“You heard the boss. He said until today is over, we should refrain from outside activity. We’ll eat, take our medicine, and sleep.”

“Are we staying inside all day?”

“Of course. Aren’t you going to sleep? You’re really not tired?”

“Not much. If I get tired later, I’ll just nap for a bit. Then, what about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? There’s nothing special planned for tomorrow either.”

“Nothing at all?”

“Yeah, nothing. A day off is a day off only if you lounge around at home.”

Ro would have thought the opposite. He had assumed that on days without work, his schedule would be packed with plans with other people, so to be honest, it was unexpected.

“I thought you’d have plenty of plans even on days off.”

At Upsilon’s words, Ro snorted.

“I’ve heard that a thousand times. Even the boss said the exact same thing to you back then.”

“I thought because you’re good at honey traps, and because you met the secretary of Chairman Roelo for aftercare recently, that you must like meeting people.”

“Upsilon. Honey traps are just my business skill. Connecting Selly with a lawyer was the least I could do, and I did it because I thought it was the minimum apology and decency I could offer for trying to use her. Thinking I like meeting people because of my specialty, that’s just your prejudice against me. Is that enough of an answer?”

It really did seem like he had heard that one or two times before, because Ro spoke fluently as if reciting a prepared line. It was still hard to understand why he felt the need to make minimal apologies and basic decency toward a mission target, though.

“Upsilon, do you know what your expression looks like right now? It’s a face that says there’s no way to understand this.”

“Doesn’t that mean you feel guilty unless you pay some kind of price in your own way?”

Ro, who had shoved bacon and fried egg into his mouth together, stared at Upsilon with a look of surprise.

“Guilt? That’s an unusual way to put it.”

“Why is that unusual?”

“Usually when I say things like that, people are more likely to say I’m just rationalizing.”

Maybe Ro had chosen the wrong profession.

“You thought I wasn’t suited to Amabile, didn’t you?”

“…”

At Ro’s casual question, Upsilon began eating his own pancake instead of answering, and from his silence Ro read the meaning of yes.

“I’ve noticed it sometimes, but Upsilon, you really can’t lie.”

“You said the same thing last time too, but in my whole life, you’re the only person who’s ever said that to me.”

“Really? Then maybe you just can’t hide anything related to me?”

Can’t hide it? Ro, who was grinning at him, made Upsilon furrow his brow slightly. Before, he had even doubted whether his own expression showed too much without him noticing, but his face was always the same. He was certain it was no different now, so he didn’t know what looked different to Ro.

“Are you saying I can’t keep my expression under control?”

“No? Your expression is always the same.”

“If not my expression, then what are you looking at to say that?”

“Well… your atmosphere and feeling? I’m really good at sensing that sort of thing.”

If he had only said that and been wrong every time, Ro might have dismissed it as nonsense, but more often than not he guessed Upsilon’s inner thoughts with uncanny accuracy, so Upsilon was left speechless.

“Other people probably can’t imagine it, but every time I see the version of you that is obvious to my eyes, I think, this guy really likes me.”

“…”

“Unless you want to accept it, I shouldn’t be getting this close… or something like that.”

Ro set down the fork and knife he had been holding above the half-finished plate and quietly looked at Upsilon. The topic of Upsilon’s one-sided crush on him was still uncomfortable, but for Ro it was a problem he had to bring up again somehow.

He had wondered when and how to bring it up, but before he could find a proper timing, the Ashfield mission countdown had begun. If Upsilon told Robert he wanted to continue Ashfield this time, there would be no way to reverse that decision afterward.

“Didn’t we settle that when we stopped at the rest area on the day we went to the orphanage? I don’t think I’ve ever crossed the line you drew.”

Upsilon also seemed uncomfortable with the topic, showing a rare defensive attitude. And Ro agreed that Upsilon had never crossed the line. That was the problem. Upsilon was following the line Ro had drawn too well.

“Right, you do keep the line. Perfectly, in fact.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“There isn’t a problem. …That’s the problem, there isn’t one. Actually, during the orphanage infiltration, I tried to somehow find your weak spot and use it against you, but no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t find anything to use.”

