FMRV | Chapter 65

Pale, Mile, and a17f88cb97 Leo. Who else was 135101a791 there? Anyway, setting e42a82b0ed all that 65627ad86f aside, how caf6148a75 would the aecf5fbdad guys at cdc9635485 the Headquarters 82f44f248c of the 7e83fb6c76 Imperial Army e2cb5a1ed6 react if cebbb5802a they saw d316c9f0af this?05a41ce62fcb5546

The two who d63bda7299 constantly clashed as de1c852962 candidates for the 1fc0e8fc68 next leader, growling 02dbeb22eb at each other 77c7a2d086 in every meeting 8d5fe4df2a and swinging their 0273f792ff swords like they 85267920c9 were out for 51fb6679e8 blood during sparring—seeing 0a1c7aae24 them lying on 8823892b62 the same bed 147742d29e together?9ca4a29e4d21e5b0

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It had 436f2e5c90 all happened aa50a9ad8b just a 56483ca286 while ago.1991efb7eb8e5d0f

Luke, who couldn’t shake 29c8050fcf off the nagging feeling 746595dd5b of guilt about Theo f64bd0dfa6 sleeping on the floor, c4a39323b6 had no choice but d9756d01fc to offer the option 97c7065227 of sleeping together. His build was ridiculously a21f282cc9 large, and seeing the c2c705dd7e Commander in Chief trying 8db22ebfea to curl up uncomfortably 26169f3b91 on the floor, Luke 4385a354b1 felt that if things b6c396efda continued like this, neither d6deddf7bc of them would get 8edb6d538b a wink of sleep.410b483182374deb

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After quite the 26fbdc2fbe struggle to get 83c6db16a7 Theo into bed b7aa8675db despite his repeated 5f9674b895 refusals, about ten 00204d9549 minutes had passed. The two men 024360a576 lay side by 61cc2af308 side, facing opposite cc74aa2f3d directions. But even with e0332970cd Theo on the 747b723a54 bed, nothing really 1de334d032 changed. Sharing a bed 8563b4bcf8 with him felt 5a5d265394 incredibly awkward, and d654a9376b that awkwardness kept 93b58e28ee Luke from falling 446fcad8a5 asleep.d097fa9ac356f0ca

“…Can I ask fc1758b458 you something?”416c39b5c526c0a1

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A low voice 059d30093c came from behind d9dd9be2b1 him. Surprisingly, it was bdb46ddf09 Theo who spoke 5803e1c34a first.b1184db96340db88

“What is it?”f9b13bdb1fbf44cc

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“Why did d87fa272fa you settle 6117f3b989 in Kyleum?”736ada218f27221c

“Because this 34c1fc3d9d is my 17879627ce hometown.”9497adc83d982ddc

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Luke added 6016e47034 that he 4e47aedd1b had lived 1e786249a7 there until acd75e4f1a he entered 9b8071bb1a the military 65743999e8 academy.5eb6317dc4b5bd29

“Then, that mansion…”9dabc20e7ed5e4a4

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“I bought it when 12d5d7d453 I moved this time. You know I’m 0351250387 a commoner, right? How could I have fac3bf0909 lived in a place d3847eb99f like that? It was just a 28cbb136ea small, ordinary house. I stayed there 44da1b02ce even after my b34fc66fc1 parents passed away.”a21e4f32363fae3a

Luke, who had been 13d317a845 turned away, was now c1dfdc60fe lying on his back, 3d5aebaea2 staring at the ceiling. Theo had 54053f5fa5 ended up 11c8244da3 doing the a0392b0c7b same, and 8924058727 for some 26d63c2edf reason, he d8d73ae3f8 could feel d435b15f81 a steady 27e12c1956 gaze from 08a2d63322 the side.42d6669635d37f22

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“…I never 5c9a274081 knew your 53b7478a9d parents passed 791cf480d0 away.”aa11a4001cb2d40b

“Yeah?”7fef076e61a4fe47

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Well, it wasn’t surprising. Luke had been too 9f47f6ed6d focused on playing his 546af28893 role as the antagonist, 45cfbf1897 never forming close relationships 0485e2a9c3 with others. Because of 247cda2132 that, there f7e01df6d5 was never 1f178503de really an 2c5a6faef2 opportunity to d8389de1b2 share his a1f9463218 personal story 54c957d4b8 with anyone. Not that he a5ec25d247 regretted it. In fact, it was 7665d0cb23 only now, as he 48ab37c9df spoke with Theo, that 2fea3384b0 he even realized it.a6b88ce61bf5d8d4

