Butcher Demon Chapter 130

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VOL. 3 Return of the Beast

Butcher Demon Chapter 130: Unexpected reunion

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"For the time being, I'll treat you as a guest researcher, equivalent to an associate officer at Fort. Due to the rules of this city, we can't suddenly induct you into the organization, and we also need to process your return to citizenship, so you'll have to put up with that for a while....... Fufufu......"

　Penrose's voices rang up amusedly next to me.

"Claudia."

　Her expression tensed as she was called. Her eyes narrowed for a moment, and a faint stiffness flashed across her neck. It was a strange reaction, Abigail thought.

".......Yes."

Please select a suitable person to be her bodyguard.

"Yes, sir. ......"

　Abigail heard the slightest whisper of a voice.

　Penrose whispered into Yasmin's ear and stood up.

"I'll leave the rest to Yasmin. Abigail, don't do anything that might attract attention. If you are going to be interviewed in the future, please go through the local government official channels. It may affect your personal security."

　Abigail was secretly interviewed by a newspaper reporter the other day. Out of all the reporters who asked her for an interview, she chose one who seemed to be particularly open-minded.

　The reporter's name was Eugene. He had a strange air about him, as if he was an observer of both the sour and sweet sides of the world. Abigail had given him an exclusive interview on the condition that he write the most flashy article possible.

　She was afraid that her actions would attract the attention of the local government, but more than that, she was afraid that she would be buried in the dark without being able to do anything about it. AASPINT and the local government were both threats to her in equal measure.

　But at least, once her name was widely known, she would be able to avoid a sudden disappearance while she was under the protection of Fort 88. If that happened, it would mean the downfall of Penrose who was protecting her. Penrose had no choice but to protect Abigail.

　Eugene, the reporter, wrote a story that exceeded Abigail's expectations.

　The headline on the piece, "War Maiden Abigail's Great Escape from Horrible Alien City Returns Alive," was so full of speculation and exaggeration that it gave her a slight headache. It made me break out in a flush of cold sweat just thinking about it.

　When I asked for no pictures of her face, an illustration was drawn instead. It was a picture of Abigail, deformed with a gorilla face, firing a heavy machine gun around her waist and killing the alien. It was too funny. The whole thing was a funny piece of work. 

　However, the fact that Penrose was able to come out because of such a poorly written article today probably means that even such a ridiculous article had some effect.

"I'll grant you freedom of action, but there's no guarantee that you'll be protected if you go outside of Beehive, and even inside, if you go in and out of dangerous places, you never know what you'll find there."

　After saying that, Penrose put his hand on the door of the room.

"And don't go off on your own, either."

　Penrose left the room with one last reminder.

　I could feel the tension drain out from my body.

　Yasmin also stood up after him.

"Well, Abigail. I'll take my leave now. I'm going to give you a brief interview, but I'm sure there are some things that are difficult to say when you're surrounded by so many people. I'll leave Claudia with you, so you can talk to her alone. She will also explain to you what will happen next. So I'll see you soon....... Have a nice day."

　With an unreadable smile, Yasmin also left the room with her high heels clacking.

　Immediately afterwards, Claudia let out a small exhale and deflated. Her eyes seemed to be moistening.

"A, Abigail ...... my name is Claudia. Now again, If you don't want to answer what I'm about to ask you, you don't have to answer" she prefaced and then proceeded to listen to Abigail's story.

　Abigail gave a fragmented description of the alien city and some of the aspects of her captivity that were relevant.

　The interview did not take long.

"Finally, do you have any wishes regarding the selection of your bodyguards?　Since they will be following you everywhere you go from now on, it is better to specify the age, gender, or personality. I will try to find as many women as possible, though."

"Then--"

　Abigail looked out the window. The sky, which had been clear until a few minutes ago, had turned cloudy and white.

"I want my guards to be from a Fox team"

"Fox, you mean ......."

　Claudia looked puzzled for a moment and then asked, "Why?"

"I've heard that the Foxes have the most experience with aliens here at Fort 88. I've also heard that all of them are very skilled. I would like to continue to study alien technology, so in that sense, I believe that talking to them is the best way to quickly catch up on the latest information about the enemy, establish connections with them for intelligence gathering, and to ensure my safety. I think it's the best way to keep myself safe."

　Claudia nodded her head a few times as if to say, "I understand." and then immediately raised an eyebrow.

I understand. However......there is no doubt that the members over there are skilled, but they are a little, how should I say...... they're quite......troublesome. Are you okay with that?　...... No, it's not that they are rouge or dangerous. They do their job well and rarely violate orders. They have no problems with civilians. Their mission accomplishment rate is excellent. But they're also a bit of an oddball.......

"I'm used to eccentrics. I'm quite the oddball myself, you know?"

　Abigail shrugged her shoulders in a joking manner, and Claudia looked at her for a moment, but then her expression relaxed.

"Hmmm....... I see. The best people are often the odd ones out."

"There is another request."

"What is it?"

"Would you be willing to let me select my bodyguard?"

"...... You mean?"

"I'd like to go to Fox, interview them, and choose them myself. It would be a lot less work for both of us."

　Claudia looked down at her desk for a moment, pondering, and then looked up.

"Permission granted. Then I'll speak to Fox's captain, Captain Wisley tomorrow and we'll get back to you with a schedule."

"Thank you."

　Abigail bowed, stood up and left the room.

　Just before she closed the door, she saw Claudia sitting in her chair, biting her lip and putting her hand on her lower abdomen, seemingly distressed.

(The senior secretary was Penrose's little toy.)

　I added that to my mental note and walked down the hall.

　As Abigail waited in the hall for the elevator, she suddenly heard a voice behind her.

"Abby!"

　She turned around in surprise and saw a man standing there.

　He had short, stylish hair and rimless glasses. He was a man with a clean shaven beard and an impressive, dashing face.

　The man rushed to Abigail's side and walked up to her with his arms open.

"...... Logan."

"Yeah, oh my...... no way, It's really you."

　I smelled a distinctive perfume based on the scent of tanned leather as he hugged me to his chest in an exaggerated manner.

　He was tall and has a medium build, but there was a hardness to his arms and chest that hinted at the presence of packed muscles. Of course, she knew this. He was lean and macho.

　The man called Logan kissed her on the cheek then moved his mouth to her ear and whispered, "You're being targeted."

".................. Why are you here?"

"I fell out of my chair when I heard the news that you were alive."

Logan continued as he let go of Abigail.

"I couldn't stand it any longer. I just arrived this morning on the mission to inspecting the front line"

　Logan was a man that Abigail had previously been in a relationship with.

　He was a senior officer in the Force Development Division of the <UCEG> The unified international forces of <Foreign Command>, a.k.a. FORCOM, and he had known Abigail for several years when she was an alien technology researcher before she joined AASPINT.

"I don't know what to say,......, but it's like I'm dreaming."

"Logan gave a small shake of his head and a smile, as if he couldn't believe it. Abigail's cheeks relaxed a little when she saw this.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"You may have changed a little, but ...... you're much nicer than you used to be."

"They stared at each other in silence for a while."

The elevator ding.......

"Would you like to have dinner with me again?"

"Yes. It's been a long time since we've had a quiet place to talk."

　With that, Abigail got into the elevator.

　Logan saw her off behind the doors.

"The nights are already cold. You're not recovered yet, so try not to go out alone. Give me a call okay?"

　With a thump, Logan poked his clenched fist in front of her.

"Yeah. Thanks."

　Slowly, the elevator doors closed.

　In Abigail's hand was a small piece of paper.

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