The look on her face said it all: You’re in for it now.
"I want to die."
I let my head fall back against the elevator wall and sighed at the ceiling.
Audrey and Ruby were free, finally outside the facility, and because of it I was the one who felt imprisoned. My jailers were these two lunatics. The real question was, who was going to get me out of this?
"So young and already so dramatic. You’re a bit delicate, aren’t you? Harden up," Ruby chirped, her tone soaked in fake concern.
"It’s his feminine constitution. He can’t handle an aesthetically challenged Ruby," Audrey stated flatly.
"Look who’s talking, Madness."
"......."
I caught her wrist just as her hand began to slip inside her coat—undoubtedly going for that favorite pistol of hers. "Don’t. You want to cause a scene and get dragged back in?"
She clicked her tongue, a sharp, annoyed sound, and jerked her head away. How much longer was calming her down even going to work?
"Ruby, you too. Stop riling her up for no reason."
"But—"
"You were about to say it’s fun, right?"
She winked, as if I’d guessed correctly, and stuck out her tongue playfully. "Well, I can behave if you ask nicely. In exchange..." She leaned in, her voice dropping to a purr. "You’d have to keep me entertained, you know?"
Her gaze was all suggestion. She licked her lips and pressed against my arm. "Just the two of us, back at the hotel. We could finally finish that bed test we never got to...~"
"Ruby."
"Ah-ha! Your face is priceless"
"I’m serious. Are you going to behave or not?"
"Hmm... I’ll think about it!"
I wished she’d move from thinking to actually doing it.
Trapped between a gleefully humming Ruby and the icy glare I could feel radiating from Audrey, I just stood there with a blank face until the elevator finally dinged. Find the original chapter at novelping(.)com.
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"You."
"Huh? What is it, Audrey?"
The doors slid open and Ruby bounced out with a skip in her step. I moved to follow, but Audrey’s low, quiet voice held me back.
"Don’t let yourself be too distracted by her. Unless you want to burn like a moth."
"...I’ll remember that."
She was right. This wasn’t the time to get foolishly caught up in Ruby’s games. If I didn’t stay focused and lead, these two would absolutely make a mess. Especially Ruby, always hunting for her next amusement. The way she acted with me... it could all just be an act, a honeytrap to make me pliable.
Just as I was hardening my resolve with that thought, I realized Audrey was still staring, her gaze intense.
"What, is there something else?"
"I was thinking you’re quite a pervert."
"...That’s not true."
She gave a slight, dismissive tilt of her head and looked away. Where did she even get that? Okay, fine, maybe my eyes slipped a little whenever Ruby launched one of her physical attacks, but that was a completely unavoidable, biological response for any functioning male...
"Hey! Hurry up!"
"Yeah... coming."
Avoiding her eyes, I trudged over to Ruby, who was waving energetically from the entrance of a boutique.
And so, our chaotic shopping trip began.
Strangely, even though both of them were clearly unhinged, they turned into something almost resembling normal women when it came to shopping.
"You. Which of these is more beautiful?"
Our first stop was a suit shop for Audrey. The moment she’d seen a mannequin in a sharp black blazer, she’d marched inside. Now she stood before me, holding two nearly identical suits, one in each hand, presenting them like a solemn question. This chapter is updated first at NovelPing.
"...Aren’t they both just black suits?"
Her glare could have splintered wood. I shot a helpless look at Ruby for backup, but she just stood there grinning, thoroughly enjoying my predicament.
Damn it. No help at all.
With no other choice, I looked more carefully as Audrey held each suit against herself. With her cold silver hair, marble-pale skin, and that tall, sculpted frame... honestly, she’d look good in a burlap sack. But she wanted an answer.
"If I had to pick... the one on the left suits you a bit better?"
"Hmm." She considered this, her face blank. "...I will choose the right one."
"...Then why did you ask?"
"Pfft— Ahahahaht" Ruby finally exploded with laughter.
I shot her a heavy glare before coolly paying for the set of suits—Audrey had quietly added a few more pieces to the pile. I wondered if it was okay to use the raid support funds like this, but she’d earn it back once she started working as a hunter. Probably.
"Audrey, is that all for your outdoor clothes?"
"For now."
"Then we’ll get your loungewear all together later... Should we go get your things now, Ruby?"
"I’ll warn you," she said, the corner of her mouth curling up. "Shopping with me won’t be as simple as it was with Madness."
A foreboding chill shot down my spine.
◆ ◆ ◆
"Hey, what about this one? Huh? Pretty, right?" "Uh, it’s alri—" "Seems like a no. Okay, I’ll go change again!" "......."
How long had she been dragging me around now? Following Ruby as she buzzed through every women’s clothing section in the department store, I felt like I’d been cast into a special circle of hell. My sentence was to visually process every piece of fabric in existence.