Kana-san seemed perplexed by my sudden greeting, her smile masking extreme suspicion. It sent chills down my spine.
Ahhhhhhh! What is wrong with her? Why does she despise me so much!?
Apparently, Kaori couldn't see the pure hatred behind Kana-san's smile, but I could. I was very reluctant to look at her face.
Kana-san faced Kaori and said in a soft, gentle tone, "Good morning, Adachi-san. Kaori-san, what a beautiful name. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Kaori, for some reason, was overly pleased to meet her and replied, "No, no! That's so sweet of you. I, too, am extremely pleased to meet you. You are so beautiful."
Kana-san, still unfazed by the compliment, thanked her with a slight bow.
Do girls often compliment each other at their first meeting? If I ever did that to any man I just met, he'd immediately start questioning my intentions.
To avoid further interaction between them, I hastily said, "So, shouldn't we go now? If we don't hurry, we might be late, right?"
Thankfully, Kana-san agreed and immediately hugged Kaori, placed a quick kiss on her cheek, and headed toward the car.
Just as I was about to open the door, I heard Kaori's voice, "Bye-bye, Adachi-san. Bye-bye, Kana-san. And congratulations on the baby!"
Kana-san reacted first, with a surprised look, "Baby!??"
I quickly followed, "Kaori, she is not the one who wa-was—" My eyes darted to Kana-san, whose disgust seemed to be off the charts. "S-She is not the one. So, love you. Bye!"
Uffff—
"I know, Adachi-san. But I'm congratulating her for her sister's delivery."
"Sister? Delivery?"
To cover up, I turned to Kana-san and babbled, "Aha-ha-ha, sorry Kana-san. A-Aa... I remember you told me not to tell anyone about your sister's pregnancy. But sorry!"
With no idea how she would react, I looked down, bracing for her response.
"Oh! Yeah, it's okay. And Kaori-san, my sister and her child are perfectly fine."
Hearing her words, my face lit up like a star. Kana-san continued, "So, Kaori-san, now please let us take our leave; otherwise, we will be late for our flight."
Without further ado, I said my final goodbye and hastily entered the car, sitting in the back seat. The driver, dressed in a bodyguard outfit, was the only other person in the car besides Kana-san. As she entered, the driver started the engine.
I took a deep breath.
Thank god! It ended without any—well, much—problem!
As the car picked up speed, I glanced back at my building one last time.
I guess I'll miss it for the next few months.
The car took a turn, and my building disappeared from view. I settled into my seat, but the silence in the car was killing me.
I turned to Kana-san to ask where we were headed when I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my mouth.
Huh! When did she put a gun in my mouth?
Apparently, in the brief moment I turned toward her, Kana-san had pulled out a gun from her magic pocket and placed it in my mouth.
Now I should be scared.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! What is wrong with this lady? No, demon!
Her furious eyes were locked onto mine.
I tried to smile to ease her up.
But that backfired. Her eyes became more furious, and she pushed the gun further into my mouth.
"Houghttt itttt! Houghhhh it! Khau... Khau... Cough, cough!"
When I tried to speak, my tongue, with no space to operate, struggled against the gun, and my words came out formless and shapeless.
Maybe she pitied me struggling to talk and took the gun out.
After an intense session of coughing, I asked politely, "Why such special treatment? Are you sadistic? Or do you think I'm a masochist?"
"You deserved it. I am neither a sadist nor a masochist. I am only a punisher—or you can call me a teacher. I punish those who make mistakes. You are lucky that Akira-sama finds you useful; otherwise, you'd be dead right now."
I need to keep a safe distance from her.
"Hold on! But what mistake did I make?"
"By not informing me of your storylines. Didn't I give you my number last night? Why do you think that was for? And what kind of third-rate story did you come up with? It's worse than Nexus White stories!"
Her words boiled my blood by two degrees Celsius. I retorted, "MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE—"
But as soon as her gun came into view, I calmed my tone and continued, "Kana-san, aha-ha-ha, but you see, I had no time yesterday, so I came up with whatever I could. And Nexus White is not that bad of a writer! He's just very lazy! He could write nicely."
Even though I presented my arguments calmly, she was probably in no mood to listen.
"Hmph! Whatever."
She turned her head to look outside.
I too turned my head and sighed deeply.
Neither of us talked until we reached the airport.
From the dialogue, it seems I've become a stammerer.