The facial muscles of the woman—her long black hair tied up high, an armband denoting her status as a platoon leader—twitched slightly.
She was the 8th Platoon Leader of the 1st Battalion, who had spent a long time tracking Leonardo before Hugo took over the pursuit. Because of the considerable time she had dedicated to catching him, she couldn't bring herself to look favorably at the man now smiling at her.
Worse still, Leonardo’s recent interrogation revealed that his sudden appearances during the relentless chase hadn’t been due to any trail being found—but were instead part of a calculated strategy to draw in the Council. This only deepened her doubts, considering the unspeakable hardships she'd endured in the process of chasing him.
Noticing the stiff expression on the 8th Platoon Leader's face, Hugo felt a twinge of guilt. Initially, he'd intended to reward her efforts with a vacation once Leonardo was brought to the capital. However, the expedition to the peninsula had been scheduled immediately afterward, leaving no room for that plan.
Her tracking skills were essential for locating and subjugating hidden monsters.
But as the subtle tension between their gazes showed no signs of easing, Hugo stepped in to defuse it.
"Leonardo, from now on, you're taking the lead."
"...What? Me?"
Leonardo blinked, unsure he'd heard correctly. Just earlier, they'd been going on about his unstable mana control—and now he was being told to take the lead? He couldn’t make sense of Hugo’s thinking.
Still, tired of dragging along at the tail end of the slow procession, Leonardo’s baffled expression soon gave way to a flat, indifferent tone.
"I won’t wait if you fall behind."
He glanced at the members waiting behind Hugo, then returned his gaze to the Commander. At that, a faint smile tugged at Hugo’s lips.
"Worried they won’t be able to keep up?"
Leonardo scowled, annoyed at Hugo's deliberate use of the word worried, clearly trying to get a rise out of him. He didn’t bother responding and instead turned toward the central entrance.
He reached back and rolled his neck from side to side. A sharp cracking sound echoed from the motion—and with it, a faint wind stirred, as though the surrounding air was being preheated.
After a light stretch, Leonardo scanned the twenty or so people staring at him one by one. Then, he declared in a firm, clear voice,
"We're moving at full speed."
Hugo gave a subtle nod.
"I'm looking forward to it."
****
Thud-thud!
Amid the cave’s constant echoing impacts, Delua came to a halt. Marlen, the deputy commander, and the rest of the squad followed her lead and stopped as well.
Delua paused to listen to the trembling ground, her attention focused. The irregular vibrations quickly subsided.
She was just about to resume walking, assuming it had been a temporary disturbance—when the loud impact resounded again.
This time, it thundered past them, seeming to flaunt its presence just alongside the path where the 6th Battalion stood, before fading into the distance. The tension in the air thickened. Marlen murmured with concern,
"The cave won’t collapse, right?"
Delua scanned the ceiling and walls with her eyes before responding.
"Hmm... I think it’ll be fine. The soil's a bit soft, but the base is rock. As long as we avoid long-range attacks, it shouldn't collapse. Blaine seems to know that and is acting accordingly. And besides, the Commander’s with him. If something goes wrong, he’ll handle it."
Though Marlen still looked uneasy, she nodded, seemingly reassured by the mention of the Commander. After the noise died down completely, Delua paused in thought, then asked,
"About the Commander... what do you think he plans to do with Blaine?"
Marlen blinked at the sudden question.
"What? Why are you asking that out of the blue?"
"Well, earlier I was too busy scrambling to fix the reporting issue to really think about it. At first, I figured the Commander trusted him, since he let Blaine stick around without even cuffing him. But then he asked me whether I could control him... which made me think maybe he doesn’t trust him after all..."
"..."
"Or maybe he has some other plan entirely? I can’t figure him out."
Marlen thought briefly, then replied as if the answer were obvious.
"Whether he trusts him or not, isn’t it just that if Blaine’s mana control is unstable, it could endanger others? That’s why he asked."
"Hmm... I guess that makes sense."
Delua still looked unconvinced, but she resumed walking and muttered to herself,
"I thought maybe the Commander wanted to go with Blaine, too."
Marlen’s brows furrowed at that, then she let out an incredulous laugh.
"You think the Commander’s like some battalion commander?"
Delua stopped again and turned to Marlen. With a sweet yet sharp smile, she asked,
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
****
"Commander, is it really okay to let him go wild like that? If the cave collapses—"
"It’s fine. He’ll be careful."
Despite the urgency in the 8th Platoon Leader’s voice, Hugo replied calmly. All personnel who had entered the central path were now flying through the cave at high speed. Leonardo had already vanished from view.
He was /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ so far ahead, his presence was marked only by the occasional sound of monsters being torn apart, the fluttering of his cloak barely visible in the distance. If he’d been paired with regular members, they wouldn’t have been able to keep up at all.
When Hugo looked back, Flynn and the two healers—neither of whom were combat personnel—seemed to be struggling a bit but were still managing to follow.
After speeding through the cave for an indeterminate time, the sounds ahead finally faded, and Leonardo’s mana signature came into range again.
Hugo slowed his flight and landed. The others touched down soon after. At the end of the tunnel, Leonardo stood with one hand pressed against the cave wall.
Since he’d been carving out a path where none existed, Flynn—who had only barely caught up—found Leonardo’s stillness strange. At the same time, he was secretly relieved for the chance to catch his breath. Hugo, however, seemed to understand why Leonardo had stopped.
Hearing the approaching footsteps, Leonardo turned his head to face them. Hugo asked with a faint smile,
"You feel water?"
Leonardo nodded, then gestured at the wall ahead.
"It’s full up there."
At his words, the members gathered near him, Hugo among them.
Flynn found it uncanny that the two of them could sense water itself—not mana. It made sense for Hugo, a powerful ice and water mage—but Leonardo was fire-aligned. And yet, they both seemed to perceive the same thing.
As they drew closer to the wall where Leonardo stood, the ground grew muddy beneath their feet, sinking slightly with each step.
Flynn furrowed his brow. Leonardo said the area ahead was filled with water, but this part of the cave was relatively high up—it didn’t seem like the kind of place water would collect. The sticky mud also felt unnatural for a volcanic cave.
With that in mind, he asked aloud,
"The lower levels were definitely formed from basalt and limestone. So why is there wet soil piled up here?"
At that, Hugo placed a hand on Flynn’s shoulder, seeming pleased by the question, and explained,
"The cave wall up ahead is more like hardened sediment than solid rock."
"Sediment?"
"Yeah. Debris that accumulated under the water got compressed into a kind of barrier. Every so often, that wall gets breached, and the sediment floods into the cave with the water."
Hearing this, the 8th Platoon Leader spoke up.
"If there’s enough water behind it to form a wall... shouldn’t we turn back?"
Instead of answering, Hugo looked to Leonardo. Feeling the weight of that gaze, Leonardo raised his brows slightly.
"Why are you looking at me?"
