Ch.45Unknown Villain! (3)

#045

In Summerin, where the average age was relatively high, Dexter and Judy, the two people lowering that average, were moving with hot breaths and sticky sounds.

“Hee, hee-uh, hoo-ugh.”

“Are you going to stop here?”

At Dexter’s urging, Judy was making a tearful face.

“You need to run more.”

“Heek! M-more, hee-ugh, from here…?”

Judy was running hard on the treadmill, looking at Dexter with an expression that said she was truly about to die.

Dexter, watching her, was also running on the treadmill at the same pace to encourage Judy.

“W-when we started, heek, you clearly, hee-ugh, said you’d, adjust, hick, for me!”

“Did I? I am adjusting in my own way.”

If Dexter really wanted to be cruel, he could have made Judy run at maximum speed on the treadmill while cracking a whip behind her.

But instead, Dexter himself was running too.

Thinking this alone was being as lenient as possible, Dexter couldn’t understand why Judy was looking at him so resentfully.

“Ch-cheater!”

“Instead of talking, you should run more. I’m running too, aren’t I?”

“Monster…”

“Tsk, talking will just make you more out of breath.”

Only after running for another 10 minutes did Dexter and Judy finally stop.

Judy had come wearing waterproof makeup that wouldn’t wash away easily with sweat and workout clothes that prioritized fashion slightly over practicality, all to make a good impression on Dexter.

But under Dexter’s harsh training, she had no chance to make any impression and was now sprawled out on the gym floor.

“Let’s rest for 10 minutes and then move on to the next exercise.”

“W-what? In 10 minutes?”

“Yes. In 10 minutes.”

“It’s too, ugh, too hard.”

“Should we stop?”

Dexter watched Judy’s face light up at the suggestion of stopping and said:

“I guess I can just keep underestimating you. Like wondering why a flimsy, droopy British person like three-day-old fish and chips became a correctional officer.”

Though extremely exhausted, Judy’s eyes widened at Dexter’s harsh words as she looked at him and said:

“…Mr. Hughes, you’re being… too mean.”

“If I’m not, you won’t exercise.”

As Dexter forced out the cruel words despite feeling bad about it, Judy bit her lip and raised her upper body.

“If I do it, that’s all that matters, right?”

“Yes. In 10 minutes.”

“Phew… Alright.”

As Judy exhaled deeply, Dexter handed her a towel and cool water instead of responding.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

In truth, Judy knew that Dexter was deliberately being harsh.

‘I can tell just by looking at his eyes.’

The Dexter that Judy saw had a faint smile remaining at the corners of his mouth, and he would hesitate momentarily whenever he said something harsh to her.

‘At least he’s not making me exercise like this because he dislikes me.’

No matter how childlike Judy might appear on the outside, she was an adult woman who majored in biology.

She could at least get a general sense of whether someone of the opposite sex liked her or not.

That’s why, despite her leg muscles being rock hard and her lungs feeling like they might burst, Judy gritted her teeth and decided to follow Dexter’s exercise regimen.

‘At least I feel like I can trust and follow him.’

Completely unaware of Judy’s thoughts, Dexter looked at her catching her breath and thought she looked like a rabbit lying down and sleeping on the floor.

* * *

Having arrived early in the morning and finally being released around lunchtime, Judy was staggering out of the gym.

“Should I drive you home?”

“N-nooo… I can go…”

“I don’t think you can.”

Seeing Judy wobbling like a zombie outside the gym, unable to properly control her body, Dexter tilted his head.

“It’s close by…”

“…I’m still worried, so I’ll follow you.”

He felt a bit sorry, realizing he had pushed her at his own pace without considering Judy’s exercise level.

“I’m fine…”

“Looking at you, I’m not fine.”

Seeing Judy still wobbling, Dexter turned his back to her and squatted down.

“Get on my back.”

“What?”

“Hurry up. Let’s get you home quickly so I can go home too.”

When Judy hesitated despite his urging, Dexter stood up abruptly and lifted her onto his arm like a child.

“Aren’t I heavy?”

“Not really.”

As if carrying a five-year-old child with one hand, Judy was sitting on Dexter’s arm.

Judy’s face began to turn increasingly red.

Of course, the reason Judy blushed wasn’t because of the masculinity she felt from Dexter’s firm arm, but purely out of embarrassment.

“I-I’m not a baby.”

“Of course you’re not.”

“Could you put me down…?”

“Then we won’t make it on time.”

Unable to respond further as Dexter strode forward while directly contradicting her words, Judy could only cover her face with both hands.

This was understandable, as there were quite a few people passing by around the gym area.

“Why are you covering your face?”

“…Mr. Hughes, don’t people tell you that you lack tact?”

“No, I know you’re embarrassed, Ms. Goswell.”

At Dexter’s composed answer, Judy replied with a voice tinged with bewilderment.

“You know and still do this?”

“Of course.”

Dexter shrugged.

“…I’ve never met someone like you before.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“That wasn’t a compliment!”

“It is to me.”

When Dexter smiled at Judy, who had one eye visible between her fingers, Judy responded with an expression full of astonishment instead of words.

At this sight, Dexter burst into laughter and said:

“Ah, Ms. Goswell really does have an amusing side.”

