“Hypnosis?”
“Yes. It seems this incident wasn’t spontaneous, but rather a setup by someone.”
“…Could it be former Lieutenant General Logan’s doing?”
Lucas’s voice lowered. No matter how he thought about it, Livio was the only one who would target him at this point.
“The probability of it being him is very high. The person who got former Major Norris addicted to drugs and alcohol is already deceased.”
Winfried agreed with Lucas’s speculation and shared what he had learned so far.
“Was he taken care of?”
“The cause of death is shock due to drug overdose… If former Lieutenant General Logan is behind this, it’s highly likely. Besides him, the bartender at the regular bar former Major Norris frequented has also gone missing.”
“Hmm.”
“In the past few months, former Major Norris met very few people. The Investigation Bureau suspects that either the deceased drug addict friend or the regular bartender was a hypnosis ability user.”
“Is there no news from the agents who infiltrated the Mars Guild?”
“As a matter of fact, we obtained some useful information this morning. The state of ‘Yuki Shiroi’, our top recruitment target, has been unstable for several days.”
“Yuki Shiroi…”
Lucas’s golden eyes flickered at Winfried’s news. He trailed off, searching his memory. Yuki, Livio’s second secretary and guide, was crucial to Winfried’s plan to collapse the Mars Guild from within.
“What’s happening with that person?”
“Well, our agent suspects that Yuki Shiroi directed this operation. Apparently, she’s been visibly depressed and anxious since the day of the attack.”
“Is there any evidence besides suspicious circumstances? Just that alone…”
“It seems there’s no concrete evidence yet. Having just succeeded in entering the information team, they can’t access high-security matters… Still, they found some useful data and contacted us early this morning. I’ll send it via secure email now, so please check it.”
“Understood.”
“While we lack evidence for now, securing Yuki Shiroi should solve the problem. I’ve ordered our agents to approach her in earnest starting today, so we should have results soon.”
“I hope so.”
“Ah, and tomorrow, people from the Investigation Bureau will visit again. They want you to stay in Paris until the investigation into former Major Norris is complete…”
“That’s impossible. Do you know when the investigation will end?”
Lucas frowned slightly at Winfried’s words. While it was a reasonable request from the Investigation Bureau’s standpoint, changing the schedule of Iberis, who’s responsible for an entire unit, wasn’t easy. Even this vacation was somewhat pushing it.
“For my sake, extend the vacation by two or three days. There’s nothing to gain by antagonizing the Investigation Bureau.”
“…Staying for three or four more days shouldn’t be difficult. I’ll discuss it with the Major and try to adjust the schedule.”
After quickly calculating in his head, Lucas decided to accept the Investigation Bureau’s proposal. As long as there were no unexpected incidents like an S-class rift appearing in Zone N or a monster wave occurring, extending the vacation a bit shouldn’t be a problem.
“You’ve thought well. I’ve decided to stay in Paris this month too, so let’s have tea again when we have time. Or a meal, if you prefer.”
“Yes.”
“Then enjoy your time. Don’t just stay in the room. Go out and have dates too.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Lucas stopped Winfried, who was about to end the call, as if he had something more to say.
“Hm? What is it?”
“I have a favor to ask you, Lieutenant General. I’m planning to apply for official pairing soon.”
“Official pairing? Have you achieved the conditions set by the committee?”
“We haven’t taken the test yet… but we should have exceeded 83%.”
Lucas spoke with a confident voice. With good reason – every time their guiding level increased, their matching rate showed a dramatic rise.
Now that they had become lovers and grown emotionally closer, plus having made love continuously for days, their rate should have easily increased by about 1%. Above all, they were connected by Name. Even if they hadn’t achieved the matching rate, the committee had no grounds to stop them anymore.
“Well, you only had 1% left then… Hmm, send me the matching rate test results, and I’ll contact the committee.”
“Thank you.”
“You probably already know this, but a simple test won’t do. There’s a military hospital operated by the European branch nearby. Why don’t you go there tomorrow for a detailed examination?”
“I’d like to get tested as soon as possible, but… I’m worried about unnecessary rumors spreading.”
