The orders arrived a few minutes after Elara arrived.
A slim, elegant man with a slight tan appeared with a tray and set the drinks on the table.
Nova's Dark Flame looked like a very dark purple liquid that literally had a flame burning in the glass. It is a very strong and bitter drink, not suitable for the sensitive, capable of knocking out any normal person.
The detail here is that Nova is not normal. He even extinguished the flame with a light blow.
Miyu's Scarlet Flower, on the other hand, was a red drink with dark tones that formed a flower inside the glass. It is a drink highly acclaimed by those who love sweet drinks, as it not only has a pretty appearance, but also a pleasant sweet and floral taste.
Elara ordered a Light Feather. It was a clear white drink with little alcohol, but with a strong and bitter taste. It was the equivalent of drinking coffee, but with alcohol. Moreover, the name itself was very sarcastic, as the taste was not light at all.
"I have a lot of money this month," said Miyu.
Her tail wagged happily from side to side as she drank from her glass.
"I can pay the rent and buy myself some nice clothes."
She chirped on and on as the drink slowly disappeared from the glass. Her joy would soon be compromised by harsh reality. Moreover, Nova looked at her with pity.
"Don't forget to save some of that money for your food."
Miyu's tail bristled at Nova's recommendation. Elara smiled as she took a sip of her drink and added:
"You're not going to starve like last month, I guess. I'm sure you won't waste your money on nonsense this time."
"Yeah. Because you always have an empty wallet. Then you show up at my house with the excuse that you're coming to visit my mother, but you're really coming to beg for some food."
Nova's last statement made Miyu's ears twitch nervously. Her fur stood up a little, ruffling her red hair.
'That's right. I saw you, you scoundrel. You take advantage of my mother's kindness.'
Nova wasn't going to let anyone take advantage of his mother. Scoundrels burn in hell, and rude people lose their tongues.
"I didn't think you'd noticed."
She gave up immediately. There was no point in arguing with Nova when he got like this. It was even worse when Elara sided with him. The two of them together were like the final boss of a raid.
"You're so obvious all the time. Don't think I don't notice."
Elara raised her eyebrows, curious and amused by that statement. She cleared her throat and said:
"That's where I disagree, Nova. If you noticed everything she does and feels, you would have noticed many other things a long time ago."
"What? Really?"
"Of course."
Miyu trembled and shrugged. She was afraid of what Elara said. In fact, she became very nervous because of it.
Without saying anything, interrupting the agreement between Elara and Nova, she grabbed her drink and swallowed it whole in a second. Then she slammed the glass on the table and looked at the two of them with defiant eyes.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not here and let's drink. Let's drink a lot!"
'Finally, something we agree on. Tonight is going to be fun.'
There was nothing better than having a good time with friends.
"Okay. If we're going to drink a lot, I'll pay for the first few rounds."
He was sure he could quench these girls' thirst with the money in his wallet.
'I'm sure Elara will pay for the rest.'
How cheeky. In the end, it was just a strategy to avoid spending too much. Besides, it's not like Elara really needs the money.
'She's a wealthy young lady, after all.'
The drinks began to come and go as the minutes ticked by on the bright, colorful, mechanical clock behind Nova.
Elara and Miyu chatted happily, laughing from time to time.
The feline girl constantly rested her head on the table, as everything began to spin before her eyes. Meanwhile, Nova became a silent observer; a relaxed observer who enjoyed being a brick in a chair.
These girls don't mind that Nova was silent. He's that kind of person. He's the calm, down-to-earth leader. No one has ever seen him get angry or sad.
In fact, no one has ever seen him show any strong emotion. No one has seen him cry or laugh loudly. He's always too calm.
At some point, Nova's communicator beeped. He looked at the screen and realized that someone was complaining in the group chat.
RubRub:
[Why did you leave me alone with Doc?!]
[That guy is so weird!]
[Did you guys go drinking without me?]
[You sons of—!]
[*Sticker of Nova painted as a clown*]
'I'm serious. Where the hell do you guys get those stickers?!'
His inner voice was a thousand times more powerful than his outer voice. While he appeared more serene on the outside, on the inside he was louder for some reason he didn't even understand himself.
He smiled ironically because something was funny.
'Wait until you see yourself in the mirror.'
The revenge of a five-year-old. There was no other way to describe it.
"No. Wait until you try to wash your face."
The night was going to be quite an odyssey.
***
Hours later, Miyu was face down on the table, crying and complaining in a language no one understood. The only thing that could be distinguished in her fictional language was Nova's name repeated multiple times.
The people around her looked at Miyu with slight annoyance. The noisy girl with feline ears and a tail was becoming a nuisance.
Elara looked at her sympathetically, and Nova didn't even know what to do.
He crossed his arms, thinking carefully while his friend spilled herself onto the table in a sea of tears.
'If I could read her mind, everything would be easier.'
It's a shame he doesn't have that power.
It was no surprise that, at this point, all three of them were drunk, but Miyu was in a completely decadent state unlike Elara, who smiled calmly with a red face, sitting upright in her seat like an alcohol titan.
Nova, however, was swaying from side to side next to the table. Feeling this stupid was kind of funny.
'No need to worry. Tomorrow we'll all suffer the same.'
It's a relief that he's not the only one who will pay the consequences of drinking.
"What do we do, Nova? Should I take her to my house?"
"No. Your house is farther away than mine. I'll take her with me."
"I understand. It's not the first time this has happened, so I trust you to take care of this crying girl. I'll go wait for my ride. Bye."
"Sure. Bye."
Elara walked away calmly. It seemed like this woman was made of iron, as she didn't stagger or slur her words. The alcohol didn't seem to affect her.
