Hugo, who had returned to the Council, sat on the reception room sofa and stared out the window where darkness had fallen. The sky of the imperial capital had already been dyed with the dark dawn. The internal commotion had only just quieted down late into the night.
Hugo, who had finished preparing for the press conference and was rubbing his stiff eyes, turned his head and asked the person sitting across from him:
"I'm not sure if it's right to let him go like this."
Abraham, who had been scanning the contents of the verdict with his eyes, briefly shifted his gaze. He took off his glasses and put them down, then picked up the teapot where the tea had steeped appropriately.
"You did well. There's no reason for that child to be entangled in such a muddy affair. He's been doing well so far, so he'll do even better from now on."
Abraham added as he tilted the teapot:
"If you want to meet him, it's not too late to do so after the internal affairs of the Council are settled. You've given him a large sum of money, and he's a smart kid, so he'll live wisely wherever he goes."
The internal affairs of the Council referred to the origin of the old-fashioned handcuffs, the 3rd Battalion Commander's illegal mining, Kenis Weber's instructor, and the opposition of council members who refused to accept the verdict.
All of them were major and troublesome issues. Moreover, Hugo maintained a deliberately indifferent gaze at his mentor's remarks, which specifically mentioned "if you want to meet him."
A subtle smile that seemed to know everything followed. When the gaze of the cunning old man touched his face, Hugo turned the direction of the target along with his eyes.
"Wasn't it you, Commander-in-Chief, who wanted to meet him so badly? Why didn't you even greet him until the end?"
It was a question referring to Leonardo. Abraham, who was about to pick up the steaming teacup, paused for a moment. The small teacup looked cute compared to his stature. After letting it cool for a moment, he answered calmly:
"Given the situation, there was no time for that."
His heavy voice scattered into the air as if it were something he didn't mean. Hugo stared at his mentor with sunken eyes.
He had always been a person whose thoughts were hard to read, but recently, that tendency had become even more pronounced. He was a mentor who had always shown interest in Leonardo. However, during Leonardo's stay at the Council, Abraham had never directly faced him or requested a private audience.
As Hugo was quietly staring with suspicion, Abraham, savoring the tea aroma, added a word:
"I didn't have the face to confront that child."
"...But you still didn't allow the change of presiding judge until the end. I think you tried hard enough. In the end, he was released too."
Hugo answered immediately, as if he had expected it. A smile of unknown meaning spread across Abraham's lips.
He, who seemed to be holding back his words, changed the subject:
"We plan to temporarily suspend the League schedule. It's chaotic both internally and externally, and we can't have a festive atmosphere when it hasn't been long since the funeral. You'll also need to look after your territory for a while."
Hugo knew he had changed the subject, but he didn't bother to ask about it.
"...I have been away for a long time."
"Go back by tomorrow, don't worry about the disciplinary action. With Shorendo there, take about a week off and come back."
A sudden vacation during such a busy time wasn't really a vacation. It meant to take shelter for a while until the situation calmed down.
Knowing this intention, Hugo quietly lowered his eyes. Then, turning his head towards the window, he answered:
"Yes, I'll return as soon as the press conference is over."
***
[ The Ember Cauldron ]
'Cauldron?'
The unique name of the inn, which somehow seemed like it would be hot, was enough to catch Leonardo's attention as he was looking for a place to stay for the night. After dealing with the pursuers, he had deliberately mixed with the crowd and moved to a bustling area. However, perhaps because he had stayed in the Commander's personal room for a while, he was having trouble finding a place he liked.
Thinking it would be better to enter somewhere that appealed to him before it got too late, he looked around for a moment to see if there were any other tails. Finally, he slowly opened the round door in the red brick exterior. His face was that of Tergio, a low-ranking merchant group member, which he hadn't used for a long time.
Creeak–
Just as he was wondering if the doorknob attached to the center was meant to resemble a pot lid, the employee at the counter greeted him as if they had been waiting:
"Welcome–. Are you alone? Lodging, meal?"
The interior was cozy and warm, and the tavern visible on the first floor was neither too noisy nor too quiet.
"Both. I'll eat first and then go up."
"Yes–, one night's stay including meals is 1,700 bells, and at this hour, the menu is unified. That corner table over there is quiet, good for eating alone."
Leonardo, taking out change from the wallet he was holding, looked for a suitable place to sit while listening to the employee's words.
4:00 AM. It was an extremely late or early time for locals to be out and about. However, it was an appropriate time for a secretive mage to be moving around. He could see guests tired from travel sitting sparsely, chatting or eating alone. The place the employee had pointed to was the most secluded seat behind a corner among them.
It was a bit dark, but it seemed suitable for organizing his belongings alone. Leonardo, who had paid and received the key, headed without hesitation to the corner table the employee had pointed out.
After settling into his seat, he first sniffed to check if the smell of blood had seeped into his clothes. Fortunately, he had changed out of his mage robe long ago. He couldn't soil the new clothes he had received as a gift with something dirty.
"Would you like a drink too? You look like a traveler, how about our Cloud Brew?"
