By Zephyria There was no intention to ignore the League host’s explanation. It was just that time was short, and there were many concerns.
If he waited idly in a place like this for three hours, His Excellency might return to the mansion after finishing his schedule. Even with only a few hours left until his birthday.
However, even after the host left, the medical team’s treatment continued, and a member briefly explained an unidentified medicine before handing it over, telling them to take it with water.
The gist was this: Plarinus’s mucus contains volatile organic compounds that attract organisms to aid in reproduction. While small amounts on the skin are not a problem, symptoms such as headaches and fever may occur if it enters wounds or is heavily doused.
“Some people may experience hallucinations, nervousness, or physiological activity.”
Of course, it’s not toxic enough to be life-threatening or dangerous, and it will naturally recover over time.
Ero, feeling uncomfortably hot on the back of his head, quickly took the medicine. However, Leonardo only stared at him, not putting it in his mouth.
He was originally suspicious and only took medicine that had passed through the Legion Commander and his adjutant when he was held captive by the Council. Even then, he was backstabbed a few times, though not with malicious intent, so there was no way he would willingly take unverified drugs from strangers.
Leonardo Blaine handed Ero his medicine, telling him to eat his share as well, while the member in charge of treating his wounds was briefly away. Then, he got up, saying he would go check the situation outside.
He was a noticeable person anywhere, so if he kept an eye out, he would be able to find him quickly. Just a quick look, just a quick look.
Ero was worried that Leonardo was going out, but he couldn’t resist his aching hunger after the match and decided to follow him.
He thought there would be no problem if he covered his face well, but that was a big miscalculation. Their height, clothes, and other identifying factors had already spread around. Moreover, reporters and speculators were trying to get any information that could increase their odds of winning bets, starting from the preliminaries.
It was a predictable commotion when the swarming crowd discovered them before the members guarding the entrance to the restricted area could stop them from leaving.
‘Ah… If I had known this would happen, I would have just stayed put.’
Leonardo, who was flushed all over from running away so much, leaned against the cold corridor wall and rubbed his eyes with his palm. He wasn’t sure if he was getting chills from a fever or if his peripheral nervous system was excited. Even just sitting still, his fingertips were trembling slightly.
The tingling sensation and heat that had spread throughout his body during the match seemed to be due to prolonged exposure to that chemical or whatever it was. Was his heightened sensitivity and throbbing also due to that? Leonardo rubbed his chest with his palm and hung his head.
Ero, who was peeking around the corner, noticed his strange condition and crouched down to ask cautiously.
“Brother, are you okay? Should I go get you some medicine now?”
“…I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Leonardo lifted his head, overcoming his dizziness, and answered as if nothing was wrong. However, his white neck and cheeks were flushed red, and his breathing was heavy. His golden eyes were also tinged with a seductive light, making Ero, who could only see his brother’s eyes, swallow nervously. A thought that would cause a big problem if he spoke it out flashed through his mind, and he cleared his throat to cover it up.
“Ahem, well, it’s a relief that the rumor about you being a terrorist was quickly dispelled. I was hiding in the crowd earlier and overheard some talk, and it seems like it ended as a minor incident. It seems the Council moved quickly for once.”
The chaos caused by the last Portal passers of F Group instilled anxiety in the crowd, which threatened to ruin the event that the organization had been preparing for so long. The commanders on the scene immediately went to the match organizers to hear the details and take steps to resolve the situation.
They widely announced that the explosion was not caused by a force with malicious intent, mediating the crowd’s attempts to leave and reassuring them. Then, they doubled the security personnel and came up with a plan to keep them there by giving away expensive souvenirs that were originally intended for sale for free after the event.
Afterward, they extended the unscheduled performances by two times, and the opening ceremony seemed to be coming to a grand conclusion somehow. In the process of explaining, they inevitably revealed that there was a strong person among the test match participants who had the ability to destroy the wall.
“I’m glad it’s resolved.”
‘I don’t want to cause trouble.’
Leonardo berated himself inwardly, thinking that if the opening ceremony held in Agrigento Territory had ended in a mess because of him, he would have been too ashamed to face the owner of the territory. What was this all about because of that sadist? He had quietly gathered decisions like playing house to pass through quietly, but he was once again the center of a commotion and was being chased.
In the meantime, he looked at the audience seats from time to time, searching for the purpose of his going out despite breaking his promise, but he could not see the Legion Commander in the area presumed to be the VIP seats. Could he have not attended? He might have taken refuge in the chaos earlier. The Imperial Faction had been quite sensitive to explosions in recent months.
