10.

Erable hated horror movies, but she had no choice. It was the only genre that allowed her to be scared without it seeming unnatural.

‘…Oh no!’

She had, unfortunately, chosen the longest sequel of a horror movie, and when a ghost suddenly leapt out from the darkness, she clenched her teeth hard. She nearly screamed next to him.

She didn’t want to draw any attention from the boss next to her, only to end up getting obliterated. Gritting her teeth harder, she focused on the screen.

The ghost was busily slashing throats. Blood sprayed across the screen like a bursting fountain.

Startled, she instinctively turned her head away, only to make eye contact with Dezeb. Her body convulsed in shock.

She nearly had a heart attack. Watching a horror movie with this man next to her made her feel like her life was getting shorter with every passing moment.

Dezeb raised an eyebrow, as if silently asking what was wrong.

Without saying anything, Erable quickly turned back to the screen. At least the TV was less terrifying than Dezeb. The ghost slashing everyone’s throats seemed like a lesser evil in comparison. But no, this was terrifying too!

Gripped by fear, Erable clung to her beer can as if it were her lifeline, trembling.

The ghost scared her, the man beside her scared her even more, and together, they formed an unbearable synergy that magnified her fear a hundredfold.

As she shivered in terror, Dezeb chuckled lowly, seemingly amused by her behavior. He must have found her state ridiculous.

Erable desperately wished she looked more pathetic. Maybe then he’d leave because she was such a pitiful sight!

But, much to her dismay, Dezeb unbuttoned his shirt collar and relaxed further into the sofa.

He was getting ‘really’ comfortable.

And that’s when Erable started to feel it: his gaze.

A slow, steady gaze that focused entirely on her.

It was already terrifying to have him sitting next to her, but to be stared at as well? She felt like she was going to die.

Desperate to block out the situation, she chugged her beer as if her life depended on it.

Rather than face this horror sober, she decided it was better to drink herself into oblivion. And so, that’s exactly what she did.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Finally awake?”

Erable’s eyelids fluttered. Her head throbbed with the weight of a hangover, and the lingering taste of alcohol coated her mouth.

Morning already… Where’s the clock?

‘Ugh…’

She had passed out on the sofa after binge-watching several horror movies and drinking more than she should have.

Beer cans were piled on the table, evidence of her indulgence. Already exhausted from low energy, the combination of alcohol and horror films had completely worn her out, and by 3 AM, she had finally blacked out.

The last conscious decision she made was to turn her head away from Dezeb, as far as possible from him.

Now, the lack of sleep, hangover, and lingering fear from the night before left her feeling dazed.

“Lieutenant, you seem to have a weak tolerance for alcohol. I thought you passed out last night.”

“Ah…”

“Ah?”

Dezeb, with damp hair, casually ran his fingers through it as he made eye contact with her, looking surprisingly fresh.

Am I still dreaming…? Erable held her throbbing head in her hands.

“Let me prepare some morning coffee… I have some leftover Zalro cookies, would you like some?”

When did I get back to work?

“Lieutenant, you actually have that in your house?”

Dezeb asked, his face filled with disgust.

“My house… you say?”

What is he talking about?

Erable’s muddled thoughts snapped into focus as she heard his low chuckle. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head.

‘Oh, oh no…’

Erable, still half-slumped on the sofa, lifted her head to look at him.

The moment she fully registered the situation, her entire body tensed up. She felt like a frog cornered by a snake. Meanwhile, Dezeb, sitting at the edge of the sofa, continued to smile gently at her.

“I showered first. Why don’t you wash up, and we’ll have breakfast together?”

“Yes, understood.”

Trying to act as calm as possible, Erable quickly got up from the sofa.

Moving as fast as she could, she headed straight for the bathroom, closed the door, and collapsed to the floor.

Trembling, she crawled over to turn on the shower. Once the sound of the running water drowned out the outside world, she finally let out a breath.

‘…Ugh.’

Erable buried her head in her hands, her eyes stinging with unshed tears.

‘I’m still alive.’

Thankfully, her neck was still intact, and all her limbs were in place. She took small, shallow breaths, trying to steady herself.

There was no time to dwell on this. She had to get ready for work. Yes, work…

‘…What time is it?’

She glanced at the clock on the bathroom wall and was shocked. It was already 7:15 AM.

Panicked, she quickly finished showering and got dressed for work. She prepared coffee for Dezeb, who was still sitting at her dining table.

