"...Good work. That was very fast for a mid C-rank gate."

Tom was greeting us back at the tent.

"There were 6 B-ranks and me, in the group of 21. Wouldn't it be an expected result?"

"Sure, sure. Go get yourself some beer, I'll have the secretary deal with the rest."

...Secretary...

"Hah, this guy is already drunk", Jack smirked.

"What!", Tom flinched. "What happened in there?"

"Hey. Don't scare other people. Listen Tom, I was just slightly tipsy and it's already fine now. All I did was try a little experiment with instakilling the boss, okay? Imagine listening to this kid", I explained with disdain.

"Oh. And how'd it go?"

"Heh, the raiding party didn't even know he was dead for a moment. Just got poofed outta here by yours truly. Ah, but the efficiency could maybe be better."

"...Okay, good job, go get yourself a beer, I'll be back later", Tom said quickly and left, now completely disinterested in any further technical ranting I might delve into.

"Sigh. He should learn to be like Yeonhwa. 'Whaat, Kai, that's so cool, show me next time!'."

"She did not say that", Angela disapproved.

Sigh.

'Airi, could you say that for me?'

...

'Airi.'

"Yes, but she could have said it, and that's what really matters, isn't it?", I stated resolutely.

"Pfft... I did think it was pretty cool, um, Kai", Yeonhwa responded like the angel she was.

Hmm, was that the first time she called me Kai? Not bad.

'HRRRRKKK!'

Indeed. Airi was too powerful to be let out into the world. An S-rank living weapon. Well, it depends on how we define 'living', I suppose…

"Here's something cooler, Yeonhwa. Angela and I will be teaching you the Blacklight system. Starting… presumably tomorrow."

"...Huh? Huh?! So soon?!"

"...Did you think we only reserved it for higher ups or something? Listen, it's not a big issue. Well, okay, in a sense it is a sort of secret sauce of the guild. But, as you might already know, most members can't even get past the basics, not even mages. And its incompatibility with most catalysts leaves much to be desired… In any case, we saw your good magic adaptability, and we're just fasttracking a little bit."

"Wait Kai," Angela interjected. "We're going to be teaching her?"

"Directly, yes. I've been considering direct tutoring for a while now, and a timely guinea pig has shown up."

"...Oh wow. Oh wow, oh wow, that's crazy!"

...You're the crazy one here.

"Okay calm down for three seconds. Listen, there's one more thing we noticed. Yeonhwa, you were copying my melee style, right?"

"...Oh no. Was that bad? I'm – I'm sorry!"

Why was this girl so excited?

"No, no. It's not bad, just an observation that we wanted to make sure you were aware of. As long as you're aware, it's fine. But, well, it's not great for pure melee… I think? Don't people teach more refined combat nowadays?"

"Ahh, I mean... I just wanted to try how you fought in those videos... It worked out for me, so..."

"I see, I see. It's not an issue. We'll consider it for your training is all. Okay?"

"Oh, okay! Thanks!"

She quickly switched from a nervous demeanor to a sparkly one. How could there be sparkles? It was kind of absurd to see how bubbly she was in this essentially post-apocalyptic universe. Was I envious? Tsk.

'Yes, Airi. My sweet and bubbly little Airi...'

***

It was typical. So damn typical. It was good to be back to typical, I guess.

The 4th and topmost floor – not including the roof, of course – of my guild headquarters looked exactly the same. Even the view of the construction. Well, fine, construction was progressing. Still, it wasn't done yet.

"Haaah…"

A sigh escaped my well-hydrated lips as I yearned for the construction to accelerate even more than it had. Magic and superhuman strength was exceedingly helpful for construction, but there was only so much manpower. Or perhaps, was it bureaucracy as usual? Maybe I should hang their heads on a pike to motivate the peons?

<...The beatings will continue until morale improves?>

It was the reconstruction of my previous apartment complex, or rather, construction taking place in the space which used to be my previous apartment. I didn't know what it was going to be, but I knew it would likely be at least a bit taller than this building I currently in, even if it wasn't going to be a skyscraper.

Suddenly, the door to my office opened to reveal a redhead in decently fashionable attire. If only she had a skirt to flip.

'Good work not calling me a 'virgin'.'

'And toxically patriarchal and sexist.'

