Spy Classroom - Volume 1 - Chapter 1.2

Klaus had left without actually explaining anything, so the girls took it upon themselves to investigate the manor.

Even at a glance, it was clear how luxuriously Heat Haze Palace was decorated.

The entire building was carpeted in a lush red, and the lounge boasted an impressive selection of leather couches. Over in the kitchen, the cupboards were packed full of high-end tableware, and the gas-powered stove was state of the art. Down in the basement, there was even a rec room and a large communal bath.

Finally, their tour ended at the main hall. There, they found a message waiting for them.

A large blackboard was affixed to the wall and covered in text. Its letters were rounded, as though written by a woman’s hand. The girls found it difficult to imagine Klaus having written them.

Heat Haze Palace Communal Living Rules

On the blackboard, a set of house rules were outlined in painstaking detail.

Lily let out a cry of delight. “Wait, we really get to live here?”

The other girls were equally excited.

Most of the rules laid out which rooms they were permitted in and ways to enter and exit the manor. That was all well and good. But when the girls got to the last two rules, they were a bit confused. Those two—just those two—were written in a much messier scrawl.

Rule  : Work as seven to live together.

Rule  : Give it your all when you’re out and about.

Little question marks practically popped up over their heads.

The first of the addendums seemed almost childish, and the second didn’t make any sense at all.

They puzzled over them, but no answer seemed forthcoming.

That was when the white-haired girl discovered an envelope on the table. “Hey, found some cash. Anyone else feel like throwing ourselves a welcoming party?”

Inside the envelope was money for their living expenses—and quite a bit of it.

Wanting to celebrate the occasion, the seven started preparing dinner. After going out and buying ingredients as a group, each of them got to work making a different dish. The manor’s cooking utensils were top-shelf. And they weren’t new, either; all had been well used.

The girls had been trained as spies, so they were reasonably proficient at housework. Dinner was ready in what seemed like no time at all.

Once the food was ready, they toasted with cups of apple juice, then began freely chatting among themselves.

It didn’t take long for things to get rolling.

Whenever one of them would talk about how harsh her spy academy had been, another one would clap sympathetically, and a third would chime in with a masochistic grin and a story about how hers had been even worse. Then the cycle would repeat, and the conversation would proceed with nary an awkward pause or silence.

Maybe it’s ’cause we’re all washouts, Lily mused.

Not everyone would admit to her poor grades, but they’d all definitely had a rough time of it.

Though they came from a myriad of different schools and backgrounds and their ages were similiarly varied, the girls were soon thick as thieves nonetheless.

Plus, meeting one another wasn’t the only thing they had to be excited about—there was also the beautiful manor. Rules at the spy academies were strict, so it had been a while since any of them had been able to enjoy a meal in such a relaxed environment. Not to mention the food quality. Most of the meals served at the spy academies were meager, composed of little more than vegetable scraps and hunks of animal that were more gristle than meat.

“You know, back at my academy”—Lily took a big gulp of her juice—“I never realized that spies had it so nice. This isn’t how I pictured them living at all.”

“Right?! Feels like we’re gonna be in heaven!”

The white-haired girl had a dreamy smile. During the conversation, Lily had learned that she was seventeen, just like her.

The two of them, now fast friends, exchanged a high five. ““Hooray!””

However, one of the other girls was scruntinizing their situation through much cooler eyes.

“It’s weird.”

Her hair was brown and permed, and her face had a decidedly timid look to it. She was also on the younger side at a mere fifteen. She fiddled her fingers restlessly with her head hanging down and her eyebrows drawn together. All in all, she gave off the impression of a small animal cowering in the face of a predator. Her eyes were moist, like she was on the verge of tears.

“Up until recently, there were definitely people living here.”

“So?” replied the white-haired girl. “What’s wrong with the place havin’ a bit of history?”

“But…where’d they go? And also, what’s up with this team? How are a bunch of underachievers like us supposed to handle an Impossible Mission?”

“Hmm? Well yeah, sure, I’m curious about all that, but I bet that guy’ll explain everything tomorrow.” The white-haired girl took another big bite of chicken. That was her way of saying that she was done talking about it.

However, the brown-haired girl seemed unsatisfied. She looked down despondently. “You’re right; it is a bit different than I imagined.”

That was when Lily spoke up. “So? This is pretty great, too, isn’t it?”

The other girls all turned to her.

Lily gazed up at the chandelier hanging from the ceiling and went on warmly.

“I mean, just picture it. Living in a beautiful building, having three meals together every day, training and going out on missions, taking baths, eating meals, playing board games, enjoying the city’s nightlife every now and again, becoming master spies… Doesn’t that sound amazing?”

“You trying to sneak a fourth meal in there?” the white-haired girl quipped.

“Well, not every day.”

“You’re right, though; that doesn’t sound half bad.”

Nobody spoke up to disagree. In fact, they had probably all been thinking the same thing.

Then another girl cut in.

“Well, we know what we have to do to make that a reality.”

She had straight-black hair, and at eighteen, she was the oldest of the group. Her exceptional figure seemed almost designed to draw gazes, her face was dazzlingly beautiful, and her elegant smile only served to accentuate her attractiveness.

“We have to clear that mission—together!” she declared with a very chairwomanly energy, and that served to settle the matter.

That seemed as good a moment as any to end the dinner.

After using rock-paper-scissors to decide who would have to clean up, the girls headed to their rooms. Heat Haze Palace had plenty of space to go around, so each of them had a bedroom all to herself.

What a nice group, Lily thought in satisfaction as she made for her room. On her way there, she spotted one of the other girls with a downcast expression.

It was the timid, brown-haired girl who had just been expressing her concerns.

“Still worried, huh?”

Lily flashed her a smile, and her new comrade gave a nod in return.

“I know it’s lame, but yeah…,” she replied in a quiet voice. The muscles in her face were tense. “Say, Lily, do you have anywhere you can escape to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Before the Impossible Mission starts, I’m going to run away.”

“Hmm… Sorry, but I don’t have a lot in the way of relatives. Actually, I don’t have any family at all.”

“Oh no… And with the provisional graduation, I can’t even go back to my academy… I’m all out of options…”

Apparently, Lily’s new friend didn’t have any family, either.

Many of the spy academy students were orphans who’d lost both parents to accidents or disease.

Without some situation like that to force their hand, it was rare to find anyone willing to take on the grueling training of spy work.

“I wouldn’t worry so much.” Lily put on her broadest smile to cheer up her new teammate. “Think about it. That Klaus guy wouldn’t gather a bunch of washouts without having some sort of plan, would he? If his team blows it, he’s the one who’s gonna be in danger. He probably has a bunch of brilliant lessons planned to hone our skills.”

“A-and that’ll make us strong enough to do Impossible Missions…?”

“Of course! I mean, that guy practically had an aura crackling around him. An aura that said I’m gonna give you awesome lessons to awaken the talents sleeping within all of you!”

Lily wasn’t just saying that to console the brown-haired girl, either.

The sheer power emanating from that man put her spy academy teachers to shame. He was probably some sort of super-genius when it came to education. After all, it would have required supreme confidence to assemble a team of washouts to take on an Impossible Mission.

