Kitty Killer Isn't That Cold

All that could be said was that Kate's personality was simply that... "free."

Compared to her mother, who might have come from a wealthy merchant or noble family, Kate's loud and boisterous manner clearly belonged to a child born and raised in the old district.

"Of course going to the bathhouse costs money, and the extra isn't even enough to buy drinks. I also have to look after the kids, so it's really great that Nana is willing to help..."

Nana truly had no idea how to deal with this overly familiar girl practically glued to her side. Seemingly envious of her older sister's behavior, Matilda also jumped down from Mrs. Cole's arms.

Little Cat first looked at the armrest of the single sofa that Kate had occupied. She had just been about to climb up when her ears drooped unexpectedly, as though she had something to worry about. But soon, her ears shot upright, and amid Mrs. Cole's "ara ara" sighing, she sat down in Nana's lap.

"Ah~ It seems Matilda really likes you, Miss Nana."

"Ah... what? Why...?"

Hearing Nana's question, Matilda's eyes immediately lit up.

"Because Nana is super amazing!"

The girl in her lap raised both arms as though cheering for victory, while the loose-haired young woman in a shirt had no idea where to put her hands.

Though she was technically an adult, this needed to be reiterated: Nana was not tall. Kate was a full head taller than Nana and could completely look down on her while seated beside her... even Matilda, sitting on Nana's lap, could press the top of her head directly against the girl's chin.

As Little Cat rapidly twitched her cat ears, the fluffy sensation tickling Nana's neck felt very novel to her.

Looking down at the little cat, who carried the same shampoo scent as her, Nana met her gaze. The lingering blue sheen unique to a Feline child's pupils reflected Nana's usual expression, seemingly lost yet seemingly aloof...

Just as Nana hesitated over how she should react, Little Cat suddenly propped herself up and licked Nana's cheek.

"Mio—lick lick!"

Miss Killer had to admit that this was something she had never encountered before... Her brain suddenly froze. Seeing Nana go completely blank, Kate also reached over and pinched her little sister's cheek.

"Matilda, don't lick people whenever you feel like it!"

"Wuh?! Mama and Sis can do lick licks, Nana is also a sister, so why can't I lick her?!"

Apparently choked by Matilda's righteous indignation, Kate's face instantly flushed bright red. She could only speak in a tone that had weakened by more than half.

"We're not at that stage yet... Ah, Nana, here, wipe it with a tissue..."

"Ah... mm... It's actually fine..."

Nana was so startled that she forgot to take the tissue and simply wiped her face with the back of her hand. The hands that had not known where to go until moments ago now seemed to have a will of their own... Nana unconsciously rubbed Matilda's soft cat ears and hair. The little cat in her arms made a "mumu~" sound from her throat, something like a purr.

The motion continued for several seconds, until Nana met Mrs. Cole's smiling eyes and realized she had been treating someone else's daughter like a toy.

Nana withdrew her hand as if shocked.

"Ah... Sorry..."

"It's fine. Miss Nana has never been close to children before, has she?"

"Can you tell?"

"From a Feline's perspective, you're being much too stiff right now."

Just as Nana found herself speechless, the sound of a key entering the apartment door suddenly came from outside.

The clicking sound seemed like a spell capable of turning people to stone. The girl in Nana's arms immediately went rigid all over.

Kate beside Nana made no effort to hide the disgust on her face. The large white cat even clicked her tongue, then immediately reached out and lifted the frozen little one out of Nana's lap.

In those few seconds, a gray-haired male Feline entered silently, carrying a paper bag printed with the logo of the shop downstairs. Matilda, who had been bouncing around moments earlier, immediately shrank listlessly into Kate's arms.

As a neighbor, Nana had barely paid attention to this man, whose every bout of anger made itself known to the whole building... In the past, all she remembered was his cheap suit with pilling cuffs and short gray hair. Now... she might have to add "dejected" to that impression.

This gray-haired man was not irritable. In fact, from opening the door to entering the room, even when he saw Nana slightly bow and greet him, he remained very quiet.

Once he set the paper bag on the table, a recruitment poster protruding from it became visible. The words about Loken Watertank recruiting volunteers made Nana's mouth stiffen... She had no idea how many pages of entertainment media would be occupied tomorrow by the news that the anti-Infected director of the Loken Watertank Executive Committee had become Infected.

She could only hope it would not affect this man's job search.

"Hello..."

Nana rose to her feet and greeted him as if performing a routine duty.

"Hello... Do you need something?"

