Ch.83Aftermath! (4)

#083

Librertron’s shocking statement had heated up the OSA headquarters.

The claims of a robot who insisted it came from the future sounded quite entertaining to OSA agents, who were already the source of conspiracy theories.

“When did it say the alien invasion would happen?”

“2065. From then on, the world is on the brink of destruction. Apparently, even OSA gets completely wiped out, or something like that.”

“That’s a prophecy that doesn’t make me want to live long, does it?”

“It seems like a nasty prank, but if it is a prank, the quality is too good, isn’t it?”

The senior agents who had attended Himena’s investigation were spreading these comments to other agents throughout OSA.

Regardless, Himena, who was in charge of the investigation, was reviewing the preliminary investigation report on the crashed spacecraft while organizing Librertron’s statements.

[It testified that after the alien invasion in 2065, a global depression occurred, resulting in over 95% of businesses shutting down. This is closely related to why Librertron looks so crude—due to difficulties in raw material supply, they often had to recycle scrap parts, forcing them to choose designs that would appear crude or old-fashioned by current standards.]

As if anticipating Himena’s concerns, Librertron had addressed all the suspicious points, but something still bothered Himena as she organized its statements.

‘The more I organize this… it all wraps up too neatly.’

Librertron had answered Himena’s questions perfectly. Of course, when it didn’t know something, it would say the information wasn’t in its database, or even make “guesses” despite being a robot.

Those answers were truly perfect.

Everything about the incident lined up, and even Himena, who knew nothing about the future, found herself nodding along to Librertron’s explanations as if listening to a history lecture.

‘But that’s just it—it’s too perfect.’

After all, this information was input or organized by a person.

There should be inconsistencies or ambiguities, or when two people have different opinions, their perspectives and descriptions would differ.

‘It talked as if a single person had witnessed all of history.’

Then there was the peculiar background of how it came to Earth—which was the past for Librertron.

[It testified that future Earth lacked the resources to develop and manufacture new spacecraft, so they restored and modified an Adamski-type spacecraft that had crashed during the Roswell incident, intending to send it to the planet housing the Galactic Union headquarters. However, due to an unexpected accident, the spacecraft pilots vanished on the spot, leaving only Librertron, an archival robot, aboard the ship.]

‘An unexpected accident.’

Librertron had said there was a completely dark sphere midway to their destination, and the spacecraft pilots couldn’t avoid it and were sucked in with the entire ship. From the moment they entered the sphere, Librertron automatically shut down and couldn’t operate until just before crashing in the Nevada desert.

‘And those pilots disappeared, leaving only their spacesuits behind…’

Whether it made sense or not wasn’t for Himena to judge, but at least to her, it sounded plausible.

‘Whether the higher-ups will accept this is another matter… Ah, whatever! All I can say is that I wrote down what the robot said!’

Himena had initially planned to add her own opinions but gave up and only made Librertron’s testimony more readable without changing anything else.

She didn’t want to dig deeper and end up working overtime.

‘Let’s just do the basics, just the basics!’

Dexter’s habits had rubbed off on the usually diligent Himena.

* * *

“Huaaawn…”

In the evening as the sun had set, Himena was coming out of the City Hall building with a tired face, letting out a big yawn.

“You’ll get flies in your mouth doing that.”

“Ah… eeek.”

Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Himena whipped her head around to see Dexter in casual clothes, leaning against the building’s exterior wall with his arms crossed. His playful smile as he looked at her was an added bonus.

“Y-you scared me!”

“What kind of reaction is ‘eeek’?”

Dexter said with a chuckle.

“What brings you here?”

“You’ve seemed a bit tired lately, so I thought we could go for a light drink.”

“A drink? What about your car?”

“We can take a taxi, of course.”

Dexter shrugged, and Himena, who was about to refuse, sighed deeply as she thought about the day’s events.

“…Alright, let’s go. I think I need a drink today.”

Dexter looked surprised when Himena readily accepted, having expected her to refuse or make an excuse.

“Did something happen?”

Noticing that Himena’s expression wasn’t very good, though it was hard to see clearly in the dim light, Dexter asked.

“Just that the case I handled today seems suspicious, but I can’t quite see an answer… that’s all.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing Himena speak in a somewhat tired voice, Dexter didn’t want to make her feel worse by pressing the issue, so he changed the subject.

