Infiltrating the Superhuman Training Girls’ School of the Republic of China!

Major Zhou Lizhi’s office. Perhaps because it was the weekend, she was wearing comfortable civilian clothes instead of her usual brown uniform. As soon as I entered, she asked about my well-being in a dry manner.

I also sat across from her with a dry attitude and answered that I was generally doing fine. The major said:

“The overall physical fitness level is better than other years. I suppose they often just pick anyone from among the ability users to send as exchange students, and military veterans don’t come very often. But for now, 60% consistently passing the basic fitness level in the first week seems acceptable…”

“It’s 50%, Major.”

I said. Zhou’s eyebrow twitched.

“Six out of ten students have been successfully completing the track run consistently.”

“One of them is playing tricks with a doll. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed yet?”

“Playing tricks with a doll, ah, damn it.”

Zhou Lizhi seemed to have just realized what she had been missing. The puppeteer, Celine Demetriades. A Greek superhuman with innate talent for playing tricks with ‘dolls’ in some way.

At first, she might have had difficulty naturally implementing the running motion, so she was immediately caught by me and Duey, but she had succeeded in avoiding the instructor’s keen eye by mixing in with others and running appropriately.

As her skills only improved day by day, Zhou Lizhi hadn’t noticed at all. The fact that this Greek exchange student was playing tricks with a doll to hide her lack of physical fitness and avoid troublesome tasks.

“I’ll have to point it out appropriately tomorrow. Thanks for letting me know, Platoon Leader.”

“It’s nothing, Instructor. It’s just what I should do given my role.”

“How’s the atmosphere otherwise? Anything bothering you?”

“There’s bound to be various talk about the pop quizzes. In fact, it’s not just the military science subject, but there seems to be some pressure about grades being given through constant tests requiring a somewhat heavy amount of memorization.”

“How many of them actually need to get good grades here anyway?”

“It’s an important issue for some. Rather, it’s an easier test for those who don’t need those grades.”

“You mean the colonel and the lieutenant.”

“They’re commissioned officers in their own right. Paris and Moscow must have their own know-how. When I asked, they said they learned it in their respective countries. As for me, well, I didn’t have the opportunity to learn such things in college, so I’m a blank slate…”

That’s a lie. Once recruited as a CIA agent, I had to handle an enormous amount of study as well as tremendous training. Of course, I’ve memorized the personal information and field records of the ability users in this Chinese textbook to the point where I can recite them by heart.

Of course… I have to pretend to study. I can’t arouse suspicion from the Churchill lady who shares the room with me.

“Yes, I understand the gap.”

Zhou Lizhi nodded readily.

“But this isn’t a situation where we can be lenient about such things. I don’t think we need to be lenient either. They should overcome it. Placing importance on grades at this school means they intend to follow the curriculum through the second and third years. If they want a Huangpu diploma, pop quizzes in the first semester of the first year shouldn’t be a big problem. The grading is just an incentive to make them seriously commit to memorization.”

“I understand. I get it.”

“Any other special problems?”

“To be honest, I don’t understand the presence of the Soviet colonel. Everyone except Lieutenant Duey is uncomfortable. Even my roommate finds it awkward that an officer from a communist country is walking around in uniform in China.”

“It’s more surprising that Lieutenant Duey gets along well with her. Was it the right decision to put the two soldiers as roommates?”

“If it’s not Lieutenant Duey, it seems no one else could handle her. But… is it okay? If rumors spread that she’s getting too friendly with a Soviet colonel, wouldn’t it become grounds for purging or something like that within the French military…”

“The internal affairs of the French military are not our business. That’s for Catherine Duey to handle herself. And I can assure you, even the French President doesn’t have the power to purge a powerful flame ability user for such a reason. It’ll be fine. Rather, Lieutenant Duey might be pretending to be close to her to probe the high-ranking Soviet officer. I welcome a Western European officer sharing the surveillance work I have to do.”

“That’s true. From your perspective, the French lieutenant is certainly someone you can rely on to some extent.”

“Except for you, Eun-young.”

“I haven’t done anything to earn your trust, Major.”

“I have no choice but to trust you forcibly, Platoon Leader.”

Zhou Lizhi chuckled. For a moment, I thought her smile was quite charming. The fact that she’s been able to endure while building up such a notorious reputation must be because she has the ability, background, and charm all together. I wonder how many lovers she’s had. Among them, how many truly fell for her charm instead of succumbing to her authority.

It’s impossible to know. There’s no reason to know either.

“If you can’t trust, don’t use; once you use, don’t doubt.”

“That’s from the Ming Xian Bao Jian.”

“Appointing you as platoon leader is also like using a person. Once I’ve used you, you’re the person I trust the most. No matter how qualified other students are, how trustworthy they might claim to be, those things are meaningless.”

“I’m grateful for your kind words, but.”

It’s certain that she’s still looking at me with eyes full of desire.

“Do you see any other interpersonal problems? I’m worried about the Briar Churchill issue. Honestly, even I can’t completely suppress her. Churchill’s talent is by no means inferior to mine. If we fought now, I would win, but when she gets a bit older, she might be able to overpower me.”

“Churchill isn’t a person who can form normal relationships with ordinary people. She’ll make herself an outcast, but she’s the type who doesn’t mind that, so I think it’s okay.”

“Don’t you like her?”

