Chapter 92: Underage

For the past few days since Pega was stranded here, he had kept himself hidden away, and the information he had managed to gather was scant. Yuki and the others still had to visit the bar rumored to buy and sell intelligence in hopes of learning something.

But when it came to who would go, the group found itself divided.

“Listen, Pega, you stay here. Don’t go anywhere. Wait for us to come back.”

Yuki felt his head throb. If they had never met, so be it. But now that they had, he had to take responsibility and make sure Pega stayed safe. He had already agreed with Pega that the boy would travel with the three of them, and that once things here were settled, he would return to Earth with Yuki and Senior Takanori. Someone on Earth could notify Kaito to come pick them up.

With Senior Takanori and Muguna by his side, Yuki could only speak in vague terms, but Pega understood immediately. Kaito was who-knew-where in the universe; how were they supposed to notify him? Naturally, with an Ultra Sign. There was an Ultra Warrior on Earth, and only the “acquaintance of Kaito” standing before him knew his identity, while to the other two it remained a secret.

Pega nodded at once to show he understood, both the obvious meaning and the unspoken one.

Yet one moment they were telling him to come along, and the next, he had been kicked out of the group.

“I’m going too!”

Pega protested. It was not mere childishness; it was simply that being alone here was hardly safe either.

“The place we’re going is rough!”

“I can protect myself!”

At that, the three exchanged glances, then said in unison:

“We don’t believe you!”

They dearly wished this Pegassa child still remembered how, not half a day ago, he had been rolling on the ground while four aliens kicked and beat him.

And Pega had never wished more desperately to grow up quickly. Adult Pegassa people were very strong, but his age limited his fighting ability.

After thinking it over, Pega said, “I have experience.”

“What kind of experience?”

Faced with Takanori Soya’s suspicious expression, Pega answered with confidence, “The experience of, when conflict breaks out, especially in a confined place like a bar, slipping smoothly into a corner without anyone noticing me... that kind of experience.”

Takanori Soya looked oddly taken aback, while Yuki seemed to accept the explanation perfectly and nodded as though it all made sense.

Indeed.

So, after treating the wound on Pega’s leg with a cooling spray, the four of them took turns lying down for a while on the two single beds. Once they had rested, they set out together for the bar three streets away.

Of course they took their luggage with them; nothing would be left in the room.

They also gave up on disguises and simply went out onto the street. They encountered no trouble on the way, after all, a group of four already had the advantage in numbers, enough to make any would-be attacker think twice.

Perhaps it was the hour, but the bar was nearly empty. The counter held only one bartender, who was absentmindedly staring at a screen mounted on the wall opposite, where some kind of program seemed to be playing.

The four did not go to a table for four; instead they walked straight to the bar and sat in a row.

The bartender snapped out of his reverie, looked them over one by one, and then his gaze bounced between Yuki and Pega. “We don’t serve children here.”

“That’s a rule here too?”

Takanori Soya sounded surprised. Was this not supposed to be a lawless place? Wait—did it even have laws? For example, a ban on serving alcohol to minors?

“That’s a universal rule.”

The bartender looked at Takanori Soya as though he had come from some parallel universe.

“I thought rules didn’t really apply here,” said Muguna, teasing him from the standpoint of someone who actually had come from a parallel universe.

“That’s what you think.”

The bartender answered testily.

“Wait, I’m an adult,” Yuki said, feeling as if they were missing the point entirely. Wasn’t the point that he, who had been mistaken for a child, was in fact a twenty-three-year-old human adult?

Yuki fought back in earnest, while Pega did not dare speak. He really was still a child.

“My age counts as adult in my species. I’m legally responsible for myself. I can work legally, and I can legally buy cigarettes and alcohol.”

Yuki had no idea how these aliens, who seemed to judge by appearances, determined who was underage. Even the owner of the Black Star Cafe had said he was a minor before, which was just baffling.

Takanori Soya, an Amaryllum alien who was already twenty-five and thus fully grown, chimed in as well. “That’s right. Every species has a different age of adulthood. On Amaryllum, for instance, you’re basically an adult at sixteen. And some species... like those giants of light, a sixteen-year-old child is probably still lying in a growth pod.”

Except for someone.

Yuki and Pega exchanged a glance and secretly smiled.

“So I’m very curious,” Yuki said. “Why do you think I’m underage, bartender?”

The bartender gave Yuki a look and said, “Well, maybe I was mistaken.” His tone made it clear he was too lazy to argue with customers. “So, what’ll it be, gentlemen?”

The three adults who considered themselves adults each ordered a lemon soda, and the one who was underage also asked for a lemon soda.

The bartender: “...”

Seeing the bartender’s expression shift uncertainly, Muguna smiled and explained, “Things aren’t exactly stable outside right now. We don’t want to get drunk.”

Fortunately, the bartender had professional discipline. Though his expression failed him somewhat, he still served drinks properly to the four customers.

Yuki took a sip of soda—more accurately, he merely brushed his lips against it—then was just about to begin asking questions when the sound of a crowd’s cheering came from the screen on the wall behind them, though the speaker quality was poor and the noise was heavy with static.

The bartender’s attention was drawn there as well.

Yuki and the others all turned around curiously to look up at the image on the screen, while Muguna kept watching the bartender just in case.

The footage on the screen was anything but steady, with dizzying camera work that made it hard to tell what it was trying to show.

Yuki only watched for a few seconds before suddenly hopping down from the barstool. As he passed Takanori Soya, he quietly tapped him and signaled with his eyes for him to keep an eye on the bartender, in case the man tried anything while everyone had turned away.

Then Yuki hurried over to Muguna, tugged at his sleeve, and lowered his voice to tell him to look quickly.

Seeing that Takanori Soya had already turned back to help keep watch over the bartender, Muguna followed instructions and turned to the screen. Just then, the corner of a red scarf swept across the edge of the image, and Yuki asked in a hushed voice, “Do you think those two are Baleru and Garum?”