“…Yeah, I guess you’re right.” The brown-haired girl’s expression softened. “Thank you. I feel a lot better. I should be able to get a good night’s sleep now.”

“Any time. Better get that shut-eye so you’re ready for tomorrow’s training!”

Lily gave her a small wave.

Obviously, she was worried, too. Without some unbelievably efficient help, they had no hope of taking on the Impossible Mission. She didn’t have the mission’s details yet, but with a bunch of washouts on one side and a 90 percent mortality rate on the other, the math was clear.

That was why she chose to believe in Klaus—and believe he had a plan.

The next morning marked their second day at Heat Haze Palace.

When the girls assembled in the main hall, Klaus made his appearance. Unlike yesterday’s outfit stained in red, though, his suit and trousers this time were nice and clean. Lily found herself utterly captivated by his trim appearance.

She decided to greet him in an attempt to hide her racing heart. “Good morning, Boss.”

“Oh, I don’t like that at all.” Klaus frowned. “Let’s not call me Boss. Teach, maybe. Or just Klaus.”

“Uh…okay. Teach it is, then.”

“Fine by me. Now, let’s get this Lamplight meeting started.”

The couches in the main hall were arranged in a U-shape, and the girls had been sitting on them as they waited. They steeled themselves.

Klaus, completely unaffected by the tension in the room, began speaking leisurely.

“Allow me to explain. Lamplight is a provisional team built to take on an Impossible Mission, one that revolves around infiltrating a laboratory in the Galgad Empire. I’ll get into the particulars at a later date, but our task is to steal something from inside it. The reason it’s been designated an Impossible Mission is because a team of our operatives failed to complete it last month. There were no survivors, and we received no intel back from them.”

“No survivors…,” one of the girls murmured.

Klaus nodded. “We depart for the infiltration mission in one month. That doesn’t give us much time.”

Even though she’d heard this before, Lily felt a chill run up her legs.

They were a bunch of washouts, and yet, they were supposed to take on a mission that a group of expert spies had failed at. It all felt like some kind of sick joke.

“But don’t worry.” Klaus’s voice grew gentler. “As you can see, I’m the Greatest Spy in the World. There isn’t a spy alive who’s better than me. Once you’ve taken my lessons, Impossible Missions will be like child’s play to you.”

The man clearly had confidence in his educational skills.

From the way he was acting, it was like he wasn’t scared of anything.

“Dunno how I’m supposed to ‘see’ that,” the white-haired girl retorted coldly, unimpressed by Klaus’s bold statement.

Klaus gave her a big nod. “Why not decide for yourself after taking this lesson, then?”

He drew a set of padlocks from the hall’s wooden box, then tossed one to each recruit.

“This is the model of lock the Empire formerly used at their military facilities. Being able to pick them is an essential skill for infiltration work.”

Lily inspected the padlock she’d been given. It was a good deal bulkier and heavier than the kind in common circulation.

“Now, open it. You have one minute.”

A pop quiz!

With no time to even think, Lily reached into her pocket and withdrew her lock-picking tool. However, the instant she inserted it into the mechanism, she could tell just how doomed she was. The padlock was custom-made and came equipped with anti-picking features. She couldn’t even tell where the shear line was obstructed.

How am I supposed to get this done in one minute?! Lily lamented.

She gave it her best shot, but the minute was up before she knew it.

“That’s time,” Klaus called.

Lily looked around and discovered that only one of her compatriots had proven successful. The other six had failed spectacularly.

However, that was to be expected.

Even at her spy academy, Lily had never seen such a complex padlock before.

Klaus came around and retrieved the unopened locks.

“Only one success? Well, don’t worry. That was more or less what I expected.”

“Rgh…” The white-haired girl’s face flushed scarlet. “What, and you can do better?”

“See for yourself.”

The next moment, Klaus tossed his six padlocks into the air.

“You just go like this…and they open pleasantly.”

Lily couldn’t even follow what happened next.

Klaus had swung his arm two or three times, that much she was sure of.

However, she hadn’t been able to make out anything else. All she could see was the end result.

Six perfectly unclasped padlocks resting on the carpet.

Forget one minute apiece—he’d done six of them in the span of a second.

“Whoa…,” one of the girls murmured.

Lily just gawked in blank shock.

This man was on a completely different level than her teachers back at the academy. With skills like these, he could stroll into any facility in the world and steal whatever confidential documents he pleased. The unbelievable feat she’d just witnessed had left her certain of that.

So that was the power of an active-duty spy…

Hell, it bordered on superhuman.

“I told you, didn’t I? There isn’t a spy alive who’s better than me.”

Now it was clear—he had the raw skills to back up that confidence of his.

Lily’s legs weren’t trembling anymore.

This was a man she could believe in.

“After seeing that, do any of you still have doubts?”

The girls shook their heads in unison. Not one spoke up in dissent. Now the lot of them were staring at Klaus, their eyes gleaming with envy and hope.

Their expressions screamed one thing: We want to take this man’s lessons ASAP.

And as for Lily, her eyes were wide with anticipation. Maybe he really could change her.

Under the weight of his students’ envious gazes, Klaus calmly proceeded. “Now, moving on to the next lecture…”

“What?”

“Yes?”

A strange pause filled the air.

Klaus tilted his head in confusion, and Lily let out a bewildered “Huh?”

She must have been imagining things. What an odd thing for her teacher to say.

Realizing her mistake, Lily bowed to Klaus. “Sorry, Teach. I know I shouldn’t interrupt.”

“No, no. If you have a question, then by all means, ask it.”

“Nope, no questions here! Please go on with the explanation. I’m dying to hear the rest of—”

“That was the explanation.”

“Pardon…?”

“If you use your picklock pleasantly, the lock will open. You were using them unpleasantly, so they didn’t. That concludes the lesson on lock picking.”

“““““““…………………”””””””

A heavy communal silence descended upon the girls. They shot glances at one another. Sure enough, they were all thinking the same thing.

Was that man, by any chance…?

Klaus could clearly sense that something was up. He looked back at them, bewildered. “…Don’t tell me you had trouble understanding that?”

The phrase Don’t tell me seemed ironic coming from a man whose lesson hadn’t told them anything.

Lily returned his gaze with the full depth of that sentiment burning in her eyes.

Klaus crossed his arms, then sank into silence for a moment before finally speaking again. “…How about this? As a special favor, I’ll go over my plans for the syllabus. First off is the ‘talk beautifully’ negotiation unit, followed by the ‘just take them down’ combat unit, and after that, the ‘it’ll all work out’ unit on disguises. Do you think you’ll be able to follow that?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“What if I changed the ‘talk beautifully’ part to ‘talk like a butterfly’?”

“That…makes it worse.”

“I see. Magnificent.” Klaus nodded deeply, then exhaled at length. “I’m just realizing this now, but…it would appear I’m quite bad at teaching.”

After casually making that outrageous observation, he strode across the main hall. He passed in front of the girls gaping at him in shock, reached the door—

“The rest of the day will be self-study.”

—and with that final comment, left the room.

You could hear a pin drop.

