“Hello there.”
Livio greeted Iberis with a friendly smile. His face was as brazen as ever.
“It’s been a while, Major Hyun.”
“What brings you here?”
Instead of returning Livio’s greeting, Iberis asked why he had appeared here. He didn’t want to exchange more words than necessary with him.
“Oh? Didn’t you know I was coming? I received a support request from Major Chen Luan here yesterday, so I rushed to join.”
Livio’s eyes hardened at having his greeting ignored. But he quickly relaxed his expression as if nothing had happened and lightly placed his hand on Chen’s shoulder.
“The Guild Master is correct. I sent a support request to Mars Guild yesterday.”
Chen, singled out by Livio, spoke while gauging Iberis’s reaction. Although it was an unspoken rule among N-area unit commanders to speak comfortably to each other regardless of age, since they were of the same rank, he still used formal speech despite having been appointed several months ago.
To an outsider, he might seem as polite as Yurina, who consistently used honorifics with everyone, but in reality, he was keeping his distance from the other unit commanders.
Chen, who had been unwillingly assigned to the N-area to fill the void left by Carlos, hadn’t adapted to his new unit and was drifting apart from the other majors.
This was also why he had been the first to side with Livio. He judged that by helping Livio, who had connections to the top brass, he might be able to return to central command.
“Major Chen, what’s the meaning of this? If there were any changes, shouldn’t you have contacted me right away?”
“I’m sorry. It was an urgent request made last night…”
Chen apologized, mixing in a bit of a lie. He hadn’t informed Iberis about Livio’s participation in the operation out of concern that Iberis might withdraw his support.
“The reason?”
“I thought Guild Master Logan would be the most suitable opponent for the Black World Tree.”
“Hmm, are you saying I’m not capable enough to subdue the Black World Tree?”
“What? No, that’s not it!”
Startled by Iberis’s sarcasm, Chen quickly waved his hands as if to say there was no misunderstanding. Although he had chosen Livio, he seemed afraid of completely alienating Iberis.
“It’s, it’s not that I doubt your abilities, Major. It’s just that there are generally elemental affinities, you know. It’s well known that trees are weak against fire…”
“We don’t necessarily have to burn the Black World Tree. Anyway, I understand Major Chen’s thinking.”
Iberis cut off Chen’s words with a slight curl at the corner of his eyes.
“Major Chen was just trying to ensure the operation’s success. He wasn’t disrespecting you.”
Livio stepped in to defend Chen before the atmosphere could become more tense. If the frightened Chen were to prostrate himself before Iberis here, it would only make Livio look foolish.
“By the way, I saw some good news in the newspaper.”
Livio forced a smile and turned to Lucas, who was standing next to Iberis, in an attempt to change the subject. This guide who had acted so impudently towards him – looking back, trying to eliminate him had backfired spectacularly, leading to the worst possible situation.
Recalling yesterday’s phone call, Livio tightened his lips. As much as he wanted to burn the two people before him right then and there, he had to hold back. Desperately suppressing his irritation, he stretched his mouth into a grin.
“They say it’s common for espers and guides to become close, but I never expected Major Hyun to fall in love. I’ve lived to see such a day.”
“Well, it’s thanks to a certain someone.”
“Hm?”
“Thanks to former Major Norris’s despicable actions, I realized my feelings. While he deserves to freeze to death, I’m grateful for that one part where he helped me recognize my emotions.”
Iberis stepped forward as if to protect Lucas, looking at Livio with cold eyes.
“By the way, Guild Master, you seem to read the newspapers often? Then you must have seen the articles about former Major Norris. Some journalists were raising suspicions about whether Mars Guild was involved, like in the previous terrorist incident.”
“Haha, running a guild makes one keep up with the news. I was just troubled by the rampant baseless speculations.”
“Well, I wonder if those articles are really just malicious rumors…”
“…What do you mean?”
Livio dropped his smile and became serious at Iberis’s attitude of suspicion.
