Lies

Kuroi POV

"Kuroi, give me more beer~ hic~"

"Miss, you are too drunk. Besides, you have already opened way too many cans."

I tried to pull Asteria away from the sofa and drag her toward her bed. We were currently at her apartment after going out earlier for some business, and this was how the night had ended up.

“Hah~ she is too hard on herself.”

“I knew going there would be a bad idea.”

Returning to the sofa, I gathered the empty beer cans and drained blood packs into a trash bag, wiped the table clean, and sprayed some air freshener.

“She cares way too much about other people, but not at all about herself”

.

..

…

A few hours earlier, in the late afternoon, on our way back from the office.

"Hey Kuroi, couldn't we go check on that soldier I saved?"

"We probably could, but we cannot just drop by unannounced. I have to contact Capsaicin first."

"Alright then, do it."

"...Are you sure?"

She nodded from the passenger seat while I stayed focused on driving. I decided to pull over at a restaurant first so we could eat dinner.

"I already contacted him, but I do not know if we will be allowed in."

"No problem."

She smiled, but I could feel that she was just trying to cover something up, or maybe she was deeply regretting what happened to that man.

“She is overthinking it.”

“She should know this is not her fault.”

Ding! A notification popped up on my phone while we were still slurping our ramen. I saw it was from Capsaicin and checked it.

"It seems we are allowed to visit, as long as we hurry."

"Alright, I will finish this right away."

Using the fork she always carried around, she hurriedly ate her ramen, and we got back on the road heading to the hospital where the soldiers were treated.

"Usually, civilians are rarely allowed to come here."

After parking, we headed to the main lobby where I saw Capsaicin waving at us. We walked over to him. He was wearing casual clothes, though they were still a military shade of green, which seemed typical for him.

"Thank you for taking the time to visit him, Miss."

"Haha, it is no problem. We are on the same team, after all."

We walked past several rooms. Whenever the other soldiers saw Miss Asteria, they immediately smiled and greeted us.

I thought that maybe it was actually a good thing Miss Asteria came here, since her presence cheered everyone up. Still, I had to wonder...

“Does she feel the same way?”

After walking for a while, we entered a typical hospital room with several beds separated by privacy curtains.

"Right here, Miss."

"Oh, Miss Asteria! You actually came to visit. I thought Capsaicin was just joking."

There, I saw a man who looked to be in his late twenties. He looked perfectly healthy to me. Miss Asteria stood by his side, looking slightly downward.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Hahaha, I am perfectly fine, Miss! Though I might have to stay here for a little while longer, you know?"

Listening to them chat, I felt like everything was fine. The man was still able to smile and seemed energetic, so nothing felt out of the ordinary.

“But why does she have that expression on her face?”

Just watching from the sidelines, I could sense that Miss Asteria was holding back something incredibly heavy. We had only known each other for a few years, but my gut told me she was deeply troubled.

“I do not want to make her feel worse by asking her how she feels right now.”

"Alright then, Miss Asteria. It looks like visiting hours are over."

"Oh, is that so? Anyway, I hope we can meet again."

"Ahaha! Of course we will meet again, Miss."

As the two of them stood up, I stood up as well, and we left the room, stepping back into the hospital corridor.

"I really appreciate you wanting to visit, Miss."

"It's nothing. Besides, tomorrow is the weekend and I have free time."

"Well, you know, it will take a long time before he can rejoin the squad."

"Is that so."

"Yep. But do not think too much about it. This is a common occurrence for us."

They continued talking until we left the corridor and Capsaicin escorted us out.

"Once again, Miss Asteria, it is always a pleasure working with you."

"Fufu, you too, Capsaicin."

"Miss Kuroi, be careful on the road."

Nodding, I retrieved the car and we headed back toward Miss Asteria's apartment, until...

"That man... he lost his left leg."

"Huh?!"

"I used my mystic eyes to look, and he lost his left leg."

Furrowing my brow at that revelation, I glanced sideways at her before focusing back on the road. Judging by her downcast expression, it was the absolute truth.

"Then... why was he smiling and acting like that?"

"They probably just wanted to make sure I didn't feel guilty."

Thinking about it again, that made sense. But it still shocked me that someone could lie so convincingly about something so terrible happening to them.

“I might need to start studying psychology from now on.”

.

..

…

Back to the present, inside Miss Asteria's apartment. I had decided to stay the night, and since there was only one bed, I opted to sleep on the sofa this time.

"I just hope she doesn't do anything reckless when she wakes up."

With that thought, I turned off the lights and went to sleep right there, just in case.