The girls were silent for a moment, but after what had just happened sank in, they exchanged glances, nodded, then stood as a unit—

“““““““HOLD UUUUUUUUUP!”””””””

—and shouted as one.

The main hall was in abject chaos.

“What in the world did I just witness?!” “Does he think this is all a joke?!” “Okay, I really need to ask—what’s so ‘magnificent’ about any of this?!” “That was awful…”

However, the girls could hardly be blamed for their animated ranting.

Their sole hope had just been lost to them. There was only one way a bunch of washouts could have cleared an Impossible Mission, and now, even that was gone.

“Now how are we supposed to complete that mission?!” The brown-haired girl looked even closer to tears than usual.

Lily’s lip quivered as their situation finally began to sink in.

Lamplight’s boss was unbelievably useless.

“W-well, even at worst, we can still train among ourselves and get stronger that way…”

“But training isn’t the only issue here.” The black-haired girl laid a finger against her face. The gesture gave her an elegant, mature air. “In addition to being our teacher, he’s also our boss. That means we’ll be acting under his command during our mission.”

“Uh…so?”

“Will he be able to give us actual orders? I worry that he’s more likely to tell us to Sneak around the back pleasantly and Search the area like a mole.”

That was disturbingly plausible.

In fact, it seemed almost guaranteed to happen.

Lily could feel the color drain from her face.

This was a crisis the likes of which they’d never seen.

The white-haired girl summed things up nicely when she screamed, “WHAT THE HEEEEEEELL?!”

It was like a dam had opened, and the other girls began voicing their complaints at once.

In one fell swoop, they’d been dropped from heaven straight into hell.

And thus, the freshly minted spy team Lamplight fell apart less than a single hour into its existence.

Lily walked across the busy street with a bundle of groceries in her arms.

She had purchased them just fine, but now her legs felt like lumps of lead. Her gait was gloomy as she headed back to Heat Haze Palace, and as she nearly dropped the potatoes for the umpteenth time, she let out a heavy sigh.

How the heck did we end up here…?

After the meeting, Klaus had holed himself up in his room. He had yet to emerge.

Left with no other choice, the girls began practicing lock picking on their own, but that was no different than what they’d already been doing at their spy academies. No sudden bursts of insight seemed likely to come.

If self-study was all they needed to become strong, they wouldn’t have been washouts in the first place.

There was no way they’d be able to clear next month’s Impossible Mission.

And who exactly was the big dum-dum who went and talked a big game about how Teach would have a bunch of brilliant lessons planned to hone our skills?! Forget discovering my latent talent—at this rate, I’m gonna die!

As she silently cursed everything, Lily trembled at the all-too-real future looming before her.

Now that she thought about it, this was probably exactly what her principal had been worried about.

…Would it be better to just make a break for it?

She was reminded of something one of her teammates had suggested the day prior.

But there really isn’t anywhere I can go… And besides—

—what would become of her teammates if she fled on her own?

What would become of the intimidating white-haired girl who had nodded, saying “You’re right, though; that doesn’t sound half bad.”

What would become of the black-haired girl who had elegantly cheered them up by saying “We have to clear that mission—together!”

What would become of the brown-haired girl who had given her a timid smile as she said “Thank you. I feel a lot better. I should be able to get a good night’s sleep now.”

Lily had only known them for a single night.

However, they were all around her age and had all endured the same things she had. Could she really just leave them to die…?

But…what can I do?

In that moment, an idea sprang up in her mind—the one way she could break the deadlock.

She immediately dismissed it as impossible.

However, the plan she came up with refused to go away so easily. The longer she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it was her only option.

Then she heard something.

An old woman’s voice emerged from the crowd. “Stop, thief!”

Lily whirled around.

A large man was running through the city’s hustle and bustle with a purse clutched in his hand, pushing people aside as he made his escape. What’s more, he was heading straight toward her.

He gave her a hard shove. “Outta my way, kid!”

His arms felt as thick as logs, and Lily collapsed by the roadside with an “Ah!”

Meanwhile, the man just kept running.

“Ow-ow-ow…”

Lily rubbed her bum, then began collecting her fallen potatoes. As she was counting them and blowing the dirt off, a genteel-looking old lady came up to her.

She must have been the purse snatcher’s victim.

“Are you all right, young miss…?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine.”

The old woman’s frail eyebrows turned downward. “It looks like today just isn’t our day. At least we’re still alive, though, eh?”

“Hmm… Yeah, you’re right.” Lily gave her a smile. “It’s definitely good to be alive.”

“Exactly.”

“After all, you have to be alive to have a good dinner!”

“I like your positivity, miss.”

“I mean, good grief! Here I am, worrying my brains out, and then he comes along with this trivial nonsense. If you ask me, he should be more grateful that he gets to be alive.”

The old woman frowned. “Hmm? Who should be more grateful?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Lily gave her a small grin and pointed forward. “The purse snatcher.”

Just ahead of them was the large man—collapsed on the ground.

The old woman didn’t understand what had happened.

The purse snatcher had been making his getaway just a moment ago, but now he was unconscious and frothing at the mouth.

What had changed in the past few seconds?

“Looks like he probably has a chronic disease or something.”

Lily headed over to the petty criminal and covertly withdrew a needle from his arm. Afterward, she retrieved the purse, then undid her hair ribbon and used it to tie him up. The police were already on their way, and they could handle the rest.

She looked down at the unconscious man and gave a small nod.

That’s right… We’re spies.

As she handed the bewildered old woman her purse back, Lily cheerfully asked her a question.

“By the way, ma’am, does this town have any tourist attractions?”

She had to do it. Her foe was powerful, but this was the only way to survive. Letting her resolve waver would do nothing but waste valuable time.

Silently and inwardly, Lily smiled.

She then murmured to herself in her heart of hearts.

If it’s the only choice I’ve got…then I’ll just have to take the target down.

As she did, she quietly steeled herself.

I’m code name Flower Garden—and it’s time to bloom out of control.

Klaus’s bedroom was at the far end of Heat Haze Palace’s second story.

The manor had many delightfully lavish rooms to its name, but for some reason, Klaus didn’t use any of them. Given the building’s layout, his room couldn’t possibly have been all that spacious. A very odd choice.

Maybe it’s got some sort of secret passageway in it or something, Lily mused as she knocked on his door.

There was no answer.

She knocked and knocked but didn’t get so much as a peep from inside.

When she gave up and just opened it, she immediately spotted Klaus. Perhaps he simply had a policy of ignoring knocking.

Inside, the room looked like a murder scene.

Lily let out a shriek when she saw the red liquid splattered everywhere. It was only a moment later, when the pungent smell of oil hit her nose, that she realized it was just paint and calmed down.

Klaus was sitting on a chair in front of a canvas with his arms crossed.

“What do you need?” He looked up. “As for me, well, it’s as you can see.”

“Wait, you’re doing what?”

“Trying to come up with new teaching methods.”

To her, it definitely just looked like he was painting.

However, there was also a decent stack of books piled up around his feet, all of which featured pedagogy and education in their titles. It appeared he was trying to learn by trial and error. What’s more, he was actually taking it seriously.

Curious as to what role the oil painting played in all that, Lily gave it another look. The piece was abstract and made up entirely of violent red lines layered atop one another.

