Chapter 300
“…Pardon, sir?”
“If the mutants have cognitive abilities and can learn, they must have already figured out that I’m the commander of this unit. So, I intend to divide the teams to distract the mutants’ attention on the way to our destination.”
“Ah…”
“You will take this route.”
The route Claude pointed out was none other than the straight path among the four. It was the one that allowed for the quickest arrival at the target point.
Upon seeing this, Wilhelm’s chest swelled with pride and determination.
Claude, who chose a circuitous route to mislead, had assigned him the shortest path. It was as if he was temporarily entrusting Wilhelm with his responsibilities.
As if to drive the point home, Claude added,
“I trust you.”
“Y-Yes, I will definitely accomplish this, Lord Claude.”
Even though Wilhelm knew it was just a simple phrase, he was flustered and didn’t know what to do.
Despite serving Claude for a long time like his hands and feet, Claude had never truly opened up to him.
And now, he was not only entrusting him with authority but also expressing direct trust.
Feeling a swelling pride, Wilhelm asked,
“So, when do we start…?”
“Right now.”
“Pardon me? Oh, yes, right away!”
Wilhelm hurriedly grabbed a map and was about to leave when he suddenly stopped.
“But… what am I supposed to do when I get there?”
He realized he had not been given specific instructions on what to do upon arrival.
Claude answered nonchalantly,
“There is a crucial clue about Rose’s whereabouts there.”
“What?”
“You need to reach that place as quickly as possible and find that clue.”
Claude’s tone was emotionless and matter-of-fact, but Wilhelm was still confused.
“But why would there be a clue about Lady Rose there…?”
Despite mobilizing all the troops for the search, clues about her had been elusive. All they had found were a handful of hair in the nurse’s grasp and a single shoe believed to belong to her.
Why would a crucial clue suddenly appear in such a place late at night unless it had fallen from the sky?
Claude’s cold gaze silenced Wilhelm’s doubts.
“Does that matter?”
The look in Claude’s eyes said it all: he didn’t need to explain his intentions behind the orders.
He was an absolute authority who had just expressed trust but would not allow anyone to cross the line.
Wilhelm thought that such an attitude was typical of Claude. Those with absolute power deserved to rule.
With this belief, Wilhelm had served Claude without complaint, doing even the most menial tasks.
Convinced that Claude might have obtained information that they had missed, Wilhelm bowed his head.
“I will carry out your orders, sir.”
Thus, in the deep night without a single star, Wilhelm led his unit of Espers on their mission.
Their journey seemed to go smoothly until they reached the destination, where a problem arose. A horde of mutants was already there, seemingly waiting for Wilhelm’s team, which had taken the shortest route.
A battle ensued, and fortunately, there were no casualties. The downside was that the site, where they were supposed to find the crucial clue, had been turned into a wasteland.
It was Wilhelm’s first mission as Claude’s proxy, and Claude had even given him encouragement, something unusual for him.
Wilhelm had wanted to succeed impressively, but…
An unexpected event had occurred. While Wilhelm was sure Claude would be greatly disappointed by the failure, he hoped Claude would understand the unavoidable circumstances.
As he pondered this and searched the ruined site for any fragments of the clue, a question suddenly arose in his mind.
“Why… is there nothing here?”
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