Chapter 114: Chapter 114: The Three Great Illusions of Life_1
Aiden turned his head to look at Rebecca, his heart crying out, "Big sis, how did I offend you when I visited you yesterday that you want to take revenge on me here? Bringing up a job transfer in front of the leaders of both units makes it look like I’m blatantly poaching the old man’s corner!"
Sure enough, Harold’s face darkened at a visible speed.
"Huh, again for this? This unit has indeed become quite popular lately. Why don’t I transfer over there too?"
As Harold spoke, he "casually" glanced at Aiden, who was sitting in the guest seat, and Aiden instantly felt a stab in the back.
Rebecca, however, did not look at Aiden, but stared straight at Harold and said, "I just feel that there is no hope for me to recover my memory now, and I probably can’t live up to the work of a superior Judge anymore."
"Not being able to live up to a Judge’s work doesn’t necessarily mean you can be competent for prison work either, I’ve told you, you are taking the work in the prison too lightly." Aiden quickly interjected, "Honestly, I think you still haven’t fully adapted to your amnesiac state, it’s best to take some time to adjust before making any decisions."
He wanted to refuse Rebecca, not just because he feared making an enemy of the muscle-bound old man on the other side of the desk, but because he truly felt that the current Rebecca did not meet the threshold to work at the prison.
"Indeed that’s true," Harold chimed in, "With your current state, you should not rush back to work. The future arrangements can be considered at length during this period of recuperation, you are currently on paid leave, something others would envy."
"But how will I know if I don’t try?" Rebecca insisted.
Harold stared at her for a while, then pulled out a service pistol and, with extremely adept movements, unloaded the bullets from the gun. He then casually threw the gun towards Rebecca, "Catch."
"Eh?" Rebecca was startled, then hurriedly reached out to catch the gun, nearly losing grip because she reacted half a beat too slow, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Now there’s a rioter right in front of you, armed and aiming, quick!" Harold suddenly barked, his voice booming like a bell.
At his command, Rebecca clumsily raised her right hand holding the pistol and aimed it at Harold.
Aiden watched from the side, his brow suddenly furrowing.
Harold looked at Rebecca, who held the empty gun, for a long while, then snorted, "Your current standard doesn’t even meet that of a prison guard. The reaction time just now was enough for a prisoner to rush over and tackle you to the ground to snatch the gun. With this kind of performance, you still want to work in Rose Iron Prison? Have you forgotten how many S-class fugitives who have been sent there from this place?"
"But if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be even more impossible for me to go back to work at the Heresy Judgment Bureau?" Rebecca put down the gun, her face showing unwillingness.
"If there’s really no other way, I can arrange clerical work for you," Harold suggested, "The clerical work at the Heresy Judgment Bureau is much safer and easier than prison work."
"..." Rebecca fell silent, her eyes downcast for a long time, until finally she sighed, "Then allow me to...consider it a bit more."
"That would be best," Harold nodded, "You can go back today."
"Then I will take my leave," Rebecca said with a hint of dejection as she handed the gun back to Harold, then nodded at Aiden before leaving the office.
The two in the office watched through the one-way glass as Rebecca walked away.
"Hmph, you sure are popular over there," Harold suddenly remarked.
"Director, are you angry?" Aiden carefully sized up Harold.
"No, why would I be so petty?"
"Come on, when Rebecca mentioned the transfer earlier, you almost crushed your cigar in your hand, okay?" Aiden sighed, "Just to be clear, I never tempted her."
"You don’t have to tempt her because she already had a thing for you," Harold said irritably, "That’s why, when she first brought up the transfer to your unit, I thought it was for that reason."
"Director, what did you just say!?" Aiden’s eyes suddenly widened.
"Don’t tell me you have no idea, a lot of people in the department could see it," Harold said nonchalantly, "I should say, back then, you were quite the favorite among the young ladies. Young, an overseer as a Judge, a high position, a considerable income, reliable work, decent looking... You even had a bit of my style back in the day."
Aiden felt there were so many things wrong with Harold’s statement that he didn’t even know where to begin his retort.
"I really didn’t know... You’re not pulling my leg, are you?" Aiden said, half-doubtful, half-believing.
He truly had no idea; he only inherited memories from the former Aiden, not emotions. After he left the Heretic Judgment Office, his past office relationships had faded quite a bit.
From the inherited memories, it seemed that the former Aiden hadn’t been particularly close to any girl, and although Rebecca showed more warmth towards "him" when they worked together, that wasn’t enough to definitively say she had a crush on him.
Jumping to conclusions on such matters could easily lead to one of life’s biggest illusions: the "she likes me" fallacy.
"I’m not pulling your leg. The experience of an elder is still valuable. Even if memories are lost due to Mental Spells, some impressions can linger. It’s possible that she still holds some fondness for you," Harold said calmly as he puffed on his cigar.
"But even if this is true, it has nothing to do with her wanting to transfer to the prison. She only found out yesterday that I was working there," Aiden recalled his conversation with Rebecca from the day before.
"That’s why I said ’at first’. I later realized that she had forgotten this fact too. Her insistence on transferring there felt strangely resolute to me," Harold’s voice grew stern as he casually snuffed out his cigar, "Say, you ought to feel it too, right? Something’s off about that girl."
"Oh? Could it be that you also..." Aiden caught Harold’s implication, and his gaze sharpened immediately.
"Hmph, unlike you, who ran off to become a jailer halfway through, I’ve been in the Heretic Judgment Office for forty-five years. My eyes haven’t gone blind yet!"
Aiden nodded; he hadn’t mentioned yesterday’s incident to Harold, but Harold had already brought it up. The sense of incongruity he felt about Rebecca couldn’t have been an illusion.
Her excessive fixation on the transfer to Rose Iron Prison, as well as her abnormal reaction to Presia’s pendant...
And there was one more thing...
"Director, if I remember correctly..." Aiden thought for a while, then lifted his left hand and mimicked a shooting gesture, "Rebecca, she should be left-handed, right?"
