2 days ago…
Leila pressed a key on the keyboard, commanding her laser beam to fire from her computer’s webcam. The burning beam nibbled Ravyn’s left cheek before she even thought of dodging it. Its power was strong enough that it pierced the room behind her, leaving an apple-sized hole in the wall.
"You don’t seem to know what you’re playing with. Since you entered the room until now, my self-defense system should’ve killed you about 200 times already. But if it's switched from you to the man you’re looking for, the opposite outcome is to be expected. He’s that much of a menace."
Mischievous Leila walked closer to Ravyn, hoping to frighten her. But the result seems to be the other way around. Ravyn, who now had a slightly burnt left cheek, stared back at the only bob-haired girl in the room. Then she uses the air pistol to fire at light tubes on the ceiling, shattering them.
*bang*
"Aaa!"
In the darkroom, Leila screamed and bent down, hugging her trembling body. Ravyn grabbed the flashlight strapped to Leila’s waist and flashed it upward to dim the room up.
"You must be afraid of the dark, aren’t you? From where I looked for you, every room had an unusually dense number of light sources. Normal people also wouldn’t carry a flashlight around their waist like this.. And you're right, I know nothing about that white-haired freak wielding black magic. Can you tell me who that murderer is?"
Ravyn threatened Leila back and walked over to unplug the keyboard on the desk to prevent her from playing any more tricks. The girl's other hand was still shining a flashlight on the ceiling so that Leila wouldn’t be too scared to talk. The bob-haired girl calmed down a bit and uttered.
"That guy’s name is Undre, the Donkey’s consigliere, or counselor. I don’t have much information about him as he wasn’t an official gang member and had been in contact with only the higher-ups from time to time. But he's so well known for being cunning and brutal that even the gang’s executives are sick of him. Throughout my time with Donkey, I crossed paths with him a few times. I have never seen a single one of his enemies who ever faced a glimpse of his power live to tell the tale. The reason you are in front of me alive and kicking is undoubted because you’re not even in Undre’s eyes."
…So it’s Undre.. I’m worthless in his eyes, huh?...
That last sentence strikes a nerve in Ravyn; it reminds her of the night of the fire. The scene of a stranger strangling her adoptive mother, the woman soaked in her own blood, and a horrifying smile on the perpetrator's face, all that burned into her memory was triggered and haunted Ravyn as if it had just happened. The purple-haired girl clenched her fists to the point that she bled a bit to suppress her rage, then slowly walked over to whisper in Leila’s ear.
"A friend of mine has a limited-edition signed polaroid photo of Erios that you certainly don’t have yet. I’ll be waiting for the next chapter of your jackass tales."
"Huh, I really underestimated you, plum girl."
As soon as Ravyn stepped back, Leila hurriedly got up to get her laptop, which was decorated with stickers of a man in the Airburst uniform on the edge. She also grabbed the previous year's Claretam's Airburst calendar, even though she had to bid farewell to those precious collections when being under investigation.
######
At present, inside Gentle’Sand Sandwich Shop…
Putter, an AB top trainee, opens up to the shopkeeper during his leisure time.
"Hey owner, I’ve been having nightmares in a row these days without rest."
"You’d better go talk to a therapist than me."
Gentle answered while his hand was wiping the front of the shop counter.
"Well, what happened was…"
… Young lad, have you listened to what I have said?…
The shopkeeper thought to himself but didn’t bother saying a word.
"I’m the super awesome trainee, a rising star who could be an Airburst soon. And my chance to shine came sooner than expected…"
"That's good then."
Gentle replied as Putter continued.
"I get to work with the Intel Assistant to gain more experience…"
"Well, that’s good."
Gentle replied again.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
"But!"
Putter startled Gentle.
"But what?"
"The moment I was about to shine, the Airburst appeared from nowhere and took over my cool debut scene."
As Putter mentions the city’s hero, Gentle seems a little interested.
"The real one?"
"The real deal. Greek god physique. In-person… Ahem. For one who is about to be a hero, leaving an impression on others is necessary, and I shouldn’t fail despite the circumstances."
Even top trainee Putter can’t stand that stunning body of Idorund.
"Hmph, that’s all? Then just make a new debut to wow your coworker then."
Gentle gives him a piece of advice.
"I have done it.. That’s the beginning of my nightmare."
Putter sniveled with a gloomy expression on his face.
"I showed up gracefully with my trusty Airburst Rifle right between my legs, shot it to the ground, and performed a triple somersault in the air as my partner got out of the building. I waved hello."
