“Support for the bereaved families? Hmm, I think you could do that through the foundation you run, Major. It’s already doing similar work anyway.”
“Then please arrange that. No, should I contact the foundation manager directly?”
“I’ll contact the manager. Major, you should focus on recovering.”
Brenda dissuaded Iberis from reaching for his phone. What he needed was rest, not contacting the foundation manager.
“Alright, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Leave it to me. If it becomes known that you’re supporting the victims’ families, there will be another flood of articles.”
Brenda looked at Iberis with a beaming smile, as if just thinking about it made her happy. Currently, Iberis had become a hero for stopping the villains’ terror attack and the fissure in the urban area. This incident had almost annihilated the villain organizations in N-zone.
Because of this, articles praising his achievements appeared not only in N-zone but also in defense force newsletters and international news. Requests for interviews for follow-up articles from broadcasting stations and newspapers kept coming in.
One news outlet even reported on Iberis’s background, mentioning that he had been demoted to N-zone after an internal whistleblowing a few years ago, and that former Lieutenant General Logan, who was dishonorably discharged after corruption was discovered, was now heading a guild cooperating with the defense force.
When this fact hit the media, public opinion was greatly stirred. People criticized the defense force, comparing Iberis, who suffered despite his righteous actions, to Livio, who lived comfortably despite his misdeeds. As news spread that Iberis had been seriously injured after consecutively stopping the terror attack and the fissure, the criticism intensified.
“If the Major’s good deed becomes known, the higher-ups will face even more criticism.”
Brenda spoke with an anticipatory expression. She viewed this situation very positively. If played right, it could even restore Iberis’s honor.
“Is there really a need to publicize it? I’d rather help quietly…”
“Come on, you should take credit for things like this.”
“Even so, once it’s revealed that the villains were targeting me, I’ll immediately become a traitor.”
Iberis muttered bitterly. He knew well how people’s attitudes could change in an instant. It was something he had experienced several times in the past.
For this reason, unlike Brenda, Iberis didn’t expect anything. Rather, he found this kind of attention burdensome. To be honest, he couldn’t understand why there was so much news coverage and articles.
After all, since his assignment to N-zone, no matter what achievements Iberis had, there had never been this much interest. The higher-ups, wanting to bury the ‘Livio Logan scandal’, had intentionally hindered him from gaining spotlight, and journalists who didn’t want to antagonize the defense force didn’t want to create unnecessary trouble.
But suddenly, the journalists’ attitudes changed. In the past few days, they collectively produced articles about Iberis aggressively, as if by agreement. It almost seemed as if they were acting on someone’s orders.
It might just be his imagination, but Iberis felt like the current phenomenon was exactly as if someone with a purpose was helping him. That’s why he couldn’t be entirely happy about it.
“Even if the inside story of the incident is revealed, not many people will criticize you, Major. It’s been reported that the villains, dissatisfied with their weakening power, took advantage of the lax security due to the population control operation in the Land of Death to carry out the terror attack to take over N-zone.”
Brenda chattered her opinion as if telling Iberis not to worry too much. Everyone in N-zone knows about the bad blood between Iberis and the villain organizations. So, targeting Iberis was seen as an attempt to kill the most troublesome opponent in order to take over N-zone.
“Even if it’s later revealed that they acted on an assassination request, the problem can be solved by finding the mastermind. We can direct people’s criticism and resentment towards them.”
“I wonder…”
Despite Brenda’s words, Iberis’s expression remained gloomy. Flustered by his skeptical response, she cleared her throat and changed the subject.
“By the way, it’s fortunate that your recovery is faster than expected. Is it thanks to Captain Illum’s guiding?”
“Huh?”
Iberis involuntarily flinched when Brenda mentioned Lucas.
“Not just preventing the mana outburst this time… your complexion has really improved compared to a few months ago.”
Brenda smiled broadly, looking pleased. Her voice was dripping with fondness for Lucas.
“I was worried about many things at first, but I’m glad you seem to get along well with the Captain. Your matching rate is already 78%, right?”
