Chapter 93
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“Have you changed your mind now?”
“Isn’t it obvious? You, me, even Ensign Samuel—the situation is completely different now.”
Linton’s tone was sharp, making Adrien’s eyebrow twitch in irritation.
“Lieutenant Kate, wait outside for a moment.”
“……”
“Aren’t you leaving?”
“…I’ll wait nearby.”
Kate, hesitating at Adrien’s sudden shift in attitude, finally left the office after a second command and a subtle signal from Linton.
Only then did Adrien stride up to Linton, closing the distance as if she might just grab him by the collar.
“During mountain training, you’re the one who pushed Ensign Samuel off the cliff, aren’t you?”
Linton flinched at those words, and Adrien let out a dry laugh.
“Did you really think I just let it go because I didn’t know? I’m disappointed, Captain Linton. Did you really think so little of your superior?”
“A-Adrien, I…!”
“I let it slide because Samuel asked me to.”
Linton’s lips pressed tightly together, whatever he meant to say lost. Bitterness flickered in his blue eyes, but Adrien didn’t care.
“You always say being by my side is enough, but you’re never satisfied. If you think I’ll put up with your behavior forever, it’s time to drop that delusion.”
“How can you always be so cold to me?”
Adrien tilted her head as if genuinely puzzled.
“All I’m doing is refusing your demands. Is that really so heartless?”
“Ha….”
Linton gave a hollow laugh. Adrien took a step back at last.
Whatever Linton was thinking didn’t matter. All Adrien could think of was the humiliation Samuel had suffered because of Linton’s jealousy.
“Stop getting distracted and focus on your work. This is the last time I’m letting you stay as my designated guide.”
“…Understood, Major.”
Adrien didn’t even bother replying, simply giving Linton a long look before leaving the room.
The door slammed behind her, leaving Linton alone. He stood there trembling, fists clenched so tightly they shook.
A moment later, the door opened again and Kate entered. Linton kept his head down, fighting back tears and anger, not bothering to look up.
He didn’t need to—he knew it was Kate who had come in.
“I never meant to kill him, you know.”
He really hadn’t. If he’d intended to, he would have picked a place where no water could be found. He just wanted Samuel injured and out of commission for a while.
But he couldn’t hold back anymore. Because of that guy, Adrien was slowly losing herself.
Even if she was curt, Adrien had always maintained a basic respect for guides. But even that was slipping away now.
“If he keeps driving me like this, why should I go easy on him?”
“Shall I take care of it?”
“No, that won’t be necessary. From the looks of it, he’s not exactly holding back these days, either….”
With a cold, twisted smile, Linton pulled a document toward himself—the investigation team roster for the monsterfication case.
He quickly scanned the names and teams, then crossed out a name and wrote in a new one.
Now, Samuel Norah’s name was on the list. Still smiling that cold smile, Linton handed the roster to Kate.
“We don’t need the Commander’s approval for the reserve list. Pass it on right away.”
* * *
Suddenly, abnormal symptoms began appearing all over the capital, with Espers popping up everywhere, showing strange behaviors.
At first, the patrol unit just thought they were rounding up a few unregistered Espers who seemed to be on the verge of going berserk. It used to happen maybe once or twice a week. But about ten days ago, the numbers suddenly exploded.
Even more disturbing, the symptoms started appearing inside the Security Guard itself, specifically in the holding cells.
“Aaaagh!”
A piercing scream rang out from behind the steel door, enough to make anyone’s ears ring. For someone with Adrien’s sharp hearing, it was impossible to ignore.
The Esper showing these symptoms in the holding cell was none other than Joseph Walsky—the same man who’d threatened Samuell. In the end, he had to be locked up in an isolation cell for berserk Espers. The headache was real, and Adrien stepped back, glancing at Alex.
“This isn’t a pre-berserk episode, right?”
“No, it’s not. This isn’t happening because he’s low on guiding. Of course, he still responds to guiding, but that’s just a typical trait of an Esper who’s lost control.”
“You’re saying he started acting like this after his fellow squad member visited yesterday?”
“Yes. I’m certain something happened during that visit.”
“Who was it? How did you handle it?”
“Lieutenant Nathan White. We’ve detained him for now. He’s also one of the Espers who harassed Ensign Samuel.”
“I know the name.”
“Of course you do.”
Avoiding Alex’s narrowed gaze, Adrien looked back at the iron door.
Beyond that door was the Esper who had tried to harm Samuel.
Rumor had it that, because Adrien had disciplined those men so harshly, Samuel had become the center of gossip once again.
Frankly, Adrien couldn’t understand why something so trivial would cause so much commotion.
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