episode_0083

Jesse and Iris, who had been waiting for Lian to wake up, had a meal with Lian. Lily and Noah left their seats so that the three of them could eat comfortably.

Noah, who had just left the room, said with a stern face,

“I have something I want to discuss for a moment, is the timing okay?”

“Yeah, of course it’s okay.”

The two headed to a nearby conference room. The conference room was equipped with soundproofing magic, making it suitable for serious discussions. As soon as Noah entered the conference room, he abruptly brought up the topic.

“It seems like we need to change rooms.”

“Huh? Why? Is the room not good enough for you, brother?”

Lily asked with wide eyes. Noah nodded slightly in response to her question, hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low, subdued voice.

“…When I arrived at the room, Lian… tried to throw himself over the terrace railing.”

“What?!”

“If I hadn’t stopped him, Lian would have…”

As Noah choked back his sobs, Lily, with a pale, horrified face, said,

“Why? Now we can all be safe together!”

“…He said he was trying to jump because he thought he had been kidnapped.”

“Does that even make sense? Even if he had been kidnapped…”

Noah sat down heavily in the conference room chair.

“He said the excuse was ‘I’m used to base jumping.’ He tied a rope around himself and jumped from a high place.”

“What?!”

Lily screamed in horror.

“He was forcibly, forcibly tied up… and thrown. At first, he was… scared, but he got used to it and said it was okay -… now there’s no rope, and he almost jumped due to confusion.”

“Oh, uh…!”

Emotions were so intense that Lily couldn’t speak properly. Rolling her feet like a rabbit, she suddenly spoke, her eyes flashing like Noah’s.

“Let’s get rid of all the windows.”

At Lily’s firm words, Noah’s eyes widened.

“No matter what -…”

“Oppa is a patient. A patient with a wounded heart. Patients need to receive treatment within appropriate protective measures. Removing the windows is not an act of suppressing freedom but a measure for treatment.”

“As long as there are organizations, it was natural for patients to emerge. Cardishan is a city where all kinds of races mix. There were quite a few monsters with demonic and intelligent traits.”

“Accordingly, the wounds of the injured were diverse. There were those who inserted parasitic creatures covered in toxic secretions into the wounds, and those who shattered the mind with dark magic.”

“Because the measures varied depending on the wound, there were many situations where forceful suppression was inevitable. Noah recalled such scenes and listened to Lily’s words.”

“When one realizes that they are no longer a danger, their condition will gradually improve. To keep a happy life, they will eventually give up the habit of risking their lives. The removed windows can be put back at that time.”

“This is neither suppression nor abuse! It’s all actions for Lian! Moreover, it can greatly reduce anxiety!”

“Is that… so?”

“Of course!”

Noah was completely swayed by Lily’s words.

The next day, while Lian was asleep, the terrace and windows disappeared. Even the windows of every area where he could walk around were gone.

It cost quite a bit to install magic for ventilation, but Noah had no regrets.

***

“Hello.”

“Hello! Nice to meet you!”

“Welcome!”

Not everyone in Nest was someone Lian knew.

There were quite a few people he didn’t know. People with visible or invisible scars, like missing an arm or an eye. Most seemed to be Noah’s age, but there were also those who looked older.

They were all people who had pledged allegiance to Noah for salvation. Therefore, there were many people showing blind loyalty.

Normally, he would have looked at the officials exchanging greetings with Lian with satisfaction, but today he couldn’t.

‘There is a traitor among them.’

Now there was someone among the officials who had conspired with Bian’s boss, who had now disappeared. Noah carefully scrutinized the officials with his usual smiling face.

“…I don’t know. Who on earth would do such a thing?”

She bit her lip secretly. Betrayal followed her like a daily routine as she ran the organization, so she had always lived without letting her guard down.

But that was only in general among ordinary members or between different organizations. She couldn’t even imagine, nor did she want to think, that someone close to her would betray her.

That’s how much the position of a Nest executive was one that only trustworthy people could hold.

“I have to find the traitor. Everyone can be safe.”

Now that Lian was back, she had to be more determined.

While Noah was preparing himself, Lian was busy introducing Iris and Jess to new people.

“Haha, please take care of them.”

It’s hard to spit on the face of a smiling person! Lian wanted to get along with the executives as much as possible by smiling brightly.

There was someone who thought highly of Lian.

“Is he the boss’s right-hand man? He looks quite ambiguous.”

He was one of the executives named Jeolmi. A man with a lean body and a height that seemed to be 190cm was the traitor who had stolen the information Noah was looking for.

Jeolmi had been mistakenly rescued as a slave while visiting a known trading partner and, thanks to his loyal behavior, had risen to become an executive.

Because the Nest organization was attracting attention from various places, it was able to make quite a profit by selling information. It was all thanks to Jeolmi that they were able to obtain information about Noah and other executives from the Deviatan side.

Jeolmi was beginning to sense that he was being chased. Therefore, after catching a big fish, his plan was to escape.

“This information will sell for a good price.”

The boss’s “weakness” was bound to sell for a higher price than any other information. Especially information about lovers or loved ones was highly valued.

“If I find out their skills, we should escape.”

If Lian was a strong skilled person, the value as a weakness would undoubtedly decrease. So it was necessary to investigate how skilled she was and whether she had any weaknesses.

Jolmi approached Lian, who was smiling among the officers.

“Hello -…”

Suddenly.

As Jolmi was about to continue speaking, a strange sensation under her feet made her eyes widen.

Slip!

In an instant, her view spun around, and the familiar ceiling came into sight.

“T-t-this is s-s-so stra-a-ange…”

Time seemed to slow down as her body slowly began to descend. Jolmi widened her eyes at the swiftly flying banana peel. At that moment,

Thud!

Her head harshly collided with the edge of the conference room table.

“Ugh…”

Foaming at the mouth, she collapsed, her eyes rolling back. Above her fallen face,

Thump.

The banana peel fell steadily. It was a scene resembling comedy.

“This… no matter how you look at it… seems like the comedy filter has been activated?”

Lian stiffened her expression as she looked at the fallen man in a familiar sight.

“Did this person try to threaten me?”

As Lian pondered this with a stern face, the officers began to check Jolmi’s condition with bewildered expressions.

“What did I do wrong?”

“If he dislikes me to the point of wanting to ‘threaten’ me, there must be another reason.” As Lian, lost in thought with a worried expression, Iris grabbed Lian’s hand.

“Are you okay, brother?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Lian forced a wry smile and nodded. But he was far from okay. Noticing Lian’s state, Juliana approached Noah and informed him.

[It seems like Lian is quite shocked. Tell him it’s nothing serious and to take it easy.]

Upon hearing this, Noah’s gaze turned toward Lian. As she had said, Lian’s expression looked gloomy. The Terrace incident and Lilly’s words came to mind simultaneously.

“Mental stability is important…”

Noah urgently approached Lian and asked about his well-being. In response, Lian hesitated, as if wanting to say something.

“If you’re uncomfortable, feel free to tell me anytime. We’re friends.”

“Yeah.”

Rian’s expression was moved as she cautiously gestured. It was a gesture to bring her ear closer. As Noah leaned in as she intended, Rian whispered.

“Actually…”

Startled, her body trembled as the breath reached her ear. She felt her ears burning hot. Rian, seemingly unaware, continued speaking immediately.

“I… feel like the person who collapsed dislikes me.”

“…!”

“Well, it might sound strange if I explain it like this. Should I say I can somehow intuitively know? Could I have made a mistake?”

At Rian’s words, Noah’s gaze immediately turned towards the direction of the collapse. Clear ‘suspicion’ arose in her eyes.