Shattered Defenses and Puppy Smiles
With her defenses up, Lucia tried again—and though she still took a beating from the rubber bullets, this time she lasted until the end. Once the test wrapped up, she shuffled out like a zombie, hands raised high. Kelun approached silently and handed her a wet cloth.
"Too cold!" Lucia yelped, slapping it against her face with a squeal.
Kelun just rubbed his temple. "How'd I end up with a squad mate like this..."
"Good work, Beloche. Your reflexes and response rate need work, but showing courage is what counts." Adolf glanced at the scores, looking at her with genuine pride. "This is more than enough to help out in the field."
"Phew... what a relief." Lucia finally cracked a grin. She turned a beaming, satisfied smile toward Bell.
Bell silently retracted her earlier unspoken judgment. At least she's giving it her all. She gave a quiet thumbs-up. It was a dry response, but Lucia's eyes sparkled as she clenched her fists tight.
"Captain, we've gathered all the intel, and the data's been fully transferred to the Science and Technology Department."
The words were affectionate, but something felt off—subtly different from his usual warmth. Like he wasn't pouring out genuine goodwill this time. Bell felt a hollow ache at sensing it; she hung her towel on the chair and stood.
Bell shot Adolf a cold glance. "Got it."
His face flickered with brief confusion at the curt reply, but Bell decided not to dwell. She approached the final panel, handed over the data, confirmed the scores, and announced, "The Science and Technology Department will run a full evaluation and assign you custom weapons that fit."
Lucia's eyes lit up as she looked up. "Custom... weapons? Ooh—"
Bell cut off her eager expression. "If you're classified for combat duty, yeah. But that's not your profile."
Lucia deflated a bit. "Got it. Thanks for everything."
As Bell turned to leave the test room, Lucia suddenly shot her hand up. "Seniors!"
Bell turned wordlessly. Lucia glanced back and forth between Adolf and Bell, hesitating before blurting, "This was the last training—wanna grab lunch together?"
Kelun eyed them both cautiously. Despite his sharp gaze, his face held a hint of regret and reluctance.
Even Adolf's eyes fixed on Bell. What the hell do they want from me?
"Do whatever," Bell muttered. She just didn't want to get swept up in this vibe anymore. Sorry, Lucia, but let's wrap this up quick. Bright, energizing Lucia; quiet but reliable Kelun; suddenly off-kilter Adolf—she was done expending emotional energy on them.
"But... could I change first? This outfit's so uncomfortable. Back home, I never wore shirts like this..." Lucia fiddled with her collar, pouting.
"Don't you seniors have schedules?" Kelun asked, mediating.
"Nope."
"None."
Their synced replies made Lucia bow brightly. "I'll change quick and be right there!"
"If the shirt bothers you, how do you plan to wear the uniform?"
Lucia paused at the door, flailing her arms. "The uniform's cool, so I can tough it out, right?"
Kelun cleared his throat awkwardly, and Bell let out a short ha-.
Classic Lucia. As she headed out, she rushed back to Bell and whispered, "Captain... I mean, Senior... thanks for what you said today. It really helped."
The words brushed past, barely audible. Bell said nothing, just marveling at how this taller girl could seem so puppy-like.
"We'll head out first, then," Bell said. Adolf and Kelun nodded.
"We'll wait at the Management Bureau entrance. Hurry up," Kelun told Lucia in his usual crisp, orderly tone—but with a big-brother lilt.
Bell couldn't help thinking their futures as squad mates would be anything but smooth.
The second Lucia hit her room, she bolted into shorts and a t-shirt. Yeah, this is comfy! She stretched her arms wide. Having worn casual clothes her whole life, the shirt collar felt alien.
Hurry up!
Heading down the hall, she bumped into the usual Management Bureau staff ladies. They blinked at her outfit but smiled warmly—they knew her quirky personality by now and brushed it off.
Despite being a proxy newly assigned to Lumen Guard, her sunny disposition had already won over the womenfolk.
"Lucia, training's done? I heard today was the last day."
"Yep! Just finished."
"How was it? Never seen proxy training before."
Lucia grinned. "The Captain was super nice about it!"
They exchanged glances, then ventured cautiously, "The Captain... you mean Captain Bell? She's supposed to be kinda scary..."
"Yeah, we heard she snapped a mercenary's neck or something. We're new, but still."
Lucia instantly clocked their lack of fondness for Bell—and it stung. Sure, she seemed curt and cold, but she could say kind things. And those lonely eyes... She's not like that. Hating how Bell was misjudged, Lucia flailed her arms. "She's not! She seems cold, but she's really kind...!"
