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ArabicArknights: The Holy Son's Leisurely Life — Chapter 50
Chapter 50: Sorry Exusiai, Is That Even Human?
“Spare me. If I really did that, she would tear me apart the moment she opened her eyes.”
Lucian did not doubt Blaze’s fiery temper for a single second. If he actually dared to take advantage of the elite operator while she was vulnerable, he would be reduced to minced meat by tomorrow morning.
He tried to pry her arms off him. But this feline, even dead to the world in a drunken stupor, possessed terrifying physical strength. In the end, she stubbornly wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face into his side and refusing to let go.
Left with no other choice, Lucian sighed and let her use his lap as a makeshift pillow.
He picked up his glass and continued to drink with Big Sister Hoshiguma. After downing two more rounds, he finally spoke up. “Big Sister Hoshiguma, thank you for today.”
“You helped me gather information, and you helped me coax her into talking. You had to play the villain the entire time. I am sorry about that.”
Hoshiguma let out a low, rumbling chuckle, the sound vibrating in the quiet room. “It is nothing. Just keep drinking with me.”
Hoshiguma understood the underlying currents perfectly. Lucian needed to confirm the true nature of Rhodes Island from Blaze, which meant someone had to pry out her genuine thoughts. With her imposing presence and Guard Department background, Hoshiguma was the perfect candidate to play the bad cop.
The final result was exactly what they needed.
Regardless of whether Rhodes Island harbored any hidden agendas, Blaze herself was an incredibly pure-hearted person. If an elite operator like her could place so much absolute trust in Rhodes Island, then the pharmaceutical company must possess qualities worthy of that loyalty.
Hoshiguma swirled the remaining alcohol in her can. “So? Are you planning to lend Rhodes Island a hand?”
“It is not a matter of helping them or not, but they certainly have value in being investigated further,” Lucian said, gently brushing a stray lock of hair away from Blaze’s twitching feline ear.
A beautiful slogan alone could not save anyone. Whether during his time in Laterano or in the years after he left the holy city, Lucian had heard far too many grand, high-sounding promises.
What was even more terrifying than deceitful words were the people who spoke them and genuinely believed their own lies. Lucian had already suffered immensely from that exact brand of self-righteousness, and he had no intention of playing the fool a second time.
Yet, all the signs indicated that Rhodes Island was an anomaly. They spoke the most idealistic words, but their actions remained firmly grounded in reality.
He looked down at Blaze’s peaceful sleeping face. “Rhodes Island has combat operators who frequently deploy into conflict zones, right? Their next destination should be Chernobog. Big Sister Hoshiguma, do you know anything about the situation over there?”
Hoshiguma shook her head, her expression turning serious. “The Lungmen Guard Department does not know much more than the general public. Wei Yenwu might have his own shadow intelligence channels, but he certainly has not disclosed them to us.”
“But I can tell you this with absolute certainty. The situation in Chernobog is nowhere near as peaceful as the news reports claim. I can smell the blood from here.”
“Yes,” Lucian agreed, his voice dropping to a murmur. “I smell it too.”
Chernobog. Reunion. Rhodes Island.
The disaster brewing among the Infected was accelerating at a terrifying pace. It was no longer just a stray spark in the dark; it was finally on the verge of erupting into a roaring prairie fire.
Lucian looked up, meeting the tall oni’s gaze. “Big Sister Hoshiguma, how about we finally have that long-overdue spar?”
“Alright,” she replied, a fierce, eager smile touching her lips. “You have not practiced with me since you got your hands on those suspension blades from Rhine Lab, have you? I have never fought a Sankta wielding a knife before. Tell me, are they more accurate than your bullets?”
He offered a helpless shrug. “After all, you cannot exactly fire live rounds in the middle of Lungmen.”
“I need to find a reliable way to protect myself without drawing the Guard Department’s wrath. I need some real practical experience. Oh, by the way, my new toys do not count as controlled weapons under city law, do they?”
Hoshiguma cracked open another tall can of alcohol and shoved it directly into Lucian’s hand. “Whether they count or not is entirely up to you.”
“…Understood.”
Lucian knew there was no escaping his fate tonight. Resigning himself to the inevitable, he obediently accompanied the imposing oni big sister, matching her drink for drink until the world finally went black.
“Ha-woo…”
Angelina woke up groggily, her vision swimming in the dark.
It was three in the morning, an utterly miserable time to be jolted awake. The culprit was Croissant, who was currently sprawled across the same bed. The Forte girl had gotten completely wasted earlier, requiring Texas to literally carry her into the room, and was now snoring loud enough to rattle the windows.
Angelina was mostly used to Croissant’s terrible sleeping posture, but the overwhelming stench of cheap alcohol was simply too much to bear.
The little Vulpo pitifully scrunched up her face, holding her breath. ‘Croissant, please go take a shower… Wuwu, it stinks so much.’
Living under someone else’s roof meant she had to be accommodating. Wiping a stray tear of frustration from her eye, Angelina hugged her fluffy pillow to her chest and quietly pushed the bedroom door open.
It was incredibly late. The adults who had been drinking in the living room should have all retired to their respective beds by now. Angelina just wanted to see if she could claim the sofa for the rest of the night.
But as she crept down the hallway, the clever high schooler suddenly realized a glaring flaw in her plan. Where exactly did that somewhat scary Big Sister Blaze, and the even more terrifying Big Sister Hoshiguma, end up sleeping?
