Secret Organization Base, Moscow. Grand Master's Private Room. Floor: Unknown.
The room resembled a CEO's office—tasteful decor, with a panoramic window offering a view of the snowy forest outside.
This was the private chamber of Grand Master Annie Barrett.
Normally, the room would remain unused unless the Grand Master herself was present. But as she was the first to arrive on-site, not a speck of dust could be found—everything had clearly been cleaned and prepared in advance.
Standing silently nearby was her trusted secretary, Skylar, who, unsurprisingly, was also a ranked Master in Thrak.
Skylar observed as her superior reviewed a series of files—images of Jody Johansson displayed across the large desk monitor. And though she tried to focus, her mind kept drifting back to the intense conversation from earlier that day...
Skylar had served Annie since Syd and Roxxy were just little kids. In the Barrett household, she had practically been an aunt—if Annie was Bruce Wayne, Skylar was Alfred.
And of course, it was Annie who had recruited her into the organization.
When the Grand Master went to meet Toshi in person, Skylar had been right there with her.
"Something on your mind, Skylar?"
"—Ah, ma'am?"
She snapped out of her thoughts, startled by Annie's voice—even though she'd been scanning Jody's profile for what must've been the hundredth time.
"You seem like you want to say something."
"..."
"It's about earlier today, isn't it...? I was just wondering... I mean, both Syd and Roxxy are like family to me too... but, ma'am, weren't you a little too harsh on Jody?"
"No."
"..."
But seeing Skylar's lingering concern, Annie elaborated further.
"Don't let what you saw fool you, Skylar. Jody... she's not the type to stop. She never will. Remember that."
She continued, her voice calm yet resolute.
"People like her... they're like harpoons. Once they fix their aim, they'll launch forward with everything they've got. Especially those with the Johansson blood."
Annie turned her eyes back to the screen—but now it displayed the Johansson family tree.
And Jody's picture... was connected by a red line to someone else in that very tree.
"....."
Then, just as she finished speaking—
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
Skylar went to answer. Normally, visitors had to be scheduled in advance—but this was an exception.
It was Toshi Ishii.
Skylar gave a respectful nod. Toshi bowed slightly and stepped inside, walking with hands behind his back as he stopped in front of Annie Barrett.
His expression didn't look good. He began to speak.
"Ma'am... I—"
But Annie cut him off.
"You found out?"
"..."
"...Yes, just as you predicted, ma'am."
Toshi lowered his gaze. Annie, however, remained calm and unshaken.
"You don't need to feel guilty anymore, Toshi."
She turned to him.
"Thank you for keeping an eye on things. But you can stop now. I'll take over from here."
It was as if she had read his mind—he had come intending to resign from his role in monitoring Jody.
Yet, true to his culture, Toshi's first instinct was to be respectful.
"It's not that, ma'am! I—I mean, I can still do it, really—"
"There you go again, Toshi."
Annie's eyes fixed on him, her voice firm. Toshi froze under her gaze.
"You're still doing it... that same old habit. Let that die with my generation. You're the next generation, Toshi. You need to learn to respect yourself too."
"...Yes, ma'am..."
He dropped his head even lower.
"Besides... you're not the person Jody will listen to. What I've asked you to do has drained you long enough. It has to stop."
She looked directly at him again.
"Jody has already cut you off from her trust. That doesn't mean she'll act cold or distant—not at all. Things will seem normal. But it'll take a long time... a very long time... before that trust returns."
"...I see..."
Toshi looked down in sorrow, then asked one more question.
"...But how? How did Jody act exactly the way you said she would? How could you know that?"
"......"
Annie didn't answer the question directly.
Instead, she gave a quiet, composed reply.
"For me... Jody Johansson is the easiest person I've ever had to deal with in my entire life."
In Roxxy Barrett's room.
A large bag had been placed on the table, surrounded by all the group members—except Toshi, who was absent.
"Whoa, what's in here!? Woooow~!"
Sera opened the bag and found all sorts of goodies, mostly snacks.
"This one's for you."
Roxxy pulled out a box of Thai tea powder and handed it to Sera, who happily accepted it.
"Jody's and Mickey's are in another bag."
"Hm?"
Jody raised an eyebrow.
"Mine and Mickey's are in a separate bag?"
Rustle...
Roxxy handed it over. Jody and the green-haired boy exchanged a glance before Mickey nodded at her to go ahead and open it.
The sound of plastic rustling filled the room, and inside... they found what Annie had given them:
Books.
"..."
Jody picked one up. Mickey took another.
