"Cough, cough, cough." Owl Bro let out a long breath.
He breathed in the warm, humid air of the laboratory.
"Dottore, your place really is nice."
"The air's a little more humid."
"The cold winds of the Far North nearly tore my throat apart."
"Hmph!"
Dottore said nothing. He just kept fiddling with his laboratory equipment.
"Don't ignore me, you bastard~"
"I volunteered to come keep you company, you know."
"So you wouldn't be lonely here all by yourself."
"Oh, should I thank you, then?"
Dottore placed the vessel that had once held Soft Bone Rabbit blood into a petri dish.
He dripped two drops onto the yellow-speckled colony, put the vessel back, and leaned against the lab bench.
He looked at Owl Bro in his wheelchair.
"As far as I know, the operation over there is about to begin. Aren't you going back to take charge?"
"Don't expose that Main Body Old Rogue so blatantly!"
"What if someone with schemes of their own notices? Won't that mean trouble all over again?"
Dottore's gaze never once settled on Owl Bro.
Owl Bro gripped the armrest of his electric wheelchair and rolled closer.
"It's fine."
"Put some things out in the open, and people are less likely to suspect them."
"The more you try to hide, the more attention you draw."
"That Main Body Old Rogue's Martial Soul isn't bad, and he's a genius himself."
"The more you make him hide it, the more people will think you have some other plan."
"Making your enemies wary over nothing more than that..."
"That's not a good idea."
"That isn't a good idea," Owl Bro said, reaching for some tobacco leaves to roll a cigarette.
Dottore snatched them away and stuffed them into his Soul Tool.
"Smoke, smoke, smoke! You're still smoking?"