* * *

Haeryeon held her head in her hands and shook it.

"Hyeonyul is going to be very wary of you now, Sinu."

"Not you too, Team Leader! It really was a joke! I'll actually die if I do that!"

"I know. I was only joking too."

As Haeryeon chuckled, Sinu started to pat his chest in relief, then stopped to look at Hyeonyul. Only when Hyeonyul's gaze returned to normal did he finally relax and resume patting his chest.

"But the enemy can stop their opponents' powers. Wouldn't that include you, big brother Baek Sinu?"

"Oh, my power's fine. They can't stop it."

Sinu grinned, brimming with confidence.

"What do you mean?"

"My sword looks like it's in the same space as us, but it's actually in another space. That's how it can cross between spaces themselves."

Hyeonyul was a little startled by the unsolicited explanation.

'He's telling me this?'

A person's power was effectively tied to their life. No enemy was easier to deal with than one whose power you knew how to counter.

"To stop a power, you have to make contact somehow, right? In other words, you have to exist in the same space. My sword's already deep inside their throat in another space. How are they going to counter that?"

Sinu explained how his power worked so freely that Hyeonyul wondered whether he should.

"Is it all right to tell me this?"

Sinu answered his question with one of his own.

"Why wouldn't it be? My power will never touch anyone on our team."

Sinu chuckled. Wasn't that enough?

He stopped laughing as something occurred to him and pointed at Haeryeon.

"For the record, the Team Leader did stop it."

"She stopped it?"

Hyeonyul turned his gaze to Haeryeon. How had she stopped it? Sinu had said the power itself existed in another space. Was that even possible?

"Surprising, right? Ever since that day, I've sworn loyalty to the Team Leader."

"No, you'll give Hyeonyul the wrong idea if you put it like that. It was just a little sparring match. Sinu went easy on me to help me save face, too."

"No, I didn't...?"

Sinu's eyes widened. He started to react as though asking what she was talking about, then saw the look in her eyes and nodded.

"... R-right. You're the Team Leader. How could I go all out?"

"Is there a way to counter it?"

"... Counter it?"

At Hyeonyul's earnest question, Haeryeon thought in silence before mumbling her answer.

"You just... recover fast and hit fast."

"...?"

Hyeonyul blinked. What did that mean?

"It's true. It really is!"

Sinu pointed at Haeryeon with both hands. Hyeonyul's failure to understand was driving him mad with frustration.

Haeryeon's wounds had healed in an instant. She had charged so fast he couldn't see her move. The moment he thought something had touched him, he'd simply been knocked flat.

When Haeryeon glared at him again, Sinu hurriedly turned away.

"There are... matchups to consider, and if your opponent's strong enough, there's nothing you can do. Things like that. Nothing's invincible."

He spoke seriously, thinking of Nayun and Jihwan as well.

Hyeonyul nodded, then spoke. Was Sinu putting Haeryeon on the spot like this to frighten him into backing down by showing him how scary she was? He had no intention of doing so.

"Regardless, I'm going."

He hadn't changed his mind.

"What if I stop you?"

Haeryeon's eyes narrowed. He had decided the outcome all on his own.

Hyeonyul looked at her, then shifted his gaze slightly aside.

"It's not as though I have no other options."

If he couldn't take the main road, he could simply take a side path. All that mattered was punishing them as a Black Eagle, wasn't it?

"... What options?"

Just as Sinu raised his eyebrows, the door opened. It was Nayun. The skin around her eyes was red.

"What do you mean, options?"

As she asked, Nayun saw Haeryeon and bowed, then gave Hyeonyul a friendly wave. She sat down and repeated her question, looking at Sinu with displeasure.

"What options are you talking about? Oh, Team Leader. Jihwan got called over to Team Four for a bit. Apparently someone's power still won't settle down."

She sighed as she spoke.

"I wasn't the one who said it. Hyeonyul did."

Sinu pointed at Hyeonyul, then asked,

"You heard about the failed mission, right?"

"I did. I'm a little late because I stopped by Team Four too. ... I almost cried."

"You already did cry."

"So what? Keep talking."

"Hyeonyul's taking that mis—"

"Come with me!"

