After searching for his uniform, Ralph was surprised to find that he only found the necklace with the identification plates.
"Did you get my uniform? Touka-san." Ralph asked.
Touka looked at Ralph with a confused expression and shook her head in denial.
"It must have been your other 'you' then." Ralph spoke with a sigh.
Touka looked away and pretended not to have heard what Ralph said.
"Hmph!" Ralph just snorted and put the necklace with the nameplates around his neck.
"Hey... Are you really going there with your hair at this size?" Touka suddenly asked without looking at Ralph.
"I'm a little bored with my normal appearance, so I'll keep my hair like that for now." Ralph replied and walked towards the door.
"I understand, but you should know that long hair can get in the way in a battle." Touka spoke in a light tone.
Ralph stopped and looked at Touka.
"Then why don't you cut yours?" Ralph asked with a slight smile.
Touka rolled her eyes and didn't respond.
"See you later." Ralph said and left the apartment.
This time he wouldn't take a taxi, he would run to HQ. The reason is that he wants to test his physical endurance now. He already felt it the night before, he was much more physically empowered.
HQ is several miles away from Ralph's apartment, and the sun was hot. But Ralph started running without hesitation.
Ralph was just careful to make himself invisible, as running so fast can get the attention of others.
After running for twenty-five minutes intermittently, Ralph arrived at the HQ building.
Ralph looked to the side and saw the other building where he had arrived on the first day. He could see the man who accompanied him in the elevator.
Ralph doesn't know why one of the buildings being just a cover, and why only newbies use that only elevator. But he knows that there must be a good reason.
Ralph entered the building in front of him and, after undergoing identification with security guards, entered one of the elevators, which was empty.
-I hope I don't receive any complaints for not coming in uniform.
Ralph thought and looked at the nameplates hanging from his chest.
After taking the elevator down to HQ, Ralph went straight to his squad's command room.
"It seems that someone dared to come without a uniform, and he even has the identification plates." One man told another that he was servicing a machine.
"He will soon find out that this is no joke." The man, who was full of grease on his face and was sweating deeply, spoke.
Ralph noticed that some people were looking at him as if he were a rare animal, and he has a vague idea of why this is happening.
Upon arriving at the command room, Ralph first noticed the scorching sight of one of the squadron's lieutenants.
"Not even the officers dare to come without a uniform beyond the first day, who are you?" The lieutenant came over and looked at Ralph's nameplate.
"So you are the rookie, and to think that right after entering you would forget to come in uniform." The lieutenant spoke out loud.
-First I never received any instructions that I should come in uniform, I just received the uniform.
Ralph thought bitterly.
After looking at the lieutenant's name on his chest, Ralph said:
"Lieutenant Torn, I was wrong, I guarantee it won't happen again."
"Seeing that you are honest and admit your own mistake, I will let this go, but don't do it again." Lieutenant Torn said and just wrote something down on paper, and left.
"You are lucky, usually he forces those who forget their uniform to pass through the rainbow room." One of the squad members spoke to Ralph.
"Rainbow room, what is it?" Ralph asked.
"It's better if you don't know, believe me."
Ralph was a little confused but nodded and went to the mission board.
Ralph searched for a quest that rewards a mystical fruit, but found none. It seems that they are really rare.
Ralph then took a mission that rewards 30 life stones, which asks for an investigation into a kidnapper who has been kidnapping women in western Tokyo ... and if possible the kidnapper's head. Very similar to Ralph's previous mission.
-This time the mission asks for the kidnapper's head ...
Ralph thought and looked at Sergeant Mina, who was busy reading some documents.
-She won't be able to blame me this time.
Ralph thought with a smile.
"Sergeant Mina, good afternoon. I want to accept this mission." Ralph said with a slight smile.
Mina received the mission paper and read this for a moment before looking at Ralph and saying:
"Bring your head in a sealed box, I don't want to see this thing. Besides, what's up with this long hair?"
Ralph just nodded and said:
"Wish me luck, my hair won't be a problem."
"Good luck then, don't die anytime soon." Mina said and waved her hand.
"Now that I think about it, the golden inspectors look more like a Guild ..." Ralph murmured as he left HQ.
He then took out his cell phone and started analyzing the information available on the squad's network.
-How strange, the kidnapper follows the same pattern as the old woman ... Are they part of the same group?
Ralph thought and put his hand on his chin.
Ralph then analyzed the pattern of times and locations and defined where and when the next hijacking should take place.
