Bermuda [bl]

The existence of a mole.

It was an issue he always kept in mind. Although he didn't really want to think about it, the minerals of the Elder Millie Peninsula would be profitable, so there was a sufficient possibility that someone inside the Council was cooperating to prevent them from being detected, and someone with a high enough position to cover up this scale at that.

As if anticipating that he and the 1st Battalion would come here, the managers' escape and his arrival had missed each other by a truly narrow margin. If he assumed the reason it could happen was because a mole had leaked information in advance, it had more persuasive power than the absurd assumption of a mere coincidence.

Although he couldn't be certain of the mole's existence yet, if he considered even the slightest possibility, it was a hypothesis that couldn't be ruled out. However, the probability that the low-ranking workers remaining here knew their identity was extremely low.

From the fact that only some of the higher-ups had disappeared, not all of them, and that the other workers were completely unaware of their disappearance, it felt like either the low-ranking workers were originally planned to be abandoned, or they had gathered the minimum number of people who shouldn't be caught and left in a great hurry.

Seeing Hugo lost in thought with a sharp gaze, the 8th Platoon Leader hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

"Ah, and... one of the Delta Team members investigating the traces of the two people returned for an interim report."

At the mention of 'two people', Hugo's gaze instantly shifted to her.

"Is there any news?"

Hugo, who had lowered his hand that had been stroking his chin, asked as if he had been waiting. At his reaction, the 8th Platoon Leader hesitated on how to convey the words.

"No, rather than news..."

As it wasn't quite welcome content, the 8th Platoon Leader trailed off and continued.

"From the last place where traces were found, only Kenis's footprints continued in the southwest direction for a certain distance, and now even those have completely disappeared, making further tracking difficult."

"..."

"So, for now, we've withdrawn some and sent about two more platoon members specialized in mana detection."

Having finished speaking, she carefully examined her superior's face. Hugo didn't answer for a while. Although there was no change in his expression, his face was filled with disappointment and concern.

He soon slightly lowered his gaze and let out a small sigh.

"I see, is that so."

Deep shadows settled in the corners of his eyes, followed by a heavy silence.

The 8th Platoon Leader quietly stared downward for a moment, following his gaze. Then, she carefully raised her head again.

Looking at his face, she voiced the thought that inevitably came to mind in a calm voice.

"Should we... consider it desertion?"

Upon hearing that, Hugo's eyebrows moved slightly. However, it was a truly subtle movement, and there was no change in his gaze fixed on one spot and his head.

His eyelids, which had seemed to be in agony for a moment, blinked a few times shortly after. Eventually, his blue eyes turned towards her, and he slowly shook his head and spoke firmly.

"No, that wouldn't be the case."

Even that was more of a guess than certainty. Seeing the 8th Platoon Leader silently staring at his eyes, Hugo repeated it out loud once more.

"It wouldn't be."

It sounded more like he was talking to himself rather than to her.

The surroundings became momentarily chaotic. The sound of the workers trapped in the prison arguing with each other, saying you attacked me from behind or whatnot, was heard, but it quickly quieted down due to the restraint of the member guarding the front.

The platoon leader, who had glanced in that direction, turned her head back to Hugo. Then, she lightly nodded once and spoke just as calmly.

"Yes, it wouldn't be."

Having finished reporting, the platoon leader bowed her head to Hugo and immediately left the spot to proceed with understanding the remaining structure of the hideout and conducting additional investigations.

Hugo, who had been lost in thought for a long time even after she left, unknowingly shifted his gaze to his left palm.

He repeated clenching and unclenching the hand he had set his eyes on, and eventually tightly grasped it into a fist.

Through the footprints, it was confirmed that the two were not in an unconscious state. From the length of the section where the footprints were imprinted and the stride, there was no indication of difficulty in movement or being chased by something.

Among the traces left inside the cave, a pile of ashes from a campfire mixed with dirt was also discovered. They had the time and psychological leeway to light a fire and take a rest. Moreover, it was a trace that was not even a day old.

But why. Why weren't they coming back?

When a member of the Council was separated from their comrades while carrying out a mission in the wilderness, Kenis couldn't possibly not know that the most basic action to take was to immediately climb to a high altitude and send a signal, whether by shouting or using magic, to reunite.

Rather, such basic regulations were the time when new members would recite them fluently soon after receiving training. Even if his judgment was clouded for a moment when faced with a situation for the first time, the fact that he wasn't acting according to the regulations even after this much time had passed meant there was some other reason.

Moreover, Leonardo was someone whose experience and knowledge in real combat and unexpected situations were outstanding compared to anyone else here.

So he would know well how to act in this situation, and if he had fired even a single small fireball towards the sky to reveal his location, there was no way Hugo wouldn't have noticed.

Hugo could be certain. A certain instinct to sense each other was developed between Leonardo and himself.

It wasn't just because they were fire and ice, but also because the intense mana and energy that had threatened each other during the previous chase and confrontation were engraved like an imprint on the senses of their entire bodies, unforgettable.

Just as Leonardo had sensed him underwater, and he had sensed him in the middle of the ravine.

However, the current situation where his energy couldn't be felt to this extent was gradually increasing the possibility that he was moving stealthily to escape from him.

Moreover, he was clever and quick-witted, so he might have quickly realized that these tunnels had some function, and if he knew that and kept moving inside, it would be nearly impossible to find him if he was deliberately hiding.

The more Hugo developed his thoughts, the more strength he put into his hand. He thought that he might have to inform all the forces on the peninsula of the current situation to catch Leonardo.

However, after a while, Hugo, who had been tilling his mind with all kinds of negative speculations, loosened the strength from his tightly clenched fist again.

It was because he suddenly remembered the promise he had made with him.

Not to hastily conclude, not to judge.

"..."

Hugo slowly blinked his downcast eyes and erased the speculations he had concretized.

After that, it occurred to him that Leonardo had always been a much more mature person than the concerns he had. All the worries were concluded with the thought that it wouldn't be too late to do them after meeting him first.

Hugo let out a long sigh as he organized his complicated mind. Then, he soon tried to let go of his heart.

What on earth he was thinking, where he was heading, who he had met, whether he was injured or not, his worries were as daunting as a mountain, but...

For now, all he could do was trust him, search for him, and wait for him to return to him unharmed.

"Council Commander!"

At that moment, someone's voice calling out was heard from far inside the cave. As Hugo turned his head in the direction of the sound, the 1st Battalion member who had gone out to find the liaison officer upon receiving orders was hurriedly returning. But unlike when he left, he wasn't alone.

Behind him, a member wearing an armband of the border zone liaison officer was coming along. Quietly observing their quite urgent demeanor, the liaison officer, who had approached right in front of Hugo, stood with his feet on the ground, saluted, and spoke.

"Loyalty, I am Aubrey Mason, a liaison officer belonging to the temporary headquarters of the peninsula subjugation operation. Bruno Amos, the Deputy Commander of the Council's Southern Branch, has used the authority delegated to him by the Council Commander to summon all commanders on the peninsula to coordinates 13, 206, 59 in the southern region of the Elder Millie Peninsula."

At the liaison officer's words, Hugo narrowed his brow and asked back.

"He summoned all the commanders?"

"Yes. And he is personally heading to those coordinates."