After Mrs. Maki invited me to her birthday party. I left her room.
Now what? I have nothing else to do before the party. It would be suspicious if I were just gonna walk around here without any guide since I am still new in this place.
As if my thoughts were heard by the gods out there. Professor Jefferson and Rose walk toward me.
"So? How is this place Mr. Luck," the professor asked.
"Hmmm, well, it is indeed spacious here but it is quite old for my preference" I answered honestly.
"I see, I see. I heard from Rose, you talked to Mrs. Maki, right? If you still have any questions related to cyberbrains, you could ask me directly because I also do research in that field"
"Hmmm, I don't have any for now. I am still quite confused about what I've learned today"
"I see, then if you have time, could you come with me. Currently, we are short on people and I will assign you to one job. Is that fine?"
A job? Oh yeah, I am a dead weight in this place. Maybe all people here have their own roles and jobs so I'll just accept.
"Are you sure sir? He is still new and he might betray us sir" before I answered, Rose trash talk to me yet again.
"No it's okay, you will be the one to oversee him and teach him the basics, so I think betrayal is out of the question" the professor answered. Rose just nodded as if she is satisfied and I haven't given my answer yet. Maybe I should just reject because Rose and I are on bad terms. Ahhhhh, I don't care anymore.
"So? What is your answer, Mr. Luck?"
"Uhmm, Estre will do. Formalities aren't my thing. Also, what is the job sir if I may ask before I'll accept the job" I answered?
"I see. Then follow me to my office" he answered back and started walking.
5 mins of waking has passed and we reached our destination. We enter his office. If I were to describe his office then it would be your common-looking office you'll see in a small establishment like grocery stores, motels, etc...
"You were a soldier before right?" the professor asked.
"Ahh yes, I was part of the recon team and I am specialized in stalking and information gathering" I answered honestly, they probably knew my background by now so no point in lying.
"I see. So your main weapon is probably a sniper right. Correct me if I am wrong"
"Yes sir, you are correct"
If a person hears or talks about snipers. They would probably think their job would be to snipe down an enemy from height and afar without getting spotted by the enemy. It is true though that it is indeed our job, one thing they haven't know is that it is also our job to do recon missions.
"Then you are perfect for the job I am about to assign to you. We, the Saviours, save people who have cyberbrains and would protect them against all hostiles" he talked. Now that you mention it, this is the first time I heard this organization's name. I am too dumb not to ask that but let's not think about it. "Now that you know about our agenda, you will also be part of it, are you willing to accept Mr. Estre Luck"
I see. So the job is, to save people with specific brains then?
The job is extremely simple, useful, yet dangerous altogether. Very simple because I already have experience saving many people during my military days. Useful because I might gather important information about cyberbrains themselves. Also, this would be a dangerous job since we are technically saving people from the bad dudes who want their brains.
I am actually quite interested in cyberbrains. From what I've learned so far, cyberbrains are like newly invented treasures. They are very rare yet a lot of people want them. At the same time, they were just invented 15-20 years ago.
But to be completely honest with you, I have a feeling that if I accept, I might discover something. I am the type of person who follows this kind of premonition, so...
"Sure, I'll accept" I answered.
"Then that will do it. I'll assign you under the team of Mrs. Rose here. Sadly the other members are still doing their own missions so you can't meet them" he explained.
"Is it just me or that was a way too easy-going interview you have there for a job interview"
"Hahahaha, it's okay though. We are a private organization after all. All 'formalities' you do before having your job do not exist in our organization so this is pretty much the norm" he explained.
"Now you are under my command. Meet me here tomorrow morning, we are going to do something" Rose said.
"Sure I won't mind" I answered.
"Then, if you'll excuse me, Professor, I have a party to attend," Rose said
"Oh sure, it is Maki's birthday today, right? I wonder how she feels right now. Sadly I can't attend so tell Maki my greetings for her Mrs. Rose" the professor said.
"Uhmm, could I come with you, Mrs. Rose?" I asked timidly.
"Hmm? What are you planning to do?" she asked. Yeah, yeah. I know. She is very suspicious of me but I got invited you know. But! I don't know where is the birthday party.
"No, no, no. I got invited by Mrs. Maki a while ago also and I forgot to ask where her house or something" I reasoned quickly.
"Hmmm? If you are lying to me, don't expect you'll wake up tomorrow" she said.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I am not lying" I answered with cold sweat pouring down my back.
"Come, don't talk to me while we walk"
"Geez, give me a break," I said. She probably heard me but she just left the room and I follow suit.
"Have a fun night Sir Estre?" the professor said before I close the door of the room.
------------------------------------------
We reached our destination. Plus, it was the most awkward walk I have experienced because, you know who she is, that person doesn't have the atmosphere of 'You could talk to me while we walk~' but rather she has 'Talk to me and you will regret it' atmosphere around her. I don't know what she is thinking but better safe than sorry, so I didn't dare to talk to her.
The place they are holding the birthday party is the cafeteria. There is pretty much nothing to describe this cafeteria because you could see this kind of setup in your schools, workplace, etc... Right now there is a decoration that says 'Happy 19th Birthday' and Rose saw that and walked towards it.
"Good afternoon ma'am. We were invited by Maki to attend this party. By the way where is she?" Rose asked.
