Chapter 23: The Gift

Hester pushed the door open and stepped out. The moment she crossed the threshold, the entire corridor plunged into darkness, leaving only the light directly above her head still burning.

The surveillance cameras at both ends of the hallway turned toward her in unison. The same mechanical whirring sound from before echoed once more—the sound of lenses focusing.

The thought that Sean’s eyes might be behind those cameras made Hester tense up again. Fear, mingled with fury, caused her to clench her fists, though her face remained entirely expressionless. She refused to let him see her terrified or consumed by impotent rage. After steadying her breathing, she went to knock on the teaching assistant’s door as usual.

There was no response.

"Hester—?" Liz’s voice drifted up from the floor below. Hester couldn't help but shudder.

"...I'm here."

As she spoke, the light above her head flickered out.

In the absolute darkness, Hester heard Liz’s footsteps approaching rapidly until she grabbed her hand tightly.

Liz was panting. "Are you okay? Why did the power go out here..."

In the silence, before Hester could reply, they suddenly heard a banging sound coming from the nearby restroom. "Is someone out there?"

Hester realized it immediately. "...That’s the teaching assistant’s voice."

"Is anyone there? Is anyone there? I think I’ve been locked in the restroom by the automatic door."

"Wait just a moment—" Liz began fishing for her master key. "I'm coming."

...

On the way back to the apartment, Hester recounted the night's events and asked Liz why she had sent that message.

Liz’s expression was complex. "Two weeks ago, Ms. Morley mentioned she wanted to discuss a restraining order against Sean with Masaki Chiba... do you remember that?"

"Yes, I remember."

"This afternoon, Ms. Morley received feedback. Chiba rejected the suggestion outright. She demanded that all existing restrictions and punishments against Sean be lifted, claiming this was merely a normal squabble between trainees and didn't warrant such an overreaction."

"...Is that so."

"Ms. Morley was furious. She had a video call with Chiba this afternoon, and the two ended on bad terms. The current result is that the disciplinary measures regarding Sean's rating adjustment and compensation are internal base matters, so Chiba has no authority to interfere, and Ms. Morley will certainly stand her ground. As for how to limit Sean's movements, we’ll have to find another way..."

"I understand."

"...Hester?" Liz looked at her with concern. "You look exhausted."

"It's nothing," Hester said, reaching up to brush her hair. "The new material today was just very difficult for me."

Along the way, Hester silently ruminated on everything that had happened that night. Clearly, this was undoubtedly Sean’s handiwork. She feared that during the two weeks she thought were peaceful, Sean’s gaze had never truly vanished. He had been watching her from behind some screen all along, only choosing to reveal himself tonight through such a dramatic display.

His choice of timing was likely linked to the news that the restraining order had failed. Liz was right; Sean was indeed wary of the base’s disciplinary power, but that deterrent only held as long as his malicious acts were being caught.

After a brief tremor of fear, a heavy stone in Hester’s heart suddenly dropped. Yes, her judgment had been correct; she had recognized the storm.

Liz continued her analysis, "The power outage tonight was likely Sean’s doing as well. He has remotely manipulated smart appliances in the old buildings before. When we get back, I’ll report tonight’s events to Ms. Morley. Even if we can't upgrade the firmware for all the building facilities yet, we can move your daily classes to the basement. Once there, Sean’s little tricks will never—"

"Liz," Hester said softly, interrupting her. "My... my head is a bit of a mess. Can we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Of course..." Liz looked at her with worry. "I'm sorry."

Hester shook her head—no matter what, you are not the one who should be apologizing.

The two pushed open the apartment door and stepped into the lobby. Mrs. Lavitt suddenly pulled back her window, smiling and waving at Hester. "Miss Fletcher, Miss Hester, you've returned together?"

Hester stopped. "Good evening, Mrs. Lavitt."

Mrs. Lavitt said warmly, "There is a package for you. Come over and sign for it."

"For me?" Hester was surprised. "Who sent it?"

"Hmm, let me see..." Mrs. Lavitt picked up her handheld gold-rimmed glasses and squinted at the large cardboard box beside her.

"Masaki Chiba."

...

Back in her room, Hester placed the package on her desk.

She stared silently at Masaki Chiba’s name on the box for a while; the name stirred complex emotions. After a moment of hesitation, she picked up a pair of scissors and began to unpack it.

It was a forty-centimeter square box. She sliced through the adhesive tape on the top, only to find a smaller box inside, accompanied by a handwritten postcard in Chiba’s script:

"I heard that my ward, Miss Hester, has recently encountered some difficulties. After much consideration, I have prepared a small gift for you. I do not know in what circumstances you will open this package, so please try to be alone. Even if someone is with you, please control your expressions and do not appear too surprised.

"Can you do it? If you are ready, open the package.

"The solution lies within."

Hester, half-doubting, set the postcard aside and cut open the seal of the small box. Upon opening the lid, she found it filled to the brim with white plastic foam cylinders, each as thick as a finger.

Hester reached her hand into the box, trying to find what was hidden inside. As her fingertips nearly touched the bottom, her expression suddenly froze.

Despite being prepared, her breath hitched when she touched the object at the bottom.

Hester slowly raised her hand. A Beretta 92 pistol was held firmly in her grasp.

Just then, she noticed another postcard tucked among the white foam. Hester picked it up immediately and saw a few lines written in the same script:

"If you do not approve of this solution, simply reseal the box and return it.

"If you are interested, go to Sophie Morley tomorrow and schedule an appointment with me for this Thursday. We shall discuss it in person."

In the bottom right corner of the postcard was Chiba’s characteristically wild signature and a self-portrait of her grinning.