A Plan

"May I ask where you are taking us, Miss Brissia?"

Harris and I's accidental encounter with Benjamin took us deeper into the night. At every step I took, the image of a purplish light flaring from Mrs. Olivia's eyes and the pained look of the teaching assistant haunted my mind. Answering Benjamin meant letting Harris know, but ignoring his question somehow unsettled me.

That feeling lasted until I was standing in front of a distinctively carved door. I couldn't open it right away. No, not because the woman behind the door said that it couldn't be opened by just anyone. It was more of an opportunity cost that I had to pay: the teaching assistant's memory... or the trust of the two people who helped me.

Then suddenly, someone's hand behind me reached forward.

"I don't feel good about it, Brissie."

Said someone who then opened the door without hesitation. I turned my head only to find Benjamin looking just as wary as Harris while following us inside. Strange men. If they weren't sure, why didn't they just wait outside?

The silence that greeted us soon presented the arrival of a woman with purplish black hair.

As she walked toward us, she said, "Well done for finding him in less than three days, Brissia. It must not have been easy for you."

Satisfaction adorned her smile.

I glanced at Harris for a moment, curious about his reaction. However, the man only gave me a quick glance and his expression remained as straight as before we came inside.

I took a step forward, looked at the purplish-black haired woman and said firmly, "It was. Now, let 'him' go."

Madame Ouden smirked, stepping closer in front of me until there was only half a meter between us.

"My, my. Do you really care about 'him' that much?"

A strong force suddenly pulled me to the floor.

Clack!

"Brissia!"

Right after Benjamin called out my name in surprise, I heard a trigger sound. Harris pointed his handgun at Madame Ouden, making me try to get up, but my leg felt like it had sprained as I was forced to my feet. I couldn't understand why she liked to make people's knees kissed the floor.

"Escort her out, aristocratic boy."

Surprisingly after he said that, I could move my legs. When I looked up, Madame Ouden just kept quiet and looked at Harris casually.

"Didn't you hear me?!"

I gulped. Benjamin must've had heard him loud and clear. I could see his eyes going back and forth between Harris and me as if considering something.

Shaking my head, I said firmly to Harris, "You also have to come out with us, Harris."

"No."

"Then what's the point of you being here alone while we're outside?!"

"I'm armed, Brissie! Can't you trust me as much as I trust you to lure us into such a perilous place?"

After Harris called it out to me, silence enveloped the room. My breath catched with mixed feelings. A soft chuckle from a woman made me look at her coldly.

"Fascinating. Two same faces, two different traits, and one concern."

Her murmur turned my gaze to Harris for a moment. He neither moved nor lowered his handgun.

"I must say he has a point, Brissia. Besides, I would like to have a word with him," Madame Ouden said, glancing casually at me.

I clenched my jaw, glaring at Madame Ouden. Before I could say anything again, Benjamin had approached me and beckoned me to come out with him.

***

"Stop holding back your laughter, will you?"

Benjamin stood beside me as I sat beside a fountain with my chin propped up. When his shoulders stopped shaking, he looked as calm and dignified as ever.

"My apologies. Your pouty look's just adorable."

I sighed while straightening my back. "I don't know. I just... didn't think he'd realize it like that."

The turquoise-eyed man let out a small grimace. "After all, what would you expect from a man if you did that?"

I glanced at him with the remains of my annoyance then replied, "Maybe pretending? He was so outspoken."

The calm look Benjamin gave me with his winsome smile confused me. But our eyes then turned to approaching footsteps.

"What a mess," he muttered while massaging his forehead.

I glanced at Benjamin for a moment, who also glanced at me briefly before turning his head the other way. "Sorry for getting you in trouble."

Harris stopped massaging his forehead after I said that. I simply blinked because he looked confused, surprised, and a little curious.

"Why are you here with him?"

For a moment, I turned to Benjamin. "Weren't you the one who asked him..."

"I asked him to escort you out, not stay with you for that long, Brissie."

"Well, well, so..."

We turned to Benjamin as he stepped forward. "...You were expecting this aristocratic boy to leave a young lady alone in an unfamiliar place? How heartless of you, Harris. You also hurt my pride."

"Shut up, you poetic aristocrat. Brissie, let's g..."

"Why don't you tell us first what happened inside that you have to be this temperamental, Harris?"

Harris sighed, looked the other way for a moment.

"That woman knows who I've been looking for."

It reminded me of Benjamin's guess the first time we met him. Whoever it was, they seemed so important to him that he never stopped his search.

"But there's a condition if I want to get more information from her: I have to find a photo of the Miss Savior."

"Wait," I interrupted, "I've heard of her before. Is she one of the locals?"

Harris crossed his arms. "It's a little complicated to say that. Rumor says she grew up in the Algor District, but dedicated her life to the Notus District, then simply disappeared after the inter-district war ended about a decade ago."

"Hm... a story about a female agent who fell in love with her savior, huh? Such a notable folktale. I think she must've had left her photos and files at your work base."

Benjamin's words made me blink. And as if he knew my confusion, he said again, "She was also once an agent in the same intelligence agency as Harris, Brissia. If Harris wants to get the photo of her..."

"You want me to dig my own grave?" Harris cut in annoyance.

"Absolutely not."

His turquoise eyes looked at me meaningfully. "Brissia will be a fake agent while I and a confidant deactivate the surveillance cameras. We turn them off, she take the photo, and you distract your friends. How's that?"

Benjamin's brief explanation apparently sparked Harris's short temper. But before he beat up Benjamin in public, I quickly stood with my back to him.

"Harris, do you remember the sophisticated device you found in my bag?"

Harris's sharp gaze softened when he heard me say that while looking at him.

"I can use that to make a copy of it so nothing will be out of place. Let me contribute to your quest, Harris, as my apology and gratitude for your help so far."

For a few seconds, he just stared at me in silence. I was anxiously waiting for his response, but then he attacked Benjamin instead with a question.

"What do you want by helping me, aristocratic boy?"

Unexpectedly, that was the closing sentence of our encounter that night. Benjamin didn't answer, leaving us alone in the siege of presumptions.

On my dormitory bed, I swiped my phone screen. The incoming mail from Mrs. Olivia almost ignited my anger because apparently nothing had happened to the teaching assistant. But what surprised me even more was that she knew the problem I had with him.

I suddenly felt like laughing, somewhere between relief and annoyance. I was relieved because someone had finally avenged my annoyance at him, but also annoyed because that person had unreasonable power to control everything, including me.

"Brissia, what's in your hands?"

I hastily hid my phone under the pillow while looking to the right. Neya, with her messy hair, sat on the edge of the bed looking at me half-consciously.

"Oh… nothing. Really," I replied, grinning at her.

Neya nod slowly as she got up from her bed. "I'm going to get some water. Do you want some?" she asked as she reached the door.

I shook my head, making her walk out with a slight limp. Seeing that, I approached the door, merely ensured myself that she went down the stairs safely.

When my back touched the mattress, the image of Harris holding a handgun came to my mind. It was my first experience seeing him act like a real police officer. And even though his words shocked me, it also felt wrong for me to keep things from him.

Harris Reister. If only he actually existed in the present, maybe he would have walked with me, Ji, and Nicho many times.