Turning back the clock a bit.

Nemesis HQ had been set back up fairly quickly. Nemesis had only been instructed to capture Bob, and so had ignored the rest of the Minion Team entirely. There had been some chaos and confusion in the wake of Bob’s escape, but once Nemesis had set off to pursue, those who remained were left to their own devices. So Bob’s team was able to organize an orderly evacuation and quickly set up a new facility as per their contingency plans.

That didn’t mean everything was back to normal though.

Bob heaved a sigh as he walked into the practice range. Nana had barely left since she returned. The girl had resisted the control with everything she had…and so had remembered bits of what happened.

And it was eating away at her.

She ate the bare minimum. She took no breaks. She barely slept.

He needed to do something quick.

“Nana.”

Nana jumped and collapsed on the floor. She quickly scrambled to her feet and knelt in front of Bob, head facing the ground.

“B-Bob…sama…”

He held back a sigh.

He, of course, had tried talking with her. He made it abundantly clear that what happened was not her fault. He praised her performances, he made it clear his primary concern was her wellbeing. He even took her out for ice cream.

But that hadn’t stopped her from blaming herself.

So he decided to try a different approach.

“I have a mission for you.”

“Eh?! A mission?”

“Yes. A solo mission.”

Nana’s head swung up, staring at Bob with wide eyes.

“B-Bob-sama…”

“Before you say anything, only you are suitable for this mission. This is a dangerous and delicate infiltration, requiring you to maintain cover at all times. Only you have the subtlety, focus, and ability to blend in required for this job. If you can’t do it…I’ll have to call it off.”

Nana grimaced…but clenched her fists.

“Then…I will not fail you, Bob-sama.”

Bob nodded.

“I know you won’t. I’ll be counting on you, Nana.”

“Yes!”

Well, it wasn’t all that important, though it would certainly be helpful. His cultivation elixir stock had been diminishing ever since he lost contact with Miss Dayal. Growing certain plants nearby her meditation spots wasn’t the only way to acquire such things…but it definitely was the easiest and most reliable. A bit of a blow after she had been incarcerated with the ILS…but now she had been set free. And was working at the ILS Academy as a teacher.

Which presented an opportunity.

Provided, of course, he had someone who could enter the Academy without drawing suspicion. Particularly now that Londyn knew he had infiltrated her staff.

But she wouldn’t be screening Academy students that thoroughly. Oh, they’d have to undergo more rigorous checks if they wanted to join the ILS…but just to attend the Academy was a simple matter.

Mostly though, putting Nana on a mission would get her mind off recent events. He knew how dedicated she was, she might run herself ragged in her off time, but she wouldn’t allow anything, including her physical condition, to compromise an actual mission. She would suddenly consider taking care of herself a duty instead of an indulgence.

And completing a solo-mission would boost her confidence, allow her to reaffirm her value to him in her own mind.

Also…it would be good for Nana to interact with the rest of the world, meet some more people her own age. Outside of his watchful eyes, with people not affiliated with him.

Provided she kept cover. Though, even if she were exposed he didn’t think it would present that big of a problem, she wasn’t the only ninja out there these days after all. And it wasn’t as though the Academy was a top-secret facility or anything.

And he hadn’t lied about her being the only suitable one for this mission. Arvid and Elise weren’t really suited to undercover work in the first place, and, well, he didn’t really trust Saydaa and Kiyosuke to maintain cover at all times on a long-term mission, especially if they came into contact with Aurora Legion. Nana was the only one he could send with peace of mind.

…

She would be fine…right?

Back to the present…

‘Hirose Emao’ got her lunch at the cafeteria and moved to find a seat. She needed to keep up her strength. She had been exhausted when she arrived at the Academy due to her prior over-training and had slipped up as a result. She hadn’t paid full attention to her surroundings and ended up isolated in a dangerous situation where the only two options were injury or immediately releasing her sealed chakra not a day into the mission.

If it hadn’t been for the timely intervention of Antonio-senpai, her mission would have been at risk from the very start.

She would not allow such a slip up again. So she would ensure she was in top physical condition at all times. And she would make sure to avoid any sort of compromising scenario from now on. Bob-sama was counting on her!

“Hey, Emao! How are you?”

“Oh, A-Antonio-senpai, it’s nice to see you.”

The boy walked up to her, carrying his own lunch.

“You eating in the cafeteria now?”

“Yes…”

“Are you eating with anyone else?”

She shook her head.

“Ah…no…I was just going to eat quickly and prepare for the next class…”

“Well, it’s not bad to be studious but you’re new! You should relax a bit, there will be time to focus later on.”

“Ah…maybe…”

“I know, why don’t you come eat with me and my friends?

“U-Um…is that…ok? Wouldn’t I be…a bother?”

“Of course not! They always enjoy talking with the new students!”

‘Emao’ thought to herself. She had planned to scout out the campus and develop her mission plan…but it would be strange to act too coldly. And, well, she did owe Antonio-senpai her thanks.

“U-Um…well…if you don’t mind…”

He clapped her on the back.

“Come on, this way, I’ll introduce you.”

She jumped a bit at the contact and then followed after Antonio. She wondered what his friends would be like…

‘Emao’ froze.

At the table.

Were five faces that were very, very familiar to her.

“Oh Antonio? Nice to see you.”

Icy Rose raised an eyebrow and grinned.

“Oh? Looks like you brought a friend? You going to introduce me?”

Antonio flashed her a grin and turned…

To find ‘Emao’ slowly shuffling away, avoiding all eye contact.

“I-I…u-uh…j-just remembered something…”

“Emao? What’s wrong?”

“D-Don’t mind me! J-Just go ahead!”

