Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

Knock knock.

Lost in endless contemplation, Lucas was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of knocking.

“Captain, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

It was Caleb who had come to see Lucas. He entered as soon as he was given permission. With Caleb, who boasted the largest build in N-0 unit, appearing, the spacious office suddenly felt cramped.

“What is it?”

“Brother Thomas has sent the regular report.”

“Oh?”

Lucas reached out at the name that came from Caleb’s mouth. Thomas was Caleb’s brother and an Esper with shapeshifting abilities, currently living in England as Lucas Lowell Blake’s stand-in. He was also taking care of Lucas’s sister, Regina, on his behalf.

There were two reasons why Caleb and Thomas actively cooperated with Lucas. One was because the Denver family had been vassals of the Blake family in the past, so they had known each other since childhood. The other was because their family had also lost their lives in the fire incident.

Because of that incident, Caleb, who was originally supposed to become the head of the Blake family’s security team following his father, enlisted in the military following Lucas. Thomas, who had dreamed of becoming a butler following his mother, ended up living as Lucas’s stand-in. The three of them were allies with the same goal.

“The report is much later than usual.”

Lucas slightly furrowed his brow at Thomas’s first contact since coming to N-0 unit. Thomas’s regular reports usually came once a month, but this one was nearly two weeks late.

“I apologize. He says it was delayed due to extra care taken with security because of your and my transfer to N-0 unit.”

Caleb, with a sheepish expression, made excuses on Thomas’s behalf and handed over an envelope marked ‘Blake Pharmaceutical Company’. While it looked like business correspondence on the outside, it was actually full of private and confidential content. That’s why Thomas always put extra effort into security when contacting Lucas regularly.

“Being careful isn’t bad, but he should still contact me on time.”

“You know how cautious my brother is.”

Caleb, slightly defending Thomas, picked up the Blake company envelope Lucas had placed on the desk and put it into the paper shredder set up in the corner of the office.

“You don’t need to go that far. It’s not strange for me to be in contact with Blake Pharmaceutical Company.”

Lucas gave Caleb a look that suggested he was being excessive as he meticulously disposed of the finely shredded envelope powder. As he said, Lucas’s relationship with Blake Pharmaceutical Company was quite well-known.

A few years ago, Lucas, as Luke Illum, had contracted as a researcher for Blake Pharmaceutical Company and as an outsourced developer for a medical equipment company. It was a setup to avoid suspicion if Lucas Lowell Blake Viscount and Luke Illum were seen meeting.

It also served the purpose of legally receiving research funds to develop medicine and medical equipment to treat Regina, while growing the company. In fact, several drugs and portable medical devices that Lucas developed during his residency were currently the main sources of income for Blake Pharmaceutical Company.

Using this relationship, Lucas gave instructions to Thomas or received various reports, including updates on Regina’s condition. Of course, for urgent matters, they would use secure phones or meet in person, but this was kept to a minimum due to risks of wiretapping or being followed, and to avoid raising suspicions.

“My brother insisted…”

Caleb wrinkled his nose with an embarrassed face at Lucas’s reprimand.

“There’s no such thing as a perfect secret in this world. If you keep trying to hide something, human nature is to think there must be something fishy. It’s less suspicious to be open about things. I’ll have to have a word with Thomas later.”

“Haha… please go easy on him. You know how long he sulks when he gets upset.”

“It’s not like I’ve been that harsh. Anyway, I’m glad there doesn’t seem to be any unusual issues.”

Having finished reading Thomas’s report, Lucas picked up the enclosed photograph. It showed a blonde girl hugging a teddy bear and smiling brightly.

“She’s cut her hair. And seems to have put on some weight…”

Lucas smiled a brotherly smile at the sight of his sister he hadn’t seen in a month and a half. Regina, an unregistered ability user, had been living almost completely isolated from society for the past few years, homeschooling under Thomas’s protection in the Blake family mansion.

Excellent private tutors, servants who adored her, bodyguards who would give their lives for their lovely young lady, and friends always ready to play with her.