"Really...? Hmm."
"She's just bad at showing it. Get to know her, and she shares nice stories."
Her face brimmed with sincerity. The women giggled at her flailing, looking at her fondly. "Guess even the Captain finds you cute."
Their takeaway skewed a bit. "N-No, it's not about me being cute... She's genuinely good."
As Lucia floundered like a broken doll, Lena popped up behind her. "Heard that voice from down the hall. Figures it was you, Lucia."
"Section Chief Lena!"
Lucia whirled with a bright grin. Lena approached slowly, scanning her up and down. "Why're you here alone? The Captain, Lieutenant, and Kelun are at the entrance."
"Oh crap! Lunch! Totally forgot!" Lucia clutched her head and bolted, waving. "Gotta go! See ya later!"
One staffer smiled warmly at her retreating figure. "This proxy's adorable."
"Right? Total puppy vibe."
"Come to think of it, the Captain's not bad. Just a bit petite?" One gestured Bell's height toward Lena. "What do you think, Chief?"
"Talking about cuteness?"
Their eyes sparkled. "Yes!"
"You're both cute." Lena recalled Adolf mentioning Bell's smile. She had a feeling she'd see it again—faintly, but definitely a good one. Smiling, she added, "You'd be shocked by Captain Bell's smile."
The staffers lit up with curiosity, chattering about Bell's smile.
Kelun stood awkwardly between Adolf and Bell. As Lucia's fervent defense dragged on longer than expected, being sandwiched felt like torture. Why the sudden silence? Adolf usually chatted warmly with Bell. Now he just rolled his eyes and shifted his ankles.
"Uh... I'll go get Lucia. She might get lost." Kelun slipped away gratefully—her airheadedness was a blessing today.
With Kelun gone, Bell rolled her eyes sideways at Adolf. Their gazes met—both acting identically ridiculous—and she stomped her boot once in surprise.
They waited stiffly for Kelun and Lucia.
"...Why're you acting weird all of a sudden?" Bell finally asked.
"...Pardon?"
It grated. Annoyingly so. She knew he'd fade away eventually and wanted distance herself. But pure curiosity won. Why the sudden change?
"Why suddenly..." not smiling at me? Bell realized what she'd almost said. How do you even ask that dogged feeling? She clamped her mouth shut.
Adolf looked down slowly. "...I snapped at you and got serious, so I thought you might be disappointed. I've been careful."
Bell blanked. "...What?"
"In the test room, I yelled for you to rest. Figured you'd be annoyed if I talked after."
What the hell is he on about? Bell looked up at him. His earnest face rang true. More than anything, him fretting so seriously felt idiotic.
"...You think stiffening up and bossing me around was me getting mad?"
"Yes."
"Haa... you're one of a kind."
Bell sighed deeply, unable to hide it. Innocent? Dumb? The questions hammered her skull. It was so absurd her defenses cracked a bit.
"If that's 'mad,' I'd have killed people every time I got pissed." Meeting his eyes, she added, "That doesn't even register as anger."
Adolf finally smiled faintly. "If you see it that way, we won't fight anymore."
Absurdly pure words, then that beaming grin. Bell glared wordlessly before whipping her head away.
Kelun soon spotted Lucia in the lobby, cornered by two regular army guys in uniform. Quickening his pace, their ridiculous chat drifted over.
"Captain Bell's kinda scary, right..?"
"Nooo, she's not scary!"
"Nobody messes with her. One of my team transferred in and got the bug-eye stare—traumatized for days."
"That's cool! Pro vibe. And she's pretty!"
"Sure, pretty, but she barely talks. Half the time it's casual speech. Snapped a merc's neck, though."
Kelun approached slowly, rubbing his temple. What the hell is she doing? Seniors are waiting. Unbelievable.
He wedged in. His tall frame and sharp eyes peeking through ash-gray hair made the soldiers flinch back.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I'll take Beloche."
"Ah, sure, proxy sir."
They left cheerfully. Lucia squinted thoughtfully. "Ugh—why does everyone misunderstand the Captain?"
Kelun shook his head. "It's not misunderstanding—she's comfy like that. Don't go overboard; she might not like it."
He advised her seriously, big-brother style. Though only a year older, he felt like one—unlike Adolf.
"Oh... yeah, maybe. Sorry."
"She was cool today, though."
"Hehe, right?"
Kelun chuckled along with her chatter, heading for the entrance.