Chapter 84
Curious what happens next? Read more here
Just as Samuel braced himself to shove past the espers and make a run for it—
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?”
The voice, dripping with disdain, made everyone freeze.
No one could mistake that haughty tone—it instantly gave away the speaker’s background. All four men spun around, their faces instantly blanching.
“C–Captain Linton!”
Linton stood there, arms crossed, giving the group a cold once-over. Then his gaze landed on Samuel, and he let out a small, derisive laugh.
Samuel furrowed his brow ever so slightly.
Would Linton really help him out? He couldn’t be sure. After all, they were both guides, but that was exactly why Linton probably couldn’t stand him.
He was the same man who’d once tried to destroy Samuel. For all he knew, Linton would be glad to see him in trouble.
“So, what were the four of you planning to do with one guide?”
Linton’s icy question made the ponytailed esper jump, waving his hands.
“W–what do you mean, sir? It’s not like that! We were just introducing ourselves to Ensign Samuel Norah!”
“That’s right! There’s nothing suspicious going on here, sir!”
“Oh, really? Ensign Samuel, is that true?”
Samuel didn’t hesitate.
“These lieutenants were demanding excessive guiding from me, sir.”
There was no way to smooth things over now. None of these espers would thank him for letting them off easy.
For now, his best option was to cling to whatever rotten lifeline he could grab.
“Ensign Samuel! That’s not what happened! Didn’t you just tell us to follow you? Weren’t you going to guide us?”
“Don’t butt in.”
Linton cut him off coldly. The ponytailed man fell silent. Samuel seized the moment.
“I only said that to get out of a threatening situation, surrounded by espers.”
“You little—!”
“Enough noise. All of you, state your names and ranks.”
Linton’s gaze was glacial as he swept over the espers.
After glancing nervously at each other, the four men finally caved under Linton’s growing impatience.
“Esper Nathan White, Lieutenant, sir.”
“Esper Kevin Depp, Lieutenant, sir.”
“Esper Martin Clodid, Lieutenant, sir.”
“Esper Joseph Walsky, Lieutenant, sir.”
“You know the rule in cases where guides claim to be threatened: the guide’s word is taken first, correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
Linton raked a hand through his hair, looking like he couldn’t be more annoyed.
“Then before I have to make this a bigger deal, all of you—get lost.”
The four espers vanished in a flash. It was all over in an instant.
Samuel was left feeling hollow.
If it came to physical size, Linton was much slighter than Samuel. Sure, for a civilian he was decently built, but Samuel’s frame was sturdy enough to be mistaken for an esper’s.
Yet in the end, none of that mattered against real espers.
Rank, the Vionne’s family name, and a badge of honor—those were the things that held weight here.
Compared to Linton Vionne, Samuel Norah was nothing. He was a wretched man who had deceived and wounded his benefactor for years.
Once the others had completely disappeared, Linton finally turned to Samuel.
His smooth, aristocratic features were as striking as ever.
“I’ve been looking all over the training grounds for you, Ensign. Didn’t expect to find you in the middle of this mess.”
“Thank you for your help, Captain Linton.”
Linton gave a scoff.
“No need for gratitude. I only came because I have work for you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be working out of my office.”
“What’s my new assignment, then?”
“What else? Guiding support. As you know, I’m Adrien’s dedicated guide now, so I need someone to cover the espers I used to handle. That’s you.”
It almost sounded like he was proposing they swap places.
Samuel stifled a dry laugh. There was no shortage of guides in the unit, so why bring him into the fold?
He’d already taken Adrien—what more did he want from Samuel?
“Understood.”
“Kate will fill you in on the details tomorrow. I’m busy—I need to check on Adrien.”
“…Understood.”
“By the way, Ensign, have you been under a lot of stress lately? You look rough. Lost weight, too. What, are you moping because you got dumped?”
Linton laughed and patted Samuel on the shoulder.
“Pull yourself together. Honestly, Adrien was always out of your league, wasn’t she? You knew it, so why act like a sulky kid?”
“…I’ll be careful, sir.”
“Good. Let’s work well together from now on, shall we?”
Linton’s pleasant smile could have fooled anyone into thinking he was a friendly senior officer.
It was a ridiculous pretense.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.