A black sky devoid of glitter would appear the same regardless of which window I viewed it through.
Strangely, moving from the editorial office's dormitory to the intelligence agency's dormitory didn't seem to make much of a difference. Perhaps it was because they were both still in Archtier territory. The only difference was that the editorial dormitory only has two mattresses per room, whereas this dormitory has four and facing each other.
I stared at my new robe hanging on a teak hat by the bedroom door. All SURVIVE agents were undergoing their annual 'test'. So should've I, if only Drey—the gray-eyed man—had not told me that I was an exception. Not in a positive term, of course, considering I was brought there thanks to someone who was negligent in doing his job.
Sigh. I felt like I had to hurry back to my campus. Immediately. But how?
So far, I've only had Madame Ouden or Mrs. Olivia to rely on. Aside from that, I was unsure if the woman could get past the SURVIVE-heavily guarded district. They seemed to have combined military with unknown magical powers.
When the bedroom door swung open, I turned. The red-haired girl I met that afternoon in the lobby, Debora, entered the room with her two friends with a haggard expression. However, that expression vanished as soon as they noticed me.
"Oh, Brissia! I was so worried I might not see you again!" Debora hugged me, crying on my shoulder. The other two friends sat on the edge of their beds with a gloomy look on their faces.
"How much longer must we watch our friends forget us?"
I patted Debora on the back as I listened to the brunette-haired girl on the bed opposite me. Drey told me how the test went, in general. It ws common for agents to get rivals against their own close friends. Those who chose to forget rather than be forgotten frequently succumbed.
"I'm not sure what got you hired today, Brissia, but you better not go out. To stop agents from leaving their jobs, SURVIVE will track down those closest to them," said the blonde-haired girl who sat on the bed obliquely to the front.
"Hey! Have you lost your mind? Don't say such things in this area! I'm not ready to lose you, Fayrl!"
Debora quickly nudged the blonde-haired girl with a troubled look. It left me speechless. I was planning to ensure what could and could not be said while at headquarters. It was between should I be quiet like the brunette-haired girl, be vocal like the blonde girl called Fayrl, or be cordial like Debora.
"Brissia! Come with me to the roof!"
I didn't dodge, though I was a little surprised, when Debora pulled me up from the bed.
"I don't want to be as insane as those two," she said again while dragging me out of the dorm room. "Anyway, did the person who recruited you tell you about Harris's return today?"
I shook my head slowly, causing Debora to sigh. She didn't need to know that Harris and I were at the same scene or that we might all be in great trouble.
"What's wrong with Harris's return?"
"How's nothing wrong with that? He was expected to return next month due to his temporary detention," Debora explained. "And everyone knows."
As soon as I reached the roof of the spacious four-story building, I could see how vast the sky was and how dense the forest was not far below. It was the forest I walked through with Harris and Benjamin.
On the east side of the building, there was a moderately sized river. Its water rippled and reflecting silvery light. The sea was where it all came to an end.
Tears soaked the roof's concrete, distracting me from the breathtaking view in front of me. Some agents seemed unaware of others' gaze and focused solely on expressing their sadness, despite the dark-blue uniform that obligated them to be tough.
It wasn't long before my gaze fell on a hazel-eyed man standing among a crowd of male agents. He seemed to be comforting his friends who were looking down listlessly, which made me feel relieved somehow. Hence, I was about to turn around when Debora's voice echoed.
"Harris! Your girl-friend is here!"
Debora walked up to the group of men and called out so casually that they turned to her and to me. She not only surprised me, but also made me feel embarrassed.
Two seconds after our gaze met, Harris walked toward me, making me just stand there because I no longer had any reason to avoid him.
"Why do you always make me come to you first, Brissie?" asked Harris with a gentle laugh.
While throwing a faint smile at him, I said, "Because it means you're still the Harris I recognize."
"Oh, which Harris do you not recognize?"
I answered his playful question with a light chuckle. It crossed my mind about the universe working in the opposite way; when I usually became the first to approach the teaching assistant because of my grades.
Even so, I wasn't sure if Archtier was a reflection of another universe or a completely different time and space in the same universe.
"By the way," I said, "what the agents do after the test is over?"
"Hmm, we usually go to bed after breathing in some fresh night air. Why? Do you need help?" Harris replied, taking a step toward me with an earnest look on his face.
I shook my head slowly before saying goodbye to him to return to my dorm. I couldn't help but smile as I remembered how those hazel eyes glistened with concern when the thought of me coming to the roof to ask for help crossed his mind.
I had to take the chance to ask Drey or whoever was in charge if the agents were about to go to sleep so I could go to the editorial office and get my cell phone that had somehow fallen out of my pocket.
***
One hour has passed. Even though it was longer than I expected, what Harris said was true. The halls were quiet, no footsteps were heard along the main corridors, and no one was seen passing by in the outdoor or indoor practice areas.
Quickly but calm, I climbed the stairs to Drey's room.
Click!
When I just about to knock, a woman about the same age as Drey and Gabriel opened the door to his room. She stopped when she saw me.
"Oh! You're the new agent, aren't you?" asked the woman with a warm smile, holding out her hand to me.
"I am. My name is Brissia Niverte." I shook her hand, trying to put on a cordial smile.
The woman nodded and said, "I'm Davina, Drey's partner and current deputy chief of intelligence."
As soon as we pulled our hands away, Davina motioned for me to enter the room.
I didn't go right in. If the agent I saw used to come in and out without close surveillance, the room probably wasn't as private as I thought. However, something about the situation was holding me back.
"Come in, Brissia."
Until a deep voice echoed from inside the room, I stepped my foot through the doorway. Davina closed the door, sat down on the couch across from me.
The gray-eyed man in a white shirt and dark blue silk vest sat behind his desk, looked at me calmly and asked, "What brings you here late at night?"
"I left something valuable before I came to this place," I answered firmly.
"Well, so did the other agents."
I didn't give in to Drey's nonchalant response because that wasn't the point I came here for.
"Didn't I just been called 'special'? Then... seeing no one knows how Harris got off his 'leave'..."
Their gazes on me changed as soon as I said that.
"...It seems that both the operation to release Harris and my recruitment didn't follow proper procedures, isn't it?" I continued.
The cynicism and suspicion I sensed from these two people were met with silence. I knew I should have not stepped into the quicksand, but I had tied the rope in my hand to a large banyan tree. Based on the circumstances I was in, I should have known when to leave before the mud swallowed me even deeper.
"Heh." Drey grinned a little. "I'm aware of your crafty scheme, Miss Adventurer."
"Tell me then," I said.
Drey smiled faintly. "I assume you're going to threaten us. Do you not know that making such a disturbance will result in punishment?"
I glanced where Drey's gaze was directed: Davina. Davina was holding a neon blue crow emblem and the emblem was the same thing an agent in the editorial office pointed at Harris's heart. Was it some kind of charm?
Drey's little chuckle made me straighten my head forward.
"Fine. I don't want your roommates to accuse me and my fellow agents if you leave your room for too long. You may go there if you're willing to help us," said Drey.
His words raised a bit of suspicion in my mind.
"And what is that?" I asked.
Not only suspicious, but I also became wary.
Davina glanced at Drey doubtfully, but Drey just smiled confidently at Davina before turning to look at me with a calm expression.
"Remember those guys in black robes who chased you and that Reister child? The culprit is in Algor District. You can take your valuables while carrying out this operation."