A Newcomer's Courtesy
"This should be enough that they won't look down on me, right?"
I'd stopped by a department store near the Area D Warrior of Light headquarters and slipped into a fitting room.
The mirror gave me a face whose eyes looked a little cold, but it wasn't a bad look. I wouldn't normally wear something like this — not with my personality — but I was visiting another district, so I'd put in the extra effort.
I'd been specifically named for this assignment. In a way, I was the representative of Area A's Warriors of Light. This was the time to watch how I carried myself.
"Alright. Time to go."
The walk from the department store to headquarters was maybe five minutes. A couple of traffic lights later, a massive building loomed into view.
That's... actually huge.
Area A's headquarters sat close to the Vague Realm, so it doubled as a bomb shelter — low, wide, and built deep underground. A building like this, the kind that looked like it might topple if you so much as poked it, was something we couldn't even dream of.
And yet the people of Area D worked in a place like this. I drew in a long, thin breath. I might already be getting intimidated, and I hadn't even started.
"No. Our neighborhood's got more character. And a warrior just has to be good at fighting, right?"
It was the first day, either way. I swallowed hard, climbed the steps, and laid my hand on the glass door.
—Dong!
"Hn?"
A vibration faint enough to tremble the handle traveled out from inside the building. I was wondering if they were running some kind of training drill when a voice spoke up behind me.
"It's just the bell."
"Sorry?"
I turned. A plainly dressed woman in a suit was standing there with a cup of coffee in her hand. She passed me as she spoke.
"Our headquarters rings a bell every hour."
"Uh... why?"
"Who knows. I'm not sure when it started, but it's been going on for quite a while."
What kind of explanation was that? Did a bell really need to ring every hour? It wasn't like anyone was sitting through lectures.
"Haha. Strange, right? Now that I'm actually thinking about it, it feels a little weird to me too. Ah — my name is Lee Han-na."
"Oh. Shin Ha-eun. I'm from Area A."
"Ah, so you're the one. Come on in, then."
The woman who'd introduced herself as Lee Han-na clearly already knew who I was. I followed her through the glass door and asked as I caught up.
"It seemed like you recognized me. Will we be working together?"
"That's right. Let's head up and meet the Team Leader first."
From the sound of it, they'd thrown a team together on short notice to search for the missing Warrior.
"You'll be working on the sixteenth floor."
"I see. Ah — what should I call you?"
"Senior Lee Han-na is fine."
Senior, huh. So that's how Area D headquarters does things.
Senior Lee Han-na led me into the elevator. She pressed the button marked 16 among the twenty on the panel, and the car began to climb at a brisk clip.
There was one peculiar thing, though. The elevator paused briefly at the fifteenth floor, and then she had to punch in several floor numbers like a password before it would continue up to sixteen.
"Huh. That's pretty neat."
"We put a little extra thought into security. This building originally only went up to fifteen. They expanded it to twenty."
I didn't fully understand it, but the engineering had to be incredible. Expanding a building in the middle of downtown like this... I could feel myself shrinking by the second.
God, I look like such a hick.
I checked my reflection in the elevator wall and steeled myself. I was the representative Warrior of Light sent from Area A. For the sake of our district's face, I had to get this right.
Ding—
"We're here."
"Whoa..."
My resolution went promptly to waste. My mouth fell open in a breathless little sound of awe.
The interior of the floor was a single vast open space, punctuated by a handful of pillars, and people were moving through it at a busy clip.
"Hn?"
Something about the place kept nagging at me as I looked around, though I couldn't put my finger on what. Senior Lee Han-na answered the question before I'd finished forming it.
"There are only women on this floor."
"Ah. So there are."
She was right. Not a single man. Not a single Warrior of Light, either. There weren't even ten people here. For a space this enormous, it was strange.
"Ah. There's the Team Leader."
I followed Senior Lee Han-na's outstretched finger to a glass-walled office with a nameplate that read Team Leader's Office.
Inside, a woman in a gray suit with long, straight hair was visible through the glass. She looked about my age. Already a Team Leader — that was impressive.
"Let's go say hello."
"Yes, ma'am."
Senior Lee Han-na knocked, and the Team Leader nodded from the other side of the glass.
"Team Leader. This is Warrior Shin Ha-eun, from Area A."
"A pleasure to meet you. Shin Ha-eun."
"Ah, yes. I was told you'd be coming. I'm Team Leader Lee Ji-hyun."
The Team Leader rose from her seat, offered me a warm little smile — and then her brow furrowed, as if something didn't add up.
"But, mm, what's with the outfit? Han-na, you didn't explain?"
"Sorry? The outfit?"
"Ah, right."
I turned toward Senior Lee Han-na, a cold suspicion already forming that I'd messed up somehow before I'd even begun.
"A newcomer wearing pants like she thinks she's somebody? That's not how this works."
"......?"
Huh?
"Aaaahhh...!!!"
W-w-w-what the hell was this?
"W-what are you doing?!"
