That black and white little animal, with its face covered in fine, soft fuzz and looking incredibly adorable, was staring at him with its large, wide eyes—undoubtedly huge eyes—looking at him with such innocence.
Gin..
He felt a bit of a headache.
..
Given Gin's personality, he wouldn't keep pets.
Our wuli Gin, who braves the wind and rain, has fixed assets but no fixed residence.
After all, when he's busy, he's running all over the place, when he's resting, he doesn't necessarily stay in one place.
Keeping pets—he'd probably end up letting one die within a few days.
Besides, he didn't have the patience to raise one anyway.
As for why there was this Owl in his stopover—yes, a stopover, not a home—
Because this Owl was a gift Nana gave to her.
In Japan, an ordinary person can keep an Owl as a pet, as long as you know how to raise one and have money in your pocket—yes, Owls are expensive.
More beautiful Owls are even more expensive.
This incredibly stupid—" Gin said, "the origin of this owl is actually quite an interesting story.
The second Sunday of January in Japan is Coming-of-Age Day—the day when people in Japan who have turned twenty hold their coming-of-age ceremony.
For people in Japan, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony is very important.
And for girls, during their coming-of-age ceremonies, they typically wear furisode kimonos.
Kimono has many characteristics, for an ordinary person, its most significant characteristic is that it is expensive.
Usually, people cannot afford Kimono, so on that day, they would either wear a Kimono left behind by female elders or rent one.
For Nana, she could naturally only choose the latter.
However, the rental price for a Kimono on the day of the coming-of-age ceremony was quite expensive, even for a single day's rental.
Of course, the regular prices aren't cheap either; they're just not quite as expensive.
For girls, the coming-of-age ceremony is extremely important, so even though it is expensive, many ordinary girls choose to work part-time jobs to save up money.
Some specialized Kimono shops display Kimono styles and prices for one or two years in the future, their subtext being: "To be able to wear beautiful Kimono for your coming-of-age ceremony, hurry up and work to save money!" (1)
Nana is also an ordinary girl.
Although her daily tuition and living expenses were covered, it was only enough to maintain her basic needs; she couldn't even dream of having any pocket money.
She did not live luxuriously.
To afford a proper coming-of-age ceremony, she had started saving money a year and a half in advance—starting with odd jobs, later, saving Mission fees.
After all, while working part-time jobs, she also had to balance her studies and her work as a Detective.
Of course, as her experience as a detective grew, she had managed to save enough money a few months before her coming-of-age ceremony.
However, this took over a year in total.
However, as that day actually approached, before Nana could even prepare to pay for the rental, Gin had already transferred the funds for the Kimono rental for the coming-of-age ceremony.
The reason was: "Just consider it my coming-of-age gift to you."
Nana: …………
This was actually a good thing, but amidst her emotions, the little girl also wanted to give something to Zhenjun.
It just so happened that the money she had saved from her part-time job finally had a use.
But.. what would be a good gift?
At that time, *Harry Potter* was incredibly popular, Nana was also a loyal fan of the book series. After much deliberation, the books she loved gave this girl some inspiration.
I'll just give her an Owl!
What a high-class and novel gift!
You can just imagine the scene where Nana presents the Owl to Gin like a precious treasure.
Hmm..
Gin's expression when facing the Owl so unexpectedly caused Nana to have nightmares that very night.
..
Gin eventually accepted the Owl.
It had to be said that although this bird's cries were a bit eerie, it had nonetheless brought some sense of "vitality" to his daily life.
He used to wander alone, the house he lived in—with the exception of the Safe House—lacked any sense of warmth or life; it was empty and hollow, with even the air carrying a cold sense of desolation.
It is a place where humans live.
But it was not a place for humans to live.
Now that there was a living creature making a fuss, it was at least no longer so cold and lifeless.
—But it was being far too disruptive!
Gin rose with a dark expression, staring at this dead bird, preparing to lock him in a cage.
The phone rang.
Gin glared at the Owl while picking up his phone, his tone as stiff as if the other party owed him millions of yen.
Cavendish on the other end of the phone.. Does he know what I'm about to say?
That was right; although what he said wouldn't necessarily offend Gin, the other man would certainly be displeased by it.
But there was nothing to be done; once you take someone's money to avert their misfortune, you must fulfill your end of the bargain to secure your benefits.
"Heine, you better remember this—" Cavendish thought resentfully.
Originally, Rye's mission evaluation was to be handled by Heine," Cavendish explained the cause and effect. "However, Heine was very interested in Sheila and took the initiative to request a mission evaluation for her, leaving him no time to arrange for Rye.
