Continuing Bonds
Adolf Mandel stepped into the Strategy Planning Department and glanced around briefly. Lumen Guard, as the central hub and Total Management Bureau, was far wider and more ornate than the place he'd come from.
"Lena, look over there. It's that proxy from yesterday."
Isabel, with her abundant wavy hair, poked the woman standing beside her.
"What's the occasion?"
Lena Hile had a sharp, intellectual look that matched her neat bob haircut perfectly. Thanks to her efficient processing, they even had some idle time.
Isabel covered her mouth with her slightly wavy locks.
"It's just... fascinating."
Lena chuckled at Isabel's mutter.
"What's so fascinating? We see Brigadier General Jack William all the time, and he's a proxy too."
"He's a young and handsome proxy!"
Isabel whispered, unable to tear her eyes away. At the word "young," Lena felt a twinge of guilt toward the brigadier general as she watched the proxy wandering the department. His jet-black hair and matching eyes suited the proxy uniform perfectly.
"By the way, Isabel, was that mercenary complaint from last time resolved?"
"Yeah, since the military did cause the damage. We settled on them providing support credits."
"They approved it surprisingly fast."
As Lena looked at Isabel with admiration, the latter confessed,
"Nah, I just asked Aria for help, and it handled everything smoothly."
Lena rubbed her temple. She'd seen similar shortcuts back in her old job outside the barriers—cases where mistakes inevitably followed. It felt nostalgic, ironic.
"In the end, machines make the judgments, and humans just execute... Ha... Back to these days."
That's when Adolf approached them slowly. Isabel, who had been chattering excitedly, darted behind another counter the moment she saw him coming.
Lena smiled again at the sight, quickly queried the personnel dispatched to Lumen Guard, and stood from her seat.
"Welcome. I'm Lena Hile from the Strategy Planning Department. You're Lieutenant Adolf Mandel, correct?"
Adolf smiled warmly and nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
"I'll guide you to the training room."
Lena stepped out from the desk and stood beside Adolf. He was taller than expected; even side by side, she was only a head shorter.
"It's a bit of a walk."
Lena smiled and started leading the way. She could feel a few passing staff glancing at Adolf. His uniform was impeccable, and he had a presence that stood out without effort. Quiet, yet magnetic.
"This training session will cover two recruits at once," Lena said. "One from Nantigar, the other from Rain Code barrier. Vastly different backgrounds, but please take good care of them. It's been ages since we had new proxies."
"I'll do my best."
Adolf smiled softly. His pure, innocent face drew a smile from Lena too.
"No need to say that."
Lena nodded and added,
"You'll be training with Proxy Tiny Bell too, but seeing you puts my mind at ease, Lieutenant."
"...Pardon?"
"It's nothing major, but it's your first time training together. There could be friction in guidance styles."
Lena thought of that tiny proxy named Bell. She hadn't always been so cynical—a few years back, she was different. But following Brigadier General Jack's recommendation, the headquarters had assigned two instructors, and Lena had been a little worried. Now, seeing Adolf, it felt like needless concern.
As he walked beside her, Adolf seemed to ponder for a moment before asking abruptly,
"Mind if I ask something?"
"Of course. Go ahead."
"Have you ever seen Captain Bell smile?"
?
Lena's expression didn't change, but her mind reeled in surprise. The question was so unexpected that even she, who breezed through briefings, paused.
She rummaged through her memories. A few years ago, others had called Bell cute. Now she was a completely different person, but that confident tone and expression had stuck with her vividly. A bittersweet feeling washed over Lena.
"I think I saw her smile once, years ago."
"I see."
"But why do you ask...?"
"I want to see it too."
Adolf smiled with pure sincerity. Lena barely suppressed a laugh at his brutally honest response. Among the proxies she'd met, he was one of the unique ones. A refreshingly pure kind of sincerity.
"You're a bit unusual, Lieutenant."
"I hear that from my friends a lot."
Lena laughed good-naturedly and stopped in front of the training room door, an impressively large archway.
"Here we are. Good luck, Lieutenant."
"Thank you for the guidance."
After Lena left, Adolf took a deep breath in front of the door and opened it.
The door swung open to reveal a quiet classroom. By the window sat two youths side by side. The first to catch Adolf's eye was the boy with ash-gray hair—Kelun Phrase, per the briefing. His sharp eyes were striking, Adolf thought. Kelun, gazing out the window, gave only a slight nod at Adolf's presence.
His expression looked weary before training had even begun, and for good reason: the girl beside him. With her voluminous brown wavy hair and round eyes, she had a puppy-like charm. She'd been chattering nonstop at Kelun, who sat rigidly beside this unfamiliar girl, at a loss for how to respond to her pure, unreserved sociability.
The girl jumped up with a bright smile the moment she saw Adolf, and Kelun visibly relaxed.
"I'm Lucia Beloche! Nice to meet you starting today!"
"Lieutenant Adolf Mandel. Nice to meet you too."
Adolf's clear, polite voice naturally brought a smile to his face. Though older than them, he wasn't exactly an adult. Lucia's eyes sparkled at the surprisingly young instructor.
