Avoiding the fearful gaze from the girl on my bed, I took off my shoes before walking over to my desk and organized my papers for a few minutes, taking small glances at the girl on my bed who was looking downwards, clenching her hands, and biting her lip, which was covered with a layer of bright red lipstick. I put the papers I was going through into a folder before grabbing the loose writing material and putting them into a cup full of pens and pencils. I sighed as I realized I couldn't clean my desk anymore to avoid the situation I was in.

I took a seat at the chair at my desk and found a position I felt comfortable in before I asked in the nicest voice I could muster, "What's your name?"

"Annaliese," she muttered quietly. I can't say I blamed her, she was probably thinking, "Why does this pervert need to know my name before be takes away my dignity?"

"That's a strange name for someone from Shangadai," I remarked before taking a drink from a glass of water that tasted oddly like tea despite the fact I asked for water.

"...My mother is from Astrya," she said, still not looking at me.

"I suppose that explains why your English is so good. What region, if I may ask?"

"...The Republic of Saxony."

"Ah, du sprechen Deutsch?" I responded asking if she spoke the language since I also came from there.

"Yes, badly," she says with a small smile.

"Hah, fair enough. Do you have a favorite dish from there?" I asked as I imagined the fresh bread I used to have every day.

"My mom used to make pretzel breakfasts while saying that this it's the most stereotypical thing to have from there, bar sour kraut and sausages."

I let out a small laugh before I responded with, "They might be, but they sure are delicious. The bread is unbeatable, considering it's our version of rice. Now I'm hungry for one and a tad bit homesick, hah."

"Sorry...."

"Don't be, maybe I can convince the kitchen to make some. It shouldn't be that hard if I ask for just a plain buttered pretzel," I said as I thought of the food I ate back home, all the while trying to push my mother's food out of the equation. She was a surprisingly good cook for such a vile woman.

"You'd be surprised," she said with a small smile.

"Well, when you frame it like that I'm getting worried. Now then, I suppose we should get down to business," I said as I rubbed my hands together to dispel the cold they were starting to feel.

"Ah.... Yes," she said as she immediately tensed up.

"You really don't want to do this, do you?" I said as I walked to my closet.

"... That's not for me to say," she whispered.

"Of course it is, you can say no," I said as I opened the wooden door to reveal my clothes. They were mainly suits and ceremonial uniforms with a few civilians clothing pieces folded at the bottom.

"I.... It's.... Fine.... Really," she said, obviously lying considering the shaking in her voice.

"Is it? How old are you anyway? Now that I can see your face clearly, you're quite young," I said as I stopped paying attention to the closet and looked at her. Her hair was covering some her face but her facial features were quite clear. She was pale with a small nose and Oriental eyes that were the same color as her hair. She definitely did not look older than twenty.

"I- I'm eighteen."

As I recall a small fact I learned from orientation I ask, "Is that if you were born one or at zero?"

"O-one."

"So, by my standards, you would be seventeen?"

"I suppose, yes," she said as her voice quivered and her body shook slightly. Whether that was from being cold or fear, I didn't know.

"I'm not a fan of pedophilia in this instance or any instance for that matter. Aren't you cold wearing that?" I asked as I rubbed my hands again. If I'm cold in a suit, I can only imagine how she feels in what she's wearing. The dark blue sleeves, if they could be called that, weren't longer than a finger and were off the shoulder. They connected to a thin, translucent, and purple material that had golden ruffles on the edges. The thin and see through fabric and her hair were also the only things covering her chest. She also had a purple short skirt on that connected to an opaque fabric covering her rib cage.

I would have found it pretty if it weren't for the situation we were in.

"No, not really," she said, not lying as it was possible to tell from her facial features that she meant what she said.

"Here, take this and leave. You obviously don't want to do this and I don't want to force you," I said as I handed her a long coat I brought for the winter months. She took it from me and stared at it for a few moments before she put it on, but didn't leave the spot she was at.

"Is something wrong?" I asked as she stayed put.