“Don’t you know better than anyone what I mean, Guild Master?”
Iberis retorted in an ice-cold voice. His silver-gray eyes shone sharply as if to dig into the other’s dark intentions.
“Given your colorful history.”
“Watch your words, Major Hyun!”
Livio burst out in anger as if in disbelief. Then he growled a question.
“What will you do if it turns out I have nothing to do with this? How can you spout such nonsense?”
“If it’s not true, then it’s not.”
“Good grief, how can you say that… Do you think you can just insult me like this and get away with it? I’ll formally complain to the military…”
“On what grounds? For hurting your feelings? As someone who nearly died because of you, I think it’s a perfectly reasonable suspicion to have.”
“I’ve officially apologized for that incident. And it wasn’t me, but the information team leader who acted on his own…”
“Failing to properly manage your subordinates is also a mistake.”
“You…!”
Livio gritted his teeth at Iberis’s sarcastic behavior, not giving an inch. He was already irritated at having to show respect to someone who used to follow his orders, and now being provoked like this made his blood boil.
“Haaah…”
Livio took a deep breath to calm himself. He couldn’t afford to cause problems with Iberis now, with all eyes on them. After composing himself for a moment, he stared at Iberis as if looking at a stranger. Despite the gap of a few years, this wasn’t the personality he remembered.
“The trial of former Major Norris started a few days ago, and the investigation is ongoing, so the truth will come out soon. If I’ve misunderstood, I’ll apologize.”
But I don’t think that will happen. Iberis muttered under his breath, barely audible.
“Whatever the outcome, I won’t forgive anyone who tried to harm my precious person. If, as I suspect, there’s someone behind former Major Norris… I’ll definitely find them and crush them. I won’t be satisfied until I’ve repaid the damage done to our captain several times over.”
Iberis declared, looking straight at Livio. It seemed almost like a declaration of war against him.
“Why are you saying this to me…!”
“Oh, everyone’s here already?”
Livio was about to speak up, upset at Iberis’s open suspicion, when Yurina Russell appeared in a hurry.
“Sorry I’m late. I got a call from headquarters asking about today’s operation…”
Yurina apologized awkwardly, seeing everyone gathered except herself. Then she hesitated, sensing the hostile atmosphere between Iberis and Livio. Something seemed off.
“Um, is something wrong?”
“No, we were just talking.”
Iberis gave a faint smile towards Yurina, as if it was nothing.
“It doesn’t seem like it was just a simple conversation… Are you okay, Major Chen?”
Yurina, momentarily thrown off by Iberis’s unusual smile, quickly frowned. Knowing the bad blood between Iberis and Livio, she hadn’t expected them to get along, but it was problematic to start off on the wrong foot when they needed to work together on the operation.
“What? Oh, yes…”
Chen, who had been pale since the two started their verbal sparring, nodded vigorously as if Yurina’s voice had snapped him back to reality.
“Now that Major Russell has arrived, shall we proceed with the final briefing before starting the operation?”
At that moment, Lucas appropriately interjected, suggesting they move to the tent for the last operational meeting.
“Sure.”
Iberis readily accepted Lucas’s proposal. He knew there was nothing to gain by continuing this verbal battle with Livio here, even though he had unwittingly become emotional.
“…Fine.”
As Yurina and Chen’s gazes turned to him, Livio had no choice but to agree. He had noticed the N-0 unit members, including Brenda, watching him intently since he raised his voice at Iberis. Their glaring eyes suggested they were ready to pounce at any moment.
So he had to endure for now. Despite having guild members with him, they were outnumbered, and he lacked proper grounds to protest against Iberis. Judging by Chen’s consistently timid attitude, it didn’t seem like he would take Livio’s side either. Further confrontation with Iberis would only result in losses for himself.
Clenching his molars, Livio glared at Iberis’s back as he walked towards the tent, his eyes filled with murderous intent. His already wounded pride was torn to shreds once again, making his insides boil with rage.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
