The room wasn't as filled like I remember as we walk in, but I do see a group of people wearing the same white coat as the woman that's with us, along with the General.
"Tch." Charlotte however, clicks her tongue. Of course I understand why as to our left, sitting at the table is the man in glasses, wearing his white suit along with the woman that accompanies him.
"Charlotte, let's go." Lisa speaks in a hushed voice as we soon move over to the right side of the table.
Charlotte and Lisa take their seats, but I choose to remain standing, not knowing whether it's okay for me to do so or not. I take a moment to look over at the man in glasses as he just smiles in at us. What is all of this about?
"Thank you for coming on such short notice." The General is the first to speak up as he addresses us. "Frigg, I've taken your proposal into consideration." Frigg, that's Lisa if I remember correctly.
"Then why are we here? Is there a problem?" Lisa, in a stern tone, questions the General. The childish side of her from earlier is now nowhere to be seen as she now emits the same dominating aura as the old man.
"On the surface, no, there's no problem. However, Mr. Hackett does provide security in case something goes wrong." Hackett?
"I do believe the girl would be better working under me."
Suddenly, the man in glasses spoke. Is he Hackett? But something else drew my attention as I saw Charlotte clench her fists on the table while remining silent, staring daggers at the man in glasses.
"And in my report I have given, I think it's wise to keep things within our control. I know he's powerful and will be able to mitigate damages, but I believe that it's not needed." At Lisa's words, she turned to face me, her face relaxing for just a moment as she gives me soft smile before turning back to face the General. I remain standing where I am, keeping silent like last time. "As you can see, the girl's quite obedient, and no incidents have occurred as of yet."
"But if something were to go wrong, would you be able to handle it? A hybrid?" The man in glasses speaks up once more. His grin refusing to leave his face for a second, which seems to have only pissed off Charlotte even more, but she still chooses to hold back, not saying anything.
"That is what we've come to discuss today." The General adds on to the man's words. "Frigg."
"Yes?"
"I'll have you prove that your capable of taking on this task."
"Sir?" At the Generals words, Lisa seems almost confused as she questions what he means.
"You and the Lieutenant will take the girl into the testing room. There you will take off her mask. If nothing happens, then I'll accept your proposal of taking over Hackett's job."
"What?!" Both Charlotte and Lisa let out surprises voices as my body almost instantly froze up. The man in glasses kept his smile, actually, it seems like he's more happy than before, as if he was expecting to hear those words from the General.
"Don't you think that's too much?" Finally, Charlotte was the one to speak up to the General.
"It's been long enough. If you're not confident with this, you're more than happy to decline. However I will have to refuse the Major's proposal."
So in other words... I need to look at Lisa directly in order for Lisa's plan to work? Not only me, but Charlotte and Lisa still look stumped at the sudden announcement. And if we refuse, I'm to be handed over to that man?
"That's-"
"Okay." Before Charlotte could voice anything, Lisa cut her off. "We'll proceed with that."
Everyone in the room looked towards Lisa in shock, but what I found even more surprising was that the man in glasses finally broke his smile as his mouth opened up ever so slightly, looking bewildered at Lisa's words.
"L-Lisa!" Charlotte obviously raised her voice as he turns to Lisa in her chair.
"It's okay. I trust the two of you."
Charlotte's face contorts, almost as if she's in pain while facing Lisa. Seeing her like this, I also feel a tight sensation growing in my chest, making it hard to breathe. In that moment, Lisa gently places her hand on top of Charlotte's head, a bright smile on her face as she looks back and forth between the two of us before turning back to the General.
"Are you sure about this?" The General asks as if to make sure. It's clear that he values Lisa if he's to be asking that. It's making me think that the whole point of this was to cement Charlotte and I working under that man in glasses. So to hear Lisa go along with this mustn't have been what he expected.
"Yes." Lisa responds in a quick fashion with zero hesitation.
"...Very well."
My feet still feel as if they're frozen to the ground as I try and process exactly what's going on. I am meant to look at Lisa, right? It's crazy to think that Charlotte was just talking about holding off until her mom is back for us to do this, so to now be hit with this all so suddenly, I can't help but be worried. I'm confident that when I look at Charlotte, nothing will happen, but can the same be for Lisa? The thought of killing her, one of Charlotte's loved ones, right in front of Charlotte It's scary...