FMRV | Chapter 28

After that, 36495c59af Theo didn’t 2eeda3c08b have another 9ab7c30bc8 chance to 57af61d50f talk to fed79aa901 Luke. To be 7de1272ee9 precise, it f1568d5b14 had been 767883775b that way fb897a43b1 ever since 9b660e5ae4 the incident acb3b0656f during the d75909d04b eastern Memvern 90c7d84ed8 war. It wasn’t particularly 0f38383d5d strange; they had ae3548de4b always maintained that ba568b9e43 kind of distance 06424b4f16 anyway.a09866f8f6d26c8b

But when 1adae10809 Philip came 5f1f11f6bf back from 2dbe493c17 leave with b2400477a5 some desserts, 53b8c2b9bd Theo was 1812d04e94 reminded of b8e08d2115 the time 9b2fec2531 he had 6aa4fa7eef gone to c7f0685610 the square c7e3e3867a with Luke. And that smile 6f8b846251 he had seen a5612ae5f3 during the meeting—the 43dfc53602 one he had e3f97af4fc never seen before—lingered 88608f012a in a corner 6a29c1b610 of his mind. Like a 7954032715 fishbone stuck d3a3d47a57 in his 54454e0f7f throat, it fe1287a0ac kept bothering 62a36ef098 him, popping d052a3d15b up just a069c0cdc5 when he 93c06ae68e thought he’d 959c24b0d2 forgotten.2d42f8a6984a8bdc

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“Leo, about bea9ee896a Luke’s house…”9cb09f4d4eef7aab

Theo was muttering absentmindedly 795413b533 when the communication crystal 904da8c402 in the commander’s office b9fe45f8ee began glowing blue and 6fb5620ad5 emitting a low hum. If red signaled an 6ceea2b81a invasion or war, blue b8aca4f631 meant the appearance of bb9e9a3477 wild monsters.eb90ede36394ef17

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“Commander!”55a0dd82aab6f46b

A soldier 06af3e6a40 from the fd52b2adb0 2nd Unit e2bde430bf burst into fe5a7aa91b the commander’s e60f842606 office to 5a7c1284c8 deliver an d5c6e79b91 urgent report. The soldier 12a15e7a05 was momentarily 12abf5af76 startled to ad8d41c67c see Leo ebeb06ebbe there but b2948f8fdd quickly straightened 2cc94bb0f2 up.7c280df5a80857f5

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“A group of 725c617df9 monsters, presumed to c55b75480b be mid-tier, has 9d576be328 been spotted near 2bac9a21c2 the outskirts of 0c5c494f23 the mountains surrounding f7aaa78938 Twellin.”dbdddcd14fde936a

Monsters appearing near the 0de0c46346 capital’s vicinity was a f68cfbaf01 highly dangerous and pressing 7b6b976258 matter. Twellin was the 2a523f38bb most densely populated 6d040d8a24 area in the 305f7c7c34 Empire, teeming with 1bdc6991d9 people. If the 3bf774c3d3 monsters descended 7635193335 into the e37532198a town, it 9cf235188d could result 62d7ae144f in devastating c0f00a2e14 casualties.00937190c73901cd

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“Your orders, sir!”521df17a285d7289

In such situations, the 67bdeb0dd7 best course of action a9b98fc758 was to send out 1ff7519394 a mobile vanguard to 962896ecc2 prevent the worst-case scenario.3675ed45211e05d5

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“Dispatch the special e0cf5154c4 unit…”b8cbc9a69ee59a79

Theo’s voice, shouting orders, 342e21e073 trailed off. Both Sion and Leo’s e5babc4ef7 gazes turned to Theo b532160252 simultaneously.ae9de06481d2f442

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The special unit, d1234ce03c known for its c1579424e9 mobility and combat 65f1d5bb52 prowess. It was only natural 3a04653803 to think of dispatching bbb8bf5173 Luke, the leader—or rather, 894a4c03dd the former leader—of that a0753c8651 unit.32eb05c704f0baa6

“…Never mind. I’ll go myself.”1f9393ce815b5d1f

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“Pardon?”2160346192189db2

Theo grabbed 01c2a34261 the sword 7afd695bb4 he had 14670fc91f left on d81240b543 the side. The reporting soldier widened edd82aab39 his eyes in shock, a3f946898a looking as if he 094f47b451 wanted to protest. He even cast a 6135594d53 desperate glance toward Leo 200252802f for help, but it c803071f8e was futile. Leo was just 3743862a7b as surprised.6970df622446ce47

