By Zephyria In front of the eastern entrance of the 118th Peak, Eldermilli Peninsula.
Members who couldn’t withstand the suffocating high temperature and pressure inside were occasionally carried out.
The unit members who were waiting near the entrance quickly moved the patients, and the temporary tents where the medical team was stationed were busy securing space due to the shortage of cots used as beds.
In the meantime, new personnel had to be brought in from the standby group to replace those who came out, so the commanders of each unit were diligently moving around, checking the members to be additionally deployed.
However, even a slight glance revealed people complaining of breathing difficulties everywhere, so neither the members being selected nor the commanders selecting them felt good about it.
The squad leader of the 3rd Battalion of the Central Branch pressed his temples with the pen cap as he looked over the hastily made list of squad members. All the members he had set aside as reinforcements had already gone inside, but he had to replenish three more because the higher-ups were pressuring him for more personnel.
However, the majority of the remaining personnel needed more rest due to injuries sustained during the long march and battles, and the rest were mostly those who lacked combat ability or experience to be sent inside.
Sending in unprepared people was no different from driving them to their deaths, so the squad leader, as the decision-maker, was very worried.
There were two people trying to hide between the tents to avoid being noticed by him, but they were caught on the squad leader’s radar at just the right moment as he happened to look up.
“Rom, Jake. You two go in for now.”
The two members, who had been crouching and walking stealthily, stopped short.
They immediately straightened their backs as if nothing had happened and quickly approached the squad leader. Then, they held out their bandaged shoulders and necks, appealing to him.
“Squad Leader… you know we’re not fully healed yet….”
“……”
“Even now, this arm makes a clicking sound whenever I move it, and my shoulder just pops out. If I swing a sword in this state, it’ll be dislocated forever.”
“Please look at my neck, too…. Someone called me earlier, and I suffered from muscle pain when I turned around. If a demon beast suddenly attacks me inside, how can I even counterattack?”
Their tongues were wagging lively for people who were supposedly in pain. However, it was clear that they were not in perfect condition, so the squad leader, who had called them over, did not feel good about it.
However, the standby groups stationed near the 118th Peak were also performing other tasks such as eliminating approaching demon beasts and guarding the surrounding area, in addition to providing additional support. Therefore, apart from the personnel already assigned to each position, the two in front of him were the most suitable.
Having no other choice, the squad leader sighed and opened his mouth.
“I know you’re not fully healed yet. But there’s no one else to send in right now. I’m sorry.”
“……”
“Still, it’s rear support, so there won’t be many dangerous tasks. Please, just this once, okay?”
The squad leader held each of their hands once and spoke kindly. His hands were also wrapped in blood-stained bandages, so the two members couldn’t argue any further.
Rom and Jake, who had just seen a colleague suffering from heat-related illness, were filled with a sense of despondency and looked at each other once.
But from the start, they were in a position where they had to go in without complaint once they received an order. Still, they were in a better situation because they could at least grumble, having met a relatively good superior.
The two, who had been hanging their heads, forced their lips to open with difficulty.
“Yes… we understand.”
The squad leader patted their arms and thanked them. He didn’t forget to say that he would exclude them from guard duty after they returned.
Just as things seemed to be ending on a warm note, a member sitting on a flat stone in the distance, sharpening his sword, caught Rom’s eye.
He was from the same squad as Rom, and he didn’t even have a single bandage wrapped around him. He was leisurely taking care of his personal gear now, and he looked to be in better condition than them no matter how you looked at it.
Rom, who had been receiving encouragement from the squad leader, pointed to the member behind him and asked.
“Squad Leader, isn’t that guy going in?”
The squad leader, who had been smiling with relief, shifted his gaze along the point. And when he found the member peacefully sharpening his sword there, his eyes widened for a moment.
“Felix?”
He immediately let go of Rom and Jake’s arms, which he had been patting, and strode towards the member behind him. The member, who had been squatting, raised his head towards the shadow above his head as soon as he saw the dirt-covered combat boots in his field of vision.
“Felix, why are you here? When did you come out?”
The squad leader asked with a face mixed with embarrassment and worry at the unexpected sight of him. This squad member in front of him had clearly come to him quietly and volunteered when he was selecting the initial internal deployment personnel.
He had remembered thinking it was unexpected at the time because he usually acted sluggish and passive. Still, he was secretly pleased with the squad member who had volunteered alone for a position that everyone else was avoiding, but the squad leader was momentarily confused as to what was going on since he was outside the 118th Peak instead of inside.
He thought that maybe he couldn’t stand it in the middle and came out, but if that were the case, the medical team would have already contacted him.
“Yes? I was waiting in the barracks as there were no separate instructions, and I just came out a moment ago. Is there anything you need me to do?”
