Mentor and Mentee, with an Ace Added (2)
We ended up boarding the train.
“Alright, let’s do proper introductions this time.”
The brown-haired woman representing Team 8 clapped her hands with a bright smile.
“I’m Ines, a 3rd-grade agent with Central Intelligence Agency Team 8.”
Her soft-spoken words and gentle demeanor radiated warmth—she was the kind of person you could tell was good-hearted at a glance.
“I’m Yufir Seijina!”
“Hmm, so you’re that Yufir, huh?”
“You know me?”
“Of course! We’re not exactly strangers, are we?”
Have we met before? I tilted my head, puzzled.
“Oh my, come on. You’re the one who promised to take good care of our team leader.”
“Wha—what?!”
My eyes went wide, and I shot straight up, spine rigid like I was about to leap from my seat.
“I remember now! You’re the one who escorted me back to my friends in the forest that time...”
“That’s right, it was me.”
“I-Ines sunbae-nim! Thank you so much for that!”
“Haha, no biggie. You two seemed pretty tight, so I figured you’d end up as my direct junior soon enough.”
“You’re already buddies with Team Leader Edwin!”
“Yep, learned a ton under him.”
It felt like a genuinely good person had become my mentor. Under someone like her, the mission would probably go off without a hitch.
Once Ines sunbae and I had introduced ourselves, we naturally turned to Airi, who was propped against the windowsill, chin in hand, staring out at the scenery.
Sensing our gazes, she glanced over briefly.
“Didn’t we already do this at the training camp? No idea why we have to repeat it.”
“Ah, Airi! Show some respect in front of sunbae-nim...”
“I’m just saying what’s true.”
I wanted to smack my forehead. How could someone so pretty have such a sharp tongue? Weren’t prodigies supposed to be showered with love and turn out sweet?
“Th-that’s our sunbae-nim...”
“It’s fine.”
Ines sunbae just shook her head with a smile.
“That aside, I never expected someone from Enposhium to end up in the Agency.”
Enposhium—everyone seemed to recognize the name instantly, so it must be a big deal.
“Hmm...”
Something important nagged at me, so I rubbed my chin and sifted through my memories.
“Not really surprising.”
Airi replied without even glancing at Ines.
“Is it? Still, the sword saint’s kin joining the Agency instead of the knights—that’s pretty unusual—”
“Sunbae-nim.”
Airi cut her off sharply.
“My family has nothing to do with this, right? Unless it helps the mission, which it doesn’t seem to.”
The air grew thick and stifling; my body trembled faintly. I’d just heard the words “sword saint’s family,” but the heavy mood left no room for a proper reaction.
“Fair enough—everyone’s got secrets they’d rather keep. Sorry, that was thoughtless of me.”
“...It’s fine.”
Even with Airi’s cynical edge, Ines sunbae kept smiling. It didn’t feel like Airi was just being rude; there had to be some backstory.
“Okay, before things get any weirder, let’s dive into the real talk?”
With another bright smile, Ines sunbae revealed our train’s destination.
“A mining village?”
“Yeah, a remote spot called Aken Village.”
“I’ve heard of it.”
Airi, who’d shown zero interest until now, perked up at the mission details.
“It sprang up around the mana stone mine they found...”
“Spot on.”
“What’s going on there?”
Ines sunbae nodded at my question.
“Mana stone shipments to the Empire have dropped off sharply. There was a monster attack once that kept workers out, but HQ’s getting suspicious.”
“Suspicious... No knight orders reports?”
“Great question. There was a report—a small unit got dispatched. Papers say it’s resolved, but shipments still aren’t up...”
“Hence the suspicion.”
“Yep. Makes you wonder if something’s gunning for the Mana Stone Mine.”
Mana stones were the era’s vital energy source—no village would form around one otherwise. That value also meant constant petty troubles.
“Hm? Yufir, you good?”
“F-first... mission nerves...”
“Pfft, you put on that epic show, and you’re still the same scaredy-cat?”
“Hehe, epic? Nah, not really...”
“I saw the whole thing. You sliced those hunters clean—”
“Aaah! Stop right there! It’s embarrassing, seriously!”
It was true, but the rumors were mangling my image by the day—total disaster.
“Hm.”
Airi brushed her hair back, revealing a pale ear as she gazed out the window. Wondering about my story? Nah, probably just my imagination.
After getting off the train, we hired a carriage in the city and headed for Aken Village. It was farther than expected, but the roads were surprisingly well-developed—probably thanks to mana stone shipments reaching even this mountain hamlet.
