By Zephyria But he still couldn’t decide what to prioritize when making a decision.
There were half a dozen factors to consider when making a single decision, so if he could, he wanted to block his eyes and ears and focus only on the one thing in front of him.
But he knew better than anyone that he was neither in that situation nor in that position. Hugo stared at the table with a heavy gaze and remained silent for a while.
Then, his agonizing fingertips stopped abruptly in mid-air. Hugo’s gaze reached a remote path located between the northern Gate and the eastern Gate of Fidele Territory.
About 7 or 8 km further from there, it led to a place marked with an artificial reservoir and dam that stored water. It seemed to be a structure that was normally used as a land route, but when the dam doors were opened, the road would be completely submerged.
There were many such passages in Agrigento Territory, which used water as its main power source, so understanding the structure was not difficult. However, as Hugo’s gaze lingered there for a long time, Bruno opened his mouth, thinking that he had a question.
“Ah, I heard that road hasn’t been used recently. It’s a route that crosses the waterway and goes into the forest, so when the dam doors are opened, the water level rises so high that the road is submerged, and the current is quite strong. Sir Hares told me that it’s not suitable for use as a supply route or passage in times like these.”
Hugo turned to Bruno and asked at the words ‘in times like these.’
“Is the dam currently open?”
“That’s not the case. Although this dam is located in a border area, it’s under the jurisdiction of Fidele Territory, and the entire territory is too busy dealing with the peninsula issue to pay attention to other things, right? So, the date for opening the dam has been postponed indefinitely, and I heard that the water is almost overflowing. It will be closed for the time being for safety reasons, and they plan to open the gates soon.”
Hugo nodded in response to the detailed answer. Even so, his gaze repeatedly reached the road on the map that passed through the waterway.
Zodiac was located exactly northeast of Fidele Territory in a straight line. If so, the fastest route back to Zodiac, excluding the Portal, was this way, if you had to choose.
‘I don’t know if I can call this a justification, but…’
Hugo stared at the map without blinking an eye and quickly examined other paths nearby. Bruno quietly watched him from the side, looking deep in thought, and then cautiously added.
“The operation commanders, including myself, are carefully examining additional passages that can be used, so you don’t have to worry too much. If we install temporary Portals at each path, the supply problem will be solved quickly.”
Hugo turned to Bruno again at the cautious addition.
“Sir Hares also seemed to think that he was responsible for the sudden Portal inspection, so he gave us some authority regarding the opening of passages, except for areas around large slums like Barmot. The eastern closed Gates 5 and 6 will probably be opened by this afternoon, so the arrival of support troops may be faster than expected.”
Bruno, who was watching his superior’s face, spoke about the most positive direction he could think of in the current situation. He guessed that the reason the Supreme Commander was looking at the map so intently was to secure additional routes because there were not enough passages for supplies and support troops to come in.
Bruno’s words had a hint of encouragement, so Hugo nodded appropriately, wondering why he was saying it in that tone. Then, after hearing Bruno’s following question, he realized why he had spoken in that tone.
“Um… Supreme Commander. Have you gotten any sleep?”
Hugo raised one eyebrow without realizing it at the sudden topic. Then, he ran his hand over his face to see if he felt any stubble. He vaguely felt Bruno’s intention in reporting with positive opinions.
He always kept himself neat and tidy, so he didn’t think it would be noticeable, but it seemed that the fatigue reflected on his face was bothering Bruno.
Hugo nonchalantly replied, rubbing his cleanly shaven chin.
“I got some shut-eye. Don’t worry.”
Bruno sighed silently, thinking that he had no talent for lying.
It would be stranger if the person in charge had rested comfortably in this situation, but he was very worried because the Supreme Commander seemed to be working quite hard these past few days.
He seemed to be hurrying because he was concerned about the decision to have the central branch leave here first. However, Bruno’s argument was the main reason for the decision to prioritize the return of the central branch. In his eyes, not only the members groaning in the sickbeds but also the Supreme Commander in front of him were almost as good as seriously injured patients.
