"Fortunately, or unfortunately, yes," Agnes said with a deep sigh. "I'm free of military duties now."
"Why is it unfortunate?" June asked.
Agnes sat up straighter in her seat. "Because... I would be taking on a new position soon," she said. "I was comfortable working as the captain. Now I have to learn the ropes of the new position, and I feel like it won't be easy."
"Well, completing the mission gives you full autonomy, right?" Gale asked. "You can be a free soul and do whatever you want..."
Agnes smiled ruefully. "You can never be truly free," she said. "Nobody can... But yes, they'll probably give me a promotion and make it so that I can't refuse. Well, at least I won't have to work hard for poor pay."
Everyone approved of his cooking, chatting quietly on related subjects as they ate. He had cooked much more than necessary. Dawn took some of the leftovers to save for Jenni, hoping to lift her spirits.
"So, should I call you Gale from now on?" Agnes asked.
"Or Joe," he said, turning his head to June. "Apparently, I'm a good Joe too. My full name is Gale Joseph Paul Carpenter."
"Not gonna lie, any of that has a better ring to it than Warden," Agnes chuckled. She turned her attention to Dawn. "Tell us something about him that we don't know... Bonus points if it's something even he has no idea about."
Before Dawn could open her mouth, Gale cut in, "That's unfair... I'll only agree to this game if you all take part as well and share secrets no one else knows."
Agnes exchanged a look with the others. "I can agree to that, but only if you all promise to keep it between us."
June agreed too, and everyone turned their attention to Dawn.
"Umm," Dawn hesitated, "he thinks being mysterious and acting stupidly around women makes them like him..."
Gale thought for a moment and nodded. "That actually sounds true," he said, only to find both Agnes and June glaring at him. "Hey, it worked with both of you."
"It didn't!" both women said in unison, glaring at each other as though they disliked the sound of the other's voice.
"How did he act with you at first?" Agnes asked June.
June narrowed her eyes. "He acted like an ass, getting on my nerves."
"How true," Agnes turned to him. "I gave him toilet cleaning duty just because he got on my nerves, and it turns out he can even use that to do more damage to my mind."
"What is this?" Gale complained. "You two are bonding over how I acted with you? Dawn, at least take my side..."
"I'm sure you acted like an ass in front of her too during your first meeting," Agnes stated.
"The first time, I only saw him from afar," Dawn said curtly.
"What about when you two talked for the first time?"
Dawn met his gaze and seemed reluctant to discuss it, but with the other two women's urging, she had to say something.
"I'm, um, as you've seen, very bad at talking to people," she said. "At first, I only replied with nods, yeses, and noes... So he would always do something stupid and outrageous to get a reaction from me."
"That actually sounds sweet," Agnes smiled. "What is the wildest thing he has done?"
"Okay, now it's time for your secret..."
Agnes sighed. "Okay, let me think of something that won't make me die of embarrassment," she said, bending her neck. "Hmm, I guess I don't have many embarrassing memories. There was this one time at the academy when I made a guy cry without even trying. I was so embarrassed that I forfeited my fight with him."
"What happened?"
"A guy confessed to me," Agnes said, her expression cringing. "He was unnervingly clingy. I don't know who told him, but he thought being persistent was the way to get into my pants... It went so far that I had to use physical force to stop him. It was an official duel at the academy, and he still wouldn't listen even after getting beaten. I got fed up and forfeited...
which turned out to be the wrong decision. I had no idea he would think that forfeiting the match was the way I showed love to him..."
"Some guys are just a piece of work," June commented.
"How did you stop him then?" Gale asked.
"I didn't have to," Agnes's expression turned sombre. "Someone else helped me, and we formed a relationship from that..."
"I see," Gale was quick to change the subject. "That reminds me, how many times do you guys get confessed to? As far as I can tell, it's a lot, right?"
"Unfortunately," June said with a sigh. "Its a pain to get through them all."
"For me, I can stomach honest confessions," said the former captain with a hateful look. "But I absolutely hate those that flex their position and rank before wanting to have sex with them."
"Does that happen a lot?" June asked, feeling a little sympathetic towards her.
"Not as much in the outside world, but on the frontline, it's every second guy I meet," Agnes sighed. "They think it's easy for someone convicted of a serious crime..."
"Well, compared to you, I guess I have it easy," June said. "I mostly get anonymous letters from graduated students... A few have the courage to leave their names, but none strong enough to face my glare."
"Maybe you should let me read a few of them," Gale said, smiling.
"And what about you, Dawn?" Agnes smiled at the diminutive figure. "With your looks, how many crazy guys have confessed to you?"
Dawn was practically a tomato, unable to meet their gaze. "It's not much... I don't go out often."
"Still, there have to be some crazy stories..."
"Just the other day when I first met her, there were a bunch of soldiers hitting on her," Gale said. "I think she probably has it worse than both of you. Unlike you two, she cannot tell them to bugger off."
"With my boundless experience, I can confidently say hurting their ego is the best way to get rid of them," Agnes said. "If you want some pointers, I can gladly impart them to you..."
"Or you can just say you're into girls," Gale smiled.
"I'm not," Dawn said almost immediately.
"Well, the guys may not be aware of that," he continued.
"Huh, you may not know, there are men who had shit for brains that can't read a room," Agnes said.
Of course, they were people who thought they had an aura that could make gay people straight. But in truth, that only stops them from landing anywhere...
"So, it's your turn to share something embarrassing June..."