"HAHAHA YOU MESSED UP BAD, ALAIN"
"Jean, control yourself."
"But this is hilarious, Captain! And you were just talking about me too!"
Inside his cabin, Alain was sitting on the edge of the bed in the middle of a triple video call.
(I already regret notifying Jean too…)
"Haa… Haa… man, that was great. So? That… Yichen, right? Anything noteworthy?"
Jean laughed his heart out before moving the conversation along while Ittetsu just watched in silence.
"I contacted Marcos yesterday, he's gonna dig deeper… but she might have ties to the Chinese Mafia."
"The Chinese Mafia…"
Ittetsu placed a hand on his chin while looking down.
"I can't say for sure, but it seems like she's running from them. She's accompanied by two escorts."
"Hmm… well, not our problem, right? I mean, you almost blew your cover, but I doubt she'll interact with you again."
"Very unlikely, yeah."
Jean yawned through the camera, grabbing something off to the side.
"Putting the little mistake aside, I checked in with the faculty and the cruise staff I'm on about Principal Fujikawa's sudden seminar."
"Anything notable about that?"
"Not really, seems like he does these spontaneous seminars all the time. His schedule tends to be pretty chaotic."
The Captain crossed his arms and lifted his head.
"Then I'll arrange for a few auxiliary agents to go to New York and keep an eye on him."
"Got it!" / "As you wish ~"
"As for the events involving Alain… Well, since the mission hasn't formally begun, I'll only issue a warning to be more careful in the future."
"Ok."
He didn't show it, but inside, Alain sighed in relief.
(Dodged one of the Captain's super long lectures.)
"Still… you said she's probably an Esper, right?"
His attention snapped back to reality at Ittetsu's question.
"Y-yes! Based on the fight I had with her escort… I fired three shots, but somehow none of them connected."
"Any idea what it could be?"
"Maybe telekinesis… maybe something like vector manipulation, but it's hard to say for sure."
Ittetsu stroked his chin again.
"I'll ask one of the researchers from the Human-Esper Relations Committee to look into the possibilities."
"Understood."
Alain gave a salute through the camera.
"Putting that aside now… updated mission info."
A message notification popped up on Alain's phone.
"This file contains the compiled content of the second year curriculum at Little Garden. Take your time memorizing as much as possible before classes start."
Right after that, another notification.
"As for the VIPs… Dean said to make contact with the twins. They were previously notified about the operation."
"I'm assuming just the protection side, right?"
"Exactly."
Alain opened the message and skimmed through it.
"Make contact and use the signal phrase… 「My favorite dish is Cassoulet」…"
"Jean chose the signal phrase."
"I figured it'd be good for you to introduce yourself with some taste."
He thought about commenting, but decided to let it go.
"Did they get a brief visual description of me to make the approach easier?"
"Don't worry, I made sure to tell them what to expect."
(Jean definitely said something weird, didn't he…)
Alain let out a yawn while adjusting his posture.
"Hmm, well, that covers the essentials for today. You can use the rest of the day to rest. According to the itinerary, you arrive at Nereus-0 tomorrow, right? Dismissed."
"Understood!" / "Good night, Captain."
Ittetsu closed his side of the video call, leaving only Jean and Alain.
"Well, big days ahead, Alain. Excited for school life?"
"Terrified is a better word."
Alain dropped back onto the bed, tossing his phone to the side.
"Why? Afraid you won't get a girlfriend or something?"
"Screw you, Jean."
"So aggressive— I'm kidding, well, kinda."
Alain listened in silence to Jean's words.
"You should enjoy it a bit. Sure, mission comes first, but there's no reason not to have some fun too, right?"
Still fresh in his mind, he remembered Marietta's question.
[… Will you be okay? Acting like a normal teenager?]
A hint of doubt surfaced on his face.
"Alain, it's not a bad thing to broaden your horizons a little. Having more friends and connections is never a bad idea."
Jean's voice quickly pulled him back to reality.
"Being a member of MASK, an Esper, and your ability… those things shouldn't stop you from having a normal life too."
Jean's tone was light, casual, carefree.
"We see you as family, so be a good kid and introduce your friends and your future girlfriend to us when you find them, ok?"
"… Maybe to the Captain, Shirley and Marietta."
"NOTME?!"
In response, Alain simply fired back with a small tease, his head full of thoughts.
"Well, I'll leave that to future Alain. Good night, Jean."
"Good night. Don't stay up all night gaming."
"No promises."
With one last brief laugh, Jean ended his side of the video call.
Alain stared at the ceiling in silence for a while, then turned to the side and grabbed his phone.
(I hadn't really noticed, but these last two days… it's been so quiet…)
He opened the files Ittetsu had sent to study a bit, feeling a slight sense of missing the MASK dorm.
Meanwhile, at the Human-Esper Relations Committee, in the President's office…
"I-ittetsu? Could you not stare at me so intensely? I'm kinda scared."
Ittetsu was paying Dean a visit.
"Committee President… answer me honestly. Why approach this operation in this manner?"
"H-how…?"
"Sending Alain practically alone."
"He's with Jean, but ok—"
Dean took a deep breath, adjusting himself in his chair and meeting Ittetsu's stare almost just as intensely.
"To be honest… this IS outside protocol, but hear me…"
He closed his eyes, seeming to carefully think about how to phrase what came next.
"… Just like you, and I believe the rest of your colleagues as well, I just want Alain to enjoy his life a little."
Dean stood up and walked toward the window behind him.
"You know, don't you? The reason I became President of the Human-Esper Relations Committee."
Ittetsu nodded, and even with his back turned, Dean seemed to notice, giving a small smile in response.
"Then you know I changed my motivations quite a bit, in part because of you all and because of him."
He turned back to Ittetsu.
"He's been through a lot. And the UN definitely isn't a fully appropriate place for him. MASK is the best unit he could have joined."
"… Straight to the point, Dean."
"So cold~ like I said… I just want him to enjoy life. The operation does have importance, but I had to negotiate a lot for it to happen the way it is."
Ittetsu stood up and walked to Dean's side.
"… If anything happens to him—"
"You won't let me off easy, right? Don't worry, I know. Both about that, and about your promise to 「them」."
"Hmm…"
On Dean's desk, a file with Alain's photo was laid out, covered in notes and crossed-out lines about him.
…
…
…
On the afternoon of the new day, Alain was checking his gear before disembarking.
"Three bullets down, and only two spare mags… it won't be as easy to carry it around campus as it was sneaking it in here."
Alain sighed, holstering his Welrod.
"Let's see… reinforced clothes against sharp objects and low caliber rounds; micro camera and mic… and…"
He reached out, grabbing something from among his belongings.
"「Mask」 ok. I might not need it much, but at this point it's almost like a lucky charm."
A mask, completely white with a flat, smooth surface. The only detail being a small engraving in Latin[1].
After checking everything, he packed his bag and left the cabin, seeing the crowd of passengers moving through the corridor and blending into it.
(From here on out… no acting on curiosity or impulse.)
In the middle of the crowd, Alain spotted Yichen and her escorts, Yong and Jiang, walking ahead.
(Focus, Alain. Time to prepare for your first time at school.)
Remembering Marcos and Jean's words, he took a deep breath and once more recalled Marietta's voice.
(... No. Try to enjoy it a little, Alain. After all, it's your first time at school.)
A curious smile formed on his face. With a firm step forward… Alain disembarked at Nereus-0.
[1] Alea iacta est