NOVEL NEXT C37
“What could change? Every day is the same. Well, it was nice to see you. Take care on your way back.”
Winfried clearly showed his intention not to mingle further and turned around.
“Oh, I was hoping to get a cup of tea from the Major General… Aren’t you being too cold?”
“…Do I have any reason to offer you tea?”
He stopped abruptly at the words holding back his steps. Winfried gritted his teeth as he heard footsteps approaching.
“Still, we have old ties, don’t we?”
Livio leaned forward with a grinning face. Then he whispered quietly so only Winfried could hear, speaking informally like before their relationship soured.
“We were pretty good friends, weren’t we? Winfried.”
“Shut that mouth.”
Winfried growled in a low voice, furrowing his brow. He looked as if he might use his ability on Livio at any moment.
“Whoa, how scary.”
Livio stepped back, widening the distance between him and Winfried at his unexpectedly intense reaction. However, contrary to his words, his face was full of smiles.
“Do you still think I’m the ‘culprit’? I’m telling you, it’s a misunderstanding.”
Livio spread mana around himself and Winfried to prevent others from hearing their conversation.
“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not will be clear when the truth comes out.”
Winfried glared at Livio with a fierce expression. He recalled the day he lost his old friends. The fire that couldn’t be extinguished with ordinary water that he saw there, and Lucas’s testimony as the survivor – that alone was enough to suspect Livio. However, there was no decisive evidence to implicate him.
“Hah, really… I’ve explained this so many times. I wasn’t in England then. My alibi was proven, yet you keep suspecting me.”
Livio made a gesture of beating his chest as if he was frustrated to death. Someone who didn’t know might have been fooled, but not Winfried. He was someone who knew what the Armand couple was investigating just before they died.
‘Winfried, I think Livio has gone down the wrong path. What should we do?’
‘What? What do you mean?’
‘I saw something strange recently.’
‘What did you see?’
‘…Well, no, never mind. I’ll tell you later. I might have seen it wrong, so I need to look into it more.’
‘What on earth is it? It’s okay, tell me. I’ll help too…’
‘No. I don’t want to trouble your mind unnecessarily. Nadia agreed to investigate with me… I’ll tell you when it’s certain.’
Winfried recalled Armand agonizing over seeing Livio commit wrongdoings. At that time, Winfried was staying in Asia to carry out an intelligence mission.
Torn between friendship and conscience, Armand, along with his wife Nadia, dug into Livio’s misconduct. And they caught decisive evidence.
‘Winfried, my suspicions were right. What should I do? Should I report Livio? To turn in a friend with my own hands…’
‘Armand. Calm down. Where are you now?’
‘At home. I’m thinking of talking to Livio first.’
‘What? Don’t do that. If Livio really did something wrong, you could be in danger.’
‘But…’
‘What about Nadia? Is she with you? Both of you, don’t do anything and wait. Just until I get back, okay?’
‘Alright.’
‘Good. I’ll be there soon.’
Winfried barely managed to calm Armand down and finished his mission as quickly as possible. Then he headed straight to England. But he was a step too late. What he saw when he arrived at Armand’s house was a mansion engulfed in bright red flames and dying children.
“Why would I kill my precious friends? Huh? Winfried.”
“Don’t act familiar by calling my name. It gives me the creeps.”
“You weren’t the only one who lost friends that day. I did too…”
“Shut up!”
Suddenly enraged, Winfried shouted, cutting off Livio’s words. The mana emitted from his body made the air ripple, scattering the mana surrounding the two of them.
“What?”
“Just now…”
Passersby sensed something strange and glanced at Livio and Winfried. Feeling people’s gazes, Winfried quickly gathered his mana. It was hard to control his emotions when he was with Livio.
“My, do you want to advertise that we’re not on good terms in front of people?”
As the sound barrier he created broke, Livio switched back to formal speech as if he had never spoken informally.
“Alright, then let’s end this conversation here… But I recently heard an interesting rumor.”
“I have nothing more to say to you…”
“Luke Illum.”
Winfried hesitated at the name that came out of Livio’s mouth. Seeing his reaction, Livio’s red eyes curved mischievously.
“I heard that the famous S-class guide from the Central Headquarters went to Major Iberis Hyun? And that too by the Major General’s order.”
