The following day, Jeanne arrived at the Lungmen Guard Department again as agreed. It had to be said that by entering and exiting the LGD several times in just a few short days, Jeanne had set a bit of a record.
She felt that if she continued to frequent the place at such a high rate, she wouldn't even need to rent a house in Lungmen; she could just move directly into the Guard Department. As she walked through the main gates, she clearly saw the "You again?" expression on the face of the receptionist, to which she could only respond with a polite smile.
She didn't want to become the most familiar face in the LGD, but what could she do when so many things were tied to this place? She wondered what kind of expression that officer would have later when she saw Jeanne wearing a police uniform.
The officers in the hall watched as Ch'en's acquaintance entered the elevator. Once she skillfully pressed the button and the elevator vanished from their sight, the whispers began.
"Do you think she's the new Inspector for our department? I've seen her come here several times while I've been on duty."
"It's possible. Think about it—Officer Ch'en personally brought her here yesterday! Anyone Ch'en leads personally would have to be at least an Inspector to be reasonable, right?"
A colleague nearby whispered in agreement, appearing to strongly support this guess. After all, it was truly rare to see Officer Ch'en personally lead someone into the LGD.
"I don't really believe it. If she really were a new Inspector, wouldn't Ch'en at least introduce her? I feel like she might just be Ch'en's acquaintance."
Thus, the three of them began to debate Jeanne's identity. Both sides seemed to have valid points, and for a while, they couldn't reach a consensus. In the end, they used a month's worth of dinners as a wager to bet on whether Jeanne was the new LGD Inspector, and several people clapped their hands in agreement to the bet.
Meanwhile, Jeanne, inside the elevator, had no idea that a gamble was taking place downstairs because of her. She was currently on her way to Ch'en's office, observing the police officers hurrying past her.
She didn't know if it was because of the important operation scheduled for tomorrow, but the atmosphere in the room felt perpetually strained, as if everyone's nerves were pulled taut. There was none of the relaxed environment from her previous visits where people chatted; communication was now limited to a few brief words.
Inside the office, an aura of something major about to happen lingered, but Officer Ch'en, whom Jeanne was looking for, was nowhere to be found. She had no choice but to wait outside the office.
"Yo, I didn't expect you to arrive so early! It shouldn't be time yet, right?"
Behind her, the tall Hoshiguma greeted Jeanne with practiced familiarity. Her shadow was so large it practically blanketed Jeanne's entire body.
"I saw that the time was close enough, so I came early. Is Ch'en out? I didn't see her in the office."
Jeanne looked up slightly at Hoshiguma, who was significantly taller than her, and for the first time, she complained in her heart about her own height. But what could be done? She had no way to grow taller. She wondered if she could count her cowlick toward her height if she pulled it straight. But where would she find a cowlick that long? She wasn't a cricket with two antennae on her head.
"Old Ch'en? She seems to have gone to prepare for things related to tomorrow. But before she left, she did tell me to find time today to help make you look a bit more like a police officer."
What Hoshiguma didn't say was that not only was Ch'en preparing, but even Swire was getting ready for tomorrow's trip to Rhine Gold, currently busy calibrating her drones. This meant that today, those two essentially wouldn't be handling LGD affairs. Hoshiguma was left to manage the department's business and daily case investigations.
"However, I think instead of me teaching you how to act so you won't be exposed, it's better to let you experience what LGD police work is like for yourself. Come with me to change your gear first."
As she spoke, Hoshiguma led Jeanne to the locker room to change into a uniform. Originally, Hoshiguma intended for Jeanne to wear Ch'en's uniform, but certain... positions simply wouldn't fit in.
Left with no choice, Hoshiguma had to find another fitting uniform for Jeanne. Once she put on the jacket, an Inspector was born. But with her figure, it was truly difficult to find a match. Either the height was too different, making it look awkward, or the height was right but the figure was simply too different.
In the end, Hoshiguma went to quite some trouble to borrow this set. The outfit had been tucked away in the back of the warehouse, belonging to an officer who had left after only working for half a month.
"I must say, once you put this on, you really look the part. You look like the type who has been at it for many years."
Hoshiguma looked at the high-spirited Jeanne in the uniform and praised her unique temperament from the bottom of her heart. One look and she had that valiant, heroic exterior. Coupled with those slightly indifferent pale-gold pupils and her expressionless face, the image of a taciturn, elite Inspector stood vividly before them.
"Looking at it this way, Old Ch'en's worry about you blowing your cover tomorrow was a bit redundant. Tomorrow, you don't need to do anything; you just need to stand there, and everyone will assume you're the superior."
Looking at Jeanne like this, Hoshiguma spoke half-jokingly. However, the aura she gave off really did resemble Old Ch'en when she was on duty—an indescribable sense of capability. Hoshiguma felt this task would be very easy to complete. She had previously worried that the gentle temperament Jeanne showed when they were together might lead to suspicion.
"Is that so? This is the first time in my life being a police officer. I was worried this look might be overdoing it."
Jeanne looked at herself in the mirror, observing her reflection with great interest. The way she looked in the uniform, she truly did resemble a police officer. This was a very fresh experience for Jeanne; she actually quite liked trying new things that interested her, it was just that the old Jeanne never had many opportunities.
"How about it? Do you want to try experiencing the work of an LGD officer with me today, or will you look at some case reports?"
Hoshiguma actually quite hoped Jeanne would work as an officer today because she was indeed short on hands, especially officers with outstanding combat ability who could really fight. Jeanne just happened to be the type with exceptional combat value. If they ran into a violent case and she had someone like this by her side, they could help her out in a pinch.
However, there was one problem with this approach: no one could guarantee the other person would be in a safe environment. This was a very testing matter for Hoshiguma. Currently, Hoshiguma had a slight understanding of the importance of ensuring Jeanne's safety, which was why she was hesitating.
"Does that even need to be said? Of course, I want to experience the life of an LGD officer. Today, I'll be following your orders, Officer Hoshiguma!"
As Jeanne spoke, she stood on her tiptoes and patted Hoshiguma's shoulder. She really did want to know how LGD officers worked, also to make tomorrow's disguise more authentic. Even though Hoshiguma said she looked like she didn't need extra work and just standing there would make people think she was an elite Inspector, Jeanne wanted to experience it for herself! Such an opportunity was rare; how many ordinary people would get the chance to experience this life?
"That's fine then. If any real danger occurs, just stand behind me. I have quite a bit of confidence in my ability to defend against attacks."
After saying that, Hoshiguma led Jeanne out of the locker room. The two of them prepared to begin their day as officers.
Before they could even warm their chairs, another officer came in to report that a serious car accident had occurred somewhere and they needed to go to the scene to confirm the situation. Hearing this, Hoshiguma immediately led Jeanne and rushed to the incident site. Jeanne was a bit nervous about what she was about to face; after all, this was her first time appearing as a police officer.
As they passed through the main hall, the group of people who had placed the bet saw Jeanne. Those who had bet on her being an Inspector showed looks of joy; it seemed their dinners for the month were settled.