I yanked my pants back up in a panic, shouting as I did. I was a heartbeat from slapping this lunatic across the face when—
—Dong!
A faint tremor ran through the entire building. The Team Leader spoke.
"Shin Ha-eun. Are you trying to stand on the same level as your seniors? Newcomer or not — Warrior or not — isn't that a bit much?"
"Eh? ...Eh?"
The back of my hands — still clutching my pants — caught a slap from Senior Lee Han-na sharp enough to crack. The sting had a strangely vicious bite; my hands jerked up to my chest on reflex.
My slacks hit the floor again with a soft thud.
Cold air kissed the skin below, panties stripped away with them, and my face burned hot.
"N-no... what is this..."
"Honestly. Junior Ha-eun. I didn't bother saying it because I thought it went without saying, but the moment those elevator doors opened, you should have taken your pants off and shown your seniors some courtesy."
I couldn't make any sense of Senior Han-na's reprimand. What on earth did taking off your pants have to do with courtesy...
—Dooong—
...Ah.
"I-I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to put myself on the same level as my seniors. I'm just not used to Area D's policies yet."
I fumbled through the excuse, tripping over myself. Team Leader Lee Ji-hyun and Senior Lee Han-na both nodded, as if that were perfectly understandable.
"Well, it can't be helped. It is your first day."
"This senior will walk you through everything, junior. One thing at a time."
"Thank you."
Only then did I let out a breath, gather the slacks and panties from the floor, fold them neatly, and tuck them against my chest.
"Leave the clothes here. You can pick them up when you clock out."
"Ah..."
"Is there a problem? You look like something's the matter."
"No. There isn't."
I'd already made a mistake. Hesitating again on top of that would only make it worse. I set the clothes on the Team Leader's desk without another word.
"Hmm. Fine. I've already spoken to the rest of the team, so Han-na, take Ha-eun and show her the work."
"Understood. The seventeenth floor isn't ready yet, correct?"
"That's right. It'll be this afternoon at the earliest."
The Team Leader said this, and then she reached for the clothes I'd folded. She picked up the underwear I'd rolled into a neat little bundle on top of the black slacks, brought it to her face, and sniffed—
...Wh-wh-wha?
"U-um, what are you..."
"Hm? What is it now, Ha-eun."
"No, it's just... why are you smelling those..."
"Haa. As Team Leader, looking after my team members' health is only natural. How much of this do I actually have to explain."
N-natural, she said...?
"Please don't be angry, Team Leader. I suppose Area A must have a rather chilly atmosphere."
"Nh..."
This was bad. I couldn't afford to be dismissed. I remembered, a beat too late, that I had come here as Area A's representative. I had to recover somehow.
"No. W-we, haha. We do the same thing on our end. I think I just panicked because I wasn't used to you yet."
"Pft..."
"Pffk."
Huh? Had I stuttered? Why were they laughing...?
I stared at them, baffled, until both women cleared their throats and put their serious faces back on.
"Good grief. You've got a lot to learn, junior."
"I'll work hard."
I bowed my head low, and Senior Han-na gave my backside a couple of approving little pats, as if she found me endearing. Being touched skin-to-skin by a woman I'd met ten minutes ago sent a shiver crawling up my spine.
"A faint scent of skin, and a soft floral fragrance. As expected of a Warrior."
"Th-thank you."
The Team Leader's words left me feeling oddly ticklish. Was I the type who folded that easily under praise?
"Well then. Shall we? You should meet the rest of the team."
"Yes, Senior."
And with that, I stepped out of the Team Leader's office.
Senior Han-na called every employee on the floor, and six people gathered in front of us as if they'd been waiting for it. A rather small number, given the size of the space. A handpicked elite, in the truest sense — the kind of people who'd be coordinating with a Warrior of Light. They had to be the best of the best.
"Shin Ha-eun. I look forward to working with you."
"Likewise, junior. Looking forward to it."
"You don't need to memorize our names. Just call all of us Senior. The only names you need to remember are Team Leader Lee Ji-hyun and Senior Lee Han-na."
"Huh...? R-right..."
Don't memorize their names? I couldn't make sense of it, but I nodded anyway. I was Area A's representative. One disgrace was enough.
"Introductions done? Then scatter. Get back to work."
The seniors whose names I still didn't know dispersed to their original places at Senior Han-na's order.
"Her pussy looks soft, doesn't it? You see that?"
"Yeah. Plump, too. Bet it'd feel good to touch."
"Think she's a maso as well?"
"Probably. Warriors are all masochists anyway."
"The tough bitches always are."
"Man, if I had a dick I'd already be in her."
"Please. An officer, you? You'll be a grunt your whole life."
"...Why are you picking a fight?"
The seniors' muttering was quiet, but every word came through with perfect clarity. I swallowed against a dry throat.
Why am I shaking like this.
Maybe it was because I'd already made a mistake in a brand-new environment, but my body was wound far too tight. I forced open the fists that kept trying to clench on reflex, and I steeled myself all over again.
I was the representative Warrior of Light of Area A.
There would not be a second mistake.