MCLE | Chapter 12

His voice was gentle but had a sharp edge to it. Zero Nine momentarily adopted a perfect poker face upon hearing those words. Observing that expression, Hexion lightly stroked his cheek and continued.

“Are you hurt?”

“There’s nothing for me to be hurt about.”

“That’s true.”

“No. I don’t get hurt because I don’t expect anything from you. There’s a problem with your approach.”

“I’m a bit of an oddball by nature.”

“I guess so. I’ll just quietly stay put like you advised.”

Zero Nine boarded the elevator. Then, with a ding, the other elevator arrived. The management team had finally arrived. Dressed in white uniforms, they frowned upon seeing the collapsed Jasper and the chaotic hallway.

“What on earth happened here?”

“Wait.”

Hexion briefly held up his palm. The strange pressure made the management team shut their mouths. He only lowered his gaze after seeing the floor number on Zero Nine’s elevator panel rise to the 62nd floor. He then put his hand in his coat pocket and smirked.

“Ah, there was a bit of trouble. It’ll be resolved soon.”

“Resolved? This is troubling as soon as you arrive.”

“What’s the trouble?”

“…You should know what’s going on.”

“Let’s deal with this first.”

Hexion nodded toward the unconscious Jasper. The head of the management team, Liam Miller, sighed and gestured to his team members. They hurriedly picked up Jasper. Hexion approached the team leader, patting his shoulder and looking at his name tag, Liam Miller. He then chuckled lightly.

“Ah, our team leader Miller.”

“…Yes, Colonel.”

“Do I need to get involved here?”

Team leader Liam Miller was momentarily speechless. Miller knew Hexion well, having been in the battlefield before joining the management team in the living bureau. Yes, he was also from the military. And though Hexion might not know.

“It’s been a while.”

“Oh, you seem to recognize me.”

Hexion and Liam had been in the same unit.

Liam Miller didn’t know everything about Hexion Theobald, but he was familiar with most of it—how sharp his temper could be, how his skewed smile could tense someone up, and how relentless he became once he set his mind on something.

“That makes things quicker then.”

“I’ll transfer the esper to the ward next to the living bureau. However, there’s no way not to report this to the director.”

“That’s fine. I’ll handle that guy.”

“…Understood.”

The team members carried Jasper down in the elevator first. Liam Miller looked up at Hexion. He was much taller, those natural grey eyes looking down. Yes, those eyes were vividly remembered. Hexion slightly tilted his head with a grin and asked.

“Got anything else to say?”

“…There is something I’d like to ask of you.”

“Go ahead.”

“We’re short on guides.”

“I’m aware.”

“You’ve been assigned to esper Zero Nine from the start.”

Hexion raised an eyebrow.

“Can’t you spare some time to guide the other espers as well?”

“Why should I?”

“Well…”

His voice was calm, yet there was a thorniness to it. Hexion let out a hollow laugh, sensing what Liam wanted to say, and gently ran his hand from Liam’s shoulder down to his forearm.

“I’ll ask again. Why should I?”

“Just think about it once.”

“Liam Miller.”

Hexion called his name, causing Liam to feel a shiver run down his neck. His voice was deep and low, sounding like a mix of a breath and a scratch. Liam couldn’t accurately describe his voice in any language he knew, but one thing was clear: Liam Miller had crossed a line with Hexion Theobald.

“Don’t cross the line.”

“…Understood.”

Hexion straightened up and turned back with a businessman-like expression, as if nothing had happened. He tilted his head slightly and pressed another elevator button. Slowly, the floor number changed as the elevator rose.

“So, about reporting to the director?”

“It would have reached him by now.”

“Good, that’s fast.”

Hexion spoke without taking his eyes off the elevator panel.

“I’m going to call everyone below me to the first floor.”

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t interfere. It’s a matter of rank that doesn’t concern the management team.”

“If the director finds out…”

“I’ll handle it. Don’t add more.”

‘Do I look that incapable?’ Hexion sneered inwardly. He then stepped into the elevator that had arrived, pressing the button for the top floor. As he faced forward, he noticed Liam Miller watching him from the opposite side.

Ah, someone who knows his past well.

Hexion clicked his tongue. This was becoming troublesome.

As the elevator doors closed, Hexion disappeared into his thoughts. His record was quite illustrious, so anyone interested would have a rough idea of it. But having someone who had seen it firsthand was something different.

‘Annoying.’

Hexion fiddled with the nails of the hand tucked in his coat a few times. Meanwhile, the elevator reached the director’s office. As the doors opened, the director’s secretary came out to greet him.

“What’s the matter…”

Ignoring the secretary who was about to ask if something was wrong, Hexion casually passed by and barged into the director’s office. A shout of disapproval came from behind, but he didn’t care. Hexion walked confidently to the sofa he had sat on earlier and crossed his legs. The director, seated at his desk, glared at him with intense eyes.

“You must have received the report.”

“…What is this?”

“What’s between us.”

Hexion joked casually. The director remained seated, glaring at him. Hexion, unfazed by the sharp gaze, spoke bluntly.

“Let’s just overlook this.”

“It’s a rule that using powers within the Living Bureau without permission leads to appropriate punishment.”

“So, I came up here so we could consider that rule as nonexistent this time.”

“There are no exceptions. So…”

“I heard the national budget allocated to the Living Bureau this year is quite tight.”

At that moment, the director’s mouth snapped shut.

“And you wasted $5 billion on futile things.”

The director’s face hardened instantly.

“How much have you looked into?”

“There’s nothing I can’t find out if I want to, Director.”

Hexion rose from the sofa and sauntered over to his desk. His neatly slicked-back grey pomade hair, the luxury watch on his wrist, and his mouse-colored suit and well-fitting coat made him look more like a corporate CEO or a mafioso here to make a threat.

“Compensation for the damage caused by esper rampages and delayed handling of mutants. You’ve even shot down one of the jets. It seems you didn’t want to report it to the higher-ups, but it wasn’t a very good decision.”

“…Don’t you ever think about overstepping?”

The director growled, showing his teeth. Hexion thought he looked like a toothless old tiger. Still with an easy smile, Hexion casually placed a hand on the desk.

“All this fuss over a mere $5 billion.”

“What?”

“I’ll cover it, so how about you leave us alone for a while?”

٠ ࣪⭑𓂃

The director’s eyes widened. Hexion laughed. What, surprised by that? If you stick around with me, you’ll see things that are far more shocking than this. Hexion removed his hand from the desk and casually sat atop it. The director lost his words, perhaps overwhelmed by the absurdity of the amount.

“The system is a complete mess.”

Hexion formed a gap with his fingers.

“I’d like to put my hands on it a bit.”

The director hesitated to speak. $5 billion. An amount too vast for one person to handle, and yet here he was, offering to fill it so casually. The director was painfully reminded of the wealth held by those bearing the Theobald name. Not exactly pleasant, but still.

“How do you plan to ‘put your hands on it’?”

“Just military-like. It’s surprising you let this slide.”

“The guides might not know, but the espers won’t sit still.”

“That’s fine. I’ll handle it, just leave it to me.”

The director pondered. Or pretended to ponder. His mind was racing. Such an opportunity would not come again, but there was nothing to negotiate here. It was merely a choice between acceptance or rejection. And here, he practically had no choice.

The director ultimately chose silence. That meant he agreed to Hexion’s terms.

Hexion, with his characteristic smirk, laughed crookedly.