"Goodness gracious," sighed Leila, staring at the ceiling. "I suppose it's possible that the reason he reacted so sharply that day wasn't because he liked me, but because it was the first time he had ever experienced that kind of feeling."

If it wasn't because he liked her, then that was a relief, but the fact that it was the first time for him was a big problem. Either way, it was the worst-case scenario.

She had no idea how to solve this.

"I'm here," said Arcangelo.

As he spoke, the car continued to run until they arrived at the research center.

"Thank you. They said it'll take about six hours to run the test and get the results, so why don't you go rest somewhere."

"Yes."

As soon as the car stopped, Arcangelo opened the door and got out. Leila quickly followed, giving the driver a rough idea of their schedule before hurrying after him.

"Let's go together. We're going to the same place anyway."

He didn't look at her or say anything.

Then suddenly, he stopped and sighed. "Yeah. Let's go together."

Even he seemed to find it strange that he didn't say anything until they got outside.

"I have no intention of having a long conversation, so a simple answer will suffice," she thought. It wasn't necessary to speak anyway.

After that, Arcangelo seemed a little self-conscious at first, but soon he was acting as if nothing had happened.

"Was it section C on the fourth floor?" he asked.

"Yeah. It seems to be this way," she replied.

As they walked, Leila suddenly felt a strange sensation.

"When I was with Arcangelo, we mostly fought," she said thoughtfully.

Before he became addicted, they would argue almost every time they met.

"When we were at the mansion, we each did our own thing, so it didn't feel like much, but now that we're looking for a place together..."

She scratched her cheek lightly.

"It's a strange feeling."

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

It wasn't a pounding heart or anything like that. It was just a sense of working together properly.

"Here it is."

Arcangelo had been uncharacteristically uncooperative when they were chasing after 121.

Her eyes grew cold as she remembered that time.

"Welcome! This area can be quite confusing, but you made it here without any trouble. I was wondering if I should go out to guide you, but it looks like I didn't have to."

As they opened the door to the designated location they received, a familiar researcher greeted them.

There was another female researcher beside him.

"She's my assistant. She helps me with my work and assists with 121's work."

"Hello."

"Hello. Thank you for coming in for today's examination."

Today, Leila and Arcangelo had come to the laboratory for detailed examinations related to their health.

Originally, they should have taken the examination right after the strange phenomenon occurred three days ago, but since they were already here, they decided to take a closer look.

"Nothing big has happened in the meantime."

She glanced at him surreptitiously. His countenance remained unchanged, as it always did.

“Detective Cassilia requests that you come here and change your clothes.”

“Yes.”

Is it only when I remain quiet that there's no reason to get excited?

“Come to think of it, the only time I ever saw emotional changes at the investigative agency was when I was there.”

...Does that mean I'm the root of it all?

The more she thought about it, the worse she felt, so she decided to stop.

“I'm done changing.”

“Please come this way.”

She followed the female researcher through a series of tests.

The researcher recorded various numbers based on the readings from the machine.

“Is it bad news?”

“My body's readings have become slightly unstable. It's not too bad, though.”

When she asked discreetly, the answer came that it was quite bad, but not extremely so.

“While taking charge of this examination, I received the previous data. You had trouble sleeping before, right?”

“Oh, yes.”

Leila's spirits sank a bit. It was uncomfortable to know that someone she didn't know well had access to her personal information.

Especially the fact that she had trouble sleeping was only known to a select few, including the head of the investigative agency.

'I guess I'm just a closed-off person who can't help it.'

In fact, there are many investigators who are uncomfortable with others knowing their personal information, like Leila.

That's why the investigative agency assigns a dedicated doctor to perform regular health checkups for them.

'However, since this task is related to classified missions, it is appropriate for the researcher in charge of this mission to handle it, rather than leaving it to a doctor.'

“It is understandable from a rational perspective,” said the female researcher.

“Did you already have this level of fatigue before?” asked Leila.