Hugo passed through the empty corridor with slow steps. Usually, with his long stride, he would have reached the Commander’s office in about ten minutes without having to walk particularly fast.
But now, he walked the long, stretched corridor with a stiff expression for much longer. As he was about to descend the last staircase leading to his office, he rubbed his furrowed brow.
Unnecessary words...
Hadn’t someone said he couldn’t shake off his lowly origins and thus felt sympathy for similar types? It was what the Grand Madam had told him when he first entered the mansion holding Flynn’s hand, whom he had brought from the orphanage.
She had said one shouldn’t carelessly take people in, and that one should be prepared to take full responsibility for the life they’d taken in. He remembered being reprimanded in front of the servants, being asked how someone who couldn’t even manage his own place dared to try to take responsibility for others.
Of course, much had changed between then and now, but his fear—beyond obsession—of “responsibility” had worsened since that incident. So regardless of Leonardo’s will, if he’d intended to bring up the topic of the mansion in front of him, he should have deliberated much more carefully than he had.
Instead of acting impulsively without considering the consequences, the way he had when bringing in young Flynn.
“Hah...”
Hugo let out a deep sigh, his feelings tangled, as he descended the stairs and stepped into the corridor. Leaving the room earlier than planned had also been to give Leonardo some time alone. Aside from what he’d said, Leonardo must be just as confused as he was, having suddenly received his comrade’s artifact.
The story about Flynn finding it in the luggage was a lie he’d made up. He had been the first to discover the artifact in Leonardo’s clothes pocket—or more precisely, in the pocket of his own combat uniform that he had put on Leonardo.
Of course, it was true that he couldn’t check the contents. At first, he wondered what nerve it took to leave traces in someone else’s clothes, but seeing that it wouldn’t open no matter what method he tried, it seemed Leonardo had been confident others couldn’t steal a look.
Even so, what if I’d been blinded by success?
If he had taken this to military headquarters, even if not immediately, they could have narrowed the investigation down to the two having been in contact, and he could have received a reward. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that guy had too many gaps in his actions and poor judgment. If that had happened, not only his own life but also the lives of the comrades he cherished so much would have been in danger.
It was laughable that he had once mistaken that thunderbolt for Leonardo’s lover. While he might have a bit of bad luck with comrades, the clever Leonardo wouldn’t lack the eye to judge people.
Anyway, regardless of how the other would take it, handing over the artifact while pretending not to know was, at least, the moral thing to do. Hadn’t he said he had finally met “comrades who didn’t die” but had to part with them? Although it was just an object, he hoped the token left by his comrade would comfort the lonely Leonardo.
Lost in thought, Hugo passed through the central door and turned right around the curve. The members standing at regular intervals in the corridor saluted silently. After lightly acknowledging them with his eyes, he headed straight for the workspace where his adjutants would be.
Thinking that Gabe would surely have piled up new documents, he felt it would be better to collect them himself. The Commander’s office and the adjutants’ workspace were adjacent, sharing a wall, with a door in the middle allowing movement between the two without going through the corridor.
Hugo stood in front of the antique wooden door with a sign that read Please knock and knocked a couple of times.
Knock knock, click—
“Commander—”
“Commander, you’ve arrived.”
As he opened the door without waiting and stepped inside, Flynn and Gabe’s voices immediately broke the silence. Gabe seemed to have been in the middle of work, sitting at his desk flipping through documents, while Flynn had just risen from the reception sofa.
Their reactions were quick, as if they’d known he was coming. As he was wondering about that, a figure opposite Flynn bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
“C-Commander. Hello, sir.”
“I see we have a guest.”
Hugo responded formally, scanning the other’s appearance from head to toe. The silhouette and voice were strangely familiar.
It was a member who had been deeply imprinted in his mind due to the recent peninsula subjugation.
“Kenis Weber?”
Kenis, who seemed to have had no time to change, raised his head, still wearing his funeral attire.
On the table in front of the sofa where he and Flynn had been sitting was a cup of cold tea. It seemed he’d been here for quite a while.
“This friend said he had something to tell you, Commander. I offered to relay the message for him, but he insisted it would be better to speak to you directly.”
“To me?”
Since it was very rare for an ordinary member to seek him out without a prior appointment, Hugo turned to Kenis with his brows drawn tight. Kenis visibly flinched when their eyes met. For someone who’d said he would speak directly, he looked very nervous.
“I’m sorry for coming suddenly. I didn’t know if I should have scheduled an appointment in advance...”
He held a cream-colored envelope in his hand. The bottom bulged, suggesting something was inside.
“Does Russell know?”
“...The platoon leader doesn’t know, sir.”
It meant he had ignored procedures completely and come directly. Although he wasn’t sure of the exact intention, Hugo had an idea and glanced at Flynn. Flynn’s expression, when their eyes met, suggested he was thinking the same thing. Hugo gestured with his chin toward the heavy door visible behind the two.
“Let’s talk inside.”
“Ah, yes!”
