Chapter 56
Drip, drip-
Even as water droplets glistened between his hair strands and fell to the floor, the man paid no attention as he sat on the edge of the bed. The white sheets darkened as they absorbed the moisture.
The man held a photograph in his hand. In the picture, two people were embracing each other’s shoulders with bright smiles, perhaps friends. The man’s eyes grew misty as if he was savoring the brilliance of that day. After gazing at the photo with damp eyes for a long while, the man raised his head.
After carefully placing the photo on the table, the man picked up something else from the table. His touch was gentle, as if caressing a precious treasure. Yet his face was filled with pain.
Click.
When the man pressed a button, a gentle male voice emerged from the recorder he was holding.
“Hello, friend… Thank you for granting my selfish request. I’d like to encourage you not to worry, but it’s too late for that. But don’t worry, we’ll be able to create the peaceful world we promised. This world will be warmer than you thought. I understand why you’re angry… you’re truly a wonderful friend, more than I deserve. I have so much to tell you when I return safely. Oh… the ship is coming. I’ll talk to you again, Jayden.”
That was the end of the recording. When the man pressed the button again, the same voice repeated the same words.
“You were wrong……”
The man spoke through his tears. His entire body trembled, and his sobs wouldn’t stop. Hot, passionate tears streamed down his cheeks.
Then his brown eyes blazed fiercely.
“This world is colder and more merciless than you thought. You and I were wrong.”
As he spoke, the man pressed the recorder button again with a click. He listened and responded to the voice of his missed one, over and over.
“You were wrong… Alcita, you were wrong.”
* * *
That day, if you ask whether we ate sashimi, of course we couldn’t.
An enormous tornado hit the dock, forcing the city’s residents to evacuate as the military was dispatched. Even a warship crossing the distant sea docked at the harbor.
After dissipating the tornado and landing on the ground, Ender took an electronic cigarette from his pocket. His head was bowed, but his expression was clearly complicated. Soldiers surrounding Ender held their guns with tense expressions.
Ender slightly raised his head and opened his mouth. With the electronic cigarette languidly between his lips, he looked desolately sad.
“Your rank?”
But the voice that came from his mouth was utterly cold. Ender asked the one who appeared to be the leader among those holding guns.
A wind swept through the dark dock. The leader frowned, then scrutinized Ender with his electronic cigarette as he brushed his hair upward.
Then his eyes widened, and he stepped back a couple of paces. The hand brushing back his disheveled black hair was long and beautiful. The eyes containing red irises narrowed as they glared at the soldiers present.
“Your rank?”
The voice asking again was terribly cold. The leader-type man involuntarily opened his mouth.
“…Major, sir.”
“Then lower your gun, you bastard.”
Ender growled lowly while looking at a vehicle precariously hanging at the far end of the dock. Startled by the national hero’s sharp tongue, the Major stepped back.
But excessive use of abilities was against military law. Using abilities in the city, in particular, carried a high possibility of aggravated punishment and was a serious crime regardless of rank.
As the soldiers hesitated, there was a brief commotion from the direction of the warship. Anschel, who had released all barriers, rushed out urgently.
“We were attacked. I can show you the black box footage. There should be quite a few witnesses since they fired a machine gun on the street.”
Anschel claimed self-defense. As he said, the black box video clearly showed another vehicle attacking Ender’s vehicle, and there were many witnesses on the street. With shell casings also found, the evidence was sufficient. Surprisingly, the incident seemed to resolve easily.
By the time the investigation was over, it was late, and the sashimi restaurant had closed. Inevitably, Anschel had to find a restaurant serving food that Harriet could eat without discomfort.
“What’s wrong with you, Colonel?”
The day after the incident, Anschel couldn’t bear the gloomy atmosphere spreading under the clear sky where sparrows chirped, and spoke up. Harriet was smiling slightly again today as he looked at Ender’s depressed face.
Angela and Ryan approached the sofa for the morning briefing but jumped back a couple of steps in shock. That’s how severely Ender McGuire was slumped down.
His beautifully desolate face was hidden by his black hair. He had been quite seriously depressed yesterday, but no one expected it would continue today. Anyone looking at him would think he had ruined his life nine times over. But it was Anschel who had spectacularly ruined this life, with Ender being the root cause.
