I gulp audibly. The oppressive feeling in my chest grows stronger. An uncontrollable fear wells up within me. Hopefully, he won't betray me to them now that he's seen the bracelet. So far, he seems quite nice.
"Tell me finally what's going on here!" Musator demands to know from me. His voice sounds demanding, his gaze impatient, as if he's tired of arguing with me. "I could also throw you to that bunch." He nods toward the prisoners. I immediately flinch in fear. "Back then, with the last spy, they weren't as angry as today."
"I'm not a spy!" I protest again, but not as energetically as before. He doesn't believe me anyway, that's clear from his angry gaze fixed on me. "Okay, okay," I sigh. "Not only down here in the death zone has the drinking water been cut off. Gasard mentioned something about distributing fruits mostly, which sounds to me like they would only be enough for a part of the station's crew."
The anger in Musator's gaze gives way to confusion. It seems like he doesn't fully understand my words yet.
"Someone contaminated the drinking water," I get to the point.
"And the station is known for making it difficult for assassins and spies," says Musator, shaking his head. "Even the crew consists mainly of Torso's most loyal subjects."
Musator gestures for me to follow him. His path leads to the cafeteria.
"I'm still not a spy!" I protest softly and with a noticeably sulky tone as we reach the entrance of the cafeteria. I know he doesn't believe me, but what can I do about wearing this stupid thing? Did I ask to come here? I'd rather be at home with my parents.
My gaze drifts sadly to the ground.
How much I wish everything was back to normal.
Musator immediately stops after my protest and whirls around to face me. His action catches me by surprise, causing me to bump into him. His gaze on me seems annoyed by my protest.
"And what else are you supposed to be?" he demands to know from me.
It's clear how tired he is of always hearing the same thing from me. But how much would he believe the truth, even if it sounds unbelievable even to Marto?
"If I were nothing more than a spy, would Gasard want me to accompany him at work?" I ask him.
Musator just shakes his head. When his gaze then falls on me, he seems to scrutinize me from head to toe. He appears slightly skeptical.
"Well, if one looks at you more closely, one can come up with the very far-fetched idea that you belong to the same race as Torsos," Musator says. I remain silent, and he shakes his head again. Then he continues. "Just be careful that no one else sees that thing," he warns me before we reach the window for food distribution.
I nod. I don't want something like that to happen again; I'm too attached to my life for that.
Musator knocks on the window to briefly inquire about the situation with Akara again. But she can't tell him more than I can. Next, he tries to calm down the prisoners.
I'm surprised at how others listen to him. There are some protests, but in the end, they calm down again.
He seems to be truly respected by many here. Something I find impressive considering the kind of people around.
Once everything has settled down again, I go to find Nora. As soon as I find her, she asks me what I've been up to. She practically interrogates me until evening.
Just as she finishes, Moriphos is brought back into the death zone. He looks excited and worried as he approaches me.
"Are you okay? Did that bastard do anything else to you?" is his first question to me.
I try to reassure him, but it doesn't work. He's just too worked up about the whole thing.
Again, I wonder if it's just his protective instinct, but his reaction is clear. I find it cute. Especially since he's a nice man. But I don't feel anything more than friendship for him.
The rest of the evening, we continue talking about trivial matters.