He had thought that if they spent four or five days constantly together, Upsilon would eventually reveal some feelings toward him. Ro had planned to use that to claim Upsilon wasn’t suitable as a partner agent and exclude him from this mission. But as you could see, Upsilon never crossed the line Ro had drawn, and there was even less to pick at when it came to mission performance.

It was easy to understand why Robert had gone out of his way to assign him to this mission. As an agent, Upsilon was perfection itself. On the contrary, everything about Upsilon was perfect, and the only things that kept happening were things Ro had to feel sorry about. His rut incident, the fact that he remembered meeting him five years ago. Here, asking Upsilon to give up the mission felt like putting the cart before the horse, so it was hard to start the conversation himself.

Ro had started the discussion with an uncomfortable topic, but he couldn’t actually continue it properly, and Upsilon spoke first.

“You seem worried that my feelings for you will ruin the mission, but since the opponent is the Ashford family and Ashburn Arlen, I know they’re not easy. There’s already not enough time to focus on the mission, and now you’d have to worry about me too, so it must be uncomfortable. Given your personality, you don’t seem like the type who could keep someone who likes you right beside you and treat him badly or ignore him outright.”

That was Ro, as Upsilon had observed him over the past few days. He could clearly draw a line for those who showed him affection or favor, but he couldn’t coldly push them away. If asked whether that was deliberate or just his nature, the answer was both. The fact that he went to the trouble of aftercare for targets after a mission, even though it was unnecessary once the mission was over, and called it the minimum apology and decency, was proof enough.

If he was like that with targets he only met during missions, how much more so with a coworker? The honey trap, perfected into a skill, was probably the way he had turned that personality into a useful agent ability. Slick yet gentle, sensible, and even if it was a hassle, always trying to do his best by the other person whether target or not. That was the agent Ro Upsilon had understood over the past few days.

“Why would I treat someone who likes me badly or ignore them?”

“Because it’s a one-sided feeling from the other side.”

“Even so… that’s too rude. I think the way you reject someone is wrong.”

There it was. That was Ro’s character. It was one of the reasons he had to be so good at honey traps.

“Ro, I know you don’t want to accept me as your partner. I also know it’s because of emotional reasons, and I know well enough that you feel uncomfortable and dislike someone like me.”

For Upsilon, it had seemed like a problem that would get better over time, that all he had to do was prove his feelings wouldn’t interfere with the mission. But if Ro couldn’t accept that, then none of it mattered. Just because he’d been seen through for loving him, being denied recognition as a partner and told to give up the mission was something he simply couldn’t accept.

“Upsilon. I don’t hate you. Why do you keep thinking I hate you?”

“You may not hate me, but you do find my feelings uncomfortable and annoying.”

All Ro had to say was that he would sort out his feelings, or at least try to. With that one sincere sentence from Upsilon, everything would be over. Then he could carry out Ashfield with a partner agent who was both capable and skilled, but Upsilon didn’t seem to have any intention of saying what Ro wanted to hear.

Even so, Ro couldn’t exactly say, “If you want to be my partner, then sort out your feelings for me first,” because he didn’t have enough grounds to make that demand of Upsilon. Upsilon had never done anything that warranted hearing such a thing from Ro.

That was what made Upsilon harder than the targets Ro usually used for honey traps. Usually the person with feelings becomes the weaker one, but strangely enough, that rule did not apply to Upsilon.

It was clear that he liked Ro, but that was not Upsilon’s weakness, nor was there an emotional crack to wedge into. An opponent who wouldn’t be pushed or pulled according to Ro’s wishes. Facing Upsilon, who argued from logic rather than emotion, Ro even felt as though he was the one being dragged along.

“Ro. Why are you worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet? I already said it won’t interfere with mission performance. I think I proved that during the orphanage infiltration too.”

Faced with an objection he couldn’t refute, Ro eventually gave an airy laugh.

“Right, I can’t say anything about that part.”

Ro picked up his fork again and placed the soft-cooked egg yolk he had been carefully saving for last on top of it. He acted as though the uncomfortable topic was over, but to Upsilon, nothing had been resolved by this conversation. Not wanting to end it in such a vague, inconclusive way, Upsilon spoke again.