Some time had passed since Gloria started learning martial arts.
She was only twelve, of course.
But already, a lot of the awkwardness had fallen away.
'Once she hits her teens and her body starts to lengthen out, her movements are going to be remarkably clean.'
She'd even picked up Muay Thai and kickboxing in no time at all.
Though she seemed genuinely interested in stand-up fighting.
Grappling techniques — jiu-jitsu, wrestling, anything on the ground — she flatly refused to learn.
When I asked her why, her answer was something else entirely.
"Why would I ever need to roll around on the floor?"
It was as if she'd stepped out of a martial arts novel, where hitting the ground to dodge an attack was the ultimate humiliation.
Gloria, with her towering pride and ironclad self-respect, despised ground techniques with a passion.
"Even so, it wouldn't hurt to at least know how to defend against them, just in case."
"…Fine."
Having absorbed a wide range of fighting techniques, Gloria seemed to be gradually finding genuine enjoyment in moving her body.
Watching someone who always looked bored actually train with focus was genuinely moving, but.
There was one thing that still worried me.
"You're not planning to use what you've learned when we all meet together, are you?"
"How many times are you going to ask me that? I couldn't care less what those animals do."
"W-Well, that's a tremendous relief."
Not just Liberty, whom she'd fought before.
It seemed Victory had also cleared Gloria's threshold of acceptable company.
Anyway, as long as no one picked a fight with Gloria first, I had her word she wouldn't start anything — so it was time to check in with the other two.
I headed to Liberty's cell next. She was as grubby as ever and greeted me with enormous enthusiasm, but.
That era was coming to an end.
Swish…
"Woof?! Woof woof!!!"
"Liberty, you get excited just seeing this now, don't you?"
"Pant pant pant!!!"
I'd given it serious thought — what kind of gift to give Liberty.
But thinking back to Gloria and Victory's cases, there was no real reason to tie her to something material.
So I pulled a comb from my pocket and began working it through Liberty's tangled hair.
"Purrr… Grrrr…"
Her hair was nearly half-curly, so it didn't comb through easily.
Still, with her head resting in my lap as I worked through it, she purred so contentedly it was almost absurd.
Even when a Lower-level Manager in protective gear came in to clean the cell, she paid them absolutely no mind.
"Th-Thank you so much again, Maxwell, sir!!"
"You've worked hard."
I had no idea why the manager was thanking me, but.
Perhaps it was time to bring up the three-way meeting.
I gently floated the plan to Liberty.
"Grrrr… Woof…"
"So — would it be alright to meet those two again from before?"
"Pant pant… Woof!!"
Fortunately, Liberty let out a sound that seemed to mean she didn't particularly mind either way.
That left Victory as the last one.
She was the first one I'd told about the plan for all of us to live together, and.
Of the three, she was the easiest to actually talk to.
I went to her and let her know the time had finally come — but.
Did the prospect of seeing Gloria again, the one she'd fought before, send her multiple personalities into a spiral she couldn't control?
Even with me standing right in front of her, Victory's eyes began to spin, and she suddenly started acting strangely.
"Oh, actually — this could work out. If we play it right, this time we could—"
"No! I really, really hate that girl!"
"Right, revenge!! Let's get revenge!!"
"I kind of just want to kill her…"
"But she's too strong. Victory can't beat her."
"But it's Maxwell's request."
"Right, if we're going to live together, there's no way around it."
Victory's personalities were colliding with each other.
It was genuinely the first time I'd seen her like this, and I didn't quite know what to make of it.
But it also meant she really, truly did not want to see Gloria.
I waited calmly, and then Victory's head suddenly dropped forward, her body going rigid.
A moment later, as if the strange display had never happened, she slowly lifted her head.
She looked up at me with a bright, open smile and spoke.
"Victory will meet them both!"
"Good. I really appreciate it."
"Hehehe! I'm kind of excited!"
She was a white rabbit forcing herself to look happy.
Still — the preparations were finally complete.
I'd already put in a request with the supply team to arrange a meeting space for the three of them.
I was genuinely anxious about it.
But in the end, even the Himalayas had to be crossed.
Just in case things went sideways, I pulled out a business card I'd been holding onto.
******************
A little while after getting the children's promises.
The meeting space had been expanded from before, and.
Reconfigured into three separate sections.
All three children had already been placed inside together.
I was giving them a little time to adjust to the unfamiliar space.
Standing beside me, Security Director Yoon Carter studied the interior of the lab with keen interest.
"Honestly, I thought this would take over a year… and yet here we are already?"
"I'm just grateful the children have been willing to listen to me."
He was the one who'd told me to reach out anytime I needed help.
