When Lancer and Kureo Mado left the headquarters, Kureo Mado conveniently handed Lancer a few keys. This was undoubtedly the house Lancer had been assigned, but Lancer was slightly disappointed. Although he wasn't dissatisfied with the breakfast Tai-ga made, the other party was not good at making overly delicate food, and sometimes Lancer inevitably wanted a change of pace.
"By the way, Senior Mado, has the location for the gathering tonight been set?"
"Let's just go to the izakaya we usually go to. Everyone who has time will come."
"No problem... Juuzou, buckle up."
Yukinori Shinohara, who was in the driver's seat, habitually chastised his 'partner.'
It was a bit strange to think about it. Among the four people here, it shouldn't be Yukinori Shinohara, the highest-ranking person, who was driving, but Lancer, as the 'guest' of this gathering, naturally couldn't be asked to drive. As for Juuzou Suzuya? Leaving aside whether he had a driver's license, even if he did, given his personality, it would be impossible to let him drive. Who knew if he had road rage? Then what about Kureo Mado? As Kureo Mado's former partner, Yukinori Shinohara was practically trained by him, so the heavy responsibility of driving ultimately fell on his shoulders.
As expected, when Lancer and the others arrived at the izakaya, Koutarou Amon and Akira Mado had already arrived, and Seidou Takizawa was also sitting next to them.
Seidou Takizawa, wearing a dark blue suit, was talkative as always, but at least he seemed much more composed than two years ago. Perhaps the experience of the past two years had tempered him enough?
When they saw Lancer and the others walking in through the door, they also smiled and waved.
Although it was called a gathering, no one actually drank too much. After all, the lowest-ranking Investigator present, Seidou Takizawa, was already a First-Class Investigator. Everyone present could be considered a pillar in their respective areas of responsibility. Having a drink to relax was fine, but getting drunk was not acceptable.
When the gathering dispersed, everyone left on their own, and Lancer drove Kureo Mado and the others back.
That's right, Lancer was the one driving. Although Lancer had arguably drunk the most that night, with almost everyone having had two drinks with him, Lancer, who had already trained himself, could handle even Dwarf strong liquor, let alone sake, which he considered to be almost like a beverage. The result was that he was the most normal-looking person among everyone, and even his cheeks weren't red.
"Idiot... an idiot who can't even talk properly..."
Listening to Akira Mado, who was slumped against him, complaining softly, Lancer felt somewhat helpless, while Koutarou Amon, who was helping Kureo Mado, gave him a look of 'there's nothing I can do to help.' However, after they gave the two of them hangover soup, the two walked towards the guest room.
"Click~"
As the door was locked, Koutarou Amon suddenly took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Lancer.
"This is the letter you gave me when you left more than two years ago."
Although more than two years had passed, the letter itself hadn't changed much, only the envelope had become a bit rougher.
Lancer breathed a sigh of relief after taking the letter from Koutarou Amon. After all... this letter was a bomb he had personally planted. It was only for insurance, but since he was back now, there was no need to use it.
Seeing Lancer serious attitude, Koutarou Amon couldn't help but be curious... No, he had always been curious, curious about what Lancer had written in this letter.
He had wanted to open it when the opponent 'went missing,' but he later gave up because he felt that the 'time of need' Lancer spoke of was not then. If there was some hidden circumstance behind the opponent's departure, there was no need to be so vague. Later, after the opponent left, due to the CCG's cooperation with the 'Owl,' the whole of Tokyo seemed to have settled down. Although the fighting between Investigators and Ghouls continued, at least there were no more 'battles' that affected an entire district like before.
It wasn't until Lancer mentioned it yesterday that Koutarou Amon remembered the matter.
"What did you write in this letter?"
"If I said it was a love letter I wrote to you, would you believe me?"
Perhaps because he was happy that the letter was retrieved, Lancer couldn't help but joke with Amon, but just at this moment—
"Click~!"
The door to the guest room suddenly opened. Akira Mado, clutching her head, looked confusedly at Lancer, who was holding the letter, and Koutarou Amon, who was standing across from him.
Instantly, the atmosphere in the entire room froze.
It wasn't until almost a minute later, when Akira Mado took a deep breath, that the situation changed.
"Sorry, did I interrupt you?"
"Wait?! You didn't interrupt anything!!"
"Lancer! Look what you've done!!"
It took the two of them a Herculean effort to convince Akira Mado that Lancer was just joking, but even so, the look of suspicion on Akira Mado's face as she left made Lancer feel extremely helpless.
Lancer, clutching the keys in his hand, originally planned to go straight back to his own room, but when he got into the elevator, he pressed the button for the 1st floor directly.
Anyway, he would know later when he slept, and now there were other matters he needed to deal with...
"Welcome~"
Touka Kirishima, wearing an apron printed with the word 'Anteiku,' habitually turned around to welcome the customer when she heard the bell ring as the door was pushed open, but when she turned around, she froze completely because she saw an 'unexpected' person—Lancer.
"Give me a cup of coffee, please."
Unlike Touka Kirishima, who was completely frozen, Lancer expression was quite calm. He even walked straight towards the window seat where he used to sit.
And when he saw Touka Kirishima walk towards the kitchen in a flustered manner, a strange smile appeared on his face.
That's right. The reason Lancer pointed out Touka Kirishima's identity before he left was mainly due to his personal dark sense of humor, and it was also something he did on impulse because he didn't know if he would ever return. But since he did it, he naturally had to follow up, and what he was doing now was undoubtedly the follow-up.
After waiting for more than ten minutes in his seat, Touka Kirishima finally emerged from the kitchen again, but this time her expression had calmed down considerably. At least she wasn't as flustered as before.
"Here is your coffee."
As expected, this time, she didn't just put the coffee down and leave; instead, she sat down across from him.
"First-Class Investigator Lancer."
"Is there something you need?"
Lancer raised an eyebrow after taking a sip of the coffee.
"Very good. You've improved quite a bit compared to two years ago~"