Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

C18



Come to think of it, his attitude towards his adjutant earlier was quite gentle.

Lucas recalled how Iberis had conversed with Brenda a few hours ago and made a thoughtful sound. After a moment of reflection, he met Iberis’s eyes and spoke.

“For effective guiding, it would be better to raise our matching rate even higher. There are many research results showing that increasing intimacy between an esper and guide improves the matching rate.”

“Huh? Ah… I suppose so.”

“For that, we need to get closer as soon as possible. In that sense, I have a suggestion…”

“Go ahead.”

“First, I’d like you to speak to me more casually.”

“Hmm?”

“I noticed you spoke comfortably to Lieutenant Cali earlier. You even called her by name.”

“Brenda? Well, she and I have worked together for a long time…”

“We’ll be working together for a long time too, so there’s no need for formalities. Please treat me like you do Lieutenant Cali from now on.”

“That’s a bit…”

Iberis trailed off, looking uncomfortable. He treated Brenda more casually because she was his adjutant and they had a special connection, but he was actually quite shy with strangers. He still maintained some distance even with squad members he’d known for years, so it was impossible for him to be comfortable with Lucas, whom he’d met less than a day ago.

“Major?”

When Iberis didn’t respond readily, Lucas called to him, urging an answer.

“…Alright.”

Iberis sighed, having realized through their conversations today that Lucas wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. Then he spoke more casually, albeit a bit awkwardly. From what he’d gathered, Lucas would likely keep trying to persuade him even if he refused here.

“Then should I call you ‘Luke’?”

“…Yes, do that.”

Luke. Lucas’s eyelids trembled slightly at the name Iberis used. Although he had suggested it, he hadn’t expected Iberis to speak casually so quickly.

He thought it would be a success just to get him to use informal speech, but to think he’d readily use his name.

Having lived under an alias for over ten years, Lucas was caught in a strange feeling, perhaps because almost no one had called him Luke since he enlisted.

Maybe it was because he had dreamed about his parents before arriving here. The only ones who had called him by the nickname Luke were his father and mother before the incident.

Lucas ignored the inexplicable stirring in his chest and put strength into the corners of his lips. Then he smiled gently at Iberis.

“Then once again, I look forward to working with you, Major.”

Chapter 2. 65%

Click, click.

Neat footsteps echoed in the quiet corridor. It was Yuki, the second secretary and guide to Livio, the guild master of Mars Guild. She took a short deep breath before raising her hand to knock on the guild master’s office door.

“Guild Master, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

A deep voice flowed from inside almost as soon as Yuki finished speaking. She grasped the doorknob with a tense face. Even though it had been over a year since she became Livio’s secretary, she still found him intimidating and difficult to approach.

“I apologize for the late hour. I have something urgent to report.”

“What is it?”

Livio’s office was strangely hot despite the windows being wide open. Gulp. Yuki swallowed dryly as she approached Livio, who was sitting at the centrally placed desk reading documents. As the distance closed, her skin felt hot from the heat he was emitting.

“It’s about ‘Iberis Hyun,’ whose movements you instructed us to monitor periodically.”

“Major Hyun?”

Only then did Livio show interest, taking his eyes off the documents. As an S-class esper, he looked remarkably young for his age of fifty.

“Yes, a week ago, Defense Force Headquarters assigned ‘Captain Luke Illum’ as Major Hyun’s guide. The two met today.”

Yuki handed the prepared report to Livio with a polite gesture.

“Captain Luke Illum… That S-class guide who was the talk of the town a few years ago?”

“That’s right. Since you also instructed us to keep an eye on Captain Luke Illum…”

“So two guys I’m watching met? Interesting.”

With a sardonic smile, Livio checked the photo attached to the report. It showed Lucas greeting Brenda upon arriving at N-0 unit.

“He was the one Winfried suddenly brought in one day…”

Livio stared at Lucas in the photo, tracing old memories. When he saw Lucas, whom Winfried had brought in about 10 years ago claiming he was a distant relative’s child, Livio had harbored suspicions about his face that strangely reminded him of someone. He wondered if he might be ‘Lucas Lowell Blake,’ the son of the Blake couple he had killed.

