Chapter 199
When Vodka saw the caller ID show Botanist's codename, his heart stopped for a moment.
Though this wasn't the first time receiving Usuha Izuki's call—dozens of times over the years total—Vodka seemed to have developed a conditioned reflex. Seeing Botanist or anything related to Usuha Izuki would make him jump with fright.
Even when drinking at bars, accidentally spotting [Botanist liqueur] on the menu or bottles of [Botanist liqueur] behind the bartender would make his brain blank for a second.
Almost as terrifying as when his mother suddenly called his full name as a child!!!
Realizing this, Vodka almost wanted to cry.
What degree of torment by Usuha Izuki had led to this! He was supposedly in the underworld—how could he be so pathetic, traumatized by a young punk!
Mainly, Usuha Izuki never had serious business. Every phone call was like opening a mystery box—you never knew what bizarre incident would emerge.
Vodka always felt uneasy and resistant toward such unknowns.
But resistance aside, he still had to answer—otherwise another kind of unknown fear awaited him.
So he reluctantly answered, secretly regretting charging his phone instead of letting it die: "Hello?"
"Vodka, where are you now?"
Usuha Izuki's voice came through the phone.
Most of the time, Usuha Izuki's tone was always relaxed and cheerful, seeming in a good mood. Vodka suspected this was because the guy transferred all troubles and pain to others... like him.
But after feeling heavy for a few seconds and hearing Usuha Izuki's question clearly, Vodka's emotions suddenly turned wonderful.
Heh heh heh... Hahahahaha! That kid Usuha never would have thought! He was in America now!
Originally, he and Big Brother weren't always in Japan anyway—it just happened that when Usuha Izuki called, they coincidentally were on missions in Japan.
But now was different—the Pacific Ocean separated them!
That situation where a harassment call would be followed by seeing the caller face-to-face like confronting an evil god wouldn't happen anymore! So what was there to worry about?!
Whatever Usuha Izuki wanted to do, he'd just say "wait until we're back in Japan," then find excuses to delay Japan-related missions. Maybe Usuha Izuki's matter would be resolved by then...
Vodka hadn't felt this happy receiving Usuha Izuki's call in ages.
So he suppressed his joy and tried to answer in a calm tone: "I'm in America."
"I know you're in America—Vermouth already told me. I'm asking where in America."
The tone sounded ominous, but Vodka comforted himself that maybe Usuha Izuki wanted him to buy something.
This kid always acted cute around women—he probably felt too embarrassed to trouble Vermouth. Hearing he was also in America, ordering him to help bring things back would be pressure-free, right?
Originally, Vodka was cautious and wanted to give a random address, but...
A few days ago they'd had a mission targeting an acquaintance of Vermouth's public identity, the star Sharon. They'd asked Vermouth about the situation and tried persuading her to participate, but Vermouth disliked involving her public identity in organization work, so she refused.
If he'd known Usuha Izuki was also in America, he wouldn't have asked Vermouth for intelligence!
Considering Vermouth might have already sold him out, if what he said now didn't match, Usuha Izuki would probably make a fuss again. So Vodka hesitantly looked at Gin.
Big Brother?! Should I tell the truth now?!
Big Brother indicated he couldn't hear or see anything.
Staying away from Usuha Izuki gave him peace of mind. As for how to stay away—that was naturally something his partner and deputy Vodka needed to worry about.
Getting no response from Gin, Vodka could only answer based on his own judgment, fairly broadly: "...Los Angeles."
Then Vodka heard what sounded like a voice from hell.
"What a coincidence! I'm in Seattle. We're both in America—want to get together sometime?"
Vodka's hand shook and almost hung up, barely managing not to: "You... how are you also in America?"
"Traveling in America, visiting Vermouth while I'm at it. I wasn't planning to call you, but Vermouth persuaded me. I thought I could grudgingly forgive you, so when are you free to come over?"
Vodka: "..........."
Vermouth—!!!
He didn't know whether to break down over Vermouth causing him trouble or be grateful he hadn't been permanently cut off by Usuha Izuki.
"I'm on a mission." Vodka could only thank this mission he'd complained about being troublesome several times for not being finished yet. "Probably need... at least a week."
He gave a timeframe Usuha Izuki wouldn't question.
Usuha Izuki said: "I'm returning to Japan in a week."
Vodka had just sighed in relief when he heard Usuha Izuki continue.
"So I'll just come find you in a couple days. By the way, what mission are you doing now? Need help?"
Don't say such terrifying things!
Vodka forced himself to stay calm: "This is a classified mission. Organization missions can't be casually disclosed to others. Though you don't really participate in organization missions, you should understand this, right?"
"...I understand." Usuha Izuki sighed. "Los Angeles is pretty far anyway... Let's talk when there's a chance."
Usuha Izuki hung up.
Vodka felt like he'd narrowly escaped death.
Great! For the first time, he was grateful America was so much larger than Japan. If this were Japan, maybe taking the shinkansen would suffice, but in America you'd need to fly at least. Maybe Usuha Izuki would find it too troublesome!