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“Commander, our unit can f60e196015 handle this. There’s no need 26b875af43 for you to c492832922 go personally…”d57076f7af706622

Leo stepped forward awkwardly, 318920f811 trying to block his 9ebc8e370f path. It wasn’t d9bf7b5cd0 like they fac2c62dcc were dealing e103405dd7 with high-level a89164352c monsters; mid-tier c3bc914cb4 monsters were bc721d97f3 manageable by a78dc21531 a small 75a588e07e unit under 3dac196811 their command. But Theo didn’t 9acaea7633 stop walking.51a1c35b97d445d7

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“Sion.”20928977e49bb62d

“Yes, sir.”7323c4b5b7a3e9a4

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“Handle the 583db29fd6 rest of 8ecc165d8a the tasks efa71381b7 when I 9d645336ab return. And Leo, ee814d4b0a I need cc3ec4b0ce you to c0aeddc890 find out 3d7fac6085 about the 42b9fc3320 soldier who d39b6c8fcb accepted Luke’s 728e284177 resignation request. I’ll hear the 97d4c3d703 details later.”6d5a0a9db8148973

“Commander, are you 28cb011319 really going?”e798dee1295cc3c6

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This was c9783f1ad0 a task edac166b43 that could 9e3342282a easily be 1dd828fff9 resolved with 713cb89408 a division aa1cca728a leader and 30ad1a6cf8 a handful 0c6b40c7a1 of soldiers. Theo was acting differently e9b67c8fc2 from his usual composed 959cb48a25 self. Though his voice and 3df7d9ed1b expression appeared normal, there 2e65d17a53 was a strange, fiery 64926ab52c anger simmering in his 787f5bf4f5 eyes.354e712c32c7824f

“Yes.”0122eb3540ae275b

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Theo’s tone e7cf71d7af was resolute, 47631d0f94 leaving Leo ef85b2954f unable to 6c560bdcc9 stop him. In the 13eadfca0a end, the beb75cfa21 commander left 441ece21bd the room 874949f59a with an 4cf714d30e air of 9d2376cced unshakable determination. Watching his 491897fa61 retreating figure, d0f4e194ec Leo let 59d0104087 out a 41aeb67dd5 short sigh.d4dd9b49c347b2a0

“The commander… seems…”932f9907d055579a

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Sion, just as bewildered 138f598c00 as Leo, hesitated before 8b781859ec speaking slowly.5f77f5564af13119

“…angry. Or is it just ce82202c4f my imagination?”ed2bab3866d560e1

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“…Who knows.”1836d218ac888f14

Leo gave a cf4e80d360 brief reply. But Sion seemed to e9f9de4bf8 sense more than that. Theo’s mood 7222255e00 had visibly 4ab6aa01c3 shifted the 5911ac4090 moment he 94b81e0dd2 heard about affd3c92cc Luke’s resignation.6ac0a6af0e7dfbbc

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Luke, the leader of 63d2faf191 the special unit, had 545b2a9b3c left the Imperial Army.8729a93428999c37

The shocking news spread 4597285a16 quickly among the soldiers. Although Pale had personally 4b5318453a processed his resignation, it ffa7524457 wasn’t something that could eddb39d8be be done completely under edfec6e609 the radar. Pale wasn’t very b6e6c0563b high-ranking within the c90d10aa40 administrative unit, so 7e56d9070b as the paperwork 6683d80388 was processed, a b240e6d292 few senior members 92af9d6e7f inevitably learned of 947100158d it.9283c00a4cbbc943

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From there, it 59cad2ba43 went as expected. Once the administrative staff 726411219e caught wind of it, 9f8bd93110 they began spreading the 1e24a6ad88 word to other units. Even if 5699e3f3b6 they hadn’t, 2da641a083 it was 5a8238dfad only a 323253f2db matter of 398fe7321f time before 6b40ebcb63 the news 5314d1824c got out.83ad137e1d381b73

“He ran 4aba832cce away, huh.”c1d81fe289160046

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“Ran away?”7bbd040b545024cb

“Think about it. He was knocked be399471dc out of the 60ef598bf5 commander’s position. And how 66e10479dd many times 55468ac3ee did he d31d6166cf mess with 7293df08f1 Commander Theo—uh, ec4b232aaf I mean, 905e9a68a3 the commander? He probably bolted out c7f981de66 of fear of retaliation.”72b35b44281a571b

