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Chapter 56: 5 years ago, Charlotte

"They\'re going to kill me..."

I knew what failing to complete a mission meant for an agent. I hadn\'t killed my target, and now my life was hanging by a thread.

"Why? Why did this happen...?" All of this, every single thing, was... "Come on, stop crying already."

...the fault of my target, the white-haired girl next to me, who was casually holding out a handkerchief.

"If it wasn\'t for you—!"

Yeah—she was the target I was supposed to kill. Code name: Siesta.

It was my first real combat experience since I\'d joined the organization, and I\'d been so nervous I\'d thought my heart would burst. Even so, I\'d cornered her in this abandoned warehouse, and I\'d shot her in the left side of the chest...or so I\'d thought. However, for some reason, she wasn\'t even wounded, and the next thing I knew, she\'d pinned me down instead. Then she\'d made me a certain offer, and here we were.

"I don\'t mind if you cry and yell at me, but your face is a mess. Here, blow your nose."

...She has no idea how I feel.

Irritated, I snatched the white handkerchief she was holding and blew my nose on it as hard as I could. "Accepting mercy from my enemy. This is humiliating..."

"Heh-heh. Well, you were up against the wrong person." Next to me, the enemy gave an elegant smile. She was gonna drive me crazy.

"...! Fine already! Just do whatever you want with me."

Now that I\'d failed in my mission, the organization was bound to take me out anyway. Dying here would be better than that, but...

"...But I don\'t wanna dieeeee!"

I was still only twelve. There were all sorts of things I hadn\'t done yet. I wanted to wear trendy clothes and eat yummy food. Obviously I\'d been prepared for a worst-case scenario in a job like this, but that didn\'t mean I wanted to die.

"I already told you." As I sat there hugging my knees, the white-haired girl made her offer again. "I\'ll make it seem as if I died here. That way your organization won\'t kill you."

"...What\'s in it for you?"

Having an enemy help me was totally mortifying...but if I took her up on it, I just might survive this. The paradox was making it hard to answer.

"Why are you doing this job?" my target asked me out of nowhere.

"...My parents." I hadn\'t found my answer yet, so I decided to go along with the conversation. "They\'ve been soldiers and spies for ages. I don\'t see them much anymore, but I\'ve always respected them. Their names and faces are never made public. Some people say they\'re horrible, awful people, and that the things they do are a crime against humanity. But they protect this world from behind the scenes. I\'m proud of my parents...and of my job."

And I meant it. This was my calling.

I would protect this world according to my own philosophy. "I see. You\'re like me, then."

As she spoke, my former target wasn\'t looking at me.

Come to think of it, I didn\'t know much about her. Many spies and assassins research their targets thoroughly. Actually, I thought most of them did. This time, though, I hadn\'t taken the risk. I didn\'t want to start caring about her too much to pull the trigger.

"I\'m working toward a certain goal, too. That\'s why I can\'t let you kill me now."

"Oh."

"But if you\'re doing the same thing, you shouldn\'t die here." "...And so you\'re rescuing me?"

If so, she was the biggest pushover ever. Helping the person who\'d tried to kill her...

"Exactly. And after that, I\'d like you to help me." "Huh?"

"It\'s the terms of the deal. I\'ll save your life this time. In exchange, I\'d like you to help me with my work once in a while. What do you think?" She

leaned in to peek at my face, smiling. "...That\'s not fair."

Instinctively, I knew she didn\'t actually need my help. She was just calling this an "exchange" so that I could accept her kindness freely.

She hadn\'t just won; she\'d annihilated me in every way. "...!"

The tears I\'d been holding back spilled over again.

"Oh, honestly. I suppose I\'d better...," she said. I think she just couldn\'t stand to watch me break down. "Let me give you some advice, so that you won\'t make the same mistake twice."

She reached into her dress, fumbled for something, then brought it out. "It\'s so pretty..."

It was a pendant set with a blue jewel.

The pattern from the refracted rays of light showed it was completely flawless.

"This stone could take a hit from an artillery shell. I put it over my left breast, inside my bra. I have an acquaintance who\'s very good at making these things," she told me casually. "I\'d heard you were a good shot, so I was sure you\'d strike my heart accurately."

"Then you knew the whole time...?" I murmured. I\'d gone clear past surprise to amazement.

"First-rate detectives resolve incidents before they even occur, you see."

The smile she gave me would have captivated anyone who saw it. "...I\'m no match for you."