Beyond a Thief's Power (All Ages Version)

Episode 14

The Alliance of Thirteen

It was the afternoon a few days later inside Le Renard Noir. It was an inauspicious day for the guys due to the heat coming into the city. The air conditioner was on full blast, but like every blazing wave arriving before summer, there was not enough cool air for their exhaustion and heavy pants to go away. The sweat dripping from their bodies was what regulated their bodies from the thermal flow.

Hiro slumped down in his seat in front of the bar counter with his arms stretched out on it while his eyes were closed. "Ugh..." He felt like he was going to pass out soon. "It's... so hot... We're practically dying from the heat...!"

Riki looked at the youngest member of the team. He was sitting on a seat around the side of the wooden counter and attempted not to complain about the hot atmosphere. "If we're gonna die from the heat anyway, I'd rather fall onto Mitsuki's boobs since they can wrap me into a marshmallow heaven. You guys can dive into the ocean if you can't take the heat wave."

Kenshi closed his eyes and sweat-dropped. "...I'd prefer shaved ice in a bowl, which Boss is making for us but... If that's what you want to have instead, Riki, I won't say anything about it. I'm just hungry right now, so I'm still waiting like everyone else. Water's nice and all, but let's have some without a salty taste, okay?"

"Gross," Takuto cracked a comment at the leader of the Black Foxes. "I can't believe you would talk about your wife's chest at a time like this, Riki. She's not a pillow for your convenience during hot weather. And seriously, marshmallows?" His expression and tone of voice became monotone. "How cliché can you be? You're making fun of Mitsuki that way, so don't say anything further about them, will you? You know, you can be pretty insensitive, seeing as it's been part of your personality even before you met her." A smirk appeared on his face. "You should've stopped nine years ago, yet you're still going on with the perverted remarks? Man, you're not as mature as a lot of people think. All the other women who glance at you would be disappointed if they heard you, not counting magicians of course." His indifferent facial appearance came back in an instant.

Riki reconsidered what the programmer told him about his wife, and pondered about everything else before he spoke. "You've got a point there. When I think about it, everything about her is more like mochi to the touch." He shook his head. "No, wait. Her skin's a lot softer than that, and she feels nice, too." A confident smile formed on his visage. "I don't know if I should say this or not, but every part of her relaxes me. Hugging her is great, but I also like having her on me when we're together, especially when we're on the bed."

At that moment, all eyes (Takuto, Kenshi's, Hiro, and Sayuri's) turned towards Mitsuki, who was indeed standing behind her husband with a sweet smile and her large eyes were opened. She was holding onto a few grocery bags in her left hand, and another set in her right one. Kenshi's eyes widened; Hiro's perked up as he kept laying his head down on his folded arms; Sayuri had her reserved and calm expression from before. As for Takuto, he was just... Well, a lot like Sayuri.

"Uh, Riki?" Takuto asked, averting his gaze towards the former government official.

Riki did not lose his smile. "Yeah?"

Instead of telling him that Mitsuki was behind him, the hacker simply answered with a, "You shouldn't have said that." He glanced at the dark purple-haired magician.

Besides, he thought, she's right behind you.

Riki blinked once and turned his head around to his left, finally seeing his cute yet beautiful wife. He smiled awkwardly. "...Hi there, Mitsuki."