"Ara~ she is still in her room. She will be here so please sit down and wait" the woman answered.
Hmmm, she looks like the older version of Mrs. Maki. A sister maybe? Also, her voice is very mature, unlike Mrs. Maki who keeps stuttering her words when introducing herself.
"Ara~ who is this man behind you Rose-san," the woman asked.
"Ohh I almost forgot," she said but I know for sure she has completely forgotten about me. "His name is Estre Luck. We saved him last night when he was kidnapped by our opposing organization. They want his cyberbrain after all and it is our job to save them"
Damn, the way she talked to anyone vs the way she talked to me is very opposite each other. I am even wondering if this is her genuine attitude.
"Also Estre, this is Maki Hinata. Mother of Maki Asahi" she finished.
Oh really? She looks very young not gonna lie I thought she was her sister.
"I am Estre Luck, I was also invited by your daughter. It was sudden though so I hope I am not causing inconvenience to anyone" I introduced myself.
"Ara~ara. It's very okay you know. I am Maki Hinata, mother of Maki Asahi. It is a pleasure to meet you Luck-san" she answered.
She has an easy-going personality yet she is very formal when she talks. Maybe formality runs throughout their bloodlines.
After I introduced myself, Rose and Madam Maki talk to each other. From now on, I would call her Madam Maki since I am calling their daughter Mrs. Maki. It will be quite confusing to talk to them if we don't do this. Then many people started to surround our place, looks like they came here for the party. Then there was the birthday girl. She wore a black colored one-piece dress that goes down to her knees. I am not an expert on explaining her outfit so I'll them to your imagination, but all I could say the dress really focused on her womanly parts like the chest, shoulders, and hips which are very attractive from a man's point of view.
After her entrance, there is pretty much nothing noteworthy to explain how her party was going. We sang her a happy birthday. Some people gave her a gift and we opened it. We ate. And voila, a birthday party.
Well, it was boring from my perspective because...
I have no one to talk to!!!!!!!!!! My lonely ass is just sitting at the corner eating my goddamn lasagne. It was quite depressing not gonna lie. Then as if the gods noticed my lonely ass, they sent to me a beautiful goddess who will talk to me and that is none other than...
"U-uhmm, are you fine there Estre? Looks like you are not enjoying the party" Mrs. Maki approached me and talked.
"Oh no no no. It's okay. I am just out of place, you know what I mean. I am very new at this place so I'm afraid I can't to other people suddenly" I explained.
Probably, a very loser-like explanation but it was the harsh truth.
"No, no, no. I actually understand. When I also came here, it was very weird, and can't talk to other people also" she said.
Damn, I might stand so low because a 19 years old girl is consoling my 29 years old lonely ass.
"Now that you mention it, you came here to talk to my parents right? My father isn't here, he was sent on a mission. But my mother could probably answer your questions Estre" Mrs. Maki said.
"Yeah I was planning to do that but I haven't found an opportunity to talk to her" I answered. It is embarrassing to say it but it is the truth.
"Then come with me, I think she is free. Look" she pointed at her mother.
"Fine then" I answered.
We walked toward her mother.
"Mother, Estre wants to talk to you. Is that okay?"
"Ara~ it's okay you know. What do you want to talk about Luck-san?" Madam Maki answered.
"Then I'll you two here, I am going back to my room, good night mother"
"Okay Asahi, have a great sleep, good night" Madam Maki waves her hand as her daughter walks away.
"Uhmm, then I'll go straight to the point. What happened to her before you found out she was kidnapped before" I asked.
"Hmm, I see. If you are asking about the accident then I could tell you" she said. I don't know about this accident but let's just go with the flow. "My daughter was beside the building when that building collapsed. Luckily though she wasn't buried under the rubbles of the building so the rescuer found her quickly. But her head was dripping with blood. The rescuer brought her to the hospital and they treated her very quickly. They said to me that my daughter needed surgery as soon as possible so I agree with them quickly. It was a success but she was still unconscious. But then 1 week after the surgery, she got kidnapped"
Okay, not gonna lie, that was a great plot for a girl who has an amnesia story but let us not about that.
"I see" those were the words I could only say. But with that, I have a rough idea of how and why she got kidnapped.
"Then for the last question madam. Are there any changes in terms of attitude and personality from your daughter after you save her?" I asked. Probably this is the painful question I asked today which is why I was hesitant to talk to her mother a while ago.
"I see, let me think," she said. She probably knows the answer but still doesn't has the will to say them. After all, it feels like their daughter disappeared and the girl named 'Maki Asahi' is a different person. "Uhm, Asahi was a sociable person before unlike now. Also, she hates studying which is completely opposite right now. Lastly, she calls me 'mama' rather than 'mother', Uhm, I am very sorry but I have to take care of the dishes right now. Then, I'll take my leave" she said these words and left in a hurry.
I probably made her cry. If Rose found out about this, she will definitely kill me tomorrow but luckily she left the party a while ago after she ate.
After that depressing conversation, I left the party. Now that you mentioned it, I don't have a room at this compound. Looks like I have to sleep in the corridor for a while, probably Professor is now sleeping and I don't want to disturb Rose. As I was lying down on the floor thinking about a lot of things that happened so far, my consciousness slowly drifted and I slept like a log on the bench I found.