The conference table was covered in coffee cups and scattered notes.

  Suzume stood at the whiteboard, marker in hand, feeling oddly like a teacher about to deliver a lecture. Which, given what she was about to explain, was appropriate.

  "So." She tapped the board. "I figured out how I can powerlevel."

  The full team had assembled for the morning meeting. Kasumi lounged in her chair, one arm draped over the backrest. Hikari sat with perfect posture, tablet ready for notes. Rina had claimed the corner seat. Honoka perched at the edge of her chair, still riding the high from yesterday's training. Emiko had her laptop open, already pulling up scheduling software. And Yumi—

  Yumi was slumped in the seat right next to where Suzume had been sitting, yawning wide enough to show her back teeth.

  [Very classy.]

  "Teaching," Suzume continued. "When I taught Honoka triage protocols yesterday, I got seventy-five XP. That's more than three VR simulation runs. More than six hours of skill practice."

  Kasumi straightened up.

  "Seventy-five? From one session?"

  "One session that lasted one hour." Suzume wrote the number on the whiteboard. "I'm guessing the System counts it as... I don't know, future lives saved, maybe? Every person I train becomes someone who can rescue others, so teaching them counts toward my class growth. At least, that's my assumption."

  "That's crazy."

  Hikari was already typing.

  "Well, if we structure this properly, you could theoretically level multiple times before the exam. The question is optimization. What skills transfer the most XP? How long does each session need to be? Diminishing returns..."

  "Exactly." Suzume capped the marker. "Which is why I need to teach all of you. Different skills, different knowledge bases. Honoka got triage. Hikari, I could teach you trap identification. Pressure plates, tripwires, the patterns dungeons use."

  "Isn't that more so Rina's field?"

  "Exactly. If it doesn't work, then we know it's only Rescuer-related stuff."

  "I guess it would be a good test." Hikari shrugged.

  "Rina, I want to cover emergency extraction protocols. What to do when everything goes wrong and you need to get people out fast."

  Rina tilted her head.

  "I already know extraction."

  "You know combat extraction. I'm talking about civilian priorities, injured transport, how to move someone with a spinal injury without killing them."

  A pause. Then Rina nodded.

  "Kasumi—"

  "Teach me combat medicine," Kasumi finished. "How to stabilize someone while fighting off monsters. Keep them alive long enough for our girl over there to get her mana back." She nodded at Honoka.

  Suzume was pleasantly surprised.

  "Okay, yeah. That makes sense."

  Yumi yawned again, stretching her arms overhead. Her crop top rode up, showing a strip of toned stomach. The ripped jeans she'd paired it with hung low on her hips.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Suzume's eyes dipped for half a second before snapping back to the whiteboard.

  [Not now. Focus.]

  "So basically," Yumi said, voice rough from exhaustion, "you need to boss people around and you get stronger? That's perfect for you."

  "I don't boss people around."

  "Suzu-chan, you literally just assigned everyone homework."

  "That's not—" Suzume cut herself off. "Why are you so tired?"

  "Up all night with my girlfriend." Yumi didn't even try to be subtle about it. "She had this new camera she wanted to test, in lots of unique angles, and one thing led to another, and suddenly it's four AM and I've got a meeting at nine."

  Honoka turned bright red. Rina looked vaguely amused. Hikari continued typing like she hadn't heard anything.

  Kasumi snorted.

  "TMI, Yumi."

  "Suzu asked."

  "I didn't, actually."

  Suzume turned back to the whiteboard, willing her face to cool down. She wrote out a rough schedule grid. Names on one axis, dates on the other.

  "Okay. Let's figure out timing. I've got two weeks until the exam, so I need to balance studying with teaching sessions."

  Emiko pulled up her laptop.

  "I can coordinate schedules. Hikari, you're free Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Rina?"

  "Whenever."

  "That's not helpful."

  Rina shrugged.

  "I don't have any conflicts."

  "I'll put you down for Wednesday afternoons."

  They worked through the logistics. Suzume kept her focus on the whiteboard, on the schedule taking shape, on the practical details of session length and location.

  She was not looking at Yumi's crop top.

  She was definitely not looking at Hikari, who had her legs crossed under the table, thick muscular thighs visible below the hem of her skirt.

  "I'll go last," Kasumi said when they got to her slot. "So you can practice on everyone else first. Get your teaching rhythm down before you try to wrangle me."

  "You sure?"

  "Mhm." Kasumi's grin was sharp. "I want your A-game. Don't waste the good stuff on these losers."

  "Hey!" Honoka protested.

  "Present company excluded, obviously."

  The schedule filled in. Tuesday: Hikari, trap identification. Wednesday: Rina, extraction protocols. Thursday: study day. Friday: Honoka, advanced scenarios. The following week would cover Kasumi and any repeat sessions needed.

  "Two weeks." Emiko saved the calendar. "Tight, but manageable. I'll send reminders the night before each session."

  "Thanks, Emiko."

  The meeting wound down. People started gathering their things, checking phones, making plans for the rest of the day.

  Suzume dropped into her seat to collect her notes. Yumi hadn't moved—she was still slumped in the chair beside her, scrolling through something on her phone with half-lidded eyes.

  One by one, the others filtered out. Kasumi had a sponsor meeting. Hikari needed to review case files. Rina simply vanished the moment attention shifted away from her.

  The door clicked shut.

  Yumi was still there.

  "You did that thing again," she said without looking up from her phone.

  Suzume froze mid-shuffle of her papers.

  "What thing?"

  "The staring thing." Now Yumi looked up, a lazy grin spreading across her face. "During the meeting. Your eyes kept wandering."

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Uh-huh." Yumi locked her phone and tucked it into her back pocket. She stood, stretching again—arms overhead, back arching, that strip of stomach on full display. "Suzu-chan~ If you want a better look, just ask."

  Suzume's face ignited.

  "I wasn't—that's not—I was looking at the whiteboard!"

  "The whiteboard was behind you."

  "Then I was looking at... the wall. There's a very interesting crack in that wall."

  Yumi rolled her eyes lightheartedly.

  "See you tomorrow, Rescue Girl."

  She walked out before Suzume could formulate a response.

  The door swung shut.

  Suzume sat alone in the empty conference room, papers clutched in white-knuckled hands, heart hammering against her ribs.

  [What. The. Hell.]

  She needed to do something. Channel this energy somewhere productive. Burn it off before it made her do something stupid.

  She grabbed her phone and opened her chat with Kasumi.

  Suzume: Can we do another training session soon?

  The response came in under thirty seconds.

  Kasumi: Thought you'd never ask. Tomorrow night?

  Suzume: Perfect. Same gym?

  Kasumi: I'll send you the address. Wear something you can move in ??

  Suzume stared at the winking emoji for way too long.

  Training. Physical exertion. Punching things. That would clear her head. Get rid of whatever weird energy was making her notice every woman in a five-meter radius.

  She definitely wasn't thinking about Kasumi adjusting her stance again. Hands on her hips. Body pressed close.

  Nope.

  Not at all.

  Suzume: See you then.

  She pocketed her phone and started gathering the rest of her things.

  Two weeks until the exam. Teaching sessions to run. A leveling strategy to execute.

  She had plenty to focus on.

  Plenty of things that weren't Yumi's stomach, or Hikari's legs, or Kasumi's everything.

  Suzume groaned and let her forehead thunk against the conference table.

  She was handling this great. Totally fine. No problems whatsoever.