“Oh, how did you know?”
So it’s true. Yuki, who had hoped Karas would deny it, frowned at his calm response. Confirming the rumor of his resignation directly from him made her whole body tremble.
“Why, why? How come…?”
“Hmm, it’s not really appropriate to talk about it here…”
Karas rolled his eyes, looking around. He could sense employees pretending to work while eavesdropping on their conversation.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I was so surprised that I was rude…”
Realizing her mistake, Yuki apologized, not knowing what to do. Asking about reasons for quitting in front of team members was clearly impolite.
“It’s okay, I was planning to contact you after finishing packing anyway. Hmm, shall we step out for a moment?”
Karas led Yuki with his usual bright smile. They moved to a break room near the information room.
“Have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
Yuki obediently followed Karas’s suggestion. She couldn’t embarrass herself any further in front of him.
“So, you came because you heard I submitted my resignation?”
“…Yes.”
“Tsk, the approval just came through this morning, but rumors are already spreading… The HR department’s security is a mess.”
Karas muttered as if troubled and sat next to Yuki. Contrary to his words, his lips still formed an attractive curve.
“The reason for resigning is nothing special. As you know, we’ve been struggling lately. Just trying to escape before the ship sinks, you know.”
“Ah…”
“Honestly, quite a few people probably think the same. I hear many are quitting these days, right?”
“Y-yes, that’s right.”
Yuki agreed with Karas. The current atmosphere at Mars Guild was at its worst. They had been suffering from owner risk for two months now.
Journalists were relentlessly pouring out suspicions about Livio’s corruption during his Defense Force days, from who knows what sources.
On top of that, for the past few weeks, even current and former high-ranking Defense Force officials were being mentioned as his accomplices. With specific circumstances and evidence, public opinion quickly boiled over.
Seeing signs of it turning into a major scandal, the Defense Force actively tried to contain it. But they couldn’t silence all the media.
Recently, it was reported that Carlos, who is currently on trial, was hypnotized to feel murderous intent towards a specific person, and that he harbored resentment towards Luke Illum because his employment at Mars Guild was canceled. This led some people to suspect Livio as the mastermind behind the European branch incident.
With negative articles coming out almost daily in this situation, not only interview requests from journalists but also protests from citizens poured into the guild.
Investors, sensing something was amiss, rushed to withdraw their investments. Even the Japanese government, which was the biggest backer, showed signs of cutting ties with Mars Guild. The military supplier selection that Livio was pushing for his return to the Defense Force ultimately fell through.
As the situation worsened over time, Livio did nothing. More accurately, he couldn’t do anything. Military personnel who used to be friendly with him avoided contact, fearing they might be implicated.
Moreover, the leader of the reform faction, to which Winfried belonged, personally advocated for the necessity of a special prosecutor. There were even calls to reinvestigate and retry scandals from a few years ago.
After all, the charges currently being discussed against Livio were all serious ones like murder and instigation, embezzlement, breach of trust, and bribery. Because of this, there was widespread talk that he would be the first to be investigated if a special prosecutor was appointed.
As the situation continued to deteriorate, nearly half of the regular guild members like Karas had already submitted their resignations. As a result, the HR department had been incredibly busy.
“Unlike guild members from military backgrounds, ordinary people like me don’t have much company loyalty or allegiance to the guild master. Unless there were complaints about discriminatory treatment… What’s the point of staying on a sinking ship until the end?”
“The guild won’t let you go easily… You might face retaliation.”
Yuki mumbled with a worried face. During her time as a secretary, she had witnessed Livio eliminating people who left the guild several times. Those memories made her hesitant to quit the guild.
“Ah, I thought the process would be complicated since I’m in the information team, but fortunately it went smoothly. I’m still a newbie, so I don’t have access to important data. Perhaps because of that, they only conducted an in-depth interview, had me sign a confidentiality agreement, and did a lie detector test.”
Karas smiled brightly as if to say not to worry too much.
“And as for retaliation… it would be a lie to say I’m not worried, but I’ve prepared my own escape route.”
“I see… That’s a relief then.”
Yuki’s expression showed some relief. But soon her eyes contorted.
