Shortly after Nick is guided out of the room, the exam is prepared for the next candidate. The three women are rearranged randomly across the white chairs, awaiting their new prey.

The last candidate for the day is called in.

“Rika Wood. Please proceed to room 114.”

Until the test begins, the examiners exchange opinions or check messages on their smartphones.

However, this laid-back atmosphere dies once the next applicant walks through the door.

“Please hand over your phone and bag, you’re not allowed to have them on you during the exam.”

“Y-y-y-y-yes.”

With trembling arms and stiff motions, Rika hands over her wares.

“Please proceed to the black chair.”

“Y... y... yes...”

CREAK CREAK

She approaches the chair in a robotic fashion, looking white as a sheet. The stares of the examiners cleave her like spears, making him ceaselessly tremble.

As if looking at the Medusa, the examiners are stonified on top of their seats. There is something painfully unpleasant about observing this anxious woman, so much that even seasoned examiners find her difficult to deal with.

“Is she alright...?”

“Isn’t it better to send the poor girl home?”

They exchange questioning glances and whispers shortly spread across the room.

“No, let’s give her a chance.”

Charles finishes writing down and stands up. Like a soldier sent to the battlefield, he carefully approaches the trembling Rika to explain the test.

“About this exam...”

CREAK CREAK

Rika’s unoiled neck stiffly turns around. Charles raises an eyebrow, for a moment suspecting that Rika is an android, sent to this exam as a joke by a co-worker.

However, he soon perishes the suspicion after seeing the overly realistic signs of tension on Rika’s face. He takes a deep breath and begins explaining the exam’s rules.

“Was that clear?”

“Y-y-y-y-YES!”

“Very well. You have twenty minutes, starting from...... now.”

Charles rapidly flees from the stress factory.

CREAK CREAK

Rika turns her attention toward the three white chairs. She stares through each of the cloned women in order.

No. 1 - no reaction.

No. 2 - stays calm and composed.

No. 3 - tries to smile awkwardly.

Rika locks her eyes on No.3, daggering directly into the suspect’s eyes.

Her uncontrollable stress can’t be contained by her own body, it passes through her fixated gaze and crawls across the suspect’s skin.

“... ugh.”

No. 3 breaks down and shifts her eyes away; directly meeting the gaze of the Medusa is too much for any human.

“I-it’s h-h-her...”

Rika slowly raises a shaking finger and points at No.3.

“................”

The examiners exchange puzzled glances.

“Hm, are you sure?”

Charles unwillingly stands up and approaches Rika.

“The exam has only began, there’s no need to guess so early.”

“I-it’s her! I-I-I’m positive!”

With how pitifully she stutters, the examiners can’t tell whether she’s confident or completely lost.

“Very well. May I hear you reasoning?”

“S-s-she...”

Rika bites her lip and digs her nails in her legs.

“A-ah... m-my...”

She understands what she should explain, yet the words don’t come out.

“I have an irregular case of tension, of a volume so high that people around me tend to turn nervous as well. Out of the three women, only No.3 exhibited signs of nervousness.”

... is what she imagines herself saying.

But with so many witnesses, admitting her problem is unbearably hard.

“She’s mentally handicapped, the poor thing.”

“It’s best if she stays at home and never interacts with the outside world..”

“She’s like a plague to everybody around her.”

The harder she thinks, the more demonic whispers she hears in her head.

“Ah... agh...”

Her breathing becomes heavy and her heart throbs.

It’s pointless.

All of it.

She might as well just die from heart attack or hypoxia, it’d release her from this suffering.

“It’s because I shifted my eyes away, right?”

“H... uh...?”

Rika timidly raises her eyes to look at the speaker.

“Ms. Bles, didn’t we agree that you’ll be staying quiet throughout this part of the exam?”

Charles frowns at the woman sitting at No.3, the real Veronica Bles.

“Don’t be such a stuck up, are you enjoying bullying women? She’s clearly not feeling well. Right?”

“Uh... I...”

Rika is dumbstruck as she meets Veronica’s friendly smile.

“Y-yes... I-I’m... a little... under the weather...”

She mumbles with a lowered face, sensing judging gazes hitting against her back.

“You see? Give the girl a break.”

Veronica nods in satisfaction.

“Tch, fine then.”

Charles taps on his notebook in mild irritation, then decides to pressure Veronica instead.

“Ms. Bles, may I know why only you shifted your eyes away?”

“Sure, might as well reveal you the big secret. Did you know that being stared by a stranger isn’t very comfortable?”

Veronica smirks with a shrug.

“I’d like to believe that an actress such as yourself can handle this much.”

“Sure, if I weren’t tired after such a long day. I’m very sorry for not possessing infinite stamina and flawless memory like these robots you make. Seriously, are you trying to imitate a human or to make a super human? Pick one please.”

“Ack...”

Charles quietly growls, without a retort at hand.

“She did a perfectly fine job by relying on eye contact, just praise her and let her go home to rest.”

Veronica jumps on her feet and heads toward the exit.

“Hrm, very well. Do you have anything to add?”

Charles sighs in defeat and turns toward Rika with a grumpy face.

“N-no... i-it’s as she said, I relied on eye contact...”

“Very well, let’s end it here then. You are free to go.”

“Hah...”

Rika’s anxiety disperses at once like an electric discharge. Her breathing stabilizes and color slowly returns to her pale face.

“Phew, I’m tired.”

Veronica stretches her arms while striding toward the exit. Before her savior disappears, Rika jumps from the chair.

“T-thank you very much.”

“Hm? What for?”

Veronica shrugs indifferently without looking at Rika.

“I was just tired and wanted to get this over with. There’s nothing to thank me for.”

“Hah, I understand.”

Rika blinks a couple of times, then smiles with a nod.

“Oh, right.”

Veronica throws one last glance at Rika before leaving.

“I’d recommend you to do neck exercises. Judging by the sounds your neck makes when you turn your head around, I’d say you need them.”

“I'll... make sure to keep that in mind.”

Rika smiles awkwardly and proceeds to collecting her wares.

Unbeknown to her, on this day a new high record was set for this exam. It’ll surely remain unbeaten in the many years to come...