. The four of them gathered in the dining area. The pretty decorations added to the lively atmosphere around them. But, despite this, all of them felt uncomfortable as they glance awkwardly at each other
Ilaya was talking to Mars, uncomfortable with being stared at by the guest that the owner invited. Mars was answering Ilaya's questions as she glanced at the police officer that her boss invited. She somehow remembered him, but didn't know where
Michizugawa observed Ilaya and kept wondering if she's the one who turned that serial killer into a pincushion. Somehow, he didn't get the feeling of her being a lunatic that enjoyed mutilating someone. The owner meanwhile keeps glancing at Ilaya and Michizugawa, making sure that his friend doesn't ruin their celebration
Ilaya couldn't take it anymore as she directly asked the man. Of course, she smiled at him to be polite. It's kind of rude to ask that flatly, and in a celebration to boot
"Hello. Is there something on me?
'I'm already fighting the pain! Your staring doesn't make it any better!'
Michizugawa opened his mouth to answer, but felt the intense gaze of his friend and said to her calmly
"No. But you seemed familiar. Maybe I'm just wrong but…"
He hesitated and shook his head. Then, he said to them
"No. Nothing. Anyway, what do we do now? I think that we all finished what we needed to do, should we start the party now?"
Ilaya looked at him doubtfully, but got sidetracked by what he said
'That's right. All preparation was all finished. We should start now'
Ilaya looked at the owner. Then, the owner smiled and said to them
"Alright, but before we start, we need some drinks. I'll use my prized wine to officially start our party. Wait for me for a bit"
Then, the owner walked towards the storage room to get his wine. Ilaya said to Mars beside her
"Can I drink wine? I don't have any experience in drinking liquor from what I remembered. I'm not going to be drunk right?"
Mars patted her head as she said
"Of course! You can drink if you want. It's just wine anyway, and you're going to handle it fine. Just don't drink too much"
Ilaya nodded as she felt happy about being patted on the head. She nearly snuggled to her, but with a visitor, she held her impulse and removed her hand from her head. She whispered to Mars
"Nee-chan, there's a visitor. It's embarrassing to be treated like a child"
Mars laughed as she hugged Ilaya and said to her
"You're always going to be my little sister! You can't change that!"
Ilaya sighed as she let Mars hug her. Then, the warmth enveloping her leaves as Mars moved closer towards the guest. Then Ilaya heard Mars ask cheerfully
"Hello! May I know your relationship with the boss?"
Michizugawa looked at her and said with remembrance
"Ohh it's you! You've been with him a long time, right? I'm his former colleague. We've known each other for decades, but he only contacted me recently"
Mars tilted her head as she said confusingly
"Ohh! Is that it? But, I'm sorry, did we meet somewhere? Your face is familiar to me, but I can't remember if when"
Michizugawa nodded and smiled to her
"You don't remember now. But I remembered you when my partner-"
He coughed and stopped his words. Then, he explained
"Ahem! I remember when you were saved by him a long time ago. You looked so much younger back then. I was with him at that time so maybe you noticed me. But didn't remember due to you being shocked at that time"
When she heard that, Mars blushed as she complained in her mind
'Of course I am shocked. But not on my near death encounter'
Thankfully, she's a black beauty so the redness of her face didn't show off. Ilaya became curious about their conversation as she walked behind Mars. Then, Mars noticed her as she gestured to the chair
"Ilaya, do you want to hear our story? Have a seat!"
Ilaya looked at Mars and the man and decided not to reject her offer. She was also really curious about their story
'Now that I think about it. I didn't know much about them. Maybe this party is a chance to get to know them better'
Then, Ilaya heard Mars introduced herself and Ilaya towards the man
"By the way. I'm Mars and this is Ilaya! She's my boss and my new colleague here! What's your name?"
Michizugawa nodded and said to them
"I'm Michizugawa Izami. I'm a police officer here in the city. If you have concerns, reach out to me through your boss. Nice to meet you two"
Ilaya froze when she heard that. She stared at the man in front of her as her guilt returned again. This dampened her mood as she cautiously asked him
"Umm… are you… perhaps…"
Ilaya stopped her words as she didn't know what to say. She wanted to ask if he's a survivor of that previous attack on the police force. But she felt that it's basically digging into his wounds, so she stopped
Michizugawa saw this and immediately knew what she wanted to ask. Then, he said to her
"You wanted to ask about what had happened to me?"
Ilaya looked at him in the eyes. She saw that his eyes was still like a lake and deep like an ocean. Not changing. She steeled herself and she asked
"Yes. We heard from the news that the police forces suffered heavy casualties in the last fight. I am wondering if your one of the survivor"
Mars wanted to say something to Ilaya and looked at her with reproach and concern. But she noticed that the two of them, Ilaya and Michizugawa, were serious about their conversation. The look in their eyes says it all. That made Mars hold herself back. The atmosphere around them is making Mars uncomfortable
'What's going on?'
Michizugawa stared at her and for some reason, what he got from her eyes was a will full of resolve. He didn't mince his words and didn't hold back at all as he said to her
"Yes. I survived. We were attacked when there's more than 30 of us. And of the 30 something, three survived. Including me. So yes, we were nearly wiped out. There's also many teams that totally got wiped out"
Ilaya's heart skipped a beat as she secretly grit her teeth. Knowing the story in the mouth of survivor can't compare to someone telling you about it. Ilaya didn't react as she kept staring at Michizugawa. He still had the same look at the start. Serene.
Then, as Michizugawa was about to say something, the owner returned with a bottle of wine in his hand. He looked at them and noticed the heavy atmosphere. He immediately glared at Michizugawa and walked towards them. Michizugawa hurriedly shook his head as he pointed at Ilaya with his eyes
The owner broke the silence as he smiled and said to them
"I see that you've all acquainted yourselves. That spared me from introducing you all"
The owner put the wine on the table as he opened it. Then, he poured the wine into four glasses as he took one and said
"Now that you know each other, take your glasses. Let's start the celebration"