Annette (6)

After celebrating Sir Kenji's team earning their official recognition in Division 4, the new recruits retired to their rooms for some well-deserved rest. The rest of the base, however, continued the festivities.

As expected, things quickly turned chaotic.

Miss Yoon clung to Truth, mumbling incoherently, while Sir Marko and the rest of Miss Stone's team had collapsed face-first onto the table, deep in drunken slumber. I stood behind the bar, watching the scene unfold in silence, as always.

"You know," Miss Stone mused, swirling the drink in her hand, "I'm really happy we have a new team."

Truth nodded, absentmindedly patting Miss Yoon's back as she snored against his lap. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

"But I was really surprised," she continued, her eyes glinting with curiosity. "That crimson-haired kid—Kenji—his hair's really the color of blood. Are you sure it's not dyed?"

Truth shook his head. "Nope. That's his natural color."

"Huh…" Miss Stone tilted her head, intrigued. "Then, is he from nobility?"

Truth shrugged. "No idea. You'd have to ask the Captain when he sobers up."

Miss Stone grinned, clearly getting more excited. "Our newbies are strong. They might actually be able to keep up with the other rookies."

Truth's expression darkened slightly. "You don't know, do you? The other newbies from the other Divisions are really strong. They've already got multiple achievements under their belts."

Miss Stone arched an eyebrow. "Oh?" She leaned back, sipping from her cup. "Well, we did some asking around when we arrived at the village. Turns out our trio of rookies took care of all the bandits themselves."

Truth perked up at that. "Wait—what?" he blurted out, making Miss Yoon groan in her sleep. He immediately lowered his voice, rubbing her back to soothe her. "How many were there?" he asked in a hushed but urgent tone.

Miss Stone counted on her fingers. "The Crimson Head—Kenji—took out the ones in the village. There were nine of them."

Truth's eyes widened.

"Blondie—Takahiro—handled the ones at the outskirts," she continued. "And Silver Head—Yushiro—saved the villagers who were scattered around."

Truth looked stunned. "That's… insane."

Miss Stone turned to me. "Hey, Miss Annette, how strong are the newbies?"

I thought for a moment before answering. "Based on my observations… Sir Kenji is second tier. Sir Takahiro is close to third tier. As for Sir Yushiro… it's difficult to say."

Miss Stone nodded. "Right. That means the bandits were first tier, and their leader was second tier."

Truth let out a low whistle, shaking his head. "Ha… and Kenji took him down?"

"The crazy thing?" Miss Stone smirked, taking another swig of alcohol. "The villagers said Crimson Head cut him in half."

Truth nearly choked. "He what?!"

"Relax, relax," she waved a hand lazily. "The guy didn't die. He was still in one piece."

Truth exhaled, rubbing his forehead. "So, did the villagers just see things wrong?"

Miss Stone shrugged. "Who knows?"

Truth tapped his chin. "And what about Yushiro and Takahiro?"

Miss Stone blinked, then hesitated. "Uh… which one is which again?"

Truth sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yushiro is Silver Head. Takahiro is Golden Head. And Kenji is Crimson Head."

"Ohhh, okay, got it." She grinned, though her face was starting to turn red from the alcohol.

Miss Stone lazily tapped her fingers against the table. "Blondie sliced up a lot of bandits, but none of them were fatal injuries," she said. "And Silver Head… he killed two bandits in the forest while saving a couple of villagers. That's all I know."

Truth hummed in thought, nodding slightly—though he was swaying in his seat. His face was getting redder by the second.

"Hey, Tru," Stone said suddenly.

"…What?"

"That boy—Silver Head… err, Yushiro—are we sure he's a guy?"

I raised an eyebrow at the question. It was an interesting one. Sir Yushiro did have androgynous features.

Truth shrugged. "Dunno. His looks make it hard to tell. But Kenji and Takahiro call him their younger brother, so he must be a boy."

Miss Stone grinned, looking up at the ceiling. "Heh. I can't wait to see what the future holds. This is exciting."

And with that, she slumped forward, face-planting onto the table.

Truth stared at her for a second, blinking sluggishly. "Good, good," he muttered, before promptly collapsing right beside her.

I let out a soft sigh. They're out.

Finishing my silent observations, I turned my attention to the paperwork waiting for me. It was time to report to Headquarters about our new team… and their rather impressive first mission.