‘Big Sister Hoshiguma and Exusiai are close, so they could probably share a room. Then Big Sister Hoshiguma and Texas… No, Texas would never agree to that. Then, could it be… with Lucian…?!’
The young girl’s rich, overactive imagination immediately supplied a dozen scandalous scenarios. Her cheeks flushed a brilliant crimson in the dark.
She could tell that Lucian respected Hoshiguma immensely, and their dynamic truly felt like a pair of close siblings. But it should not be like that. It absolutely should not!
‘Lucian and Exusiai are supposed to be a couple! Who would ever betray Exusiai? Is that even human?!’
Angelina tiptoed into the living room. It was pitch black and deathly quiet.
And then.
Angelina saw it.
Lucian, completely blacked out on the floor. And pinning him down from above was none other than Hoshiguma!
Hoshiguma paused. “…?”
The sharp instincts of the seasoned Lungmen Guard Department officer flared. Hearing Angelina’s nervous, hitched breathing, Hoshiguma slowly looked up.
Her piercing gaze met Angelina’s wide, terrified eyes. The young Vulpo immediately slapped both hands over her mouth, shaking her head frantically in sheer panic.
Seeing the poor girl looking like a frightened rabbit, Big Sister Hoshiguma smirked in the shadows. She slowly raised a hand, pressing her index finger against her lips in a silent command.
Shh.
Angelina understood instantly. She nodded so vigorously her neck nearly snapped, then scrambled backward, retreating into the safety of the bedroom.
She slammed the door shut, locked it with a sharp click, and dove back under the covers. Hugging the snoring Croissant for dear life, she began muttering a frantic litany of apologies.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry, I didn’t see anything! I’m so sorry, Lucian! I’m so sorry, Exusiai!”
Croissant shifted in her sleep, groaning heavily. “Guh… Angelina, easy… you’re crushing me… Guh-pfft.”
That night, Angelina took another traumatic step toward adulthood, and a world where only Croissant suffered was successfully completed.
The next day, the sun was already high in the sky, casting bright rays through the tea shop’s windows.
Blaze’s feline ears twitched. She let out a long, comfortable groan, stretching her limbs like a lazy cat.
“Hmph… that was a fantastic sleep!…Hm? Wait, why am I on the sofa?”
It took Blaze a solid minute to piece together the fragmented memories from before she completely blacked out. She quickly patted down her clothes, pulled her collar open to inspect herself, gave her shirt a quick sniff, and finally nodded in satisfied confirmation.
“Hm, nothing happened. Lucian seems to be quite the gentleman after all. I can safely entrust Exusiai to him, yes.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence, but please do not trouble yourself on my behalf!”
Exusiai, who had been standing right behind the sofa, delivered a swift, merciless karate chop to the back of Blaze’s neck. The elite operator yelped, trembling as she clutched her head in pain.
Exusiai glared down at her, crossing her arms in exasperation. “Since you are perfectly aware of what men are capable of, then please develop some basic self-preservation instincts! It is fine because Lucian is a hopeless fool with the heart of a thief but absolutely no guts, but what if it had been literally any other man?”
“Oh, come on,” Blaze laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck. “I usually never drink that much.”
Completely blacking out in a stranger’s home was undeniably embarrassing, and the proud elite operator scrambled to defend her honor.
“I am a woman, after all. I have self-awareness! Normally, no matter how much fun I am having at a bar, I would never let my guard down enough for anyone to take advantage of me.”
“Yesterday… well, I initially wanted to test your man’s character, but then I just got plain drunk. Speaking of which, this is entirely Lucian’s fault! There is definitely something wrong with that blood-replenishing sugar candy he gave me. Why did the alcohol hit me so incredibly hard?! He must have tricked countless women with that exact same candy! Definitely!”
Exusiai delivered a second, equally punishing chop to her head. “That is enough excuses out of you. I bought some clean clothes in your size. Hurry up and go take a shower. You reek of cheap booze.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Feeling thoroughly guilty, Blaze obediently shuffled toward the bathroom.
As she began peeling off her stale clothes, Blaze suddenly paused, feeling a strange sensation radiating through her limbs.
‘Huh? My Originium crystals… they seem to have shrunk.’She pressed a hand against her skin.’My body also feels incredibly warm and light. Why?’
As a veteran patient of Oripathy and a frontline combatant, Blaze was hyper-sensitive to every minute shift in her physical condition. She could clearly feel that her current state was unbelievably, almost impossibly good.
However, her straightforward mind failed to connect this miraculous recovery to Lucian’s potent blood-replenishing sugar. She simply assumed the satisfying, stress-relieving drinking session had somehow done wonders for her health.
Still, a thought crossed her mind. Poking her head out of the bathroom door, she called out to Exusiai. “Hey, are Lucian and that giant oni woman named Hoshiguma both out?”
“Croissant and Texas went downstairs to open the shop for the day,” Exusiai replied, sorting through a stack of towels. “The other two went out to fight.”
Before Blaze could react, Exusiai continued, “If you shower quickly, you might still make it in time. You wanted revenge on that green-haired woman for getting you drunk, right? You can easily join their fight under the guise of morning training.”
Blaze’s eyes lit up with predatory excitement. “—Give me ten minutes! No, five minutes! I will be out of the shower immediately!”
What kind of woman finishes a shower in five minutes? If Lucian’s adoptive father back in Laterano ever heard about this, he would surely lecture her for hours on proper etiquette.