But he knew that he wouldn’t readily listen even if he advised him to rest, so he suggested the return of some troops by citing the problem of medicine supply at a time when the subjugation itself was almost complete.
He thought it was a reasonable way to take care of the members’ safety and allow the Legion Commander to rest. Watching him devote himself to the situation day and night for the past two days, Bruno was worried that the Legion Commander would collapse like Leonardo.
Bruno’s remarks, which contained such concerns, made even the other commanders around him look back at Hugo’s condition. They exchanged glances with each other and then murmured, gathering their opinions on whether it would be better to end the meeting now and resume it later.
Hugo looked back at them with a slightly bewildered expression, as they were suddenly creating an atmosphere of ending the meeting when he, the highest decision-maker, had not said anything about it. However, soon after, the sound of a horn faintly sounded from the Gate towards the peninsula. News was delivered to the commanders who were in the meeting that a large number of new injured soldiers had been brought in.
Attention quickly turned to that side, and the atmosphere of the meeting became chaotic. In addition, because Bruno was encouraging him to take a break, Hugo narrowed his eyes and reluctantly decided to go along with the atmosphere.
“…Then, let’s agree to meet in this place once more after dinner this afternoon. Tomorrow, we will summon all the commanders who can attend and finalize the situation, so prepare a summary of the report in advance so that you can make efficient use of the last time, along with a thorough investigation of each area you are in charge of.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Hugo quickly rescheduled and pointed out the somewhat scattered atmosphere of today’s meeting. Then, the commanders avoided his gaze with a startled expression, but they all answered concisely. After the dismissal order was given, they scattered busily and immediately ran out to check the number of injured.
Watching their backs, which seemed to be in a state of chaos in many ways, Hugo’s heart became complicated as he wondered how the situation would unfold if he left here first in a few days. However, because Bruno was clinging to him and begging him to get some sleep until the very end, he was forcibly pushed to the door of his residence.
Even until the moment he entered, the ending of the meeting, which had ended ambiguously, was still bothering him, but in fact, he had hardly slept, as Bruno had said, so his mind was heavy and dull as if he had a stone on his head. Until the identification of the additionally transported injured soldiers was completed, Hugo decided that he should rest for a while and entered his residence.
^
The air inside was always kept humid. Because of that, the first thing Hugo did upon entering was to check Leonardo’s complexion and then take off his combat jacket.
Leaving only a black short-sleeved shirt, Hugo neatly folded his clothes and placed them on the side table. Then, he took a couple of pillows that Flynn had brought and stacked them appropriately on the cot. After that, just as disappointment washed over him while checking Leonardo’s pulse, he covered him with the bedding as before, crossed his arms, and slowly lay down next to him.
“……”
It had already been almost four days since Leonardo collapsed. He had groaned painfully and opened his eyes during the surgery, but Hugo knew that wasn’t regaining consciousness, but a struggle for survival.
Since he had been lying as if dead ever since, doubts sometimes arose. Negative thoughts filled his head, wondering if he would ever wake up again.
But Hugo closed his eyes tightly and tried to shake off the thoughts themselves. He lifted his eyelids halfway again, capturing the beautiful profile that didn’t look at him in his vision.
“Leonardo.”
He buried half of his face in the soft pillow and called his name, knowing he wouldn’t answer. It felt as if his dense eyelashes would part at any moment, revealing golden eyes from within.
Of course, that didn’t happen, but he had a strange feeling that even if he couldn’t open his eyes, he might be listening. Hugo stared at the unmoving figure and muttered as if resenting him.
“Wake up now. There are many people waiting for you.”
Leonardo’s face, which looked peaceful, didn’t change at all for several minutes.
Hugo swallowed the unintentional murmur and indifferently chided himself, thinking he must be tired.
He reached out and stroked Leonardo’s cheek as a habit, then crossed his arms again and leaned his head and upper body closer to him. Then, with the thought of closing his eyes for just ten minutes, he closed his eyes. Having stayed up all night for several days, it didn’t take long for him to fall into a light sleep.
Because of that, Hugo, exhausted from fatigue, didn’t notice Leonardo’s eyelids slowly twitching.