Being a member of Section 6 was no light duty. You took it on without hesitation—you were more than capable of handling the workload. That part was easy.

The hardest part was dealing with him—a certain colleague who had a talent for pushing every last one of your buttons. Harumasa never missed an opportunity to get on your nerves, and today was no exception.

You were sparring with him now, locked in combat that had gone on far longer than necessary. It wasn’t supposed to last this long, but fighting him was the only way you could bleed off the tension.

“Come on,” Harumasa complained, already sounding exhausted. “This is fun and all, but do you actually want me to die? We’ve been fighting for hours!”