- VOL 1 – THOSE UNITED BY THE FATE -
Chapter 3: Final Preparations (3/10)
----------------------------------------------------
"Please, Rina-san! I already told you, it's not my fault! I was supposed to be here that night, but they wouldn't let me!"
"Hoo... So they didn't let you..."
A short, blue-eyed woman was preparing food on a counter. There were a lot of other counters around, they were in a very large kitchen. There weren't many people in the kitchen, but some people dressed as waiters and waitresses kept coming in, taking food, and then going out again.
Other than that, there were a few chefs in there all the time preparing food. But they were too busy to care about this short woman and the auburn-haired young man sitting in the chair next to her.
"You already beat me yesterday, how long are you going to keep this up?"
The body of the man sitting in the chair was still trembling slightly. But there was also fear on his face. He tried to express himself, but the short woman who was preparing the food did not seem to be listening to him.
The young man remained silent for a while because of his fear. The only sounds around were knives on the counter and the general sounds of food being prepared. Compared to the chaos inside the inn, it was quite quiet.
Unable to bear the silence any longer, Minato began to think of something that could save him. He soon remembered how he had survived the previous time.
"Sa- Sana-san wouldn't want you to continue, would she!?"
He had thought he would be able to convince her with what he said, but instead of convincing her, he got something he hadn't expected. She seemed to have finally heard him and for a few seconds, she turned her head towards the auburn-haired young man.
She had a slight smirk on her face, but it was not a good one. It was a fake one that failed to hide her anger. In addition, the woman's eyebrows and the veins bulging on her forehead further revealed her rage.
"Don't mention my sister's name, Minato. Or these hands will cause some kind of an accident."
She held the knife in her hand and slowly pointed it at him. Since there was some distance between them, this did not pose any threat to the young man. But at the menacing words he heard, the man closed his mouth and stayed where he was. He could only gulp out of fear, and when she turned her back again, he drifted back into his own thoughts.
For a while, there were no other sounds except the natural sounds of the kitchen. Then one of these sounds, the sound of a knife, stopped, replacing it with a different sound. It was the voice of Rina. The short woman had decided to break the silence and spoke without waiting after finishing her work.
"Get up, you little coward. And you call me a shorty, look at you."
The young man quickly stood up without resisting her and stood there waiting for her next words. He seemed to have neither the strength nor the will to resist her.
"Thank your friend, today I will not beat you."
As soon as he heard this, joy came into the man's eyes. Whereas before he had looked dead, now he was suddenly so happy that he was jumping up and down.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
"Thank you so much, Rina-san! I promise I will do whatever you want!"
As she said this, a nasty smile appeared on the woman's face. Minato, on the other hand, did not lose his joy at the sight, but a doubt crept into his mind. The woman laughed and continued to speak.
"Hehehe. Don't be too happy. Our work with you is just beginning."
Rina put some of the food she had prepared on a plate and approached the table where the young man was sitting. After placing the food in front of him, she sat down in a chair as well.
"You must be hungry if you tried to sneak in here. Go ahead and eat."
The young man's eyes widened in surprise when he saw the plate in front of him. He was drooling as he looked at the steaming food.
"Gulp!"
He looked like he was going to jump at the food at any moment, but he restrained himself. He had not forgotten the presence of the woman in front of him. Without taking his eyes off the food, he asked her a question.
"So, uh, you didn't put anything in it, did you? I never expected you to cook duck with your own hands."
The short woman gave a big laugh. She seemed to be quite amused by the situation. Soon she answered the question.
"Hahaha! Who do you really think you are? Did you actually think that I could poison you? Anyway, if you don't want this beautiful dish, I can find someone else to eat it."
She was reaching her hand towards the plate to pick it up when the man in front of her suddenly pulled it in front of him. The slight worry and hesitation on his face disappeared completely and the young man was suddenly absorbed in the food.
"I look forward to hearing what you have to say."
The young man was eating the duck with his hands as if he were famished. He paused for a moment at her words, but he could not understand what she was trying to say and continued eating without paying any attention to her.
-
Some time had passed and the auburn-haired young man leaned back in the chair, clutching his swollen belly. He didn't seem to be able to do anything.
Across from him, the short, blue-eyed woman sat silently with her arms folded across her chest, staring at him. She had been just as silent the whole time he had been eating, but now she looked like a volcano ready to erupt.
Suddenly disturbing the silence, she began a barrage of questions.
"Spill the beans, where were you last night?"
Hearing this, the auburn-haired man straightened up a little and looked at her with concern in his eyes.
"Uh, I had a job. Well, I was engaged in trade-"
He stuttered and spoke with difficulty. However, his slow and awkward speech was cut short by the woman slamming her hands down hard on the table.
"Stop talking nonsense, Minato! Where were you and who were you with!"
The man's face was filled with great anxiety and fear. He wanted nothing more than to leave this place as soon as possible and run as far away as possible. But his body did not move. Because he knew that he could not fulfill this wish while the woman in front of him was there.
‘What does she want from me? Why does she suddenly ask such things? If she finds out what happened, I'm finished! With her being so angry with me, she'll probably go and tell Yumi-san on me! She'd better beat me up instead!’
The fear on his face grew even bigger. He absolutely didn't want to talk, but he had to. He didn't think he could deceive the woman in front of him, but he still had to speak despite his fear.
He knew that if he didn't answer her questions properly, she would beat him up and get her answers anyway.
"Speak up, you moron!"
A look of despair crossed the young man's face as the short woman stood up. She looked as if she could pounce on him at any moment. Seeing this, Minato immediately began to spill.
"I'm sorry, Rina-san, but I can't tell you everything. Even if you beat me, even if you knock me unconscious, I can't tell you."
Even though he could foresee what was about to happen, the young man still hadn't fully surrendered. The woman in front of him was stunned by what she had heard. As she slowly approached Minato, she made a fist with one hand and tapped the palm of the other very hard.
"Hoo? I guess a little bit of courage has gotten into our little Minato."
She shouted even louder than before as she came right in front of the young man's chair.
"I CAN GET THAT LITTLE BIT OF COURAGE OUT FOR YOU!"
She raised her fist, ready to swing at the man in front of her. Minato, who had taken up a defensive position long before that, when the woman stood up, closed his eyes and waited helplessly for the punches to come.
A few seconds passed, but no blow came. The young man opened his eyes in surprise and looked at the woman standing before him.
"Huff... Minato, it seems like something really important. But if you don't tell me, worse things could happen to you. I actually don't care about you, but he's just a kid! Make your own mess yourself!"
The young man was in a situation he had never expected. He could never have imagined that the woman in front of him would talk like that. And the fact that she had backed down from throwing a punch confused him even more. But he still couldn't understand what she was saying.
"Who are you talking about, Rina-san? I'm not in partnership with anyone, I always do things on my own. I don't know how you found out, but it's true that I'm involved in some dangerous business. I'll figure that out soon enough."