By Zephyria Water dripped from his wet hair, flowing down Leonardo’s cheeks and neck. A drop of water that had formed at the sharp end of his chin fell onto the table he was staring at with sunken eyes.
Leonardo stared blankly at the gray prison uniform placed there. The clothes that had been neatly folded were spread out all the way down. It was a one-piece work uniform that did not distinguish between top and bottom, but it was a prison uniform in every way, even if you had to say it nicely.
“These guys are really….”
His gaze was calm, but his low voice was not.
He cursed the Council in his heart for giving him such a thing as clothes, but soon he didn’t even have the energy to do so, so he put his arms and legs into the unfolded clothes with a resigned face. After raising all the collars above his neck and zipping them up, the clothes, which were clearly nothing more or less than a prison uniform, somehow became decent as if they were naturally stylish.
Leonardo put his left hand in the pocket attached to his clothes and reached for the lid of the lunch box placed on the table. Then, the cold lunch box began to slowly warm up due to his magic.
At the same time, the moisture on the surface of his face evaporated, and steam gradually surged from his wet hair. However, his wrists were still filled with things that suppressed his magic, so it did not dry all at once as before.
As warm steam slowly rose from the lunch box, Leonardo took his hand off and opened the lid. Then, among the dried and disgustingly unappetizing foods, the sausage that looked the most decent caught his eye.
He felt like his stomach was sticking to his back, so he dragged a nearby wooden chair and sat down in front of the table with a thud. Then, he took a fork and took a big bite of the fairly plump sausage.
He didn’t expect the juice to burst out, but Leonardo’s face gradually hardened at the taste of the dry and foul-smelling sausage.
He kept it in his mouth and spat everything in his mouth into the trash can next to him. Then, he closed the lid of the lunch box and threw it into the trash can together.
Feeling like he had ruined his appetite, Leonardo opened the cap of the canteen and gulped down the water, then got up from his seat and moved towards the old cloth sofa in the back.
He slumped down as if throwing himself, leaning his head back, his eyelids naturally lowering, half-closing his eyes. Perhaps it was because he hadn’t eaten for days, but he felt weak, the ticking of the clock’s second hand sounded extremely loud, and suddenly the space felt incredibly quiet.
This was the Council’s temporary detention facility, which, objectively speaking, was a much better environment than a prison. The interior was structured like an ordinary room, equipped with a private bathroom, table, sofa, and bed.
However, it was still a detention facility, so the window was barred with iron, the furniture wasn’t very neat, and the walls and the door leading outside were made of solid iron, making it impossible to leave at will. It was definitely better than a prison, but the feeling of being trapped remained.
Besides, with nothing to do, spending time aimlessly like this was the only thing to do.
Leonardo Blaine stared blankly at the light coming through the tightly closed window. After a while, he heard his stomach clamoring for food. At that sound, he rubbed his flat stomach a few times, then raised his hand towards the ceiling and stared at it.
Mages with fire as their primary attribute have a slightly higher body temperature than ordinary people. It’s not enough to feel hot when holding hands, but enough to feel a little warmer, but that 1 or 2-degree difference has a significant effect inside the body, consuming several times more calories than ordinary people even when still.
Because of this, even just a few days of starvation would show on his appearance, and now Leonardo’s already sharp jawline had become even sharper, and the fingers in front of his eyes looked thinner than a few days ago, making the knuckles stand out.
As the headache started to worsen, he thought he would starve to death if he continued like this, so Leonardo glanced at the lunch box he had thrown into the trash can earlier. But he couldn’t bring himself to put it back in his mouth.
‘I used to eat it even if it was bad when I went on missions, but have I become spoiled?’
He didn’t want to be picky, but at least now that he had even promised Agrizendro to help with the subjugation in the Peninsula, he didn’t think he needed to be treated like a criminal while gratefully forcing down bad food.
Thinking that way, he felt ridiculous for actually staying put here just because he was told to stay put.
‘No, he’s not even my superior. Why should I listen to the guy who caught me?’
After hesitating for a moment, Leonardo jumped up from the sofa and picked up the lunch box he had thrown in the trash can earlier. Preparing himself mentally, he carefully opened the lid, only to find that the food inside was all mixed up, looking terrible.
Leonardo picked it up and approached the tightly closed iron door. Then he knocked on the door strongly a couple of times and waited quietly.
But after a long time without any response, he raised his fist to knock on the door roughly once more. And then, a small window, barely large enough to see the other person’s eyes, slid open at about face level, and the eyes of the guard watching outside the door appeared.
“What is it?”
Leonardo’s forehead twitched at the indifferent tone, but he held back and simply stated his business.
“Give me some decent food. I’m hungry and annoyed.”
At those words, the guard looked dumbfounded, as if hearing all sorts of nonsense, and replied.
“The meal should be on the table. And do you think the Council is so easygoing that it will listen to your complaints about the food?”