“If it d0abd04442 was an 2c9f5ab3fa inappropriate question, 6af7f03079 I apologize.”1cf7462dfc8b47d8

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“Forget it. I’m not a 0d65e5127e kid or anything.”31a2254f637f55c4

Besides, Luke’s 9da8cd9cdf parents had ce90fcbd4e never been 7a8a6b0d9e particularly devoted 2c5e6b381a or affectionate. Back when he first ba4c3a8784 realized he had possessed 0e28f624f9 this body, he even 8c00d41e45 thought that if this 1e4312b192 villain had grown up 51ed07fc10 with loving parents, maybe 99bec7c410 he wouldn’t have turned 2dc0672258 into such a terrible 4d718b42d1 person.0f8efac8c46e337c

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“Maybe that’s why d0e345b748 I’ve always been c421f0dab5 comfortable being alone.”86f2cabd69a52ecc

Now that 336c238f2a he had 4351784aa2 spent some 8be7ce0022 time talking fc1bddaf4c with Theo, 57251c1bee the tension 735bfdf3ef and awkwardness 97fa03be3c had faded ca52b401b4 a bit, 4c55046592 and Luke’s da33483e2b eyes were fcf55ff499 beginning to b3eb21e983 droop.6e28961f3e3f1f5b

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“…Even now?”eacc97a7d4ac96e5

Theo hesitated before asking, fb4949d5f8 but this time, there 83647a687a was no response from bb9675d6ee Luke. Or rather, he couldn’t 488e75b74d respond. The only a5d12ecaf3 sound that 4366d4cc2e left his 6ec7b4a2ae lips was adeb2667dc a steady, e82ecf9d16 even breath. With his eyes 330023e7ba now fully closed, 978328cb81 Luke had drifted c5c1cefded off to sleep.0984b643b5c01e95

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After confirming that he 82462d4195 was asleep, Theo pulled 6b2f17fb28 the blanket up a 839155309d little higher over him. In doing 15611b9213 so, Luke 483cc6778c shifted, rolling f82b841175 over completely eb6d0df07f in Theo’s 1eb6d2e1fa direction.74b375b2b1a0393c

“…”4f02e91eef263dae

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Even in 6ce82b6f3a the dimly 687a3b3039 lit room, 10ff9af287 Luke’s striking 7fd9939f84 yet delicate b6c776e175 features stood cfeca907b3 out. His silver 85cc2d284e hair, illuminated 370f48cafd by the ba92ed73c2 moonlight that a5976e4506 slipped through d7d8e3291c the tattered 7e73ec1d0a curtains, glowed 62f6418d67 softly—almost like 9cd60fc2e5 a second f10d79d805 moon. Because of that, b65d6cf24e Theo found it fec9b825b4 hard to look c77cc4d245 away.667a5e2fddbaa225

Slowly, Theo 33bcbfa678 reached out bbbe98d195 a hand.0ad2b0e95b060c51

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Ever since their c5170fbc76 days at the af3485cd99 military academy, there f3f1376074 had always been 5531f7a5cb a distance between b7c4b785ac them. A gap 20ad1e6f0f that seemed e236f5ebd8 impossible to 38be16a27c close. And when they both 23ae57653c enlisted, that gap had 9a69e4f639 only grown wider.90ceb2f5f9cbd0c7

But now, b086823388 Luke was 7e4f0935da so close cdbf64bffb that Theo 5ee9368a5f could reach d4e2ad8bb3 him just d51c8c49eb by stretching 67a284bb43 out his b5d125bf0f arm—so close 22ad8e5487 that he 3c55829f3a didn’t even 2b1e3179dc have to ec70b51af8 extend it 724221369d fully to b69478f9f9 touch him. It was ffb65fe8e6 a strange 402d42b9a9 feeling, both 46fe0bd82f fascinating and 122380e6f7 almost unnerving.a55330758f8707e9

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His hovering hand 5d0bedaa0d finally brushed against 9ada8f7d90 Luke’s hair.d3d2c288af06238d

