Chapter 206: Internal Cleanup - 3
Chapter 206: Internal Cleanup - 3
Morning.
Jiha opened his eyes and started to rise, then realized he wasn't in his bedroom.
The pillow had felt impossibly comfortable, nearly tempting him to close his eyes and ask for more.
He reflexively shut his eyes, then snapped them open.
"I need to move..."
As he tried to get up, Jiha realized he'd fallen completely asleep using Leticia's thighs as a pillow.
He'd been lying on her lap all night.
Even if she could endure the numbness in her legs with Mana, sitting there asleep all night couldn't have been easy.
Privately surprised, Jiha got to his feet.
"Ah, yeah..."
Leticia had dozed off lightly too. Her eyes blinked open, unfocused, and she greeted him.
"You're awake?"
"...Why didn't you wake me?"
Falling asleep on Leticia's thighs hadn't been intentional. It had genuinely been an accident.
Leticia shook her head at his words.
"It's fine. I'm glad you slept so soundly."
"Yeah, I slept well thanks to you."
Jiha stood up.
"You probably barely slept. Rest today. I'll give you other work starting tomorrow."
"Mmhm. I just watch Lochek in case he does anything weird?"
Leticia spoke smoothly, without needing to be told.
"After you fought him before, a few elf families in Waris have become subtly sympathetic to me. They can't do anything aggressive, but it should be enough to get a feel for internal movements."
"..."
Jiha considered it briefly, then nodded.
He'd originally planned to assign her something else, but the fact that she'd found her own task was commendable.
More than anything, he was satisfied that even after hearing his goal—world conquest—she was shocked but still willing to follow.
"Do that."
"Okay, I'll do my best..."
Leticia wore a tired expression as she smiled softly.
It was such a gentle, innocent smile it was hard to believe this was the same prickly Leticia.
No, this was probably her true self.
Her harsh personality had been a twisted reaction to never being properly acknowledged by her own kin.
But being with Jiha, she was gradually recovering her original nature.
She was still sharp-tongued around others, but that side of her nearly vanished when they were alone.
Seeing Leticia smile so purely, Jiha tilted his head and leaned in without thinking.
"Mm..."
Leticia's eyes slipped shut and she accepted his kiss.
Tasting her lips stirred a sudden rush of lust.
He'd only just woken up, so his lower body was already half-erect, and tasting a woman made it swell further.
Smack. Slurp.
Jiha bit and licked her lips, savoring them evenly.
Meanwhile, his hand traced down the curve of her face.
Leticia looked up at him with dazed eyes.
"Sleepy?"
"Yeah... ah, no. I'm fine."
"..."
She'd lent him her thighs as a pillow for over eight hours; she had every right to be sleepy.
Smiling, Jiha immediately laid her down.
This sofa was reasonably soft, decent enough for sleeping on.
"Ah, it's fine..."
Ignoring her protest, Jiha pulled a blanket over her. He propped himself on his elbow beside her and looked down.
"I'm leaving after I watch you fall asleep, so close your eyes."
"...We could keep going."
"I can see you're sleepy and tired. No."
Peck.
Jiha gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled back.
Leticia's expression was complicated. Jiha smiled.
"Don't force yourself. There'll be time next time."
"Mm..."
Leticia's voice trailed off.
She was clearly trying not to fall asleep, not when she finally had time alone with Jiha. She was fighting off sleep, reluctant to waste this precious moment with him.
Jiha playfully poked her forehead with his fingertip.
"I really did sleep well. Want me to give you a voucher you can redeem next time we can be together?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"You say the word, and I'll come to your room anytime. Unless it's a real emergency."
"..."
"What, you don't need it?"
At Jiha's teasing, Leticia's pale cheeks flushed red.
She murmured barely above a whisper.
"...Please give it to me."
Jiha hooked his pinky with hers, then stamped their thumbs together.
"There, now it's a promise. Tell me whenever it's convenient for you."
"D-does it really only have to be in your room?"
"You want to do it outside?"
When Jiha teased her further, Leticia's cheeks grew redder. She yanked the blanket up to her mouth to hide her face.
Of course, Jiha knew exactly what she meant.
"If there's somewhere you want to go together, or something you want to eat, tell me. Or if you just want to wander around, I'll pick something."
"...Y-yeah."
Leticia wanted to do all kinds of things with Jiha.
A date request, in other words.
But someone who'd only ever treated others with hostility couldn't possibly have any dating experience—and a woman raised by elven social norms would never initiate something like that in the first place.
Leticia gazed at Jiha with eyes brimming with happiness, then blurted out:
"...Thank you."
Peck.
Instead of replying, Jiha kissed her on the lips and held her hand.
"Close your eyes and sleep. I said I'm leaving the moment you're out."
"...Okay."
Leticia's reply was small.
She was fighting off exhaustion, but sleep was clearly creeping up on her.
Even after Leticia had fallen sound asleep, Jiha stayed beside her, holding her hand for another fifteen minutes.
It was the natural thing to do.
The library.
After a quick breakfast, Jiha got to work.
Uben, seated across from him, gave his report.
"As ordered, I investigated the Species Alliance. It's an assembly of Purple-affiliated races dwelling in Waris... and it possesses considerable political influence. They rarely act openly, but even the Uniques who've stayed in Waris couldn't dismiss their words lightly."
"Political power?"