Reading the title on the cover, Jody saw:
"Handbook for Mankind"
Written by Bhuddhadasa Bhikku.
She stared at the three volumes in awe. She'd never seen them before, and the fact that they came from the Grand Master only increased her interest.
"What the hell? Buddhist books?! Are you serious!?"
Syd broke into hysterics, tears in his eyes.
"Who the hell gives religious books when meeting someone for the first time!? And translated too!?"
He rolled on the floor, laughing like a lunatic. Roxxy tried to kick him but he didn't care.
Jody ignored him—she was genuinely intrigued.
"Bhuddhadasa... Bhikku..."
The title was interesting enough. But when she Googled the author—her curiosity doubled.
This wasn't some supernatural or mystical crap. This was high-tier philosophy.
"...Bood-da... Booda?"
"Oh... It's pronounced 'Phutthathat Bhikkhu'."
"...Huh?"
Jody turned to Roxxy again.
"Buddha what?"
"Never mind... It's really famous in Thailand."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Mickey picked it up and offered it.
"The library here doesn't even have this. Wanna borrow it?"
"Can I?"
"My shelves are full. Got more at home."
"Cool... I'll take this one then."
She grabbed the one titled "The Self and the Not-Self."
"Go ahead."
"Ugh, nerds. It's thick as hell, too."
Sera peeked at it and whispered to Roxxy.
"Your mom must really get them, huh? Look at this... she brought the whole starter pack."
"Yeah... seems like it."
Roxxy sighed and dug back into her bag.
"Ooh..."
"What?"
Syd asked.
"This one's for you."
Roxxy pulled something out of the bag. Syd took one look at it and spat out a curse.
It was a box of pasteurized plain milk, 0% fat—with a red cartoon cow on it.
"... What the hell..."
Syd tossed his empty milk box aside in frustration.
"Zero fat, my ass."
"Hey! Mom bought that for you!" Roxxy raised her voice.
"And what did you get, huh? What's in your bag?"
"This—"
Roxxy smirked and pulled out a pack of snacks.
"You little shit! That's mine!"
"No, no, no, no—"
"Don't even! Give it back right now!"
"Noooope!!"
Roxxy was easily hoisted up onto Syd's shoulder like a sack of rice. The girl struggled to break free, but she was no match for her older brother's strength.
"Put me down! I'm telling Mom!"
"Awwww~ Such a tattletale~! What's with the snitching, huh~?"
He swung her around a bit before tossing her gently onto Roxxy's bed like a piece of tissue.
"... You asshole..."
"Come at me. Don't be like our damn government—come on, come on, bring it."
Syd crooked his finger at her while clicking his tongue like calling a dog—a subtle jab that Roxxy was dog-sized and not to mess with him.
"What snacks are these?"
The rest gathered around, but Sera was the most intrigued. When it came to snacks, she was all in.
"Oh wow, look at this! This is amazing, wow, just wow."
Syd laid the snacks out. There were several familiar ones—Lay's chips and other Thai snacks. Jody recognized Lay's, of course, but Sera, although used to the "Walkers" label in the UK, immediately recognized the logo—even if the flavors were unfamiliar.
"You've only had cheese flavor in the States, huh? Never seen larb or miang kham flavor before, right?"
Syd nudged Jody's shoulder. She flinched slightly but smiled back, eyes full of mischief.
"Looks tempting."
Sera: "What's this?"
She picked up a bag she couldn't read—but the Barrett siblings froze when they saw it.
Durian.
"Don't open that. Just... just set it down gently."
Roxxy looked like Sera was holding a bomb. The woman was confused and squished the bag.
"It's durian."
Mickey stepped in and took it from her.
"Durian? Ohhh! Durian."
Both girls immediately understood. They backed away fast. No wonder they told her not to open it.
"You amateurs aren't ready for this. Here."
Syd tossed a bag of seaweed chips to Sera.
"Start with this."
"What is it...? Fried... seaweed?"
"Spicy."
Mickey gave her a thumbs up. But Jody had her eye on the durian.
"I've never had it before... First time seeing the real thing. I've heard it's disgusting—or amazing. I want to try it myself."
She nudged Syd teasingly.
"Sure you wanna try it? Want me to peel it for ya?"
He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Yeah. I'm super curious."
"Not in here."
Roxxy shut that down fast, and they all dragged themselves outside.
Syd looked around.
"Alright..."
RIP.
As soon as the smell hit, Jody winced.
"Ugh!?"
She immediately pinched her nose. The smell was intense. Her brain had to create a new memory drawer just to categorize it.
