I Dream of Killing People

A 4:00 Wake up.

A 4:00–5:00 Wash up; read to build up knowledge reserves.

A 5:00–7:00 Morning exercise: aerobic workout—one hundred push-ups, one hundred squats, one hundred sit-ups, and a ten-kilometer run.

A 7:00–7:00 Breakfast.

A 7:00–11:00 Academy classes (basic physical training).

A 11:00–P 1:00 Lunch and nap.

P 1:00–7:00 Academy classes (variable training such as combat, interrogation, and so on).

P 7:00–8:00 Dinner.

P 8:00–10:00 Free time; read to build up knowledge reserves.

P 10:00–A 4:00 Wash up and rest.

The above: phased plan.

"Scratch, scratch~"

He stopped writing. The pencil tip hesitantly tapped against the notebook as Bred gnawed on the eraser, lost in thought.

"I can't just bury my head in training...," Bred muttered.

"Hm?" In the two-person dorm room, the black-haired boy on the opposite bed closed his book with a smile. "What was that, Bred?"

Bred had never expected that his roommate after moving into the Cipher Pol Agent Academy dormitory would be Kurando Akabane. Tornado and Mosquito Girl had wanted to share a room with Bred, but men and women were different, even if they were ghosts.

"Nothing." Through the window, Bred stared into the night. After a while, he tilted his chin toward the books. "Are those books useful?"

Kurando Akabane's expression remained unchanged. "Of course! Let me thank you again."

Because of Bred's age, and because transfer students were far behind the "Rookie Agent Reserve" curriculum, the academy had initially been fairly lax in managing him. Only after Bred displayed exceptional grades and reached the normal standard of his classmates did they tighten their supervision and require him to live on campus. When Bred had made his final trip home to notify his family, Kurando Akabane—already confirmed as his roommate—had asked Bred to buy several medical books for him...

From Kurando Akabane's need for medical books, Bred wondered whether the other students also needed things the academy did not provide.

The answer was certainly yes.

Sweet candy and snacks, fun toys and games, new floral clothes—even quite a few students, hardened by their life stories despite their young age, already craved nicotine and alcohol to numb themselves. Both boys and girls had their own wants, but the academy would not fulfill them all. There were budget constraints, as well as the desire to temper the trainees' resolve through a life of deprivation. Besides, not everyone had something called money. Most of the trainees were orphans, and their pockets were cleaner than their faces.

"Smuggle things in from outside the academy—either sell them for pocket money or use them to collect favors—and start building a network," Bred calculated.

Clearly, in the World Government, strength and ability did not necessarily equal status. Bred still vividly remembered Spandam's father, Spandine, visiting the academy as a high-ranking Cipher Pol official a few days ago. Under his Observation Haki, Spandine had been laughably weak.

But on second thought, what gave Spandine the right to be a high-ranking Cipher Pol official, commanding elites many times stronger than himself? Bred did not know, but he did know that Spandine had good connections and knew how to conduct himself. When he visited the academy, the instructors had welcomed him warmly. Maybe he had brought a large number of gifts? In any case, everyone had been happy.

Having settled on a plan, Bred calmly put away his notebook. "You like medical books? Are you planning to become a doctor?"

"It's a dream, after all!" Kurando Akabane smiled faintly, with a trace of melancholy.

Bred thought for a moment, then clenched his fist in encouragement. "Good luck. Good night."

Midnight.

"Creak~~~"

The door opened.

A furtive figure approached Bred's bed. It was Bill, the bald instructor.

Placing a hand on Bred's forehead, Bill spoke softly, like a demon whispering a chant. "Forget your troubles. Forget your thoughts, including who you are. Now, you are the government's most loyal warrior, an agent of justice bathed in holy light. You..."

"Swish!"

"Thud!!!"

A sudden flash of steel swept past Bill's neck, frightening him into collapsing onto the floor.

Bred, who had appeared to be asleep, abruptly sat up. His golden eyes flew wide in fury as he stared at Bill with manic intensity, then swung the utility knife he used to sharpen pencils again without hesitation.

"Damn it! Stop! Hey! Help!!!"

Bill could not help crying out repeatedly as he scrambled away in a miserable panic.

"What's going on?"

"Bet that useless Bill got scared again!"

"Hahahaha~~~"

"..."

The awakened trainees laughed without restraint, their voices briefly merging into an ocean of merriment.

After driving Bill away, Bred collapsed back onto the bed as if he had fallen asleep again... Of course, he was pretending. He had no intention of being brainwashed, especially when Bill's hands carried some unknown drug. He had smelled it.

The next day.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Kurando Akabane asked hesitantly.

Bred put on a blank expression. "What happened?"

"Oh, you rolled off the bed. I helped put you back on it," Kurando Akabane said, seeing through him without exposing him.

Bred's lips curled upward. "Then you'd better be nice to me~ I do love killing in my dreams."

"People will only believe you once you've actually killed someone," Kurando Akabane remarked.

Bred merely smiled and continued carrying out the plan step by step.

Morning training.

"Bred~~~ I can't run anymore!" Panting heavily, Tornado spread her arms. After only two or three hundred meters, she was already trying to slack off.

With a helpless sigh, Bred backed up and carried Tornado on his back, lecturing her, "Five kilometers. You'll still have to run the rest yourself. How long did you last just now? Don't forget, you're someone who has to protect her little sister."

"..."

Tornado had fallen asleep.

"Want me to do it?" Mosquito Girl was worried Bred would tire himself out.

Bred shook his head and smiled. "It's fine! Oh, right. Come with me into Mary Geoise at noon."

Meanwhile, at the academy office.

"That bastard! Look what he did!" Still shaken, Bill pointed at the K-shaped bruise on his neck. "He wanted to kill me! He wanted to kill me!"

"He did it on purpose?" Gozuki frowned.

"Who knows? There are too many freaks among this batch of rookies."

"Quit whining, Bill. This was entirely your own carelessness! You barged in to hypnotize them without even making sure the children were asleep. Now a lot of them are consciously resisting the brainwashing. This is all because of you—what was supposed to be secret work is now known by everyone."

"Exactly! Getting scared shitless by a six-year-old kid—how embarrassing."

"..."

The conversation quickly went off track.

"Come to think of it, after a while, it'll be time to let them come into contact with real power. Then we'll see at a glance who's talented and who's dead wood, and we can readjust their training subjects according to their strengths," Gozuki said vaguely through a bite of sandwich. "Which ace agents should we invite to help? I know my own limits. I wouldn't dare lead the children astray."

"How about P9's 'Priest,' Alexander Anderson?"

"A good choice. What made you think of him?"

"Didn't you read the internal news? He's made another major contribution recently."

"I recommend Barbara."

"..."