'I'm for the me-archy.'

Angela probably thought I was smiling at her.

"Did Airi comment on my attire?"

"...Close but no cigar."

"Sorry, no skirt today."

I looked at her eyes longingly. Had we been through so much together that she could now read my naked thoughts? Was she another Airi?

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"You're getting slightly creepy", she said emotionlessly as she sat on the couch opposite my desk. "But I'm glad you're here at least for your couple days back, instead of holed up in your apartment."

"Do you want to move in with me?"

"I'm not your secretary."

"You're in my office right now in some fashionable clothes. All you need is a skirt, which I already prepared in my drawer."

"What..." she questioned in disbelief. "Okay, let's be serious first. One, everything has been settled from the raid earlier today. Two, Yeonhwa will start the Blacklight training tomorrow. Three, dinner and drinks in 15 minutes, right downstairs. Okay. Go ahead, be stupid now."

"Angela, are you fucking sure you're not my secretary?", I asked in seriousness.

There was a silence as Angela reconsidered the origins of life, the universe, and everything. The inner workings of the gods, the fundamental principles behind the multiversal reality, and the end of all truth. Even after truth had ended, she couldn't understand how it was that she had just done what a secretary would have done.

"Kai", Angela replied weakly. "...Fuck."

She buried her head in her palms.

'Airi.'

'Yes.'

<...Calculating...Not. You already know.>

'The stereotypical answer.'

Indeed, that was how I rolled. Any attempt at getting an 'answer' was simply an attempt at procrastination.

'Good girl.'

I sighed and sauntered over to the seat next to my recuperating subordinate of red hair.

I patted her back, making sure to feel the brastrap under her white t-shirt. Nice.

Angela looked up at me with a tired expression.

"Angela. It's been a long couple of years, hasn't it?", I said while smiling.

"...Yes? Well, it's been two weeks."

"Do you know what I have to show for those two years?"

"Nightless? I would say being at the top of the hunters, but… who told you to turn that down?"

"Two years' worth of... semen made a glop–" I managed to say before Angela slapped my arm away.

"Tsk, and I thought you were being serious for once."

Instead of smirking though, I just continued to smile softly.

"I want to have sex with a guildmate. What should I do?"

"Don't touch Yeonhwa. Don't. Oh haha, no, it's you. You wouldn't do that anyway," she laughed. "Isn't that how it goes? Or are you registering Airi in the guild officially?"

"I feel a strong regret about having told you about Airi," I muttered while closing my eyes.

Glancing back at the window, I saw the twilight fading in real time. Sunset had already passed… maybe I should have done this earlier?

I took Angela's smooth, pale hand, and didn't let it go. This time, I didn't want to let it go.

"I'm serious though."

Angela looked me as if trying to divine the stars. In the connection of our hands, our rising heartbeats were obvious to each other. Maybe, to her, this came out of nowhere. But I hadn't been able to think deeply about anything else for the past few days.

"...No...", she finally replied with a furrow in her brows. "I– You're too important to me. To us."

The oldest fucking trick, and she wasn't even looking directly into my eyes. But who, exactly, was the target of such a cheap trick?

I continued to look at her, slightly massaging her slender fingers. She wasn't just a guildmate right now. But rather than my secretary, she was my protege, at least in the arts of understanding me.

So, my dear Angela… will you understand me?

"Why, why now?", she continues, looking back into my eyes as I press with silence. "Is it Yeonhwa? ...No. Not the anniversary, either."

Now, this was creepy! Look at this woman play detective with my life! Oh ho!

"Hawaii. Something could have happened, but that doesn't make sense. It's not like you were just there to play. No, you didn't need anything to 'happen', did you? All you needed was... yourself and a little time. A breather? Was it really that much of a breather? Kai, really?"

Angela's momentum and voice died to a whisper at the end of her guesses.

"Yes, just a bit of breath", I answered. "As goofy as that might seem, considering my lackadaisical day-to-day. I breathed. And yet the woman next to me wasn't there by my side."

"...Kai." She closed her eyes. "It'll go poorly."

Who would have thought this to be the woman who tried to seduce me for so long? I hated dancing, but was this her revenge?

It was the time to press with sound.

