"THAT WAS THE BEST YOU COULD COME UP WITH?!"
Damon snapped at Aiwass once they were alone again in the penthouse.
"It was necessary. She thought that..."
"She didn't think anything! You didn't have to say you're my girlfriend!" Damon paced back and forth. "The lie got out of control!"
"I don't get why you're mad."
"I'm mad because I'm embarrassed! You're insane!"
"I... just..." Aiwass sighed, her shoulders dropping. "I thought it would help you."
"How do you think dropping that lie helps me? They're gonna think Zero has trash taste... I mean, that he has a thing for weird foreign girls."
"But he did..."
Damon stopped dead. That was the first time she'd talked straight about Zero. Every time he tried asking about him, she dodged, but this was his chance to learn more about his predecessor.
"You two, like...?" Damon made a gesture with both hands bumping together.
"No!" the demon girl said, offended. "He... he was really good to me and I..."
"And you...?"
"I cheated on him!"
Damon felt like someone dumped a bucket of cold water on his head. So even the strongest hero ever, the legendary SSS, could get played?
"It's not what you think," Aiwass said fast. "I cheated by lying about who I was."
"How does a demon girl who's almost six and a half feet tall pretend to be anything else?"
"That's why I turned into a cat."
Damon went into shock again.
"You cheated on him with a different cat? Like a real one?"
"No! I walked past his house for weeks, until one day he felt sorry for me. But I could only take the form after I ate it."
"You ate it?"
"I ate the cat! To copy its biological structure I have to consume it!"
Damon learned something new and horrible right there. So demons have to eat creatures to turn into them?
His face went pale. He got freaked out thinking about his own earlier idea, telling her to turn into "a normal human". The image of Aiwass eating some random innocent girl on the street gave him chills.
"And that also makes you... able to hide your aura and blend in?"
"Enough questions, I'm not talking about me anymore!"
He knew the Captain's confusion wasn't just some dumb mix-up with a "foreign model". He knew there was more Aiwass didn't want to tell, but he couldn't crack it.
"Fine. Then I just want you to clear up the misunderstanding when we see the Captain."
"What? Since when do you give me orders, pet?"
"It's for the sake of my dignity... or what little I have left," Damon sighed. "If you won't do it for me, then at least do it for your master."
***
Iris Valen couldn't stop thinking about it.
'Since when does Zero... have that kind of taste?'
'Does mana backlash even cause that?'
That's really bad. She knew she shouldn't get involved, but the second she could, she had to warn him to stay away from her.
'She's gonna take all his money!'
Yeah, she's probably one of those girls who flex their luxury life online and only chase guys for profit. His memory loss can't be messing with his brain that hard!!
As Iris stormed down the hallway, biting her thumbnail, a shadow slid up beside her.
"Captain, you look tense."
Miller showed up with two coffees and that practiced smile he thought was charming, but to Iris it looked like an insurance salesman.
"I brought your favorite. I thought we could go over the candidate profiles before we go in... you know, in private."
Iris didn't even slow down. She kept walking, leaving Miller talking to air.
"I don't have time for coffee, Lieutenant." Iris sighed, fed up. "If you want to be useful, make sure the testing room is clean. I don't want mistakes today."
Miller stood there holding both coffees, watching her walk away.
"Yes, Captain," he muttered through his teeth, tossing one of the coffees into the trash.
***
Iris reached the big double doors of the Evaluation Hall. She smoothed her uniform, took a deep breath to erase the image of Zero hanging from the ceiling, and pushed the doors open.
The room was full of guild judges, all old and bored. Iris took her seat in the center.
"Send in the next ones," she ordered in her command voice.
The doors opened.
There they were.
Damon, dressed in his black "Hero" outfit, trying to look mysterious (even though he was really just trying not to throw up).
Next to him, Aiwass. She wore a cap, ridiculous sunglasses, and she was chewing gum.
The second Aiwass saw Iris, she pulled off the glasses and raised her hand with way too much excitement, smashing any idea of serious protocol.
"Hiiiii, Captain!" the demon girl yelled, waving like crazy. "Your favorite couple is here! Put us on the same team or Zero's gonna get sad!"
Damon covered his face with his hand.
Iris felt like she was about to get an eye twitch.
Miller crept up to the judges' table, taking advantage of the fact Iris was basically smoking out her ears.
"I... I wanted to talk to you about that, Captain," Miller whispered, leaning in.
Iris didn't even look at him.
"About what?" she snapped.
"About the girl. We checked her mana readings at the entrance," Miller swallowed, nervous. "The sensors almost blew. We think another Elementalist just hit the market."
Iris whipped her head around. "Elementalist?"
"Not just any type. Pure Fire affinity and her levels..." Miller lowered his voice, like he was scared to say it out loud. "Her levels might rival yours, Captain. She's a confirmed S Rank."
"What?!"
Iris's world stopped.
'That show-off model? She's S Rank?'
Suddenly, in Iris's paranoid head, it all clicked.
That's why Zero was with her. It wasn't just a pretty face.
Iris's jealousy and competitiveness lit up like a fire.
She wasn't going to let some newcomer walk into her guild, steal the spotlight, and take the hero.
"No doubt she'll pass the test with numbers like that," Miller whispered, almost admiring.
Iris narrowed her eyes. Her blue pupils shined with deadly cold.
She grabbed her pen so hard the plastic cracked.
"Trust me, Miller," she said with a smile. "She won't. Not on my watch."