Andy Bruce's voice was very low, hoarse as though he had been punched in the throat... Nana could feel the oppressive air around him. Compared to Columbia's ever-renewing vitality, this man looked as though one foot was already in the coffin.

No... perhaps one foot really was already in the coffin.

Even at home, the man's body remained somewhat hunched. His neck always tilted subtly at a three-degree angle... And after entering, Nana felt that none of his movements looked quite smooth, as though he were hiding something behind his back... Most importantly, from the back of his head came a scent Nana knew extremely well.

The scent of Originium.

This man was Infected.

With that conclusion, the Bruce family's odd behavior suddenly seemed explainable.

Though this apartment itself prohibited the Infected from renting rooms, Nana had no reason to expose them... Besides, his illness seemed well controlled. Nana had not sensed any Originium reaction from the other members of the Bruce family.

Since the atmosphere had already become unsuitable for staying as a guest, Nana followed his tone and said:

"It's nothing important. Matilda's clothes are here, and I should be leaving as well."

With that, ignoring the pleading looks from the large and small white cats behind her, Nana bowed to the stiff and nervous Bruce couple and prepared to leave.

Andy nodded and stepped aside to make room in the hallway. Mrs. Cole also nervously got to her feet and positioned herself between Nana and her husband.

"Um... Thank you so much for today. Let me walk you out..."

"...My home is right next door to yours..."

"Ha... Then please let me see you home?"

Though things remained awkward, Mrs. Cole's soft voice and the soft body that hugged Miss Killer did ease the atmosphere. After taking only a few steps outside, Nana bid Cole Bruce farewell and closed her own door.

But once she was back home, Nana's sharp hearing still forced her to listen to what happened next.

[What was that person doing in our home?]

[Don't call her "that person"... She's our neighbor, and she helped Matilda today.]

[...Kate, didn't you keep an eye on Mia?]

Listening to that angry voice kept low, Nana sat before the coffee table and carefully wiped the leaves of her potted plants with a damp cloth... As for "Mia," that was probably Matilda's nickname.

Kate's reply afterward also suppressed her anger. Nana could practically picture the large white cat frowning.

[...I was at work... I couldn't touch a little sister who had been hit by a mud ball while I was kneading dough... And I couldn't miss even one day's wages. Whose fault do you think that is?!]

Kate's question silenced the whole place for a long while. Then Andy's anger seemed to turn entirely toward Matilda.

[So what happened with you?!]

Matilda's voice was unexpectedly tiny. Nana did not deliberately listen closer. Her chest felt tight.

[They came looking for you again? What did you do to them this time?]

[Andy... I think... It wasn't Matilda's fault...]

[What do you mean it wasn't her fault? Those little bastards keep provoking her because she beat someone up before, don't they? Don't go picking fights, don't go picking fights—how many times have I told you?!]

Amid the endless lecture, a shrill little girl's scream suddenly shattered the apartment building's calm.

[They started it—!!]

Hearing Matilda's tearful retort, Nana knew from her years of experience that Little Cat would probably be beaten again that night... As expected, the man's curses and the child's wailing continued for nearly two hours.

Everyone had become accustomed to this sort of thing over the years, so logically Nana should have been used to it too. Yet the Nana who could usually rest normally sat in the living room recliner all night without closing her eyes.

The crying of the little white-haired Feline seemed to have been recorded into her mind... The girl's sobs and "Nana is super amazing" played over and over in Number Seventy-Seven's head.

As a result, the girl's work naturally suffered the next day. Nana, heading out with a briefcase to the "company" for a "work briefing," looked obviously sleep-deprived.

Nana's "company" office was located in a former factory not far from the old district. Due to urban redevelopment and relocation, it had been converted into a logistics warehouse a few years ago. Salespeople like Nana occasionally came by to inventory and sell the goods...

Those legitimate salespeople had no idea that a hidden elevator in the factory led directly underground, or that this concealed facility belonged to an organization in Columbia whose name was not even made public.

Nana only knew that if a government official investigated her, she should say that she was a salesperson under the finance department of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. As for whether that laboratory actually existed, or whether such a department existed anywhere in the world, the girl knew nothing.

After all, a killer only needed to become a cold machine when working, and Nana had always been reassuringly good at that.

But because the one sitting here today was "Nana" rather than "Number Seventy-Seven," the girl did not stand on ceremony after meeting her agent underground. She yawned until tears even welled up in her eyes.

"That's rare. Even our 'best' salesperson failed to tune up her body properly?"