“Why is an outsider curious about internal military affairs?”
“Well, they’re both such famous people, aren’t they? Even if I stay still, all sorts of things reach my ears.”
“Then just let it go in one ear and out the other. Don’t be unnecessarily interested.”
“Come on, how can I not be interested! It’s a meeting between the S-class esper, the hero of the Defense Force, and the S-class guide, the hope of the Defense Force!”
Livio shouted, exaggeratedly spreading his arms. His voice was so loud that it drew the attention of people coming and going from the building. Some recognized Livio and let out an “Ah.”
“Can’t you be a bit quieter? How uncouth.”
“Haha! Unlike the noble-born Major General, I’m from the streets, so I naturally lack some refinement.”
Winfried glanced at Livio, who was laughing even louder on purpose, and sighed. Suppressing the anger boiling inside, he briefly explained the situation to shake off the leech-like man.
“Major Hyun has been suffering from a lack of guiding for a long time. When we ran a matching rate test, Captain Illum came out the highest. That’s why we sent him, that’s all.”
“Hmm, I see. Even so, sending an S-class guide to a dangerous frontier… Wouldn’t it be better to call Major Hyun to the center instead?”
“Because of whom is Major Hyun unable to return here…”
Winfried glared at Livio as if he was detestable. The surrounding air fluctuated with the mana that seeped out.
“Livio Logan, I have no intention of playing word games with you. If your curiosity is satisfied, stop being annoying and leave.”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down. I didn’t come to fight with you, Major General. It’s just that I heard a strange rumor recently. That Major Iberis Hyun’s physical condition is serious.”
Livio showed his palms to Winfried but kept talking non-stop, observing his reaction.
“Isn’t it already well-known that the Major’s health isn’t good? He hasn’t received proper guiding for years.”
“That’s true, but I heard that Major Hyun recently visited several hospitals specializing in ability users.”
“So what? Many soldiers personally visit private hospitals.”
“As you know, I have a special connection with Major Hyun. So I looked into it a bit, and his medical records have completely disappeared?”
“Are you confessing to illegally looking into someone else’s medical records?”
“Ha-ha, is that how it is? Well, no. I’m just mentioning some suspicious circumstances I happened to come across. All the doctors Major Hyun met privately have vanished, and only his medical records can’t be found… Doesn’t it smell fishy?”
“Is that so? I didn’t know. Thanks for the tip. I’ll look into it.”
Winfried didn’t fall for Livio’s provocation. He unilaterally ended the conversation without showing any agitation.
“Wait a moment, I’m not finished with my story…”
“Unless you want to be investigated for illegal activities under medical law, don’t speak to me anymore.”
Winfried cut off Livio’s words mercilessly and left.
“Hmph, how arrogant.”
Livio, with his smile gone, coldly stared at Winfried’s retreating figure. His secretary had failed to secure Iberis’s medical records, so he had tried to casually probe Winfried since he ran into him, but he gained nothing and only got annoyed.
“He’s definitely hiding something…”
Livio muttered, clicking his tongue. He slowly walked away, avoiding people who recognized him and were whispering. Then he stopped abruptly and took in the sight of the Central Headquarters building. His red eyes, mixed with obsession and desire, glowed as if burning.
“Just wait. I will definitely return here.”
* * *
Bang! Bang bang!
Gunshots rang out steadily inside the shooting range located in the N-0 unit’s annex building. Lucas maintained a proper posture without the slightest falter as he fired his gun.
[10, 10, 10…]
Every time Lucas’s gun muzzle flashed, a mechanical voice announcing the score flowed out consecutively. All were perfect 10 points.
“Amazing.”
“So cool.”
People using the shooting range for personal training marveled at the streak of 10s, which had been going on for who knows how many times. It was impossible not to draw attention when someone who already stood out was showing off such overwhelming shooting skills.
“Phew…”
Finally, having used up all his bullets, Lucas lowered his arm and exhaled deeply. But it wasn’t over yet. In the blink of an eye, he changed the magazine and switched the mode to monster targets.
Bang! Bang!
Each time Lucas fired, the heads of hologram-created monsters burst. People watching him clicked their tongues in admiration at his skill of precisely aiming for and bursting only the heads.