The Cobra King's Return

Back to Budapest

Peti grabbed a plate of lasagna and a cup of hot tea before making his way to a seat in the cafeteria. The warm smell of food filled the air as he settled in. Hokori and Lily picked different meals for themselves, chatting casually as they sat down beside him. Not long after, Poci and Renshuke joined them, their plates full, ready to eat and talk.

Peti glanced at Poci as he took a bite of his lasagna. "So, when do you guys actually plan to leave?" he asked between chews.

Poci placed her fork down and sighed. "In about one or two months," she said. "But before that, we have a mission this summer."

Peti leaned back in his chair, his expression turning serious. "So that's going to be the last mission, huh..." he muttered, looking down at his plate.

Before anyone could say anything else, Demashi approached and took a seat at their table. He didn't waste time before getting straight to the point. "Peti, I need a team of ten people for a mission," he announced. "We're going to investigate and rebuild Budapest. Hungary is way behind Germany in progress, and we need to fix that."

Peti, who had just taken a sip of his tea, almost choked on it. He set the cup down roughly, scowling. "I'm not going back there," he said firmly, his tone laced with bitterness. "I hate it, and I'll hate it for the rest of my life."

The table fell silent for a moment as everyone processed his sudden shift in mood. Renshuke glanced at Poci, who lowered her gaze slightly, understanding where Peti's anger was coming from.

Demashi raised an eyebrow. "I figured you wouldn't like it, but I didn't expect you to refuse so quickly."

Peti scoffed. "There's nothing for me there. I don't care how late Hungary is compared to Germany—it's not my problem. Pick someone else."

Hokori crossed his arms, watching Peti closely. "You sure about that?" he asked. "Maybe this is something you need to face."

Peti stabbed his fork into his lasagna a little harder than necessary. "No," he said flatly. "It's not."

Poci sighed and looked at Hokori. "Hungary treated poor people worse than anything you can imagine," she said. "Even gypsies have it better than the truly poor there. It's either you're rich, working, a foreign worker, or partying all the time. There's no real middle ground. And don't even get me started on the unemployment rate—it's at least ten times higher than what they claim. Not to mention inflation keeps getting worse."

Hokori leaned back in his chair, nodding slowly. "That's... actually pretty reasonable," he admitted. "I also heard Hungary is in the top ten most alcoholic countries in the world."

Peti snorted. "Yeah, because that's the only way people can cope," he muttered. "They drink so they don't have to think about how bad things are."

Demashi tapped his fingers against the table. "So, you really won't go?"

Peti crossed his arms. "I already said no. Nothing you say will change my mind."

Brilliant Brigitte stepped into the room with her usual confident stride. She sat down across from Peti and leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand.

"So, I heard why you hate Hungary," she said casually. "But this mission isn't about fixing the system itself. It's about improving their technology and finding real solutions for the people—solutions that actually work, even if the system won't."

Peti raised an eyebrow. "Changing the system?" he echoed, his tone skeptical.

Brigitte shrugged. "If the system won't help the people, we'll give them the tools to help themselves."