Teaming Up with My Enemy to Rule the Apocalypse

Sierra Sullivan, ”???”

For a moment, Sierra Sullivan thought she was hearing things.

’Otherwise, why would I hear Nathan Thorne say something so ridiculous?’

Nathan Thorne waited a moment, but he still hadn’t gotten an answer. He only found it stranger. ”What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Sierra Sullivan pointed to the red ”Fortune” decoration. ”For a wedding, you wouldn’t use wedding decorations? You’d use this ’good fortune’ one instead?”

”I’ve never been married! How would I know what to put up for a wedding?” Nathan Thorne answered matter-of-factly. ”But I do know that you put up ’Fortune’ decorations for the New Year... Wait! Are you saying it’s the New Year?”

”At least you’re not a total blockhead! Your brain’s still got some use left in it!”

Sierra Sullivan sighed with great feeling.

Anyone else would have surely felt insulted by that remark.

But Nathan Thorne didn’t seem to feel a thing.

His focus was still on the New Year.

”When’s the New Year?”

”Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve,” Sierra Sullivan said.

”Tomorrow’s really New Year’s Eve?” Nathan Thorne’s voice jumped an octave. ”Does time really pass that quickly? I hadn’t felt a thing! It’s amazing you guys even know when the New Year is! I’ve lost all sense of time!”

”Tell me about it,” Sierra Sullivan sighed. ”We only realized it was the New Year because we went to wander around the first sublevel today and saw someone selling spring couplets. That’s why we bought a clock. It shows the date and even has reminders for some holidays.”

As she spoke, Sierra Sullivan pointed to the clock on the wall.

Nathan Thorne looked over, and his first reaction was, ’That’s ugly.’

But he quickly realized, ’This is the apocalypse, after all!’

’In this post-apocalyptic world, having a clock hanging in your home that can tell you the time and the date is an incredible blessing. How could I dare to find it ugly!’

”You bought this on the first sublevel, too? How many Contribution Points did it cost? Is the person selling them still there? I want to buy two—one for my parents, and one for me.”

Hearing Nathan Thorne say this, Sierra Sullivan looked at him with new eyes.

’Nathan Thorne usually seems so carefree, and at times, his brain doesn’t seem to work all that well. I never would have guessed that he was actually quite a devoted son—not only devoted, but very considerate, too.’

”There’s only one person on the first sublevel selling spring couplets. It’s a whole patch of bright red stuff hanging up, you’ll spot it right away. But as for whether they have any clocks left, I can’t say for sure—”

Before Sierra Sullivan had even finished speaking, Nathan Thorne turned and bolted for the door.

”What are you running so fast for?” Sierra Sullivan watched him go, a little exasperated.

’A personality like Nathan Thorne’s—daring, impulsive, and so impatient—is prone to accidents.’

’Still, they were inside Subterra now, and the public areas were patrolled. There shouldn’t be any trouble, so there was no need to worry too much.’

”I’m going to buy the clocks, in case they sell out if I’m late!” Nathan Thorne’s voice drifted in from outside.

”Should we save dinner for you, then?” Jayce called out, raising his voice.

”Yes! Saaave... some!”

Nathan Thorne’s voice sounded as if it were being carried on the wind, making it distorted and a little odd.

Sierra Sullivan shook her head with a laugh. ”He’s really something else.”

Pulling her gaze back, Sierra Sullivan sat down with Jayce and Candice Tate.

Looking at the table laden with delicious food, Sierra Sullivan wasn’t worried.

She had her spatial storage, so even if they couldn’t finish everything, she could just put the leftovers inside. There was no need to worry about anything going bad or spoiling.

Candice Tate looked at Sierra Sullivan, then at Jayce.

”Sierra, should we save some dinner for Mr. Thorne?”