“…No, I understand, so give me something fresh. Don’t give me anything dried up and smelly. Isn’t it a loss for you guys if I can’t use my strength and just limp around?”
Leonardo voiced his complaints in a reasonably logical manner, but the guard had no intention of listening to him any further and tried to close the window again. But Leonardo quickly pushed his hand in between, blocking it.
“What, what is it?”
The flustered guard tried to forcibly remove his resisting hand. Taking advantage of the gap, Leonardo threw the lunch box with the mixed food in his right hand directly towards the small window.
“Ugh!”
The lunch box he threw slid down and fell to the floor, and the guard screamed and moved away from the door, having been unexpectedly attacked with food on his face. Leonardo wiped off a drop that had splashed on his cheek with the back of his hand and smirked at it.
“How is it? You can’t eat it either, right?”
“Blaine, what are you doing!”
He heard a commotion outside, and then another guard appeared beyond the window and shouted at him. Leonardo lightly dusted off his hands and kicked the door threateningly once.
As the guard flinched and stepped back again, Leonardo said coldly to them.
“Call your legion commander. Tell him I’ll escape from here if he doesn’t come. I’ll give you exactly 5 minutes.”
* * *
“Why did you say such a thing?”
Hugo, who had visited Abraham’s office, asked him as he sat on the opposite sofa, enjoying tea. Even that was a condensed question, holding back as much as possible, though he had much more to say.
Abraham took a sip of the warm tea, steam rising from it, and wore a satisfied smile as if he liked the aroma. The teacup held in his large, rough hands looked very dainty and small.
He soon put down the teacup and retorted directly to Hugo.
“Didn’t you also want to let that guy out?”
“Did you have to do it this way?”
“To get a firm promise, using the Peninsula as bait was the best option.”
“You didn’t just use the Peninsula as bait, you used me as well.”
Hugo revealed his uncomfortable feelings about Abraham’s unilateral decision, but Abraham merely regarded it as a grown-up disciple slightly defying his master.
“The tea tastes good.”
Hugo felt his blood pressure gradually rising as he talked to him, as he always changed the subject when things became unfavorable. He used to be a truly terrifying teacher, but these days he just seemed like a sly old fox whose thoughts he couldn’t fathom.
When Hugo didn’t say anything more, Abraham, who had been savoring the aroma of the tea, changed the subject.
“So, what was it like meeting him?”
Hugo immediately knew that his words without a subject meant Leonardo.
Whenever he reported to the higher-ups that he was going to chase Leonardo, Abraham seemed to want him to go himself every time, so Hugo had thought that he also wanted to develop Leonardo as a force for the Council.
However, Abraham’s thoughts were different. Abraham said that Leonardo had been captured by the Council, and now that he had finished his business, he mentioned the Peninsula issue to let him out again.
Hugo still didn’t understand Abraham’s intentions, wanting him to bring Leonardo so badly, but now wanting to send him back, but Hugo, who had changed his mind a lot due to the events, also wanted to let Leonardo go.
So Hugo was pondering how to explain his feelings about the guy who had caused such a change in him.
And then, a light knock came from outside the door, along with the voice of his aide.
“Sir, Lieutenant Landon has come to see you with something to report.”
Lieutenant Landon was Hugo’s aide, Gabe Landon. As Hugo turned his head, Abraham’s gaze also shifted there.
“Come in.”
The door to the office opened immediately, and Abraham’s aide and Gabe were standing in front of it. Abraham’s aide gave a brief greeting and closed the door and left, and Gabe, who had come inside, approached them with a slightly troubled expression and saluted.
“Sir, I came because I have something urgent to report.”
“What is it?”
As Hugo asked, Gabe opened his mouth with a very troubled look.
“Um… Commander, the guard guarding Leonardo Blaine’s detention room has urgently come to the legion commander’s office.”
‘Leonardo Blaine.’ Just hearing that name made Hugo feel uneasy, and he sensed that this was not a good thing at all. In contrast, Abraham was drinking tea and listening to Gabe’s words with interest.
Seeing Hugo’s hardened face, Gabe hesitated and continued with difficulty.
“Leonardo Blaine said that if the legion commander doesn’t come within 5 minutes… he’ll escape… he told me to tell you.”
He was very sorry for even conveying such words, and his voice trailed off as he lowered his head more and more. As expected, the commander’s expression had become extremely cold, and Gabe felt as if he had said something he shouldn’t have, even though it wasn’t his words.
Abraham, who had heard the message, began to laugh loudly at the unimaginable words. Gabe was even more at a loss, and Hugo turned to Abraham and said in a chilling voice.
“You asked what it was like meeting him? As you heard, he’s very headstrong and extremely arrogant.”
Then he immediately got up from his seat and left, leaving only a cold draft behind. Gabe, who was watching, hesitated as he tried to follow, but Abraham gestured to him with a still joyful smile.
“Go.”
Gabe bowed politely and hurriedly chased after Hugo.