That roar was the first thing that came out of her mouth once sheâd revived.
Using the spring bedâs reaction, Casca went from laying down straight up with a jump.
She deftly avoided the drink bottles scattered about the floor and landed with a light step.
âThanks Shizu, you saved me there. I thought Iâd fetch a shot after work but once I had a drink I just couldnât stop! Seriously, I thought I was going to die there! Nyahahahahaha!â
With a laugh, Casca picked up the tailored jacket by her foot and put it on without bothering to button it up.
She stood just about as tall as Shizuru at 178 centimeters.
âSeriously, Iâm going to swear off of alcohol. Iâm never gonna drink again, I canât go on drinking if Iâm going to have it this hard every timeâ
âAh? Did I now? I donât remember at allâ
She gazed at the ceiling, scraching her cheek and tilting her head.
In fact, itâs mostly part of her hangover package.
Sheâll end up not learning anything and coming back drunk again today anyway.
Seeing the almost certain future float in his mind, Shizuru made a quiet sigh.
The Commanding Officer of the Third Squad of Black Maria, Casca.
And then seven years back, when Shizuru joined the organization by force, she was the next person he met after Richelieu.
In other words, she was for good or ill his second longest acquaintance in this world.
âIâm famishedââ
After heartily gulping down the water Shizuru brought, she flung the wooden mug away and said as much.
Since this was an everyday occurence, Shizuru paid it no mind.
âLadyâs going out to the market right now. Weâll have breakfast once sheâs backâ
âAnd when is she going to be back? I hate waiting you knowâ
She questioned him in protest, Casca kicked a random liquor bottle flying and walked up to Shizuru.
âIâm hungry, Iâm famished, I want to eat something. right. now!â
âMmm ⌠I have an apple if you want, it should fill you up until breakfast ââ
She snatched it off of him before he finished talking.
As an assassin who should be more attentive and wary than the normal person, the fact that, it being merely an apple notwithstanding, it was easily taken away from him without him noticing, proves that Casca was also not your average person.
By having lived in the slums amid thievery and violence for as long as she could remember, she was many times better at this than Shizuru was.
âItâs still not enoughâ
Not even ten seconds afterwards, she threw the core behind her while licking her fingertips and complained.
Looks like it didnât even work as a fill-in.
âWeâve got nothing else. Even if we did keep spare food youâd have eaten them all anywayâ
âItâs the law in the slums that you have to eat when you can. Waiting is for the dumb and the richâ
Casca puffed her chest, sticking out her breasts that were so large that Shizuru wasnât sure he could grab them even with both hands somewhat proudly.
But then she seemed to remember something and let leak an âah,â
âAh, I completely forgot. Shizu, lend me some cashâ
âWell, I just remembered when the word rich came outâ
Just like how she looked and how she carried herself, Casca could not manage her money at all.
Having lived in the slums without decent education, she couldnât read nor write nor do arithmetic beyond three digits.
And on top of that, she spends money recklessly.
He was completely correct.
âAnd what about your share of the rewards from the job yesterday?â
âThatâs quite a lot of money you know âŚâ
A typical family of four living in the capital city Rosario would normally need around one gold a year.
Which means that Casca was asking him to lend two yearsâ worth of the familyâs food expenses.
âCome on, pleease. I promised the moneylenders they can do what they like with my body if I didnât return it by today. Iâm pretty well guarded even though Iâm like this, you know? I donât wanna sleep with men for cashâ
âCome on Shizu, donât be so cold. See, you lend me some cash and theeen we can do something nice when that doggy isnât hereâ
Casca said something unthinkable for someone who had her guard up right after saying she was one as she pressed her breasts against Shizuru.
She was muscular all over but that part alone was soft like it was another creature.
â⌠Haah. Fine, Iâll lend youâ
In the end, Shizuru sighed and agreed.
She would follow him around until he agreed, this much Shizuru knew.
Also, the fact that the two gold heâs lending wonât come back.
She had already pegged him as a lender that wonât mind her not paying him back.
âOn one condition, Iâll go and pay them myselfâ
âYou said that before and you used the money you borrowed to buy booze right away didnât you? Sorry, but I canât trust you Cascaâ
â⌠tchâ
She lightly clicked her tongue. Looks like I hit bullâs eye.
If push came to shove, she would silence them with a fist, no matter who they were.
And then the beat up moneylenders would for some reason come crying to Shizuruâs clinic.
âBut how am I going to get my booze today? None of my favorite places will let me open a tab!?â
âAnd what about the swearing off alcohol thing? The reason nobody will let you open a tab is because you keep on jumping them. Youâre just paying for your own mistakesâ
Incidentally, the owners of the places where she jumped the bill also came crying to Shizuruâs clinic.
Itâs already a clinic and a consultancy for anything Casca-related.
âThe world is cruel ⌠come on, lend me the payment money plus some extra, Shizu. Iâll let you have fun tonightâ
ââ Stop fooling around. Hands off my beloved, Cascaâ
The one who replied the violent Cascaâs rare flirtations was not Shizuru.
There was Lady who was still making herself look like Richelieu, coming back home from shopping.
âWelcome home Ladyâ
âWhatcha say you damn bitch!? You got the nerve to talk like that to people, watch your place, pet!â
Casca let Shizuru go and pressed close to Lady, glaring slightly down at her.
Shizuru, at least, would never want to fight Lady even if he had a gun.
âYou shitty bitch! Shizuâs already slept with me and the boss long ago anyway you dumbass!â
âIâm telling you already, youâre the pet! Youâre making a big mistake if ya think Iâm going to hesitate to hit you just because youâre looking like the boss! Iâm actually going to enjoy this, imma pound you with all I got!â
Things had gotten so heated up Shizuru was no longer able to stop them.
Shizuru went to leave the room, creeping along the walls so that he didnât get caught in it, he picked up the groceries left by the door and checked its contents.
Looks like the eggs and potatoes were cheap today, she mainly stocked up on those two.
âI wonder if I should make galettes âŚâ
While considering the breakfast menu, Shizuru left the chaos behind him and headed for the kitchen.