There's no doubt that she's the tank of the team.
'And now...'
Nova looked at Miyu. He shook his head, thinking about how to take her with him.
'It's always the same with you. I shouldn't be surprised anymore.'
Rather than continuing to lament, with surgical precision, he picked Miyu up in his arms and carried her toward the exit. She was quite light, to tell the truth. The problem was—
"Hahaha."
She started laughing out of nowhere. Nova simply didn't understand why.
"Where are we going, Nova?"
Even the way she spoke was completely disastrous. It was time for a mental note. Never let Miyu drink again.
"We're going home."
"Are you taking me to your house?"
"If you want, I'll take you to yours."
"No! I want to go with you! I want to be with you!"
"Okay. Don't yell."
Humming cheerfully, Miyu clung to Nova with all her might. She was overly happy for some reason, even though she had been crying like a little girl just moments before.
"I want to be with you forever!"
"I know. I know. I'll stay with you."
'I should just leave you in a ditch.'
It was quite a challenge to carry this noisy girl, but Nova preferred to joke to himself.
Leaving Lux Valley, he jumped onto the roof of the building in front and ran to jump between buildings.
Doing that wasn't a good idea. Nova feels dizzy and tired. He could fall at any moment. However, he is already skilled at moving quickly across the roofs of buildings.
He could travel across the city drunk without falling even once.
"Come on, little dragon! Go faster!" said Miyu, jumping on Nova's back.
Being dizzy, coupled with Miyu's sudden movements, jumping was becoming difficult.
"Relax a little or we'll both fall."
"I don't want to!"
'Huh. Someone help me. Please...'
***
With luck, skill, and a lot more luck, they both made it home in one piece.
This is Nova's house: a two-story house made of red bricks and wrapped in green vines that made it look like a house in the jungle. The grounds were enclosed by a black wire fence with a red brick and concrete base.
'She finally fell asleep.'
This chaotic girl had finally gotten tired on the way home. Now she was asleep on Nova's back.
'I guess the end of the road is the most satisfying part of the journey.'
With that in mind, he opened the metal gate at the edge of the property and closed it with his heel.
A sharp growl suddenly rang out. It was Poki, who came out of its little tree house in the backyard just to say hello to its human friend, but tilted its head in confusion when it saw Miyu with Nova.
It immediately understood that this crazy girl was here, and ran away to its little house again.
"Calm down, buddy. She's not going to kill you."
He finally entered the house.
The interior was cozy and warm, very different from the cold of the street at midnight. There was assorted furniture scattered around the area, and a very nostalgic floral scent. But there were no paintings or photos hanging anywhere.
In fact, the house itself was a little lonely and gloomy despite feeling strangely cozy.
Just by seeing this place once, the same conclusion would come to anyone's mind: It is a house that lacks memories.
Nova continued until he reached his room. The place only had a small bed, a closet full of clothes, a desk with some books, and a lamp. There was also a tabletop communicator, which was the futuristic version of a desktop computer.
Nova easily got Miyu to lie down on the bed. He covered her with some warm blankets and left the room.
'I guess leaving her a glass of water would be a nice gesture,' he thought, walking towards the kitchen.
Everything was quite dark, but Nova could already find his way around this house, as he had lived here for the last twenty-one years of his life.
'Huh. You should be grateful for how much I care about you, Miyu. You're going to pay me back in cash next time.'
He reached the kitchen and approached the refrigerator.
As he was about to open the refrigerator, he sensed a presence behind him. He didn't jump or act scared. He knew who it was, so he said:
"I'm sorry. Did I wake you up? I didn't think I'd be home so late."
He closed the refrigerator and looked at a woman standing next to him, who was looking at him with a somewhat complicated expression. She was tired, sleepy, but also curious.
She is a thin woman in her early forties. Her hair is black, straight, and loose. Her skin was pale and white, quite similar to Nova's skin.
The tiredness in her black eyes was due to the fact that it was already very late.
"I was waiting for you. Did you have fun?"
The woman smiled at Nova with beautiful kindness. Nova smiled back at her.
"Yes, Mom. I had a lot of fun."
She is his mother, after all.
She sighed with relief.
"I see. I'm glad. I see you brought Miyu with you."
"Ah. Yes. She's staying over tonight. She's very drunk and will surely wake up making a fuss tomorrow."
"Well, at least we have an alarm set."
"Yeah... You're right."
The woman gave Nova a gentle pat on the back.
"I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late, okay?"
"Sure. I'll sleep on the sofa tonight."
The woman vanished into the darkness of the hallways, and Nova watched her with a faint smile. Then, out of nowhere, his face became completely expressionless. His eyes turned dull, and the atmosphere around him became dense and insipid.
The silence itself seemed to want to scream as the darkness of the scene embraced him tightly.
However, Nova sighed. His expression became serene again.
Having left the glass of water on the desk in the room, he returned to the first room of the house. He grabbed a blanket and lay down on the sofa.
'Here ends the day.'
Sometimes routine has to change. This day was somewhat hectic and exhausting, but it was undoubtedly one of those days when you have so much fun that you get tired. It was worth saving as an important day.
He closed his eyes, ready to sleep, but his communicator rang with a sudden message. He picked up the rectangular object in his hand and looked at the message.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
[
Emergency.
All available Empaths are requested to gather at the address assigned on the map.
A Category 5 Aberration has escaped from the Dimensional Portal area and is heading for the Nox district.
All possible support is needed.
]
'That's close to here... Well, how inconvenient of you, Aberration.'
Now he had to put his trench coat back on and go out and kick some aberrant butt. Apparently, the night was far from over. And what's more surprising: Category 5! That's too dangerous to ignore.