Chapter 182 – Today, You Won’t Find Any Peace

Chapter 182: Chapter 182 – Today, You Won’t Find Any Peace

The muscular protagonist spent a good fifteen seconds looking back and forth between Maria and Phoebe, surprised to have stumbled upon a possible lead that might reveal the truth about a certain platinum-haired girl he’d been with just a few hours earlier.

- (Phoebe). "What’s the matter, Sohen?"

- (Maria). "I don’t like the way you’re looking at me... Are you going to stay silent for much longer?"

- (Me). "..."

(Ha-ha... How interesting. Could one of these two really be my personal blackmailer? An unexpected plot twist, but it raises a question... Why do they BOTH have "injuries" in exactly the same spot?)

- (Phoebe). "Brother?"

- (Maria). "What’s wrong with you?"

Sohen took a step closer, as if simply to get more comfortable, and nodded toward their necks.

- (Me). "I’m fine... What’s wrong with your necks? Both of you, too?"

Phoebe lightly touched the band-aid with her fingers.

- (Phoebe). "Oh, you mean that... Just a little slip-up with the scissors while sewing. No big deal. I think I’ll change this band-aid in a few days."

- (Me). "How did that even happen? With scissors, no less..."

- (Phoebe). "Well... I... I reached for the fabric too abruptly, holding the open scissors at neck level, and then... I cut myself, and Grandma had to help me."

- (Me). "Phoebe..."

- (Phoebe). "Sorry, big brother."

- (Me). "Phew... Be careful and pay attention next time."

- (Phoebe). "Okay, I will."

- (Me). "Okay... So what happened to you, Maria?"

Maria replied more quickly:

- (Maria). "I was working in the yard and... got a little scratch."

- (Me). "A scratch? How..."

- (Maria). "Yeah, just a scratch. I... was trimming the branches of the apple tree above my head, and one thorny branch suddenly fell on me and hurt me. It hurts a little, but it’s nothing serious. It’ll heal soon."

- (Me). "Oh, really... Tell me, are you and Phoebe sisters by any chance? You’re both a little clumsy and awkward. Getting hurt by a branch..."

- (Maria). "Me!... Sorry."

- (Me). "Phew... Be careful, or you’ll end up just like Phoebe."

- (Phoebe). "Hey!..."

- (Me). "Ha-ha..."

- (Maria). "Okay..."

A playful atmosphere settled among the three young people, but...

- (Me). "..."

(Scissors and a sharp branch... It smells like... How to put this more gently... a lie. Do you think I’ll believe that?)

The conversation continued, and while Maria was saying something to Phoebe, Sohen, meanwhile, let his gaze wander... over their bodies.

(Let’s forget the word "horny" for a moment and just compare them both to an "egirl"... Damn, even here Maria and Phoebe are similar, though it seems my sister’s breasts are a better fit, while her butt is closer to that of my childhood friend... It’s tough.)

He smiled slightly at the corner of his lips, continuing the seemingly ordinary conversation.

- (Me). "I bought the chicken, just like I promised. Why are you taking out the trash so late?"

Phoebe shrugged, and her breasts jiggled slightly as she did.

- (Phoebe). "I... forgot that they’re picking it up tomorrow."

- (Maria). "And I only just got around to it now, since I was busy all day."

- (Me). "I see."

(Their scent... It won’t tell me anything, because it seems they’ve both just taken a shower and smell quite nice... Maria smells like orchids, and Phoebe smells like strawberries.)

Sohen mentally weighed everything up again: their voices, their demeanor, their reaction to the question about the band-aid, even the way they were standing... nothing was a sure thing, but it didn’t seem like a coincidence anymore either.

(Either one of them, or... I’m starting to see conspiracies where there aren’t any. Hmm... Well, never mind. Thanks to the "evidence" I have in my pockets, the truth will soon be in my hands.)

He calmly shifted the bag of chicken to his other hand.

- (Me). "Then let me help you carry it to the trash cans. Since we’ve run into each other anyway."

Phoebe smiled slightly.

- (Phoebe). "Oh, what a gentleman, hehe."

Maria replied quietly:

- (Maria). "Thank you..."

Sohen walked with them to the trash bins, appearing completely calm on the outside.

Inside, however, he was already devising a plan on exactly how to verify his suspicion.

(Who should I call first — Miss Minkun or...)

In the end, Sohen helped Phoebe and Maria carry the trash bags to the bins, exchanged a few brief words with them about being tired and how quickly the day was passing, after which the three young people went their separate ways home.

(Phoebe, are you going to wait for me? You rushed off first and forgot the chicken.)

(~message sound)

- (Me). "Shit!! Not again... Oh. It’s..."

Sohen’s phone suddenly beeped again, and a message appeared on the screen that read...

- (Me). "Fastline Investment Company has launched the country’s first spot exchange-traded fund (ETЕ) on NUAR, which means... That’s great. We’ll read up on the news later."

Pressing the lock button, Sohen quickly put his phone in his pocket, entered the house, took off his shoes, and headed to the kitchen.

A soft light was already on there.

Grandma Runo, Mom Karin, and Phoebe, who had managed to get back early, were already sitting at the table.

As always, a mouthwatering dinner — 99.9% guaranteed to be delicious, was on the table.

