Chapter 46: The Mysterious Girl – 2

Chapter 46: The Mysterious Girl – 2

“…Still worried, I guess.”

There had been many worries after deploying Lucia for the operation, but Lucia had performed her role well.

…No, strictly speaking, she had done something no other Defense Force member had ever done.

She had provided the path to one of the ‘organization’s’ core facilities.

How she did it, I couldn’t know… but I suspected it was thanks to Lucia’s unique potions.

However…… that didn’t mean my worries about Lucia lessened.

Although I didn’t think where Lucia was now was the ‘organization’s’ headquarters… still, the ‘organization’ was considered the most dangerous criminal group in the capital.

They also had deep ties with nobles, making them the group with the most information about nobles in the capital.

Therefore, just the thought of Lucia being alone in such a dangerous place made me feel quite uneasy.

And then, Lucia’s communication arrived.

Not directly speaking as before, but in a very simple symbolic form.

…More precisely, with a symbol we had agreed upon beforehand to use when immediate support was needed.

“…! Everyone! Prepare for deployment! By the authority of the Defense Commander, I am urgently summoning all available personnel!”

“Y-yes? So urgently?”

“Then isn’t it an urgent situation if I’m summoning everyone so urgently?! If not, why do we even have emergency drill summons?”

“S-sorry!”

As soon as that communication came, I summoned all available personnel, and the largest operation of the Defense Force this year began.

Of course, most of the Defense Force members were quite flustered by the sudden summons…

But since most of the members were performing duties close enough to the emergency assembly point, they were able to respond to the emergency summons.

It was natural, in fact, because I had temporarily adjusted the Defense Force members’ work locations to be close to the emergency assembly point.

This operation was kept secret even from regular Defense Force members for security, and the administrators who attended the operation meeting didn’t know the exact timing either.

……Even I hadn’t accurately predicted when Lucia would be kidnapped.

That’s why the Defense Force members were showing such flustered reactions to this emergency summons.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for a note that somehow got into the Defense Commander’s office, saying that Lucia had been kidnapped according to the current plan and to prepare…

I wouldn’t have been able to gather the Defense Force members, who were spread out performing duties, as close as possible, and the summons would have taken a very long time.

The leak of the operation was certainly a problem, but it was more beneficial than problematic, and there was a more urgent matter of preparing Lucia’s rescue, so I didn’t investigate it in detail for now…

But the very fact that someone could privately obtain classified Defense Force operation information was a problem, so it meant more work after this operation was over.

‘…It wouldn’t be an accomplice Lucia found to prepare for such a situation, would it?’

A useless thought crossed my mind for a moment… but seeing the quickly assembled Defense Force members, I decided to focus on the immediate task.

Fortunately, the organization’s guards didn’t seem to expect such a sudden arrival of the Defense Force’s elite troops, and they collapsed like autumn leaves…

I found Lucia’s location through the untraceable tracking item attached to her.

……Of course, it was an item attached secretly from Lucia, but since it was a great help anyway, there shouldn’t be any problem.

***

‘…It’s foggy. How many potions did she burst while fighting?’

The mist perfectly matched the effect of the potion Lucia had shown before.

Such a chilling mist filled the room.

Even though I was clearly outside the door, the cold and mist were seeping out through the gaps in the tattered door.

And, beyond that door and mist, Lucia’s characteristic mint-colored hair was visible, and in front of her stood someone who appeared to be an executive of the ‘organization.’

Next… my actions seemed to precede my thoughts.

My sword was immediately thrust forward, and the executive’s shield formed a beat slower.

In fact, the very fact that my sword got this close to the executive, who appeared to be a magic user, meant the battle was already as good as over. 

The door in front? It had long since been broken through and was lying on the floor.

Honestly, I wanted to tear apart the executive in front of me right then and there… but with Lucia next to me, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Instead… I just coldly declared to him.

“Defense Commander, Christie. Your crimes…… you already know them well, so there’s no need to state them.”

“De-Defense Force…? But how…? That, that can’t be…!!”