“What will I do when you’re gone, Karas-san?”
Yuki’s eyes welled up with tears in despair. Over the past few months, she had received a lot of help from Karas. He didn’t dismiss her as a useless person, and when she panicked due to the sharp drop in her matching rate with Livio, he worked hard to prevent problems.
Even after that, he helped her take a few days of sick leave and provided various information, taking care of her in many ways. For Yuki, Karas was a pillar of support in her difficult guild life.
“I can’t quit like you… *sob*”
“Umm, Yuki-san.”
Karas’s eyes narrowed as he watched Yuki finally burst into tears. He observed her as if gauging something, then carefully opened his mouth.
“…What if there was a way to safely leave the guild? Would you be willing to do anything?”
“What?”
“Sigh, honestly, I’ve been debating whether to tell you this or not. There’s actually a reason why I’m quitting the guild.”
“What do you…?”
Karas leaned slightly towards Yuki and whispered in a small voice, as if afraid someone might hear.
“The military will announce the establishment of a special prosecutor next week.”
“…! Really?”
“Yes, it’s certain. I know a few people in the Defense Force. The guild master and many others will be investigated. I hear you’re also a subject of investigation, Yuki-san.”
“M-me?”
“Until recently, you were his secretary. The military sees you as one of his closest aides.”
“That can’t be…”
Yuki was dumbfounded. While she didn’t think of herself as clean, hearing that she was a subject of investigation made her breath catch.
“…So, would you like to enter the witness protection program with me?”
“…Pardon?”
“Well, I’m not sure how you’ll take this… but when the special prosecution starts, I’ve agreed to hand over the documents I have and testify. That’s the precaution I mentioned earlier.”
“You mean, you’re going to betray the guild master…”
“Is there any need to keep loyalty to someone who treats employees as tools? Just look at what happened to Isaac. When the investigation starts, they might pin crimes on you too.”
Yuki couldn’t deny Karas’s words. Didn’t Isaac Miller die taking the blame for Livio? Moreover, she was the one who set up Carlos to attack Luke Illum. If the investigation starts, she would undoubtedly be punished.
“I, I…”
“I know, as a secretary, you couldn’t refuse the guild master’s orders. So come with me. If you become a whistleblower and cooperate with the special prosecution, I’ll make sure you can enter the witness protection program like me.”
“I need some time to th-think…”
“No. Decide right now. What if you leave here and report to the guild master?”
“I won’t do such a thing!”
Yuki suddenly yelled out.
“I know too! What the best choice is in this situation… It’s just, I’m too confused right now…”
“Then I’ll give you time to calm down. Think it over carefully here.”
Pat, pat. Karas patted Yuki’s shoulder and patiently waited for her answer. After a while, her lips hesitantly opened.
“…Can you really get me into the witness protection program?”
“Of course, if you make the decision, I’ll connect you right away. You know a lot, so they’ll surely welcome you.”
Got her. Karas’s eyes gleamed as he took out his phone. Having successfully completed his mission, he watched Yuki nod her head and pressed the call button.
* * *
“Yawn…”
Iberis let out a small yawn after carefully checking and approving training plans and sick leave requests for injured personnel on the electronic approval system. At that moment, a fragrant coffee was placed on his desk.
“You’ve been tired all day, haven’t you?”
“Thanks, I’m particularly sleepy today.”
Iberis smiled faintly as he picked up the coffee cup. Nothing was better than caffeine for getting rid of drowsiness.
“What did you do yesterday? It was a day off, so you should have rested. It doesn’t seem like you went out with the Captain either…”
“Hmm, I just lounged around in the quarters.”
“Then why are you so listless? You look like a sick chicken.”
“I tossed and turned all night. I slept a bit during the day, so I was wide awake at night…”
Iberis yawned again and sipped his coffee with an embarrassed look. There was actually another reason, but he couldn’t tell Brenda the truth.
“It’s not just today, you were like this all last week too.”
“Last week was because Luke wasn’t feeling well…”
Iberis trailed off. Since the day Lucas learned that Livio was his parents’ enemy, he had been having nightmares every night.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
