RE - Chapter 355: Bonus Chapter: A Day Without Work (Patreon)

Early in the morning, birdsong filled the air as sunlight filtered through the forest. It passed between the branches and leaves and fell across the window, but the curtains kept it from reaching any farther into the room.

Everything on the single bed was peaceful, except for the blanket tangled into a complete mess. Part of it was bunched beneath Alan’s waist, another part was wrapped around his hand, and the only thing that never changed was the final line of defense covering his belly button.

Alan rolled over, scratched the itch at his waist, and slowly opened his eyes.

His first sensation after waking was that something had tied him up. He looked down and realized the blanket was to blame.

By the time he freed himself, Alan felt like he had already used up all his pre-breakfast energy. He lifted his waist, yanked the blanket out from underneath himself, then dropped back onto the bed and smoothed it over his stomach.

Life was hard. Apparently, the only time he ever got to rest was in a bonus chapter.

Alan put his left arm behind his head and closed his eyes again. He had no idea how long he dozed before the alarm began to ring.

Before it could fully go off, Alan’s hand had already shut it off. He sat up, and his messy hair immediately fell over his forehead, forcing him to brush it back.

Rubbing the soreness between his brows, he slowly got to his feet and headed out of the room.

“Morning.” Leon emerged just as groggily from the room across the hall. Even his blond hair looked a little dull in the early light.

“You’re making breakfast later.”

“...Why me?”

“What you made yesterday was awful. You owe me a better meal today.”

Leon could only shrug. He didn’t argue.

In the bathroom, Leon brushed his teeth at the sink while Alan brushed his beside the toilet. At the same time, both men scratched the right side of their asses. Bare-chested, they finished their morning routine just like that.

Alan looked at himself in the mirror and slowly shaved away the stubble that had grown back. The sharp razor scraped off the white shaving cream along with the hairs beneath it, leaving only the dark shadow of his beard stubbornly behind.

Somewhere along the way, the softer features he once had had become much sharper. In plain English, he looked meaner now.

Staring at his reflection, Alan couldn’t help sighing. “Man, I’m getting old.”

“We are in our thirties now.”

Leon hung his towel back up and looked at the slightly middle-aged face staring back at him from the mirror. Of course, he didn’t think he was ugly. He had simply gone from a pretty young guy to a handsome older man.

Alan saw right through the vanity on Leon’s face. Still shaving, he teased, “So when are you bringing a kid over for me to meet?”

“You’ll be waiting a long time. Probably the rest of your life.”

Leon smiled and swept his wet hair back. “With the lives we lead, having a kid? Forget raising one.”

“Fair. I don’t even have time to take care of Snowy anymore...”

Alan bent down, splashed water over his face, then wiped away the droplets with both hands while looking at Leon in the mirror. “But do you want one?”

“Of course. A daughter, preferably.”

“Maybe Ada wants a son.”

“Her? Maybe. What about you?”

“I’d want a daughter too.”

Leon draped an arm across Alan’s back and said solemnly, “Looks like we’d both be hopeless girl dads.”

“Hah... You got that right.”

Alan hung up his towel and left the bathroom.

Back in his room, he opened the closet and stared at the same workout clothes he always wore. For the first time, he actually stopped to think about it.

“I really don’t feel like wearing something this tight today...” His gaze dropped to a folded set of clothes at the bottom of the closet. He picked them up and muttered, “So I actually brought these with me?”

They were the clothes Alan had been wearing when he was transported into this world. His “battle gear” from that night in Raccoon City.

There was a clear tear near the upper center of the shirt. For a moment, Alan sank into old memories. He instinctively touched the scar on his chest and realized it had faded considerably. Back then, touching the spot had made him feel pain all the way down to his sternum. Now, all he felt was firm muscle beneath his fingers.

“Life really does pass in the blink of an eye...”

After that brief reflection, Alan put the old clothes back and changed into the same familiar outfit as always.

He had made up his mind. Today, he was going to be a little nicer to himself and buy some new clothes.

The moment he opened his bedroom door again, a familiar smell hit him.

“Goddamn it, Leon. Don’t you ever get tired of egg fried rice?!”

Egg fried rice. The signature dish of the single middle-aged man.

What else could he cook?

Egg-fried eggs.

“Now that’s a lot of protein.”

“Oh, shut up. Come on, we’re eating out.”

“Whoa, what’s gotten into you?”

“I’ve got nothing to do today anyway. What, you still haven’t had enough extra training lately?”

“...Forget it. I’m sick of shooting these days. Going out for a walk doesn’t sound bad.”

Alan put on a light jacket, grabbed a set of car keys at random, and walked out without even looking at them.

Leon glanced at the key rack. When he realized which keys Alan had taken, he raised an eyebrow.

The two stepped outside and ran straight into Grace Rowan, who had only just gotten up.

“Morning, you two.”

“Morning. Want us to bring you back some breakfast?”

“No thanks. I still have leftovers from last night.”

“All right. We’ll leave the house to you, then.”

Just before leaving, Alan remembered something. “There’s some egg fried rice Leon made in our room. You can mix it with the leftovers.”

“Roger that, sir!”

Grace took her clothes from the hanger and looked curiously at the two men heading downstairs. “Why do they seem so much more relaxed today?”

Once they reached the ground floor, Alan finally looked at the keys in his hand.

“A Jeep? Actually pretty good for weather this hot.”

Alan found the Jeep parked at the far end of the garage. With one hand on the door, he smoothly vaulted into the driver’s seat.

He inserted the key and turned it to the left. After sitting silent for years, the engine roared to life once again.

Leon patted the old machine and looked at Alan.

“Remember this Jeep?”

“What?”

“Knew you’d forgotten. We bought this with our first paychecks.”

Realization hit Alan. No wonder the Jeep had seemed familiar.

“I remember. Back then, you bought it to commemorate...”

“Ah, don’t say it. That Jeep we left at the gas station... I never had time to go back and get it. By now it’s probably...”

“Probably scrap metal. Still, maybe there was something sentimental in it. Didn’t you leave anything behind?”

“Now that you mention it... I think my police academy graduation photo was in there.”

“Want to go get it sometime?”

“Do you really think we’ll ever have time?”

Alan rested one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearshift, then tilted his head toward the passenger seat.

“Fair point. Guess we’ll leave it to fate.”