Chapter 32: Russell's Doubt

At this moment, none of yesterday's confidence and cunning could be seen on Glass's face.

After straightening out her clothes, she took off the Sad Face Mask and sat down, her cheeks flushed, in front of Russell at the round table.

Clearly, she hadn't sobered up yet, or she was distracted by something else she was thinking about—Glass absentmindedly picked up a can of beer from the table, popped the tab, and poured a full glass for Russell.

Luckily, what Glass filled for him wasn't the rye whiskey the two girls in her arms had been feeding her earlier, but one of the twelve cans of chilled beer stacked up like a tower on the table.

This made Russell, who had also removed his mask, swallow the words of refusal and he could only nod and accept the glass.

"... Thank you?"

Russell took the ice-cold beer with some hesitation. It was indeed the best temperature for drinking.

The foam dissipated slowly, and the color was a kind of brownish hue.

Russell brought his nose close and sniffed, detecting a distinct, somewhat scorched bitter smell.

It was obviously good beer.

This must be some kind of expensive craft beer... but that also meant it might be bitterer.

Russell wasn't exactly a non-drinker, but he had dodged drinks a bit too much during school—least of all would he drink when alone.

Mainly, it was this odd scene of "come, brother, let's have a drink" or "sit down, let me fill your cup" that confused him momentarily.

It was as if the person in front of him was not a top idol from Happiness Island... but rather some hearty social bigwig.

... By the way, could Execution Officers drink during working hours?

Russell held the glass, lost in Contemplation.

Glass, witnessing this scene, obviously realized something wasn't right.

She quickly apologized, "Sorry, I don't have any tea here... How about this, what would you like to drink? I can order something else!"

"No, it's almost noon now... how about I treat you to a meal instead?"

"It's fine, I can drink this."

Russell hastened to refuse.

When Amirus had invited Russell to dine at Peach Blossom Spring, Russell hadn't refused because he was keen on a free meal.

Although Glass was a celebrity on Happiness Island with a not-so-low income, she was still a worker.

Considering they were not that close yet, asking her to apologize and treat him over such a small matter seemed somewhat presumptuous... Russell couldn't stomach such charity.

"Speaking of which..."

A touch of lingering worry showed on Glass's face: "Did you come to see me for a reason?"

"Actually, there wasn't any particular reason. A big part of it was coincidental, and another part was a misunderstanding."

Russell pulled out the excuse he had thought up earlier.

He slightly lowered his head, his face showing an appropriately placed apology: "Actually, when I saw you today, I just wanted to greet you. But then I didn't expect you to follow someone in here."

Though he hadn't seen Glass's bodyguards here, Russell knew they must be hiding nearby.

He didn't know the exact number, but the newspaper wouldn't allow their star reporter to come out alone to drink, potentially meeting someone secretly... it was entirely possible.

Russell blurred on what exactly "someone" he had seen, and naturally, Glass would fill in the blanks.

Even if she really had gotten rid of the bodyguards, there had to be someone up front. After all, so many people were still in the hall; they couldn't have just teleported in.

The beer on Glass's table was still emitting cold air, unmoved, probably just brought over. By the sofa, the opened whiskey had also only gone down by half a bottle.

From these details, she seemed to have just arrived not long ago.

"I was a bit worried something had happened to you."

Thus, Russell showed an awkward smile, lowered his head, and touched his cat ears while his fingers idly flicked: "So I also snuck in...

"I have been wandering around here all morning. That name, I also managed to finally get it..."

"I see..."

Glass responded softly.

The next moment was a brief silence.

Between the two eloquent cats, each was staring at their glass, sunk into silence.

—However, this sudden silence proved Russell's earlier speculation.

Generally speaking, drinking during the day, even ordering two girls to accompany the drink, usually suggests two scenarios: either one is worried about something, or one is feeling happy.

What was peculiar was that Russell found both emotions on Glass's face.

Her eyes, transformed by the prosthetic body, no longer emitted uncontrollable signals due to emotional fluctuations. But by catching the micro-expressions, Russell could still discern Glass's thoughts.

...But as it appeared now, Glass seemed to be leaning more towards happiness.

Another piece of evidence was that even when she fell into silence, she wasn't drinking sullenly. Instead, her lips slightly curled upwards in ease.

Usually, at this time, Glass should be sharing with Russell some good news she had encountered.

And this silence was because she judged that she shouldn't talk about this matter. But this matter had already filled her head, and with the dulling effect of alcohol on her thoughts, she couldn't think of other topics for the moment.

"Actually," Russell suddenly spoke up, as if to break the awkward silence, "I do have a question.

"Do the reporters from Tianen Daily... always run so fast?"

"What do you mean?"

"After I killed those airship hijackers yesterday, Mr. Amirus should have only then had the chance to contact your press. It was less than five minutes later that those three helicopters flew over..."

Russell asked curiously, "Are you always on standby, like firefighters? Ready to rush over as soon as you hear of news?"

This was actually just a conversational topic.

Asking about the other party's profession could sustain the conversation for a while and it isn't too ignorant; it could make the other party more talkative.

This way, even the very quiet people could talk about enjoyable topics. Russell just needed to nod and say, "Uh-huh," "I see," "Really?" to smoothly continue the conversation and find the next topic.

But unexpectedly, Glass furrowed her brows and pondered for a moment.

"I can probably tell you about this, as it's not really a secret to many people."

She said earnestly, "Because strictly speaking, I was on standby from the afternoon that day."

"...What?"

"Just the afternoon before, someone sent a letter to our press office. It stated that before dark the next day, there would be a major operation by the 'Babel' organization... So from around two or three in the afternoon, I was on standby—until Mr. Amirus reported the airship attack through our editor-in-chief. I immediately flew over..."

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be so quick.

Glass affirmed confidently.

"How long would it normally take?"

"Fifteen to twenty minutes. Not all news is worth dispatching interview helicopters for. I occasionally travel by floating car... and not so many bodyguards are arranged,"

Glass replied without hesitation, "If we hadn't received prior warning, by the time we got the news and traveled there, most passengers would have definitely left already."

"How many people know about this?"

"You could ask anyone who was working at our press office the day before yesterday or yesterday; they would all be aware of this matter."

Glass said, pausing briefly: "Do you feel something is amiss, Mr. 'Hero'?"

"...Don't call me hero, it sounds awkward,"

Russell waved his hand, chuckling bitterly.

This time he truly felt awkward, and it wasn't an act.

As for what was amiss...

—There was too much, too much to count.

But what he could share with Glass was only a very small part of it.

"Was the content of the letter you received the day before yesterday confidential?"

"Sort of, but we had already notified the Execution Department."

"Then," Russell whispered, "why would an Elf, without any bodyguards… appear alone on an airship headed to Happiness Island?"