Based on her reaction—yeah, durian wasn't for her.
"Ugh... smells like rotting garbage, Syd..."
She backed away, nose covered.
"The real spiky ones are even worse."
"You serious!?"
No wonder they opened it outside...
"Hey... I don't think it's that bad."
To everyone's surprise, Sera didn't flinch. She looked intrigued—like a cat sniffing something new.
poke poke
"Ooh... squishy, like mustard."
sniff sniff
"... So? How is it?"
Syd asked.
"I dunno... it's not garbage to me. More like... blue cheese."
Jody: "That's not much better."
"It's nothing like garbage! Blue cheese is amazing, you philistine. I'll punch you."
"Oho~ Looks like Miss Chunky's the biggest surprise of the day."
Syd looked at her, impressed.
"Thought you'd be the first to puke."
"Don't underestimate me, dickhead."
"Aight... ladies first."
Syd scooped up some durian and offered it to her.
"Aaaahhh..."
Sera opened her mouth.
"... You bitch... fine."
He fed it to her. She chewed thoughtfully, weighing it in her mind...
"... Can I have another piece?"
"It's mine, you know. This shit's expensive."
"Share, asshole."
Sera flipped him off. Syd gave her another chunk without a word.
chomp
"..."
She chewed.
"Mmm... I like it. Not nearly as bad as I expected. Right, Jo—"
But when she turned, Jody was a full meter away, nose pinched, shaking her head.
"Noooope."
Syd grinned, victorious, popping another bite in his mouth.
"Pathetic."
He chuckled and sat down with Roxxy and Mickey. The three of them huddled around the creamy yellow fruit, munching happily as the smell filled the area.
Jody still didn't get how they could eat it—but her nose was adjusting. She inched closer.
"Eh?"
Sera was mid-bite when Mickey stuffed more in her mouth—and some into his own. When he saw Jody approach, he spoke.
"I didn't like it at first either... but he kept forcing it on me, and now I'm used to it. It's good."
"You can't keep being everyone's emotional support clown, Mickey."
Jody got closer, peeking at Syd and Roxxy squatting and sharing durian like true locals.
She was weirded out. Then intrigued. She crouched down and peered at the bag.
"Well? You gonna try some?"
Syd offered her a piece.
"Last chance."
"...Sure."
Jody opened her mouth. Go big or go home.
"Aaaah..."
"Hmm? If I remember correctly, your legs are the issue, not your hands, right?"
"...Uh, yeah?"
"Then use them. Pick it up yourself, dumbass."
"Feed me."
She couldn't squat well, so she crawled like a four-legged creature.
"...This is tragic."
"Aaaah."
Syd shoved a piece into her mouth. As soon as it hit her tongue, the smell exploded.
She tried to chew, but nope. Her body rejected it completely.
"GAAAGH!"
Half-chewed durian fell out of her mouth—right into Syd's hand.
"YOOOOO!!! WTF!?"
Syd exploded.
"You spit durian into my hand?! WTF, YOU ANIMAL!?"
The chaos erupted. Sera's high-pitched laugh echoed through the space—until Syd hurled the durian chunk at her face.
"Kyaaaa!!! Screams!!!"
"The hell you laughing at, bitch!?"
"YOU THREW IT AT MY FOREHEAD! YOU FREAKING ANIMAL!"
Syd had perfect aim. Direct forehead shot.
"...I'm so sorry..."
Jody apologized, horrified. Roxxy handed her some water.
"You really hate durian, huh?"
"It's the smell... I just can't."
"You're worse than Mickey. We might need to tie you down and force-feed you."
"Please don't."
"You freakin' cripple..."
Syd raised a foot like he was gonna kick her—but stopped himself mid-air.
"...Useless hobble-leg..."
He switched to insults instead.
"Sorryyyyyy..."
Jody mumbled as Syd scooped her up one-handed like a wet puppy.
"Where you going?"
"To wash my freakin' hands!"
But he didn't go alone—Sera was chasing after him trying to kick him. She missed.
Jody: "I'm coming too."
"You seriously tagging along after that!?"
"Pleeease~ Forgive me, Syd~"
Jody marched after them.
Roxxy, left behind, continued munching durian.
"...Maybe I'll save some for later. There's still a lot left..."
"Just don't store it in my room."
Mickey replied.
Then—ding!
Their phones vibrated. Roxxy and Mickey checked the screen.
It was a message from Jade.
"The Grand Meeting starts in 10 minutes. Please meet in the conference room ASAP."