“Well… there is one piece of information that came in.”
“What is it?”
Livio, who had been staring at the monitor as if to pierce it, showed interest in the secretary’s cautious words.
“A few hours ago, there was an intense mana wave from the direction of the annex building.”
“The annex?”
“Yes. They say a dazzling light engulfed the entire building… Though it disappeared after a few minutes.”
“That means… someone used an ability.”
“It seems so. Due to the distance, we couldn’t identify who it was or what kind of ability, but it doesn’t seem to be Major Iberis Hyun or Captain Luke Illum.”
“Hmm. Did the Marquis Blake reveal his ability?”
Livio showed interest in the new information. His gaze returned to the photo displayed on the laptop screen. Despite tracking him for over 10 years, Livio had failed to see the bare face of Marquis Blake, the masked man in the news photo.
Lucas Lowell Blake, despite running a company, rarely appeared unless it was a truly important occasion. Most matters were handled by his proxy, Thomas Denver.
Many wondered about the Marquis’s real face, but no one had succeeded in seeing behind the mask. Having lost his parents in a fire accident, he maintained an extremely narrow circle of relationships and fortified the conserved family mansion like a fortress.
He was also known for never leaving his bedroom when at home, even taking most meals in his room. In reality, this was because Thomas shed his transformation and acted as a butler rather than the head of the family inside the house, but there was no way Livio could grasp such circumstances.
As a result, despite regularly investigating Lucas Lowell Blake as a key figure for over 10 years, Livio knew less about him than expected.
Still, his efforts weren’t entirely fruitless. After long pursuit, Livio discovered that Marquis Blake was an ability user. Though he had never openly used his ability, making it uncertain whether he was an Esper or a Guide, it was clear he possessed mana.
This was actually a misunderstanding based on Thomas seeing Lucas’s transformed state, but Livio had no way of knowing that. Unaware of the truth, when he obtained this information, Livio considered reporting the Marquis as an unregistered ability user. He eventually decided against it, reasoning that the disadvantages would outweigh the benefits.
Given the Blake family’s power, even if revealed as an unregistered ability user, it was obvious he’d just pay a fine and be done with it. Moreover, the Blake siblings were quite famous among the British people. They were from an ancient noble family, and at a young age, lost their parents in an unfortunate accident, with one suffering full-body burns and the other losing the use of their legs.
At the time of the incident, Lucas was 13 years old. Despite experiencing an unbearable tragedy, the boy didn’t give up. Instead, he established Blake Medical Equipment and Pharmaceutical Company, elevating the family name and becoming a big topic of conversation.
He also established a foundation for children who lost their parents to ability crimes or dungeon breaks, regularly sponsoring it, and donated enormous sums whenever major incidents occurred in the UK.
With his tragic story, illustrious background, and outstanding abilities, Lucas Lowell Blake quickly became a famous figure in the UK. If it were revealed that such a person had lived as an unregistered ability user for over 10 years, it would attract tremendous attention.
The reason for not registering despite awakening was probably due to severe PTSD from the incident 12 years ago. This also explained his eccentric behaviors like never leaving the mansion or always wearing a mask.
Therefore, Livio decided not to make an issue of Lucas Lowell Blake being an unregistered ability user. If the Marquis or his guardian Winfried were to track down the informant because of this, it could become unnecessarily troublesome.
Moreover, even now, gossip magazines and cyber wrecker channels occasionally spouted nonsense about the former Marquis couple’s death not being an accident. If the reason for hiding Lucas Lowell Blake’s awakening were to be discussed, and the accident from 12 years ago were to be brought up again and, in the worst case, a reinvestigation decided, it would be disastrous.
“It might not be the Marquis, but a security guard. The annex is where the Blake Marquis’s sister receives home-schooling. Perhaps there was an issue during a lesson…”
The secretary spoke, watching Livio’s reaction. The security guards employed by the company established by the Blake family were all exceptionally skilled. There were even several retired A-class Espers among them, so such a phenomenon wasn’t impossible.
“Hmm, that’s possible too. Clearly, something happened…”
The issue was the reason for using such a powerful ability that it was noticeable to guild members of the information team watching from afar. With the lack of information, there wasn’t a single plausible cause. Frustrated by the unanswered questions, Livio clicked his tongue again.