-Unfortunately, this should only happen tomorrow afternoon, I will have to do something else today ... How about charging my pie? Jane must not have forgotten about our agreement, right?
Ralph stood up a little excited, but before he could move, the phone rang.
"Attention, return to HQ immediately, the superiors have assigned you a mission!" It was Sergeant Mina's voice.
-...Whatever. Now that I remember, it is true that golden inspectors adopt this type of policy. I can choose missions to do, but the missions that superiors assign me are more important ...
Ralph thought and sighed as he returned to HQ.
After arriving at the command room, Ralph introduced himself in front of Sergeant Mina.
"Private Ralph is ready to carry out the mission." Ralph spoke when he saw who was on Mina's side, it was General Shin Tomura.
"You don't even know what the mission is and you already have that spirit, really commendable." Shin Tomura spoke with a smile but he looked strangely at Ralph's hair.
"Sir, what is the mission?" Ralph asked.
"Explain to him.", General Shin spoke to Sergeant Mina.
"Cough ... The mission is as follows:
First, you must infiltrate a military base in North Korea and disguise yourself as an ordinary soldier.
Second, you must obtain the information from where the main North Korean attack to the South Koreans will come.
Third, you must report the information to us in some way. "
Ralph was silent for a moment before saying:
"Sir, I never received military training, I don't think I'm prepared for the mission."
"I don't know you son, but I can see in your eyes, the military spirit ... Besides, you are even risking your life on your own, why are you afraid?" The general spoke with a mysterious smile as he looked at Ralph.
Ralph swallowed his own saliva and said:
"Sir, I believe that the process for invading North Korea will not be simple, how will it happen?"
"You will jump from a critical height, and you will land about fifty kilometers away from the demilitarized zone, already in North Korean territory." The general spoke while stroking his own beard.
"Sir ... I never really had training for something like that, I don't know how to jump from such a distance." Ralph spoke as sweat ran down his back.
The general was silent for a moment and then put his hand on Ralph's shoulder.
"Listen, son, it's time for you to prove your worth to us. Many are frightened by your strangeness, do you understand me? You need to prove yourself useful ... Besides, you don't know how to fly?"
Ralph shivered and looked in shock at the general, who was smiling slightly.
"Don't worry, this mission is not an attempt to get rid of you, you have a high chance of completing it. I give you my word." General Shin spoke gravely as he looked into Ralph's eyes.
Ralph took a deep breath and said:
"I hope I won't disappoint ... And I hope you won't disappoint me"
"Hahaha, I like your tone, I hope it stays this way." The general smiled and started to laugh.
"Sergeant Mina ... You know what to do." The general said and left.
"Yes sir." Mina spoke and then looked at Ralph.
"Follow me, soldier." Mina spoke in a serious tone and started walking toward the squadron's exclusive warehouse.
The warehouse was beyond a door in the corner of the room, and it was much smaller than the HQ warehouse. Still, it seemed to be heavily guarded.
Ralph followed Mina for a while inside the warehouse and arrived in front of a blue box.
"This will be your operational equipment, although it will not be useful for a long time." Mina opened the box as she spoke.
Inside the box was a parachute, a backpack with several military rations, and simplified communication equipment.
"The key to this mission will be your speed and delicacy, you need to ensure the safety of yourself and the communication equipment. The deadline will be two weeks, if the mission is a failure you must retreat to South Korea and communicate with us . " Mina spoke and then demonstrated how to use the communication equipment.
After a moment, Ralph asked:
"Mina-san, why do you think they assigned this mission to me?"
Mina did not respond immediately, but after a few seconds she said:
"I heard that your innate ability is very versatile, maybe that's the reason ... Besides, it's suicide to try to infiltrate North Korea with a parachute, at least with most people ... And with you? what can you do? "
Ralph swallowed his own saliva and remembered what the general said, he had said he believed in Ralph. Besides saying that Ralph knew how to fly.
"In that case, the parachute is not really necessary." Ralph murmured, surprising Mina.
"Don't tell me you can fly? But unless you can make yourself invisible ..." Mina started to speak but seemed to remember something.
Mina then smiled slightly and said:
"There is no one better suited to the mission than you, at least below Rank-4. Furthermore, a Rank-4 is not very suitable for this type of mission."
"Because?" Ralph asked.
"Because most can't disguise themselves well as you ... at least according to the general. In addition, they are all in the database of other countries." Mine explained.
