Bailonz Street 13-Chapter 183: Side Story
Chapter 183. Meeting Again (5)
No way. The CEO here is…?
Impossible. That man is a pervert who collects brains, makes dolls, and oh, despite not being Korean, inherited some white-clothes-nation spirit and throws childish tantrums like “I’ll die if it’s not white!”
Isn’t he an old man much older than Liam? At that age, he should be taking supplements and resting rather than showing his face anywhere! Why is he doing dangerous things like running a business? He can’t be here. No way.
As I was denying reality like a madwoman, a memory I’d pushed aside suddenly surfaced.
‘It’s fine.’
Someone I’d bumped into while leaving the company.
Though they passed by too quickly to make out their appearance, thinking about it now, the way they spoke was somehow familiar. There shouldn’t be multiple people in the world who could give off such a stubborn impression with just one word. Plurititas was enough for that kind of person. Then…
“…Don’t tell me, is it Plurititas? Is he the CEO?”
And then I thought.
Wow. At least there won’t be any troublemakers shouting ‘Bring out your highest-ranking person!’ Whether that’s fortunate or unfortunate, I’m not sure.
There’s a company in central London established by a non-human being. And the business partner happens to be Liam Moore. What’s the problem? That guy’s my husband.
Unable to believe it, I grabbed Liam’s shoulders and shook him while demanding answers.
“Plurititas, not even Lucita?”
Even while being shaken, Liam kept wearing his good-natured smile.
“Haha.”
“Then what’s M&G? There’s no P anywhere in that!”
The answer came from opposite us. More precisely, from the sofa that had its back to us.
“M is for Moore.”
Because the sofa was entirely white, I hadn’t noticed, but something round was poking up from it. I narrowed my eyes, staring at it wondering what it was, then realized. It was Plurititas’s head! He was so tall that even sitting, his head stuck up above the sofa, and he’d been listening to our entire conversation. Even all my shocked exclamations just now! ȑἈℕộꞖĚ𝓢
“…G is my alias.”
“Plurititas?!”
“I wonder who taught you the habit of running into people and dashing off.”
“It’s really Plurititas?”
I repeated those words like someone who’d lost their mind.
The old man is really here? Why? How?
Seeing no sign that I would move on my own, Liam tucked me under his arm and started walking. Well, “tucked” is putting it nicely—he practically carried me. I was transported to the sofa like a clutch bag. I felt like a prisoner being escorted. I muttered.
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“This can’t be real. Someone else was living on Minette Avenue.”
That’s why I thought Plurititas didn’t exist in this world either. Because the connection was gone!
Liam gently set me down on the sofa. I sat there, blankly staring at Plurititas’s face, unchanged from the old days. How could I forget! His slicked-back hair, his insistence on white shirts and white suit pants—everything was exactly as before. Those fluorescent blue eyes stared at me.
“It’s the alias I used when establishing the company. I’m the founder’s… grandson, let’s say. Age forty.”
“…That’s quite a concept you’ve developed…”
As I sat there dazed, Liam added fuel to the fire by introducing him.
“This is CEO Pierre Germain. That’s what you should call him outside.”
The mental shock is too great.
If it was going to be like this, he should have just stayed where he used to live. So I could have met him earlier! If he knew the worlds had merged, he should have anticipated that I would eventually go looking for traces of Liam.
“…The house?”
“Sold it.”
Plu… Mr. Pierre Germain answered clearly while offering me tea. A deep purple-blue liquid swirled in the cup.
“Ah…”
“It was too conspicuous.”
Well, that house was rather large.
Setting aside my bewilderment, we had an untimely tea time. The tea helped my parched throat. I learned that Liam Moore now acted as Mr. Pierre Germain’s proxy. Having lost his magic, he needed to live like an ordinary person, but he still had to be involved with magicians’ affairs, so it couldn’t be helped.
Germain joked.
“I’m more of a figurehead CEO.”
I maintained an intricate expression while looking at Germain.
It’s certainly easier to say than before. Plurititas is incredibly long. Since there’s a much shorter alias now, I should use that freely. Calling him Plurititas outside might cause him trouble. But I couldn’t bring myself to call him ‘Pierre,’ so I cleared my throat deliberately and began with “Mr. Germain.”
“By the way, after I bumped into you the other day. Something strange was prowling around outside the company, did you see it?”
Germain lifted his head. He looked puzzled.
“Something strange?”
Let me recall.
A sound like a wolf’s howl, and a four-legged form. I initially registered it as a ‘wolf’ because of the howl, but thinking carefully now, I wonder if it really was a wolf. I didn’t have time to look closely, too busy fleeing from the terror of whatever was darting through the fog.
I shrugged.
“It looked like a wolf, no, actually I’m not sure if it was a wolf. I think I just assumed it was. Whatever it was, it seemed to be trying to randomly attack people coming out of the company. It had set up perception reduction over one block to prevent targets from escaping.”
Hmm, Pierre Germain fell into thought with a short hum. He seemed to be considering something. I waited patiently for his response. Soon, Germain answered me.
“I don’t know. But there were no casualties.”
That’s a relief. It seems it gave up and disappeared when no one else came out of the company after I fled. Or maybe it was set to disappear after a certain time. Since I was someone with no interest in magic or mythology, I couldn’t make a clear diagnosis of such things.
“I’ll strengthen security around the area in case it returns.”
Germain said in a generous tone.
“If any tricks are attempted, I should be able to detect them. I just need to look after that fellow.” (Germain pointed at Liam with a hook-like finger)
“…Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
I’m glad I told him in advance. And I’m glad Germain listened. Someone else would probably have turned my stomach with their shamelessness, saying “Why should I care about such problems?” At least the company people’s safety would be guaranteed, and even if something happened, they could respond easily since they knew about it in advance. That thought put me at ease.
Liam Moore really seemed to have come here just to introduce Germain to me.
It felt like meeting a long-lost cousin. That experience of being shy and awkward at first, only becoming close when it’s time to go home. How sad. You tell yourself you’ll speak up first next time, but end up being strangers again. Disliking that, I decided to treat Germain very comfortably, just to make a point.
How had he been, did he really get cold easily, did he use an electric blanket when sleeping. As we were chattering about such trivial things, Liam lifted his head with an “Ah.” Something he’d forgotten seemed to have occurred to him.
“Right. Jane, there’s something to discuss with you about a case. Like we always used to.”
Germain made a strange “Phu” sound.
“That case?”
“Yes. That one. The one you’re thinking of.”
If it’s something they both know about, this seems ominous. I narrowed my eyes at the two of them. Let’s see what kind of case makes them act like this. Please don’t let it be a supernatural case. Let it be an ordinary crime.
“But you don’t collaborate with Scotland Yard anymore.”
So how exactly does he plan to investigate cases?
Liam twisted his lips in a smile. A mischievous grin spread across his mature face.
“Ah, of course not, dear wife. But through London’s spider web of connections, I receive many cases and provide assistance.”
“So… illegally?”
Germain made a choked laughing sound.
“Yes. Illegally.”
Liam Moore answered with a forced cough. His ears were starting to turn red.
And at this point, I found myself wondering once again whether it was really such a good thing that Liam Moore had ended up living in this era.