Down in the bottom right corner, she could see the word Family.

Was that its title? Was this dumping ground of paint supposed to represent family?

The man’s thought processes defied comprehension.

“So does it look like you’re gonna find any awesome new teaching techniques?”

His answer was immediate. “It does not.”

Lily’s shoulders slumped. Sure enough, the man was useless.

“Don’t worry, though. I should have a firm answer within the week.”

They couldn’t afford to wait a week. The mission was only a month away, and it was getting closer every minute.

She gulped, then offered a suggestion.

“Y’know, Teach, I actually had an idea.”

“What’s that?”

“Let’s get out of the house for a bit.”

Klaus furrowed his brow. “To what end…?”

“For a change of pace!” Lily gave him a big nod. “When you stay cooped up in a small, little room, your ideas get small and cooped-up, too. That’s when it’s time to go for a walk! Putting your nose to the grindstone is good and all, but keeping your brain refreshed is just as important.”

“But I already went on a walk. Last week.”

“Oh well, I guess you’re all set… Wait, you’re missing the whole point!”

“I see you’re quite taken with this idea.” Klaus shook his head. “I do appreciate the concern…but I can’t say I’m all that interested.”

“But you just spent the whole day in here and couldn’t think of anything, right?”

“Way to hit a man while he’s down.”

For a brief moment, Klaus narrowed his eyes.

Lily was afraid she’d made him mad, and her heart began racing. However, his expression changed no more than that. Perhaps he’d meant it to be a smile.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun! I even went around town asking where all the famous spots are!”

“I see. And?”

“Oh-ho, I thought you’d never ask! I found all sorts of places. For instance, there’s this Kotoko Museum that’s got two-thousand-year-old artifacts on display. And there’s a carnival!”

“Neither of those really speak to me. Anything else?”

“Huh? Uh…there’s this road with lots of places to eat called Maple Lane; there’s a beach that’s supposedly haunted; there’s a church with gorgeous stained-glass windows…”

Having failed to catch Klaus’s attention on her first attempt, Lily began throwing out suggestions more or less at random.

“………”

After listening to her pitch, Klaus went silent for a bit—

“Magnificent.”

—then crossed his arms in satisfaction.

“All right, I’m in. But it’s already pretty late, so let’s save the outing for tomorrow.”

Lily glanced out the window. Sure enough, the sky had taken on a vivid shade of orange.

She would have preferred to go today, but this was fine, too. She couldn’t afford to force the issue and risk offending Klaus right after she’d finally gotten him on board.

“All right! See you tomorrow!”

Lily flashed him her finest smile.

Step one, complete.

Although its name might have suggested otherwise, Maple Lane wasn’t a mountain path surrounded by a thick forest of maple trees but a road smack-dab in the middle of the city. Its storefronts featured all sorts of delicacies and goods imported from abroad.

It was also one of the largest streets in the entire Din Republic, and while its shops were crowded at the best of times, holidays were something else entirely. The road was packed with food carts, and fragrant aromas wafted through the air. Between the herb-roasted lobsters and potatoes, the bacon and mushrooms sautéed in butter, and the walnut cakes, it seemed impossible to pick just one.

It was around noon on their third day at Heat Haze Palace, and Lily found herself overwhelmed by the splendor.

The street was teeming with smiling people. There were children sucking on lollipops and holding their parents’ hands, couples with goofy grins listening to storefront radios, and old men sitting in front of a pocket watch shop and nodding along in fascination as they watched the craftsman work.

As she looked out at the prosperous market, Lily raised her voice.

“Woooow, I’ve never seen so many people in one place before! What a nightmare!”

“………”

“Sorry, that last part wasn’t supposed to be out loud…”

“A mistake like that can easily prove fatal,” Klaus pointed out. “By the way, where’s the rest of the team? I had assumed some of them would be joining us.”

“I asked, but they all said they wanted to focus on their independent training.”

That was a lie. Lily had actually snuck out without saying anything.

The two of them headed down the street.

The plan was that they’d window-shop for a bit before taking a break at a restaurant famed for its wonderful shellfish.

On their way there, they found a cart selling tasty-looking canned food, so they bought some for later. The lobster and crab on display looked fantastic as well, but because they weren’t planning on heading back to Heat Haze Palace immediately, they decided to just take note of the location for next time.

As Lily flitted from one food cart to the next, Klaus called over to her.

“Ah, that’s right, you’re from out in the country. I take it you didn’t get many chances to visit the city.”

“Yup, and my first practical exam in an urban area was a disaster. The ground on the streets was really hard, so I kept tripping and getting lost. I’m totally used to it now, though.”

“Really? You seem awfully excited for someone who claims to be used to the city.”

“No, I meant I’m used to getting lost.”

“Ah, then it’s no wonder.”

Klaus nodded, then turned his body.

“The restaurant’s this way.”

Somehow, she had already made a wrong turn.

She could feel her face go red as she followed after Klaus.

“Teach, I’ve got a question.” Lily raised a finger. “Could you teach me how we got here from the station?”

“Hmm? Well, we started by heading southwest, took a left at the post office, then a right by the funeral home, then followed the road for a while until eventually taking a left at the radio shop.”

“Wow, you actually taught me!”

“Is there some reason I wouldn’t? I led us on a bit of a detour because of the emergency construction work, but I can at least remember which streets we took.”

“Huh, I don’t remember seeing any signs about construction. How’d you realize it was going on?”

“I just did.”

“………”

But that’s the most important part!

However, Lily swallowed her words. Shouting at him wouldn’t accomplish anything. “Was it by the pedestrian count, maybe? Like, you saw that the number of people passing by was different than usual or something like that?”

“Ah, now that you mention it, that might well have been it,” he agreed readily.

It wasn’t that he’d been hiding it from her; he just hadn’t consciously realized it himself.

Lily groaned internally.

Why? Why did there have to be things he could teach just fine and things he couldn’t teach at all?

But right as the question passed through her head—

“Ah!”

—Lily suddenly lost her footing.

“Help!” she cried.

There was a small dent in the cobblestone she hadn’t noticed.

As she felt gravity begin to take her, she lost her grip on the four cans she was holding.

Before her jaw could smack into the ground, though, her body came to an abrupt stop.

“Are you all right?”

She turned her head to find that Klaus had caught her. His handsome face was right next to hers, and after she realized that…and after also realizing that her ample bosom was pressing right into his arm—

“Hyeep!”

—she leaped back.

It felt like her whole body was going to burn up.

Klaus, for his part, was as impossible to read as always. Upon further inspection, she discovered he was holding all the cans she’d lost control of in his other hand. Not only had he caught her, he also hadn’t let a single one of them drop.

“W-wow, Teach. Teaching aside, you’ve got some mad skills…”

She had complimented him in an attempt to hide her embarrassment, but Klaus just shook his head. “That really wasn’t anything deserving of praise.” It was almost as though he was disappointed in her for commending him. “Oh, and by the way, I’ve identified the reason I can’t explain things well.”

“You have?”

Instead of replying to Lily’s surprised question, Klaus took the cans and tossed them high in the air.

