By Zephyria Pulling the jaw muscles that were stinging because of the wound, Nero retorted with the face of the world’s greatest villain.
“Well, what do you think happened?”
Originally, he was going to insist that he was the owner of this uniform until the end, but he knew that such lies would no longer work. He knew that if he pushed forward with a thick face, it would only backfire, asking who he was trying to deceive.
Nero tried to use Felix, whom he had thrown into the sickbed, to somehow get through this crisis. The other side was bringing up the Commander, so there was no reason why he couldn’t do the same, and he didn’t think that someone who was rumored to be a just and principled person would easily pass over the issue of a member’s life being at stake.
Because of that, Nero, who twisted his lips like a crazy murderer, decided to give a little scare to the Legion Commander, who seemed to have only heard elegant stories.
“Because he kept resisting, I cut his Achilles tendon a bit. Then, he made animal-like noises and crawled on the floor. I wish the Legion Commander had seen that sight too.”
As if he couldn’t hold back because it was funny, Nero continued to speak with a sly smile.
“It was so noisy that I was going to cut his throat, but it was so funny how he begged for his life. I just threw him somewhere in the forest, so maybe by now he’s barely breathing….”
Although it was all lies, Nero deliberately recited cruel lines to create as much of a sense of crisis as possible. However, he couldn’t continue that play until the end. It was because the Legion Commander unexpectedly didn’t show any particular reaction, and his tone was very awkward for a vile blackmailer.
He was trying to do something he didn’t usually do, so his intonation was unnatural, and above all, it wasn’t cool enough. Not cool.
He had risked his life to save that guy from inside the barrier, but it felt somewhat empty to be saying the opposite.
“…….”
He wondered if this action he was taking was the right one. He had pride as a soldier, and it was a poor thing to be bluffing and using hostages like the terrorists he had suppressed in the past.
When he thought that the Commander would have grabbed his head and scolded him severely if he had been in this place, Nero’s mood suddenly became complicated, and he bit his lip with a displeased expression.
As he suddenly seemed to be lost in thought while talking, Hugo, who was watching, opened his mouth calmly.
“He seems to be safe.”
“……?”
Dumbfoundedness flashed across Nero’s face at the Legion Commander’s words, which had come to a conclusion on his own.
‘What?’
He was surprised at how he knew, since he had never mentioned the nuance that he was safe anywhere. Nero forgot for a moment that he had to refute, wondering if he had shown it on his face.
His unstable gaze and awkward movements were transparent to Hugo, who had many years of interrogation experience, without having to ask any further questions.
Nero belatedly tried to insist, as it might have been a random probe, but Hugo, who judged that it was not worth listening to, immediately continued with the second question.
“Then what is your purpose in coming here? Is it the recapture of an old comrade?”
At the other party’s question, which pointedly mentioned ‘comrade,’ Nero’s jaw stiffened again. The difference in experience was this enormous. Nero couldn’t easily answer, afraid that the other party would read something else from him if he made even one wrong move.
However, as if it would be disadvantageous if he continued to remain silent, Hugo, who had been waiting, frowned and warned coldly.
“If you keep your mouth shut, I will send you to the Council’s Southern Branch on suspicion of attempted rape of an unconscious person. Answer honestly before that.”
“…What? No, suddenly what nonsense—”
Nero protested as if he was wronged by the sudden measure. However, he soon recalled a certain ‘thing’ that he had not been able to carry out in the cabin.
For a moment, his expression stiffened and he looked like a thief caught red-handed, and Hugo, who was watching that appearance, confirmed the kill with an even more intense look of contempt.
“Does Leonardo know that you have lewd feelings for him?”
His blue eyes were distorted as if he was looking at something less than a bug, so Nero widened his eyes in disbelief and twitched his lips. He swept his hair back with a frustrated look, and expressed his innocence with his whole body, even pointing his finger.
“Ha, what are you talking about? I was worried, and isn’t it you who has lewd feelings, not me? I have every right to!”
“If you’re talking about the right to secretly sneak in and undress an unconscious stranger… you’re shameless.”
“Why are you talking like that…!”
Nero roared as if he was about to hit him, asking where there was a pervert who put all his clothes on an unconscious person. Moreover, he was so angry that he thought of the scene at that time that he felt like he had to seriously reconsider whether he could leave the Commander as he was.
But even in that moment when the other party flared up, Hugo narrowed his eyes and carefully pondered the meaning of Nero’s words.
‘He has the right to?’
Judging from his statement that he was worried, it was certain that the relationship between the two was at least a comrade or more.
The two were consistent not only in combat skills but also in the ability to use forbidden Illusion magic, which was presumed to have been secretly passed down within Dark Silver, so the assumption that the two were in the same unit in the past was quite reasonable.
But since he was so brazenly saying that he had ‘the right’ to, he thought that it might be a slightly deeper relationship than that. Looking back, the strange obsession with Leonardo and the guy’s past appearance, which had shown hostility towards him, led to one conclusion that made his actions understandable.
In short….
