"How was the meeting, Adam?"
"Well, it was… definitely a meeting."
"It would've been far noisier if you weren't there."
"I wasn't supposed to be there," Adam muttered. "That was why I sat at the back."
"Semantics."
"What?"
After the eventful briefing with the selected S-tier Heroes, Adam was now discussing the next steps with Beatrice.
Although, discussing was perhaps too generous a word.
Beatrice had barely added anything useful… or anything at all, really. She simply drank her coffee and reviewed reports by herself, only speaking to Adam about menial things as though he were some sort of child. Adam noticed this, too, but he had already grown used to it.
"Still…" After a while, Beatrice finally lowered her tablet and looked at him. "I expected you to be the only X-tier Hero to respond to this. But I would be lying if I said I was not disappointed that none of the others even came."
"Even Gerald?" Adam sounded genuinely bewildered. Even the First Soldier had refused?
"Gerald was at least decent enough to say no and offer advice," Beatrice shrugged before removing her glasses and tossing them onto the table. "And he is right. He and the others are better off staying here. We still need someone to protect the planet."
She closed her eyes and let herself slide slightly down the chair, almost wincing from fatigue.
"And the other X-tier Heroes?" Adam lowered his gaze. "What about… her?"
"You mean your Patient Eleven?"
Adam's breath slightly faltered. He stared at Beatrice for a moment before letting out another sigh.
"Stop it, Adam. It was not your fault."
"No." Adam waved her off. "A lot of bad things that happened were my fault. I accepted that a long time ago."
"You could not have known it would turn out that way."
"I did. We did." He shook his head. "I knew the Administrators would like her the moment she was summoned to the Game."
"Why would they not?" Beatrice lightly shrugged. "She nearly beat your record of becoming a Hero in only two Games. She also killed a Hero in her first Game without even directly fighting—merely by spreading her poison."
"She killed thousands of people, too," Adam said, shaking his head once more. "Let's… not talk about this anymore. I don't want to waste more of your time, and you look busy. When are we going up there?"
"Everything has already been arranged." Beatrice leaned forward, picked up her glasses, and slid them back on. "Once the other S-tier Heroes finish saying their farewells to their loved ones… you will go."
"What do you think our chances are?"
"I… do not know, Adam." A faint trace of Beatrice's robotic tone slipped through. Her eyes briefly lost focus, turning strangely blank—as if calculating probabilities faster than her emotions could process.
"...That bad?"
"Yes," Beatrice whispered, and this time her frustration showed more clearly. "I knew this was bound to happen the moment the bellethers appeared thirty years ago. A civilization that advanced would never be satisfied with merely tasting us through the Leaks."
"Hmn." Adam nodded, letting out a sigh of his own. "We are doing the same thing to other worlds."
"No, no." Beatrice wagged a finger at him. "We are working with them because of you. Our relationship with the other worlds is not parasitical, but beneficial to both sides."
She paused before lightly pointing to the door. "Also, you should go."
"Go where? We're not yet leaving, right?"
"Katherine is already going to kill me for sending you into the dark expanse of space." Beatrice pointed at the ceiling again. "If you leave without saying your goodbyes to her, that statement may no longer remain figurative."
"Why would I say goodbye?" Adam frowned. "We're all coming home."
"Th—"
"I'm not going to let anyone die, B." Adam shook his head and stood, looking her directly in the eye. "I'm not."
"I believe you." Beatrice returned his stare without hesitation. "The problem is that you cannot control people, Adam. The Secretary of Defense may be mentally unstable, but he has a point—you need to be seen as their leader if you want them alive."
"You've known me for thirty years." Adam raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like leader material to you?"
"Most definitely not." Beatrice adjusted her glasses. "You are a solitary, brooding creature. Even now, at your age, you remain socially inept and have shown little progress in your emotional maturity."
"Uh—"
"But you know when to put responsibility to other people. You have no ego, no pride—if you know someone is better than you at something, you give the task to them without any reservations," she said. "That is why I am sitting here right now. That is the trait of a good leader, Adam."
"I'm—"
"But I still think you are immature. Although," she continued without letting him speak, "according to the Hospital's findings, it may not entirely be your fault but rather your biology." She stood up and pointed at him. "You, Adam, are perpetually stupid."
"...There are no findings like that."
"There should be." Beatrice scoffed and headed for the door. "And you were right—I am busy. If you are not going to say goodbye to Katherine, then at least prepare whatever you need to prepare. We are pushing for you and the team to be off the planet before the day ends."