Lucas watched Iberis breathing softly and fiddled with his ear. Iberis’s internal mana was the most stable it had ever been. Given the intensive high-level guiding they’d been doing, his circulation and contamination levels should be much better than before. Even the body damage rate, which had been the biggest headache until now, seemed promising this time.
“You don’t need to worry about information leaking. I’m well acquainted with Colonel Ange, the director of the European branch hospital.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I’ll call right away and make a reservation for you. I’ll also strongly emphasize to Colonel Ange the need to maintain confidentiality.”
“I’d be grateful if you could do that.”
“Good. Should I have the entire examination room cleared like last time? Do you want me to send agents for cleanup as well?”
“Yes, that would be best.”
“Alright, I’ll call you back later. The committee will be in an uproar when they hear about you achieving the matching rate. They set conditions to prevent an official pairing, but you’ve gone and accomplished it spectacularly.”
Winfried chuckled, already anticipating the committee’s reaction. A smile also played on Lucas’s lips.
“Mmm…”
Just then, Iberis stirred, mumbling in his sleep. His eyelids fluttered, and soon his clear, transparent eyes were revealed.
“I’ll wait for your call.”
“Alright.”
Seeing Iberis awake, Lucas quickly ended the call. He then gently cupped Iberis’s smooth cheek with the hand that had been fiddling with his ear. The skin temperature enveloping his palm was lower than his own, but it didn’t feel cold.
“Are you awake?”
Lucas smiled even more warmly than before, noticing that Iberis’s body temperature was higher than usual. He lowered his head after tidying Iberis’s messy bangs and tucking them behind his ear.
“Yeah… *yawn*”
Iberis yawned softly, feeling the warmth on his forehead and eyes. Then he stretched his arms upward.
“Mmm… Who were you just talking to?”
“Lieutenant General Bismarck.”
“Ah, I see.”
Iberis rolled onto his side and hugged Lucas’s waist. He buried his face in Lucas’s firm stomach, nuzzling his cheek like a cat showing affection to its owner. Perhaps due to their intimacy over the past few days, Iberis had become noticeably more comfortable with physical affection and acting coy.
“…Did you tell the Lieutenant General about us?”
Iberis suddenly raised his head, as if just remembering something after enjoying Lucas’s warm, cozy body temperature for a moment.
“Yes, I mentioned it during our call… Was it supposed to be a secret? Did I make a mistake?”
“No, no. It’s fine to tell him. I just feel a bit embarrassed…”
Iberis mumbled, wrinkling his nose. Perhaps because he knew about Lucas and Winfried’s connection, he felt oddly self-conscious.
“What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not a crime for us to be dating… The Lieutenant General was very pleased. He said he was really happy for us.”
“Really?”
“Yes, he already knew that I had confessed to you, Major.”
“Eh?”
Iberis made a surprised sound upon learning this new information. No wonder Winfried’s gaze had seemed strange after the award ceremony. Now he is worried about how to face Winfried next time.
“Ahem, so how’s the investigation going?”
“Ah, about that…”
Lucas shared the details of the situation Winfried had relayed.
“Hmm, is it okay to extend the vacation? I feel like we’ve been away from our posts for too long…”
Iberis hummed quietly after hearing that the Investigation Bureau had requested they stay longer for victim interviews. It seemed he was uncomfortable with extending the already unprecedented ten-day vacation.
“Let’s contact Lieutenant Cali first.”
Seeing Iberis deep in thought, Lucas suggested getting Brenda’s opinion. She was currently leading the N-0 unit in Iberis’s place. So it wouldn’t be too late to ask Brenda about the situation in Zone N before making a decision.
“That’s a good idea.”
Iberis nodded, agreeing it was a sound plan. Come to think of it, he also needed to tell Brenda about becoming lovers with Lucas. After all, she had been Iberis’s confidant over the past few months, offering valuable advice.
“We’ll need to buy lots of gifts on the way back. I owe the Lieutenant a great deal this time.”
“Owe her?”
Lucas showed interest upon hearing Iberis’s mutter.