Ignoring the woman in business attire, called the "agent" but more often referred to as the "minister," Nana sat crookedly on her stool and tugged at her bangs.

"...The neighbors were beating their child again yesterday..."

"Mm... Weren't you already used to that?"

"But yesterday, they asked me to take that child to bathe..."

"Oh? Sounds like a very well-behaved child."

Nana did not answer. The woman's broadcaster-like, overly dramatic tone made the hair on Nana's body stand on end.

When Nana stopped tugging at her bangs, her pupils briefly narrowed into catlike slits through the gaps in her hair before returning to normal. The agent still wore a faint smile.

"Don't think I'm being sarcastic. I have no intention of doing anything to that child... In fact, I may know better than you what kind of people are around you... I originally had you live beside that family because I wanted some of their human warmth to rub off on you...

"But I didn't expect that harmonious family back then would fail to make you normal. Now that they've fallen on hard times, you're actually beginning to react like a normal person... Is that your problem, or... Matilda Bruce's problem? It should be the former..."

As she spoke, she tapped her fingers against the document with a sigh. For some reason, the agent had looked at Nana with the same disappointed, frustrated expression for years. Nana did not understand it at all. Her work had always been completed with both quality and quantity guaranteed.

The agent also understood what was wrong with Number Seventy-Seven under her command. Since this lump of iron had finally shown the faintest sign of blooming today, she was in no hurry to discuss work and instead continued along the previous subject.

"...You should learn more about the world, Seventy-Seven... You are the finest killer under me. Over the years, you have proven that as a machine, you are invincible... But we do not want a machine. There are too many things that can replace machines.

"As your agent, even if I can persuade the organization to invest so much into you, if you are merely a machine, then you can only ever be a 'killer'..."

Hearing the agent's words, Nana raised her head and looked at this person who had previously been nothing but a symbol in her mind.

This blonde woman, whose age could not be determined, had blue eyes like Nana's. But the glasses on her face and the hat on her head nearly concealed all her racial features.

To Nana, who also had experience with disguises, this appearance looked very much like a deliberately "designed" "face."

"I am just a killer."

"No, you can only be a killer 'right now'... We actually have high expectations for you... The organization has many other identities it can give you... But there is a prerequisite..."

"A prerequisite?"

The agent interlaced her fingers before her lips. This woman, who could be considered Seventy-Seven's guardian in some sense, stared directly into Nana's eyes.

"You must first become human... You must understand why humans are strong, and why our organization is unbreakable..."

"..."

"Can you answer that question?"

"...Loyalty?"

Hearing Nana's answer, the agent pursed her lips and raised the corners of her eyes, seeming both amused and exasperated.

"No... That isn't important... Or rather, it isn't that important... The organization has plenty of ways to make disloyal people work for us... Forget it, I'll tell you the answer directly. It's 'love.'"

This time, it was Nana's turn to look amused and exasperated.

"Love?"

"Yes. Though it is terribly difficult to make someone who works in the darkness like you fall in love with anything... Even though I explain the reasons to you every time, telling you properly that you are not merely a fixer who takes money to eliminate disasters for others, you have been clearing away the dark side of this country—of the world, even—for so long that perhaps even in self-protection, you can no longer believe in a feeling called 'love'... But I wasn't lying. Without 'love,' you will never truly do anything from the heart."

"From the heart..."

Remembering how she had lain in the recliner last night, tossing and turning with nothing but Little Cat on her mind, Nana frowned even more deeply.

"So... am I a lolicon?"

"You'll have to ask yourself that... But in my view, this is a good thing... You are no longer that machine without attachments. Though it is only a tiny sign, my little killer has finally found an emotional anchor."

Looking at Nana's self-doubting expression, the agent smiled and took out a document.

"Now then, let's talk about your work from yesterday."

Rosemary's Embrace: 004 Thawing

"I had employees under the organization collect the target's bodily fluids. The test results came out not long ago. There is no doubt that he has indeed become Infected. Judging from his habits, symptoms of Oripathy should appear in about a week."

As she spoke and flipped through the documents, the agent, dressed in the standard attire of a business professional, lit a cigarette but merely held it between her fingers.

"Well done, Seventy-Seven. This way, the Loken Watertank Executive Committee... and every company considering taking crooked paths will be deterred..."

"Deterred? Will they really be..."

Nana's gaze clearly held no expectation whatsoever for the agent's claim. Used to the cold eyes Nana wore in killer mode, the agent merely spread her hands.