As they tumbled end over end toward Lily, she reached out with both hands and caught them. “What was that about?”

“How did you catch the cans?”

“Well, I kinda cupped my hands like a bowl—”

“And how did you move your legs?”

“………”

She didn’t know how to answer that.

Legs? Did I move my legs just now?

Did she slide them to the spot where the cans would land? Did she bend them just a little when she made the catch? She got the feeling she had shifted her center of gravity over to her left leg for a moment, but she wasn’t at all confident enough to say so.

The only answer she could really give was…

“…I just kind of did.”

“And that’s how I feel,” Klaus said. “You can explain that you caught the cans, but you can’t explain every tiny step you took in the process.”

“This has to be a joke,” Lily murmured.

Looking at his eyes, though, she could tell he was dead serious.

In short, the problem was that they had a huge gap—the gap between his intuition and theirs.

Could a person really explain how to grip an object? How to get out of a bed? How to take off a shirt?

Klaus was the exact same way, only about how to pick locks, how to disguise oneself, and how to fight.

But if that was true, then that would mean he was on a whole other…

Lily gulped. “But then, how are you ever supposed to teach us?”

“That’s what I’m racking my brain to figure out.”

His answer was as dispassionate as ever, but she could hear a whisper of fatigue lurking in his voice.

She thought back to the mountain of books in his room. He definitely wasn’t slacking off.

He was giving the matter his earnest, sincere, and serious consideration, yet he still couldn’t come up with a solution.

“………”

Lily closed her eyes for a moment.

Then, she reopened them and struck a triumphant pose. “Aha! But you’re forgetting why we came here in the first place!”

“How so?”

“We’re here to decompress! To leave all our pesky problems behind and get our heads nice and empty!”

“Are you familiar with the word capricious?”

“Hee-hee. Back at the academy, they called me the girl you’d hate to have as an enemy or a friend!”

“Ah, so they treated you like a weirdo? I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I bet you’d know all about that!”

As they shared their slightly offbeat conversation, they continued walking past rows of food carts.

Suddenly, a scenic picture in one of the storefronts caught Lily’s eye.

“Teach, check it out!”

She grabbed Klaus’s sleeve and tugged him to a stop.

The image she found was a landscape photograph hanging off of a juice vendor’s cart. It depicted a lake surrounded by lush natural scenery. The photo was black-and-white, but even that was enough to convey the vivid beauty of the setting.

“It’s so pretty…”

“Oh, the Emai Lake photo?” The shopkeeper cheerfully launched into an explanation. “Y’know, if you head to the station and take the public bus, you can get there in just a little over two hours. ’Course, today’s a holiday, so it’s going to be pretty packed.”

“Wow, it sounds really popular!”

“Popular? That place is the biggest tourist attraction around. Hotshots from the capital like to get together and go there for their R & R. It’s real nice. There’s even boats available to rent.”

Lily bought a bottle of juice to thank the vendor for the info, then turned to Klaus and chuckled. “Hee-hee, looks like we got ourselves a juicy bit of intel. We should head there later.”

“…Very well, then.”

Not only had Klaus agreed, he hadn’t even sounded displeased or anything. Maybe, just maybe, he was starting to enjoy himself a little.

Step two, complete.

After eating at the restaurant, the two of them headed for Emai Lake.

They were told it would take two hours to get there by bus, but in Klaus’s car, it only took half that. Contrary to what Lily had expected, his car was the type of boring old black passenger car you could find just about anywhere. When she pointed that fact out, though, he replied by, quite reasonably, asking her, “What kind of spy actively attracts attention?” It was a perfectly valid point, which felt all the more unreasonable coming from an oddball like him.

Just as the juice vendor warned, the lake was swarming with tourists, all packed together as they carried parasols and sipped fancy cocktails.

The pair headed to the lakeshore and found a large sign describing the lake.

According to the sign, the lake was huge, at almost half a square mile, and the surrounding mountains blessed it with a bounty of natural splendor. By borrowing a boat and rowing to its center, the sign promised you could admire Mother Nature in blissful tranquility.

Perhaps because of the lack of wind, the lake reflected the sun’s light like a vast mirror. Enjoying such a beautiful sight from a rowboat would be a wonderfully sophisticated experience.

“Given how crowded it is, I don’t imagine there will be any boats available,” Klaus remarked.

“It’s fine; we’ll just wait for one to come back.”

Even though they were prepared to wait, when they eventually made it to the dock, they were fortunate enough to find one rowboat still there—a small two-seater.

“Ooh, looks like it’s our lucky day.”

“By the way…I suppose I’m the one rowing?”

“Well, you are the guy…”

“I suppose I am,” Klaus replied, stepping in ahead of her. Once he was aboard, he offered her his hand.

Nervously, Lily took it and boarded as well.

His hand was surprisingly warm.

Once they set off, the boat reached the middle of the lake in no time at all. Even Klaus’s rowing skills were top-notch. “You’re so fast!” Lily praised him, to which she received yet another enigmatic reply.

“I’m just rowing like a cloud.”

Around that time, the sun began setting, painting the sky red and dyeing the lake, its shore, and the trees dotting the mountains the color of sunset. From out there, the people on the lakeshore looked like tiny orange specks.

They couldn’t hear the city’s hustle and bustle, and there were no boats nearby to break the silence, either.

The only inhabitants of that fiery orange world were Lily and Klaus.

“It’s so much prettier than the picture, isn’t it?”

“That it is.”

Apparently, it failed to warrant a “magnificent.” Perhaps he had some sort of internal rating scale he used.

“Lily.”

“Ah, y-yeah? Y’know, that’s the first time I’ve heard you call me by my name.”

“Never forget the things you saw today or the scenery you’re looking at now.”

Klaus turned his black eyes toward the people on the shore.

“Never forget the smiles of the children playing on the streets. Never forget the natural views so beautiful you want to embrace them in your arms. Never forget those precious people basking in the evening glow.”

“Huh…”

“Twelve years ago, the Empire invaded. We had declared neutrality, but they didn’t care. Our people were powerless to resist their aggression, and they were massacred. And now, ten years after the carnage, the Empire is invading again as part of the shadow war.”

“Wait, they are?”

“That market we were in might have seemed peaceful, but a bomb once very nearly went off in it. The perpetrator was an Imperial spy trying to assassinate a key member of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The person who found out and put a stop to it was an operative who specialized in intelligence work. It wasn’t a police officer, it wasn’t a soldier, it wasn’t a bureaucrat, and it wasn’t a politician.”

Klaus continued.

“The world is awash in pain. Spies like us are the only ones who can stop these tragedies from occurring.” To drive the point home, he said, “Never forget that.”

Then, seemingly satisfied, he returned to gazing at the sunset.

“……………”

The sentiment behind his words was full of fire, but Lily filled her heart with ice to resist them.

They may have been gazing at the same view, but the two of them were simply too different.

He had no idea what it was like to be her.

He probably couldn’t even imagine how disheartening that speech had been for her.

“…But if I die, then it’ll all have been for nothing,” she replied. “Sure, I love my homeland, and sure, I get how important this mission is. I almost died in the war, and it was a spy who saved me at the last minute. That’s why I wanna become a good spy, and it’s why I look up to you guys. But at the same time…it’s also why I can’t just risk throwing my life away.”