Putter describes the image remembered in his head in detail.
...
"I’m the Rising Star Trainee Putter. Nice to meet you."
The green-haired man landed on the ground gracefully and flawlessly.
"I’m Ravyn. It's nice to meet you too."
The partner he’s been waiting to impress runs past him to the AB elevator zone without paying much attention to him.
"Good posture, but we have work to do. Follow me into the elevator so we can discuss our target’s plan. She’s a genius hacker, who manipulated acts of terror by exploiting criminal gangs' enmity."
Ravyn added, assuming that Putter hadn’t read the mission description yet.
...
"It’s just a bad start, lad. A pair of delicious cheese sandwiches can help."
Gentle gave Putter a sandwich to cheer him up for that mistake.
"But I laughed while doing the mission with her so hard that my wounds were torn. I couldn’t even continue the mission in that state."
"With another pair of ham sandwiches, you’ll be fine."
Putter received another sandwich.
"My partner has to pause her mission to give me first aid.."
Gentle gave tuna, vanilla, and strawberry types each to Putter and gave him a moment of silence to mourn the young man.
"If you still have to work with her, every moment is an opportunity to make an impression."
Gentle continues to advise this weird customer to give him the strength to pursue his career.
"But all that isn’t the end of my nightmare."
…Oh geez. Anybody, please stop him…
The middle-aged Gentle got a headache as Putter kept depicting his attempts to impress his colleague.
...
A cool, green-haired man enters the fitness room in the Assistant’s hand-shaped building after working hours. He showed his physical fitness by lifting tens of kilograms of weights for the people who were exercising there, not knowing that everyone was not interested in him at all. But when two ladies with thin yet athletic bodies walked into the room, all eyes were fixed on them. A beautiful brunette with big round glasses and a purple-haired girl whom Putter tried to impress. They lifted the three-digit kilograms of the barbell as if it were made of foam. And whether it’s the treadmill or any workout machine that Putter uses, all his performances are by far overshadowed by Yu and Ravyn.
"Please tell me that you people walked into the wrong building. The AB Tower is right next door."
Putter grunted as he gasped. And because of the rising star trainee’s pride, he couldn’t leave the gym before those girls. Putter exerted himself, working out to the point that his muscles screamed just to show his capabilities as an AB top trainee.
5 hours have passed…
Only 3 people were left in the room. The two queens of the fitness room started packing their belongings as they praised the top trainee.
"You’ve been working out really well.~"
Ravyn nodded briefly as Yu complimented him. That day ended, and Putter couldn’t set a new record for any workout machine in Assistant’s fitness gym.
...
"I crawled out of there. After that, my muscles were sore for three whole days."
"At least she nodded at you."
Gentle walked over and patted Putter’s shoulder. But as soon as Putter met a short-haired girl, Pierret, who was just walking out of the back of the shop, he was awestruck. The trainee was so charmed by Gentle's daughter that he could no longer hear the shopkeeper's voice.
"She’s so pretty."
He complimented Pierret, staring at her.
"I know, right?"
Pierret's father and Putter looked at that girl and both sighed in fascination.
*sigh~*
The protective Gentle then frowned right after he snapped out of it.
"Hey, stop ogling at my sweetheart, green head. Or else this old man’s going to break your neck right now.."
Gentle turns Putter's face away from his daughter as the young man resists looking towards the shop counter. Both of them were still at it until Pierret handed the order to the customer at the counter with a smile.
"The two servings of egg sandwiches that you ordered are here."
*sigh~~*
Both Gentle and Putter sat down, looking at the distance, and sighed in enchantment simultaneously.
######
In a small house on the outskirts of Themeise…
A pretty girl with glasses was packing her backpack so diligently as tiny grains of sweat dripped from her forehead. On the night in a cozy house where she lived alone, the girl seemed particularly in a hurry. It was as if she was in a rush to set off at this instant.
*Crack!* *Rumble!*
All of a sudden, the sound of thunder and lightning rang out. Numerous white streaks of lightning flashed abnormally outside the window.
"I have to hurry. I have to hurry."
The girl muttered to herself. And at that moment, great thunder struck the middle of that house, which emitted an extremely loud bursting noise.
*zz-PANG!!*
The white thunder hit the owner of the house very seriously. She immediately fell unconscious. Right before the unconscious body touched the floor of the room, one hand grabbed her and held her in a princess carry position.
"It's been a long time, Yu."
The man holding the unconscious girl spoke to her before the two of them vanished with a line of lightning.
*zzzzzzz-PANG!!*