By Zephyria Waaaaaaah―
The cheers of the audience filled the main stadium. The opening performance taking place in the middle of the ground captivated people’s eyes and ears. The colorful lightstone illumination, the magnificent sound system incorporating pipe organs, and the special devices using magic within the stadium drew enthusiastic responses one after another. The streams of the pouring waterfall vibrated finely due to the sound waves.
One of the major features of the 5th Preliminary Main Stadium was the ability to control the water level flowing along the ground side. The performance taking place on the water that lapped at the ankles decorated the choreography with pure white bubbles, and the sound reflected on the surface echoed like an orchestra, creating a melody.
The dreamy yet explosive energy transferred excitement through the skin of the audience. In such a noisy scene, Hugo was busy greeting the VIPs who were arriving one after another before the main event. VIPs meant high-ranking officials from each institution or politically entangled nobles. They were influential figures with whom he, as a Duke and Legion Commander, had to maintain friendly relations, such as investors who had supported the construction funds for the stadium and vassals of families who had helped attract the historical site.
“I’ve seen many league stadiums, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a unique and beautiful place. The enthusiasm of the audience reflects my feelings. Congratulations on the successful opening ceremony, Your Excellency.”
“You flatter me. Isn’t it thanks to you two that the occasion is even more brilliant?”
“Duke, I sincerely congratulate you on your upcoming birthday. I was worried that it would be difficult to see you this year as well since there was no news of a banquet, but with such a big event added in the new year, it can’t be anything but a joyous day.”
“Thank you. You must have worked hard to come all this way, so please enjoy yourself comfortably. Don’t hesitate to tell me if you need anything.”
“I am grateful for your kindness.”
Hugo shook hands with each of the distinguished guests, with Flynn and his personal knights behind him. Today, his face was particularly handsome and he even had a subtle smile, so the people who faced him couldn’t easily make eye contact, but once they did, they couldn’t take their eyes off him.
The same was true for the military officers who didn’t have a good relationship with the Council. They greeted him formally and sat down, but they kept glancing at the Duke and whispering among themselves. The topic and nuance were generally the same. Whether positive or negative, their tone was mixed with admiration.
“Commander―.”
Just as the VIP seats were almost full, Hugo turned his head at the voice that came from not far away. It was Andreas, the 4th Battalion Commander, who would normally appear with a swaggering gesture, one hand in his pocket. But today, his expression was strangely stiff.
Hugo was momentarily puzzled, but he greeted the battalion commanders from the Central Division who appeared behind him softly, including Andreas. Since the opening ceremony was being held simultaneously in two locations, the number of people who arrived here was half of what it usually was. Shorendo, with Loren’s help, was probably handling things well over there.
Hugo patted Andreas on the shoulder and checked the time on his wristwatch. It was a bit later than scheduled, so he was about to lightly chide him as a joke.
“Andreas, why are you only now―.”
“Commander, behind you. Council Member.”
Andreas, conscious of the eyes watching, grabbed Hugo’s hand and shook it briefly. Hugo also turned his gaze to where his gaze was moving. The Council members were entering the audience seats in large numbers, following the stairs that led from the inner corridor.
The Council members’ attendance at the opening ceremony was scheduled, so it was not surprising. However, Hugo’s expression naturally hardened when he saw the person at the very front. He had thought that she wouldn’t come because she originally disliked noisy places.
Gladias Agrizendro was slowly climbing the stairs, escorted by knights belonging to her family. Hugo, who had moved his lips, muttered as if passing by.
“…Council Member.”
He hurriedly went down the stairs to greet Gladias. Flynn, who followed, was startled and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
As Hugo politely extended his hand in front of her, blue eyes behind a veil that half-covered her face slowly rose to gaze at him. The chilling gaze scanned the man up and down. Soon, she moved the hand she had placed on the knight onto Hugo’s palm.
“If you had given me a heads-up, I would have gone to pick you up myself.”
“Why would I call a busy Commander?”
“I have time to escort the Council Member.”
“That’s not what you showed after the disciplinary committee was convened.”
The hand of his godmother, which he gently held, was very cold. Hugo felt the subtle strength in that hand. He supported Gladias’ shoulder while refraining from speaking, and climbed the stairs as if assisting her.
The disciplinary committee that his godmother was talking about was the place to ask about the responsibility for the Legion Commander’s abuse of power to arbitrarily change the contents of the judgment regarding the release of Leonardo Blaine.
This disciplinary committee was held twice during the investigation period of the Pentagov party house explosion. In the first deliberation, Hugo was stripped of his investigative command and his duties as Legion Commander were originally supposed to be suspended for several months. However, it was Gladias Agrizendro, a member of the High Council, who strongly opposed this.
It was a well-known fact that the two were from the same family but often clashed politically. Therefore, various speculative stories went around inside the Council at the time. Some said that blood was thicker than water, and others said that there must have been some kind of deal between the two.
However, no one could grasp her true intentions, and Hugo was able to regain most of his authority at the second deliberation held four days before the final briefing on the explosion. The whole story of this incident was that Hugo promised the Emperor to cover up the secrets of the peninsula, and the Emperor put pressure on his reinstatement, but in fact, the most influential factor was Gladias Agrizendro’s power.
At the time, Hugo visited the mansion where his godmother resided and offered his thanks, but even he could not fathom her intentions. He simply guessed that she always valued the family’s honor, so she took action to prevent the prestige of the Dukedom from being shaken. After promising to refrain from reckless actions that could harm the family, there were no more conversations between the two. In fact, Hugo thought that there was nothing to talk about.
So, his godmother’s remark that he hadn’t shown his face confused him a little. Especially since she had personally attended the league opening ceremony, which she never seemed to want to attend.
