“The hell’s that guy playing at?”
The commanding white-haired girl from before spoke again.
“I mean, rounding up a bunch of problem children to take on Impossible Missions? What gives?”
Lily’s eyes went wide when she heard that worrying morsel of information.
The white-haired girl nodded solemnly. “Yeah, you heard that right. The seven of us? We’re all washouts.”
Lily was so taken aback by it all that she couldn’t find anything to say.
The seven of them were just a group of young women.
Yet, they were going to work with a mysterious man they knew nothing about and take on an Impossible Mission.
The kind of mission so difficult it had a mortality rate of 90 percent.
Klaus had left without actually explaining anything, so the girls took it upon themselves to investigate the manor.
Even at a glance, it was clear how luxuriously Heat Haze Palace was decorated.
The entire building was carpeted in a lush red, and the lounge boasted an impressive selection of leather couches. Over in the kitchen, the cupboards were packed full of high-end tableware, and the gas-powered stove was state of the art. Down in the basement, there was even a rec room and a large communal bath.
Finally, their tour ended at the main hall. There, they found a message waiting for them.
A large blackboard was affixed to the wall and covered in text. Its letters were rounded, as though written by a woman’s hand. The girls found it difficult to imagine Klaus having written them.
Heat Haze Palace Communal Living Rules
On the blackboard, a set of house rules were outlined in painstaking detail.
Lily let out a cry of delight. “Wait, we really get to live here?”
The other girls were equally excited.
Most of the rules laid out which rooms they were permitted in and ways to enter and exit the manor. That was all well and good. But when the girls got to the last two rules, they were a bit confused. Those two—just those two—were written in a much messier scrawl.
Rule : Work as seven to live together.
Rule : Give it your all when you’re out and about.
Little question marks practically popped up over their heads.
The first of the addendums seemed almost childish, and the second didn’t make any sense at all.
They puzzled over them, but no answer seemed forthcoming.
That was when the white-haired girl discovered an envelope on the table. “Hey, found some cash. Anyone else feel like throwing ourselves a welcoming party?”
Inside the envelope was money for their living expenses—and quite a bit of it.
Wanting to celebrate the occasion, the seven started preparing dinner. After going out and buying ingredients as a group, each of them got to work making a different dish. The manor’s cooking utensils were top-shelf. And they weren’t new, either; all had been well used.
The girls had been trained as spies, so they were reasonably proficient at housework. Dinner was ready in what seemed like no time at all.
Once the food was ready, they toasted with cups of apple juice, then began freely chatting among themselves.
It didn’t take long for things to get rolling.
Whenever one of them would talk about how harsh her spy academy had been, another one would clap sympathetically, and a third would chime in with a masochistic grin and a story about how hers had been even worse. Then the cycle would repeat, and the conversation would proceed with nary an awkward pause or silence.
Maybe it’s ’cause we’re all washouts, Lily mused.
Not everyone would admit to her poor grades, but they’d all definitely had a rough time of it.
Though they came from a myriad of different schools and backgrounds and their ages were similiarly varied, the girls were soon thick as thieves nonetheless.
Plus, meeting one another wasn’t the only thing they had to be excited about—there was also the beautiful manor. Rules at the spy academies were strict, so it had been a while since any of them had been able to enjoy a meal in such a relaxed environment. Not to mention the food quality. Most of the meals served at the spy academies were meager, composed of little more than vegetable scraps and hunks of animal that were more gristle than meat.
“You know, back at my academy”—Lily took a big gulp of her juice—“I never realized that spies had it so nice. This isn’t how I pictured them living at all.”
“Right?! Feels like we’re gonna be in heaven!”
The white-haired girl had a dreamy smile. During the conversation, Lily had learned that she was seventeen, just like her.
The two of them, now fast friends, exchanged a high five. ““Hooray!””
However, one of the other girls was scruntinizing their situation through much cooler eyes.
“It’s weird.”
Her hair was brown and permed, and her face had a decidedly timid look to it. She was also on the younger side at a mere fifteen. She fiddled her fingers restlessly with her head hanging down and her eyebrows drawn together. All in all, she gave off the impression of a small animal cowering in the face of a predator. Her eyes were moist, like she was on the verge of tears.
“Up until recently, there were definitely people living here.”
“So?” replied the white-haired girl. “What’s wrong with the place havin’ a bit of history?”
“But…where’d they go? And also, what’s up with this team? How are a bunch of underachievers like us supposed to handle an Impossible Mission?”
“Hmm? Well yeah, sure, I’m curious about all that, but I bet that guy’ll explain everything tomorrow.” The white-haired girl took another big bite of chicken. That was her way of saying that she was done talking about it.