Partway through, she cast her gaze downward, unable to look Klaus in the eye anymore.

“I want to come into bloom someday, y’know?”

“………”

“Maybe I feel this way ’cause I’m a washout, but… After surviving a war, putting up with contempt from everyone at school, and then finally lucking out and becoming a spy, if I just end up dying for nothing, then what was the point of it all?”

But you probably don’t understand this feeling, this coldness that chills me down to my very core. You and I are too different.

Lily sighed, then clenched her fist in front of her chest.

“Teach…”

“Yes?”

“The wind’s too cold. Is it okay if I sit closer to you…?”

“The wind isn’t blowing, though.”

“Girls get cold easier.” Lily sat up and headed over to Klaus.

The boat wobbled as its center of gravity shifted.

“I figured it out, you know. Why you brought together a bunch of washouts. We’re sacrifices for another scheme, aren’t we?”

That was the only possible explanation she’d been able to come up with. The only good reason to put a bunch of failing students together with a teacher who couldn’t teach.

She was impressed at how logical it was.

Sending her and the others in to die on a high-mortality mission would gather all sorts of useful intel, and because they were all washouts with no future anyway, the cost of doing so was relatively low. Then, a group of competent spies could go in later and use whatever information the girls had gathered to complete the mission with flying colors.

Lily laid her hand on Klaus’s knee.

She leaned in so close their faces were almost touching.

“I spent all day today watching you, and now I’m certain. You can’t teach. And we’re just here to die. But I don’t want that. Because someday, once I come into my own, I want to be able to look back and smile. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get to that point—and that means not dying here.”

“Lily…?”

“I’m sorry, Teach. I really, really am.”

She looked Klaus right in the eye.

“I’m code name Flower Garden—and it’s time to bloom out of control.”

That’s when it happened.

A burst of poison gas sprayed up from her chest.

Twelve years ago, during the Galgad Empire’s invasion, they made use of one particularly inhumane weapon. It was extremely lethal, didn’t leave behind evidence the way a bomb did, and remained in place and unseen for long periods of time—poison gas.

Wanting to test its effectiveness, they decided to unleash it on a small village in the Din Republic. In an instant, the once-happy village became hell on earth, and the hundreds of people living there all perished in the blink of an eye.

A spy sent word of the incident to the military, and when the soldiers came running, they found something there.

A young girl on death’s door, who had a very unique physical trait…

Klaus had no time to react before the gas struck him.

Even if he’d seen it coming, he wouldn’t have been able to escape it anyway. Not only had the attack been launched from point-blank range, but also Lily was holding down his leg. As far as she could tell, the gas from her chest had nailed him straight in the nose and mouth.

With a dumbfounded look on his face, he shoved Lily away.

However, it was too late. Her plan had already worked.

“Paralytic…gas…?”

He was clearly having trouble speaking.

After looking at his trembling fingers, he hurriedly made to cover his mouth. He only twitched and toppled to the side, unable to even sit up anymore.

“This doesn’t make sense… Spraying gas at this range is just suicide…”

“Except this poison doesn’t work on me.”

“…How do you mean?”

“My body’s got what they call a special trait.” Lily smiled like there was nothing to it.

Despite being surrounded by poison gas strong enough to render an adult male immobile, she was cool as a cucumber.

“So? Not even you can resist poison, right?”

The lake’s wind had dispersed the rest of the gas, but it had lingered long enough to lay Klaus low.

Still on his side, his body continued twitching.

Lily was so pleased with herself, she had to laugh. “Ah-ha-ha! I guess fooling an elite spy is easier than I expected, huh?”

Klaus jerked some more, his face pale. The poison had left him almost entirely incapacitated.

To get to this point, Lily had had to weave plans within plans.

First, she had to invite him out under the pretext of wanting to give him a change of pace, then she had to maneuver them both onto a rented boat while making it seem spontaneous. In the end, though, she managed to pull off her sneak attack perfectly without ever once uttering the word lake.

Not even an elite spy like him could break out of the trap she’d engineered. Victory was hers.

“Hee-hee. You feel coerced yet, Teach?”

“Don’t…screw with me…” Klaus glared at her. “What are you even after…?”

“I want you to make me a promise.”

“If you don’t need it in writing, I’m happy to say whatever you want me to.”

“C’mon, don’t give me that lip. I know my poisons are good, y’know,” she replied with sickening sweetness as she drew a new weapon from her pocket.

It was a needle, dripping with purple liquid.

“This poison’s a special concoction of mine. One prick, and even a grown man goes out like a light.”

“………”

“If you try to go against me, I will stab you.”

That was her way of ensuring he made good on his promise.

She brought the needle close to Klaus’s face. It was the same quick-acting poison she had used the day before to take down the purse snatcher.

Despite the peril literally before his eyes, Klaus didn’t move. Or rather, he couldn’t.

Lily gave him a smile. “I have two demands. First, I want Lamplight disbanded. And second, I want you to guarantee its members’ livelihoods.”

“………”

“I just don’t want us to die—especially not at the hands of a teacher who can’t even teach.”

Given the man’s skills, he must have had money and connections he could throw around at will. Using those was their only chance of surviving.

Klaus stared at her menacingly. “That’s enough joking around. If you come any closer, I will fight back.”

“Please, there’s no need to bluff. We both know you can’t move under the poison. And you don’t have any weapons anyway, right?”

“How do you…?”

“I checked. Earlier, when you caught me.”

His hollow threats wouldn’t work on her. She had prepared for that, too.

Klaus’s eyes went wide. “So you tripping back at Maple Lane was just an act?”

“Uhhhh…yeah, that was definitely all part of my plan…”

It was not. Her original plan to check him for weapons had been something else entirely.

“A-anyway! Teach, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll do what I say.”

Lily proudly threw out her chest and inched the needle ever closer to Klaus’s motionless body.

She had used every ounce of talent she had and all the skills she’d been polishing, but she had taken down an elite operative all on her own.

It was over.

“…Looks like you have all your bases covered.”

At long last, her target stopped resisting.

With a large sigh, he gave her a look filled with resignation.

“The paralytic ran through me in moments, and all I can move are my tongue and my feet. That means swimming isn’t an option. I could try calling for help, but we’re in the middle of a lake. And I’m dealing with a trained apprentice spy, so hoping to randomly find a weapon I can use in this rented boat is a nonstarter as well. It would appear that this truly is—”

“—Checkout.”

“Checkmate, indeed.”

Fortunately, Klaus didn’t point out that she’d bungled her cool one-liner.

“There is one thing I don’t know, though,” he went on.

“…Hmm? It seems a bit late to be asking questions, but what?”

“Something that’s been bugging me for some time.”

“Like I said, what?”

“Lily, I have to ask…”

He gave her a profound look.

“…how much longer should I keep playing along with your game?”

As he spoke, two changes took place.

“Huh?”

One was on Lily’s right ankle. All of a sudden, she discovered a large shackle around it.

The other was at the bottom of the boat. When she looked down, she found it was slowly taking on water.

