Bermuda

Of course, he couldn't entirely condemn Nero's choice to try to clean things up somehow.

If a comrade was stuck and unable to move because of the Council, he himself would have disguised himself as one of the members to approach him. Then, if necessary, he would have silenced the person whose face he’d borrowed, either by force or by casting magic. In the end, it wouldn't have been much different from the method Nero chose. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

From the beginning, he had also chosen dangerous means to control suspicious guys like Alec Siles, and had disguised himself as a mining team worker to infiltrate their hideout and gather information about etaide.

Looking back, his and Nero's courses of action were similar in their overall framework. With only slight differences in caution or situational details, their ways of solving problems were very alike.

As he retraced the situation, Leonardo felt his throat growing increasingly tight. Even when planning and moving alone after careful consideration, gaps inevitably appear. But trying to guess the movements of two people, including Nero's actions beyond his sight, made him feel like the gaps he hadn't grasped were slowly tightening around his neck.

Perhaps because of this, Leonardo's hand, which had been pressing his eyes, was now roughly feeling around his neck. Unconsciously, he raised his fingertips as if to tear something off.

At that moment, contrary to the expectation of touching a chilling control device, a soft handkerchief caught in his fingers. Leonardo hesitated and glanced down at his neck. Though not clearly visible, the end of the drooping handkerchief came into view.

'Ah, this was here.'

Belatedly, he remembered that the black collar was covered in layers of bandages and handkerchief. At that moment, the surrounding air and breath that should have felt even more suffocating seemed to steady. Simply because the collar, a symbol of obsession and attachment, was wrapped in a handkerchief and not touching his hand.

As he mulled over this ironic phenomenon, Leonardo suddenly realized one thing.

Nero was certainly a member of the military special forces unit Armsilver, and possessed the strategy and abilities befitting that. So before leaving, he must have done his best to handle the situation in his own way. Yet here he was, worrying about problems that hadn't even been uncovered or occurred.

Right now, instead of blaming whatever actions Nero had taken, he needed to infer how far Nero had thought and acted for his sake. And then he needed to figure out what he needed to clean up, who he should be careful of, and it was time to carefully unravel the tangled threads.

For Nero, who had worked hard; to free Felix Montero, who had been unfairly entangled. And for the sake of his own future, that was more desirable.

'Right, this is not the time to be like this.'

Having made his decision, Leonardo looked at the newspaper on the side table that had been pushed to the corner. Barely maintaining his balance as he put strength in his legs, he strode over to the side table.

He spread out the newspaper and began to carefully reread the contents of the article he had seen earlier.

'Evidence of military surveillance network paralysis secured, recovery work initiated but expected to take three to four days until normal operation. Suspected involvement of external forces...'

The reporting date was recent, and three to four days from then would mean normal operation should already have been restored as of today. Seeing this, he could understand why Nero had left in such a hurry.

"He left at the right time."

A sigh, mixed with bitterness and relief, escaped between Leonardo's lips.

It was true that while worrying about Nero lingering around until he woke up, he had also half-expected him to still be around. But now, he rather thought it was fortunate that Nero knew when to leave. It was a much safer environment for Nero to move with other seniors than to be tied down here and attract attention like himself.

Nero, who had suddenly appeared during the battle and tried to grab him and run, had said that the seniors were involved in the paralysis of the surveillance network. The seniors he mentioned were people Leonardo knew well too. They were the brilliant main forces of the glorious Armsilver 11th Squad.

Pierce and Taylor were extremely cautious in their every move. They were naturally meticulous guys who considered multiple options when making plans. They would certainly have handled things carefully to avoid leaving any traces, and even if there was a crisis, they had the ability to escape.

So in fact, there was no need to worry about that side. Since they were such excellent comrades, they would protect Nero, including his share. When he had briefly seen the words "military surveillance network" before going out, it was for this reason that he was able to maintain some composure.

'Then I just need to handle things on this side well.'

Leonardo, who had been looking down at the article, folded the newspaper back to its original state and placed it neatly on the side table. First, he needed to go over the situation one point at a time and organize any details that might not add up.

It was almost a stroke of luck that the 3rd Battalion member whose face Nero had borrowed appeared before him after Agrizendro left. The fact that the member's real self had come so close to him meant he had completely escaped Nero's control. It was also the moment when he became certain that Nero was no longer here.

If Nero were still lingering around him in the member's appearance, he wouldn't have let that member roam within a radius where he might run into Leonardo or high-ranking commanders. He had done too many noticeable things with that face, and there must have been moments that inevitably raised suspicion.

Nero had kicked Dermocas in front of everyone, and afterwards, at Leonardo's single word asking for help, he had flown to the battle scene with the mother body without hesitation. Although he had moved hidden in dust and smoke, he had always been with Leonardo—hiding his body near the turbulent currents when buying time for the Council's Plan 5 execution, and at the moment of opening the different space to eliminate the mother body.

Honestly, there were more than enough moments when someone could have noticed Nero's suspiciousness. Moreover, since he was there in front of Leonardo when he lost consciousness, Felix Montero's face was already as good as having a connection to him.

In other words, if someone among those present at the scene had seen that moment, they would certainly think the two were acquainted. The way he and Felix had treated each other as if seeing each other for the first time just now was clearly contradictory.

Leonardo ran a hand through his hair and sat down heavily on the deck. Any further face-to-face encounters between him and the member named Felix Montero would be quite dangerous. Unexpected discrepancies could arise in words and actions. However, he needed to check again whether the magic Nero had cast on him was working properly, and whether it would serve as a minimal safety measure.

However, he couldn't rule out the possibility that someone might be watching the ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) relationship between him and Felix if he approached recklessly. Leonardo Blaine appearing to know a Council member could be sufficient reason for someone to take interest. Moreover, his intuition was telling him that the somewhat sudden encounter with the member felt unnatural in some way.

'That member. He said he came on the battalion commander's orders. The 3rd Battalion commander is... Meterion Clinder.'

Leonardo pressed his temples hard, as just recalling that name made his head throb.

Meterion Clinder. It would be no exaggeration to say he was the person Leonardo should least be entangled with in this current situation.

When he escaped from inside the barrier with Agrizendro, although he didn't see it directly, he felt the 3rd Battalion commander's mana at the scene. This meant that Meterion Clinder was also there. In the midst of that, he couldn't be certain that the moment when he and Nero, disguised as a 3rd Battalion member, faced each other hadn't caught the 3rd Battalion commander's eye at the time.

While most commanders and members immediately rushed to the Commander, it would have been much more like Meterion Clinder to observe the situation from afar. Furthermore, the probability was high that his gaze was directed towards Leonardo and Nero, rather than towards the Commander, as if he had been circling Leonardo recently.

Even if he hadn't heard the specific conversation, he might have guessed there was some subtle relationship. If so, that leads to one question.

'At the point when Nero left, and when Agrizendro had just vacated his seat... was it mere coincidence that Felix Montero from the 3rd Battalion approached the tent where I was?'

As he mulled over the situation, Leonardo gradually furrowed his brow.

It could be an overinterpretation. Maybe he was getting too deep into it unnecessarily. But the timing was extremely precise.

For someone who even secretly backed the illegal mining team during the peninsula subjugation, the other party was quite adept at weaving subtle schemes that made the recent situation look like mere coincidence. Moreover, he was someone who came alone before him and even tried to sound him out by saying, "What if I could free you?" It seemed he shouldn't let this slide.