03.
It's weird.
Something is very wrong.
Why, haven't we all been there?
You know, the one where you've haphazardly cobbled together a program to turn in for an assignment, and it's buggy, but it works.
If your program doesn't run because of a bug, you can get annoyed and move on.
But when something is clearly wrong and the program still works?
I realize I've been screwed, and a shiver runs down my spine and the word "Fuck" comes out of my mouth.
Something must be wrong, but it's even scarier when it looks fine.
"Shhh... You said you were Constable Eva Lestrade, did you understand what I've been explaining to you so far?"
"I understand."
"...In that case, I'm glad to hear it."
So is the woman sitting in front of me right now.
It's been a while since I met her at the door of the dormitory and brought her into my private office to begin our interview.
Her angular posture and the way she listens with intense eyes is nothing out of the ordinary, as if she's never served in the military.
To say the least, on the surface, she was an A-list recruit.
If you didn't know her background, you'd think she was the first new hire in a long time.
But...
"...Hah."
"?"
The more I looked at the profile, the more uneasy I became.
As I sighed, glancing from file to file, Officer Lestrade's head cocked, faintly questioning.
"What's the matter, sir?"
"Oh, it's nothing, I was just doing some personnel reading..."
"I see, excuse me."
"Oh, by the way, let's drop the subject, okay?"
"Sure."
The more you talk, the more anxious you become.
At this point, I had to give it time and observe.
I immediately logged into the headquarters facility management system to check the availability of the range.
It was fairly late in the day, so there were quite a few unoccupied ranges.
Perfect conditions for checking the stats of our strange new recruit.
"Now then, Constable Lestrade, as I said earlier, we have a basic stat test scheduled for today. It will be conducted under my supervision and will test three areas: marksmanship, close combat skills, and basic physical abilities."
"Can we move now?"
"Yes, follow me."
At my words, Constable Lestrade nodded meekly and rose from her seat.
There was not a hint of nervousness in her demeanor.
Was it confidence or arrogance?
The truth would be revealed in a moment.
.
.
.
.
.
Bang-!
Bang-!
-End of fire drill.
"..."
I was at a loss for words as I looked at the statistics of the shooting exercise in front of me.
Neither did I. Constable Lestrade's training results defied common sense.
They were out of the realm of possibility.
Just looking at the simple numbers right now...
Seventeen 9mm automatic pistol rounds, all rounds.
30 rounds of 5.56mm carbine, all hits.
15 rounds of L-4 plasma rifle, all hits.
Average reaction time 0.1 seconds.
100% hit rate.
Evaluation Result: A+.
I looked at Officer Lestrade with a mildly annoyed expression on my face, but it was clear that she had no idea what she had done.
Does she know?
That she had just torn up his SWAT team marksmanship training record?
"Is it true, Constable Lestrade, that you have no implants?"
"Yes, sir."
"Huh..."
I was left speechless by her smug demeanor.
This is what a Natural without any implants can do?
To the rest of the crew, I could have written a letter of resignation in self-deprecation.
However, not all the tests were over yet.
"Hmmm... Okay, let's move on to the next test."
"Okay."
There were still measures of close combat ability and basic physical ability.
.
.
.
.
.
"...Holy crap."
Superhuman.
There was no other word to describe Officer Lestrade's insane test results.
In the close-combat skills test, she dismantled a dueling robot with her bare fists.
The robot's sturdy body, covered in artificial muscle and skin over a titanium skeleton, was crushed by a few punches from the Natural woman.
The power of a bare fist to shatter a dueling robot's face and cervical spine was anything but ordinary.
How did it measure up in terms of basic physical abilities?
The results were unexpected.
Strength, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility, etc.
I scored an A+ in all of them.
I couldn't believe it, even though I was watching the whole process with my own two eyes.
These were not the results of a natural body.
I even ran a full body scan to see if there were any hidden implants, but the sensors were silent.
I wondered if she had undergone some kind of medical procedure instead of an implant.
Or maybe she was simply doping.
After all, the Eden Group's products included some kind of physical stimulant.
She didn't get caught, but you never know.
Who knows, maybe Eden had developed a stimulant that could evade conventional doping tests?
"Well... Good job."
"Thank you, sir."
Officer Lestrade inclined her head slightly in response, hiding the fact that she was feeling a little tired in more ways than one.
Her features were a little unkempt to say the least.
Her entire body was drenched and glistening with sweat, and a searing heat radiated from her body in all directions from the vigorous exertion.
Stunned by the unfamiliar sight, I cautiously asked her a question.
"Do you happen to have a feverish constitution, sir? You seem a little overheated."
"Yes, sir, if you'll excuse me, could you turn your head for a moment?"
"?"
I shook my head at the jarring demand that came with the answer, and she casually pointed to her own shoulder.
"I need to inject you with an inhibitor right now. I need to remove some of your top for the injection, and I was wondering if you could turn your head for a moment."
"What, right here?"
"Yes."
What the hell is going on here.
I wanted to snap out of my dazed stupor and ask her why she had to give him the injection right here and now, but Constable Lestrade's hand was already moving to her own top.
"Ugh..."
A frighteningly reflexive turn away from the sight of pale flesh saved her from disaster, but a wave of panic washed over me.
Undressing in front of her boss, a boss of the opposite sex, with both eyes open?
The words came out aggressively as she realized her behavior had no common sense whatsoever.
"Constable Lestrade, don't you think it would be appropriate to inject that inhibitor in a locker room or infirmary that is sealed off from the outside world?"
I wanted to apologize, but you can't take back what you've already said.
If Officer Lestrade took offense to my words and told the Eden Group, my life would be over.
Financially and socially.
"...? The inhibitor must be injected periodically, every three hours. Missing the prescribed injection time can have serious side effects, so we've determined that it should be injected as of 21:00."
"Uh... I see."
Unhappy or relieved, she answered my question with a puzzled tone, but didn't seem particularly offended.
At the very least, I was spared the worst of having my head blown off by the Eden Group's breath.
By the way, is this what you mean by a lack of common sense?
When I first saw herr profile, I thought she were a bit young.
I didn't realize she literally had no common sense whatsoever that a normal adult would know.
"Constable Lestrade, I don't think it's appropriate to undress in such a public place. Next time, you'll have to time your injections in advance and do it in a private place, like the locker room or the infirmary."
"Difficult...? I see, I'll be careful next time."
She hesitated, but meekly accepted the 'common sense' advice in a calm voice.
And the silence that followed.
Sigh.
Hmph.
"..."
An embarrassing sound from behind her made me blush.
I couldn't see what was going on behind me because my back was turned, but the sound alone made it even more embarrassing.
What would someone think if they saw Officer Lestrade removing his top in the middle of the training grounds and me standing there, red-faced and flustered?
I don't think their reaction would be to wish me a good time.
I wonder how long I endured this torture that wasn't torture.
"The injection is done, you can turn around now."
"Sure."
Finally, behind my back, Constable Lestrade granted me my freedom.
As I struggled to turn my already exhausted body around, my eyes caught sight of Officer Lestrade, still exposing her body parts.
"Holy shit!"
"What?"
The profanity popped out of my mouth as I screamed, sensing I'd been fucked.
Surprised by my sudden reaction, Constable Lestrade froze, and her hand that was pulling her top back down stopped.
The gust of wind exposed her-
"Shit!"
"?"
I scream, having lost my nerve, and Officer Lestrade, still not comprehending the situation, freezes.
The surveillance cameras at the training center must have caught the whole thing now.
I'm sure I'll be called in to Lt. Ellis's office again tomorrow to be poked and prodded like a madman.
Ah!
I'm so fucking resigned!