What in the…? she thought as she took in the situation. Klaus was stretching his left leg out as far as he could. Apparently, the miniscule motion of which he was still capable had been enough to activate his trap.

“Wh-what’s going on?”

“I used my special-made shackle. I also unstoppered the boat.”

“There was a stopper…?”

“In eight minutes, this boat is going to sink. And because you’re chained to it, so will you.”

Realization hit Lily like a bolt of electricity.

Sure enough, there was a chain attaching the shackle around her ankle to the boat. It must have been hidden under one of the seats, because this was her first time seeing it.

She pulled out her picking tool and slid it into the shackle’s lock, but she couldn’t get it to budge. In fact, she couldn’t even figure out what kind of lock it was. After giving up on opening it, she moved on to trying to break the chain. However, it was made of thick iron, so she had no luck there, either.

“You’re not getting out of it,” Klaus told her. “The key isn’t on the boat, and with your skills, you’ll never get the shackle open. No matter what you do, you’re going down with the boat.”

“That’s horrible…”

“Unless I open it for you, that is.”

“………!”

“Give me the antidote. That’s my one condition.”

Lily bit her lip. So that was what he was after.

However, she wasn’t ready to admit defeat just yet.

“B-but…this doesn’t change anything! Open the lock, or I’ll stab you with my—”

“Your needle? Go ahead.”

“Huh…?”

“It’ll knock me out, right? But if I’m knocked out, how do you intend to get that shackle off?”

“Gulp…”

This time, Lily went quiet. She was out of options.

In fact, she’d been completely routed.

Meanwhile, the boat was still taking on water. Both she and it were slowly sinking.

This wasn’t right—she was the one who was supposed to win.

“But…how?”

“Hmm?”

She began moaning and complaining like a child. “I never told anyone! I didn’t tell a single person I was laying a trap for you on this boat! When did you have a chance to set all this stuff up in it?! It doesn’t make any sense!”

“I did it last night. It was obvious you were plotting something to do with this lake.”

“How’d you figure it out that early…?”

“Emai Lake is the most popular tourist attraction in the area. Yet, last night, when you were listing off the places you’d heard about when you ‘went around town asking,’ Emai Lake was conspicuously absent from your list of suggestions. What reason could you have had for not telling me about the most famous spot of all when I hesitated about whether to go? It was highly suspicious.”

Now Lily understood why she had lost.

She had been too cautious for her own good. Once she knew she was going to use the lake to carry out her attack, she intentionally avoided mentioning it so he wouldn’t figure it out. Her plan had been to invite him there while pretending she’d only just heard of it. However, that mistake had been her downfall.

She should have known.

Her opponent was a spy. Of course he’d know all the local attractions.

When she failed to mention Emai Lake, it was only natural that omission had caught his attention.

“Furthermore, Emai’s shore would have too many tourists around. If you were going to make a play, it stood to reason it would be aboard a rental boat.”

“But you couldn’t have known I would pick this boat! I mean, it just happened to be the only one—”

“Exactly. It just so happened that there was only one boat left. You should have noticed how odd that was. And you should have wondered why, despite all the tourists clamoring to see the sunset over the lake, this boat and this boat alone remained unclaimed.”

“Ah…”

“Look down by your feet—from the rower’s point of view.”

Lily, unsure what he meant, looked down at the boat.

Then she gasped.

It had been right under her seat all along.

A painted warning—OUT OF ORDER.

How had she missed it that whole time?

“It’s a simple little trick,” Klaus explained in a dispassionate tone. “The thing is: Only the rower can see the warning. On that side, it’s in your blind spot. But that was enough to prevent anyone else from using the boat. So because of how popular these rental boats are, it was natural that this would be the only one left.”

When a man and a woman got in a rowboat together, it was easy to guess who would end up on which side.

The man would sit in the front of the boat to row, and the woman would sit across from him in the back.

When there was a warning only visible to the rower, the passenger would be unlikely to even notice it.

Her sole opportunity had been the moment she boarded, but back then, Klaus had diverted her attention by offering her his hand.

That was why Lily had overlooked his trap.

Klaus spoke again to seal the deal. “That concludes today’s explanation. Lily—you aren’t qualified to be my enemy.”

Now realizing just how outclassed she was, Lily bit her lip in frustration.

“R-rgh… I can’t believe you saw through my plan…”

To be honest, she was still having trouble coming to terms with that.

Klaus let out an exasperated sigh. “Furthermore, I actually knew you were planning to attack me from the moment you stepped into my room last night.”

“Hwuh?! But how…?”

There was no way he should have been able to figure it out that fast!

Her eyes went wide with shock, and he gave her his answer.

“I just did.”

“I feel stupid for even hoping to get a decent answer out of you!”

“Anyhow, hurry up and give me the antidote already. The boat’s going to sink.”

“I-I’m not happy about it, but you’re right…,” Lily replied as she reached into her pocket.

Immediately, she realized something was off.

“…Huh?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“The antidote… It’s not there…”

“Cut it out.” Klaus sighed. “Trying to bargain at this point will just waste both our time.”

He was telling her to accept her loss with grace.

“No, that’s not what I’m doing… I really don’t have it…”

“Again, I’m not going to fall for your—”

“I left it in my room by mistake…”

“…Excuse me?” Klaus’s eyes went wide.

He looked even more shocked than he had when the blast of poison gas sprayed up in his face.

“…What kind of poisoner forgets her own antidote?”

“I was nervous! I’m terrible with this s-seduction stuff!”

“Seduction? Were you trying to seduce me?”

“Th-that’s not important… So, um, Teeeeach? Any chance I can get you to unlock the shackle without the antidote?”

“No. My fingers are trembling too badly.” Klaus looked down at his palm. “I’ll have difficulty even swimming like this, much less lock picking.”

“Ha-ha, I’ll bet.”

“………”

“………”

Klaus, still immobile from the paralytic, went silent.

Lily, unable to flee due to the shackle, went silent as well.

As they stared at each other, they heard a watery ploosh come from their feet.

The boat was starting to sink in earnest.

“…Lily, I have an order for you.”

“…Yes sir.”

“Row like your life depends on it.” Klaus narrowed his eyes. “Because it does.”

This was no bargaining technique.

Lily grabbed the oars—

“NOOOOOOOOO! I DON’T WANNA DIEEEEEEEEE!”

—and loudly screamed as she began rowing with all her might.

Despite his life being in just as much danger, however, Klaus was calm and collected.

“Don’t worry. When I said it would sink in eight minutes, I was lying.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“It’s actually nine minutes and five seconds.”

“Okay, I’m still pretty worried!”

“Lily, just row like a cloud, and the oars will—”

“JUST SHUT UP AND HELP ME ROWWWWWW!”

Of course, the person who rendered him immobile was none other than hers truly.

As Lily made for the shore like a girl possessed, she lamented her blunders the whole way there.

The moment Lily reached the shore, she slumped in the boat and loudly exhaled. “We made iiiiiit.”

The vessel was half inundated with water. They had only just barely escaped going under.

