Adeline nodded to her aunt. "Fine, fine—I'm grown, okay? Sheesh. Anyway… can I ask you something else? Uh… if I were to throw thirty thousand credits into a river, would you be mad at me?" she asked, face tight with uncertainty.
"It's your pocket, not mine, dear. Heh. Spend it however you like." The moment Adeline heard that, her face blossomed like a sunflower. "I love you the most, Aunty Cilly~~~"
Just then, an owl swooped down and perched on the mansion roof. It hooted three times.
Its eyes glowed a pale yellow before it spread its wings again, rising toward the moon. Moonlight shifted into a warm golden shimmer, as if urging time forward. Workers poured back into the factory just like yesterday.
Brian looked much better than he had the day before. Everyone returned to their usual routine—checking systems and programming the assembly machines. They were testing a freshly built vehicle when, suddenly, the lift at the balcony slid down. Out stepped a woman in a strikingly colorful outfit, holding something in her arms. Adeline walked out carrying a bottle of champagne.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please~! I don't have much to say except—today we're drinking 'til we drop! Some of you were complaining you couldn't go anywhere for New Year's, right? Well then, let's party straight through the afternoon!" Her voice boomed across the factory floor.
"Huh?!" Brian and the workers froze like a row of toppled dominoes. Then—the factory lights shut off out of nowhere. The assembly machines powered down as the champagne cork shot across the room.
Pop! "Yaaay!!" Cheers erupted. Brian laughed and wiped sweat from his brow.
"Come on, man! Let's go celebrate!" Erik called out to him from the stairs.
"Yeah, just let me wash my face first." Brian sat inside the test vehicle for a moment. Meanwhile, Adeline beckoned everyone into the lift. Brian finally stood and joined them. As the lift rose, loud music thumped from above. The doors slid open, revealing a hall filled with balloons covering the ceiling. Drinks and food were piled high on a white-covered table. And right at the entrance...
Braaap! Yokumi, the secretary-bot, blew a party horn. "Let's begin the celebration! Callaghan Corp will handle all the fun today." Employees swarmed out to dance in a big, messy crowd. Brian wandered the edges alone, nibbling snacks. Adeline poured champagne generously for everyone, and by the time the afternoon rolled around, the little trash-collecting robot had already rolled out to tidy the spotless hall. Adeline made her rounds, shaking everyone's hand before heading out—until the last person: Brian. He hurried over to her.
"I don't know how to repay you. That… that meant a lot to me," he said sincerely.
"Repay me for what?" Adeline leaned against Yokumi's desk and grabbed her parasol and white straw hat.
"The money you put in my wallet," Brian said, standing stiffly as if he needed an explanation from her.
"Oh that? Don't worry about it. Consider it a bonus." She flicked the end of her ponytail with a smug little gesture.
"I don't have anything worthwhile to give back to my boss… but could I repay you by driving you home?"
"Hmm~~ I do have my own transport. Buuut, I've actually never ridden a diesel car before. You're the only one here who still drives such an old machine."
"Yeah… it's kind of outdated. I mean—outclassed…" Brian lifted his hands awkwardly. "Anyway, whatever you'd like."
"I'm not someone who cares about status—only about experiences. There's no such thing as 'too old' for that."She nodded, agreeing to go with him.
Brian's face brightened. "Whenever you're ready to leave."
"Mm-hm. Right now." Adeline walked ahead of him out of the building. They took the escalator down to the parking lot, where a red car sat proudly at the center. Adeline passed over the white arrow painted on the floor pointing backward—but Brian walked across the arrow pointing in the opposite direction.