"Upon hearing this, I feel much more secure." Ralph spoke with a slight smile.
"Don't worry, General Shin is a good person, he doesn't send his subordinates to their deaths." Mina spoke and then said:
"You will receive the details of the mission in your email. You will be leaving during the night, so stay tuned."
Ralph nodded and took the box in his hands.
"You still don't have a pseudo-space artefact, right?" Mina suddenly asked.
"What is it?" Ralph inclined his head.
"... You really don't know? This is it." Mina sighed and showed Ralph a ring.
"It serves to deposit several things inside, for example ..." Mina said and put her hand on the box, making it disappear.
"... There is something so magical in the world, huh." Ralph murmured.
"How about? I can sell you one if I want." Mina spoke when she saw Ralph's reaction.
"How much?"
"On the narrow streets of the logarithms, it would cost you around 1000 life stones, but I will sell you for 500, how about that?" Mina spoke.
"... Forget it, I don't have a single stone with me." Ralph smiled bitterly and shook his head.
"Do you think I don't know that?" Mina spoke and threw the ring at Ralph.
"You owe me, every month you don't pay me, there will be interest," Mina said and waved her hand as she left the place.
"Wait! I didn't agree." Ralph shouted, but it was too late.
After sighing, Ralph suddenly realized that he didn't know how to wear the ring.
-Since it is something like an artifact, it must have relations with Aura, right?
Ralph thought and emanated some of his Aura in the ring.
Suddenly Ralph could feel what was inside the ring. There was the box with the equipment.
Ralph then concentrated on the box and it blinked out of the ring, falling to the floor.
"Really interesting, I felt fluctuations on space with my transcendent sense."
Ralph then tried to put the box back on the ring, and after several attempts he found the right way to do this.
After putting the ring on a finger, Ralph left the warehouse and HQ.
After running for a few minutes, Ralph arrived at his favorite restaurant.
"Be well-" Jane was about to receive the next customer but she stopped when she saw that it was Ralph.
"Good afternoon, Jane-san." Ralph spoke with a big smile.
"...What you want?" Jane asked with a somber expression.
Ralph couldn't help but swallow and said:
"I came to apologize for the other day."
"Hmm?" Jane looked at Ralph suspiciously.
"Really." Ralph made a serious expression and spoke in a low voice.
After a few moments, Jane rolled her eyes and said:
"How do you plan to apologize? I'm still pissed."
"I do not know." Ralph shook his head.
Jane blinked several times and looked at Ralph without understanding.
"So ... I need a chocolate pie to help me clear my mind." Ralph spoke seriously.
"..." Jane regretted having expected anything.
Seeing Jane's expression, Ralph felt a little sorry and said:
"Listen, how about this, I will ... I will ..." Ralph started to think but seemed to have no ideas.
Jane blew out a breath and said:
"Sit somewhere, I don't want any problems."
After sitting at the table, Ralph said:
"How about this, I am not willing to give up on the pies, but I don't want the creator to make them unwillingly. Say what you want in return."
"Peace." Jane spoke without expression.
"Peace was never an option." Ralph spoke and slapped his hand on the table.
Jane couldn't help but laugh bitterly, and then she thought of something:
"How about this, I want fifteen life stones for each pie made, what do you think?"
"I accept your proposal, but on one condition. The pie has to be exactly the way I want it." Ralph nodded and spoke.
Jane looked at Ralph in surprise and said:
"Do you know the value of a life stone? They shouldn't be used so carelessly."
"Heh, life stones are not a problem for me." Ralph spoke as if he were wasting wealth.
Jane twisted the corners of her mouth and raised the notebook to take Ralph's order.
"For today, I want only one serving of salmon sashimi and niguiri, along with a bottle of the best Huangjiu available." Ralph spoke.
"We don't sell alcoholic drinks to minors." Jane spoke with a smile.
"Err ... You can do this favor for me, right?" Ralph asked with bright eyes.
"Heh!" Jane just laughed weakly and left.
After several minutes, Jane brought what Ralph asked for, including Huangjiu.
Ralph quickly took an entire cup of Huangjiu and let out a comfortable sigh.
"What's so funny about this drink?" Jane suddenly asked?
"You will only know if you prove it!" Ralph smiled mysteriously and broke the chopstick to eat.
Jane looked at the Huangjiu bottle for a moment and left. After a while she returned with an empty glass.
"Don't you need to serve other customers?" Ralph asked as he ate.
