Influence and Will

"……."

I stared quietly at the schedule.

Weekends were still mine, at least, and aside from mentoring days I could spend my mornings however I liked. If you squinted, you could almost call it a perk of the job — one of the few privileges that came with being a Special Agent.

Of course…

"Haaah…"

I was still clacking away at a report, same as always. Nothing in this world was quite as miserable as commuting to an office, and that five-minute subway ride in particular had been exhausting on a level that defied all reason.

"Mentoring's on Mondays now, so nothing until next week… and today's Saran's counseling day."

A few days had passed since I'd left Baek Eun-hwa's house. By now, I'd more or less settled into the rhythm of life as a Special Agent. The schedule had been adjusted, a handful of ordinary days had come and gone, and it had all been far more comfortable than I'd expected.

Well. Of course it was. I wasn't going into an office.

No more dragging myself out of bed at dawn. I could get ready after lunch, wander outside at my own pace, and that was enough. That was the entire job.

"I'll knock out about five pages ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of this report, then get ready to head out."

I typed away with that idle thought in my head. Special Agent or not, the reports weren't going anywhere. And if I didn't write them, I started to feel like I wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠working at all.

I jotted down those notes on the three of them before starting the actual reports. Batori had been under my care the longest of anyone I was currently assigned to — only by a few days, maybe, but still. The assignment period had been long enough, and her growth significant enough, that I actually had a decent amount to write.

"Hmm…"

They were all getting better, in their own slow ways. None of them were getting worse, at least. Batori in particular had clawed her way up from the lowest of the low, and she was on track to hit the middle ranks of D-Class any day now. At this rate, she'd punch through to C-Class before long — and that meant a custom costume from the Association.

"She's a good kid. Yeah. She'll keep getting better. Just keep believing in her, keep giving her confidence… and she'll be fine."

Batori I could wrap up that easily. But…

"…What am I supposed to do about Saran?"

I'd been doing what I could to help her live a little better. After years of a completely abnormal daily existence, I wanted to ease her back into something ordinary — something that actually resembled a normal life. She had all the time in the world. The problem was that she spent nearly all of it at home, doing absolutely nothing. Snakes were sedentary creatures, sure, and she carried that nature in her bones — but that kind of daily life was never going to be good for her.

"……And she never even mentions a place she wants to go."

It worried me more than I liked to admit. I wanted to help her more, personally. But separate from her own wishes… she just wasn't all that proactive about putting in the effort.

"Haa…"

I let out a sigh in the middle of writing the report. There wasn't much else I could do.

"Saran, over here."

"You're early. Been waiting long?"

"Mm… maybe five minutes? My drink came out, and then you showed up right after."

"Good."

The place I'd picked to meet Saran was an ordinary café. Not the quiet one I usually used with Batori, and not the one where I typically held counseling sessions with heroes. Just a completely unremarkable café.

"Your clothes. They're thin today."

"Well, it is summer. The weather's been getting warmer. I didn't have much choice."

"I always see you in a coat. It's a little strange."

"Haha, I do wear coats a lot, don't I? I like them, personally. My body's on the small side, so… if I put on a coat, I look just a little bigger. Or that's the idea, anyway. If it doesn't work, there's not much I can do about it."

"…Yeah. I can see that."

We traded small talk like that, and Saran held up her end of the conversation without any trouble. The truth was, Saran wasn't socially inept — not even close. It was more like she had a switch. When she felt like being social, she was social. When she didn't, she simply… wasn't.

It was absurd. It was also completely true.

"By the way, you like sweaters too, don't you? That's pretty much all you wear. Seeing you dressed like that even in summer is honestly kind of amazing."

"I'm a snake."

"Pfft. Fair enough."

I kept the conversation light and everyday. Unlike Batori, Saran had no real problems with her life as a hero. Talking about ordinary things was what mattered most.

And then…

"Ah, right. There's a new cocktail bar that opened up near the Association. Want to check it out sometime?"

"If you want to go."

