Chapter 363 - 363 Cerise’s Invitation and Information

With the main topics that Cerise wanted to speak with Avery and his team's leaders about concluded, their conversation turned towards less consequential matters.Cerise gave Avery some information about space pirate and space monster movements in the sector of space where she was posted since she figured that he would be interested.

In return he did not have much to offer, but he told her what he could about the Odium Syndicate and any rumors he figured she might find interesting that he had heard through the Mercenary Association.

When the conversation was starting to wind down, Avery stood up to leave, but Cerise stopped him once again from going just yet.

"How about a short celebratory drink in my office to commemorate our mutually beneficial deal. Just the two of us."

Avery was taken aback by this sudden offer, as were Kasandra and Jasmine.

It was not like Avery was particularly close to Cerise, and she certainly had shown any signs that she was interested in him beyond his skills as a mercenary. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel·fiɾe·net

As she noticed his hesitancy, Cerise smiled more widely and said, "Please, I insist."

Seeing how adamant she was about this, Avery figured that there must be a good reason for wanting to meet alone with him.

"I suppose that I have the time and no reason not to accept. Lead the way." Avery said, curious about what Cerise wanted.

Kasandra and Jasmine glanced at Avery with looks of concern, as if asking him not to go, but he did not think that Cerise would do anything to harm him, so he gave them reassuring smiles.

'Though, I suppose it's possible that she wants to spare with me or something. When we fought during the concert, she definitely had a vicious grin on her face like she was enjoying it. She might think that I'm someone that can keep up with her.' Avery thought, suddenly less enthused about being left alone with Cerise.

Fortunately, his fears about being forced into a match were unfounded.

She merely brought him to a mundane-looking office where she would typically fill out documents and respond to reports. Other than when she was on the bridge of her ship, this was where she spent most of her time working.

"So, what did you want to talk about? I'm guessing it's something important and secretive if you went out of your way to bring me away from your senior officers and my team."

"You've hit the nail on the head. Yes, what I want to tell you is something that the Alliance Police would rather not get out, but I feel that it's important that you know. Had I tried to tell you in front of my subordinates, they certainly would have admonished me for doing so. My first officer especially doesn't hold back whenever I slip up. That man can be annoying with his rigidity, but I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back, so I keep him around." Cerise said, shrugging her shoulders as she prepared to blatantly break the rules.

To start, she actually did pull out a drink that was hidden within a secret compartment under her desk.

It was an ornate glass bottle that refracted light in such a way that depending on the angle one was looking at, the liquid inside would change color.

"I thought that the offer of a drink was just an excuse."

"Only partially. I'm sure that this series of events has been stressful for both of us. Sometimes it helps to have a little something extra to help one relax after everything is over."

Cerise took the lid off of the bottle and the room immediately filled with a strong alcoholic scent.

Whatever her drink of choice was, it was very strong.

"Considering you've been physically augmented as well, certainly you've noticed that it takes quite a bit more than it used to in order to feel even the slightest bit buzzed. That's why I prefer this stuff; it'll get even the toughest person drunk if they have enough. Of course, it tastes impeccable as well, something a lot of highly acholic drinks fail at."

Once she had filled up two glasses, Cerise walked over to Avery and handed one over to him.

Looking down in the cup, he was finally able to see what color the liquid actually was.

It was mostly clear but did have a slight orange hue to it.

"Ah, it's been too long since I had any of this." Cerise said after draining half of the contents of her glass in one go.

Avery honestly was not too keen on drinking right now, since his interest was still focused on the information that Cerise wanted to divulge to him.

Nevertheless, he had already been offered the glass and figured that it would be rude to refuse. It was not like he was someone that never drank and he would be lying if he said he was not interested in what the famous Cerise Gunvald

Bringing it up to his lips, Avery took in the liquids scent and other than the strong alcoholic smell, he picked up a hint of something citrusy.

After he finally started drinking it, the first thing he noticed was how easily it went down.

No doubt that this was at least eighty percent alcohol likely even more, yet it did not burn in the slightest.

The taste, while not overly strong, was truly refreshing.

"This really is good. You wouldn't happen to be willing to tell me what its called and where I could buy some?" Avery asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Well, it's not like it's a secret. This stuff is rare because of how little is produced and due to being exorbitantly expensive, but I imagine that you can afford it."

Cerise pulled out her terminal and quickly sent a message with the details about the drink to Avery.

"It's called Navalarian Gold due to its color and price. Just one bottle will set you back around one and a half million Krenin. When I bought this one, I used my entire yearly bonus and some of my stipend from being a recipient of the Platinum Cross of Heroism. It was well worth it in my opinion though." Cerise said before she finished off her glass.

Now that they had partaken in the official reason Cerise had invited Avery to her office, it was time for her to divulge what she had really brought him here for.

"I wish it was good news that I was delivering, but regrettably it's not. The man that you captured that was in charge of the assault on the final day of the competition escaped around a two weeks ago."

"What?! How could something like that happen?!" Avery shouted in shock.

"I'm afraid that I don't have all of the details, I was just told about it due to my involvement in the matter. The upper brass figured there was a chance that he might come after me for revenge and to keep my eyes out. Of course, if we're talking about people that he would have a grudge against, you'd probably take the top of the list. That's why I'm telling you despite the fact that this is supposed to be an internal Alliance Police secret."

Despite the anger he could feel rising up inside of him, Avery took a deep breath and calmed down.

Cerise was not the one at fault for this, she was merely relaying the information. Something she was doing that went against the orders she had received to keep this matter quiet.

'I warned them that he was slippery and had allies. Damn! I should have just killed him instead of handing him over. I've already got enough people after me, I don't need another that I thought was already gone coming back.' Avery thought, his mind racing now that he knew there was a dangerous enemy out there that certainly had it out for him.

"You took that better than I was expecting."

"Yeah, well, I figured there was no point in getting angry with you. You went out of your way to tell me this. So, thank you."

"You're welcome. I felt that it was the right thing to do since you'll be the most at risk. I don't believe that the Alliance Poilce's ego is more important than warning you about this. If the organization's attempt to save face by keeping this under wraps led to you being killed by a threat you weren't aware of, it would be a far worse loss for the Dramid Alliance than if the if the information leaked. At least in my opinion." Cerise said, giving Avery a nod of respect.

He truly was grateful to her for warning him about the possible danger of retribution from Clarien, and he regarded Cerise in a more positive light than before. It seemed that she really was an ally within the Alliance Police that he could count on.