Hyeonyul's eyes widened at Nayun's sudden shout. He had expected her to object.

"I already said I'd go."

Sinu cut in.

"Team Leader, I'll go with Hyeonyul. Please authorize the mission."

Nayun spoke to Haeryeon. From what she had seen of Hyeonyul so far, he followed Haeryeon's instructions well, and when she stopped him, he at least pretended to listen. If he was stepping forward despite that, Nayun thought he must have a reason.

"I thought you'd stop him, but you're in favor after all."

With Nayun agreeing too, Haeryeon's head ached.

["If I don't do this, they won't believe I'm a Black Eagle. So I'll do my best in my own way."]

As Hyeonyul had said moments ago, she understood why he was going this far. She understood all too well, and that only made it feel more unfair. Why did Hyeonyul have to go to such lengths?

Haeryeon met each of their eyes in turn. It was difficult when they started being stubborn like this. She was weak to eyes like those; they shook her deeply. It was obvious what choice she would make. She had always been fooled and regretted it, but she would make the same choice again. How could she stop them when their eyes shone like that, showing her what was possible?

"All right. I understand."

Haeryeon gave her permission for now and drew a heavy breath. She would let herself be fooled again. She had to. If she didn't believe in her team members, who would?

"Promise me three things, Hyeonyul."

Haeryeon looked at him.

"Go ahead."

"You remember how badly you have to be injured before you come back?"

"Yes. As long as nothing pierces me, I'm fine."

At Hyeonyul's answer, Sinu and Nayun stared at the two of them with wide eyes. They had no idea what sort of conversation the pair had had.

"Keeping to that is the first promise."

"Understood."

"The second is to keep reporting in, and obey me if I tell you to withdraw."

"Understood as well."

"Lastly, if you can't avoid a confrontation, put the hostages second and yourselves first on the list of people to protect."

"Are we allowed to put the hostages second?"

"Of course not. No matter what happens, the hostages come first. Civilians come first."

Black Eagles died because they didn't put themselves first, even when facing villains. She knew why they had to do that. No, it was right that they should. They were civil servants, an organization that had to work for the Empire and its citizens.

"This is simply a request and an order I'm making on my own authority. If anyone has to take responsibility, I will. I'm confident I can handle that, so I'm telling you to put yourselves first. Even if it's undignified, staying alive is the right choice."

Nevertheless, Haeryeon put her team members first. It was something she had realized after losing so many of them. No one but her would protect her team.

"I've asked you to promise a lot, but I really want you to keep those promises. My trust has always come back to me as death, not betrayal. Even so, I'm sending you because I believe in you. This time is no different. The regrets and the responsibility are all mine."

Her voice seemed to waver slightly, but a smile soon appeared on her face. It was remarkably resolute.

"Yes. I'll keep all three promises."

At Hyeonyul's calm answer, Haeryeon gazed steadily at him. This time, he didn't look away.

"Wait a moment."

As Haeryeon went into her room, Nayun watched her retreating back. How fiercely must her heart be pounding right now? Knowing how she felt made Nayun's eyes sting.

"The Team Leader's strong."

Sinu spoke abruptly.

"I know that too. But being strong doesn't mean you can endure everything."

"We're going to survive this time too, so stop crying."

"I'm not crying."

Nayun turned toward Sinu and narrowed her eyes. She and Sinu had joined together. They were the only two survivors among the recruits whose intake had been called a golden age.

"Sis Chu Nayun is indeed not crying."

Only when Hyeonyul stated the fact precisely did Nayun and Sinu burst out laughing.

Of the Team Three recruits they had protected and kept protecting, excluding those who had chosen to quit, only Jihwan had survived. Now there was one more.

* * *

"... Hyeonyul. Still, as your senior, I'll do my best not to hold you back."

Sinu spoke while waiting for Hyeonyul to finish preparing.

"You've never held me back, big brother Baek Sinu. I've found it easier having you with me."

"Really?"

"Yes. That's the truth."

"That makes me pretty happy."

Sinu touched the bridge of his nose with a finger.

"I don't know why you keep talking about dying, but I have no intention of simply standing by either."