Every time I asked her about going somewhere, she led with a yes. She almost never refused anything. And that habit of hers sat wrong with me, somehow.

It reminded me of Baek Eun-hwa. No — it was different. Baek Eun-hwa said yes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because she was afraid of how the other person might react if she refused, because she assumed the reaction would be a bad one. Saran, on the other hand, just… accepted. Unconditionally. A hundred percent of the time, the answer came out as yes before anything else had a chance.

As if turning something down would simply be too much of a hassle.

"…Isn't there anywhere you'd like to go, Saran? An amusement park, or…?"

"Places with too many people. Not really."

"Mm… so you've never wanted to go anywhere?"

"Nope."

…It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was genuinely frustrating. My little dokkaebi was a downright angel by comparison. Baek Eun-hwa was like this, Saran was like this… was this just what happened to people if they stayed in the hero business long enough?

"…Hmm."

I could keep dragging Saran from place to place myself. That wasn't impossible. But I didn't think that alone was going to fix anything.

"Saran, what do you usually do on the days we don't meet?"

"…Go to the convenience store. Once a day."

"……."

"You told me last time I should go outside more often."

…What was I even supposed to say to that.

It was true that I'd told her, repeatedly, to get out of the house more. And it was true that she followed my instructions faithfully. But that alone didn't look like it was going to get her much further.

What I wanted was a picture of Saran going outside because she wanted to. That was the only way I could see her problem actually getting solved.

"…Ah."

After a moment of thought, I landed on an approach. She listened to me well, and she carried out whatever she was asked to do without much fuss. So I decided to change the method.

Instead of me always suggesting where to go and where to meet, I would have Saran pick the place herself and tell me. I would hand the initiative over to her.

"Saran, starting next week, how about you choose a place you'd like to go with me, and we meet there?"

"That's sudden."

"If I keep picking the meeting spot, I feel like it'll just be cafés every time."

"This is fine too."

Mm… looks like her social switch just flipped back off. But I had no intention of leaving things as they were. Solving Saran's problem was my job.

"Anywhere is fine. A restaurant you found online, a tourist spot, one of those aesthetic cafés. There are all kinds of places, right?"

"Yeah."

"Those kinds of places are perfectly fine. You pick somewhere you actually want to go, and from now on, we'll meet there."

I said it again, just to be sure. A decision meant to help her, even a little. She would find it annoying, no doubt, and more inconvenient than the old arrangement — but I figured it was better for her to move even slightly of her own accord than to keep being passively led around.

I wasn't someone who could completely change a person just by meeting them a few times and having a few conversations. People only changed if they wanted to change. You could be influenced by others, but in the end, it was your own actions and your own will that did the work.

That was why I was pushing this on her.

"Hmm…"

"You've always come along whenever we've met regularly and gone out together. I think it might be time to take the next step."

…I dangled a little carrot, too. She really had been doing well. She really had been getting better.

"Anywhere is fine?"

"Yes, anywhere at all. The going out itself is what matters, right?"

"Hmmm…. Alright. I'll do that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You said it. Time to move to the next step."

"Hah……"

Thankfully, Saran accepted. She'd accepted almost everything I'd ever suggested, of course — but I still couldn't help being grateful that she was willing to go along with this, too.

I had no idea what kind of place she'd choose. Knowing her personality, though, it would probably be something quiet. Something unremarkable. I was nearly certain it wouldn't be anywhere loud or crowded.

"Hmmm…. There's still a week left. I'll think about the place slowly."

"Yes, please take your time."

"Yeah."

Even so, I couldn't quite squash the little spark of anticipation. I wanted to hear where she'd pick, and I wanted to hear it soon. This was someone who had barely left the house at all. Ever since I'd taken her on, I'd been the one dragging her out of the place where she spent nearly every hour of every day. The fact that she'd agreed at all was something to be grateful for.

…But where was she actually going to take me?

I'd told her, over and over, that she could take as long as she needed. I was still dying to know.