And Usuha Izuki's attitude was quite friendly this time—no tricky questions or difficult requests... Though it was a bit strange, making him somewhat paranoid, being able to end the call smoothly was most important! Other details didn't need attention!
As for why Usuha Izuki's attitude was so good this time...
He hadn't avoided Vermouth when making the call, so Vermouth had witnessed his entire conversation with Vodka.
Vermouth thought Usuha Izuki spoke quite normally while Vodka was obviously being evasive. And this Vodka still had the nerve to say Usuha Izuki spoke badly?!
"He said that—what do you plan to do?" Vermouth asked considerately. "Actually, since you rarely come to America, visiting Los Angeles wouldn't be bad. I have a house there too... Anyway, I'm just guest starring. If we speed up a bit here, two days should finish it. I could take you there then?"
If Vodka knew what Vermouth was saying now, he'd definitely thank Vermouth's entire family.
Usuha Izuki hadn't really wanted to go after hearing Vodka and the others were in Los Angeles—too troublesome.
But since Vermouth suggested it with obvious all-inclusive accommodations and entertainment, Usuha Izuki readily agreed: "Great! Would that trouble you?"
"No problem. Houses are meant to be lived in—leaving them empty is meaningless."
Vermouth hadn't invited someone home purely for fun in ages. Her mouth curved in a slight smile: "As for Vodka... just wait and see."
Since Vodka had specifically come to ask her for intelligence, she naturally knew their mission details.
She didn't want to participate in the mission, but bringing Usuha Izuki along for excitement was fine.
"Yay!" Usuha Izuki cheered happily. "Vermouth is the best!"
Vermouth smiled.
She thought, if Yarik could work hard to spoil the child like this even in the Middle East, she should help too.
Angels had never smiled at her. Yarik's efforts had also failed with his death. How long could the gods favor Usuha Izuki?
That night, Usuha Izuki rested at Vermouth's place. The crew had booked several hotel floors, so getting him a separate room was easy.
This counted as borrowing the privilege of "Sharon" the major star.
Same with dining. Vermouth treated him to an expensive meal—expensive enough that Gin would want to kill someone seeing the expense report. After all, he personally handled even hundred-million-yen transactions, so seeing people who didn't manage households casually expense such useless things really annoyed him.
But some people had privileges in the organization—like Vermouth, like Usuha Izuki. No matter how annoyed Gin got, he could only endure it.
Honestly, expensive didn't necessarily mean delicious. Usuha Izuki respectfully declined things like caviar, but Vermouth had carefully asked about his usual preferences, so the ordered dishes suited his taste.
This showed thoughtfulness, and Usuha Izuki appreciated Vermouth's consideration.
System: [You still say you don't have gender discrimination... Haven't others been thoughtful toward you? Morofushi Hiromitsu specifically modified so many dishes for your taste, but you weren't particularly nice to him!]
Still farmed suspicion values ruthlessly!
[I already gave him a lucky cross—what more does he want!]
System: [Wasn't that something you couldn't use? Plus you sent way more items to your Middle Eastern buddies.]
[So when he's exposed, I'll just save him and farm some suspicion values.] Usuha Izuki had already calculated this.
System: [...Um, he might not be exposed anymore.]
Usuha Izuki: [Ah??? Why?]
[You forgot about that cult you encountered when you went to the hot springs with them at New Year's? It implicated a bunch of legislators and such, then connected to the Metropolitan Police... Anyway, the Metropolitan Police checked the risk levels of people in key positions. High-risk ones were all transferred away—safe for at least a year.]
Usuha Izuki was greatly shocked.
He'd just casually played around during that hot spring trip—how did it disrupt the organization's undercover investigation?!
System: [Might be the luck added by that cross—just happened to see that remote place's advertisement...]
Usuha Izuki was heartbroken: [Damn! I'd already planned it—Gin and Vodka would definitely suspect me of helping Morofushi Hiromitsu escape, then I'd say things like 'my friendship won't waver because he's a traitor'... Now it's all ruined!]
System comforted him: [Don't worry! Without this one, there's the next one! And when things calm down, the organization will definitely continue buying people—maybe Morofushi Hiromitsu will just be exposed two years later... You could consider Akai Shuichi first!]
[Sigh, that's the only way. Let's see when Akai Shuichi plans to arrest Gin... Actually, he could consider arresting me too.]
System: [...In Akai Shuichi's mind, arresting Gin might be safer than arresting you.]
After all, Gin could be figured out using normal human logic, but you're like a mental patient—impossible to approach...
Usuha Izuki sighed.
Vermouth, sitting across from him, raised an eyebrow: "What's wrong? Not to your taste?"
"No, just worried about Gin and Vodka." Usuha Izuki looked worried. "Their eye for people isn't great. Killing missions are fine, but for negotiations, I always worry they'll be deceived."
"...For example?"
Usuha Izuki: "Like Rye. I can't believe they actually let Rye join the organization."
Vermouth: "...Don't worry. I'll take you to see them in a couple days."
Mm, this child... though he thinks a bit much, the child isn't wrong. It's all Gin and Vodka making the child worry!