World's Best Protagonist [BL]

Jade stiffened. That thought had brushed past his mind many times, and every time it did, he only had one concern.

How else is he going to find that strange library if he doesn’t enter a vortex? He was always lost in thought, finding an answer in that question. It wasn’t just because of his deal with Noir, but because of his own interest as well. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Reevaluation. I can turn it down, right?" He carefully asked Terrius.

"You can. But it doesn’t mean you’re allowed to join vortex raids again."

"I see. What a shame. All that training I did was for nothing, huh. I should probably start looking for a normal job again after this."

"You don’t want to work as a Minder?"

Jade shook his head. Something weighed in his head. Were the people involved with him in the NSA, back at the beginning, truly clueless of what he was? If even the director of the NMA suspected it, then how could he be certain that the NSA remained in the shadows?

"I’m fine with it if I only get to counsel our team. But doing it with other people... I don’t like it," Jade answered after a minute.

Terrius gave him a look of understanding, to which Jade returned a small smile. He finished counseling him, and Terrius immediately joined the others. Jade looked up. He watched the monster get overwhelmed by the two teams.

He did not admit it to anyone, but the reason he was confident to run toward the boss monster before was because he knew team Alpha-03—his team—would come to his rescue. He felt a bit sad thinking that he wouldn’t be part of them anymore.

A tap on his shoulder snapped Jade from his reverie.

Claude appeared next to him, sporting an inscrutable face. He pressed his lips tightly as if wetting them first before he spoke in a low voice, "What do you want me to do to your father?"

It was a careful and considerate inquiry, that Jade almost mistook him for someone else. His eyes went past Claude’s shoulder, they stopped on the body lying on his stomach, barely breathing.

Jade felt nothing, honestly. Only coldness settled in his gaze, and there was that distant look as though he was merely looking at a falling leaf. He touched his chest, feeling something, but the beat of his heart never skipped or faltered either.

Seeing this, Claude’s face darkened, but he said nothing. He went through horrible things himself, but he still could not imagine what Jade went through in the hands of his father, for him to look at his dying father like that.

Unconsciously, his hand shot up, grabbed Jade’s chin, and gently turned his head to look at him. Truth be told, Claude felt an unpleasant and gnawing feeling in his chest when Jade looked like he cared for nothing at all.

As if Jade would just suddenly disappear one day.

"Cleanse me," Claude said with emphasis.

Jade blinked. His eyes focused again. He was taken aback when he felt Claude’s hand on his cheek. Before he could say anything though, Claude’s hand moved down to his shoulder, pulling him closer and leaning heavily on his body.

"Hey, wait!" Jade exclaimed in panic.

Claude murmured, his breathing was a bit ragged, "He will die if left alone a few more minutes. Make up your choice. We can ask Etienne to heal him if—"

"What the hell are you saying? I don’t care about that old man. You’re the one who will die if not taken care of!" Jade shuddered after his hand grazed a scorched, almost degloved, part of Claude’s hip.

Then, he shouted on top of his lungs, "Etienne!"

In an instant, Etienne was beside them, treating the pale-faced Claude. This time, their position was opposite than before. It was Claude who was lying between Jade’s legs, half of his body was leaning on Jade’s torso.

Jade stared at the captain. He only noticed Claude’s pale complexion after looking at him properly. Large beads of sweat formed in his forehead. Jade unconsciously wiped them away. His eyes widened when the captain’s face was cold to the touch.

"Is he dead?" He worriedly asked Etienne.

"What? No!" Etienne shook his head relentlessly. He even slapped Jade’s arm for saying something grim.

Claude winced. His eyes shot open instantly, glaring at Jade with obvious intent to smack him in the head if only he had strength left in his body.

"Why are you so cold?" Jade asked, playing dumb.

Claude’s lips thinned. Then, he shamelessly demanded, "Cleanse me."

"Ah, right. Okay, relax."

Jade and Etienne simultaneously tended to their injured captain. Once Cladue was able to stand on his feet again, Jade stopped counseling, as he could feel the strain it did to his body now. He wiped the sweat on his face as he watched the ending of the two teams against the boss monster.

The humans emerged victorious once again.

The members of team Alpha-02 were clearly weary and strained, therefore, as soon as the exit portal appeared, they left. Team Echo-01 stayed to gather the mana stones and spoils from the fight, while Claude’s team remained to take care of the dead bodies of their fellow Earthlings.

Jade stood before the corpse of his father. He felt multiple gazes focused on him. Looking up, he saw the world’s inhabitants looking at him with wariness mixed with relief. Behind him, was his team observing what he would do.

He just shrugged his shoulders, then he turned and walked away.

Would his action be justified by all the wrong things his father committed to him, to his mother, and to other people? Or would his team criticize him for not weeping, or for not even sparing his corpse an emotional glance?

What emotion should he be even wearing? Jade had no idea.

Without saying anything to the onlookers, team Alpha-02 left the vortex after throwing the dead bodies into the monster’s lair—the kiln, as their last attempt to help that world’s inhabitants.

Jade walked beside Etienne as they exited.

Outside the raided Infernal Vortex, Noir and the team guarding the perimeter cheered after the first team emerged. Not long after, his team followed, and so the scavenger team.

However, his eyes shook in terror after noticing something wrong. He asked, shouting, "Captain! Where’s Jade?!"

Claude’s brow furrowed. He heard Etienne’s gasp from behind, so he looked back, only to find out someone was missing in his team.

Jade wasn’t with them.