‘A lover?’
“…….”
…Feeling not so good, Hugo felt very sorry for Leonardo in either case.
Such a thunderbolt who can’t even hide his feelings is a comrade or a lover. His combat ability is quite useful, but if he leaves that guy, who is often caught in leading questions, as he is, it will not help Leonardo’s position in the future.
Even if he wanted to clean it up neatly, the problem was that he couldn’t judge whether this was the guy’s solo action or whether he had come under orders from above. If it was the latter, he thought that there was no need to do it now, but it was difficult to completely rule out the possibility.
Cordelia Hares claimed that the purpose of the Imperial royal guard coming here might be ‘him.’ That meant that there was a sufficient possibility that even the Imperial army, which seemed uninterested in Leonardo, had sent a spy targeting ‘him.’
But that conflicts with his assumption that the guy, who is presumed to be affiliated with Dark Silver, had paralyzed the military’s surveillance network. In that case, the credibility of it being a solo action is further increased, but he couldn’t let that guy, who was either trying to recapture Leonardo alone and gave up because it didn’t work out, or had other purposes, continue to walk around pretending to be a Council member.
Considering all the possibilities of what would happen in the future, the existence of the guy who had unilaterally caused this much trouble was a problem that exponentially increased uncontrollable variables.
Hugo wanted to put more pressure on the guy with a few questions and consider his treatment, but he was not given that leeway.
Because he suddenly felt a subtle presence from behind, which he had been paying attention to all along.
“……?”
Hugo, who immediately turned his head, sent a chilling gaze into the darkness. At the same time, Nero, who had sensed the presence of another person even before him, lowered his posture and took a step back while holding his breath.
If a Council official was involved in the incident any further, the situation would worsen to the point where he could not resolve it on his own.
The two who had the same thought immediately took up an offensive stance. Hugo grabbed the Greatsword stuck beside him and deployed a massive Magic Circle beneath his feet, encompassing a certain radius. Broad blue strokes stretched across the dug-up ground, drawing out savage Ice Pillars in all directions, front, back, left, and right, with Hugo as the epicenter.
KWA-AAAAANG!
The ground shook as if a sudden earthquake had struck, and sharp icicles riddled the dirt floor. As they surged up as if to pierce his body, Nero flinched and swung his arm, shattering the ice approaching his abdomen in one blow.
However, as he dodged the relentlessly swarming sharp prows, he was forced to retreat further and further. Hugo, while chasing after the receding Nero, continued to survey the presence behind him. When it seemed that the unknown entity was no longer approaching, he stopped his pursuit and hurled three Ice Spears at Nero.
Nero faltered and leaped into the air at the attack flying as if to embalm his instep. Then, he stared at the fierce warning embedded in the ground before glaring at the Legion Commander with a savage look.
“Is ambush your strategy? You seem to overuse it like a habit.”
Hugo, who had no time to indulge in the sarcasm, pointed the tip of his Greatsword at Nero with a jerk. Then, his voice, lowered, calmly rebuked him with a cold face, as if to awaken him to the seriousness of the situation.
“We’re both tired, so I won’t beat around the bush. Get out of here right now. While I’m asking nicely.”
Nero’s expression crumpled at his fierce proclamation. But on the other hand, he tilted his head slightly, as if puzzled. He couldn’t understand why, after chasing him as if to kill him, he was suddenly being told to leave.
“You know very well that the atmosphere in Zodiac is unusual. The more you continue to draw attention here, the more Leonardo Blaine’s position will inevitably become more difficult. And I am now in the position of a protector, with the duty to protect him.”
The word ‘protector’ grated on Nero’s nerves. Who was whose protector? Before he could even retort, dumbfounded, Hugo pressed on.
“Just because I’m letting you go doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you for impersonating our member. I can always find you again and throw you in the dungeon on any charge.”
“……”
“The only reason I’m not chasing you further is because of Leonardo. I have a duty to protect him as he faces his freedom, and I don’t want him to be in trouble. I’m sure you feel the same way. …There’s nothing more you can do here for Leonardo. You’ll be lucky if you don’t get your identity exposed and become a hindrance.”
Nero, who had been staring at Hugo, turned red and blue in the face the moment he heard the last sentence. The feeling of his own powerlessness, heard from the enemy’s mouth, left a huge scratch on his pride, enough to make his blood rush backward for a moment.
But regardless, Hugo stared into Nero’s eyes and coldly recited the reality in a low voice.
“So, you go back to your original form, your original position. Go and clean up everything you’ve done without leaving anything behind. Take responsibility for removing everything that could be caught, so that there are no flaws in your comrade’s triumphant return. If Leonardo’s path is hindered by what you’ve done, then I won’t let you off.”
Hugo, who had been bearing down on Nero as before with a savage voice, cleanly vanished the Greatsword in his hand after a moment of silence. Nero’s eyes narrowed as if to grasp the intention behind it.
Hugo lowered the arm he had extended towards him and said with a small sigh.
“This is the maximum amount of generosity I can show to you both.”