"Angela. Because you don't trust my commitment? No. Because the fallout would be horrendous? Hmm? Who do you think I am? In this world reeking of battle and death, should we really fail to love?"

Her beautiful green eyes were tearing up, as my free hand stroked her soft and softly blushing cheek. I continued.

"Fallout. First of all, Nightless would give you the choice to stay or go. Second, could you imagine me being so weakhearted that I'd doom humanity from one bad relationship? Third, could you imagine yourself with another guy?"

I smirked.

"Fourth, could you imagine me with another girl?"

I wipe the tear from her face.

"Fifth, I won't imagine myself with another girl", I finished with a lowered voice, because I had already brought our faces close.

I ignored the shitty machine in my head. It's too much to call that a lie! Too much!

"Angela," I called out.

"What do we say to regret...?", I whispered. Ah, yes. Regret. A minor trash mob.

"I regret liking you so much", she whispered, closing her eyes and letting fresh tears fall freely.

It hurt a bit. Just a bit, to see her face be marred by sorrowed water. Even though it must have been unendingly painful for her.

I... No, this wasn't the time for any self-derision. I hugged her. I embraced her. I took her into my arms. Warm and tender, the woman I bantered with, the woman I trusted, the woman I... wanted to love.

"...Yes. Yes, okay, Kai," she whispered in response.

The dinner downstairs must have already started. Still, we continued to embrace, on the couch she had picked for my otherwise empty office.

'Heh. A playboy who has neither the skills, the chips, nor the balls to play.'

Blacklight, they said. The walking contradiction of such a light.

'Airi...'

Ah, it was indeed not time to spiral. Hmph.

I circulated my mana despite the absence of any combat or threat. They say that exercise keeps bad thoughts at bay. Yes, it was time to exercise my mana just to keep my own head from a depressive spiral. Why was I headed that way despite what should be a happy moment?

'Thanks. Hehe.'

It was a pattern of ups and downs. It was my life.

"Kai?", Angela asked as she felt my mana move.

"Haha, I needed to move some mana to calm down my happiness", I said.

"...Tsk, lying to your girlfriend immediately?", she pouted.

Holy fucking cute. It had been a while since I witnessed the cute side of this girl who had turned sassy before I knew it.

"Isn't being lied to what a girlfriend is for?" I smirked, countering with an absurd sentence before kissing her soft lips.

"Mmmnn!!", she whined seemingly in annoyed protest. But contrary to her voice, her actions were those of prey giving itself up willingly.

'Airi. What's she thinking?'

<...Are you serious?>

'...Fine. Next question. Yeonhwa.'

'The right answer. It's a great game, isn't it?'

'...'

Suddenly, electronic music began playing, causing our make-out session to fizzle out in its infancy. My phone had gone off despite my usual policy of silencing almost everything. That was likely extremely not-good.

"...Fuck. I'm going to kill whoever or whatever is ruining this moment", I stated without looking away from my woman.

"Haha, welcome back to work," she smiled with a satisfied face. I was intensely hoping that the satisfaction wasn't due to my annoyance. How perverse that would be! Only I could be that perverse!

Looking at the notification, my face crumpled slightly.

"...Fucking Europe. It's a high B gate," I explained. "Well, two of them, and both seem to be slightly old. God damn, could the Atlantic be any shorter, please…"

"Makes sense that it would trigger an emergency, then. So they're conscripting from us again… At this rate, isn't it suspicious that we haven't needed to conscript from other countries?"

"Well, it technically isn't conscription?"

"Yeah, it would look really good in the news to just let people die?"

"That's not what… ugh, nevermind. Sigh. But I'm pretty sure you just jinxed the U.S. with your comment just now."

"Still as paranoid as ever, I see. Mmm, does that ruin the plan to teach Yeonhwa?"

I tilted my head at the woman who just trivially switched into work mode.

"No, but it does ruin my plan of having a nice date with you. Ugh."

Angela raised her eyebrow while stifling a laugh. Wait, why a laugh?

"Wow, so this is our dear leader when he decides to touch his employees?"

"I'd prefer to touch them even more!" I stated with resolution from the depths of my soul.

Her jaw dropped slightly, presumably speechless at my shamelessness.

Yes, I should be even more shameless.

"Hmm, let's have our first date in London then?" I smirked.