The employee who had followed and placed plates and utensils asked in a friendly manner. Cloud Brew was a beer with a unique flavor made using hops and malt grown at high altitudes. It was one of the specialties that one must try when visiting Celestia, but unfortunately, his current condition didn't seem suitable for alcohol.
"Not that... do you have orange juice?"
"...Juice? Of course we do."
The employee gave him a puzzled look but quickly returned to the counter, saying he would prepare it. Leonardo first lit the short candle placed on the table.
As his vision brightened softly, the atmosphere became even cozier. He began to rummage through the wallet he had been holding.
"Nothing else to take out, I guess."
It was something he had taken from the pocket of one of the pursuers earlier. Swiping someone else's wallet wasn't the right thing to do, but considering he had almost been subjected to mob lynching, wasn't a bit of pickpocketing just a small matter?
Leonardo, who had taken out a few bills and gathered them in one corner, examined the crumpled pass and the logo on the wallet that he had briefly noticed. There were a total of three passes, two for entering and exiting Celestia, and one for Fog Town.
The wallet's logo was the symbol of a long-established leather craft shop known to have started in Fog Town.
"Buckle Smith, huh..."
It was one of the businesses invested in by the Clinder family, and Fog Town itself was also a representative city developed within the Clinder family's territory.
Leonardo, who had roughly guessed who had ordered those guys to move, stuffed the wallet into his backpack with an annoyed expression. He had momentarily forgotten about their existence as they had unexpectedly given a clean vote of approval during the trial.
"Is that bastard holding a grudge against me? He's persistently after me."
Suddenly remembering the information delivered by the white butterfly, Leonardo rested his chin on the table and fell into deep thought.
'Or... is he afraid?'
Muttering and cursing, he then took out the artifact Hugo had prepared for him. Just as he was about to open it, the employee approached and placed steaming potato soup and a sandwich with cheese dripping on the table.
"Is someone bothering you?"
Leonardo, who had received the last orange juice, paid the additional amount and gestured that the rest was a tip. It was meant to say not to be curious, but the employee smiled brightly and walked away with a face that may or may not have understood.
Soon alone again, he finally opened the artifact. There were quite a few things inside.
Sealed combat rations and spare clothes, various magic tools, and a small velvet pouch.
He first took out the unknown, very luxurious-looking pouch and looked inside.
"Ah–"
There were a few small objects inside, among which a photograph caught his eye. Two men, looking awkward and sitting close together, were smiling uncomfortably side by side.
Leonardo immediately took out the photo. He remembered this moment from the rainy night when his face felt particularly hot, perhaps due to the bright lighting.
"He gave this to me."
His eyes, soon filled with melancholy, curved like a crescent moon. It was a photo of him and Agrizendro taken together at the photo studio.
The candlelight flickered over their faces, which looked like a masterpiece painting even in a photograph. The nostalgic color it gave dyed Leonardo's face with the same complexion. Slowly lowering the corners of his mouth that had slightly risen, he carefully caressed Hugo's face in the photo.
With a muffled gaze, he scanned each feature of the neat eyes, nose, and mouth.
The profound eyes that had been caressing as if they were his own were already missed as if he hadn't seen them for a long time.
Leonardo deliberately composed his heart that was about to grow heavy. Soon, he kissed it with a smack and put it back in the pouch, as if afraid someone might take it away.
The next thing that caught his hand was a key about half the size of his palm.
'Is this the key to that villa...?'
Even the handle part was so luxurious that there was no room for doubt. He wasn't sure if the day to use this would come anytime soon... but he put it back, vowing to visit his villa at least once someday.
After that, seeing 50 million bells in crisp new bills inside a thick envelope as compensation, he was surprised anew. Because the image of the council members rising up in the courtroom was so vivid, he hadn't expected them to actually deliver such a large sum to him.
However, Leonardo thought of this not as compensation paid by the Council in the name of reparations, but as financial compensation given by Agrizendro along with restoring his freedom.
He felt continuously uncomfortable, thinking that a lot of money had been spent on him in various ways, not just one. Moreover, 50 million bells was an amount that could allow an average family in Raina Logia to live comfortably for about 10 years without doing any work.
'I should bring him something like dragon scales later.'
Just as he was carefully packing it away with other money, afraid he might be tempted, he noticed traces of fabric lining added to the inside of the pocket. Wondering what it was, he felt something stiff inside when he touched it, and there was something like a wax-sealed letter envelope.
Thinking 'Surely not a handwritten letter?', he hurriedly opened it, and to his surprise:
"...?"
The contents were not a letter but a check. A blank check, no less.
His wide-open golden eyes confirmed the scribbled amount and signature. The issuer's signature field unmistakably had Hugo Agrizendro written on it. And the amount...
'Hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million, ten million...'
As he read each zero attached at the end, Leonardo's mouth gradually opened wider. After blinking for a long time, he held the check high up and examined it properly once again.
He was suspicious enough to wonder if he had counted wrong or if an extra zero had been mistakenly added.
Furrowing his brow, he muttered in an unbelieving voice:
"This is worth how many castles...?"