The morning light filtered through the window, casting a golden hue over the room. Sienna was still asleep beside , her breathing steady. The exhaustion from last night had taken a toll on both of us—physically and emotionally.
I had needed that mont with her.
But today was a new day.
And I needed to figure out what to do with it.
I thought about practicing my boxing. I had the skills, but in all honesty? I needed a proper trainer. There were things I couldn't teach myself, instincts I couldn't refine alone.
I also considered checking on Camille—seeing if my new mask was ready—but with her being to my left, still sleeping. It was obvious she hadn't finished it yet.
That left only one option.
Evelyn's suggestion.
The old construction site.
I still had no idea why she wanted to go back there.
It wasn't like my construction work was lacking—I had reached a level where I could probably outmatch most specialists. But sothing told this wasn't just about the work. Evelyn never did anything without a reason. Though, I felt like I was at risk of revealing my identity to my old co-workers.
Sienna stirred beside , slowly waking up. Her amber eyes fluttered open, still hazy with sleep.
"Morning," I murmured.
She yawned, stretching slightly before blinking up at . "You're up early."
I nodded. "I was thinking about what you said last night. About Evelyn wanting back at the site."
Sienna rubbed her eyes, sitting up. "Oh... so you're actually going?"
"Yeah," I said. "Might as well see why she insisted on it."
Sienna studied for a mont before nodding. "Then I'm coming with you."
I raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to—"
"I want to," she said firmly. "Besides, I still work there. If anyone asks questions, I'll handle it."
Can't argue with that.
After breakfast, we got into the car and started heading toward the site.
The roads were familiar, but the feeling wasn't. I hadn't been here in over a year. The last ti I stepped onto that site, I was just a construction worker. Now, I had gone through firefighter training, detective work, space missions, law cases, and even soon to be boxing.
And yet, I was returning here.
I glanced at Sienna as she drove. "You sure this isn't risky?"
She let out a small laugh. "It's not as bad as you think."
"You sure? My disappearance wasn't exactly subtle."
Sienna shook her head. "For the first few months, no one really noticed."
"...No one noticed?"
"Well, think about it," she explained. "The work got done so efficiently that people were finishing hours earlier than usual. So no one bothered checking."
Huh.
That made sense.
Nathan being fired had optimized everything so much that my absence didn't even register at first.
"But," she continued, "about five months ago, people started realizing sothing was off. That's when I told them you switched districts because of an injury from a while back."
I stared at her. "You covered for ?"
"Of course," she said, as if it were obvious. "They all sent their regards and hoped you were doing okay."
I exhaled. She had thought ahead.
Despite feeling useless last night, here she was—ensuring my identity stayed hidden.
I smirked. "Look at you. Yesterday you were feeling useless, and now you're out here saving my identity."
She tapped my leg while continuing to drive.
"Shut up," she muttered, but I could see the faintest smile tugging at her lips.
I chuckled.
When we finally arrived at the construction site, the first thing I noticed was how much had changed.
Everything looked... smoother.
Crews moved like clockwork, no wasted effort. Materials were already prepped before they were needed, and scaffolding had been reinforced with precision. Sienna's influence was everywhere.
And it was clear why.
Everyone knew that Sienna had reached A-rank.
She was leading the team, and they followed her without question. The work was coordinated, the pace steady, and there was a quiet confidence in how things ran.
I watched as the crew moved around, adjusting beams and securing reinforcents.
Then, sothing else caught my attention.
Or rather, soone else.
A few workers started whispering. Then a few more.
It was clear that they didn't recognize .
Instead, they were bombarding Sienna with questions.
"Wait, wait, Sienna, hold on—who's this guy?"
"Is he your boyfriend?"
"...Wait a minute. You're dating soone?"
"We honestly thought you were going to end up with that Reynard guy."
"I an, you talked about him a lot—"
I saw Sienna's face twitch slightly.
She looked like she was about to die on the spot.
I took rcy on her and stepped forward.
"Guys, It's . Reynard." I said simply.
A mont of silence.
Then—
"WAIT, WHAT?!"
A chorus of shocked screams erupted from the workers.
Omar and Leo—two guys I had worked with before—walked up to , their eyes wide.
"No way," Omar said. "Reynard?!"
Leo looked up and down. "Dude. What the hell happened to you?"
I blinked.
Right.
Since the last ti they saw , I had beco a firefighter, detective, astronaut, lawyer, and boxer.
Not to ntion, I had skills that refined my body—Muscle Reinforcent, Muscle Optimization.
To them, I probably looked like I had gone through a complete transformation.
I smirked. "I had so free ti."
Leo scoffed. "Yeah, no kidding."
Omar nudged my shoulder. "Damn, man. You got built."
Sienna muttered sothing under her breath, still flustered by all the teasing.
I decided to spare her and changed the subject.
"I figured I'd stop by and help Sienna out," I said.
That wasn't entirely true—I was here because of Evelyn's request. But I did want to help Sienna as well.
The mont I said that, the guys dragged away.
I spent the next couple of hours helping out, getting back into the rhythm of construction work.
anwhile, I could hear so of the girls teasing Sienna in the background.
I smirked.
After a while, I started walking around.
Sothing wasn't sitting right.
Evelyn had told to co back. And Evelyn never did anything without a reason.
My Instinct skill kicked in while my S-rank Detective Job scanned the area, analyzing details others would overlook.
Then, I felt it.
Soone was in the mini tool shed.
I frowned.
That shed hadn't been used in months. It was old and mostly forgotten.
So why was soone inside?
I made my way toward it, my steps quiet.
There was only one person I could expect it to be.
I reached for the handle and I opened the door slowly. The inside was dimly lit, dust swirling in the air. My eyes adjusted—then I saw him. A figure, sitting calmly in the corner. His eyes flicked up to et mine, widening just slightly before masking his surprise.
Anthony Smith
"Boss?! What are you doing here?"
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