Club Room Glances and Guard Duty Rumors
Now it really felt like a club room. As Tiny Bell stared at him blankly for a while, Adolf Mandel turned his head and met her eyes. "What's wrong?" Adolf smiled brightly.
How can he be so calm? Bell was starting to find him intriguing. Losing one's memories meant all those precious recollections and people from before—everything gone. Yet Adolf didn't seem bothered by it at all.
Even for her, those memories had been a source of torment and pain, but they'd also been what got her moving again.
What kind of goals does he live for? Bell wondered, gazing into those pitch-black eyes.
"Hey? Captain? Lieutenant?" Kelun's call snapped Bell back to reality, making her realize she'd been locking eyes with Adolf for far too long.
"What's up, Phrase?" Bell hurriedly turned to Kelun, while Adolf, looking quite satisfied, turned back to his documents.
Kelun finally sensed that the atmosphere was anything but ordinary. At the very least, Adolf's behavior was clearly more than just fondness.
But calling it love? His gaze was... something else.
"Phrase. You called me—say something." As Bell prodded him, Kelun quickly spoke up.
"Ah, yes. As Lieutenant Adolf mentioned, the protests have been getting worse lately, and these militias are a real concern."
Bell's eyebrow arched. Among the report's details, the Bonyak people's expansion of their own militia forces was indeed one of the worrisome points.
"It's an old story from decades ago, but given the precedent of the Harken massacring the Bonyaks, their militias pose a huge threat to the Harken side."
Bell frowned. A bitter taste crept into her mouth, but she steered the conversation elsewhere. "Are the Bonyaks deliberately provoking Mr. Shtafenberk?"
"It could seem that way. No idea why they'd do it, though." Kelun shook his head, thinking of Shtafenberk. No matter how many militias the Bonyaks gathered, underestimating a 0th Generation proxy would lead to disaster.
"There's a rumor that Shtafenberk was reluctant to rescue Bonyaks during the total war. Can't trace the origin."
"Yes, the report just notes that the rumor exists—no specifics on whether it's from the Bonyak camp."
Adolf asked, "Should we check his mission records for any such entries?"
"Mm, yeah." Bell nodded lightly.
Adolf tapped a few times on the desk panel, and the Aria system deployed.
> Lieutenant-level request confirmed.
> Aria system deploying.
"Hello. Adolf Mandel, Lieutenant. How may I assist you?"
"Oh, using Aria, huh." Kelun watched with a curious expression.
"Yeah, that's what it's for." Adolf grinned at Aria.
Bell and Kelun simply waited for Adolf's next words and Aria's response, but amusingly, a brief silence settled over the combat response unit office.
What the hell is he doing? Bell stared at Adolf. He just gazed at Aria with those shining black eyes.
As Kelun started to open his mouth with a puzzled look toward Adolf, the silence broke—Adolf beamed and said, "No such information."
He shot Bell a look that said, Did I do good? Bell blinked a few times. It was a bit funny, but she asked what was on her mind first.
"Lieutenant. You didn't say a word."
"Me?" Adolf feigned surprise, and Bell felt like he was messing with her. Maybe because she'd heard about his memory loss, she held back from snapping. If she saw it as him trying to get close, she didn't want to push him away like an idiot and regret it later like with Siarin. Especially since his actions all seemed to come from good intentions.
Argh, snap out of it. The guy's just got no sense of personal space. Bell shook herself alert, thinking he might come even closer next time, and added, "You just stared at Aria without saying anything."
Kelun nodded. "Yeah, Captain. You didn't say a word."
Adolf looked flustered, waving his hands in explanation. "Oh, sorry if it looked weird. We did talk. I checked Shtafenberk's public mission logs, outcomes, responses, potential issues—all of it."
Bell couldn't help but quirk her lips at his flailing. "Why're you so worked up?"
"I don't want you two thinking I'm weird. Especially you, Captain—I always want to look good for you."
Thud— Her knee, lifted in embarrassment, banged under the desk, jolting her in her chair like a girl hearing an unexpected confession.
