"Lunch?"
I frowned slightly.
From how bright the sun was when me and Hadal woke up, I was sure it was still morning.
"Ma'am… you said lunch. Could you tell me the time?" I asked carefully, keeping my tone respectful.
"Ah, yes. It's about 2 p.m.," she said with a small laugh. "Did you think it was morning?"
…2 p.m.?
That was late.
As I checked my body, I froze.
All my wounds…
Gone.
Completely healed.
This had to be the work of a First Blessing Flow user.
"Thank you for healing me, ma'am. I really appreciate it," I said, standing slightly.
"It wasn't me," she replied. "It was Chioma."
She gestured to the girl on her right.
I quickly turned.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," she said quietly, her tone almost… tired.
I'd heard healing drained a lot of energy.
That made sense.
Knock knock.
"Ma'am, permission to enter. I've brought the food."
A male voice.
"You may come in, Michael."
The door opened.
A man with short hair walked in, pushing a cart filled with pastries, cupcakes, sandwiches—way more than I expected.
He placed everything neatly on the table and turned to leave.
"Michael," she said.
He stopped.
"You should introduce yourself to your new teammates."
"…Ah. Right."
He turned back to us.
"Hello. My name is Michael. I hope you enjoy your time here at Lance Corp."
"Hello, Michael," we both replied.
He scratched the back of his head.
"As you can tell… like you two, I don't have a last name. My ancestors lost their honour."
Hadal perked up immediately.
"Wait—you lost honour too?"
I stayed quiet.
I didn't fully understand that concept… must be a mainland thing.
"Enough," the woman said calmly. "Michael, you may leave."
He saluted and walked out—
Then suddenly came back.
"Oh yeah—Challenger of Fate."
He looked directly at me.
"Get stronger. Fast."
A grin spread across his face.
"I want to fight you as soon as possible."
Then he left.
"…AGH, that idiot," the woman muttered, rubbing her forehead. "Sorry about him."
Now that I really looked at her—
Long blonde hair. Blue eyes. A floral dress.
"…New South Africa?" I thought.
"Now then," she said, straightening up.
"Let's begin."
Her tone shifted—more serious now.
"I assume you've been hearing the title 'Challenger of Fate' quite a lot recently."
"Yes," I replied. "And I have no idea what it means."
"That makes two of us," she said calmly.
"We only have limited information."
She leaned forward slightly.
"But here's what we do know."
"When a Challenger of Fate is born… a beacon is released."
"A beacon only Flow users can see."
Hadal immediately interrupted—
"Wait—only Flow users? I saw it too."
He spoke with a mouth full of croissant.
I almost forgot there was food.
"We'll get to you in a moment," she said. "And please—call me Miss Stillwell. Or Angela Stillwell."
"…Understood."
"That goes for you too, Chioma."
"Yes, Miss Stillwell," she said softly.
I noticed Rose turn her head slightly, trying not to laugh.
Angela continued.
"That beacon will attract powerful Flow users."
She paused.
"Stronger than anything you've seen so far."
"You likely believe double-blessed users are the peak of strength."
She shook her head.
"They aren't."
"The enemies coming for you… some of them won't even struggle against a double-blessed."
A chill ran down my spine.
"…What?"
"You don't look surprised," she noted.
"…I think I've already gone past the point of shock," I admitted.
She nodded slightly.
"Fair enough."
"So these powerful Flow users always existed?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Then why haven't we heard of them?"
She sighed.
"That's the problem."
"We don't know."
A pause.
"But we believe it's connected to you."
"…Me."
"Yes."
"And whatever your existence means."
She leaned back.
"And that's where Lance Corporation comes in."
Hadal spoke this time.
"What exactly is Lance Corporation?"
She smiled faintly.
"Officially? We handle Shalu Academy's finances."
A pause.
"Unofficially?"
Her eyes sharpened.
"We are a spy organization."
"We specialize in gathering information."
That… made sense.
"So what does a finance company want with me?" I asked.
She exhaled.
"…Six years ago, we intercepted something strange."
"Invoices."
"From Shalu Academy officials."
"To the Supreme Race of Fate (SRF)."
My body stiffened.
"They were hiring mercenaries."
"That alone was suspicious," she continued. "So we investigated."
"We tracked down those mercenaries."
"And followed the trail."
Her voice lowered.
"It led us to Lagos."
"A building filled with documents."
"Records of children born without awakenings."
My heart started pounding.
"And every single file…"
She looked directly at me.
"Was labeled—"
'Challenger of Fate.'
Silence filled the room.
"We dug deeper," she continued. "Emails. Reports. Messages."
"What we found…"
She paused.
"…was terrifying."
"And because of that—"
She leaned forward.
"We had to find you before the SRF did."
I clenched my fists.
"They're still after me…"
Hadal looked just as shocked.
"Great," I muttered. "Just great."
Then I asked the real question.
"…What do you gain from this?"
The room went quiet.
Even Rose didn't react.
Angela studied me carefully.
"There are things we can't tell you yet."
A pause.
"But as you grow stronger…"
"We'll tell you more."
"…More?" I narrowed my eyes. "Like what?"
She leaned forward.
"We may… know something about what happened in the Greenlands."
My heart stopped.
"…What?"
"That's our offer."
She extended her hand.
"Join us."
"Both of you."
"Show results…"
"And we'll give you what you seek."
That was it.
The reason I came to the mainland.
Answers.
I didn't hesitate.
I reached out—
And shook her hand firmly.
A faint blue aura flickered from my eye.
"It'll be a pleasure working with you, Angela."