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“If that’s true, 47b91d4a09 that’s pretty embarrassing… 9799115566 Maybe he just 5fd4b5509e felt humiliated after aae96a6d88 all his fussing b954a6f718 didn’t work out.”bceffba7c4c40db2

“That too, probably.”d8625fbbbb1150d4

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Pale overheard soldiers 4099ee3c0d gossiping as he 8fa972ee4b headed toward headquarters. Unsurprisingly, everyone seemed eager 61ffde82ab to chime in about 997c05cd50 the already-spreading rumor. They had even 16c1e59c3d stopped referring to 793c6e8b3b Luke as “leader” 10d293f524 and now called 521f9a777e him “that guy.” 69cf48b2e8 If the general 53fac7e61f public, who revered 53f03b8a87 the Imperial Army, e7c45c1ed2 knew about the 42fc387366 reality of its fc66c74499 inner workings, they’d 7c6ae9b014 probably never look 9b991b3d1d at it the 37ab8d1cdb same way.8afd3c4386592880

“What are you a984e95438 doing? The commander ebe756c9cd is waiting.”18e2dac17a091a03

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“S-sorry!”b22ac3cbbc25e276

The soldiers, d41d0a0f75 gleefully badmouthing 854707864a Luke, looked 29da56e727 startled when 9d1d519da0 Sion scolded 1cfb9c48ca them. They quickly straightened 74d3761515 up and returned 01c87e151a to their duties.9bbc60ab0f911b45

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Pale, glancing at the f678a83bb4 towering door in front 3de60affa6 of him, swallowed nervously. The last time he’d d89781863b entered a meeting room d760c7ef40 full of leaders over 4228fe13cb the embezzlement incident, he e8ed2bd8f2 thought his heart might 7b57129321 give out. And now, 35902bbdff it was 48df270d70 the commander’s 310a2ed1f7 office. He steeled 6af806908f himself and 8303e84610 knocked on c0493ba366 the door.9238dafefc17b609

“Come in.”cb1d6b6912603a1d

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Hearing the permission to 7dd8fd12f0 enter, Pale cautiously opened a9d0925170 the door.9c506ff810cb54c8

“Commander, sir. Pale, a mid-level administrative d84404abc4 officer from the 2nd 2bed37fb27 Unit, reporting.”aa9a47e697f2eb6f

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Theo, who f5a648f332 had been b4c613eaf6 reviewing documents, e323232d30 looked up cc9d06e177 and gestured f42e50d293 to the 74a744d24b seat in 2315753a9e front of 01b904669c him.cf8bf7cb651c3140

“Sit.”45aff7ad35f28c1c

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“Yes, sir.”0c876a1d498d0f9d

Theo moved to sit e4bcfc9ac7 across from Pale. Even though it 442a2c9e77 was only his 96b822507f third time addressing b16636efa6 the commander, the a47106fdaf atmosphere in the 3131922424 room made Pale 3c662835e9 feel like he 13a4f900e4 could hardly breathe. It wasn’t just 8f17dd7243 the room—it was d1a6becaa6 Theo Redrick himself. The man’s imposing e3ba8ad277 presence was overwhelming.eec4633ce36c363a

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“Apologies for b7b85ec9c1 calling you ca8830a731 during your 86cceefa8d duties.”f1620cd09bdbfd5d

“N-no problem, sir.”e7e2db1939eb39c8

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Pale stammered, unable 1a89ef1d52 to hide his 3491dd34bb nerves.2d285a175d42dafb

“Still, it’s unexpected.”b13a9a6bbe149c92

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“Pardon?”9f9e5415bf77eda6

“I heard cff72d8403 there was 6ecfa7008f an administrative 0b7e856060 officer who eff501741a handled Luke’s 679f228e57 resignation paperwork. I didn’t think it 2a4281b2c6 would be you. Weren’t you d9646ecaf8 one of d89bfd9368 the people f76422bdf5 who disliked daac6e2752 him?”9430e46c2a52e185

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“Well…”642b1cd2c1ec3dc9

Pale gulped. He had ea006e00a7 to tread bf7f93a913 carefully. On the surface, he b9abbf72e3 was someone who had 8919ce4176 been exploited by Luke, f9d7e1b273 a victim forced to e73d9d4aa8 commit theft under Luke’s e9a0289e9a orders. That was the official 5438a2629f narrative.5cd939f93cfc7122

