Does Spring Come Even for a Dying Esper

“Shouldn’t you call a healing Esper… Doesn’t it hurt?”

The guide winced, looking pained as he observed Lucas’s expression. While potions were excellent for healing wounds, they came with considerable pain. The deeper the wound, the more intense the pain, which is why people preferred treatment from healing Espers unless absolutely necessary.

“It’s bearable.”

Lucas replied in a monotone voice to the guide’s question. He truly didn’t appear to be in pain at all, as if he couldn’t feel it.

“You can finish up without me, right?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’ll be going. Call me again if any problems arise.”

After confirming that the wound on the back of his hand had healed, Lucas left the special guiding room without hesitation. His job was done, so there was no reason to stay.

“Captain.”

Caleb, Lucas’s adjutant, greeted him as he entered the corridor. Lucas gave him a questioning look.

“Major General Bismarck is calling for you.”

“The Major General?”

Lucas frowned slightly at hearing that Winfried von Bismarck was looking for him. He had a feeling that something troublesome was about to happen. However, he couldn’t ignore a superior’s summons.

“I’ll go right away.”

Having no choice in the matter, Lucas obediently started walking. Caleb quietly followed behind. Winfried’s office was on the third floor of the main building. When Lucas knocked lightly at the door, he heard a voice telling him to enter.

“You called for me, Major General.”

“Come in.”

Lucas saluted Winfried as he entered. Winfried rose from his seat to welcome Lucas warmly. He gestured towards the sofa, indicating for Lucas to sit.

“Was I interrupting your work?”

Winfried’s gaze fell on Lucas’s doctor’s gown. The pristine white coat symbolizing a military doctor was stained with someone’s blood. Winfried’s brow furrowed upon noticing this.

“Not at all. I resolved everything before coming here.”

“Good, well done.”

Winfried nodded, his expression relaxing at Lucas’s answer. He was aware of the recent ‘Code Red’ alert. When a Code Red is issued, all guides in the unit receive a call along with the warning broadcast. The rule was for the nearest guide to respond and calm the Esper.

“That fellow was lucky. An S-class like you happened to be nearby.”

“It was a B-class Esper, so an A-class would have been sufficient.”

“Still, it’s not comparable to an S-class. It’s rare to find someone like you who’s compatible with all elements. Even an A-class might have struggled if their compatibility didn’t match.”

Winfried’s eyes held undisguisable affection as he looked at Lucas. It was more akin to a parent looking at their grown child than a superior viewing a capable subordinate.

In reality, that was the case. Although not related by blood, Winfried thought of Lucas as his own child. It had been this way since he became Lucas’s guardian 12 years ago when Lucas lost his parents.

“Since you arrived, the damage from Esper rampages in our central unit has drastically decreased. There are some injuries, but at this level, we can consider it zero. It’s a very good thing.”

“So, why did you call me?”

“Impatient as ever. The conversation might be a bit long, so let’s have some tea first.”

Winfried, comfortably leaning back on the sofa, snapped his fingers. As if on cue, his adjutant entered with tea. It seemed Winfried had given instructions in advance.

“…Do you know about Major Iberis Hyun?”

Winfried spoke again only after his adjutant had left. Lucas nodded slightly at the familiar name as he picked up his teacup.

“I do. He’s one of the S-class Espers, one of our World Defense Force’s top assets. He was also the whistleblower who exposed former Major General Logan’s corruption three years ago.”

“That’s right. Because of that, he was branded a traitor by the fools in high command and those loyal to former Major General Logan, and was unjustly demoted.”

Winfried smiled bitterly. Three years ago, a scandal broke out involving Major General Livio Logan, who had been mentioned alongside himself as a potential future Marshal of the Defense Force. It was revealed through Iberis’s whistleblowing that Logan had been privately operating a special team for ability-related crimes to strengthen his own power. This included dozens of cases of instigated murders.

The military was in an uproar, as the matter was too serious to hush up, and there was clear evidence implicating former Major General Logan. The Major General was immediately arrested and faced a court-martial.

‘This is a false accusation! My only crime is working for the World Defense Force!’

At the trial, former Major General Logan claimed that he had not privately operated the special team, and that the instigated murders were because the victims had committed serious misconduct that could endanger the world.

‘I won’t deny that there were flaws in the investigation process after receiving intelligence. I also acknowledge that this resulted in some wrongful victims. However, I only used the right of summary disposition granted to the Special Investigation Team for Ability-related Crimes!’

The trial of former Major General Logan continued for a year. As a result, he was found guilty of privately operating the special team and accepting bribes, but received a suspension of indictment due to insufficient evidence for the charges of instigated murder. The military court sentenced the Major General to pay damages to the victims and their families and ordered his dishonorable discharge.

Winfried and a few others objected that the punishment for former Major General Logan was too lenient, but their objections were not accepted. This was because the Major General belonged to the largest faction within the Defense Force. Moreover, as an S-class Esper of the fire element, his abilities were exceptional.

This meant that even if former Major General Logan was a heinous criminal, there would be a truckload of countries welcoming him with open arms. In fact, immediately after his dishonorable discharge, he naturalized to Japan and established a guild.

Meanwhile, Iberis, who had reported Logan, was transferred to the N-0 unit of the Northern Defense Zone, which manages the Land of Death, one of the world’s seven great magical lands. Although he was credited for exposing the Major General’s crimes, he still had to take responsibility as he had been part of the Special Investigation Team for Ability-related Crimes.

However, considering that he was a team member who had to absolutely obey the orders of his superior, the Major General, and that he had uncovered the corruption after sensing something suspicious in his actions, his punishment was mitigated to a one-year salary reduction and a transfer to a frontier unit known as an exile post, along with the cancellation of his scheduled promotion to Major.

Since then, Iberis had been unable to return to the central command for several years, operating in frontline units. Although he was promoted to Major shortly after his transfer, it was a harsh treatment for a promising S-class Esper. Excuses were made, such as it being appropriate for an S-class Esper to guard a dangerous area where monster waves could occur at any time, or that there was no talent quite like the Major, but in reality, it was retaliation for his whistleblowing.

“Why are you suddenly bringing up Major Hyun’s story?”

Lucas asked in a dry voice, momentarily recalling past events. The ‘Major General Livio Logan Scandal’ was a dark history still discussed even after several years. Defense Force personnel were reluctant to talk about not only former Major General Logan but also about Iberis. The Defense Force had suffered significant damage as the Major General had taken many of his subordinates with him when he retired.

Because of this, even though people knew that former Major General Logan was at fault, they directed their arrows at Iberis, the whistleblower. Some even harshly criticized him as a traitor.

Naturally, Lucas disliked this behavior. Above all, Livio Logan was someone he had been personally watching. He had enlisted in the Defense Force under the alias ‘Luke Illum’ initially to investigate several people, including former Major General Logan, and to take revenge if his suspicions were confirmed.

Therefore, Lucas had a certain interest in Iberis. Over the past few years, he had been busy with his medical officer duties, guide work, specialist exams, and promotion to Captain, so he had forgotten about it until Winfried brought it up. However, not long after the scandal broke, he used to occasionally check on news about Iberis.

However, he had never directly contacted Iberis. He wasn’t sure whether Iberis would be helpful for his revenge or not.

“A few days ago, a doctor I know privately contacted me discreetly. He said that Major Hyun’s condition is very poor.”

“Poor condition? Is he terminally ill or something?”

“Well, you could say that.”

“…Pardon?”

“The doctor said the Major doesn’t have much time left. At this rate, he’ll die within a few years.”