“Not many folks heading to Aken Village these days...”
The coachman eyed us curiously.
“You three sure that’s enough?”
“We know someone there. Anything bad going down?”
Ines sunbae fielded it smoothly.
“Aw, you haven’t heard? Monsters swarming the mana stone mine—drawn by the mana or whatever. Word’s spread, and now nobody wants to work there.”
Times were booming with record hauls, drawing crowds of miners. But lately, the hype fizzled—more folks bailing than signing up, he said.
“And...”
The coachman glanced at us worriedly.
“Village mood’s sour. Hard times make everyone prickly, shunning outsiders.”
“Got it... Thanks for the heads-up.”
“No trouble—ladies like you heading there just reminds me of my own kids. Ah, there it is.”
Aken Village loomed into plain view. Ahead stood a group that looked like mercenaries, armed to the teeth.
“You’ll have to hoof it from here.”
The coachman clearly wanted no part of them. We hopped off agreeably.
“Thanks a bunch.”
“Whoa, this pay... way too generous.”
We slipped him extra; he bowed deeply.
Once he’d gone, we walked closer to the village.
“Hold it.”
The mercenaries approached.
“State your business.”
“Here for mana stones. Heard the quality’s top-notch... Not wrong, are we? Money’s no object.”
Ines delivered the fib like gospel truth, then palmed them a few coins.
Their lips twitched into smirks; a quick nod, and we were waved through.
“Ines sunbae, you’re a pro at lying!”
“Huh? Oh... that a compliment?”
“Totally! I suck at it—got chewed out by the instructor...”
If it’d been me playing her part, I’d have stammered and botched the whole pitch.
“Yufir, keep it down.”
Airi scanned the village as she spoke.
“Someone might be listening.”
“Ah, right...”
I clapped a hand over my mouth.
The villagers’ stares felt off. They pretended at normal life, but wisps of hostile Death’s Scent drifted from some—blue tinges of enmity they couldn’t mask.
“Lodging first.”
The sky was turning orange. Real investigation would start tomorrow, probably.
We followed Ines sunbae into an inn. The ground floor was a tavern, packed with rowdy locals.
We threaded through to the innkeeper.
“Welcome.”
He beamed warmly while wiping a cup.
“Hm, got a room for three?”
“Haha, of course. Biggest inn in Aken—built to pack ’em in.”
“We’ll take it.”
“How many nights?”
“Two, maybe?”
Ines sunbae paid and took the key. We snagged a table for a simple meal: soup with a few chunks of meat.
“Airi.”
“Yes, sunbae.”
“What’s your take?”
“Weird.”
Subject omitted, but clear enough.
“Yufir.”
“Yeah?”
“You?”
I knew what she wanted, so I chose my words carefully.
“Kinda... different from what we heard.”
Ines sunbae grinned.
Chat turned to mission-irrelevant fluff, like we were tourists killing time over dinner.
“You two head up first. Gonna poke around a bit.”
Ines sunbae said she’d gather intel; Airi and I went up alone.
We sat on our beds, eyes meeting inevitably. The awkwardness was palpable.
With Bina, I’d ramble about anything. Alone with Airi, no topics came to mind.
“...”
“...”
But Airi was staring straight into my eyes. Normally, you’d look away or fidget in this vibe.
I cracked first in the suffocating silence.
“Ah, Airi!”
“Yufir.”
Our words overlapped—both saying names.
“Ah, you first...”
I yielded awkwardly; she took it in stride.
“Got a question about you.”
“Me?”
“Overheard you passing the instructor’s office... Did you really kill a 1st ring knight? Without a scratch?”
“Eh—”
No point lying—she’d clearly heard it from Blackrose instructor—so I nodded.
“Y-yeah... Bina and Edmon were in danger that day...”
Whoosh.
Airi stood.
“How? Walk me through it.”
She stepped closer, one foot at a time.
“H-huh...?”
“Just curious. How does someone without rings beat a 1st ring unscathed?”
I backed away instinctively, but she ignored it, climbing onto my bed to close the gap.
“U-um... Airi?”
“You play it normal, but I can tell. You’ve got something.”
Her eyes were terrifyingly intense.
“Eeeek?!”
Whoosh!
Airi shoved me off the bed. No escape now.
She mounted me, shoving her face so close our breaths mingled. Close enough to catch her scent—nice.
“Th-th-that’s...”
“You have one too, don’t you?”
Her voice flat, emotionless.
“A Gift.”