“You’re telling me to drop out of the military supply company selection? Are you joking with me?”
The secretary snapped out of his thoughts at the loud voice echoing through the office.
“Damn it! Where else is there an opportunity? If I can’t return to the military within the year… What? Give up? How dare you say that…!”
Livio raised his voice, enraged by the words of the person on the other end of the line.
“I told you! All those articles were put out by that bitch Winfried! Can’t you control people while you’re in the Defense Force? What the hell were you doing while that person was digging into our past?”
Livio shouted with a red face, veins popping in his neck. He threw courtesy to the wind and argued point by point with the other party.
“And were those past incidents solely my fault? I was cleaning up after all of you! Do you think you’ll be safe if I fall?”
The secretary swallowed hard as Livio, unable to contain his anger, pounded on the desk. Seeing cracks form on the desk made of special material sent chills down his spine.
“Special investigation? Ha, if a special investigation team is formed, you’ll all be subjects of investigation too! So if you don’t want to go down together, block it yourselves! Surely you have at least that much power?”
“Guild Master Logan! What have you been hearing in my words all this time? I’m telling you the reformist faction has completely taken control now!”
“So you’re saying you can’t do it?”
Livio frowned as the other party showed a lack of confidence in response to his demand to prevent the special investigation. It was foolish of him to have trusted these people who started whining as soon as the situation turned slightly unfavorable.
“Then we have no choice. Let’s die together.”
“Hey, watch your words! You’ve been…”
“Shut up! Listen well, I’m not going to die alone. So if you don’t want to sink together, clean this up somehow! And if you dare to spout nonsense about giving up on returning to the Defense Force one more time, know that I’ll come for you personally!”
“Logan…”
“Hmph!”
Crack! Livio ended the call unilaterally and smashed his phone. He threw the broken phone on the floor, still seething with anger. As his mana reacted to his intense emotions, the air in the office became as stuffy as a sauna.
“Um… Guild Master.”
The secretary, who had been watching Livio carefully, finally spoke up with difficulty. He felt like he might suffocate if he stayed here any longer. But since he couldn’t run away, the best option was to quickly deal with the matter he came for.
“What is it?”
Livio finally turned his sharp gaze to the secretary.
“W-well, we received a request for support for tomorrow’s operation to exterminate Dark Elves and Black World Tree saplings. Major Chen Luan, the commander of the N-6 unit, sent a message saying he h-hopes you will definitely participate.”
“Me?”
Livio frowned at the secretary’s stuttering words. Major Chen Luan, who had succeeded Carlos, was the most friendly unit commander to him, so he couldn’t easily ignore this.
“Yes. It seems that because the scale of the extermination is large… and your ability, fire, is particularly effective against the Black World Tree.”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
Livio agreed, crossing his arms. Two weeks ago, the military was thrown into chaos when a group of Dark Elves, humanoid monsters from another world, and Black World Tree were discovered in the outskirts of the N-7 area, one of the living zones in the N area. They were detected during a comprehensive investigation to determine the cause of the sporadic rifts that had occurred in the N-9 area this year.
Yurina Russell, the manager of the N-7 area, made excuses that it was a danger zone that most people didn’t even know existed and even the slum dwellers in the back alleys rarely approached, but regardless of the reason, it was her mistake. Everyone was shocked by the fact that monsters had successfully blended into a human-inhabited area.
The investigation revealed that the reason the Dark Elf group had been able to settle in the defense zone unnoticed was due to the villain organization that controlled the back alleys of the N-7 area.
A few months ago, the boss who had been identified as one of the main culprits in the terrorist incident had fled and gone missing, and the organization members had been largely wiped out and scattered, so it was still unclear why they had brought in the Dark Elves.
It was only speculated that they might have accepted the Dark Elf group, who had been driven out of the magical realm after losing a power struggle, in order to obtain the Black World Tree, which was known as a top-grade weapon material.
What was certain was that the Dark Elves, monsters from another world, had been hiding within the defense zone for nearly a year. Not only that, they had planted and grown saplings of the Black World Tree, which they worshipped as a god.
The mana from other dimensions and Earth’s mana were like oil and water that could never mix. As the Black World Tree grew, the land in the defense zone became increasingly polluted. As a result of these conflicting mana types clashing for months, rifts frequently occurred in the N-9 area where the ground was the weakest.