Instead of returning to the dock they set out from, their final destination was a piece of shoreline with no tourists around. The still-brilliant sunset, the lake illuminated by its radiance, and the birds flying after the sun made for a heartrendingly poignant scene that was theirs and theirs alone. Not that they had time to enjoy it, but still.

Having used up the last of her strength, Lily splayed out her arms and legs.

She’d survived. But now that the danger was over, all she had left was her current sad state of affairs.

“Ahhh, I blew it.” She gazed up vacantly at the sunset. “I guess there’s a reason we washouts wash out. I should’ve known I could never take on an elite spy.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. Your toxin worked well.”

“Yeah, but you took it on purpose, right?”

“To test your strength, yes.”

The poison must have worn off, as Klaus was already on his feet and playing with the local wildlife. Two little birds were perched atop his arm. His personality seemed to make him popular with animals, although the same definitely couldn’t be said about humans.

Lily wanted to shout at him and say that if he had time to play with birds, he had time to unlock her ankle, but she wasn’t in much of a position to make demands at the moment.

All she could do was moan.

“So I guess nothing’s changed.”

She hadn’t solved a single one of her problems.

“I’m still a washout, you still can’t teach, the Impossible Mission still has a ninety percent mortality rate, and the deadline’s only gotten closer. I guess this is game over for me.”

To top it all off, she had even committed the crime of poisoning a superior. There was no way she would get off scot-free for that.

Having failed in her attempt at coercion meant the only thing awaiting her was despair.

“All I ever wanted was to become a spy and help protect my country…”

Lily had struggled to the bitter end, never once giving up, and this is where it had gotten her.

She hadn’t changed anything.

And she hadn’t gained anything, either.

Her fate had been sealed long ago, and all she’d done by trying to fight it was make a fool of herself.

However, Klaus replied in a calm, gentle voice. “And I’m going to make that happen.”

“Huh?” Lily sat up.

“Don’t give up on that dream. Your foundations are solid. Our battle might have been little more than a game, but upon realizing the danger you were in, you were the first member of the group to act. For that, you get full marks. Magnificent.”

“A-aw, you’re gonna make me blush.” Klaus dismissed the birds sitting on his arm and walked right up to Lily.

He then gave the leg shackle a light kick. For whatever inexplicable reason, the lock that had proven so obstinate popped right open.

“Lily, I’m appointing you Lamplight team leader.”

“Hweh?”

“I’ll still be the boss, but the girls need someone they can rally around. I don’t know what you mean when you say you want to ‘come into bloom,’ but how do you feel about helping make this Impossible Mission a success as Lamplight’s commander?”

Lily just stared at him, unable to make sense of what her ears were telling her.

Theirs was a team taking on the unheard-of task of specializing in Impossible Missions, and she had just been offered a key role.

To her, that was like manna from the heavens. A lone beam of light, shining down through the twilit darkness surrounding her.

She had left her spy academy determined to become something more than a laughingstock and a washout—and now a path was opening up before her that would allow her to do just that.

“I-if you really mean it, then…I’d be pretty darn happy to.”

“Then it’s official; you’re the leader. Let’s make this mission a success.”

“O-oh, ‘leader’… That’s got a nice ring to it…”

She began repeating the word to herself with a spellbound look on her face.

She thought she heard Klaus murmur “I see it doesn’t take much to make her happy,” but she quickly forgot he said anything.

“B-but wait, how? Aren’t you still just as bad at teaching as you—?”

“No, I figured out a solution to that.”

“You did?”

She cocked her head to the side, and Klaus gave her a nod.

“Thanks to you, I came up with an excellent way to teach you all.”

When?

Lily wouldn’t learn the answer to her question until the next day.

It was their fourth day at Heat Haze Palace.

All the Lamplight members were gathered in the main hall. The girls, expecting a lesson just as nonsensical as the last, wore gloomy expressions. Secretly, though, none of them had given up hope that the situation would miraculously turn itself around. They clung to the faint possibility that maybe the last lesson had all just been one big mistake—and that the real lessons were going to start at any moment.

As the group sat on the sofa, Klaus finally arrived.

He stood before them, his back ramrod straight.

Then, he crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and sank into silence. It looked like he was meditating.

Ten seconds passed.

Right when the girls started wondering what exactly their weirdo of a boss was up to, he finally spoke.

“Now, it’s as you can see.”

“What is?” the white-haired girl asked briskly.

“I was apologizing.”

“The hell kind of apology was that?”

The girls’ shoulders slumped. No miraculous turnaround was coming.

Seemingly oblivious to their dejection, Klaus coolly went on.

“I have a confession to make. To tell you the truth, I’ve never actually been a teacher or the boss of a spy team before.”

“………”

“You’re surprised, I take it?”

There was no point offering a comeback to such low-hanging fruit. The girls chose to let that one slide.

“Because of my inexperience, I worried you unnecessarily. I’m sorry for that. From here on, I intend to share all the information I’m able to. If you have questions you want answered, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“All right, then I got two.” The white-haired girl raised her hand, fearless as ever. She focused her fierce gaze on Klaus. “Who exactly are you?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Why’d you pick us?”

“I can’t tell you that, either.”

“Fuck off.”

“As you’re aware, there are restrictions on what information an operative can disclose. I would like to tell you those things, but there are very few confidential matters I can discuss openly. Even so, I recognize how important it is for us to develop mutual trust, as trust is core to a spy team. All I can do is convey my intentions, so I hope that will suffice for now.”

Klaus took a deep breath and spoke.

“None of you are meant to be sacrificed. And I’m not going to let any of you die.”

His eyes were as earnest as could be.

“Here’s my promise to you: If so much as a single one of you dies, I intend to kill myself in atonement.”

The girls gawked at him, their eyes bulging.

The strong will behind Klaus’s words couldn’t possibly be an act.

He wasn’t lying.

He wasn’t trying to trick them.

He well and truly intended to take on the Impossible Mission with them.

“B-b-but…,” the brown-haired girl mumbled timidly. Her eyebrows slumped downward. “We’re still washouts, so there’s no way we can—”

Klaus tilted his head to the side. “I really don’t get it.”

“Huh?”

“Why do you describe yourselves as washouts?”

“W-well, that’s…”

“I’ve been praising you this whole time, haven’t I?”

How so?

Question marks popped up over the girls’ heads.

“Just so you know, I was the one who handpicked this roster. I went to your academies and scouted you myself. You each have boundless potential just waiting to be unlocked. And how people are viewed can change greatly depending on what group they’re in. You may have been washouts back at your schools, but here at Lamplight—you’re all magnificent.”

The girls let out a collective sigh of comprehension.

Lily could feel a kind of warmth spreading through her heart. That was what Klaus had been saying the whole time.

From the very first moment they met back in the foyer, he’d been calling his students magnificent.

When it came to his teammates, the man was a giant softy.

“Also, I’ve come up with a method to improve your skills.” Klaus turned away from the girls and picked up a piece of chalk.

He then began using the blackboard for the first time and wrote large letters across it.

The message was succinct.

DEFEAT ME

As the other girls stared at the words in confusion, Lily was the first to catch on.

This was the teaching method that superhuman had come up with.

“Now, then.” Klaus tossed his chalk to the side. “The rest of the day will be self-study.”