"Purple's military force in Waris rests with its Uniques. But a Unique is ultimately just an individual of outstanding talent from some race. You can reasonably assume that virtually no Unique exists who is free from their race's codes and interests."
"..."
Uben's point was accurate.
Leticia possessed the strength to beat down every elf who mistreated her, yet she held back.
Enril rarely spoke of her own circumstances, but she seemed respected among dark elves. Yet before Jiha had fully tamed her, she'd also hesitated over decisions while worrying about the dark elves' future.
'And sooner or later, Enril will ask me to protect the dark elves. I'll grant that request and pull every last dark elf to my side.'
Jiha nodded, and Uben added more detail.
"However, races like the Yogwi have a very weak sense of kinship and are rather unrestricted. You could consider Pairan Amaut to be politically unencumbered. Once she starts moving, she's also the most unpredictable."
"That woman will stay quiet for the time being."
"Understood."
Admiration surfaced on Uben's face.
Pairan was currently the most unpredictable element, and hearing that Jiha had already bound her in a single stroke was worthy of respect.
"If the Uniques are party leaders, the Species Alliance is like the national assembly."
The Uniques wielded immense individual combat power but still weighed their own race's position and circumstances.
And the Species Alliance was the political body that exploited that angle to exert influence even over Uniques.
"What about the head of the Species Alliance, Alex?"
"I investigated, but... the only information I obtained is that he's kind to his subordinates."
Uben looked apologetic.
Jiha's faction now ostensibly controlled Waris. Their intelligence network had expanded dramatically, yet failing to produce proper results left him ashamed.
Jiha shook his head.
"This isn't about your ability. It's more that the bastard Alex is meticulous. He doesn't show any openings."
Like Iroha, who had survived by holding her breath in the red-light district, Alex was someone who didn't easily reveal what was inside.
Uben added,
"I couldn't find out anything about Alex personally, but there is one notable point. He's the younger brother of the celestial Unique, Gashiel Remaker."
"A celestial..."
If Blue Seal had demons, then Purple Liberation had celestials.
And Gashiel Remaker was the Unique who had originally been in Waris alongside Leticia, the one who had also declared the armistice of the Summoning War.
She'd left for some reason and hadn't been seen since.
Recalling the Gashiel he'd glimpsed from a distance, Jiha changed the subject.
"What's Barjet up to?"
"I've bribed the staff at her lodging for information, but she hasn't done much. She's delegating all external activity to Heinrich."
"If that's the case, why hasn't she made Heinrich a Super Rare? Does Barjet have a separate Super Rare?"
"My apologies. I don't know."
Uben was straightforward.
"As you know, Commander, our roots are in Blue Seal, and my intelligence network is also heavily spread throughout Blue Seal. The Purple-side Commons have started following you, which has expanded our reach, but it's still insufficient. We haven't even determined who Purple's final Unique is yet."
"Purple could have six Uniques."
"They've increased?"
Uben looked incredulous.
"That's the first I've heard of it. For hundreds of years, Uniques have been born and replaced among the various races, but the number has always been fixed at ten."
"This time could be an exception. The Unique Grade is normally determined during adolescence, but Pairan became a Unique after reaching adulthood."
"That might be a trait of the Yogwi. They're such an unknown race that nothing about them would be surprising."
Uben added,
"Yogwi are called cursed children, and cases of them growing up properly are extremely rare. Their own mothers recoil at the sight of them, and their fathers try to kill them."
"A horrifying story."
"I don't know the details, but humans say that when a Yogwi is born, a wicked spirit devours the original child, or that an evil spirit has stolen the body."
"Is the odd-eye the reason for such revulsion?"
An unusual appearance could be cause for aversion, but this was Warsland.
All manner of races had diverse looks. Getting worked up over a mere odd-eye seemed absurd.
Uben shook his head.
"I don't know the specifics myself, but that seems to be the case among humans. It may be a local custom or superstition. Shall I look into it further?"
"No, forget it."
"Then which one will you deal with first?"
The Yogwi Pairan, staying inside the barracks, or Barjet, moving around outside.
Both needed handling. Which would take priority?
Jiha considered briefly, then reached a conclusion.
"Heinrich Lomer."
"The Rare Grade?"
Uben looked puzzled.
"While I was looking into him, I received some intel, but there was nothing unusual."
"You've been fooled."
"...Excuse me?"
Jiha shook his head.
"He's a man who's gotten above Barjet's head. If you ransack a man with skills like that and find nothing, it means he's deliberately hiding his tracks."
"..."
"Just in terms of hiding his identity, he's a cut above Kamain."
He was no ordinary man.
He hadn't wavered at all under Jiha's provocations.
"If we wreck Heinrich, we can wrap up Barjet quickly."
Jiha spoke with conviction.
Pairan would stay quiet for a while, so he intended to clear up the external matters during that window.
Just then, a heavy, thudding set of footsteps approached—a reckless dash that had no regard for the library setting. It was Garaon, the lion beastman.
"Boss! Trouble!"
"What?"
"Those escort guards got into a fight with the Unique's escort! Our guys jumped in too, so it blew up."
Jiha rose calmly from his seat.
"The escorts are Narsha's guards, and the other is Heinrich, who sticks to Barjet, correct?"
"Hine... yeah. That's the name! That's right!"
Garaon spoke urgently, and Jiha nodded.
"Good."
The man he wanted to catch had walked right in.
What sort of man he really was—he'd find out by cutting him open.