“Is there anything specific you’d like to eat?”

It was Dexter’s question, thinking that while alcohol was good, she must be craving something her body desperately wanted after being stressed.

After pondering for a moment, Himena recalled a vague taste lingering in her mouth and exclaimed as if just remembering:

“Ah, something reeeally spicy!”

‘Spicy?’

Dexter glanced at Himena’s face with its healthy light tan complexion, and after considering various Mexican dishes, thought of something a bit special.

“Spicy… the only thing that comes to mind is chile relleno.”

Chile relleno refers to a dish of thick poblano peppers stuffed with various fillings and then roasted.

It was the spicy food Dexter knew after tacos, burritos, and chimichangas.

“Chile relleno sounds great! I know a place that makes it deliciously! Let’s go quickly.”

Pleased that Dexter’s suggestion was exactly what she wanted, Himena smiled brightly and grabbed his arm, trying to lead the way.

Dexter allowed himself to be pulled along, relieved that Himena’s mood seemed to have improved.

The two took a taxi from in front of City Hall and arrived at the address Himena gave to the driver.

As soon as they got out in front of a Mexican restaurant a bit away from the Strip, they were greeted by a bustling atmosphere.

Rather than the flashy, chaotic feel of Las Vegas, it had a more exotic and homely ambiance.

Even Dexter, who was visiting this restaurant for the first time, felt a familiarity that made him think he might have been here before.

“Ah, this smell!”

Himena smiled broadly.

‘Wow, the spicy aroma is intense even from out here.’

Unlike Himena who found it comforting, Dexter was startled by the spicy smell that made his nose tingle and almost brought tears to his eyes.

“Let’s go in quickly!”

Smiling as brightly as a child, Himena entered the restaurant, while Dexter hesitated slightly as the spicy aroma grew stronger the closer they got.

‘This should be… okay, right?’

Guided by a staff member, they sat at a private table in a corner with few people. As soon as they sat down, Himena began ordering numerous dishes, prompting Dexter to comment somewhat grumpily:

“Didn’t you say you haven’t been in Las Vegas for long?”

“That’s right.”

“Then how do you have so many regular restaurants?”

“Come on, before I met you, I spent every holiday busy exploring restaurants.”

Himena said with a wink.

“And you ordered a lot of dishes. Are you planning to eat all of that?”

“It’s not that much. Oh, drinks! We need drinks too. What would you like? I’m going to have beer, but since you drink well, tequila?”

“…I’ll have beer too.”

Dexter wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, but he knew well enough that tequila was a high-proof spirit.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have suggested coming here?’

It was clear that the Mexican restaurant was her healing spot.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t be bouncing around like a cat that had sniffed catnip.

Still, seeing her so happy made him think it was a good decision to bring her here after all.

Soon, various dishes including chile relleno were served, and Dexter was startled by the sharp, spicy aroma that hit him instantly.

‘Is this authentic Mexican food rather than Tex-Mex?’

Compared to Americanized Mexican food, or Tex-Mex, the intense aroma was on another level, causing Dexter to blink a few times as he tried his best to appear unfazed.

‘It would be awkward to admit I can’t handle spicy food in front of her.’

Although Dexter wasn’t bad with spicy food, he had to concede defeat to authentic Mexican cuisine.

Without even properly looking at Dexter’s face, Himena took a bite of the chile relleno stuffed with beef and cheese, and smiled with satisfaction.

“Ah, this is so delicious.”

“Eat slowly. Don’t create a situation where you’ll need digestive medicine.”

“I will.”

Though she wasn’t particularly hungry, eating spicy food was Himena’s way of relieving stress, just as some people devour ice cream when they’re depressed.

After eating several spicy dishes that made her tongue tingle, Himena’s face turned a rosy red.

With her mood somewhat improved, Himena took a sip of beer and cautiously brought up the day’s incident to Dexter.

“…What would you do if someone claimed they came from the future, Dexter?”

Dexter took her question as casual conversation and answered lightly:

“Well? I’d probably punch them first, then ask why they couldn’t dodge it.”

“No, that would only work for someone who claims to predict the future. I mean someone who came from the future.”

