Chapter 25: Harmless to Humans and Animals

Early the next morning, the trio set out. According to the intelligence provided by the Deus agency, their objective was to locate the Alpha Centauri extraterrestrial who had fled to Earth long ago.

Inside a small grocery store, the shopkeeper listened to Jin's purpose while tidying up the merchandise, and casually remarked, "Oh... you mean Suzuki-kun..."

"He has been working part-time here for two months now. Although our work is easy and doesn't pay much, he is extremely diligent. Truly a wonderful clerk!"

Jin listened intently and interjected, "Did he... appear here rather suddenly?"

"Huh?" The shopkeeper paused for a moment, but immediately recovered and said, "He is indeed someone who appeared out of nowhere... but is there something wrong with him?"

K waved his hand and replied, "Nothing's wrong. We just want to get an idea of the people he usually interacts with."

"Ah... I see. Though, it seems he doesn't really have any friends around here."

The shopkeeper pointed out the window and said, "Look, he's back."

A frail-looking man stumbled back into the shop, looking utterly exhausted and out of breath. He leaned against the counter, gasping heavily for air.

S arched an eyebrow and glanced at the fellow... Though she knew that the defining characteristic of Alpha Centauri extraterrestrials was fragility... seeing such a weakling still stirred a sense of contempt within her.

The shopkeeper called out, "Suzuki-kun, where on earth did you run off to?"

Suzuki panted heavily as he replied, "I'm sorry... I felt too tired along the way, so I took a little break by myself..."

"I'm sorry... um... is it still..."

Suzuki pointed toward the delivery truck outside, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah... this weakling..." the shopkeeper said with a helpless sigh. "You couldn't even manage to carry the things from the truck inside..."

"You really need to build up your stamina..."

Effortlessly lifting a crate of beer, the shopkeeper muttered to himself, "Finish this one last trip, and you won't need to work the evening shift."

Suzuki said awkwardly, "Actually, it's fine... no matter how you look at it, I'm completely fine!"

The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head without a word. He simply set the beer down, threw an arm over Suzuki's shoulder, and applied a gentle pressure, nearly pulling Suzuki tumbling to the ground.

"See... does this look like someone who is completely fine..."

Suzuki chuckled sheepishly. "It's fine... I'm really fine..."

The shopkeeper pointed at the three of them and said, "These three are looking for you. Go tend to them."

The four of them walked over to a nearby children's playground. S, finding it dreadfully dull, randomly picked a spot to sit down and watched the three men stroll about aimlessly.

Upon hearing K's introduction, Suzuki finally understood and sighed with emotion, "Is that so... So another compatriot has arrived..."

"Has he ever contacted you?"

Suzuki shook his head, wearing an innocent and pure expression. "No... I've never heard a thing..."

"I've completely lost touch with our compatriots back on our home planet."

"Then... does everyone know that you are..."

"An extraterrestrial? Is that right?" Suzuki waved his hands with a harmless demeanor.

"Although I don't know for sure, I haven't planned on telling anyone..."

"Because don't people always assume that extraterrestrials possess all sorts of strange powers? Consequently, their evaluation of us is always so harsh. I don't wish to carry the burden of people's bizarre gazes."

K nodded in agreement. "That's true..."

"Um... I'm terribly sorry, but..." Looking somewhat embarrassed, Suzuki pointed to a nearby bench. "Might I... sit down for just a moment?"

Jin's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "Please, make yourself at home..."

"I'm sorry, I really am quite tired," Suzuki apologized.

"We truly haven't done anything. When it comes to fighting... Earthlings might even be stronger than us. We are peace-loving... the very concept of invasion... we haven't even entertained a fraction of it..." He extended his little finger to show how minuscule his ambition was.

"Look, you should be able to understand just by looking at this state of mine..."

"Deus holds the same view," K nodded.

"That's right..." Suzuki smiled with a sense of relief. "As for doing bad things to Earth the way other extraterrestrials do, we wouldn't dare even in our dreams."

At that moment, a rubber ball rolled to Suzuki's feet. He gently extended his foot to stop it.

Standing up, Suzuki waved at two young boys not far away. "I'm going to kick it back, alright..."

With that, he slowly stretched his right leg backward and delivered a sluggish, timid kick to the ball.

The ball didn't even rise into the air; it merely rolled along the ground.

"Ah..."

Amidst the boys' laughter, Suzuki stumbled a step, barely keeping his balance, and pressed both hands against his lower back with a painful expression.

Not far away, S glanced over, shook her head helplessly, took a piece of chocolate from her tin box, and popped it into her mouth.

"Useless trash..."

"You see... the gravity of this planet is simply too strong for us..." After recovering for a good while, Suzuki finally managed to straighten his spine.

"Do you work every single night?" K suddenly asked.

"Huh? Oh... yes."

"In order to survive on this planet, I have to make a living, you see," Suzuki said matter-of-factly.

"Still, I really do love this peaceful planet called Earth!"

Exchanging a glance, K said, "Well then, let's leave it at that. We'll be on our way."

Standing in front of the grocery store, Suzuki wore a smile and waved his hands, bidding farewell to the trio.

As he watched their car drive away, the smile on his face gradually faded, and a third eye quietly opened upon his forehead.

"Hey... Suzuki-kun..." the shopkeeper called out from behind him.

The eye on his forehead slowly vanished, and his previously gloomy expression was replaced once more by a smile as he turned around and replied, "Coming!"

Boredom evident as she chewed her chocolate, S spoke up, "How on earth do such pathetic extraterrestrials manage to survive... It's truly unimaginable."

K shook his head and said, "Their frail appearance on Earth doesn't necessarily mean they are like that on their home planet. For them, Earth's gravity is simply too intense."

S let out a scoff of disdain. "Isn't physical strength just another aspect of capability?"

K was left speechless...

Jin, however, checked his portable smart device and said, "Let's head to our next target. The location is set at a Chinese ramen restaurant."

S complained, "What's the point of continuing this search? Just looking at how pathetically weak they are tells you they harbor no ambitions whatsoever."

Jin shook his head and offered a reason.

"I feel like eating ramen..."

"Now that you mention it... I'd like to try some too..." K rubbed his stomach with an expectant look on his face.

"What is that... What kind of reason is that..." S complained with a helpless sigh.

"What's so great about ramen anyway... How could it possibly compare to chocolate..."

"...Why are you all looking at me like that?"

K smiled and shook his head, saying, "Those are looks of contempt..."

"What!?"

An arm wrapped tightly around K's head in a firm lock as S dominated the moment. "How about now?"

"N-No... I wouldn't dare... Queen S..."

"Tell me... why don't you ever do that to Jin..."

S blushed slightly, quickly masking it as she retorted, "Can't you see he's driving?"

Jin smiled silently and simply pointed ahead.

"We've arrived. This is the place."