Reluctance

"That's a serious accusation, Agent Helios," she replied. "What makes you say that?"

Seriously, she's still asking when she already knows about it.

"She's showing signs of anxiety and trauma," I replied firmly. "I need proof that she's either cured or passed the psychological test before accepting her as my partner."

"Still strict as ever, huh?"

"Either that or I work solo."

"Alright. Since you're going to be partners, it's fine for you to see the results and a little bit of her history. But that's all. I can't share any further information than that."

"Sounds good."

She then worked on her computer and flashed the information I needed on the big screen behind her. I quickly read the long and wordy document, analyzed her stats and other information displayed.

"Hmm… So she does have a traumatic experience regarding her father's unjust death."

"Yes. Unfortunately, I can't share the full details like names of parties involved, but the censored summary should give you a gist."

"It happened when she was seven, started developing more signs at the age of ten, then depression at the age of twelve, then she joined Mythos at sixteen? Instead of getting help, she joined a secret organization that deals with all sorts of crimes?" I asked, baffled by her choice of action.

"Well, in her case of fight or flight, it seems that she chose to fight instead. And it worked for her. Training and doing practice missions helped improve her mental state until she finally passed the psychological test and other agent tests prior to taking real missions. She's not 100% cured—it's a long process, but she's very much capable."

"Hmm…"

Probably noticing my discontent, she continued, "You know, she won't be able to reach Top 2 and stay there for three years if she's weak. Rather, she's a very strong woman. It takes a lot of courage to fight your worst nightmares and fears. You, especially, should know that, right?"

Yes. And it's precisely because I know how it's like that I'm reluctant to let her do this. I'm a man and have way more resilience than her—physically, emotionally, and mentally. And I have a deep reason why I'm doing this—a ground I could always hold unto when I'm out of myself. But she… she's doing this unnecessarily! She could just get therapy and live a normal life as a normal person or whatever. She didn't need to be an agent and—wait a minute. Unless she also… has a deep-rooted goal? Like… avenging her father?

Yeah, come to think of it, she got furious when I congratulated her the first time we met. I was simply congratulating her sincerely for being a second placer three times, but she glared at me as if I touched a sore spot. Maybe she was aiming for Top 1 all along? After all, being in Top 1 has a great reward, and I just stole it from her. But I needed it, too. Haaaah. What to do?

I sighed deeply.

"She still needs to take the test for advanced mission rank, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"If she passes that, only then will I allow her. In the meantime, if you still want to proceed with your initial plan, look for another possible candidate that can replace her. If you can't find any, I'll do it solo."

"Doing it solo will be too hard even for you, I'm afraid. And I already have a substitute in mind should Agent Selene fail the test."

"I doubt that it will be too hard for me but who is it?"

"Agent Persephone, Top 10 agent."

"Ah… her. The one with pink hair. Too unique and easily recognizable hair for an agent. Seems clumsy to me. Are there any others?"

"Freya would have been a perfect choice, but she's no longer an agent. As for the others, Agent Selene is still better than any of them."

"You seem to like her very much."

"She's a great agent, yes. But I simply think that she's the best match for you. You should have realized that when you compared your stats with hers. She fills in your gaps, and you fill hers, making your duo a perfect balance."

"As long as she passes the test."

"Agreed."

"And don't go easy on her."

"It will be a fair test, don't worry."

"Good. I'll get going now."

With not much to do for the rest of the afternoon, I decided to go to the Firearms Department and try out any new guns they got.

"Hi, Agent Helios," the woman at the counter greeted me in an irritating tone.

It was the usual high-pitched tone girls use whenever they flirt. She does realize that she's older than me, right? Ugh. Disgusting. How I wish everyone in Firearms were men. Why do women always serve at the counter whenever I'm visiting?

"We got some new stuff for you. Wanna see?" another one said. "I can take you—"

"No. I'll help myself." I already memorized all kinds of firearms here. It's easy to tell which were new and which were not.

Looking around the series of tall glass shelves, I walked around and stopped by those I found new. I grabbed one of each and put them on the robot cart that identified each and registered under my name for trial. When I reached the end of the hall, I had already got around twenty of them. Opening the last glass shelf, I reached out my hand to take the last one, but there was nothing. There should be one new rifle in here, right?

"Another agent has taken the rifle for testing today. You may test it out once it's back," the robot cart told me. "Would you like to get notified?"

"Yes, notify me."

And so, I went to the shooting ground with the robot cart following me. Once inside, I scanned the huge screen that welcomed me for an empty space to shoot. The first three blocks with ten spaces each were full, so I had to go to the fourth block, where many agents gathered around, gawking at the corner. What could they be looking at?

Looking at them closely, they're a bunch of trainees. They're probably amazed by whoever was shooting in that space.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"WOOOOH!" they chorused as I passed by them.

"That's a new gun, right? With higher firepower than normal," one of them said.

"It is! And to be able to shoot a bullseye on the first attempt! That's amazing! Normally, you'd need to adjust yourself first, especially during the impact of recoil!"

"She shot all three consecutively without a miss! Even after the gun's recoil, she kept her stance in place and easily aimed flawlessly! Truly amazing!"

A woman that's good at shooting, huh? There's a couple I know, but if it's new guns, it should be Captain Freya. She's known for her genius in that area.

Curious if my speculation was correct, I peeked above the heads of the newbies to see who the agent was. Good thing I was taller than them.

To my surprise, I was wrong. It was none other than my own partner, Agent Selene.

"Tsk. Just when I told her to sleep. How stubborn is she?"