After about two hours, Ren and the rest arrive at the F.A.T.E headquarters. Stepping out of the vehicle, Sieg stretched a bit as he yawned.

"I'm so darn tired... Wait, why are we back here? I'm off the clock!" Sieg said, turning to Kiel with an angered look.

"The higher-ups told me to bring you and investigator Ren over for the closing ceremony.... you ARE in charge of this year's closing ceremony after all..." Senior investigator Kiel said, glaring at Sieg.

Sieg fell to his knees and was overcome with sadness. His meticulously crafted plan to skip work by picking Ren up from a Fester battle, all gone to waste.

"Ah this is the worst! I knew I shouldn't have called HQ for a ride! I wanted to take a break, not do overtime! You're the worst!" Sieg said, yelling at Kiel.

Feeling embarrassed by his father's antics, Ren grabbed him by his collar, lifting him up from the ground.

"Stop embarrassing us..." Ren said, staring into his eyes with stern resolve.

"Wait, that's..." Sieg said, his face filled with fear.

As if he was trying to ruin Ren's mood even more, the terrified look on his face, which was now obviously to Ren was just an act, turned into a smirk.

"That's so cute you think you actually scare me. Now put me down you damn brat..." Sieg said, unamused.

Ren sighed before dropping Sieg. Ren messaged his nasal bridge before looking at Sieg.

"Could you please act like an adult for once in your life? Throwing a tantrum when you were the one at fault is not only childish, but just rude..." Ren said.

"Geez I was just trying to cheer you up...." Sieg said, whipping the dust from his coat.

Ren's lips curled to the side before he turned around.

"How am I even related to someone like you..." Ren said, walking off.

Sieg was about to step in and apologize, but stopped himself. He watched Ren walk away, without even doing anything.

"Damnit...." Sieg cursed to himself.

Seeing this, Kiel chuckled a bit before walking up to Sieg. He tapped Sieg's back then gestured for him to follow. Not having anything better to do, he followed.

"I remember when my son was like that..." Kiel said.

"It's super annoying. He always tries to go against me, and when I wanna joke with him, he looks at me like I'm some weirdo..." Sieg said.

He looked down at the ground, before kicking a rock.

"But I guess it's my fault... if only I was a good father... maybe we'd have a better relationship..." Sieg said, stopping in his tracks.

Kiel stopped as well, but he soon began walking again.

"It's rare to see you so unsure, Sieg...." Kiel said, gesturing him again to follow.

"I know right? I'm 40, and have two kids, yet I still feel like a dumb teenager..." Sieg said, sighing.

"... well, I don't disagree on that... but parenthood is all about learning. Nobody starts off as an amazing parent, they're all trying their best..." Kiel said.

Sieg thought about his words before smiling a bit.

"You know, you're actually pretty wise. Prolly cause you're an old man!" Sieg said, laughing to himself.

Kiel chuckled as well before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Even if you're technically my superior, please feel free to talk to me if you need advice...." Kiel said.

Sieg smiled before smirking.

"This isn't your way of asking for a pay raise is it?" Sieg said, nudging him.

Kiel snorted before turning around.

"Money is not a concern for me... the only thing I want is for someone to be able to live without regrets... something I don't have the pleasure of experiencing..." Kiel said, walking away.

Sieg felt a bit better, but he still felt somewhat unsatisfied. Sure Kiel's words were wise, and helped him somewhat; but in the end he still doesn't know how to approach his son.

"I still need to apologize... well at least I have k-" but before he could finish that thought, Sieg was pushed down. It seems that someone had accidentally tripped into him.

Sieg quickly corrected himself as he stopped the boy who fell from hitting the ground.

"Woah easy there kiddo, whatcha doing running around the halls? Didn't your teachers teach you not to do that?" Sieg said, furrowing his eyebrows and crossing his arms.

The boy quickly apologized, looking incredibly embarrassed, a bit disappointed too.

"What's wrong with you? Did your crush break your heart or something?" Sieg asked, raising his eyebrows

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Even worse!" He said, showing him a piece of paper.

"Oliver liam Rand... oh you're a new recruit?" Sieg said, calming down a bit.

Oliver nodded before curling himself into a ball.

"Ah I feel so useless..." Oliver said, feeling depressed.

[An hour ago]

Oliver waited for his test results in the designated waiting room. He was pacing back and forth, thinking of every scenario that could happen. All he knew was that he passed the recruitment exam, but what his rank would be, and which squad he would be placed in, was a mystery.

"Hey sit down, you look like a lost cat!" Olivia said as she lay on the ground.

"I can't! My body won't let me sit down! Also why are you on the ground...?" Oliver asked, weirded out.

"The floor is soft..." Olivia said with a smile on her face as she pressed her finger on the plush carpet.

Oliver looked a bit displeased by her laxness, feeling jealous by it. However, jealousy wasn't going to make him feel better. As if right on cue, Katherine popped up behind him and tapped his shoulder. Her sudden appearance made him jump, causing her to laugh.

"Geez why the heck are you always sneaking up on me... at this point it's gotta be a hobby" Oliver said, trying to compose himself.

"It's fun watching you get surprised," Katherine said, smiling.

Oliver was about to say something, but he couldn't think of anything to say actually. Katherine patiently waited for him to respond, causing an awkward few seconds of utter silence between the two.

"I um uh... well you know like... yeah" Oliver said, trying his best to come up with anything to say.

Katherine tried to hide her second hand embarrassment, but by the way her eyes started squinting and the tenseness of her body, Oliver could tell he messed up. However, to get to know Oliver better, she decided to play along.

