Bermuda

The shout, like the roar of a great army, always sent a thrill through one’s skin. Leonardo took a small breath at the momentarily deafening echo.

Perhaps because half were newly arrived troops, their morale was extraordinary. Their spirit-filled appearance suggested they’d be able to hold the defense line quite firmly even after the Central Branch left.

After the shouts dispersed into the sky, whether by coincidence or not, the wind always seemed to blow. Leonardo pressed down his carefully styled hair so it wouldn’t get messed up, while his eyes scanned the ranks stretching out of sight.

Although their heads were still, their wide-open eyes followed him en masse wherever he went. If it had been before, he would have glared at them with a look that said, “What are you looking at?” but today he was in a good mood, so he decided to smile at them mildly.

The two of them slowly walked toward the temporary headquarters in front of the gate, passing by the lined-up white tents and the crowd. ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ Three dots detached from those gathered there and approached the two with quick steps. One was Bruno Amos, the Deputy Commander of the Southern Branch, and the other two were faces Leonardo was seeing for the first time.

“Commander, these are the leaders in charge of the support troops’ advance party.”

As Bruno briefly introduced them with a nod, the two unfamiliar figures stood at attention and saluted Hugo.

“Loyalty. Diana Hill, 4th Battalion Commander of the Council’s Southern Branch, reporting to the Commander.”

“Loyalty. Logan White, 13th Battalion Commander of the Council’s Southern Branch, reporting to the Commander.”

Hugo lowered his hand from Leonardo’s shoulder and responded with a light salute. Then he extended his hand to the 4th Battalion Commander on the left first, offering a handshake of encouragement.

“You must have had a hard journey.”

“Not at all. It’s an honor to meet you.”

The two battalion commanders took Hugo’s hand in turn and bowed deeply, their posture respectful. Leonardo stepped back two or three paces at their slightly excessive bowing. He felt a little embarrassed to be standing next to the Commander when he wasn’t the one receiving the greetings.

Hugo exchanged a few formal greetings while patting their shoulders once each. After responding politely and bowing their heads, the two battalion commanders’ gazes naturally turned to Leonardo, who had stepped back.

Their eyes couldn’t be definitively described as containing any particular emotion. However, it seemed as if the previously known image of Leonardo and the word “hero” they’d heard in situation reports were colliding in their minds.

It was understandable since they hadn’t experienced the scene directly, but their gazes were closer to wariness than goodwill. Hugo decided not to introduce Leonardo specifically, in case something unpleasant happened that might make Leonardo uncomfortable. Instead, he changed the subject to ask about something that was bothering him.

“I heard that all the temporary portals leading to the external gates have been disconnected. Which route did you enter through?”

“Ah, there’s a rather wide forest path to the southeast of the territory. We came through there...”

While Hugo was conversing with them, Leonardo looked around aimlessly. As Bruno gestured to the members standing at attention, the personnel filling the vast land finally went about their own business.

Feeling like he would keep making eye contact if he kept watching the members, Leonardo shifted his gaze to the front where the temporary headquarters tent was. At that moment, he saw a group of five or six people, who had appeared from somewhere, hurriedly approaching. Thinking they must be someone from the Council’s Southern Branch, Leonardo stood there without much thought. However, their attire at a glance was completely different from those nearby.

‘Armor?’

Leonardo stood with one leg slightly bent, narrowing his eyes as he quietly observed the group. As the clothes of the person at the front reflected the sunlight, shining particularly brightly, Leonardo recalled the Parren general Hugo had mentioned. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

However, as their pace seemed somewhat threatening, Leonardo unconsciously took a step back. At that moment, the man running at full speed called out loudly.

“Leonardo─!”

At that instant, the battalion commanders talking with Hugo all turned their heads toward the direction of the voice. The silver armor and long fluttering cape flashed in their vision for a moment. The man who had passed behind Hugo rushed toward Leonardo without hesitation.

“Leo!”

Leonardo, taken aback, had no time to dodge. The man embraced him tightly, his face emotional.

“...!”

Suddenly trapped against the hard armor, Leonardo slightly furrowed his brow at the pain in his left arm being pressed. However, unaware of this, the man touched Leonardo’s back and waist, muttering in an overwhelmed voice as if he couldn’t believe it:

“Ha... How long has it been? Is it really you? Leonardo Blaine–”

The bustling man clutched Leonardo for a while, then grabbed his forearms and pulled back just enough to see his face. Leonardo, who had been wincing slightly due to the throbbing in his shoulder, relaxed his expression upon recognizing the other person’s face.

“Oh, you...”

However, the atmosphere of reunion didn’t last long. The chilling sound of blades being drawn was heard from all around. At the same time, a fierce aura brushed the man’s nape.

Sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere, Leonardo pushed the man away slightly from his awkward position and looked over his shoulder. At that moment, he involuntarily drew in a breath. Hugo, wearing an extremely cold expression, was pointing an icy blue spear at the man’s neck.

‘...What are you doing now?’

That wasn’t all. As the Commander suddenly pointed a weapon, the two battalion commanders who had been assessing the situation also drew their swords and pointed their tips at the man. The problem was that the group that had come with the man pointed their spears at the Council’s commanders in response, and seeing this, the nearby members became confused and started drawing their swords one by one with a swishing sound.

“General–!”

Cordelia, running from afar, called out to the Parren general who had rushed out on his own, breathing heavily. However, the situation had already deteriorated beyond control, and she intervened with a pale face, pushing through between the spears and swords.

“E-Everyone, please calm down. I failed to stop–”

“When a soldier from another country, especially a commander-level person, enters our territory, the border defense regulations should state that they must be disarmed and escorted by at least five of our troops.”

Hugo recited, his voice dripping with coldness as he stared at the man.

“Letting armed foreign troops roam freely in our mainland—this isn’t even the peninsula. Are you going to make excuses that it couldn’t be helped this time too? I’m utterly disappointed.”

His question, tinged with a bitter laugh, seemed directed at Bruno and Cordelia, who were in charge of communication with Parren. However, in reality, his arrow was aimed at the man in front of him who was holding Leonardo.

Bruno turned to Cordelia with a flustered face at Hugo’s voice, which seemed quite angry. Cordelia, with a very troubled expression, tried to defuse the situation by first pushing away the spears pointed by the general’s aides with her hands, speaking urgently:

“I apologize, Your Excellency. It’s my oversight. What are you all doing? Put away your weapons!”

At that moment, the Parren general holding Leonardo glanced down at the ice spear pointed at his neck. He smiled warmly without a trace of agitation and answered Hugo, who held the highest position:

“I beg your pardon. In my joy at meeting an old friend after so long, I was careless. You are not at fault at all. Please calm your anger.”

Hugo frowned at the words “old friend.” Just then, Cordelia, who had squeezed her way nearby, carefully grabbed Hugo’s forearm and pleaded:

“Your Excellency, this is the Parren general I mentioned before. He is absolutely not someone who would cause harm. I will vouch for him, so please forgive him.”

“If you know it’s rude, I’d appreciate it if you’d step away.”

Instead of answering Cordelia, Hugo spoke firmly while pressing the tip of his spear to the general’s nape. However, Cordelia, thinking he was speaking to her, was startled and let go of his forearm.

Unlike Cordelia’s reaction, Hugo didn’t take his eyes off the general. He was clearly around his own age or older, so what nonsense was this about being friends with this child? To Hugo, it sounded like an absurd sophistry. He added with a chin gesture toward the general’s aides:

“Order them to drop their weapons too.”

The general’s expression flickered with slight displeasure, but he still withdrew his hands from Leonardo with a gentle smile. In that state, he nodded to his subordinates behind him, and the hesitant Parren soldiers lowered their spear tips and placed them on the ground, lowering their posture.

“Your waist looks heavy too.”

Hugo’s gaze pointed at the general’s sword. The general, unconcerned, untied the scabbard at his waist and dropped it on the ground with a thud. It was so heavy that the metal object tumbled, making a clanking sound as it visibly dented the dirt ground and raised a low cloud of dust.

As if asking if this was enough, the general shrugged his shoulders, and Hugo dissolved the ice spear in his hand. Then he strode over to Leonardo, grabbed his forearm, pulled him toward himself, and said:

“It was your side that violated our regulations first, so we had no choice but to act somewhat forcefully. Forgive the rudeness. More importantly, I think this much greeting is sufficient. I’ll respond to any private discussions about the subjugation later by letter. Let’s go, Leonardo.”

“Wait a moment, how can this be enough for friends meeting after years? I understand that I appeared rude due to my haste. But please, allow us a little time to catch up—”

“Friends? I don’t think you’re of an age to call each other friends.”

“He—he is my friend.”

Leonardo, who had been watching the tense atmosphere, suddenly intervened, grabbing Hugo’s arm. Hugo stopped mid-sentence and looked down at Leonardo with a puzzled gaze, asking back:

“What?”

“We know each other. He’s not a bad person, so you don’t need to be wary. But... he seems to have something to say, so can I talk to him alone for a moment?”

At Leonardo’s words, which sounded more like a request, Hugo narrowed his brow and looked back and forth between the two. As his displeased expression became clearly visible, the character calling himself the Parren general gently placed his hand on Leonardo’s shoulder.

The general raised his eyebrows at Hugo as if to show off, smiling brightly without malice. Hugo stared at the general with a cold gaze while subtly applying pressure to the hand holding Leonardo’s forearm.