“I quite like her. I decided to try to see her in a good light anyway since we have to live together as roommates. Living with someone you dislike is just painful, isn’t it?”

“I was worried about her relationship with Shradha Bhatt. They seemed to dislike each other.”

“Well, Major, from what I see, Bhatt dislikes Churchill, but Churchill doesn’t dislike Bhatt. Of course, it’s true that she keeps provoking Bhatt. But that’s because she enjoys stimulating Shradha Bhatt, not because she dislikes her. Rather, she seems to find it amusing to see her getting riled up constantly. By her standards, that’s a sign of affection.”

“She’s a difficult person to handle.”

“I think so too.”

Zhou Lizhi laughed again. She said to me:

“It was right to entrust you with this task. You tell me such interesting stories. If I had brought someone else, they probably wouldn’t have objected much to my assessment that Bhatt and Churchill were growling at each other. But the story you told me seems to fit the facts better. Putting everything else aside, it was the right decision to give this task to Churchill’s roommate, who could be considered the biggest troublemaker.”

“It’s new to be highly evaluated for such reasons. It seems we’ve pretty much said everything we needed to…”

Quite some time had passed. Zhou seemed to realize that keeping me for a long time in a weekend interview without any special reason was burdensome, and she nodded while shifting in her seat.

“Ah, right. Yes, it’ll soon be mealtime. You should go back before then.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Uh, um, yes. You should go back. I’ll let you go. You should go back.”

“If you have anything else to say, please say it quickly. I don’t want to leave feeling uneasy.”

“Ah, um.”

Seeing Zhou Lizhi sweating profusely with an obviously flustered expression made me laugh. It was clear she had something she wanted. At the very least, there was clearly something she wanted to ask, but it was funny that she couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.

I wonder if she’s ever fumbled like this in front of a student before. Judging by her attitude, it doesn’t seem like she has. It’s clear she’s never been in a position where she had to look up at a student from below.

If it wasn’t her first time, such a reaction wouldn’t come out. A face like a virgin trying hard to act tough. Having finally mustered up courage, she cautiously asked me.

“You.”

“Yes, Major.”

“You, um. You kissed me. Although it was over tape, you didn’t completely reject physical contact in some way. And you said my face was okay, I think you said something like that…”

Listening to her words, I couldn’t hide the smile that automatically appeared on my face. Is this really Zhou Lizhi? The rumored sex offender, the violent tyrant, the trash woman who picks easy women to drag into her bed?

While I’m not free from accusations of being trash who eats and discards women who are easy to use, I can’t help but laugh seeing a woman who exploits others using her power stammering and saying such submissive things.

It’s even irritating that such an aspect is strangely cute.

“Well, yes, I did say that.”

“That is, in other words, rather than despising me because of that incident… rather than never wanting to contact me again, can I take it that you have some degree of goodwill towards me, that kind of…”

“Are you asking me out, Major?”

Zhou Lizhi flinched in surprise and blushed.

“Uh, um…”

“That’s troublesome. It’s inappropriate in light of social norms, but I don’t like it either. Why me? Why should I… with a woman who suddenly tried to push me against a tank wall and shove her knee between my legs, that kind of…”

“No, I’m not suggesting a formal relationship. And if you want, I can officially apologize for that day’s incident…”

“Have you apologized to other women?”

The major closed her mouth.

“Or is it your personality to not apologize unless it’s to a woman who has forced you to your knees with strength? Is that some kind of personal principle?”

“Ah… umm…”

Briar Churchill might be right.

Maybe a woman whose momentum has been broken once can’t resist. Even though it’s obvious she would win if we fought right now.

“It seems you were expecting something, but honestly, I have no intention of giving it. What were you expecting? A proper kiss? A hug? Or my reflection that I must have been crazy then and my submissive posture under you? Or if not even that, an innocent confession and acceptance? Major. You know that such things are a luxury for you. If you’ve already walked the path of a demon fallen to desire, you should maintain consistency.”

Zhou Lizhi dropped her arms helplessly with a face that had completely lost words. I stood up abruptly and said to her with a slight smile.

“Are my words painful, Instructor?”

“I don’t know why, but they certainly are.”

The major admitted readily. I shook my head with a troubled expression.

“But I regret it a bit after saying it. I thought, no matter what, I shouldn’t speak so rudely to a professor who has the authority to grade me, right?”

“…It hurts because they’re harsh words I can’t refute…”

“But since you’re the worst instructor, you could probably use this sufficiently. Turning your positive evaluation of me into a negative one, using it as a weapon to corner me and play with me. I don’t want to leave with only bad feelings. I can’t trust your character, Major.”

“No. I might have lured with benefits, but I’ve never threatened using disadvantages. My proposals were always good if done, and fine if not. I’ve never made such evil deals…”

She stopped speaking for a moment. It was because I had lifted a part of her hair and lightly bit her earlobe.

As I gently tickled her soft ear with my tongue, I could feel the delicate sensation of the instructor’s arms trembling. I slightly removed my mouth from her ear and whispered:

“It’s the same, Major. From the receiving end, it’s the same.”

“Bu… but…”

It was just a light touch that could barely be called foreplay, but Zhou Lizhi’s breathing was quickly becoming heavy. I continued to whisper in her ear, seeing her face, ears, and neck turning red.

“I hope this settles your anger. I’d like to receive fair grading without personal feelings in the next test.”