“Why on earth did the Marquis invite him?”
Click, click. Livio muttered to himself while nervously clicking the mouse button. One was a subject entangled in long-standing guilt, and the other was an enemy who had already brought him down once. With these two meeting, he couldn’t help but be concerned.
“Was it Major General Bismarck who introduced them after all…”
In Livio’s mind, the only one who could connect Iberis and Lucas Lowell Blake was Winfried. As for why he would do that…
“…Does he need the information and military power that Major Hyun possesses?”
Livio, voicing his speculation, gripped the mouse as if to crush it. The file that the deceased Ryan left to Iberis – if there were clues related to the incident from 12 years ago in there? Then it would all make sense – Lucas Lowell Blake, who usually avoided people, personally greeting Iberis and inviting him to the mansion.
“Since when have you been planning this, Winfried.”
Crunch. Livio gritted his teeth. During the internal whistleblowing, Iberis actively utilized the information he had, presenting evidence of Livio’s corruption.
Then, when the trial took a strange turn, he suddenly fell silent. He also stopped providing information to the investigation bureau and the court. To Livio’s eyes, this looked like he was waiting for the next opportunity.
Anxious, Livio made various attempts to seize the file Iberis possessed after the trial ended. But even after breaking into the base and searching the office and residence, he couldn’t find the file. After several failures, he had to be content with just monitoring Iberis’s movements.
However, it seemed Winfried hadn’t given up. He made the bold move of sending Luke Illum, his closest aide who also had connections with Lucas Lowell Blake, as Iberis’s guide. And that strategy had succeeded brilliantly.
“…Tell them to keep watching the mansion and follow Major Hyun closely when he comes out. Record every single move he makes.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Call Yuki.”
Livio, who had been nervously stroking his chin, suddenly called for Yuki. He needed her guiding to calm his mind.
“Ah, Guide Yuki has taken a day off today.”
“A day off?”
Livio frowned at the unexpected answer. After stepping down from the position of second secretary, Yuki had been working as part of the guide team. Since then, he had been calling for her at all hours. While he had somewhat restrained himself when Yuki was working as a secretary, now he had no reservations. Her only remaining use to him now was guiding.
“There’s a scheduled regular check-up for guild guides tomorrow afternoon. To get accurate results, they need to be in their best condition…”
“Ah, is it that time already?”
Livio’s hardened expression softened at the secretary’s explanation. He made a disappointed “hmm” sound.
“Then send up the guide currently in the guild with the highest matching rate with me. A female.”
“Ah, yes sir.”
The secretary bowed his head, careful not to let his face crumple at Livio’s specific request for a female guide.
* * *
“Heeeng, I don’t want to say goodbye…”
Regina, who had come to see Lucas and Iberis off, whined with a face full of regret. She habitually tried to twirl her hair with her fingers but paused when she grasped nothing.
Having cut off all her white hair, Regina now had a short bob. It seemed she still needed time to adjust to her hairstyle that had changed overnight.
“It’s not like we’re saying goodbye forever, why are you like this?”
Lucas was slightly flustered by Regina’s rare display of childishness, as she usually saw him off composedly.
“Heeng… You came after so long but you’re leaving after only two days…”
“I’m sorry. Next time I’ll take a longer vacation and come.”
“Liar.”
“It’s true. Once the busy work is over, we’ll be able to see each other often.”
“Pfft, and then you’ll try to come again after half a year?”
Momentarily at a loss for words at the barbed comment, Lucas awkwardly cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry, it was hard to find time because I was assigned to a new zone this year. I explained before, remember? I’m working in N-zone now, not at headquarters.”
“…When does the busy work end?”
“Probably soon…?”
“Eek! Give me an exact timeframe! One month? Two months?”
“Well, that’s something we’ll have to see…”
“What? So in the end, you don’t know when you’ll be free! Oppa, you dummy!”
Lucas groaned as Regina hit him repeatedly. Then he suddenly lifted her up. When she threw tantrums like this, the most effective method was to hold her high and sway her like an airplane.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