"Pfft—" Laughter burst from Kelun, who quickly covered his mouth. When he lowered his hand like magic, the smile was gone.
I saw that, Phrase. Bell glared at Kelun with slightly reddened ears, then sighed at Adolf. "Please, Lieutenant. Be careful with those words? It embarrasses the listener."
Adolf's head drooped at her words, Roland's advice flashing in his mind. "Sorry."
"No need to look that down."
As Bell's tone softened a bit, Kelun chimed in with an intrigued look. "Could be your latent ability, Captain?"
"Latent ability?"
"Yeah, you've said you don't have one. But maybe it's non-combat, like the science/intel proxies' empathy types—you just didn't know."
"Hm, could be." Adolf nodded seriously.
"Kinda weird, though. If it was empathy-style communication like this, the science tech department wouldn't have let it slide." Bell recalled Stein, who'd clung to her endlessly. He was an eccentric among eccentrics. When she first became a proxy, he'd been fascinated by her Red Eye, starting with shield tests—she'd thought he was an ophthalmologist in a past life.
"Mm... I think classes just ended normally, and I got assigned."
"No need to regret it. Good thing science tech didn't notice. With your personality, you'd have been dragged to tests nonstop."
"Captain's right. Lucky break." Adolf brightened quickly.
Bell, anticipating another smile, rushed to Kelun. "Anyway! We've been yapping too much. Focus: the Shtafenberk rumor was probably made up by someone. Most logical—Bonyaks using him to rally their own."
"Yes, Captain. I agree."
"Me too."
Bell suddenly got chills from having two people agree with her. "Uh, anyway. Lumen Guard's support plan: proxy deployment, nominally guarding Shtafenberk."
"Guarding a 0th Generation proxy? Kinda out of left field." Kelun said, puzzled.
Bell hesitated—she'd be 0th Gen too if ranked by generation, but saying it felt boastful. "Probably to keep Shtafenberk from going off the rails." She added softly, "Keep the proxy from attacking people..."
Kelun's eyebrow rose, his face twisting slightly. "...I'd rather sit this out."
"If we can opt out, I'll do it, Phrase. I'm your superior by rank." Kelun chuckled at her unexpectedly childish side.
"Agreed, but I doubt we'll all skip."
Bell propped her chin tiredly. "Yeah, but he's 0th Gen. They won't send just two to rein him in."
If conflict breaks out, do I stop Shtafenberk? The worry flickered, but she hid it well.
"I'm good with it." Only Adolf beamed.
Ignoring the awkward vibe, Bell shifted topics. "Plus, regular army support: one squad from Valhalla Disk joining. Might turn into a long-term op."
"Valhalla Disk?" Adolf echoed.
The high-altitude Valhalla Disk was one of the more peaceful barriers, so pulling troops from there made sense.
Bell glanced at him. "Where your friend's at."
"Haha, Roland won't get deployed, right?"
Kelun added with a grin, "Captain's friend, yeah."
"Yep."
Kelun recalled Roland and blurted, "Y'know, your memory loss might've helped you bond with Sergeant Roland."
Adolf tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"He's a classic Bonyak type."
Bell nodded. "Is he...?"
"Yeah, red hair, blunt personality. Textbook."
"I see..." Adolf was surprised by this unknown fact. So they were friends despite being historic rivals by ethnicity? That pleased him.
"Roland's personality helped too." Kelun smiled, remembering Roland awkwardly cheering him on with Lucia.
"Anyway, seems we all get the mission. Just need to sort positions for deployment." Bell summed up.
Then—whoosh—the door opened, and someone strode in briskly.
"Whoa, everyone's here! Captains! Hi! Hey, Kelun!"
It was Lucia Beloche, arms wide in her usual bright welcome.
"How'd science tech get in here?..." Bell muttered, feeling the office turning into a club room.
"Stein said I might deploy too, so he sent me! Lena-unnie added access perms. Hehe—"
The mood lightened instantly. Adolf grinned happily, Kelun smiled, and Bell eyed her before reluctantly leaning back in her chair.
"...Chaotic." Bell murmured softly, then chuckled.