Iris had secretly observed all the candidates, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. As the saying goes: know yourself and your enemy, and you will not fear the outco of a thousand battles.
While Sirius focused on gathering intelligence about the enemy, particularly the duchy , Iris was tasked with identifying the strong and weak links among them, as well as those who possessed potential or talent that could prove useful.
In this context, she had carefully watched Ereis and deduced that behind his frail voice and timid behavior lay nothing less than a genius of chanics. Whether it was weapons, vehicles, or gadgets anything requiring technical mastery , Ereis excelled.
Yet his lack of confidence and his inability to communicate beyond his field of expertise kept his potential from ever being fully realized.
And then there were those about whom Iris had a hunch. But since she had never seen them in action, she couldn’t be certain.
---
"Enough!"
A soft, feminine voice echoed through the warehouse.
The attackers looked left and right, searching for the source of the voice.
Then suddenly, soone fell from the beams above.
"Ouch..." groaned Rana.
The three attackers fixed their eyes on the young woman who had just fallen.
Two hesitated, but the third likely the bravest, or perhaps the dumbest stepped forward and lifted Rana with one hand.
Rana tried to break free.
"You brute, get your filthy hands off !"
However, her gentle voice wasn’t the least bit intimidating. In fact, it seed to reassure the other two, who quickly regained their confidence.
"Well, well... look who we have here."
"What a coincidence, huh?"
Ereis saw that the trio’s attention had montarily shifted away from him. When he turned, he realized why and forced himself to stand.
"Let her go! She didn’t do anything! If you have to pick on soone, pick on !"
Ereis stamred. His body was covered in bruises, trembling with fear.
Yet seeing them hurt that girl , he didn’t even know why , he simply couldn’t stay silent.
Summoning what little courage and pride he had left, he stepped between the attackers and Rana, grabbing the arm of the one holding her to make him let go.
Ereis’s act of bravery only made the trio laugh harder.
One of them struck him with such force that he was thrown to the ground.
Pain exploded through his body; blood stained his mask.
The man who hit him closed the distance, pinned him down, and began punching him again and again while mocking him.
"You think you’re brave, huh?"
"Did you grow a pair just because you saw this girl?"
"Stupid little shit, stay down and watch the show."
---
Rana was angry now.
Even though she wore the green coat of the Bureau of Military Affairs, these candidates clearly didn’t take her seriously.
She wasn’t sure if it was because of her small stature (barely one ter fifty), her cotton-candy pink hair, her rosy eyes, or the way her cheeks puffed up when she raised her voice but very few people ever took her seriously at first glance.
To them, she was just a cute, harmless little girl.
And although Rana didn’t think of herself as violent, she hated being seen as weak.
"I’m warning you one last ti! If you don’t stop hurting him, I’ll beat you up myself!"
Her warning only earned more laughter.
"Ha! Did you hear that? She’s gonna beat up!"
"Oh yeah! And then maybe give a kiss to make it better!"
Their laughter grew louder until one of them had an idea.
"What if we put them together?"
The other seed amused.
"Yeah, what if we throw her at him?"
"Like a basketball shot?"
"Exactly! You get it!"
The one holding Rana told the other to step aside so he could throw her like a ball.
He did so, and the three began to count.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three!"
At "three," the man hurled Rana with all his strength. She flew straight toward Ereis, who was barely conscious.
"Mr. Bob!" shouted Rana before her body collided with him.
Instantly, a pink teddy bear , adorably soft and fluffy, materialized in the air and caught Rana mid-flight.
The teddy bear, whom Rana affectionately called Mr. Bob, gently lifted her like a child in his arms.
The three attackers froze in disbelief at the sight, though none of them saw any danger in such a creature.
That was their mistake.
"Mr. Bob, give them a good beating!" ordered Rana.
Mr. Bob nodded, set his mistress carefully down, and clenched his stubby paws into fists.
The two gemstones that served as his eyes glowed with a nacing light.
As soon as Rana gave the command, she turned her attention away from the bullies and toward Ereis.
"Are you all right?" she asked softly.
Ereis opened his eyes slightly.
"Are you... okay? You should run while I hold them off..."
Rana shook her head.
"Mr. Bob is taking care of them. You’re safe now."
Then she imagined a soft, cozy marshmallow, which appeared instantly, lifting Ereis into a more comfortable position.
Ereis felt the gentle cushion beneath him and glanced toward his attackers. His eyes widened.
Mr. Bob, despite his cute and harmless appearance, beca sothing else entirely when soone threatened his mistress.
His paws, supposedly made of cotton, delivered blows powerful enough to knock out an ox.
The three bullies, utterly stunned, had turned into punching bags for the giant teddy bear.
Mr. Bob fought like a professional boxer: jab, cross, hook, uppercut astonishingly fast for such a round body.
And as if it weren’t a fight between three initiates and a toy, but between a professional fighter and three amateurs, the match was over in under three minutes.
Mr. Bob left the three candidates knocked out cold before returning to his mistress and bowing politely.
Rana patted his head before making him vanish. Then, turning to Ereis, she smiled.
"See? I told you Mr. Bob would take care of it."
Ereis didn’t quite understand what had just happened, but that smile made his heart skip a beat.
He didn’t faint from pain this ti... but from sheer cuteness.
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