"Did you know that I was in the tower?"

"We only knew that when the Royal Guards of Eylstadt reported the incident."

"So was I supposed to act at my own discretion? After thinking about it last night, I don't get why I didn't get an order from you."

"They only reported it after they defused the situation. They were confident enough that they could resolve it so there was no need to ask us, and by extension, you for help."

Izetta rubs the bridge of her nose as she closes her eyes. She is alone in her previous room with the door closed, talking to Command on her phone. The room is mostly dark, but rays of light start seeping in as the sun just begins to rise. "Are you saying that it's okay that I did nothing? Even though I could have handled the situation right there and then?"

"White Agent, please calm down," the voice raises slightly. "All of your missions so far have been planned and thought out before execution. If you had jumped into the fray yourself, would you know what to do? Even if you knew the layout of the building, would you be able to come up with a plan that quickly? You wouldn't be able to just charge into the terrorists or they could set off the bombs. Would you be able to neutralise the terrorists, remain undetected and safely evacuate the civilians up there all by yourself?"

"That's…" Izetta mutters as her eyes open to look at a blank space. "I…"

The voice breathes out. "Don't get us wrong. You are definitely very powerful and you could probably pull off feats that we wouldn't be able to imagine. But power isn't always the answer to a problem. Even then, some tasks are too big for anybody to shoulder it alone. We understand your impulsiveness to act, you're still young. But if you stay calm like you did on your missions, you do have a good head on your shoulders."

"Then…" Izetta grips her phone tighter. "Can I use my powers as I see fit? If I think it through and decide that it is the best course of action, can I act immediately without going through you?"

"Yes, it is your power. There might be cases where even contacting us would endanger you. You've shown numerous times that you're very responsible. If you have determined that you absolutely have to, just do it. Just keep in mind how easily your secret identity could be revealed if you have to act in the spur of the moment. We can try to help clean up later and we've dealt with similar cases, but we can't guarantee anything."

Izetta holds her head with her free hand. "…I understand. I'm sorry for losing my cool. Thank you for talking to me again."

"Just," the voice chuckles, "Try not to make it a habit, okay? Go and enjoy yourself instead of stressing over this."

"…I'll try," Izetta hesitates as she licks her lips. The line cuts off from the other side. Hanging up as well, Izetta hangs her head. 'Even they would have let me use my magic, so why did the Princess stop me? Maybe I shouldn't let her stop me then. …But when she looks at me like that, I just… can't…'

Izetta sighs as she gets off the chair. She goes to open the door, only to jump as Finé is revealed to be at the other side, reaching for the doorbell.

"O-Oh h-hi," Finé stammers, caught off guard as well. "I… was wondering where you were since you were gone when I woke up. The guards said there was no emergency, so I figured you probably came here if you weren't in the usual areas."

"Uh, yeah. I… just had something I needed to talk to the Secret Service about."

"I-I see," Finé stutters as her fingertips touch. When Izetta remains silent and the two continue to stand awkwardly at the door, Finé speaks up again, "Are you going back to bed then? You must still be tired if you got up early."

'…What…?' Izetta racks her brain. 'Why would I be tired when I didn't do anything and slept through the night? I've trained enough to be alert even in the middle of the night should an emergency ever occur then, surely the Princess knows that. She shouldn't be concerned now… unless…'

Izetta's eyes widen in realization. 'The Princess knows I slept for almost an entire day after I stopped using magic. Even after that, I slept even more the next day, until it was late in the morning. She must think that I'm weak, that I need to rest a lot after a little exertion. That's why she didn't want me to use my magic in the tower, but…'

Finé tilts her head as Izetta stays quiet. "Izetta?"

"A-Ah," Izetta blinks a few times to clear her mind. "Sorry Princess, something just came to my mind."

"Are you okay?" Finé examines as her eyebrows soften. "You've been out of it for some time. If you ever need help, you know that you just have to ask, right?"

"Yeah, I am," Izetta assures with a small smile. "I just had to sort some things out, I'll be fine from now on. Let's go to breakfast."

Finé sidesteps as Izetta walks out. Finé looks at Izetta as she passes by, trying to figure out what was wrong. Unable to glean anything, Finé eases the tension in her face and goes to catches up.

Seeing that nobody is in front and that Finé is behind her, Izetta narrows her eyes. 'I know the Princess means well, but I have to do something. I have to show her how strong I am so that she'll trust me again.'

Finé and Izetta are eating their breakfast at the dinning hall. Bianca enters the room, looking around before heading to Izetta.

"Lady Izetta," Bianca calls out which Izetta raises her head. "Are you busy? I have a request for you."

Izetta quickly swallows her mouthful. "Oh, no. We can go somewhere else to talk," she decides as she begins to stand up, earning a raised eyebrow from Finé.

"Please, take your time to finish your meal," Bianca smiles. "It's not urgent. It's actually the Royal Guards being a little selfish."

Izetta slowly sits back down. "I'm listening…"

"Would you be so kind as to spar with us? As the White Agent of course."

Izetta's eyes widen as Finé spins to look at Bianca.