However, the suspicion didn’t last long. He confirmed that Lucas Lowell Blake, who had suffered full-body burns, was hospitalized with his sister Regina. Moreover, Luke Illum’s identity was certain. Crucially, unlike the blonde-haired, golden-eyed Lucas, Luke’s hair color was silver.

So Livio dismissed the suspicion that Luke Illum might be Lucas. Of course, he couldn’t completely let his guard down, so he looked up news about both Lucas Lowell Blake and Luke Illum several times afterward. Each time, he concluded that the two were unrelated. Only after confirming this multiple times could he pay attention to the child Winfried had brought.

Livio became aware of Luke Illum’s existence again when he joined the Defense Force as a military doctor and S-class guide, backed by Winfried. Lucas’s achievements were tempting enough to consider, even though he was aligned with Winfried, Livio’s political rival. Livio seriously considered recruiting Lucas to his side.

However, an unsavory scandal erupted, causing everything to fizzle out and resulting in his expulsion from the Defense Force. Still, Livio continued to investigate Lucas occasionally, keeping him as a key figure.

“I’m sure I ordered to cut off as much support as possible to Major Hyun… Sending an S-class guide, hmm.”

Livio frowned and made a thoughtful sound. Iberis was the main cause of his dishonorable discharge. If it weren’t for his internal whistleblowing, Livio would still be a Lieutenant General in the Defense Force.

He might have even been promoted further, getting closer to his long-held dream of becoming Marshal of the Defense Force. That’s why when his dishonorable discharge was decided, Livio wanted to burn Iberis alive. The only reason he didn’t was because Iberis was an S-class esper who was his natural enemy.

Unable to guarantee victory even in a life-or-death battle, Livio suppressed his endlessly surging anger. Instead, he attacked Iberis in other ways. He found fault with him, drove him to the periphery, and then used his remaining connections in the Defense Force to carry out various sabotage operations.

“From what I’ve learned, the internal situation in the Defense Force hasn’t been good lately. It seems they’re facing various difficulties due to many ability users leaving with you, Guild Master. The conservative faction appears to be losing ground to the reform faction led by Lieutenant General Bismarck.”

Yuki spoke while observing Livio’s reaction. Though she didn’t know Livio from his Defense Force days, she was aware that most current Mars Guild members were espers and guides who had served with him in the past. She also knew that their mass retirement a few years ago had created a work vacuum and exacerbated the Defense Force’s manpower shortage.

“Well, I suppose an active S-class esper is more important than someone expelled from the military like me, regardless of the circumstances.”

Three years is both short and long. With the reform faction rapidly expanding, the old conservatives must be feeling the heat. Livio easily guessed the internal situation of the military.

He understood their choice; to protect their own positions, raising the Defense Force’s performance was more important than loyalty to him. As he had already anticipated his influence waning over time, Livio bitterly mocked himself as he slowly read through the report detailing Iberis’s recent activities.

“Sending a military doctor cum guide means Major Hyun’s physical condition has worsened, doesn’t it? Didn’t he fall into a coma last month?”

“That’s correct.”

Livio’s eyes narrowed as he recalled a previous report. His gaze lingered on the phrase mentioning Iberis’s personal visits to several hospitals specializing in ability users.

“Visiting multiple hospitals other than military ones… Something smells fishy.”

Livio whistled briefly and put down the report. It’s well-known that Iberis suffers from chronic guiding deficiency. There are also recent claims that civilian hospitals are superior to military ones.

So Iberis seeking specialized ability user hospitals instead of military ones wasn’t strange in itself. However, Livio knew better than anyone how an esper’s body deteriorates when deprived of guiding for a long time.

“The coma, the hospital-hopping… There must be some critical problem with the Major.”

“A critical problem…?”

“That’s what we need to find out now. Secure the medical records from the hospitals Iberis Hyun visited as quickly as possible.”

“Yes, Guild Master.”

“Also, find out the matching rate between Captain Illum and Major Hyun. That fox Winfried wouldn’t have paired them without reason.”

Livio moistened his lower lip with his tongue as if feeling thirsty, muttering ominously. His blood-red eyes glowed maliciously.


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