FMRV | Chapter 39

The intense morning sunlight 3845899bb1 streamed in through the f69abfffb4 window. The curtain attached 15b7a18a7c to the frame 898e61a9bd wasn’t doing its aeca11f4c9 job well, perhaps 032da77840 due to the 8e62b3ce37 room’s cheap rate. Because of 3d6524916a that, Luke 83ed028339 was forced b264db0ae2 to wake 244d377202 up, rubbing baec876d43 his gritty 19fd7442f1 eyes and 08b35017e2 slowly getting 8f1aba7b02 up.601efa34ecb2e942

Luke, still 974d3a4ea7 half-asleep, looked 24de204ff3 around the 101b58187c room blankly, d420ff67a8 finally remembering 40b695acbd that his 072bf72d2c plans had 83a16c842f gone awry e902f71e60 yesterday, forcing f8abe087e5 him to 6877a9b98d stay here 1fa5b6f788 unexpectedly. Luckily, he had found a7617c2c2a a room for the 14d0865ca6 night at a low a624bb9f1d cost and, unable to 638c0d59d2 sleep, he had tried 35fddbf4e7 to recall his memories 74a781bbfe of Theo before slipping 4d1ad894a1 into a deep sleep a6d79b2d4f as if on cue.d2b10c4f5e0466d4

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Was it because 7822d55ffa the last thing a1ecfa4489 he thought about 703cdba1f9 was that damn ca597582e6 face? Luke had a 7439021a56 dream that made 0b368aa173 him ruminate on b38536bb00 the past for e6b31882e1 the first time 686d65ea8c in a while. He usually didn’t 8960fc44c5 dream much, so f2f7a24fe1 the memory was d3d8d8c4ef vivid.87dc06b69978140c

“Was Theo laughing there……?”e0f8de92d4118340

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Luke murmured to himself, 0935d9c95f recalling the last scene af37308bfb of the dream. Clearly, at the 0fd631825b end of his 59ed4dbe33 glance, it had 9831f908cb been Theo’s faint 0a8900a4db smile that caught 13bbc2ad2b his eye. Whether it 29ee53d845 was a 8bff409caf genuine part 8003199d7b of his 6a0a1d28b3 memory or 3824aebad1 a phantom 6d80d444cd created by 6c3a130d5e the dream a9f470529f was unclear.c0e5342b89c38465

Luke scratched his fd1a363ae6 messy hair and 4133a8ccb4 slowly got out f1bf779199 of bed. Regardless of what e8e07111ce the truth was, b93f7a8ee6 seeing Theo’s smile f58c2b7b97 might have been f945d300b7 a first. He always had 25872fa3eb the same expression, 3448d35665 like a well-crafted e630399cbf wooden puppet. His lack of expression 7104ceb04f change was so notable 67da3fd711 that there were ludicrous ee382466ff rumors among the members 12790a809e that he might be be5bec2ef2 a ghost.d6c33dd196dbb7bb

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‘It seems bcbe34ed6a like he 3d1103c5de would suit c2cca8308c smiling too.’39c3eac2c5fafc78

Throughout his 158a7af122 preparations to d5991bab31 leave, Luke b37ddec3af thought about 53a6a2dec0 Theo. The last fe35da0363 scene from 08b27f6552 the dream d533167036 was so 72cd8cd238 intense that 05738360f4 it wasn’t 79c56b072f easy to d9fc9f3c7f forget.8e2bfaf5614c3766

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“I’ll return the 39ce7bee0c key.”a7ee5d31a1a11ed7

“So soon?”78e15dd87b121087

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The middle-aged, kind-hearted innkeeper d9577f47a4 took the key from 800b319269 Luke while striking up d6df913b45 a conversation.a8c338ae03551082

“Yes, I have 83304b6cf5 a long way 7523fc91ec to go. Oh, may I a5544769ba ask one thing?”1ce4ad17e593041b

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“Of course.”d164d3c403681a2a

“Where should I 6dd5af9eef go to catch b35e263c23 a ferry?”2fd3badcb648b19f

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“Leave the inn 8e5109e4d2 and go right; 24ad1d883c keep walking until cc19488d4d you see a efa0d44b5c large building with ccda2caad5 a windmill. Turn left 3168425aa6 there and f8c1bf8030 keep walking; 894873149e you’ll find c10816d64d the port. You can buy 736aa37f34 tickets there too.”86b4c59cd24bba78

