It's been three days since I sold a copy of my journal for some limited-edition chocolates.
They're already gone, mainly because the damn girls keep stealing them from me. How the hell do they find my hiding spots?
Whatever.
—"Today, you're interacting with my pets for real."
[[[Guu…]]]
During breakfast, the girls flinch when the rat kid suggests it for the umpteenth time in the last few days. Even if their reaction is delicious, whether they like it or not, this time I'm serious.
["Like it or not, this time I'm serious."]
Their faces sink into despair when they realize there's no escape.
The rat kid would also like to maintain this dynamic, but what can the rat kid do?
I need to make sure my vixens and my pets can work together in an emergency.
This isn't a whim because I want to see their despair as they get used to interacting. It's definitely not that… Well, maybe a little. Gyahahahaha.
"Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock,"
As I was thinking about my delicious future, the sudden knocking on the door brings me back to reality.
["A monster?"]
The girls go on alert at the unknown threat. After all, Milia and the super friends would ring the doorbell.
["ASTRAD, ASTRAD, PLEASE, OPEN UP! ASTRAD!"]
However, Milia's shouts from the other side created more questions than answers.
[Tsk.]
Reluctantly, I get up to see what she wants, followed by the cautious gazes of the girls. This isn't the kind of attention the rat kid wants.
["Vixen, this had better be good."]
I complain as I open the door, and the first thing I see is a frantic Milia with tears in her eyes. Behind her, neither too far nor too close, her group of super friends and Franco watch us warily.
["My mom…"]
Her choked voice already gave me a bad feeling, but I still have to ask.
["What about my aunt? Is she back already? Did she bring beer?"]
It's not that she'd let me drink it, but I can always sneak some later. We only have beer for a few more weeks; this is urgent.
["She… She's in danger…"] —Milia squeezes the words out, but her voice breaks and her eyes overflow with tears.
The atmosphere turns heavy. All eyes shift between Milia and me.
Ahhh… The rat kid doesn't like the apocalyptic world. Ever since the internet came back, there have been no updates on the anime, manga, or novel sites. The rat kid can't fulfill his sacred duty at this rate. So far, I've avoided withdrawal thanks to this group of girls, but that won't last long… I think I got off topic. Is this what they call escaping from reality? Not bad, I'll have to perfect this technique later.
....
Since there was no other choice, I let them in to explain the situation.
But after we settled in the living room with some snacks, the uncomfortable silence drags on.
On one side is my ex-girlfriend and her group.
On the other side is me and the group of girls.
I'm particularly intrigued by the seating arrangement. Alicia immediately sat on my lap and refused to move. As if the rat kid were some kind of throne, a rat throne.
If I try to move her, she looks at me with teary eyes. The rat kid is aware that he's being manipulated, but without a way to avoid it, it's useless.
It's like when you know you shouldn't watch anime until 3 in the morning because you have an important test the next day; your mind understands it, but understanding something and being able to do something about it are very different things.
As for the rest of the girls, they're looking at Milia and her group with heavy hostility.
The problem is that they're all sitting behind me, which leaves me and the brave girl who refuses to leave my lap in the center of the group.
Kids are amazing, the rat kid shows his respects. But seriously, what's with this arrangement?
.........…..
["So that's why you're here,"] -I say after Milia showed us a series of videos, which showed a little of what was happening in the city.
Let's just say they weren't very… encouraging.
Pain, misery, death. I'll ask her for a copy for when I'm feeling depressed. Well, despite everything, it seemed that people had gathered in large groups and were resisting the monsters. The central axis of the resistance seems to be the city's police force.
Since when are the police efficient? The rat kid is suspicious.
["What's the big deal? They're slowly pushing the monsters back."]
["The videos are from when it all started,"] —Milia explains—. ["After that, they put up some barricades around the police station, turning the downtown area into one of the safe zones not managed by the army."]
They mentioned that safe zone thing before, too. The rat kid doesn't understand what they're talking about, but the rat kid will nod in approval as if he understands.