It wasn’t impossible to think of this as a quicker start to the day than usual.

“I’ll prepare breakfast. If you give me a moment, I’ll quickly run to the mess hall.”

“You already look like you’re at work, Erable.”

Erable managed to recover her smile. She buried deep down the awareness that this was her house, and that this man was sitting at her usual dining spot.

“Don’t worry about breakfast. How about you have something to eat?”

“Yes, understood.”

Erable retrieved something from the fridge for breakfast and popped it in the microwave. Even though she wasn’t sure she could stomach it, she had to eat since he had suggested it. Standing by the sink, she held her defrosted instant meal.

Fortunately, Dezeb didn’t ask her to sit down next to him to eat. That small mercy was a relief since her stomach was already threatening to revolt.

Of course, she did her best to push away the thought that the source of all this stress was the man sitting a few feet away.

“Instant food for breakfast?”

Dezeb commented casually, watching her eat.

“I have it occasionally.”

Occasionally meaning four or five times a week.

Erable managed to restore her composure, reminding herself that this was work. If she thought of it like that, she could interact with him in a proper, professional manner.

Just like a typical office worker dealing with a superior.

＊ ＊ ＊

After finishing her morning duties, Erable headed to the warehouse after lunch. She had resolved the matter of the artifact box rental that had been delayed due to an unexpected field mission.

A small military code violation, like hacking the storage system, didn’t even bother her anymore.

Sure, it gave her some stress-induced gastritis, leading to a quick visit to the infirmary for medication, but considering the chaos she survived last night, she was surprisingly fine.

She decided to forget all about the fact that her commander had been in her house.

Burying everything deep down and focusing on her tasks made the events of last night feel like a distant dream.

Why he had come, why he had stayed at her place overnight, and whether any of it had really happened all blurred in her mind.

As she busied herself with errands for the officers and tackled her piled-up workload, last night’s events began to feel like a strange mix of horror movie and alcohol-induced hallucinations.

Yeah, it was all just a dream.

A strange nightmare, that’s all it was.

“Erable, we’re counting on you for the next month and a half. Today’s day two, right?”

On her way to the warehouse, Birgo Hag suddenly threw out some nonsense, picking a fight. Aries, who was with him, chimed in, telling her she only had to endure for a month, no more.

A month, a month and a half…

The moment she heard it, Erable pieced the situation together.

‘…They’ve placed a bet on me?’

Those demons. They’ve made a bet… on ‘me’.

Conflict zones, laboratories… what else could they be betting on? Erable’s mind blanked as she tried to think of all the possible scenarios they could have wagered over.

But she didn’t have the luxury to dwell on it for long.

The amount of military supplies needed for this enormous force was staggering. That meant her workload was mountainous as well.

She was an extremely busy slave.

And she had to constantly prove her usefulness, which kept her even busier. There was no time to linger on worries or anxieties.

Besides, fretting over what those devils were up to was a complete waste of energy.

Even if they were betting on her, there wasn’t much she could do besides keep doing her job.

More pressing at the moment was her stomachache. Eating a rushed lunch before heading to the storage had only worsened it.

Erable dug into her pocket and popped another stomach pill, thinking to herself.

‘I should relax tonight with some pizza and beer.’

Even while swallowing her medication, she still clung to that hopeful thought.

But life rarely goes according to plan, especially for someone constantly tossed around by fate.

＊ ＊ ＊

“Uh…”

The bowl of oatmeal in front of her looked soft. Well, of course—it was ground. It kind of resembled baby food.

Erable lifted her eyes from the bland oatmeal and looked up at Dezeb.

“Why… is this here?”

“You need to eat dinner. Sit down and eat.”

Erable picked up the spoon.

It was almost a reflex. Her mind was in turmoil, a chaotic mess, but she didn’t let it show on her face.

Why, why is the commander here again… I don’t understand. She thought to herself as she scooped up a spoonful of the oatmeal and put it in her mouth, deciding not to think too deeply about it.

Thinking about it wouldn’t change anything, and it would only make her stomach condition worse.

She also chose not to think about how the oatmeal had ended up here, or the fact that Dezeb himself had brought it.

She might actually collapse from a stomachache if she thought too hard about it.

Instead, she thought about alcohol. Any kind of drink would do. She wished she could drink herself into oblivion and escape this reality.