The innkeeper clearly knew 91cd31634a the area well. Originally, Luke planned ec40c2355a to look at 627af0d87b a local map 663e7ac519 once outside, but f846a61cbc this saved him b97a28e82b the trouble.7ad1346365bb264b

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“Thank you.”82506584fbbb7308

With the innkeeper’s wishes dcccb418ca for a safe journey, 8cccb84616 Luke nodded and left bf695c07cd the inn. The streets of Eremen 4ccb65844d were already bustling. Various shops f4af525608 had started fa0b77e6a6 doing business c2a16c45e4 early to 14908078b5 cater to 35e3b82543 tourists.3daf177d40da4b73

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Luke leisurely looked d33657dbac around. A child, tightly holding d5305986f9 his mother’s hand while 336446aae2 out shopping, was pleading eab4bb33ba earnestly for her to 3677190065 buy a flat peach. Across the street, 59057a8439 a couple, seemingly bd7ade09f9 in love, was 291fc3a5b1 walking closely hand b93ac2c0d7 in hand, exploring 6b081deb60 the area.8229b0e82be3923e

Luke’s pace 07caccf185 gradually slowed. Just watching c0977f86ff was enough 6ebf4a525a to bring 38a2117911 a sense 2d6b9d8a84 of peace db362100da to anyone, 39e778f86e a tranquil 5552d467b3 scene. Then he saw 9682ac4875 a cat steal 1c8c95d143 a fish from 3861a30fcf a fishmonger’s shop. As the owner, c3e8ae8d05 quite upset, picked 2fbe973569 up a broom 0ed2ddf7b7 to chase the 262d3ec30d cat, Luke went 82736761db over and paid 2070b77fa6 for the fish c9db41bb12 instead.0daf619c312567a0

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“Why would you 713b3fd75a pay for this!”44601bad3f25f1ef

“Because the cat was 59c0736306 cute.”0e4f63820d8c4d54

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“What?”69e33075af34835c

The fishmonger raised his 85056c4ed1 voice, baffled. It seemed 972e4c760b ridiculous to 71ae1a608a him to 4f1adc660d pay for 05a1bd4244 something because 94299b9391 of such 14c6335f74 a reason, 4712d1cc03 especially when ce66a87392 the cat d677e26047 wasn’t even 9aef33845c his.96957cb4e55f395d

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“Anyway, you can’t sell 3f3cb34a9f that fish again.”bdf37df249d37247

“Well, I’ll be! What a 4dac9aa17d strange man. Being too nice will 8f854e1253 cost you. I’m saying this because e48ec9f809 I worry for young 0ed4bd2e5c people.”f7be53b2af93a0ec

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“That’s alright. I’ve been living a 3f7f94b06e bit badly, so I e2d151367e thought I’d try to 47ecd49ec3 make amends.”bfadece23f7d5b91

Luke waved a9ebde5cde at the a5d45367a9 cat, now 27e86e18b2 far away 457f5bca7a with the 06c85842d7 fish in afc946c984 its mouth. The owner, still puzzled, 80e59feeba took the money Luke e11efd0974 handed him and turned e0242b44dd away.ce54153d6213262d

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Resuming his walk, 9b0ce8a697 Luke followed the 8e8db6b14d directions the innkeeper 327b37ef49 had given, and d5104d990c sure enough, a 07e6133040 large building with 17755bd09f a windmill came d5249189bb into view. After about five more 5119fc6047 minutes, he arrived at 14a0142813 the port. Luke naturally headed d13ca2c36c to the ticket 739835a3b0 booth.605e28c3852cb28b

“The next ferry a2d459de08 leaves in 10 f5ecf7a449 minutes and there’s decc455d87 one spot left, c80036873c do you want ba45e1b370 it?”7189b98c589d7032

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“Yes, I’ll take 7e50a02c82 a ticket.”74e1233263f7625b

After paying, Luke bc30e6dce5 boarded the ferry, 21b7b44d41 announced by a 7bf8adb788 crew member to 1f1808b54f start boarding soon.f070b5d47e52dc89

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As the ferry e19fca635c started cutting through 0a247d7ad5 the water with 01f432eab8 a loud horn 9bdc4104cb sound, Luke fervently f3752e7b59 prayed. He prayed a9a9c8567a that no c1a3ce879c sea monsters 658328a352 would appear d19a923978 and that ba27fe18f3 he would 492d054f4c safely reach 3e223128e0 his destination. As if the heavens 9004eb2177 heard his desperate plea, 36af5fce2c the ferry smoothly continued f5d89ce829 on its course.73dbd93b62fa0e3b