“What exactly did you think of me before?”

“Small and prone to tears, that kind of feeling.”

“What’s that supposed to mean? That’s totally like a baby.”

“Of course I saw you as a baby. But today I changed my mind. You seem more like a mother than a baby.”

Judy, hearing such an assessment from a man for the first time, said:

“A mother?”

“Like how you take care of things meticulously, or give somewhat motherly advice. That kind of thing. Not saying you’re exactly like my actual mother.”

“Oh, in that sense… My friends in school sometimes said similar things.”

Judy nodded at Dexter’s words, which she initially didn’t understand.

Having been called “Mum” as a nickname among her friends in school, Judy felt a bit awkward hearing similar comments from a work colleague.

Especially since she enjoyed knitting and baking cookies, and as Dexter said, liked to take care of things meticulously, such nicknames stuck to her more easily.

“Still, calling a colleague motherly, I guess I phrased it oddly.”

“No! You can feel that way.”

However, both Dexter who brought up the mother comparison and Judy who heard it felt somewhat awkward.

After about 10 minutes of silence, Judy felt the muscle pain ringing throughout her body along with the faint smell of sweat coming from Dexter.

The sweat smell wasn’t unpleasant; it was the kind of scent she might want to inhale while being held in Dexter’s arms.

But Judy didn’t say anything to Dexter about it, thinking he might find her strange if she mentioned it.

The two, who hadn’t spoken much until they reached Judy’s house, finally opened their mouths when Dexter put Judy down at the entrance.

“Good work today. Tomorrow I’ll make you exercise less than today.”

“That’s the best thing I’ve heard… Anyway, thank you so much for bringing me home.”

Then, as Judy beckoned him to come closer with a flick of her hand, Dexter approached her, bending slightly at the waist with his hands on his knees.

Judy then stood on her tiptoes and stroked Dexter’s head with one hand, saying:

“Y-you did well…”

Dexter was surprised by Judy’s sudden action, but soon chuckled and put his hand to his head, saying:

“At my age, it’s the first time someone’s stroked my head.”

“Oh, d-do you dislike it?”

“No, I actually like it because it’s been so long. Did you do that because I said you were like a mother?”

“Yes, um, do you dislike it?”

Seeing Judy asking cautiously, afraid he might dislike it, Dexter smiled slightly and said:

“No, I told you it’s fine. I actually found it refreshing.”

It was the first time he’d experienced a woman stroking the head of a man who was nearly two heads taller than her, so as Dexter himself said, it was truly refreshing.

“I hope I teach well enough tomorrow to deserve having my head stroked again.”

“No, you really worked hard today. You went through a lot because of a woman like me who’s not good at exercising. Oh, would you like to have lunch together? At least some cookies and tea for now…”

“Oh, is that okay? I’m worried you might be too tired after such intense exercise.”

“It’s fine, really. Actually, I have too many cookies left.”

“You have cookies left?”

Dexter, who tried not to waste any food in his possession, spoke as if he didn’t know.

“Oh, it’s my hobby. I have quite a few cookies left that I made yesterday.”

It wasn’t easy to refuse after such an offer.

“Alright then.”

“That’s good.”

“Good?”

“I thought someone with muscles like yours would have to drink protein shakes every day and eat only chicken breast.”

“Ah, diet control.”

Since nanobots expelled all excess nutrients that would accumulate in Dexter’s body, he had never once tried diet control.

“I do control my diet sometimes when there’s something important. Of course, there’s nothing important today, so it’s fine.”

Knowing that Judy would be shocked if he truthfully said “I don’t do that,” Dexter told a white lie.

“Oh, really? That’s good. Please come in.”

“Then excuse me.”

Entering Judy’s house, Dexter drank cool milk with various cookies without incident, and Judy was satisfied watching Dexter eat well.

After stuffing his mouth with cookies until he couldn’t eat anymore, Dexter still had leftover cookies packed in a small pink box.

Though they weren’t freshly baked chewy cookies, cookies that had cooled down had their own charm.

“Baking cookies really is your hobby.”

Dexter was amazed at the taste of Judy’s cookies, which could rival those from famous bakeries, as he drove his pickup truck toward the outskirts of Summerin.

“…?”

In the side mirror, he saw a black van following closely behind him.

Dexter thought he might be misunderstanding, but even when he stopped at traffic lights or deliberately turned in the opposite direction from Honeygood Springs, the van kept following.

“This is a bit strange.”

Dexter checked his attire, but there was nothing that would make him look particularly wealthy.

Even as he took Highway 95 toward Honeygood Springs, the black van was still following.

It was hard to call it surveillance because it was following so blatantly.

Recognizing the ominous situation, Dexter took out silver knuckles from his pocket and put them on his right hand.

He decided to stop the car on the road that branches off to Red Rock Canyon, between North Las Vegas and Honeygood Prison.

Though he didn’t know how many people there were, if it was just the occupants of one car, Dexter could handle them alone, which is why he chose an unpaved road where there would be no witnesses.

“I really hope they follow.”

As Dexter thought about experiencing combat after a long time, he felt adrenaline spreading throughout his body and his excitement building up.