"Sisa said everything's already prepared for me." Adam shrugged, though he still followed her toward the exit. "But I'll leave you to it."
He stepped outside, but before he could even take three steps, Beatrice suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"Make sure to come back, okay?" she muttered, lightly biting her lip. "We have already lost so much, Adam. I do not want to lose you too."
"Well…" Adam glanced down at her hand. "If there's one thing I'm good at, it's coming back, so… you don't really have to tell me twice."
"Hmn." Beatrice gently released him and nodded as she watched him go.
"Oh, and Adam…"
"Hm?"
"Get a haircut. You're already as stubborn as a cockroach—you don't need to look like one too."
"I told you, I like my hair." Adam smiled. "And besides… I think it'll look good while I'm aimlessly floating through space."
"It will also be easier to grab onto." Beatrice started shooing him away. "Go. Go."
Adam had barely turned when Beatrice remembered something else.
"And two more things I forgot to mention—we are releasing the Secretary of Defense, Adam."
Adam looked back at her.
"You do know he terrorized people, right?"
"I also know he is one of the strongest Heroes in the country," Beatrice answered. "And he has not physically harmed anyone—without you here, we will need him."
"I thought you didn't need me here."
"I do not need you here loitering around my office and stealing live combat experience from aspiring RLRD members by clearing Leaks by yourself."
"Whatever you say." Adam lightly waved her off. "And what's the last thing?"
"She was not present during the briefing because she was taking care of her granddaughter, but…" Beatrice adjusted her glasses once more.
"...The Berserk Fairy is coming with you."
Adam stared at her for a moment.
"...Great."
***
Several hours passed, and the selected S-tier Heroes were now all gathered on a vast, open airstrip.
Some of them kept glancing toward the giant hangar sitting alone out in the distance. It was difficult not to, after all. The structure was probably ten times larger than the biggest cruise ship on the planet.
And all of them knew what was inside.
And because of that, excitement slowly started overtaking their nerves, allowing them to momentarily forget that they were about to do something no one in their species had ever done before.
"Adam!"
While everyone dealt with the tension differently, Adam sat alone on the ground. He was already one of the smallest people there, and with how quietly he kept to himself, many did not even realize he was among the group until Sylvie called out to him.
And naturally, the others began stepping aside.
An empty circle formed around him almost immediately. The sudden attention caused Sylvie to pause, her eyes briefly sweeping across the people staring at them. She cleared her throat and composed herself before continuing.
"Adam…" she repeated, quieter this time. "...It's been a long time."
"It has." Adam nodded. "And thank you for what you did in Vegas. If it wasn't for you, there would be all sorts of noise right now."
"There… is noise." She sighed and shook her head while glancing at the crowd. "They're just hiding it. How… are you?"
"I'm fine. Going to space. You?"
"Same." She nodded. "Same. Also going to space."
And then… the two simply sat there.
Awkwardly.
Sylvie glanced at Adam, smiled when their eyes met, and quickly looked away. Adam did almost the same, breathing out heavily as the silence stretched between them.
But after a few moments, Sylvie shut her eyes and visibly winced at herself.
"Okay…" She let out an awkward chuckle and shook her head. "Desolee. I don't know why I'm acting like we're children again. I'm only a few years away from getting a senior citizen card."
Adam let out a quiet breath of amusement. He stared at her face for a moment before looking away.
"Vous etes toujours aussi belle que la premiere fois ou je vous ai vue, madame," he said, not stumbling over a single word.
"That…" Sylvie held her breath so abruptly she nearly choked. "...You're one to talk, monsieur. You look exactly the same as the day we met."
"A teenager?"
"A man who would do everything to protect those he holds dear," Sylvie answered, her words no less steady than his. "But you have come a very long way since then. You are stronger than me now."
"...When did that happen?" Adam shook his head. "I don't have the fancy abilities you young ones have."
"Oh?" Sylvie giggled, nearly showing her teeth as she leaned a little closer. "I'm one of the young ones now? Is that the line you use on the new recruits of the RLRD everytime you—"
"En garde, motherfuckers!"
Before Sylvie could finish, a small figure suddenly dropped from the sky.
No—not beside them.
On top of them.
Roses splattered across the ground as Sylvie instantly raised a shield of blood over their heads, blocking the descending foot that threatened to split her skull open.
A foot that, of course, belonged to none other than the Berserk Fairy herself.
Carmen.
"...Do you never get tired?" Adam sighed.
"Never, midget."