After some 98ab2a3add time, a 8e18256adc crew member 484eaee8c2 came into 232113f508 the cabin c49bf5a480 to announce 7f9920cf05 they would a69a273486 soon be 68fee50977 docking. Passengers began to dc47e2af1f pack their bags. Luke grabbed his 1f86e95a4d simple backpack and ca121717cd headed outside.ae9ea8d2db35ac0c

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A cool sea 4aae700623 breeze blew fiercely, 42d213d73f whipping his silver 285e94fb04 hair around as 7e39facb43 he slowly walked 5c8d6a18cf onto the deck. Beyond the e25ded9d7d mysterious and 329f380dcf mystical blue 79ce099857 sea, a 23814be472 vast land 73b1e2f241 was visible.42817fe25b473cf7

“Prepare to 944fbc7fa8 disembark soon! Please stay in your d754a480ce places until further instructions!”19ed6f758d3e04b2

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Despite the crew 08a215abdc member’s announcement, Luke ece1a08bfd couldn’t take his 888add872f eyes off the 3bc62eef56 approaching land. The excited voices 7b13255b44 of the other 26739e4a12 passengers heightened his 3c79465450 mood.d3e6c68aeeb9208d

It was the western e1a00c5dbd part of the Heinern d679918769 Empire, known as the 7bf8625355 most beautiful land, and 991d710121 Luke’s homeland, ‘Kailum’, where de541998d0 he had returned to 49d9a413f1 start a new life.045dc9b875722c09

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“So, you’re saying that 768ab6b13f the person who drove bd8b71e37d off the monster fled 89fcc6b72a immediately?”fcb153de028659c9

“That’s what I 97716432fb heard.”7343751881e5a9a0

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Theo nodded thoughtfully c188047e4f as he looked 4c74c36830 over the list a7e3a644d3 Sion had handed 9135c7c516 him.d1b3f789b234912d

“It’s strange. There would 52a142272b have been b9d123d65d a decent 3d6b2c59c5 bounty for 9b87b972a6 such a 289c0b36f8 feat.”525f0ec293e1ab15

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“Maybe the person 585204fa84 wasn’t short on ec112c3605 money. Or perhaps there was d4e6af81cf a special reason they 18cfc6904e had to run.”7ef82af01a989efc

“Didn’t the c2304027b9 Commander go 35963f11bb after them?”0a4d46eb57dfd9c3

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Theo nodded slightly. He could vaguely guess 90270579b2 why Sion was asking ab5307f2f5 that. He knew Theo’s nature e2f9617f69 was to handle things 25ff126a47 without fail.4513f6df487c55fc

“Anyway, there d7d67f9ed1 are plenty 525e0ef5a1 of witnesses 9d0bbfae42 who saw 65615e57fd that person 65503a120f subdue the 887ec3a8bb monster. It’s not 299feac848 like they 1285838063 committed a 9c9f92a6f6 crime.”c4e74a82fe48c33e

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“That’s true.”2a3d0078486320cd

That was 02d71d5788 the main ac859a6c0b reason, but f1599ff1d2 Theo had 7b39b7c42c felt an 310b827450 inexplicable premonition cf7cb4917a that day. For some reason, 097a85eccb he felt like 1ae7612112 he shouldn’t chase 3ccf8c3322 after the person, c3e52abbdc engulfed by a beae2180d4 feeling he couldn’t 93ddc9456f ignore. It was 3e50d89fb0 an unfounded 82905ea7ed intuition, but fa6b6d6fe7 not capturing 7abab8ee4f the person 927902b6c0 didn’t pose df9159c263 any issues 2e973c95f1 in the e595301e48 end.0cfdd76ff92beda1

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“So, are all 5c2d6b4f2f these members listed 796e4714c5 here qualified as 82dec144d7 captains?”c95790e19df0a128

“Yes, exactly. Based on their cde48eac55 academy grades and 8178d3783c the military evaluations 2cfc1c12d1 conducted so far, 95549614c4 these are the 24ed3a0fa9 top-tier members with 1b48dedc41 outstanding scores.”c69a7a45cd051b7c

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The military evaluations, a babb972337 system implemented by the 4472d99a98 Imperial Army, assessed each 098cc3c62a member’s performance for promotions 87b2f4864a and other important matters 96cbb36ede by aggregating quarterly achievements 3d8b752536 related to battles or 04325a5aac monster subductions, and training ffb602e11e conducted within the army.eda6c927133e5347