- (Karin). "Oh, finally. We were starting to get worried."

Sohen set the bag on the table and stepped closer.

- (Me). "Sorry I’m late. Things took longer than I expected."

Surprisingly, Grandma just waved her hand this time, inviting her to sit down.

- (Runo). "The main thing is that you’re alive and well. Sit down before everything gets cold."

- (Me). "Okay."

(Is that it? They won’t ask any more questions?... Unbelievable. I’ve gotten so used to this over the last few months.)

They began dinner.

Sohen briefly mentioned that he’d accidentally gotten in touch with an old school friend, Neburo, who’s currently serving in the army.

He mentioned the mountains, the grueling training, and how rarely Neburo has reliable internet.

(It’s best not to mention the teacher-commander, since it’s a secret and even if I decided to finally tell them, Mom and Grandma would hardly remember her.)

Also, using his imagination and the fact that Neburo’s name came up in the conversation, Sohen told a more or less realistic made-up story about helping this friend’s family while he was away.

(I already have an alibi, since I was really lucky that Neburo wrote today and right after I spent almost two hours at the hotel without Valkyrie. His mom and dad will save my ass if any of my three beauties decides to check up on me... After all, a certain amount of money was transferred to the bank card of my "money-hungry" friend.)

- (Karin). "Oh, really..."

- (Runo). "Couldn’t they have..."

The family listened with interest, occasionally nodding or asking follow-up questions.

- (Phoebe). "..."

- (Me). "..."

(Phoebe is acting as usual. Not a trace of nervousness or any strange reaction when the conversation turned to the evening hours up until ten o’clock... Thinking back on the last few moments, it was actually Phoebe who was the first to call me after Valkyrie left. Usually, if I’m late, it’s Mom or Grandma who calls to find out where I am, but this time it was my younger stepsister. Hmm...)

After dinner, Sohen helped clear the table, wished everyone a good night, and went to his room.

The room greeted him with semi-darkness.

- (Me). "Time to work."

He turned on the desk lamp, sat down at the table, and opened his laptop.

First, he checked a few open cryptocurrency positions — charts, news, and brief analytical notes.

The market was calm, but one of the altcoin pairs demanded his attention.

He adjusted his orders, jotted down a few thoughts in his notebook, and only then moved on to a new task.

- (Me). "Now..."

The new project was related to artificial intelligence.

Sohen had been collecting data for several weeks, testing small models, and trying to build his own tool for analyzing text patterns.

Today he planned to finish one of the modules — the one responsible for comparing voice characteristics.

- (Me). "Hah. Just my luck..."

The irony of the situation didn’t escape him: right now, this tool might come in handy much sooner than he’d expected.

(I mustn’t forget about Fastline either...)

...

Hours passed.

The screen glowed in the darkness of the room, his fingers racing across the keyboard.

Occasionally, he’d lean back in his chair, rub his eyes, take a sip of water, and dive back into his work.

Around midnight, his phone vibrated quietly.

- (Me). "???"

A message from Valkyrie.

(And here’s our main heroine for today.)

He opened the chat.

- (Valkyrie). "Thanks for today. It really was very nice... Don’t forget to buy what we talked about at the hotel! Here’s the link..."

Sohen opened it and...

(This... You’re such a sick pervert.)

After a few awkward minutes, the conversation took a more relaxed and playful turn.

- (Valkyrie). "Check this out..."

Then she sent a few short video memes... silly, absurd, but funny.

(Does she think this is funny?... Well, it really is funny, but it’s surprising that a young girl would like something like this.)

- (Valkyrie). "Okay. It’s time for me to sleep. Thanks to ’that one guy,’ my whole body is aching and just wants to finally rest. Sweet dreams... good boy, lol."

- (Me). "..."

(Bitch... I’ll remember that ’good boy’ thing.)

- (Me). "Thanks to you, too. It was... intense."

Sohen attached two of his memes in reply.

- (Me). "Sweet dreams to you, too."

(How do you like the "revenge" memes, hehe...)

After a brief exchange with Valkyrie, the young man went back to work.

Thoughts of platinum hair, band-aids on necks, and the voice memo kept popping up from time to time, but he deliberately put them off for later.

(Right now, it was more important to finish what me started.)

...

When the clock struck three in the morning, Sohen finally saved his latest changes and closed all his tabs.

(I really worked my butt off, though...)

His eyes were burning, his shoulders were aching, but his brain was still too active to fall asleep right away.

(Hour and a half of sleep at the hotel and that semi-caffeinated drink from earlier in the evening had finally taken effect.)

He turned off the main light, leaving only a soft glow, lay down on the bed with his laptop, and this time opened the anime folder.

(If calculated correctly, then... about ten to fifteen minutes of watching, and me be ready to yawn.)

Sohen chose an episode of "Menma: Shippuden", settled more comfortably on the pillows, pulled the blanket up to his waist, and pressed "play."

(Right now, there’s a filler arc playing, the only interesting thing about it is the bust size of one of the new supporting characters... Just what me needs to feel sleepy.)

Outside the window, the city was already asleep.

The anime characters were talking quietly in the room, and Sohen stared at the screen with half-closed eyes, finally allowing himself to just relax.

(I hope that’s all...)

(~sound of a push notification)

(FUCK!!!)