"Um... how long have you been a proxy, Lieutenant...?"
"About five years, I think."
"Whoa...."
As Lucia nodded in awe, the door opened again, revealing an even smaller proxy who looked younger than Adolf. Silver ponytail, black proxy uniform. Ponytail? Adolf stared openly at the swaying hair.
Tiny Bell scanned the room silently, pausing ever so slightly at Adolf standing by the podium. Her gaze reached his face, and her eyebrow twitched faintly.
"......Huh?"
Shk— The door closed.
Shk— It opened again.
Tiny Bell's face was scrunched up, as if refusing to believe her eyes.
"What the hell."
Her voice was low and clipped, laced with clear irritation. Her glare screamed, Why are you here?
Adolf replied with his usual courteous smile, unflappable.
"I've been assigned as training instructor. We'll be together for the next three days. Looking forward to it, Captain."
Tiny Bell's lip curled just a fraction, as if annoyance was rising in her throat.
"Haa... Why didn't I check. Should've pushed harder with the general."
She blamed herself for not demanding more from Brigadier General Jack, muttering under her breath as she averted her gaze and headed to the podium. Her hands moved expertly over the terminal, but with a subtle tension.
A hologram screen flickered to life on the classroom wall, and she stated clearly,
"We'll start with basic physical tests."
Her tone was emotionless. But anyone could tell she was in a foul mood. Adolf nodded silently, still wearing that gentle smile.
That smile... It's seriously pissing me off.
To Tiny Bell, that grin might have been even more infuriating.
The training ground they moved to had fixed sensor equipment neatly arrayed along the walls. Reaction mats were spaced evenly across the floor, and a fixed holo-panel at the front displayed real-time data.
"Kelun Phrase!"
Tiny Bell barked irritably. Kelun startled and responded,
"Yes, Captain!"
"Is my face that fascinating? Staring instead of answering. You too, Lucia. Stop peeking."
"I-I was just..."
Lucia stammered and shrank back. Adolf was a bit surprised by Tiny Bell's adept explanation of theory. Whatever her mindset, she was thorough—no gaps in covering essentials and data collection. With everything running smoothly, Adolf took on a supporting role.
"Phrase. You first."
She said it curtly and watched Kelun quietly. He reverted to his sharp expression, wordlessly stepping to the table of weapon models: rifles, pistols, knives, daggers, various military gear. After a brief hesitation, he picked the rifle. His eyes flashed the moment it touched his hand.
"Measurement start."
A holographic terrain deployed, virtual enemies disguised as Dists popping out. Kelun shouldered the rifle, aimed instinctively, and fired.
Bang! Bang!
His movements were precise, gaze steady. Feedback numbers climbed on the panel: reaction speed, accuracy, target switch time. Solid results overall. Kelun returned stone-faced, but a hint of self-satisfaction gleamed in his eyes. First time shooting, yet his body adapted eerily well, like automatic corrections.
Now Lucia's turn. Tense-faced, she chose a lighter pistol model.
"I... I can do this..."
She whispered encouragement and stepped up. As measurement began, her movements lagged slightly, but she kept focus, aiming and firing repeatedly. Slow on the move, but hits landed on targets.
"Being a proxy is wild,"
Kelun muttered, watching the girl who'd acted like a barfly now handling recoil.
Tiny Bell saved the data without comment.
"Lieutenant, one's left. Show us how impressive you are."
She glanced at Adolf curtly. A touch of spite—same training, same spot, yet testing his reaction. But her expectation missed the mark. Adolf just smiled softly at her.
"Sure."
He nodded without hesitation and grabbed the sword model. The moment his foot pushed off the floor, air ripped with a whoosh.
Kwang!
Adolf vanished in a blur. Tiny Bell instinctively checked the floor for damage. He darted low and hawk-like, weaving through terrain like swimming. By the time he finished, all holo-enemies were down, reaction stats spiking off the charts.
Kelun's eyes widened faintly; Lucia gasped.
"Wow...."
Adolf showed no special reaction, but a subtle satisfaction curved his eyes into a faint smile. Seeing it, Tiny Bell felt a flicker of unease inwardly.
What’s with that look...?
She quickly looked away, organizing remaining data on her terminal.
"We'll train resonance daily based on this."
Lucia tentatively raised her hand.
"Um... when do we start real combat sims?"
Tiny Bell turned, eyes narrowing briefly.
"...I'll handle that."
Her toss-away tone was icy. Lucia flinched but, unexpectedly unbowed, nodded eagerly. Watching, Adolf said quietly,
"Basics first—raising resonance levels. Rushing into combat sims too soon could mess up training."
Lucia nodded, relieved.
"Got it...!"
Kelun stared at the holo-stats, then raised his hand quietly.
"Once we match your scores, training ends?"
Tiny Bell released the terminal and replied curtly,
"No. Goal is average benchmarks. We'll continue through tomorrow."
Kelun glanced up at Adolf's numbers again, then at Tiny Bell. A strange flicker in his eyes.
"...Definitely her."
His whisper went unheard, but his gaze stayed fixed on Tiny Bell.