Lucas provided both material and emotional support to ensure Regina lacked nothing even without leaving the mansion. It was to protect her, but sometimes he felt guilty. After all, it was he who had taken away her chance at a normal life.

Golden eyes darkened as old memories surfaced. Lucas had hidden the fact of Regina’s awakening not only because of her leg disability but also because her mental age remained stuck at the time of the accident. It was the price of overusing her ability to the point of near-death from mana depletion right after awakening, without receiving proper guiding in time.

The fact that Regina’s mind hadn’t grown was likely also greatly influenced by the experience of watching her parents die before her eyes and almost losing her brother. After all, Regina was only 5 years old at the time. It was too much shock for such a young child to handle.

The reason Lucas had grown out his hair was also because of Regina. Although she was much healthier now, both physically and mentally, Regina had been very unstable right after the accident.

For several years after the accident, Regina would frequently have nightmares and show symptoms of mental confusion. At those times, Lucas had to hold and comfort her until she calmed down.

‘Mom, Mom! Don’t go! Sob, I’m scared, hold me tight…’

‘I missed you, I missed you so much. Mom… let’s stay together from now on.’

On nights when she had nightmares, Regina would cling to Lucas, whose hair had changed from blonde to silver, mistaking him for their mother. All Lucas could do was hold his sister as she cried and burrowed into his arms.

Thanks to consistent psychological counseling and trauma treatment, she no longer had nightmares as often or showed symptoms of seizures from bad dreams, but she still loved Lucas’s long hair.

“I should go visit her sometime…”

Lucas muttered in a voice filled with deep longing as he put down the photo. The North where N-0 unit was located and England where Regina was were quite far apart, so he couldn’t visit as often as when he was at the central headquarters.

“…About Blake Pharmaceutical Company and the medical equipment company.”

Suppressing his regret, Lucas looked up at Caleb. Then he voiced what he had been thinking about for a while.

“Look into whether they can become cooperative companies for the Defense Force.”

“…Pardon?”

Caleb’s eyes widened at the unexpected statement. There was a reason for his reaction.

Until now, Lucas hadn’t particularly hidden his connection to the Blake family, but he had been reluctant to involve his company with the Defense Force. This was because he eventually planned to abandon the name Luke Illum and return to being Lucas Lowell Blake.

“Wouldn’t that cause problems later when everything comes to light? You’ve been concerned about that until now…”

“That’s true, but I heard some bad news from Major General Bismarck, so I think we need to prepare.”

“Bad news…?”

“The Mars Guild has been finally selected as a cooperative guild.”

At the mention of former Major General Logan, Caleb’s face hardened.

“Former Major General Logan will likely try to increase his influence by supporting Defense Force missions as a cooperative guild, then aim to secure a weapons supply contract with the Defense Force. There’s nothing as profitable as selling weapons.”

The military supply industry had shown rapid growth following the large-scale rift incidents that occurred worldwide. Now, it had become the second-largest market after ability user-related businesses. For this reason, many guilds had entered the weapons business. It was a chance to make big money if done right.

And the Defense Force was the prey targeted by all military suppliers. With defense zones all over the world, the amount of weapons used by the force in a day was several times that of other countries. For military suppliers, it was a customer they absolutely had to secure.

“We may not be able to prevent them from being selected as a cooperative guild, but we should stop that.”

“But we’re medical companies, not related to military supplies?”

“The Defense Force is facing significant financial difficulties. They want to cut expenses any way they can. If we offer to supply drugs like sedatives and purifiers, along with medical equipment at low prices, they’ll surely respond.”

“Ah.”

“Let’s see whose influence is greater – former Major General Logan’s military power or our money.”

“I understand what you mean.”

“Good. Tell Thomas to review this, and if it seems feasible, proceed with it.”

After giving orders to Caleb, Lucas stood up. He then put on the doctor’s coat hanging on the coat rack.

“Where are you going?”

“To see the Major.”