Chapter 33: Theo Leaves The Aide Sweating
Theo, in all honesty, was already tired of waiting, but he decided to give it one more second before complaining.
When the second was up, he raised his head. At the same time the door opened, and three people in black suits walked in. The first one Theo set his eyes on, no, it was more like the man demanded eyes be set upon him.
His hair was the first beauty to catch not just Theo’s attention but the light in the room itself, which fell over the grey and danced around it. His eyes stayed hidden behind black shades, lending him a presence at once mysterious and honorable.
Then Theo noticed two more people he recognized.
Watching the two agents behind the prominent man, one male and one female, dragged him back to how awful his first awakening had been because of them.
Especially the woman.
Meanwhile, the branch director rose and greeted the newcomer with a bow and a handshake, even though he was clearly the older man.
"I never thought a day would come when the President’s Aide would grace our small building."
The man in shades chuckled, though his attention drifted quickly to Theo.
"Is this him?" His voice was sharp and thick.
The branch director nodded. "Yes, sir."
The Aide walked up to Theo and sat himself down, then removed his shades, revealing a pair of striking blue eyes.
Theo was so taken aback by the beauty of them that his whole mind froze for a moment.
’It suddenly feels so cold around here.’
The Aide smiled and extended his hand.
"You must be Theolyne. I am Lance. Nice to meet you."
Theo looked down at the offered hand, then up at the two agents. The woman was trying to hide her face now, her gaze fixed on the floor.
He took the handshake and answered.
"Nice to meet you too. But it hasn’t been clarified why I’m being withheld, or why I still haven’t been given my license."
Aide Lance leaned in, his face serious.
"According to the reports, you tested once before and came out F-rank?"
Theo glanced at the two agents behind him.
"Your friends over there were the ones who tested me."
Aide Lance’s brows drew together, and he looked back at his subordinates.
"How come I never knew about this?"
The male agent answered quickly.
"It was all Sasha’s fault. I wanted to file it in the report, but she said it would only be rejected and wasn’t worth the effort, since he wasn’t even a proper F-rank."
Sasha staggered back a step, shaken.
"You liar. When did I ever?!"
She went silent as the Aide’s eyes slid to her, blue and suddenly very cold.
He turned away from the two of them.
"The two of you owe me an explanation for this later."
Then he faced Theo again and bowed his head politely.
"I apologize on behalf of my subordinates. If they’ve displeased you this much, I can have them fired."
Theo shook his head and let out a light chuckle.
"No, no, it doesn’t need to go that far. I would like the lady to apologize properly, though."
At his words, the Aide shot Sasha a sidelong look. She dropped to the floor and kowtowed at once.
"I’m sorry, sir! I’m so sorry for insulting you and looking down on you!"
Theo sighed.
"It’s not just me. I’m sure you looked down on everyone who was unlucky enough to get anything below C-rank. This isn’t about me, it’s about kindness. They already have it rough with their awakening. The least the Association could do is not add to it."
Sasha glared up from under her brow.
’Look at this bastard, preaching to me because you got lucky...’
But out loud she raised her voice at once.
"Yes, I understand! I’m very sorry for the way I treated you, and I’ll take this as a lesson to treat others the right way!"
Theo gave her a dismissive look.
"I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive the Association. I’ll personally discipline her for this," Aide Lance added.
By now, Theo had moved past the topic entirely.
Aide Lance could see it too, and his expression hardened as the next words rolled out.
"I’d like to ask you a question, Mr Theolyne."
Theo gave him his attention as he went on.
"Have you, by any chance, been inside the Tower?"
Theo shook his head. "Never."
Aide Lance laced his fingers together and studied him.
"Then have you gone through some traumatic event lately? A near-death, perhaps?"
Theo’s mind went straight to his death at the hands of Jupiter Lady and Disaster King.
’Could that have been the reason?’
He contemplated it deeply but let none of it show on his face.
"I fell through the stairs while working as a Janitor, about a week ago. I haven’t been back since. But that’s the worst I can remember right now."
Aide Lance weighed his words.
"I see..."
For a moment he was silent, his icy blue eyes drifting out of focus. Then he lifted his head a fraction.
"I’m glad to tell you there’s a strong possibility you’ve awakened as an SS-rank. It might even be SSS. Those two ranks are kept from the public to safeguard their information. The moment anyone realizes you’re that powerful, forces across the nations, and even inside the Tower, will start moving to make sure you’re on their side, willing or unwilling."
He folded his legs and sat straight.
Theo’s expression didn’t move. Behind it, a single thought turned over.
’So that was what all the fuss had been about.’
"Right now, my team is working to erase every photo of you that was captured. The information will be kept out of the media, to protect you and your family. Since your priority is the license, I’ll issue you a provisional one that lets you enter the Tower, though I’d advise against setting foot in it at this stage of your life."
Theo gave him a keen look.
"Why?"
Lance paused, studying Theo and the question.
"Because you’re inexperienced. Even SSS-rank Heroes die on the first floor of the Tower, from being too careless and rushing things."
Theo nodded along.
"Alright. Thank you."
At last the man drew out a black envelope and slid it across to Theo.
"It’s a provisional Hero License. It can grant you S-rank privileges at most, until we properly receive you for measurements at Headquarters. I do hope, Mr Theolyne, that we can at least keep you on favorable terms with the Association. That wouldn’t be a problem for you, would it?"
Theo gave him a short nod.
"It won’t."
He picked the envelope up off the table.
’Why is it always black?’
Then he looked at Aide Lance.
"Can I leave now? I have urgent matters to attend to."
The Aide stood, smiled kindly, and saw him off, even watching him flag down a taxi and pull away from the building.
The whole vicinity was deserted. Everyone had been evacuated, given how sensitive the meeting had turned out to be.
The Branch Director came to stand beside him, and together they looked out at the empty park where Theo had stood only minutes before. The road beyond was just as empty, the taxi long out of sight.
"What’s your evaluation of him?"
Aide Lance sighed.
"I couldn’t evaluate him. The whole time, it felt like I was the one being evaluated."
He tugged the knot of his tie loose and wiped the sweat from the back of his neck. His fingers came away damp.
"Damn it. I hate dealing with people that aren’t transparent."
***
[System Notice: You wouldn’t know this. But while Theo was talking to Aide Lance, of course, he was using Appraisal Eyes]
[So the Author thought it important to show you what Theo saw:
[Profile]
Name: Lance Frost
Age: 24
Rank: A
Attribute Affinity: Ice
Constitution: none
Circulation Art: Six Patterned Frost Petals
Skills: [Winter’s Presence (34.9%)], [Frost Flash(27.8%)], [Frost Severance(45%)], [Unavailable], [Unavailable, you cannot view ultimate skills this due to the low mastery of your skill]