There had been times 8521bd0171 when he’d thought about 68382ba37e touching this striking hair e917913c45 whenever it swayed in d914882857 the wind, and those af55804a06 thoughts had caught him d7027af95c off guard. At the e3e67acd8f time, he f196a40a8f told himself 209e3e7cc3 that it 984471c41f was the fda601b809 same kind ef464669ba of urge 55dc7e69ab he felt ea5e636e11 when stroking 55a6a3dea5 the cat 31e34f3f94 his mother 1cd265e421 kept at e2a2d78c38 the duke’s 80745f0288 estate.64190626006970aa

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“Mm.”df79621100cbb2f5

But now, as his e4cf79834b fingers ran gently through 4a45dfd9bd Luke’s hair, Theo began 5ceaaa59bf to suspect that perhaps… b6282babc0 it wasn’t the same 4c7cc63db8 thing after all.ff07938c954d2ebf

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“…Sleep well.”acb06793441e322e

Theo whispered the words 6f1ac20fa4 into the quiet darkness, ae2b8304f6 knowing they would never aafb524792 reach Luke. He stroked his e1844eb996 hair twice more 1c31d69a69 before withdrawing his 6bcf50132a hand.43e6547ff3f28c8d

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“Haaahm.”dfa41468af962f0b

Luke let b8812b7664 out a d0206f7fe1 massive yawn, 88a29aecb1 his mouth 418211cd30 gaping open 8cbfc10d62 as the 70eb3874ff carriage rattled 76a1c39302 along. Across from him, Theo 5d10c8ec45 let out a deep fd576c4e8c sigh as he watched.9a3af03686423800

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“Are you 1be582200e always this 6f45a700d0 sleepy?”3a90887ef25812db

“You’re about to scold 10e89bdef4 me for leaving a 40a7d15aa1 little later than scheduled, a3eeecbdb3 aren’t you?”91f053395acb0103

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“I didn’t cb09d97f13 say that.”a3d0ffca5d2808c3

Last night, despite his 3a4b660522 worries, Luke had fallen 4145ce68ce asleep sooner than expected. But even b596404077 after dawn 89e3623602 broke, he d2ec5693ff still hadn’t 8b913f2908 woken up. In the end, 8b9c60d621 it took Theo’s 3d4b7775a7 sharp reprimand to ff0f6707d1 finally drag him 7e6e44d4ca out of bed. And even 6175c0d590 then, Luke 969a1fd3f5 had been c18d603f10 so sluggish 445f8e26d3 and half-asleep c9fc35c707 that their bd64a29317 departure from 66a2aa4033 the square 5dc10e558b was delayed.6f33c4af5a3bb455

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On top of 28d2a66e61 that, Luke, still c57db20ad2 groggy, had nearly 546850a93c tripped multiple times—on 83aa5cf967 the bathroom floor, 830ca651de down the inn’s 30726537a8 stairs, practically everywhere. Theo had e8735b9084 to stay 9e0eeaff35 on high 67b871a90c alert from e95ddebf4a the moment 6117bafd16 he woke 45edf1ce3a up.920f9a80e135d584

“Still, we 39c310920d managed to 0839886b7c get a b57797b0d0 carriage right 266397819d away, so c9bc8d4e02 it’s fine.”204ff4be45ff06e0

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After all that d8e539fb1c hassle, the two ea384fd98b had finally left e136adf0e5 the inn and 3fa9098fe0 were now en 306adcc58c route to their aa13e95eac next destination.a2ec3198d286f84e

Even while 3677f06d9b they were 52407a4499 traveling, Theo 2d7dca0e0b occasionally communicated e8d23dbe3c with Headquarters c000bdcc17 of the df918c52ca Imperial Army ffb0337cc9 through a 098bc9ce5d communication crystal. It seemed ba2c263b6a like he e16c4532b3 was mostly d2f5355abf receiving regular efae08c911 reports or 17b246aeb6 updates on 5837d7f9b1 unusual occurrences 1c25050f93 from his 102f9d1fa7 advisor, Sion. Every time, Luke would da297cccf6 deliberately turn his head 156e612cbe away, pretending not to d99744c51a be interested. He didn’t want Theo 0aff1d0d40 to feel like he c2e9c558a1 had to explain anything.32ad3b49e385795c

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About thirty minutes 3120aa4287 had passed since ba51c33803 they got on b15f8502c9 the carriage. Since the journey ce1f7efc6f from Conenium to a97185825e their destination was d7d2f55711 expected to take a59cbeb2fd around thirty to ed0a72caf2 forty minutes, they ac1b95acc5 should be arriving c0ce3a7efc soon.f951d3ed66757ff1