Occasionally when commanders came to request an interview, it was about resignation about eighty percent of the time, but it was the first time a low-ranking member had come, so for now, only one thing came to mind about what he wanted to say.
“This way, please.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Don’t be too nervous.”
Following Hugo into the Commander’s office, Flynn deliberately showed Kenis a kind smile. But internally, he had been closely observing every detail, down to Kenis’s eye movements, ever since he’d arrived.
The reason was simple. Hadn’t he strongly pointed out Kenis Weber as the informant leaking information to the 3rd Battalion Commander on the peninsula, with his own mouth?
Whether he’d come to turn himself in, or whether he’d come to find out something else under Meterion Clinder’s orders—neither was certain. But the fact that he had come on his own feet meant he was clearly no ordinary person.
Gabe, who had been watching the three head inside, also hurriedly organized the documents in his hands. The papers he slid into the leather document holder were Kenis’s personal information sheet and the unit assignment preference form he had submitted when he joined. He had prepared them just in case. After closing the leather cover, Gabe quietly rose from his seat and followed them to the Commander’s office.
“We’ll talk here. Sit down wherever you like.”
“Understood!”
As soon as they entered, Hugo turned on the lamps and lights, then gestured toward the sofa visible on the left as he spoke. Since private conversations or one-on-one meetings were often conducted inside the Commander’s office, there was a reception area prepared here, too.
Kenis, being in this space for the first time and overwhelmed by the strong ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) scent of an adult male, felt his neck and waist stiffen. He approached the sofa creakily and sat down with the utmost military discipline. Hugo also slowly sat down opposite him.
Flynn found a notepad and pen from the work desk and placed them on the table, while Gabe, who had followed, quietly placed the leather document holder in front of Hugo and gave a light bow.
“Shall I prepare a cup of tea for both of you?”
At Flynn’s question, Hugo gestured to Kenis. It meant to speak up if he needed anything.
“I-I’m fine, I just had some! Thank you!”
Kenis politely declined with an awkward smile. Flynn nodded and withdrew with Gabe, closing the door after saying they should talk.
Click—
The air in the Commander’s office, now with only the two of them, was suffocatingly silent. Hugo silently opened the document holder Gabe had left, skimming through it in a way that wouldn’t be visible from across the table.
Was this guy really the informant...
After closing the cover again, he set the document holder down and raised the room temperature with his mana, then naturally opened his mouth as if to create a more comfortable atmosphere.
“You must have been busy since this morning. It must be tough, with all sorts of things happening when you haven’t been with us for long.”
“...Pardon? Ah, no. It was a good experi... no, not good... it was a new experience.”
Kenis stammered, tapping his lips before lowering his hand as if embarrassed. Given the situation, even this now looked like an act to Hugo.
“That’s good, then. Did you eat properly? I heard there were many visitors, and you even took shifts controlling the entrance.”
“Yes, it was a bit busy... but the seniors took good care of me, so I ate first. Um... did you enjoy your meal too, Commander?”
“Hmm. Well. I did.”
In fact, he had skipped it due to various circumstances, but he didn’t bother to mention it. After exchanging a few more words of small talk about the weather, the two fell silent at some point.
Hugo decided to ease into the main point once Kenis seemed to have loosened up a little.
“So, what did you want to say?”
Kenis’s eyelids trembled. He lowered his eyes like a guilty man and chewed on his lip.
Soon after, he looked around needlessly and then, with hands damp with sweat, held out the crumpled envelope and carefully placed it on the table. Instead of asking again what it was, Hugo only glanced down at it, hands clasped.
What Kenis then took out from rummaging inside the envelope was a black device about half the size of a palm—an artifact—and several sheets of paper.
As the suspicious objects were laid out one by one, Hugo leaned forward slightly. Just as he was about to look at the papers filled with something, Kenis stood up from his seat, came to the side, and abruptly knelt on the floor.
“Commander, I’m sorry.”
With his fists clenched tightly on his legs, his face was already red and tears were welling in his eyes. He seemed terrified, thinking about the future that awaited him. His upper body and voice trembled. And this was before anything had even started.
Hugo just looked at him with indifferent eyes, not particularly surprised. Although his head felt numb as the situation he had worried about actually unfolded, he was grateful he’d been able to prepare in advance thanks to Flynn’s earlier hint.
However, the stack of papers on the table was far from what he had expected. Brief notes were scrawled in cursive. The writing was squiggly like worms, as if written in a hurry.
But the content was a little—no, very—strange.
Jun/22/999
B left the base camp without permission at dawn. A went to look for him.
A told B to refrain from individual actions, the two argued.
Heard the word voyeurism. A asked if B was coming in.
Some loud noise, B seemed to be in pain and groaned. Got irritated.
A said come out now/ Heard water sound. Seems A used magic.
To the cave entrance~ B grabbed cigarettes. A and B went out of the cave together.
B’s cigarettes are a mix of Lambus leaves and Brukneel cigars, not certain. But matches previous information.
Seems he’s still smoking the same thing.
