Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“But seeing your attitude today, I think I was mistaken. I should have listened to those who were worried about me.”

Iberis muttered dejectedly, looking at the unit commanders who seemed to have been struck at their core. However, he quickly composed himself and slightly bowed his head.

“I apologize for the rudeness committed by my subordinate. But as the captain said, from now on, we’ll only provide support for A-grade problems and above.”

“Major Hyun…”

“So, please only ask for my help when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Iberis rose from his seat after finishing his words. There was no reason to stay here any longer as the atmosphere was no longer conducive to continuing the meeting. As he flicked his hand, the ice thorn that was precisely targeting Carlos’s Adam’s apple crumbled into powder and disappeared.

“Luke, apologize to the unit commanders.”

“I’m sorry.”

Lucas, who stood up following Iberis, bowed politely to each unit commander.

“Let’s end today’s meeting here. For causing a disturbance…”

“You think you can end this with just one apology? I can’t accept this!”

“Major Norris. It doesn’t matter whether you accept it or not.”

Iberis frowned in displeasure, glaring at Carlos, who was shouting loudly, his pride wounded.

“It does matter! How dare you, a mere captain…! I’ll officially report him for insubordination! I’ll have him thrown in the brig!”

“Major Norris. Didn’t you just ask me by what right I was acting?”

Lucas straightened his upper body and looked directly at Carlos’s flushed face. Then, before Iberis could stop him, he took out his phone and pressed a button. A blue hologram appeared in the air, showing an appointment letter with Lucas’s name on it.

“This is my qualification.”

“What kind of trick is this! What’s this supposed to be, you bastard, I’ll definitely…”

Carlos’s voice, who was about to jump over the desk separating him and Lucas in frustration, gradually became quieter. He widened his eyes as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.

Luke Illum is hereby appointed as the Special Inspector for N-Zone. He is granted the authority to inspect the current situation of N-Zone and the performance of duties by each unit…

“…Special Inspector for N-Zone?”

That guy? Carlos muttered blankly at the words written on the hologram floating in the air. Hearing his words, the other unit commanders were also surprised and checked the appointment letter.

“I was officially appointed as the Special Inspector today.”

Lucas calmly informed the people who were shocked by this unexpected situation.

“Special Inspector…”

Clara, who was trying to restrain Carlos, couldn’t hide her bewilderment. Kyle and the other majors were the same.

And for good reason, a Special Inspector has the authority to audit regardless of his own rank or that of others. It wouldn’t be insubordination even if Lucas pointed out Carlos’s negligence of duty or raised issues about the unit commanders pushing work onto the N-0 unit.

Rather, the unit commanders now had to make a good impression on Lucas. Depending on his evaluation, they might face disciplinary action or dishonorable discharge.

“I believe this qualification allows me to point out work negligence to Major Norris and other unit commanders. What do you think?”

“No, no way, that’s not true! It’s a lie! A fabrication!”

“It’s neither a lie nor a fabrication. Although the appointment letter is quite recent.”

Lucas shot back at Carlos, who was denying reality.

“Do you think Lieutenant General Bismarck was unaware of the abnormal work distribution problem in N-Zone?”

The unit commanders flinched when Lucas mentioned Winfried. The already cool air in the conference room became even chillier.

“When he sent me as a temporary guide for Major Hyun, he ordered me to thoroughly investigate the actual situation in N-Zone. Due to the urgency of the assignment, I only received the official appointment letter today.”

In truth, Lucas had realized the problems with the N-1 unit and separately requested this from Winfried, but he calmly told this lie. As if the central command had been watching the N-Zone unit commanders for a long time.

“This can’t be.”

“What is this…”

Lucas’s lie was very effective. The pale-faced unit commanders looked at him with confused expressions. Some of them glanced at Iberis, silently pleading for help.

But Iberis was just as surprised. He pressed his lips tightly to hide his shock. He couldn’t understand what was going on. One thing was certain: he shouldn’t show any signs of agitation here.