“I wasn’t able to pay attention. From now on―.”
“Stop. Maintain your dignity. There are many eyes watching.”
Hugo, who was matching Gladias’ pace, followed her straight gaze and looked ahead. Everyone in the VIP seats was already standing. It was to welcome the highest authority of the Dukedom and the true Emperor of Logia. The atmosphere was completely different from a moment ago.
Gladias, wearing a white hat with a veil and a navy blue cape, leaned on her cane and headed to the most honored seat in the VIP seats, escorted by Hugo. In the process, many people came to her and greeted her with respect. They bent down, kissed the ring engraved with the family crest, and conveyed their praise and glory.
Gladias conveyed her gratitude to them with a gentle smile from her cool eyes. It was as if she was acting as the owner of the territory. But Hugo didn’t find it unpleasant or uncomfortable. He was just silently acting as a family member bound by blood, still not knowing her intentions.
Leonardo Blaine wandered around the closed Plarinas. When he judged that there was no reaction, he kicked the shrunken flower stalk and broke it in half. Then, a beast soaked in water slid out of the flower unconscious. As he was about to look around and assess the situation, the half-remaining petals opened wide and snapped at Leonardo Blaine.
The inside of the flower, which he saw up close, was grotesque with protruding bumps. The other participant who had popped out from behind saw the scene and ran into the forest to save himself.
Leonardo Blaine, who had hastily created a fire sword, cut off the flower’s stem and base. The flower writhed on the ground and then slumped down and stopped moving. He went through the process of confirming the kill by almost tearing it to shreds, but he personally rummaged through the end of the stamen where the flower’s crystal had been. He was worried that the crystal might burn in the fire.
He tore off the layers of petals and separated the thick stamens. But the crystal that should have been hanging there was nowhere to be seen.
“What, where did it go?”
Only sticky mucus was on his palm. Leonardo Blaine, flustered, looked around at the broken stamens and then punched them with his fist as if crushing a pumpkin. Then, the blunt tip of the stamen split in half, and the seedpod where the crystal would have formed appeared. The seedpod was full of colorless and odorless sticky liquid, like the mucus on his hand. There was no crystal.
‘Did this guy eat it inside? Or does this happen if you forcibly open the flower in a closed state?’
The question gave rise to a hypothesis, which was soon put into action for verification. Leonardo Blaine, who found another closed Plarinas about 500m away, immediately cut off the flower stalk and looked for the crystal in the same way. There was no crystal either.
There was a possibility that someone else had already collected the crystal, but there were no traces of water flowing around or a fierce battle having taken place. Then, the hypothesis that a complete crystal can only be obtained in the flowering state gains weight.
Leonardo Blaine, leaving only a rough mark, turned around and from then on began to search in earnest for flowers in the flowering state. It was already 30 minutes into the match.
The island’s environment was quite diverse, ranging from jungles to rocky hills, underwater caves below the island that could be accessed from the coast, and ponds connected to waterfalls. The flowers were mainly found in places that were well-ventilated and humid. So, the ponds connected to the waterfalls were an unexpected bonanza. Three small Plarinas were found within a 30m radius.
Moreover, two of them were in the flowering state, and one was in a shrunken closed state, but there was a lot of water around it. He had often seen cases of people being eaten by Plarinas while wandering around the island and being rescued and transported by the event staff, so he guessed that it was probably a similar trace.
‘Please be white, please.’
Leonardo prayed earnestly in his heart, and sent compressed air towards the Plariness that had manifested in the distance. The stamen, struck precisely at its midpoint, instantly lost half of itself. The flower tilted its head as much as possible to retrieve the crystal rolling on the ground, but it was torn apart before it could snatch it.
The severed stamen ended up in Leonardo’s grasp.
The stamen’s blunt end, upon sensing danger, tried to stretch its epidermis and push the crystal back inside the ovary, even though it had already detached from the main body.
The sight of it was like the foreskin of a penis inserting something into the urethral opening on its own, making Leonardo grimace.
“What kind of plant is made like this?”
Even while disgusted, he skillfully made a few cuts on the firm stamen. He must have imagined the eerie feeling he got after doing it. He pushed his thumb into the gap and spread it wide, revealing the crystal that had been buried about 80% inside the ovary.
However, Leonardo’s expectant expression soon turned to disappointment.
“Ah— seriously. Stop coming out already.”
It was difficult to distinguish between white and yellow from a distance, so he had to collect the crystal first and then check its color. Leonardo, holding another yellow crystal in his hand, sighed irritably.
Both of the crystals he had collected a moment ago were the same color. He had no luck at all.
Even as he gathered the collected crystals, he washed his hands in the pond with a look of disgust. Then, he went under the shade of a nearby tree, leaned against the trunk, and plopped down.
He emptied the already heavy jacket pockets and took out all the crystals he had stuffed in. Five yellow crystals and two red crystals. He only needed to find one white one, but that one was nowhere to be seen. At this rate, it would be faster to collect seven yellow ones and pass.
Just then, the Amplification Magic Circle, which activated at designated times, appeared in the sky.
Leonardo, tilting his head back, narrowed his eyes at the number ’11’. At the same time, the remaining participants throughout the island became anxious, and the movements felt in the wind became busier.
It was around that time that a cry of ‘Save me’ was heard from not far away. Leonardo glanced over and gathered the laid-out crystals back into his jacket pocket. After securely closing the zipper to leave no gap, he got up from his seat, fully prepared.
With seven crystals inside, his pockets were swollen on both sides, making him look ridiculous and tempting enough to be targeted. Knowing that, he had avoided encountering other participants as much as possible until now.
But this time, he turned towards the direction of the sound. He walked leisurely into the forest, following the presence.
It wasn’t to help. From now on, he had to take them.