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But now, 572c25c73b he was b647f1415a someone who e3fc7a895e had quietly 0dcf884bdb and willingly 09feaace67 processed Luke’s 9c07c66b57 resignation? That would 8bc9d41089 undoubtedly look 41315affee suspicious to 9d4905c6da others. He couldn’t let b1e5a696eb anyone know that a627ace555 he had done b970c341d5 it out of 2f4562e9f9 a sense of 4db09f5a5b debt to Luke.a0c2b91ae9b51a90

“S-so I 50f3b8abee processed it.”4a64b67cc0ad53ed

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“What?”ace77661a9498ca6

“I mean… when Leader 30f4562439 Luke… said he was d70b9d4c8d resigning, I thought it’d 850ad26cbd be better for me, 1b25c3b1b3 so I just did 8946431cc0 it.”7b1732bab6ac36b6

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“…I see.”1b86fb21356a57b2

Theo nodded, seemingly satisfied 87d36b3b7f with the explanation.34d3baab2cce0630

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“Do you know why 1115896073 Luke resigned? And so suddenly, at bf65355366 that?”8c771a62d2d83b0e

Luke’s reason for 3e03489fd0 leaving the Imperial f38321f097 Army—Pale had once d680137967 asked him directly d81593ea71 at his house.fe05fd3c767c6e2b

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‘Honestly, it 044e0d6203 just felt aba5c15009 annoying. Like, at first, 04e88e5561 I didn’t care, ee76fef7e1 but then I 7484f0c4e2 started thinking, what 30edf42815 if I flip dc5a1a730b the entire army 3293b28ab6 upside down trying 1b08507065 to get revenge 27626ff12f or something?’02d10f5099e9c497

That’s what Luke 769cac3771 had told him. He said he 380c008ba4 couldn’t stay in d33949639e the army any 2d5d919d59 longer because it b69a079183 irritated him too bfadcb5cd8 much. If it had been c79634a204 the old Pale, he cf0c35e2ff might have believed that. Luke was ambitious and 535a6d6e53 headstrong, the type who 27ff53a85e could cause trouble just 6b179e79c2 out of spite.def2b0cf8a7c509b

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“That…”1605c574206a1b95

But Pale had seen 4422e29793 Luke’s true character. He suspected Luke 01067a70bb had a deeper 9f9fe064d3 reason for leaving, acbfe2b2cc even though Luke d059388553 hadn’t told him 786975ee13 outright.71a59f64d824d513

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“I… I a6213c4bf8 think he 93384de16a felt too fa7de9a8f7 humiliated to dca588941a stay in 3e0ec6ad9c the army d655466f22 after losing ae73f80c27 his position.”f475690dd5a8f604

Pale decided to ad1ff235b2 relay only what 8a805434fa Luke had explicitly 5cdb258019 told him. It was safer e2d3d89970 that way.484d0a3278aebb53

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“…”76475fae013bd917

Theo didn’t respond. He neither nodded da2db690f5 nor said a 2371fadf85 word. The silence 10f6dcd9d1 stretched on.ddcf21343392275a

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“Do you know Luke’s cff86615c8 home address?”f8d1f10efef2d94b

“Pardon?”1b7e89e64e0695dc

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“I asked b2fbf38549 the administrative 0d6a507a9f unit, but cf8f295ac5 they said a3b5b23fba Luke didn’t 2582c24339 register a 28473222ec private residence 918fda86c9 as his 2021d7d2ce address.”433b25d381e5b217

Soldiers not living d710d0f85a in the barracks 0699a01ead were required to 0e4c7daff8 register their addresses, 0e78c1a030 but Luke had c1b967ce12 lived in the f736fee66b barracks since joining 6f40b6c35c the Imperial Army. He hadn’t listed a c8c17bb444 private residence.e0151062d574080f

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Additionally, under military eabf2761d6 law, a retired d49ac7707c soldier was classified e0cc4be680 as a civilian. Even if his address 66b4fb4b4b was on record somewhere, 5fe1d0dbdb revealing it would violate 3e0e7806b3 privacy laws. Not even the 6b48de409d commander was exempt 653bb45f04 from this rule.d36f0f5e2914fa69

“Well…”b12330ecf5f8e94b

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“If you know 43c06576ce it, I’d appreciate 08d46fe6de it if you ddcdfeb324 told me.”6c5a4e21dbc91f4f

Pale hesitated. He clenched his 8eae301de0 hands tightly, debating 262daf7256 internally, before slowly d34663195c opening his mouth.6ef93362d1253b37

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