Livio briefly considered using this situation to attack Iberis, but decided against it. It wasn’t Iberis’s area to manage in the first place, and the leader of the villain organization involved with the Dark Elves was the one who had come to him at that time and been silenced with death.
Given that things had gone wrong far more often than right when getting involved with Iberis, and considering the potential for backlash, caution was necessary.
“And… Major Iberis Hyun will also be participating in this extermination operation.”
“Oh? Major Hyun?”
Livio’s eyes flashed at the mention of Iberis participating in the operation.
“Yes, since the Black World Tree is almost fully grown and there are about thirty Dark Elves… it seems the N-7 unit commander judged that extermination would be difficult with just two units, so he requested support from Major Hyun.”
The secretary explained what he had found out, barely suppressing the urge to back away. While Major Chen Luan, the N-6 unit commander, was on Livio’s side, Major Yurina Russell, the N-7 unit commander, was on Iberis’s side.
“As you know, Guild Master, while the Dark Elves settled in the N-7 area, it’s precisely near the border with the N-6 sector. Although Major Chen Luan hasn’t been in his position long, he can’t avoid responsibility either. So it seems both are staking everything on this operation.”
“Hmm.”
“Both of them are certain to face disciplinary action, but it appears they’re trying to somehow reduce the level of reprimand. If you’re uncomfortable working with Major Hyun, shall we decline?”
“…No.”
After hesitating briefly, Livio shook his head. While he wasn’t confident he could control his emotions when facing Iberis, he couldn’t avoid him forever. Moreover, this was an opportunity to directly observe Iberis’s current state and gauge who had the upper hand.
“Tell Major Chen Luan that I accept the request for support.”
“Understood. As for the office… shall I call for cleaning staff to tidy up?”
“Yes.”
“Very well, then…”
The secretary bowed his head and quickly left the Guild Master’s office. He didn’t want to stay there a second longer.
“Tch.”
Livio clicked his tongue, glaring disapprovingly at the secretary’s retreating figure. He then sat down with a tired expression.
“…I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Turning his chair to face the window with a creak, he muttered ominously. His eyes, as sunken as his voice, gleamed with a dark, blood-like hue.
* * *
“We’ve arrived, Major.”
“…!”
Iberis startled greatly at the driver’s voice from outside the partition, as if waking from a sweet dream. Opening his eyes, he tapped Lucas’s shoulder as if to say that’s enough.
However, instead of pulling away, Lucas kissed him even more deeply. As if he hadn’t heard anything at all.
“Lu-Luke. I think we’ve arri-mmph.”
Iberis tried to tell Lucas to stop, growing anxious at his continued kissing, but it was futile. He was helplessly swept up in the heat that completely devoured his lips.
“Ha, stop, hah. Mmm, hah…”
Iberis panted at the pleasure surging in his mouth. His fingers curled around Lucas’s firm shoulders as the force sucked in not only his voice but also his breath and saliva.
“Major?”
When there was no response, the driver called for Iberis again. Only then did their lips part with a wet sound.
“…We’re in the middle of guiding. Wait a moment.”
Lucas spoke in a low, husky voice after lightly licking Iberis’s lips, which were exhaling ragged breaths.
“Ah, yes! I-I’m sorry for interrupting. I’ll wait outside first.”
The driver, belatedly realizing the situation, apologized in a flustered manner before quickly exiting.
“How could you say we’re guiding! And I told you to stop!”
Left alone in the car, Iberis slapped Lucas’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong with that?”
“They’ll definitely think it’s strange…”
“Guiding is crucial for an esper… Anyone who has lewd thoughts about a guide spending time with their esper is the abnormal one. Ignore such people.”
“How can I not care?”
Iberis let out a groan. Although it had been quite some time since their relationship became known, people’s interest showed no signs of waning.
“I don’t want to do this in the car anymore.”
“Don’t say such nonsense.”
“What?”
“You must not know since this is your first proper guide, but guiding should be done whenever and wherever necessary. Or do you intend to make me look like a failure who can’t take care of his own esper?”
Lucas immediately objected, looking serious.
“Above all, stabilizing an esper’s mana through guiding before combat is something everyone with a pair or exclusive guide does.”
“…Really?”
Iberis asked, half in doubt. While Lucas probably wouldn’t lie about this, he had been led around so much by him that he couldn’t easily believe it.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