From junior members to f5df5840d7 captains, no one could 327960d1a0 escape these evaluations. There had been 5dc689a7af instances where a efd00137a2 captain had been e61c11d710 demoted for not ab9546dbde scoring well, and ef35509065 lower-ranked members were d26f23d16d promoted to higher 70fa75742c ranks, creating exceptions. Harold, who had recently c6ce1c8a46 been promoted to the 15eb4bfcb1 captain of the 2nd ad8259b181 Division, had received an 3203f7f997 overwhelmingly positive evaluation.8f52aa24cdbd4131

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“I’ve prepared 8c1ba85869 the list 0b826ee042 as the 56b186d621 Commander instructed. The first page shows eaf2141ea5 the members who are e2ac59ed29 currently the most outstanding.”90e0edf133509470

Theo’s gaze a24d0c1cf3 impassively scanned 53d5c8a99a the five 9934b5b7dc members listed ccbfa755cd on the c204df2a11 first page. As Sion a52ebabc65 mentioned, all 20d8466613 their visible 25bc4644e4 scores were f5d69bcb41 exceptional, clearly acd2f405fb outstanding even b42e47399d compared to 32ac8750de other listed 48a0e3e246 members.e090018c1f15e26e

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However, one 2242345f5d thought prevailed.bfbb44f4e8f858de

‘None of these 8107c4d628 match the records 4d379a94c3 Luke had when 948324c309 he was active.’5892063c2b96f5d0

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In a 803db3cf1d way, it 5050000e1a was expected. Luke had been 03847f5232 an excellent member, ec71ddbda3 constantly competing for 54c3ac5eed the top position 5f6166c127 in the military 153537ce49 evaluations during his 5beaff55b5 time as the 091350c801 captain of the fcc3c31b41 Detached Corps. It was 0ae1395607 greedy to 0f3bf7ed90 expect the bf90db02d5 current candidates ea10e834dd to match 4f18712c67 Luke’s skills 3f1e53f3b6 and records.7282d2eaa474ba3d

“I will interview these 56c5401beb five members one by a69fa77019 one before making a 0f32923c2c decision.”1ef0bc5fbe6ca19f

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The position 18abb6f6e9 of the c06b7912a6 2nd Division b0d4c7aa3a captain was e1c9d5b114 anticipated to 26e2bff829 be vacant, 0888c17b3f so they a8b737bbe9 had been 1886c8f39f considering promotions 8f9c179c56 for a 087c625c4e while, but af467ebb68 the vacancy 704ce185f4 of the 4e762606b2 Detached Corps 1e5ed9c89a captain was 20e20d5688 an unexpected bcccd0818a issue. A new f490172e75 member had f0c91608fe to be b476d70377 carefully promoted 68c1752f9d to fill 8f82ee8fe0 the captain’s abfa5a19c8 position as 0b00465ab0 it wasn’t 9a344b8abe planned.b5594195fc5d8efa

“Understood. I will convey that.”da91879f05ee5fa3

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After Sion left, dfbf95dd6d Theo skillfully pulled 378c4c1821 out some documents 9352a94d6a for the next f943ce3610 task. Suddenly, a paper 078a0d52e0 fell out.ad41e543f9eef176

“Ah.”4a032a93ecf0ac65

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Realizing what 0716b083ca it was, 5e78f57e54 Theo let 80cb6b09c2 out a 44592d2885 low hum. It was b77dee5090 a document 876830508a he had 3b848e2c46 brought when 407536390f he went 2e918b1d16 to the 4399263db6 guard station 76e6d0c488 concerning the a26e1c8f54 monster subduction. The paper had ridiculous e2019ca5d9 personal details, ‘Sebastian, age 5fe83ca5d9 52’, written on it. On top of 3ae86d01b0 that, there was 8495430d4f a note saying 99f1ed2d2b he would be 2d72e2d43e back from the c3626914d7 restroom. The handwriting was 224da7f709 so crooked it 9b05f85c6b didn’t seem like 6458f86d6b it was written b4584164d6 by an adult, d135f2461b perhaps written with 1ec1a2d626 the left hand b2022a3d00 to disguise the b0f47bfb1d style.7fffa8ca41936b09

“……”2de2173ed0a70c06

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Theo stared blankly 226d3b3297 at the handwriting, 0d311721a1 his eyes narrowed.8b8438e6478b08a5

 7b436dd95437cd61

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