"There hasn't been much movement these days." Jane spoke and filled the cup with Huangjiu, but before she could take it, she was stopped by Ralph who said:
"Listen, I don't want to be the person who made you addicted, are you sure you want to drink? Or rather, have you had any alcohol before? You're just a little older than me, right?"
Jane ignored Ralph and took the entire cup from Huangjiu, and let out a breath shortly after.
"It's really interesting, I've never had a drink like that." Jane spoke and started filling the glass again.
"Hey Hey, calm down there, be careful not to get drunk." Ralph spoke in alarm but also filled his glass and drank with Jane.
"It's already ending." Ralph said after a few minutes.
"I'll get another one." Jane spoke and stood up.
Beside the table, bottles started to pile up, and Ralph and Jane didn't seem interested in stopping. They would talk nonsense sometimes or talk about their life and drink.
After more than an hour of drinking, Ralph was surprised to find that he was not feeling drunk. Jane looked a little groggy, but she wasn't drunk, she also had a high tolerance for alcohol, which impressed Ralph.
Ralph believes that his high tolerance is due to the stats points applied, which improved his physique in all ways.
But Jane ... Either she was using her Aura to somehow increase her stamina, or she had a phenomenal physique like Ralph, or she had talent in the business ...
After dark, even Ralph was starting to feel a little dizzy, and he had already been to the bathroom several times ...
Jane was drunk ...
"I think we better finish here." Ralph spoke and stood up.
"But already?" Jane asked with a red face.
"Yes ... Seeing your condition, it is better to take you home, what do you think?" Ralph asked.
Jane looked at Ralph and said:
"You don't have a car or motorcycle, how are you going to take me?"
Ralph smiled mysteriously and said:
"I have my means, trust me."
Jane blew out a breath and stood up.
"I will calculate the bill." Jane said as she patted her cheeks.
For Ralph's almost heart attack, the bill was very high, and he had to use all the virtual money he had just earned to pay the bill.
"Never." Ralph murmured and looked at Jane through gritted teeth, the woman refused to pay part of the bill, saying that it was Ralph who offered her and something like that.
After taking off her apron and talking to the manager, Jane met Ralph outside the restaurant.
"Don't tell me you are going to walk with me? I may be a little drunk, but I can get home without your help." Jane spoke with a slight smile.
"Don't resist." Ralph spoke simply.
Jane stared without understanding but was startled to see that she was floating.
"what?" Jane was about to emanate from her Aura but remembered what Ralph said.
"So this is your means, huh?" Jane murmured.
Ralph made them both invisible and floated in the sky with Jane.
"Where is your home?" Ralph asked.
"In that direction." Jane pointed to the east.
With Jane's guideline, Ralph found her home after a few minutes.
He was sweating and breathing heavily, as flying, especially with someone else, consumes a lot of energy.
"Are you alright?" Jane asked.
"I am, it just consumes a lot of energy." Ralph spoke with a smile.
Jane looked at Ralph strangely and said:
"You are strange, I didn't think you had such goodwill."
"I hope you don't forget what I said while we were drinking, the pie has to be that way." Ralph pretended not to hear anything and waved his hand as he left.
Jane looked at Ralph's back for a moment and entered her house.
As he walked, Ralph hailed a taxi. he was too tired to walk to the apartment.
As to why he drank so much and spent so much money? He has a dangerous mission to accomplish, and he needed nothing more than to relax.
Unfortunately, now Ralph only has the remaining money he had stolen from the bandits before.
When he arrived at the apartment, Ralph noticed that Touka was still studying and couldn't help being impressed by the girl's tenacity.
When he saw Ralph enter, Touka said:
"Good night, how was it there?"
"..." Ralph didn't answer and went to the bathroom.
Touka smelled the alcohol from Ralph and frowned.
-Was he really working as a gold inspector or was he drinking somewhere?
Touka thought.
After taking a good shower and changing clothes, Ralph said to Touka:
"I'm going to sleep earlier today, besides ..."
"Hmmm?" Touka looked at Ralph and waited for him to continue.
"Just be careful with the apartment." Ralph spoke with a slight smile and went to bed.
Touka looked at Ralph with a frown, she felt there was something wrong, but didn't know if she should ask.
Also, did she notice that Ralph had a space ring on his finger, where did he get life stones to buy the artifact from?
When Ralph lay down, he first remembered his first mission after military training. He also had to parachute without any experience.
-After all, everything is in the past. But I learned a lot ...
Ralph thought as he closed his eyes.