"We would just like to see how we stack up against somebody of your calibre," Bianca explains. "It would really help us to assess how prepared we are for any scenario. But as I said, I understand it's a selfish request to ask for your time for our benefit so if you would rather not, we completely understand."

"Uh, well…" Izetta rubs the back of her head. "I… wouldn't want to cause the training to become harsher," she tries.

Bianca chuckles. "Don't worry. Even if you completely demolish us, it will be a humbling and beneficial experience. We may have to rethink some strategies, sure. But we'll work smarter, not harder. So, what do you say?"

'Hang on, this is a perfect opportunity,' Izetta realises in her head. 'If I do this, I can show the Princess how strong I am compared to the Royal Guards that she just praised highly. Then she won't worry needlessly about me. I just need to make sure she's okay with this.' Looking at Finé, Izetta asks, "Princess, what do you think about this?"

Finé turns back to Izetta. "Oh, it's up to you. But if you do accept, I'd like to watch. I think it's charming how confident and decisive you are when you use your magic while you're usually shy and reserved."

A light tint colours Izetta's cheeks. "Then I accept," she nods at Bianca. "Tell them not to go easy on me. I won't either."

"Great, thank you," Bianca slightly bows. "How about we do this in the late afternoon? The Princess can watch while having her high tea and it gives you and us enough time to prepare."

The White Agent walks towards the centre of the field, taking note of the immense number of Royal Guards at the sides. The guards are holding an assortment of fake weapons, each wielding their preferred types. Yet Izetta can see that they are in a certain formation instead of just standing about haphazardly. As Izetta reaches the middle where Bianca is standing, a row of guards form behind Izetta, enclosing her in a square. She looks up at where Finé is seated, far away and above the area, presumably watching through some cameras. Then Izetta looks at Bianca.

"This will be a continuous fight," Bianca explains. "When I give the signal, a guard from any of the four sides will engage you in combat. Once you score a hit, that guard is out and the next will attack instantly with no warning. We will go until you've eliminated all of us or you decide to stop. Any questions so far?"

Izetta goes through a simulation in her head. Then she looks to the ground. "What are these for?"

"Airsoft guns and plastic knifes, just like what we have. You can equip yourself with whatever you like before we start. When a guard is eliminated, she will drop her weapons as well so you can reequip to fight all of us in one go."

"Can I just use my own knifes then?" Izetta brings up. "They'll be my weapon of choice in a real scenario and I can adjust them to be safe." Izetta creates a knife out of her magic, gripping it by the blade while passing the handle to Bianca. "You can see for yourself if this is dull enough. I won't use superhuman strength either so you don't have to worry about injuries."

Bianca takes the knife and studies the edge. As Izetta said, it is too dull to cut through flesh like their plastic knifes. "Alright, this will make it more realistic as well."

"Then, how about all of you come at me at once?" Izetta puts forth.

Bianca jumps slightly, dropping the magic knife in her surprise. The knife bounces off the ground, fading out of existence from the impact. Meanwhile, the guards have started to murmur amongst themselves.

"I'm not underestimating you," Izetta assures them. "I'm sure that you have many formations that you would like to try. As Bianca said, let's make this more realistic so you should use your numbers advantage against me. Besides, the Princess is watching. We shouldn't bore her with a long and drawn-out fight."

Bianca chuckles. "No, I guess we shouldn't." Her hand reaches ever so slightly into a clipped pocket, an action Izetta only notices because she is already alert. Even as Bianca's fingers come out, she conceals what is in her fingers. "Then…"

'What is that, a pellet?' Izetta examines as something drops out from Bianca's hand. 'She didn't throw it at me and there is no force behind it. It's not an attack, which means that it's probably something to disrupt my senses.'

"Go!" Bianca shouts as the pellet hits the ground and smoke erupts. She begins to run away from Izetta, but quickly uses her knife to deflect the thrown knife coming at her.

'Yeah, the head won't go down so easily,' Izetta acknowledges as the clink resounds, running away from where she was as well. 'I could go after Bianca, but I can't see where she ran off to and they're very likely to focus on defending her if I attack head on. For now, I'll get out of this smoke and take out the line away from Bianca, dwindling their numbers.'

Izetta bursts out of the smoke and gunfire erupts from her front and sides. She speeds towards the line of guards firing directly at her, using her extremely enhanced reflexes and thought process to analyse where the airsoft pellets are heading. Then she weaves out of the way with minimal movement, maintaining her momentum. Previously she could already dodge bullets from real guns, so the slower pellets are not that hard.

As Izetta nears the line, the guards on her sides stop firing as they do not want to hit friendlies. Meanwhile, the line of guards in front of Izetta hustle into formation and slow down their gunfire as well. With a large number of guards huddled together, their leader raises her hand. "Squad, wave volley!" she calls out with a swift downward motion.

A tightly packed cluster of pellets rush towards Izetta's upper body. Despite her incredible manoeuvrability before, there is just no space for her to squeeze past this time. She cannot sidestep the cluster by kicking off the ground either as she had promised not to use superhuman strength. Twisting her body, Izetta slides under the wall of pellets, keeping her body almost level with the ground.