“If you want to report me for insubordination, feel free to do so, Major Norris. But before that, you’ll have to face the consequences of your own negligence of duty.”

At Lucas’s provocation, Carlos made an angry face but, unlike before, couldn’t say anything to him.

“I apologize again for causing a disturbance. Now then, I look forward to your cooperation in various aspects.”

Lucas, having taken his eyes off the deflated Carlos, bowed slightly to the unit commanders who looked as if they had been hit by a bomb. Then, as if all business was finished, he turned his gaze to Iberis.

“Shall we go, Major?”

“…Alright.”

Iberis looked at Lucas with a face full of unspoken words before nodding. Even after the two left, the conference room remained in an awkward silence for a while.

* * *

“Explain. What exactly happened?”

As soon as they got in the car, Iberis lowered the partition to the driver’s seat to prevent the driver from overhearing, and then immediately interrogated Lucas. He had been holding back his questions since leaving the conference room, to the point where his lips were twitching.

“Was this what you said wasn’t certain yet during breakfast?”

“Yes, that’s right. The appointment letter arrived during the meeting.”

“Huh.”

Iberis made an expression of disbelief at the response. He felt a headache coming on and pressed his temples firmly.

“Even so, you should have given me a heads up.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t be certain myself until the appointment letter arrived.”

His meek apology made it even more annoying. Iberis glared at Lucas, who was apologizing so readily. It seemed like troublesome things kept happening since he arrived.

“What would you have done if the appointment letter hadn’t arrived on time? You know how bad Major Norris’s temper is… He would have really reported you.”

“The issue of other units pushing their work onto us was something that needed to be addressed regardless of my appointment as an inspector. If I had stayed quiet, I think you would have gone out to support every operation, be it villain organization suppression or monster population control.”

“That’s… not true!”

Momentarily at a loss for words, Iberis stumbled before hurriedly denying it.

“Is it really not true?”

“…I might have gone out for one or two.”

“See?”

Lucas smirked at the mumbled response, as if he had expected it.

“It’s a big problem that you’re a workaholic, Major. The person who should be avoiding overwork the most is trying to do everything…”

“What are you talking about? You’re the workaholic, not me. And lately, who’s been forcing me to rest?”

“Thanks to me, right?”

“Yeah, thanks to you, I feel like I’ve become an office worker…”

Iberis stopped mid-sentence, startled by the warmth touching his cheek. Lucas had somehow moved very close to him. His golden eyes, filled with brilliant light, carefully examined Iberis’s delicate features.

“Your complexion has improved a lot compared to the first day. The dark circles under your eyes have also faded…”

Smooth fingers gently caressed Iberis’s pale cheek. Lucas rubbed his thumb over the slightly shadowed area under the eyes, thinking how nice it would be if Iberis continued to recover smoothly like this.

“R-really?”

Iberis tensed up at the breath brushing against his skin. A cracked voice escaped between his lips. He was so focused on the fingers touching around his eyes that he didn’t even realize he was stuttering.

Gulp.

His Adam’s apple bobbed at the warmth melting his cold cheeks. It felt strange when Lucas touched him so casually like this. There was a mixture of amazement at someone being able to touch him without getting hurt or disgusted, and fear of becoming accustomed to the unfamiliar sensation of another person’s warmth.

“Don’t you use lip balm?”

The gaze that had been examining his eyes moved to his lips, where white flakes of dead skin were visible. Lucas slightly furrowed his brow upon noticing a scab on Iberis’s lower lip. His lips seemed prone to injury, perhaps due to frequent chapping.

“Huh? Lip balm? I use it occasionally, but not often. It doesn’t really work…”

“I see. When we go to the military hospital for your detailed examination tomorrow, I’ll have to buy a medical lip balm.”

Finally, Lucas’s hand left Iberis’s face. Iberis felt both relief and disappointment at the retreating warmth.

“Come to think of it, I forgot to thank you. Thank you.”