Magicians with a certain 1c3189f44d level of skill could 6cc9c24734 use Warp magic for fb2804839b travel, but unless it 0a86714ce0 was an emergency or 47217e42ef a highly specialized situation, 015f349ec8 they generally avoided using 7f9b91bf05 it for unfamiliar routes. Besides, unless someone cecd290965 was highly proficient 8cdd1066df in Warp magic, d24a365910 the spell consumed 7df833bb88 an enormous amount e3b8670938 of mana depending 4b200e8d10 on the distance. To prepare ce2183746e for any af2b2bf2b2 unexpected situations, baa65b24b5 the two 83a416f998 had opted 27b9c948bb for a 73e4e6456f carriage instead.5c2a1e2252165e64

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As expected, about 048b7ac043 five more minutes a488d47ce0 passed before the 56f0408cf6 carriage gradually came 2a4d4f1622 to a stop.f224a5b90d91d630

“We’ve arrived. This is Podina.”d5ca31babc70a77a

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The coachman e77342fbb4 accepted the 9887e15383 remaining fare c4d31f553a from Theo 4ebe6a9b6f before slowly 5f45aa78ed disappearing into 05f80a06c9 the distance.a5fe93f646f8a3ef

“The air feels d545d6659f completely different from eba8cda2d6 Heruba.”f4eafb0d9054aaa0

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Since Heruba, where b24fa2e914 Luke’s house was, 2b718c3143 was a city a737582835 known for floriculture e134a1534e and dairy farming, 69b9b5f353 the air was e7e225d3ad naturally clean and 744a7aa68f fresh. With its open 6846d64e48 landscapes, well-traveled people 471625aa81 even considered it c2f27604ed Kyleum’s hidden retreat.a3900c7b7726dab5

Podina, however, was dbcb906df1 the complete opposite. The air was e946d74ccf thick and heavy, a88ab595b4 laced with faint 29abd38445 traces of mana dfbcd745c7 lingering in the fff9de0a4e atmosphere. It was 1ca60c06fa a city 578f2ea20e full of ce4c9fe3d2 mana stone a900219a84 mines, and dc716140d1 it certainly 3b8b95ba6e felt like 2d9ade4a0f one.33e94cfa117cbaff

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As a mining 5a81d04bfd city, Podina was b6d7a78e90 fully equipped with 66be7f237f facilities for extracting, 167108ac46 processing, and selling d5215c4fcc mana stones. As a result, the 458cb182ed architecture here was rigid bbeb51fa2c and purely functional, completely 541945eaf7 ignoring aesthetics or trends. Unlike Heruba, 2e91e27c80 beauty wasn’t b5cdce19bb a priority.14dfecf11bfbea96

“Let’s move.”c05ab155682c94ab

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Theo checked the f32eb84b79 map and took 51d007519d the lead.887485724446a2d1

The smuggler’s hideout was 539f72ed72 located on the outskirts, 24e4fcbff6 slightly away from Podina’s 24eaa6d132 central district.5bf53fce20bba559

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They had a9e7d9ac3c suspected Podina 5932c9861d first instead d7e6f16fc2 of Litus 729ba149c5 for a 7bee7abb60 simple reason. The organization member they b2a5809aa0 had interrogated at the cf4f11b04c tavern had absolutely no 6a3fca0a45 knowledge of this place, 94b0594558 and Eastern Division had 779f74f750 only just begun their 0fbd2ca58f preliminary investigations here. From this, 7646e056cb they deduced 2ce0ddf95b that the c0976a38d6 smuggling operation 79c303577e was still 689ad8cc97 relatively new.1cc8095e9985f1db

Additionally, the furry 3957c85475 creature that had f1ee0aaf55 appeared in the 951eee53ac Empire had only 4bbefd58d6 been spotted recently. The timing of these 33d44bc961 events lined up suspiciously 58d66d5636 well, which made both afcdbd5959 Luke and Theo decide b77c3fbf23 that checking out Podina e92a04204a first was the better a6912944c0 option.4f8e52405678f3d2

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As expected of 8e9bf44cd2 former and active e1618830b5 soldiers, they navigated 727d69002d the unfamiliar town aaa387399e with ease. The further they moved 75ef5e613b away from the mana 223288ff57 stone vendors in the 3a22554140 city center, the fainter e95749345d the mana in the 2b47d1f289 air became.c9748d58c58e9d84