["For those who don't know what a safe zone is,"] —Louise says, looking at me with exasperation—. ["They're places where a large number of people have collaborated to secure a monster-free perimeter."]
["Why do you have to explain something like that?"]
["It's not your problem. I'm not talking to you, goody-two-shoes."]
["Wh-why do you have to be so rude? I'm just saying it should be obvious to everyone what a safe zone is."]
["If I'm saying it, it's because there's one person here who doesn't understand your definition of a 'safe zone'."]
Milia and Louise started arguing for some reason. The rat kid is happy to be the reason for the argument, but the rat kid has a question that needs an answer.
["I understand that the worry about monsters is lessened… But what do they do about the other people? The rat kid doesn't see where the safety is."]
The rat kid thought it was just a code name.
Everyone in the room looks at me with disbelief when I ask my question, except for Louise; she just rolls her eyes.
["You… You really don't have any faith in humanity, do you?"]
["Slander… I have faith that they'll stab me in the back when they don't need me anymore."]
The atmosphere turned heavy. What's wrong with them now?
["You're even worse now… That's why I…"]
["Cheated on me?"]
[[…]]
What is this heavy atmosphere? The rat kid is happy… The faces of the teenagers who don't know what to say are delicious.
And Louise, who is glaring at me with contempt after realizing my true intentions… let's just ignore that last part, yes.
["Whatever. Why are you worried about my aunt? She's supposed to be in a… pfft, 'safe' place? My aunt is a cop in that area; she must be part of the defense force."]
["You don't recognize the place as safe, and yet you ask why I'm worried?"]
["I'm just going by your perceptions of 'safe.' Why are you blaming me?"]
[[…]]
Silence is music to the rat kid.
["Don't you think that's enough?"] - Franco intervenes – ["Is it that fun for you to see Milia suffer? Is this your form of revenge?"]
["Ummmm, yes, yes it is."]
The rat kid is honest. The rat kid has principles.
["Ahem. We're not going to get anywhere if this continues."]
[[…]]
Just when it was getting good, four-eyes brings us back to the point of the conversation. You dare ruin my fun? I'll remember this, I… "ouch, ouch, ouch."
["Ow… Your pinching hurts the rat kid."]
["Humph."]
Louise throws a tantrum…
Since there was no other choice, I decided to move the conversation forward, and a second round of videos was shown by the group.
To put it simply, the monsters are gaining ground little by little due to their ever-increasing numbers.
I could also see my aunt fighting alongside the other police officers. But in the last available video, the beasts had pushed them back to the halfway point of the territory they had initially secured.
["Although they were forced to retreat, it's not like they've been cornered. There have been no deaths after they organized, and their defense is solid,"] —Kiti opines.
How do you conclude that from the videos? Did you keep a count of the participants in each shot?
Maybe she really is a genius… A genius thief.
The rat kid only recognized his aunt.
["To begin with, the territory they tried to take before was excessive for the size of the group. Now they're in an optimal position,"] —Carolain adds.
Are these vixens now female versions of Rambo?
The rat kid will continue to nod as if he understands. Appearances are important.
["How can you say that? Don't you understand they're in danger?"] —Milia replies.
["Fine, now that her situation is clear, what do you propose?"] —Louise asks, sharply.
["W-we have to help them…"]
["And how can a goody-two-shoes and a group of teenagers help a group of armed and trained police officers?"]
["That's…"]
Louise is in the zone. Let's avoid bothering her for the rest of the day.
["…Astrad, we're going to rescue Mom… right?"] —Milia asks me.
["What? Huh? …Oh, wait, you were supposed to be asking me for something…"]
Just as I was remembering an important point, Louise throws a death glare at Milia.
["Why are you changing the subject to Astrad? I asked you a question."]
["I don't need to answer anything to you. I came to seek help from my childhood friend. This has nothing to do with strangers."]
["Ahhhhh? Aren't you convenient? All I see is you blackmailing him into doing what you want. Aren't you the one who's always saying 'I'm not your girlfriend' and 'get over it already'? After what happened, how dare you even speak to him?"]
["That's… You don't know anything..."]
Quick, someone bring the rat kid more snacks.