The member called Felix replied to the squad leader’s question with a puzzled look. At that, the squad leader momentarily wore a blank expression.
“What? You were in the barracks the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“…Wait, did you go in and come out? Or do you mean you didn’t go in at all because you didn’t have my instructions?”
“Yes? Where are you talking about?”
Felix asked back with a face that didn’t know what was wrong. The squad leader, looking at him with a dumbfounded face, pointed to the entrance of the 118th Peak, where members were being carried out again, and said.
“Where, you ask? You volunteered.”
Felix, who turned his head and looked at the place, blinked his eyes as if he didn’t understand, and then waved his hands in surprise.
“Y-yes? Me? I, I never did that! Why would I….”
He was about to say why would I volunteer, but he quickly closed his mouth because it didn’t seem like an appropriate thing to say in front of his superior.
At that reaction, the squad leader’s face looked as if he had been hit in the back of the head. He was dumbfounded and hurriedly flipped through the list in his hand to check as if he was looking for evidence.
‘Felix Montero’
It was definitely the name he had checked.
He repeatedly held out the name marked on the list, but Felix only panicked and acted like he didn’t know. The squad leader was getting more and more speechless at his appearance.
He wondered if he was making fun of him right now, and the back of his neck became stiff. But when he thought about it carefully, he realized that it wasn’t important to determine the truth right now.
It wouldn’t cause any problems inside just because one member was missing, but it was a very big deal that there was an error in the personnel organization during the operation.
He recalled that Felix was just wearing his combat uniform and wandering around when he came to him to volunteer, and he gritted his teeth. Looking back at his more swaggering appearance than usual, it seemed like he was half out of his mind, having secretly drunk some smuggled rum or something.
‘I should have known from the start when he wasn’t carrying his sword and was wandering around out of his mind….’
The squad leader, annoyed, ruffled his hair and immediately turned around. Then, he looked at Rom and Jake, who were standing awkwardly and looking at him, once each.
“One, two.”
Finally, he looked down at Felix again. His voice, which was menacingly low, recited the numbers softly.
“Three.”
“……”
“That’s perfect. You go in too, you bastard.”
Thud―
A part of the place where he stepped crumbled. Leonardo reflexively took a step back.
Looking down, a yellow smoke, whether it was sulfur or dust, filled a huge pit with no end in sight.
It was a scene that could provoke fear, but he wasn’t that scared.
It seemed to be because of the firm arm that wrapped around his waist.
“You have to be careful.”
A pleasant voice was heard in his ear. It was a scolding tone, but even that was gentle.
Turning his head slightly, he saw Hugo’s face with narrowed eyebrows. His expression was filled with displeasure.
Hugo gently pulled Leonardo, who looked unstable with his center of gravity leaning forward, back. Only after both feet were firmly planted on safe ground did he release his grip on his waist.
However, perhaps he was still uneasy, he grabbed his arm again and took two or three steps back.
Then, he made eye contact and added a few words.
“It seems like your mind has been elsewhere since earlier.”
“……”
“I know this well, but it’s dangerous to be distracted in a place like this. If it’s because of shortness of breath or dizziness, tell me right now. It’ll be a big problem if you suddenly collapse.”
One of Leonardo’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
There had been quite a few members who had left in the middle because they couldn’t withstand the volcanic gas or heat, so Agrizendro seemed to be worried about that. But in his opinion, the person who needed to be worried about right now was none other than the person in front of him.
His wet hair and cool complexion made it clear that he wasn’t in good condition. But judging from his personality so far, it was clear that he would never try to show it.
Leonardo swallowed the words that had risen to his throat with effort.
Instead, he shook his head and replied nonchalantly to Hugo’s previous words.
“It’s not that. I’m just thinking about something. And I’m probably the most fine person in here right now, you know?”
Then, he glanced at the edge of the cliff where he had stepped a moment ago.
He couldn’t tell what was under the thick yellow fog right now, but it was clear that it was a very distant cliff. The sound of the Boulder fragments that he had stepped on and fallen off hadn’t been heard yet.
Of course, he could just use magic to float in the air if he missed his step now, but he understood his concern because he had a history of falling in front of him.
Soon, his face, which he looked at again, revealed an emotion that he didn’t like, perhaps because of his retort, and Leonardo laughed without realizing it.
“Okay. I’ll be careful.”
Leonardo, who smiled so that his eyes curved as if telling him to relax his expression, tapped Hugo’s arm and passed by. Leonardo’s long cloak fluttered behind his steps as he answered appropriately and passed by.
It was the same relaxed gait as usual, but the sight of him stepping on the hem of his cloak and stumbling, unlike him, decorated the ending.
Hugo, who had been looking in that direction for a long time, shook his head. He couldn’t take his eyes off him.