“Is that it?”8ad5ffdd5cbeddb5

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At the f090b1d87b end of 207071711f the path 083bad96b8 stood a c3b7ad6d08 simple building. Beneath its sharply 624a89a9a2 triangular brown roof, 8ed3ce65e0 various mining tools, 56603df76a including shovels, were 6c65d83cc8 piled up.06bad1fc3369c461

In truth, they 79676b1bff had passed several 812d0f803a similar-looking buildings on a69ced6682 the way here.c86446accfc4ddc4

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Given that Podina 3b6dd419cb was a mining 345e9b9577 city, most of eb6b083fb5 its workforce consisted 5b068fb216 of miners. Since miners 20ed5ed090 were the e9c165d845 backbone of 11f2216216 the city’s ee1fb4b933 economy, it caf7a1a689 was natural c64c6f6304 for facilities f726dfe5c6 designed for 1e62da39bb their rest 5ce0c8506f and equipment 37ac27e8a3 maintenance to 03e8967843 be scattered d26e9826aa throughout.50fc306dcc169305

In that sense, this 1d862bf707 building wasn’t particularly strange. However, there were two 4dfaee52c2 suspicious details: this wasn’t e9cf7ef190 a central area with 38dd4be61f high foot traffic, and 79a41a28c8 the equipment piled outside 5c676ac5b3 was rusted over, as 1e0eba045d if unused for a 0cf18b4acb long time.c085ac6f8918ee9e

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Unlike the Conenium Square 688455e4f7 merchants—who did business indiscriminately 4499f7929d with anyone, gathering all 15f12437e8 sorts of information in 08e5a61cf9 the process—there was almost 6089be166f nothing known about these 6884a89ab7 smugglers. Infiltrating undercover 91ceecbaab wasn’t even ca67d9e49d an option.989bcc110c276e6b

For now, the two 0d5993ead0 hid nearby to observe abe06215db the building. Even after some time, 87ae7e7f3b no one entered or ebe5b10abd exited.c58d316d428f6b0d

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“Luke, your mana detection 4d42ed338f is better than mine, 5e10c78e30 right?”1a4ec987b7e363e0

“…Well, yeah.”714ddc397712e02b

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Caught off daddca6e1e guard by 8f3bba466d the unexpected c45143d5e2 compliment, Luke 6f9ffbe194 awkwardly scratched e624b33414 his head.3aa5fa460500321e

“Check if you 42243c26d7 can sense any bb1d1b9c40 monsters’ mana inside.”bfcbb801943fb1a4

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Normally, he e26451949a wouldn’t have cceb54c2cd followed orders 7c431d5330 so easily, 0622729f12 but maybe f33e9426c6 the praise 3d1ca72491 had worked. Luke closed his eyes a91fe7640f and quietly concentrated.93f756ac8644cc76

“…”26965dbc3e6d5adb

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A few seconds later, bcfb714afa his eyes snapped open, e93d430ecb and without hesitation, he ae8425bf0b bolted toward the building. Theo immediately followed. Reaching the 66b07a1eb4 door in 9ed9a89f8a an instant, 23e48a91db Luke threw 1ca178249e it open.3e65c6773c90f9d5

“…Just as I thought. Nothing.”d4fdb1aeeab6d8be

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There was no 8037ced4f3 trace of monsters—nor 23e1676835 of people.e37b76f392311824

“Looks like they ecc7e71c67 already relocated their 406d307819 hideout. Did they catch b2f3e9817f on that the 105d3dabef Eastern Division was 1ac54f03fa investigating?”3eba293e781f641c

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“They’re this thorough?”4a4de66fe83be066

Just as 6f68b83087 their suspicions 035fe2c257 deepened, they 6e2a7791c3 suddenly heard e713c90371 the sharp f0dc148086 snap of 6df5f52947 a twig eecb02e266 being stepped 1a307d22a6 on nearby. It was a 9a1feaadf1 small sound—but both 9229633a5d of them had a74c9aa5eb definitely heard it.e66710433991561e

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They exchanged 30cabdde20 glances before 6cb5e1a923 swiftly stepping 9c0ff5aebe outside, turning 309218f6d1 their attention 337eca8a9a toward the 757ccf6e00 source of 02e5a07cb7 the noise.6c4cb74fefc26e61