With a creak, the iron door of the holding cell swung shut. Alain stared with dead-fish eyes at the girl outside the bars, who was leisurely sipping a happy-soda. To be honest, this was the first time he'd ever experienced a proper incarceration. The last time he'd been put in a cage was in the basement of Version 1.9, in the dream world created by "that woman."
"Ahhh! So good! You just can't beat a Pepsi." Millie let out an unladylike belch, holding a newspaper and a pen, circling something on it.
"Wrong. Coke is the one true path. Pepsi is trash," he retorted.
"Tch... Coke? It's just toilet bowl cleaner." Millie clicked her tongue, then looked thoughtfully at Alain. He had hit her weak spot right off the bat.
"What's wrong, bro? I'm an impartial, righteous, two-faced backstabber who'd turn in her own family. Even if you try to pull the friendship card, I'm not letting you out."
"...Is that how you use that phrase?"
Alain pondered it for a moment, then gave up. He observed the hot crop top the girl was wearing. "Speaking of which, are you allowed to wear a crop top on the job?"
"Guh...!"
"Ahem... What can I do? I just started a few days ago, my uniform hasn't even arrived yet." Her eyes darted around. Then, realizing something, she glared at Alain. "Wait, why am I even telling you this? You, be quiet! Don't try to get friendly with me."
As she spoke, she put down her newspaper and pen, stood up proudly, and patted her ample chest, which her short top could barely contain. "After all, I'm now an upstanding and honorable... place!"
Alain stared blankly at her enthusiastic smile and let out a small sigh. "You mean 'police,' right?"
"Uhh..." Her smile froze. "S-So noisy! Why are you talking so much nonsense? Be quiet!"
You're the one who started talking to me, Alain grumbled inwardly, glancing at the faint red mark on his wrist. Millie had been considerate enough to take the handcuffs off once they arrived.
"Hmph... Like what you see?"
Alain considered himself lucky. His bro might have a good head on her shoulders—but sometimes, she was just completely unreliable.
"...That 'you're an idiot' look in your eyes... I get it, you know."
Why did she suddenly have to become reliable at a crucial moment like this? The girl rubbed her thigh. Failing to look cool once hadn't discouraged her; she decided to try again.
On the way in, he hadn't seen a single officer. The holding area was completely deserted. Perhaps this was his chance to escape to freedom.
"Where are your colleagues?" Alain looked at her guard station. There were supplies for two people, but only Millie was using it.
"Hmph~ You've got some nerve asking that. Whose fault do you think it is?"
Millie said indignantly, glancing toward the door, "All the seniors were drawn away by news of the player. It'll probably be a couple of hours before they're back. They left me, a little trainee, to guard this place while they go slack off..."
She sulked, looking directly into Alain's eyes. "You... I don't know what's so charming about you that all the Mitas in the city are stirring up a storm over you."
"My devastatingly handsome face?"
"Shameless. What's so handsome about you?"
"You're lying through your teeth." Alain dropped the subject for now and started assessing his current situation.
First, he was locked up, that much was certain. Fortunately, he was in something like an interrogation room, not a proper prison cell, so he could still talk face-to-face with the little officer.
Alain's gaze focused on the lock on the door. The bars were shut tight, and the keys... He turned to the side, looking at Millie's shorts and the sweet, delicious, tempting, Ryza-thicc thighs beneath them—No, wait, he was looking at the shiny bunch of keys hanging from Millie's waist.
According to his bro, her colleagues were all out chasing him and wouldn't be back for another two hours. In that time, he had to find a way to open the lock on his cell and escape. In a worst-case scenario, he would have to use his Safety Guard's Intranet Firewall skill. And against a physical object like the cell, the Failed Works Gauntlet could also be used. Both of these were backup plans.
Alain psyched himself up, took a deep breath, and prepared to start his dialogue battle with Millie.
"Hmph... Like what you see?"
The hat-wearing girl seemed to have noticed Alain's gaze, her eyes locking directly onto his.
"Are you looking at this?" She hooked a finger under the tight hem of her shorts in what she thought was a cool gesture. With a soft snap! like a mosquito's buzz, the hem loosened and then snapped back, digging deep into the tender flesh of her thigh.
"Ow! That really hurt!" She clutched her thigh, where a red mark was already forming.
"Ahem..." Millie took a deep breath, put on a seductive smile, and hooked the hem of her shorts again.
"Are you looking at this?"
Snap!
The elastic hem once again smacked against the tender flesh of her thigh, leaving another small red welt.
"Oof..." A tear of pain welled up in the corner of her eye, but she kept her self-proclaimed cool smile plastered on her face. Following some kind of script, she took the keys from her waist and jingled them. The clear "ding-ding-a-ling" echoed through the holding area.
"Or this?" She had to clench her teeth and fight back the pain just to get those words out.
Seeing Millie's face flush red from the pain while she hopefully awaited some kind of response, Alain thought for two seconds... He sighed... Oh, what the heck. I'll play along for a bit.
"Y-You... how did you know?!" He feigned shock. "And you're just a trainee officer?! With that kind of observation skill... you're terrifyingly perceptive!"
"Hahahahaha! Your every move is transparent to me! That's right, before me, you might as well be showing your chest and breasts!"
Don't you mean completely naked...? Alain decided it was better not to say that out loud.
"Still, you're a good guy after all." Millie finally gave in to the pain, bending over to rub her thigh. "As expected of my bro, you still spoil me."
"So—"
"But, I still can't let you out." She placed the keys on the desk, stretching languidly. The graceful curve of her body was on full display, her belly button stretching into a crystal-clear line.
"I can get you a Pepsi, though. Consider it encouragement for you to turn over a new leaf in the future~" Her eyes curved into a smile. "How about it? Mr. Succubus."
"I'd love one. It's nice to accept a gift from my girlfriend once in a while."
"Hmph hmph~ Then you just wait right there—" The girl left Alain with only her back to look at.
"Mr. Boyfriend."
With that, she opened the door and disappeared around the corner.
Inside, Alain was left alone, his gaze fixed deeply on the spot where she had left, and on the bunch of keys on the desk.
______
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