When the thought that he might not be able to see him after all crossed his mind, Leonardo sighed involuntarily, feeling drained. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t have another chance today, but he had been secretly looking forward to it since he had decided to participate in the league.
Leonardo barely managed to lift his unusually heavy legs. Then, he leaned against the wall with one hand and gestured to Ero with his chin.
“Let’s go back soon. They’ll be looking for us.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Sandra, or whatever the match organizer’s name is, told us not to leave the restricted area.”
Ero looked at him with eyes that seemed to say, ‘Aren’t you the one who said you were going out even though you knew that?’ But he didn’t say it out loud.
“But Brother… If we go back to where we were, we’ll have to go through that crowded place again. Wouldn’t it be safest to stay here now—”
At that moment, a commotion was heard from the other side of the corridor. It wasn’t just one or two people. Ero and Leonardo, who instinctively stopped talking, turned to look in that direction.
“…….”
It was the first time in his life that he had hoped the Council would appear. Since it was written ‘Restricted Area for Authorized Personnel Only’ in front of them, he hoped that the passing members would find them and hand them over to a safe place. As the faint voices gradually approached, Leonardo, looking around, lowered his voice and instructed Ero.
“Hey, if they’re reporters, run right away.”
“I’ll lure them to the left, so you go to the opposite side.”
“Thanks. I won’t refuse.”
It was a plan for the worst-case scenario, but he was particularly unlucky today. What appeared were three or four men in plain clothes. They craned their necks and peered around as if they shouldn’t be there, approaching with quick steps. Then, they found the two people standing there nervously and exchanged glances with each other for a moment. Soon, they shouted loudly.
“There they are!”
Leonardo and Ero simultaneously sighed and ran backward. When they came to a fork in the road, they split up to both sides without anyone saying anything first.
“The stabilization of the venue is almost complete. The number of people who left is not small, but most have returned and about 90% are seated. All ticket holders for the damaged wall and adjacent seats have been upgraded to upper-class seats and guided to new seats. In addition, some injuries occurred due to collisions as the crowd pushed and fell during the previous chaos, but they are not serious.”
Hugo, with the head of the opening ceremony and security personnel behind him, strode down the corridor. He had quickly directed the situation in the operations headquarters, leaving the rest to Flynn and Andreas. He was diligently heading to the restricted area near Entrance C.
“We withdrew the additional personnel who came from the central branch at the Gate to strengthen security in the morning and redeployed them to the audience seats. I didn’t expect the situation to turn out like this, but… Thanks to the Legion Commander’s advance instructions to increase personnel, we were able to quickly resolve the situation. In addition, we have requested each newspaper to correct the problem that occurred during the match, so the false report that the explosion was caused by terrorism will soon be dispelled.”
“Good work.”
The head of the opening ceremony’s voice was mixed with heavy breathing as he tried to keep up with the Legion Commander’s pace, even as he replied simply. Regardless, Hugo did not slow down. He simply crossed the corridor, pushing back the cumbersome cloak that fluttered behind him.
But then, an issue that stopped him followed.
“And as you said, we issued a no-movement order to all F Group participants to maintain the confidentiality of the match. But… When the headquarters sent people, they received a report that some people had already left the restricted area. The problem is that Leonardo Blaine is also included in this—”
“What?”
Hugo stopped and turned around, asking back. The person in charge hurriedly added at his cold gaze.
“We are currently forming a tracking team and are urgently looking for him, so we will be able to bring him back soon. However, he is being mentioned among reporters as a strong candidate to advance to the preliminaries, so it seems necessary to take measures to prevent information that could identify him from leaking from the inside.”
“…….”
“First of all, I have requested the league organizers to pay special attention at my level, so a gag order will be issued soon.”
Hugo’s brow furrowed as he listened to the person in charge.
Leonardo went outside? If he took just one step, the reporters who were lying in wait would rush at him like a pack of dogs. If he, who was already surprised, received more attention than necessary from the very beginning of the league that he had mustered the courage to participate in, he would surely be embarrassed.
Hugo suddenly became anxious that the Lion, who had come of his own accord, would hide again.
Just then, a mysterious commotion was heard from across the corridor.
“Don’t let him get away!”
“Surround him from the other side!”
The Council members, including the Legion Commander, turned their eyes to the source of the commotion. Originally, this was a place where no outsiders except those in white uniforms were allowed to enter.
Hugo looked at the person in charge. At his gaze, which seemed to be asking what was going on, the person in charge was sweating profusely. He gestured to the security personnel lined up in the back to move quickly.
As they hurried to move, Hugo also headed to the place where three or four outsiders had gathered without saying anything more. There is always a subject of the commotion in a place that is always noisy. His instinct led him, saying that ‘he’ might be there.