So I had — and the Security Director had taken a strong interest in the children's meeting.
It didn't seem to count against the favor he'd offered.
The reason was simple enough.
"If it were possible, I'd love to train those three as special operatives — what a shame. Especially…"
The Security Director had his eye on Gloria as a potential successor — a girl whose potential wasn't just a yellow sprout but had already turned black.
I understood well enough why he'd think that.
So we stood together watching the children and exchanged idle conversation.
And then, gradually, the moment of the meeting arrived.
My palms were soaked with sweat from the tension.
With damp hands, I worked the small remote, and the black curtain blocking the children's view of each other slowly rose.
Gloria, Liberty, and Victory looked at one another.
Their faces scrunched up immediately, as expected.
Especially Liberty and Victory, who were glaring hard at Gloria —
"It's as if that little one has become the common enemy of every mutant in the room."
"I'm really hoping they don't fight. Though the initial atmosphere seems… manageable."
A situation like — why are you looking at me like that? —
…thankfully did not materialize.
Gloria was simply yawning, as if she found the whole thing tedious.
A well-fed predator, utterly unbothered by the stares of a wolf and a rabbit.
The atmosphere was still cold, but we'd moved to the next stage.
Beep!!
Whirrrr…
One more press of the remote, and now even the reinforced glass separating them descended into the floor.
Nothing stood between the three of them anymore.
I'd been half-afraid Liberty and Victory might team up and go after Gloria together, but.
Liberty took one step forward and stopped.
Victory kept flinching but held herself back.
They were still honoring my request not to fight.
I let out a breath of relief and glanced sideways — Security Director Carter was watching with what looked like genuine amusement.
Our eyes met.
He gave a small smirk and gave me a push on the back.
"Go on, Maxwell."
"Haah… I suppose I have to."
"Better to take the hit sooner than later."
The Security Director — who could not only transfer his own damage to others, but redirect damage dealt to others to some degree as well.
With his encouragement that he'd protect me if things came to blows, I stepped into the meeting space that was rapidly beginning to feel like a killing field.
Immediately, all three pairs of eyes locked onto me.
Of the three, Liberty and Victory's faces bloomed the moment they saw me.
Liberty in particular came sprinting toward me to throw herself into my arms, just like before — but.
This time, there was a very formidable competitor.
Ping───!!!
"Maxwellllll siiiiiir!!"
"Oof?!"
Victory, with her Acceleration Ability, reached me faster than Liberty and buried herself in my arms.
Was it the shock of having her spot stolen?
Liberty's face crumpled in absolute devastation.
But she wasn't about to lose — she latched onto me at full speed a moment later.
"Grrrrrrrr…"
"Eeeeeeek…"
Thwack!! Thwack thwack!!
And so the black wolf and the white rabbit, both clinging to my chest, snarled at each other.
But they seemed to understand that if they actually fought like this, the powerless, fragile adult between them would get hurt.
So they settled for weak, pointed kicks — just enough to express their mutual loathing.
The problem was that holding two ten-year-old girls at once was absolutely exhausting.
I quickly checked on Gloria's status.
"Heh."
Fortunately, Gloria was simply watching with an expression that said she found the whole spectacle utterly beneath her.
And the moment she caught my eye, the first thing out of her mouth was —
"They really are a pair of animals."
"Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!"
"Whaaaat! Did you just say what I think you said?!"
Liberty hissed and Victory shrieked at Gloria's insult.
***************
The three-way meeting turned out to be far more successful than expected.
What was genuinely surprising was that, when all was said and done, Gloria had simply become a bystander.
The worst relationship in the room was between Victory and Liberty, who were competing over me.
Reflecting on the old saying that life is impossible to predict even one step ahead, I escorted the children back to their cells.
In any case — if I kept arranging these three-way meetings until they were fully used to each other, I'd need to ask the Director to set up a place for them to live together.
Back in my office, I melted into my chair, quietly celebrating the fact that I had crossed the Himalayas today.
Everyone else was aware of the three-way meeting I'd pulled off.
No one felt the need to bother me.
I simply sat there in a pleasant daze, doing absolutely nothing productive.
But a little while later.
Amano came over and told me something.
"Um… Maxwell, senior? Apparently the CFO would like to meet with you?"
"Pardon? Why would he want to…"
The core executive who controlled Black Cell's finances had summoned me.
The CFO's position was such that even the Director couldn't treat him carelessly, and.
Field staff like researchers had absolutely no reason to ever meet with him.
He was even known among the executives for being something of an island unto himself.
So why was he asking for me?
Well — I had plenty of time right now.
I headed straight to the CFO's office.