"Can I look forward to some camaraderie?"

"No. I'm not sure about that, but four people are more efficient than three."

If even one of them was missing, the workload would grow, and so would their hours at work.

"That's... true."

Sinu felt a little hurt by Hyeonyul's firm reply, but soon smiled brightly as though nothing were wrong.

"You were like a savior, Hyeonyul. I don't know about the other teams, but nobody wants to join Team Three. We only do slightly—just slightly—more demanding work, and they won't come here? With such an excellent Team Leader and excellent teammates, too."

"A capable team is better, even if the work is demanding. Incompetence is a bigger headache."

After answering, Hyeonyul exhaled and reviewed the mission.

「*Incident Origin

―Police received an emergency call from the hospital.

*Incident Progress

―The hospital was completely under enemy control, making reliable information difficult to obtain.

―Two White Sparrows who approached were killed.

―Black Eagles were deployed on an emergency basis.

―Mission failed due to insufficient information. One Black Eagle was killed.

*Points of Caution

―No reliable information is available.

―A substantial number of hostages are reportedly being held at present.

―Secure as many hostages as possible.

―Withdrawal is recommended if circumstances leave no other option.

*Authorized Actions.

―Injuring and killing villains is officially authorized.」

"Authorized Actions" was a new addition.

"Aren't we already allowed to kill villains?"

"We are. Usually it's glossed over as unavoidable in the course of the mission, but this time it's different. Official authorization means they're telling us to hesitate less."

"Ah, I understand."

Hyeonyul nodded several times. They were telling him not to hesitate.

He shifted his gaze. It looked to be on the scale of a university hospital.

"Let's work out what to do as we walk."

Sinu started forward, and Hyeonyul followed, speaking.

"Didn't you say you only need to know the location to use your power, big brother Baek Sinu?"

"That's right."

"I'll go in myself and tell you the locations. Can you track them as they change in real time?"

"Of course I can."

"From the looks of it, the complex is divided into three main buildings. Couldn't we handle them one at a time?"

"Sounds good. The White Sparrows will be here soon too, so we can get the hostages taken care of."

"I'll handle anything urgent."

"You're saying we should take the safer approach, right?"

"Yes. My usual approach would miss some villains. Then the hostages would die."

He preferred efficiency, so he liked going straight for whoever looked like the leader. He could do that because he didn't care what happened to the rest. Now there were several conditions attached, the biggest being the hostages. But with Sinu here, it was much safer.

"Good. Let's do that. Honestly, I won't be able to keep up with your speed. Our powers are different."

Sinu acknowledged it. While Hyeonyul dictated the course of a fight through speed, Sinu did so through safety.

"Then please wait a moment."

Hyeonyul put on his helmet. Inside it, his eyes melted away.

There were three buildings in total. For convenience, he decided to think of them as A, B, and C, starting with the closest. He moved his eyes toward Building A. Quite a few villains filled the corridors and patient rooms. He could tell they had come with serious intent.

"Big brother Baek Sinu."

"Yes?"

"Have you heard anything about an important person being in there?"

"No. I haven't heard anything...?"

"There are a considerable number of them. It seems they came with a definite purpose."

"You can... see that?"

"Yes. Based on my experience, they seem to have come to swallow up an existing company, steal new technology, or make use of an influential person's power."

If some villains built up companies and developed things themselves, wouldn't the opposite exist too? The sort who grew by swallowing existing businesses. Anyone could see the latter was faster. But in those cases, changes in the company's internal atmosphere, finances, and other aspects made it relatively easy to arouse suspicion, so the method wasn't used often unless they were just starting to grow or in a hurry.

'Who's in here?'

Suppressing his rising curiosity, Hyeonyul decided to move first.

"Big brother Baek Sinu. Please bear with it even if it feels strange."

"Huh...?"

"Close your eyes, cover your ears, and hold your breath. Oh, and don't speak either. It'll be over soon."

"Wait, what are you going to do?"

"We're going to move. Let me know when you're ready."

Sinu glanced at Hyeonyul, then closed his eyes, covered his ears, and held his breath. The moment he nodded a couple of times, darkness swallowed him.