Dexter looked around, trying to think of an answer that would satisfy Himena, and seeing her expectant expression, he smiled and said:

“Is there any reason to worry about it?”

“What?”

“About the person who claims to be from the future. Is this related to the message you sent this morning?”

“…You’re like a mind reader.”

“Well, I’ve lived on intuition for 15 years.”

Dexter took a sip of beer and continued:

“Does this person have a reason for coming to the past?”

“Well, they didn’t come by choice. It seems like they ended up here by accident.”

“Then there’s even less reason to worry about it.”

“What? Why?”

Dexter crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling as he spoke:

“If they didn’t come by choice, it means they accidentally came to Earth’s past, so there’s a good chance they don’t know how to get back, right?”

“…I guess so?”

“Since you know about it, they’re probably under OSA surveillance. Even if they know about the future, they can’t act freely.”

“That’s true?”

“So there’s nothing to worry about. OSA will stop them if they try anything, and they probably can’t go back to the future. There’s nothing more to worry about.”

Dexter shrugged.

“Just forget about it for today. Leave it to the duty officer.”

“…You really think so?”

“How many agents are more experienced than you, Himena? Let them handle it.”

“Heh, right? I guess I don’t need to worry so much?”

With those words, Dexter realized that Himena’s flushed face wasn’t just from the spicy food.

‘Ah, she just had beer, didn’t she?’

“That’s right, I don’t need to do so much work, do I…? Hehehe.”

And Himena began alternating between gulping beer and devouring food.

“Hey, I said eat slowly.”

“It’s fine! I’m good with Mexican food! ¡La comida mexicana es la mejor!”

Himena’s exclamation suddenly stirred up the Mexican patrons drinking nearby.

“¡Esta señora conoce bien nuestro país! ¡Este país es el mejor!”

“Ciña ¡Oh Patria! Tus sienes de oliva de la paz el arcángel divino…!”

Spanish could be heard from all around, and what sounded like the Mexican national anthem began to play.

People were toasting Himena or clapping their hands, and Dexter looked around at the suddenly transformed atmosphere and asked in a bewildered voice:

“Himena, what exactly did you say?”

“That Mexican food is the best, hehe.”

It seemed that Himena had somehow inspired the surrounding Mexican people.

Dexter, who certainly hadn’t expected this outcome, was visibly flustered.

“…Let’s just finish eating and leave.”

“Why? This is fun!”

“I’m too embarrassed to stand it.”

Last time she was angrily shouting, and this time she was grinning from ear to ear.

Watching her sway to the clapping of the surrounding Mexicans or hum along, Dexter thought it was somewhat cute, but that was only if they were alone.

It wasn’t something he wanted others to see, so he sighed deeply.

‘It’s not like alcohol gives her bipolar disorder.’

Shaking his head, Dexter picked up some of the food Himena had left and almost spat it out instantly.

‘Ugh.’

What he thought was just a simple stew made his tongue feel like it was on fire, not just tingling.

‘She actually eats this? Really?’

Recalling how Himena had been eagerly wrapping this in tortillas, Dexter figured she must have been under a lot of stress today.

‘Next time, I’ll suggest going to a quiet bar for drinks.’

After some time had passed and it got quite late, most of the restaurant’s customers had left, and staff members were starting to clean up.

“Let’s go now.”

“Mmm… should weee…?”

Himena’s eyes were completely glazed over.

Seeing her like this, Dexter gave a wry smile, called a taxi, and headed to Himena’s condo.

As Dexter carried Himena on his back into her condo, the first person he saw was a warm-looking but deeply frowning Mexican woman.

Immediately recognizing her as the housekeeper Himena had mentioned before, Dexter was about to speak when Renata fired first:

“¿Por qué has llegado tan tarde?”

“Excuse me? Ah, she seemed a bit down today so we had some drinks together. You’re Renata… right?”

“Sí, yo soy Renata.”

“Ah, yes… nothing bad happened, so you don’t need to worry, and I’ll see you later. Oh, she only had a couple of beers, so you don’t need to worry too much.”

“No sé de qué está hablando, pero entiendo. Adiós.”

Dexter didn’t understand Spanish well, but he knew what “adiós” meant.

Feeling somewhat awkward about entering a woman’s home so late at night, Dexter took a taxi back to his own place.