"Mhm... yeah totally... Well Oliver, how bout we go somewhere else? I think we both could use some priva-" but before she could finish her sentence, she was dragged away by Olivia.

"Oh nuh uh. If you want to talk to someone, talk to me!" Olivia said, literally dragging her by her collar.

It was a strange experience for Katherine, so much so that she barely resisted. Because she didn't understand what was going on.

Once the two got far away from Oliver, Olivia dropped Katherine and began interrogating her.

"What the hell do you want with my brother huh?" Olivia asked, her voice stern.

"Oh him? I don't know what you're talking about..." Katherine said, trying to laugh it off.

Olivia glared at her.

"Don't try to play dumb. Don't think I didn't see what you did during the physical exam. You were practically stalking him..." Olivia said, crossing her arms.

Realising that she's been caught, Katherine uses her best defense tactic; gaslighting.

"I don't think you know what you're talking about. I did no such thing. Sure I talked to him a couple times, but it would be stupid for me to purposely set myself back just for a simple boy like Oliver. I think you're smart enough to realise that right?" Katherine said, sounding as confident as she could.

The art of gaslighting, something easy to pick up, and even easier to master. Just use vague words, and twist reality. An underhanded tactic that Katherine rarely ever uses, but if it keeps her reputation intact, what's a bit of manipulation anyways?

"Do you think I'm dumb? I quite literally saw you hiding behind pillars and recruits to watch him. If you wanna try twisting the truth, don't use it on someone who's too stubborn to see another person's side..." Olivia said, looking disgusted.

Katherine clicked her tongue. Her expression changed from calm to slightly annoyed.

"Okay fine you caught me. Happy? So what if I was watching Oliver? Does that really affect your life in any way?" Katherine said.

"Of course it does... you're a stranger who has a fascination with my little brother. I'd be an idiot not to be suspicious.... Besides…" Olivia looked to the ground as she clenched her fist.

"I can't have Oliver get a girlfriend! That'd mean I lost to him in the relationship game!" Olivia shouted.

Katherine was confused, but seeing Olivia so passionate about it made her laugh a bit.

"Oh! No! No, no, I'm not interested in your brother that way. Sure he's adorable, but he's far too... what do you say... naive?" Katherine explained.

Olivia was mad that she said something like that about Oliver, but she couldn't deny that it was a valid reason.

"... my interest with your brother is more like.... curiosity. At first I thought he was just like everyone else; an overconfident idiot who thinks they can make it in the world.... but his way of thinking is fascinating, and I want to know more about him" Katherine continued.

Olivia scratched her head as she thought about what she said.

"So you don't have a crush on him.... that's amazing! So I still have a chance to beat him!" Olivia said, excitedly. But then her joyous expression turned sour as she looked at Katherine.

"But what you said is downright horrible.... As his older sister, I can't let you talk about him like that. So apologise" Olivia said.

Seeing the look in Olivia's eyes, and hearing the words she spoke, made Katherine upset. It was the first time someone talked to her like that, and she didn't like it. Katherine began mumbling to herself, saying all sorts of nasty things about Olivia.

"Huh what was that? If you have something to say, speak up..." Olivia asked, narrowing her eyes.

Instead of letting her anger control her, Katherine took in a deep breath to compose herself.

"It's nothing. I apologize for how I acted. It's just that I find your brother interesting and want to know more about him. I'm sorry if it came out the wrong way" Katherine said smiling.

Olivia was weirded out by her sudden change of mood, but at that point she was too frustrated to care. So to stop herself from doing something stupid, she decided to walk away, although she didn't forget to bump into Katherine, so she could somewhat satiate her anger.

"Do whatever you want.... but if I catch you doing something stupid, especially to Oliver, I'll kill you... got it?" Olivia said, her tone was completely serious.

"Wow, such a considerate older sister..." Katherine said, putting on a fake smile.

As Olivia walked away, Katherine's expression changed back into a look of pure disgust and hatred.

"Geez... she reminds me of him" Katherine thought to herself, glaring at Olivia with a dirty look in her eyes.

Unbeknownst to the two, Oliver had been watching them from afar. He didn't really understand why they were mad at each other, but he still felt guilty, as it was his fault that the two were upset at each other.

"Ah this is the worst... why do I always cause problems for people..." Oliver thought to himself. But for Oliver, he didn't have time to sulk and mope, as the instructors had finally finished their evaluations.

"Come children... take your future in your hand" senior cadet Kiel said, holding various paper envelopes.

"U- um I hope you all won't be disappointed in your results.... but still, your rank doesn't matter as long as you have a good work ethic!" Penelope said, passing the paper envelopes around.

As Oliver took the envelope in hand, his hands began shaking. This was it. The result of 6 years, and 5 hours. His future. He was ready... no he had been ready the moment he heard of the cadets!

"Huh? A tier?" Olivia said from behind him as she stared at her certificate.

The anticipation and excitement from Oliver's face immediately washed away as if he was being drained of his life force. Once again, Olivia had gotten a splendid result. Was that really a surprise to him anymore? Seeing a crowd form around Olivia, practically worshiping her was already normal to Oliver. No matter what he did, Olivia would be better than him. It was as if that was a fact of life, but he didn't care. Because there was a slim chance, a once in a lifetime event, a miracle, that somehow, some way, Oliver might actually match Olivia, or maybe even surpass her. He ripped the envelope's seal, then drew out the certificate from the dark brown cavern of fate.

"That's right... I can't lose. I'm far too cool to lose. That's right, in this story... I'm the main character!"

His face was lined

with a smirk as he confidently shifted his gaze to the words on the paper.

"Oliver Rand, C tier"