“Colonel!”
There was no answer. Harriet stroked Ender’s hair and patted his back, but it was useless. The fact that there was no response even to Harriet Alster’s touch might have shocked the heavens.
Anschel looked down at him with a serious face.
Has the situation seriously deteriorated? Was Dante Maxim plotting something?
Anschel tried to consider many possibilities but couldn’t figure anything out. As far as Anschel knew, Dante Maxim had not yet shown signs of movement, and although there was a brief trouble yesterday, they escaped well with a self-defense claim.
Even if magazines and journalists flocked later, the public was always on the hero’s side. Rather, news that there were people targeting Ender McGuire’s life circulated more widely than Anschel’s presidential candidate video.
Anschel swallowed a groan and paced in place like a bee. If Ender collapsed like this, Anschel himself would be a dead man.
He couldn’t die without properly getting revenge. If only he had mental abilities that allowed mind reading.
Anschel struggled, hoping desperately that Harriet would comfort Ender. But Harriet merely raised his hand to stroke Ender’s drooping head, smiling contentedly.
He clearly hadn’t noticed Ender’s condition at all. Anschel marveled anew that such obliviousness was also a talent. In the uncomfortable atmosphere, Angela glanced around and picked up the remote.
“Lieutenant, you gave a speech yesterday, right? Shall we watch the news?”
Realizing that he couldn’t properly conduct the briefing in this situation, Anschel nodded. He had already checked the articles once, but watching the news wasn’t a bad idea. Even if the media couldn’t be trusted, one could read their perspective.
Click, the TV screen turned on. Anschel was startled by the person who appeared on the screen.
“Oh? It’s Jayden Olden.”
“Who is that?”
Angela asked with her lips slightly protruded. She had wanted to tease Anschel about his speech, but seemed displeased that someone else was on screen.
“He’s the Chairman of the Peace Committee. He was Alcita Maxim’s close friend… He had retreated from public life for a while, but it seems he’s returning now.”
Jayden Olden was a handsome middle-aged man with brown hair and brown eyes. He was smiling with his characteristic sly grin during the interview on TV.
“I had a good rest. My wife kept nagging me to return now.”
Hahaha. The interview was filled with laughter. He smiled rather flirtatiously while wiggling his eyebrows. Then, as if his neck felt stuffy, he fidgeted with his tie.
In fact, he was still unmarried. His conversational skills seemed good, turning what could have been a stiff interview into one filled with laughter.
He had been by Alcita Maxim’s side since their academy days and had joined the Peace Council together, showing his loyalty. After Alcita Maxim’s death, he had precariously maintained his council position for over a decade before finally stepping down from the chairmanship six years ago and retreating into seclusion. Now it seemed he was making a comeback.
What waves would the appearance of that man create during the presidential election season?
Anschel’s tense lips dried up. On TV, Jayden continued into the building with his aides. He was smiling so broadly that his attractive wrinkles were deeply drawn.
“Jayden Olden has been reinstated. Colonel, will you try to persuade him……”
As Alcita Maxim’s close friend and comrade, he had extensive connections, and it was no exaggeration to say that most of the Peace Council was in his hands.
There was a high possibility that Dante Maxim would approach him using Alcita. Just as he did with Anschel, he would emphasize his son’s noble death and continue to express revenge against the merpeople and the sea that killed him. If Dante’s mind control works due to the shock of losing a loved one, it would make it difficult for our side to move.
“…Colonel.”
But there was no answer from Ender.
Why is this man really acting like this?
He looked like the world had ended when it hadn’t. Since Anschel had never seen his superior like this before, he didn’t know how to react.
Ender McGuire had always been confident and arrogant. Because of that, he was never one to bow his head for anything. He wasn’t the type of man to have his head drooping like that with such a desolate expression.
After looking at his superior, Anschel changed targets and gestured to Harriet. Responding to Anschel’s gesture, Harriet rose from his seat, leaning on his cane.
Even as his senior was leaving his side, Ender didn’t raise his head. As Harriet limped over, Anschel whispered to him.
“Mr. Harriet, doesn’t Colonel Ender seem too weak today?”
“Hmm.”
Harriet took the bait immediately. He turned his head to examine Ender, then wore a sympathetic expression.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
