“Mm… mm? Who said that, I went to a lot of places… I’m really hungry.”
Utoya turned her head, deliberately keeping some distance from Eileen, scrubbing herself over and over at the sink, then pulling out a bottle of perfume she had never used before.
She carefully sprayed it all over herself again and again, only after finishing this did she have the courage to slowly approach Eileen.
“Alright. Oh, and when you’re cooking, help me find the PAD, and boil some water too. I’m all sweaty, I need a shower.”
“Mm.”
The two didn’t talk much. Even though they hadn’t lived together long, they had already developed the tacit understanding of cohabitation.
With just a few words, they cooperated smoothly and carried the dishes to the table.
“Braised pork ribs, cheese and bacon pasta, plus cranberry pastries. Want alcohol or juice?”
Eileen hummed a tune.
In the week they had lived together before school started, the two only cared about sticking to each other and enjoying themselves, not paying much attention to food.
To make sure this hunter wouldn’t be drained so badly she couldn’t hunt anymore, Eileen had bought a lot of good things.
Utoya didn’t seem picky about food. From observation, she seemed particularly fond of compressed biscuits.
But Eileen wasn’t the same—world cuisines were an important part of life.
Just like a cat would get depressed without its favorite snacks, going too long without good food made her sigh.
“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow. Let’s drink juice.”
“Eh? Pick me up? Hey, hey, didn’t we agree on one day of freedom? I just got a bit of space and you’re already dragging me away?”
Wearing an apron and holding a spatula, Eileen put her hands on her hips in annoyance.
Was this woman getting more and more clingy?
“…If you call me, I’ll come right away. So, from Monday to Friday, I won’t drink alcohol.”
Utoya fell silent for a moment, then looked straight into Eileen’s eyes and spoke seriously.
Eileen really couldn’t stand that straightforward and burning gaze.
“You can’t catch prey if you reek of alcohol either. Fine, then I won’t drink either. If I get drunk, wouldn’t that mean hunter lady could just do whatever she wants with me?”
Eileen chuckled softly.
She was serious about this—without supervision, Utoya really might not let her get out of bed.
Staying sober was pretty important.
“So today… it’s not possible?”
To her surprise, Utoya actually looked a bit dejected.
“You… you’re insatiable, huh? Want me to buy you some toys so you can take care of it yourself? I’m exhausted from school, you know.”
Eileen held her forehead.
She really had no words for this.
She’d never seen a woman with such a huge appetite.
Was it because she had been single for over twenty years and had driven herself mad? Eileen had been single for over twenty years too!
“Then the weekend… okay? Two days?”
Utoya asked cautiously.
“Fine, fine… but we’re at the dinner table, can we talk about this at night instead…”
……
Eileen still had some wine, but not much. It was enough to state her stance—within reason was fine.
Utoya cleared the table, found the PAD, and deftly got the water heater going.
The place’s electricity relied on a diesel generator, and the hot water for bathing came from underground pipes heated by the fireplace.
Utoya had even set this up recently just for Eileen.
Eileen also brought out the briefcase.
It wasn’t particularly heavy, and she had already wiped away the blood, but with Utoya’s nose and senses, of course she could tell.
“This briefcase isn’t yours. You stole it? Smells like bullets.”
She said casually, eyeing the clearly expensive briefcase that couldn’t possibly belong to Eileen.
“Heh, hunter lady would make a good police dog.”
Eileen laughed. Of course Utoya wouldn’t turn her in.
That much trust was there.
“…How did you handle it? Did you collect the casings? Did he die? Why didn’t you discuss it with me?”
Utoya’s tone suddenly grew serious.
She pressed her hand firmly on the briefcase.
“Do I look like some idiot…? Of course I picked up the casings, though one bullet is still stuck in his flesh. But I can be sure he won’t go to the police. No, he didn’t die. This case probably holds evidence of his crimes.”
Eileen said as she opened the briefcase—
There wasn’t much inside, which explained why she could carry it single-handed for kilometers.
A small ornate wooden box, a readable hard drive, a thick stack of photos wrapped in plastic, and a large bundle of cash.
An unexpected bonus.
She counted. Several thousand. Enough to bring her savings up to twenty-one thousand.
No way was she returning it. She gladly accepted it.
Maybe robbery wasn’t such a bad idea… but Eileen had no experience in that world, and she had no intention of falling far enough to land in prison.
She first picked up the little wooden box. It was heavier than expected.
She slid it open without much effort, and her pupils shrank sharply at what she saw inside.
Gold bars!
Though small, only the size of her palm, the weight was unmistakable, the golden gleam alluring even under dim light.
A genuine solid gold bar!
“…Black market gold.”
Utoya, watching with a frown, spoke in a low voice.
She seemed extremely familiar with this sort of thing.
A flash of wariness and deep unease passed through her eyes.
“No markings, no purity, no mint stamp. In the underground world, this is hard currency. More popular and more dangerous than cash. Eileen,” she turned her head, gaze sharp as a blade, “did you mess with people from the black market?”
As a hunter who often dealt at the edges of irradiated zones, she knew all too well how dangerous such unmarked gold was.
Eileen shook her head in bewilderment, though inside her heart was roaring.
Gold bars! In these turbulent times, this was worth over forty thousand! The goal of fifty thousand suddenly felt much closer.
The surge of joy almost overwhelmed her.
“I don’t know what’s going on… let’s check the photos.”
Eileen took a deep breath, forcing down her excitement.
The most important thing was to confirm if the briefcase had enough dirt to keep Leighton under control.
Otherwise, she would have to quietly return this hot potato tomorrow.
Her confidence rested on this briefcase containing something Leighton couldn’t expose.
But when she tore open the plastic bag and her eyes fell on the thick stack of photos, all her hopes and calculations were drowned in a surge of cold, sticky rage and disgust.
“F*ck…”
Even after seeing all kinds of twisted creatures in irradiated zones, Eileen couldn’t help cursing, stomach churning.
The photos were all of students. The locations were obvious—
Behind the principal’s broad office desk, Leighton’s disgusting face was clear.
But the real subjects were the young bodies forced in front of the camera, standing, sitting, kneeling.
Fear, despair, humiliation, numbness… these emotions were carved into every young face.
Naked bodies, fragile and degraded under the cold flash.
Eyes vacant or filled with tears, hands desperately trying to cover themselves but unable to stop the camera’s violation.
Each photo froze their most unbearable moment like a knife.
And it wasn’t just the office—bathrooms, the auditorium, even the swimming pool had photos.
“Leighton?!”
Utoya’s voice shot up, filled with incredulous rage.
She rushed forward, snatching the photos from Eileen’s hands, her gloved fingers trembling as they turned pale from her grip.
Like a hunter scanning prey, she flipped through them with cold efficiency, eyes sharp, sweeping over each terrified face.
“There aren’t any of you in here, right?!”
She suddenly raised her head, amber eyes locking on Eileen, blazing with fear and near-tangible protectiveness.
Only after flipping through to the end and finding none of Eileen did her taut shoulders ease slightly, though the chill in her eyes remained.
“There are of me… but not in here.”
Eileen closed her eyes. She knew the old man was sick, but this level of depravity was rare even among scum.
She recognized most of the students—some from the orphanage, some timid rich kids. She even saw Whitney…
Though Whitney looked oddly cheerful, sticking out her tongue and winking with a peace sign.
Eileen meanwhile was holding the hard drive already connected to the PAD.
Inside, there were photos of her.