Antonio turned and leaned over to her.

“Hey, everything all right?”

“No! Y-You didn’t tell me you were friends with A-Aurora Legion!”

Antonio tilted his head.

“Oh, sorry, is that a problem?”

‘Emao’ shook her head.

“I-It’s not a p-problem per say…b-but they’re...famous! T-That's right! T-They’re legendary heroes! M-My heart’s not ready…”

Antonio just smiled and clapped her on the back, pulling her along to the table.

“No need to worry, they’re nice, and people just like you and me! You’ll get along with them just fine!”

“U-Um, n-no, r-really, that’s not necessary…h-how about next time…”

But it was too late.

“Hey everyone, this is Emao! She just started at the Academy.”

“H-Hi…I, um, know who you are…”

Chronolock narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin.

“Have we met before? You seem…strangely familiar.”

‘Emao’ shook her head with all her might.

“N-No! W-We’ve never met before! I-I definitely…w-would have remembered…i-if we had met before!”

Wonder Knight rubbed the back of his head and laughed.

“Ahaha, you don’t have to be afraid. Here we’re just regular students, just like you.”

“Y-Yes…r-regular students…l-like me…”

There was no way out.

She was trapped.

‘Emao’ slowly sat down for the longest, most tense lunch of her life.

‘Emao’ let out a sigh of relief as she plopped into her seat. She was a nervous wreck at the moment…but it didn’t seem like Aurora Legion had noticed her. Well, she had of course disguised her face for this mission and she had never actually spoken to Aurora Legion in the past, so it should be fine. But that didn’t help her heart calm down.

Fortunately, she was safe now. She could relax, let her guard down for just a moment. After all, she was in a freshman math course. Basics of the basics. Just some simple geometry, child’s play really. There was no way any of her senpais would…

“Oh hey, Emao! Looks like we’re in the same class!”

Why?!

Why was Voidspeaker in a freshman math course?!

“V-V-Voidspeaker-senpai? W-W-What are you doing in this class?”

He rubbed the back of his head as he took a seat next to her.

“Well, master the arcane, disregard the mundane is my motto!”

She just stared at him.

“B-But…don’t you need precise calculations for arcane formulas?”

Voidspeaker looked away.

“T-T-That’s….”

“Wouldn’t it hold you back and render your spells incredibly inefficient if you were haphazardly putting them together?”

Voidspeaker began to sweat…heavily.

“It’s, um, well…”

“Isn’t that actually kind of dangerous? Shouldn’t you at least know some basic geometry before drawing complicated ritual formations?”

He fell onto his desk.

“I’m sorry! It’s true! I’m dumb, ok! And I hate studying! Especially math! I know it’s holding me back but I just can’t! Go ahead, laugh at me!”

“O-Oh…I-I…I’m sorry? It…um, it’s not that bad…you know? You, um, j-just need a little practice?”

And so ‘Emao’ found herself trying to comfort Voidspeaker of all people…

And then tutoring him through most of the class…

All while screaming in her mind.

‘Emao’ shuffled into the gymnasium, staring forward with a blank look on her face as she tried to move her heavy legs.

She had learned the dark truth behind Aurora Legion.

And now all of her victories, that the whole team was proud of, seemed so shallow and empty.

How could she face her friends again?

How could she look them in the eye?

When now she knew that their worthy opponents…

Their rivals in countless and mighty battles…

…were just a bunch of idiots.

Well, at least they had a physical class now. Aurora Legion would definitely not be at a freshman combat training course, at the very least.

Please!

She was begging!

She glanced around the classroom.

And let out a huge sigh of relief.

Safe.

The teacher walked into the room, a man in thin silk robes. The one called Mr. Wu.

‘Emao’ smiled.

She was looking forward to this, actually. She heard from her…classmates…that Mr. Wu was some sort of reformed villain who had since taken to training aspiring heroes. So she was fascinated to see what sort of new training techniques she could learn from him.

Mr. Wu gathered them up and ran through introductions.

‘Emao’ smiled.

Here it came.

The moment she was waiting for.

What sort of new method would she learn…

“All right, listen up, you unworthy peons! From now on, you are all my disciples. You will refer to me as Master Wu. Now I’m sure some of you idiots are stupid enough to believe you have an ounce of power. Let me tell you…”

The air grew heavy, the students involuntarily holding their breaths as Master Wu released his intent.

“You have no idea what true power is!”

He walked to the center of the room.

“But you’re too stupid enough to understand that, so I’ll teach your bodies instead. Come at me, one by one, or all at once, it doesn’t matter. Use your powers, use anything you have. I will not move from this spot. I will only use a single arm to defend myself. Any of you who manage to land even a single touch upon me will immediately be promoted to the advanced class. Now come, and let me show you how weak you are.”

‘Emao’ froze.

And began to tremble.

This all felt very familiar.

Memories stirred up within her.

Memories not stored solely in her mind.

But carved into her body.

With murderous, bloody fists.

This training method was not new to her.

This training method was one she knew very, extremely, excruciatingly well.

‘Emao’ screamed in her mind.

And quite possibly out loud.

‘Emao’ slowly dragged her feet down the hallway. Her eyes stared forward, unmoving, not absorbing even the tiniest bit of information as the haggard girl dragged herself back towards her room.

She didn’t even notice Antonio-senpai walking down the hall in front of her, waving his hand.

“Hey Emao! How was your first day of class?”

‘Emao’ slowly turned her head as her mind processed what she had just heard.

Her eyes began to moisten. She covered her face with her hands.

And began to sob.

Antonio jumped, his eyes widening.

He…may have ended up calling Icy Rose for help.

It didn’t help.