The pink-haired girl flicked another folded piece of paper onto Yurrelian's desk.
A folded scrap of paper landed neatly on Yurrelian's desk. He didn't even need to look to know where it came from.
"The next mission is simple," the girl with pink hair whispered from the seat beside him, her tone smug. "I'm your assigned surveillance officer. Headquarters wants you to… make a friend."
Yurrelian blinked. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"
Before she could answer, the teacher already on edge ground the chalk in his hand into dust.
"Blackwood, if you keep disturbing my cla—"
Yurrelian didn't hear the rest. His mind was too busy echoing one thought.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.
Serenya Hartwell tilted her head. "Cooperate, unless you want to be sent back."
He turned his gaze to the teacher, then let out a deep sigh and slouched back in his chair.
"…Fine."
The teacher cleared his throat. "Let's continue. Oh, and by the way if you want to return to the field, you'll need at least one friend to vouch for you here at school."
Yurrelian raised an eyebrow. "It's not that I don't want to go back. It's just too much of a bother. And why do I need a friend?" He gave the pink-haired girl a pointed look. "So the suspension was a lie, huh?"
Serenya didn't answer, her lips curving in a secretive smile.
"Good luck," she said instead, leaning back in her seat. "I'm sure you can do it."
He muttered something unintelligible and collapsed face-first onto his desk.
---
Four Years Ago
"What's going on?" Twelve-year-old Yurrelian stared at the armed group before him. "Wasn't the human race… extinct?"
"Extinct?" The woman titled her hair and gave a laughed softly. "Is that what the demonic humans told you so you'd stay inside like obedient cattle?"
Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, the virus reduced humanity to a mere fraction of what it was. Strange beasts roam the earth now. But mankind is not that weak. We've already begun our comeback."
"Resurrection, huh?" Yurrelian muttered. "So… what you're saying is, precautions were taken before the virus hit?"
The woman's lips curved. "You're smart."
"Who are you?" he asked.
"My name is Isaac Gwysera. Lieutenant Colonel of the Belester Imperial Demon Slayers." Her voice was steady, almost inviting. "Come with me, and we can save what's left of humanity. And you… you can kill the demons."
She tossed a long coat to one of her people, who draped it over Yurrelian's thin shoulders. "You despise them, don't you?"
He met her gaze, unblinking. "There's no difference between hate and love. But yes… I do hate them."
"Then join me," she said. "I'll give you the power to destroy them."
"I'll join," he replied, "but on my own accord."
Gwysera's smile widened.
---
Present Day
Yurrelian's pen scratched against the page. "…Or so that idiot said." He gave a long, annoyed sigh. "Then she proceeded to neglect me for four years. What's up with that?"
The closing bell rang. Chairs scraped, chatter filled the room, and students spilled out into the hall.
"Oh, we've got club activities today!" one boy said.
"Let's grab some sweets on the way home," another replied.
"Wait for me! I love sweets too!"
Serenya strolled over to his desk. "Why not walk with them and say that?"
Yurrelian didn't even look up. "Don't get all cozy with me."
She smirked. "Lieutenant Colonel Gwysera told me your family was murdered in front of you when you were younger. That's why you don't approach others, isn't it?"
He finally raised his head, lips curling into a humorless smile. "So you ran a background check on me."
"You stay away so you won't go through the same pain again," she continued. "So much so that you can't even make a friend. Tell me how are you ever going to get a girlfriend?"
That did it. Yurrelian stood slowly, his chair scraping against the floor. "I don't know what Gwysera told you, but watch what you say to me… unless you want to lose your head."
"Ooh. So you can get angry."
"Stop spouting nonsense," he said flatly. "And tell Gwysera to stop sitting on her ass. She's the one who gave me that so-called 'suspension' as a break, and now she's saying I need to make a friend to get back into the field?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Tell her I'm strong enough to go solo. I don't need anyone's help."
Unfazed, Serenya handed him a slim book.
"…What's this?"
"She told me to give it to you in case you said that."
He opened it. A folded sheet of paper slipped out.
LETTER FROM BIG SIS GWYSERA:
There is no place for unfriendly loners in our group. And for someone who can't even get a friend let alone a girlfriend try making one. Of course, it'll be mission impossible for an unloved virgin like you.
Yurrelian's eyebrow twitched. He crumpled the paper into a tight ball and tossed it into the trash.
"…Damn you, Gwysera."
---