“Ah, yeah…”
Iberis nodded, recalling the test results he saw this morning. The matching rate, which had stopped at 75%, had risen by 3% in just a few days. This change occurred after starting stage 2 guiding with Lucas.
“It was 62% at first… so it’s increased by 16% in total? For the matching rate to rise this much in a few months, at this rate, becoming an official pair is just a matter of time.”
Knowing that the two were still a ‘temporary’ pair, Brenda looked excited herself. She hoped Lucas would remain as Iberis’s exclusive guide for life. That way, Iberis could live healthily for a long time.
Having come to fully trust Lucas’s skills, Brenda firmly believed that he would cure Iberis.
“The more I think about it, the more amazing it is. How can the matching rate rise so quickly when you’re not even Name matches? Is it because he’s an S-grade guide?”
Although not as much as Iberis, Brenda, who had once struggled to find a suitable guide, knew how exceptional this situation was. Raising the matching rate between an esper and a guide was extremely difficult.
Usually, from 75%, which is the percentage where they can form a pair, the difficulty of raising the matching rate increases dramatically. Until now, it could be explained as a possible phenomenon because their initial rate was so low and Iberis had no guiding experience, but rising from 75% to 78% in just five days was nonsensical by common sense.
“…I’m not sure.”
Iberis fidgeted with the blanket, looking unsure. He had a guess about the reason, but he couldn’t explain it to Brenda. How could he say it was probably the effect of kissing Lucas every day?
While many ability users are comfortable with stage 2 or 3 guiding, Iberis wasn’t. Maybe because everything was a first for him, he felt embarrassed to even tell his adjutant Brenda that he had started stage 2 guiding with Lucas.
Above all, he had received a confession from Lucas. Lucas, who had boldly declared that his future guiding would involve personal feelings, had been nursing Iberis for four days, kissing him every morning and evening.
Fortunately, unlike when he had asked how far Iberis would allow him to bite and suck, Lucas had only kissed him gently over the past few days. This was because Iberis was a patient who needed convalescence.
Of course, even with just kisses, Iberis couldn’t keep his composure. Whenever Lucas, absorbed in kissing, caressed his waist or buried his face in his neck, Iberis would tremble and struggle.
Instead of letting Iberis go, Lucas would hold him closer, as if telling him to get used to it. Then he would lightly press his lips all over Iberis’s face – his eyes, cheeks, lips, and chin. Gradually, the tension would ease.
After relaxing Iberis’s guard like this, this morning, saying that the kiss mark he left four days ago had faded, Lucas suddenly left a new bite mark.
“Is your neck uncomfortable?”
“Huh?”
“You seem to keep touching it…”
“Ah, no! It’s just…”
Iberis, who had been unconsciously stroking the area on his neck where Lucas had left a mark, was startled when he realized what he was doing at Brenda’s question. He gripped his pajama collar tightly, worried that she might have seen the kiss mark on his neck. His heart raced unnecessarily, even though he hadn’t committed any crime.
“It’s just…? Hmm, if you’re uncomfortable or in pain anywhere, please tell me. I’ll call the Captain right away.”
Brenda’s eyes narrowed at the obviously suspicious behavior. Since Iberis rarely shows when he’s in pain, she naturally became worried.
“What? No, I’m not in pain. I’m fine. The Captain hasn’t been able to do his work properly lately because he’s been taking care of me, I can’t disturb him. Absolutely don’t call him. Understood?”
Iberis hurriedly stopped Brenda when she said she would call Lucas. This made her even more suspicious.
“Are you really okay?”
Did he have a fight with Lucas this morning? Brenda, after considering a few scenarios in her mind, spoke up.
“I told you I am.”
“If you’re not in pain, do you have something on your mind?”
“Huh?”
“Just now, and earlier too… you keep zoning out while we’re talking, so I’m worried.”
“No, nothing’s wrong.”
“Really?”
Iberis closed his mouth with a troubled expression as Brenda persistently pressed him.
“Um, Brenda.”
Iberis, who had been moving his lips as if about to say something, hesitantly called Brenda. He had been agonizing alone for days, but couldn’t come up with an answer, so he wanted to consult someone.
“Yes, Major.”
“Well, you see, it’s about an esper I know…”
