Following the presentation of the special forces and police members, Tom and Céline gave us a debrief on the overall situation regarding Rubis. No matter how many times I think about it, the guy who chose that name for this mafia was seriously strange. Anyway, from what they told us, our mission is purely investigative—despite having the skills to wipe them off the map? I have a feeling they're not telling us everything, but I'm just a trainee; it's not like they'd tell me everything.
"That's it for the meeting. Your mission is to investigate individually. Each trainee will, of course, be assigned a mentor. We'll have weekly meetings to share information."
The giant pulled a cigar from his pocket and lit it as he finished speaking. He took a long drag, his gaze fixed on us three, his eyes filled with nostalgia for a past long behind him. For some reason, his eyes seemed drawn to Manu. Exhaling cinnamon-scented smoke with a wide smile, he said:
"I'll take care of little Buddha. Come on over, partner!"
"NO! How do you even know that!? Shin, don't tell me you've been spreading rumors about me."
I tried desperately to get out of the way as Manu charged at me in a fit of rage.
"Tsk! You idiot, of course they've investigated the three of us. They know everything about us; otherwise, they wouldn't have foolishly accepted three high school students."
Hearing Grid's cold, contemptuous voice made my blood boil—but mostly because he wasn't wrong. Especially considering our positions: if there was a single field where Jack couldn't beat me, it was robotics. He'd beaten me in everything else, but we won't dwell on that. Bottom line: they're well-informed.
"Yes, and we were quite surprised that Little Fang and the Challenger applied to join us."
"Please… not that name…"
As I finished my sentence, unpleasant memories of my arrival at Myriad resurfaced, including all my defeats to Jack that earned me the titles of Challenger and Fight Maniac. But…
"Little Fang? AHAHAHA, no wonder you're still bitter—you've got something to prove!"
Grid's eyes flared with hatred again as he clenched his fist, forcing himself not to strike me.
"We'll stop there, for today anyway. Shin will be with Haru, and Grid will be with me."
Sighing, the old woman massaged her temples as everyone began leaving after the meeting.
I never thought I'd say this, but I expected the cops to be nice to us now that we were on their side! I didn't expect a huge party, but at least a little "welcome to the team," maybe even a small meal… Screw adults. And you too, Grid!
"What are you doing, Shin? Everyone's already gone."
Snapping out of my thoughts, I realized it was just the two of us left in the room with Grid.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought."
Uh… even though I was lost in thought, Manu seemed to be too—or maybe he was looking for something?
"What are you looking for anyway?"
"There was a fly earlier. I'm just wondering where it came from."
"Oh, that! It's because of the dog crap I stepped in yesterday."
At the end of my sentence, someone suddenly perked up, listening as if strangely invested in our conversation.
"Huh? What do you mean? And why didn't you wash your shoe?""It was on the way here yesterday. I thought maybe Grid would want a souvenir.""Son of a—!"
Grid's anger finally erupted from Shin's constant provocations. His blood boiled like never before, his eyes bloodshot, and his desire to win burned stronger than a thousand warriors.
He grabbed Shin by the collar and was about to thrash him, but froze at what Shin said in return.
"Tsk, tsk, I hope for your sake you don't hit me.""On the contrary, grit your teeth!""Yet, according to the special forces rules I read yesterday, any fight ends with the expulsion of the initiator."
Grid froze. He took a moment to think, then released his opponent and hurriedly left the room.
"Heh heh heh!"
Shin's devilish laugh echoed through the room.
"You're really the devil when you put your mind to it, old man…""Thanks for the compliment.""But you do realize he's like you, right?""What do you mean by that?""Hmm… it's complicated, but I went to middle school with him. I know what I'm talking about. And what I mean is that you're both cut from the same cloth as me."
That's when I understood what my friend meant. That guy… he left a year before I entered Myriad. Grid, Jack's first rival…
"We learn something new every day, don't we?"
Manu seemed to be gauging my reaction to this revelation, but contrary to what he expected, I gave no sign of empathy or sympathy upon hearing that Grid was made from the same cloth as me.
"He got in my way yesterday. That's all I need to know."
No sooner had the words left my mouth than a smirk formed on my face.
"You're seriously vengeful, huh…""You know me, Manu. I forgive slowly.""Well, we should go before we get locked in here.""Let's go eat. My treat!""Seriously? Let's go!"