As Izetta is in the middle of her slide, another set of guards have already unleashed the next wave of pellets. This cluster is aimed at where Izetta's lower half would be if she were standing. So since she is sliding now, it is coming directly at her.

'Wow, they're really amazing,' Izetta marvels. 'I'd need to use enhanced strength to stop sliding and jump out of the way to dodge this one. I didn't want to use it yet, but they are no pushovers.'

A faint green light pulses around Izetta. In the next instant, the pellets that would have connected with her just bounce off harmlessly. A small number of guards gasp and lower their weapons unconsciously. They had heard of the rumours, but seeing for themselves how firearms, even if fake, are completely ineffective against the White Agent is astonishing. Although the more experienced guards have already moved on and prepared for close combat, Izetta does not miss the ones with their guards down.

A flurry of green knifes fly out, bouncing off the guards' who are unprepared to react. With a dejected sigh, they drop their weapons and remove themselves from the area. By now, Izetta has penetrated the line and engages the guards in hand-to-hand combat. Since she is so close, no guards are firing their guns at her as they would just hit each other in this crowd.

A guard cautiously approaches Izetta, the guard's knife floating around to prepare to strike at an opening. With a glance, Izetta flings four knifes at the guard who reacts in alarm. Although she jumps away and deflects the one coming right at her, a knife touches her thigh and she is out.

Two guards decide to charge at Izetta. The first goes in for a stab with the other shadowing behind, trying to keep her actions hidden. Izetta deflects the first lunge downwards with her right palm, steps to the side and taps the guard's shoulder with her other hand. Then Izetta's right hand swings back up, throwing a knife over the shoulder of the guard that was just out. The second guard hit by the knife before she even realises what had just happened, it was all over in the blink of an eye.

The other three lines of guards collapse in on Izetta. They saw what had happened earlier with the hail of gunfire, it is useless even if the pellets hit her as they just bounce off her shield. Since she is making contact with the guards, she is dropping the shield so they hope to get their hits in then. As Izetta said, they have a multitude of formations and strategies so they are confident they can do something about the White Agent.

Every strike that Izetta completes, at any chance she gets, she chucks out knifes at the guards. They are not random attacks either, each knife is targeted at whoever she can see. If the guards are not on their toes, they get eliminated easily. Even then, with enough breathing room, Izetta can focus enough to make a volley that a guard cannot block nor dodge completely.

Even those close up are not having an easier time. They get attempts of an attack off, but Izetta deflects them easily and they feel a tap before they can even try again. Although some do complete their strikes, Izetta is already out of the way and tosses a knife at where they are open.

The leaders get desperate and start barking out formations. But no matter what they try, Izetta's martial arts training and heightened reflexes allows her to recognise the attacks early. Then guarding or dodging becomes child's play and she swiftly counterattacks in less than a second.

Soon half an hour passes. Two guards coordinate their sweeping kicks which make Izetta jump. She lands on her hands and uses her toes to tap the guards. Another guard comes swinging in from behind her vision. She looks up just in time and uses her knee to block, pushing herself away with the force and rolling to stand back up. The guard doesn't let up and charges.

The guard jabs, missing Izetta's head as she tilts it. Izetta strikes back, but her hand is stopped with a palm. The hand that went past Izetta's head retracts, aiming to grapple her by the neck. Izetta's other hand knocks the guard's arm upwards. The guard uses the momentum to bring a knee up. In a swift motion, Izetta retracts her extended hand to block it and with a downward flick of her other hand, throws a knife which bounces off the guard's chest.

Izetta pivots around to see a lone guard facing her, Bianca. The others are standing at the sidelines. With a self-deprecating smile, Bianca begins to clap.

'What, is she trying to distract me now?' Izetta turns her head slightly, looking around her but keeping focused on Bianca. 'Everybody else is too far away, they'd never make it to me before I notice them. Back to guns then? Snipers?'

"I am genuinely impressed, White Agent," Bianca acknowledges. "I was expecting us to lose, but not this badly. Honestly, we were dismantled."

"I don't think I've hit you yet. I also didn't keep track of how many guards are left. Until the last one goes down, let's continue this match."

"Nah, there's no point. I'm the last one remaining." Bianca cannot see Izetta blinking under the helmet so the silence speaks for her. "That last guard was our best hand-to-hand combatant and if she couldn't even scratch you while you were off balance, there's no chance for me. You are truly amazing. You told us not to go easy on you but minutes in we realized that we couldn't hold back at all. And after all that, you're not even out of breath. I concede."

Izetta slowly stands upright as her body relaxes. The guards around her start applauding as well. Although the loss stings, they recognise the immense skill and control Izetta just displayed. Izetta turns her body around, seeing the blur of hands clapping.

"It is your complete victory, Lady Izetta."

Izetta takes a deep bow. "Thank you all for the match." She holds her head low for a moment before slowly rising. Looking towards where Finé is seated, Izetta can see the small dot giving her an excited standing ovation. With a large smile breaking out under the helmet, Izetta feels her heart flutter.