The executive denied and struggled, quickly surveying his surroundings.

…However, the more he looked around, the greater the despair in his eyes became.

And rightly so, because this facility he managed was being completely smashed by the Defense Force members.

At first, the Defense Force members were flustered by the emergency summons, but once they heard it was related to the ‘organization,’ their enthusiasm ignited.

To that extent, eradicating the ‘organization’ was like a long-cherished desire for the Defense Force.

As I struck the face of the executive, who was half-losing his mind, with the blunt side of my sword, his body slowly began to fall forward.

…He himself didn’t even seem to realize that he had been hit by the blunt side of the sword, or that he was losing consciousness.

In that situation, Lucia approached him and whispered something quietly… but since his consciousness had already completely faded, no answer came back.

“…Christie, can I ask you a favor?”

“What is it? If it’s a request from you, who successfully led this operation, and it’s within my power, of course I’ll grant it.”

“Don’t kill this guy. I need to use him.”

Saying that, Lucia explained that this facility was merely a ‘branch,’ and that the path to the ‘headquarters’ only existed in specific ‘branches,’ and furthermore…

She suggested that this guy, being a Branch Manager, would naturally know which branch had the path to the headquarters, and that we should use him.

……It was an impeccable suggestion, but seeing as he was clearly the one who attacked Lucia, keeping him alive didn’t feel good at all.

Then, suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.

‘I really do care for Lucia.’

If this Branch Manager had attacked me, would I have felt this way?

The answer, unfortunately, was no.

…Perhaps because it was my first time caring for and cherishing someone, the feeling was quite strange.

It wasn’t that I didn’t care for Lucia normally, but seeing her in danger and sending her to dangerous places… it seemed to solidify that feeling even more.

Of course, it wasn’t the concept of love. Since we were the same gender, there was no room for that in the first place.

But… it wasn’t like I thought of Lucia as just a ‘friend’ like she thought of me either.

It was a feeling beyond friendship, difficult to express.

……Perhaps, it might even be a slight obsession, I thought.

“…? Christie?”

“Oh, no. Keeping him alive is possible, but keeping alive the guy who tried to harm you just doesn’t feel right…”

“Pfft. What’s that? Where did the cool-headed Defense Commander-nim I first met go, and who’s this cute young lady who came instead?”

“……”

“Of course, I said this last time, but? I like this side of Christie too. You only act like this in front of me, right? That’s also quite nice.

 Just like people prefer someone who is kind only to them, rather than someone who is kind to everyone.”

……Did Lucia truly know how much destructive power her words held?

Her words, spoken carelessly or playfully, were clearly meant as such, yet each and every one of them brought comfort and solace.

Perhaps the reason I came to cherish this small, delicate girl named Lucia was not just that the time spent with her was enjoyable, but also because she brought comfort to my past and present self.

…While thinking such thoughts, I was about to answer Lucia, but……

“Defense Commander-nim! Cleanup complete! Most were taken prisoner, and a few were killed due to strong resistance.”

“…No escapees?”

“None! Oh, the old man we met when entering this facility, after checking the roster, turned out to be part of the ‘organization,’ so we’re tracking him, but…

 There are no escapees inside the facility.”

“Deal with it quickly. Make sure no news reaches the ‘organization’s’ headquarters.”

Unfortunately, the conversation was cut short thanks to a report that came at a truly ill-timed moment.

…And the content wasn’t very pleasant either.

“Oh, that ‘Gatekeeper’ guy? Hmm… he’ll probably be fine.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well… I have an accomplice who handles the aftermath when difficult situations like this arise. ……No, should I say a business partner rather than an accomplice?”

As Lucia said that and grumbled about that ‘accomplice,’ the first emotion I felt, amusingly enough, was jealousy.

…Jealousy that she had found another accomplice, when it would have been fine for her to rely on me a little more.

‘……I’m really in deep, aren’t I?’

It seems I’ll have to take out that adoption proposal again, which I had neatly folded and stored in a drawer after being rejected last time.