"What does that have to do with me?" Gin said irritably, gripping his phone between his shoulder and chin while attempting to catch the Owl flapping wildly around the room.
Don't you have a mission recently? Chianti and Korn went out on a mission two days ago, two other people were originally supposed to be reassigned to assist you." Cavendish's tone was a bit weak. "I think.. maybe you should consider Rye?
Taking advantage of the fact that the other party couldn't see him, Gin rolled his eyes. "Why would I choose a Newcomer?"
".. Rye's abilities are actually quite good," Cavendish recommended.
Get to the point!
How about using this mission to conduct an evaluation of Rye's abilities?
Gin leaned against the wall, no longer chasing birds or attending to business, simply listening quietly to Cavendish's nonsense, a trace of mockery curling at the corner of his mouth: "On what grounds?"
New Cadres all have a probation period, which can also be jokingly referred to as an internship period. During this time, various tests are arranged; some are conducted openly, such as the Ability Evaluation, while others are conducted in secret, such as those regarding identity and loyalty.
Ability Evaluations are generally handled by senior Organization Cadres. They are not mandatory and depend entirely on one's interest—though they can be used to offset a Mission.
If it succeeds, the credit is his; if it fails, the blame is the Newcomer's.
This evaluation is neither easy nor difficult, is divided into two parts. Senior Cadres only need to complete one part, which is to take the Newcomer on missions, paying special attention to their abilities and specialties—this is to be written in a report to serve as a reference for their future work within the Organization.
Another part is conducted by relevant members of the Black Organization, who will make certain judgments based on the completion status of the Newcomer Mission during the probation period and other aspects—this has nothing to do with the Person in charge.
The second part is more comprehensive and objective, but it still fails to provide an in-depth understanding—for some matters, it is still better to have an onlooker observe the specific circumstances, especially since Senior Cadres themselves are highly experienced.
Generally speaking, these matters are handled by middle and high-level members, such as Korn and Chianti; some particularly outstanding ones are handled by High-level members—or involve completing specific Mission Evaluations—such as Heine, Cavendish, Shiratori Midori back then.
Under normal circumstances, core members do not involve themselves in such matters.
Of course, there are exceptions for those who are interested or looking to cause trouble—for example, Vermouth took the initiative to take over Bourbon and Scotland this time.
Gin had also undergone assessment by the core members back then, at that time, Brandy was very interested in this young man.
I could actually do it myself, but I'm already leading a Newcomer, I wouldn't have enough time to take on another one," Cavendish explained. "I definitely have to complete Masala's Ability Evaluation first, after that, I'll be heading to Italy to complete a Confidential Mission. That mission isn't suitable for a Newcomer to participate in.
"You just happen to have a mission on hand.. so—" Everything was left unsaid.
Gin let out a cold sneer.
He did indeed have a Mission, but—
Why was he looking for trouble?
Consider it a favor I owe you.
The Silver-haired youth's eyes shimmered as he considered it for a moment.
Deal.
..
The moment he received the notification of the change from the Person in charge, Akai Shuichi felt a sense of vigilance.
It was inevitable; as an undercover agent, especially an undercover agent within the Black Organization, one could never be too careful.
Such a sudden change of the Person in charge was uncommon, so he naturally harbored doubts.
No matter how much his mind raced with doubts, he still had to go where he was supposed to go.
The black-haired man walked into the cake shop. There were very few people inside, so he casually chose a corner by the window to sit in.
It was convenient for observation.
A waiter quickly approached, Akai Shuichi ordered a black coffee.
The cake shop was exquisitely decorated, with pink accents appearing from time to time. Exquisite cakes emitted the fresh fragrance of cream and fruit, the air itself seemed to be filled with hints of sweetness.
There were also some snacks like candies and cookies on the counter; Akai did not know how they tasted, but they looked very beautiful.
A place filled with girlish whimsy.
Akai felt a sense of curiosity; the Black Organization was a completely different style from this innocent and sweet cake shop, he found it difficult to imagine how slaughter and violence could ever blend with such girlish romance.
I really wonder who the new Person in charge is; perhaps it's some psychopath who likes to dye pure white black?
The agent rested his chin on his hand, looking boredly at the black coffee that had been brought out with his green eyes. As the steam rose in wisps, he speculated nonchalantly that it might not necessarily be a psychopath who liked to stain pure white with black; perhaps it was a beauty who privately enjoyed eating cake.
It has been nearly an hour since the appointed time.
Being late is a privilege of a beauty.