Chapter 223 Melting Night -6
Chapter 223 Melting Night -6
The barracks infirmary was off-limits while Sirel treated Mayan.
Lijin, who had been waiting, spoke up.
"Fortunately, it doesn't appear to be life-threatening. Sirel is giving it everything she has."
"......."
Enril gave a long sigh, her body trembling faintly.
Jiha lightly clenched and unclenched the hand he'd been holding.
"That's a relief......."
Enril's voice was a mixture of anxiety and relief.
Even if they said her life wasn't in danger, she wouldn't truly feel relieved until she saw Mayan with her own eyes.
Seeing the complicated look on Enril's face, Jiha wordlessly guided her to a bench in the hallway.
Once seated, Enril looked at him and spoke calmly.
"Thank you. I'm alright now."
"......."
Enril gently removed his hand from her shoulder and said warmly.
"We have to move immediately now, don't we?"
"Commander."
As if he had been waiting, Uben approached and called out quietly.
Now that they'd shaken hands with Alex, everything that needed doing had to be done as fast as possible.
Enril looked at Jiha and said.
"Thank you for caring about something like this, too."
"Yeah."
Jiha gave orders to Lijin, who was watching from the side.
"Stay with Enril and find me immediately if anything changes. Report anything Sirel says right away, too."
"Understood, Jiha."
As Lijin bowed her head, Jiha left the infirmary.
It was time to work.
Falling into step behind him, Uben spoke rapidly.
"As you instructed, we've released the escort guards to spread the rumor. We plan to subtly pressure the Species Alliance, claiming that a bastard named Dagal was in secret communication with Shade."
Jiha stopped by a hallway window and listened silently while Uben continued his report.
"Here is the report from the elf side. Guason Lochek says they were unable to ascertain the specifics of the conversation between Quority Rosen and Alex. However, they caught bits of Quority Rosen acting oddly elated and saying that she would soon be different."
"Leave Quority alone for a while."
Alex was trying to use Quority as a disposable pawn.
By watching that play out, they would glean more about Ouroboros's operational mechanisms and gain more information.
"Keep what I'm about to say to yourself for now. The enemy's name is Ouroboros. Go to Iroha and see if she knows anything about it."
"A letter won't do, so I'll have to go myself."
Uben grasped the situation intuitively.
The name of the enemy organization was currently top secret, something to be investigated clandestinely.
"Also, look into Gashiel. Even if we can't find out about Alex, Gashiel is a Unique and must have had plenty of external activity. Find out as much as you can about what she's done until now, and where she is and what she's doing."
"In that case... inevitably, the fact that we are looking into Gashiel Remaker will leak out. Is that acceptable?"
The act of gathering information could be reverse-traced simply by knowing who was asking about what.
"Use Dagal as a front. Dagal, who was in collusion with Shade trying to sabotage the party, is Alex's confidant. Alex himself claims ignorance, but he might be connected to the celestials. We can spin it somehow as part of that investigation."
"Yes, understood."
Jiha gave these orders already anticipating that Alex would deny involvement.
"Station a few men around Taigirl. However, don't let even those men know who Taigirl is. No direct contact, just surveillance on the shop."
Taigirl Imphal, the creator of Bugra, was the foremost pharmacist in Warsland, but due to her personality, she was treated as a reclusive eccentric.
'It doesn't seem like Heinrich has gotten his hands on Bugra yet. Ouroboros would have commissioned its creation... Are they not sharing information?'
Thinking it over, Heinrich didn't know what Kamain knew.
It seemed Ouroboros, being a secret organization, had poor information sharing among its members.
Filing that realization away, Jiha continued issuing a torrent of orders.
"Of course, keep Alex under surveillance. He'll have another confidant, an eagle beastman. Look into him, too. And monitor Heinrich as well. Lastly... don't take your eyes off Barjet either."
As Jiha poured out commands, Uben bowed his head deeply.
"I will carry out every single one without omission or flaw."
"Good."
"......Now that I think of it, were you injured at all?"
Uben belatedly inquired about Jiha's condition.
He had deliberately refrained from asking where other subordinates could see.
"I'm fine. No problems."
"Understood. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
"......."
"I'll be in my office. Call me if anything happens."
"......Won't you rest?"
Uben looked taken aback.
No matter how relentlessly Jiha pushed forward with work, the sight of him showing no sign of rest even after confronting Alex was unsettling.
Normally, a person needed a moment to breathe after a dangerous situation.......
"I'll be resting in my office."
Jiha said flatly, then left.
The office.
With only a single Mana lamp lit on the desk, Jiha sat in his chair and closed his eyes.
The image of Mayan, her chest pierced, looking at him before she collapsed, surfaced.
It was a sight he would continue to see.
Once you started fighting, casualties kept coming.
No matter how thorough Jiha was, no matter how well he fought, he couldn't guarantee his allies wouldn't take casualties.
"......."
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but it wouldn't come easily.
Perhaps the heat of battle hadn't cooled; adrenaline was still coursing through him.
His body remained in an excited state.
'Should I do it with a woman.......'
The reflexive thought crossed his mind, but Jiha soon calmed himself down.
As the Chief, he couldn't show himself being shaken by a subordinate's sacrifice.
Even if he did, it had to be calculated.
Knock, knock!
At the sound of knocking, Jiha answered reflexively.
"Come in."
The one who opened the door and entered was Sirel.
She came in shaking her head, a tired face, and then looked flustered.
"What is this, it's pitch black. Why haven't you turned on a single light?"
"How is she?"
Alone with Sirel, Jiha asked a bit hastily.
"I'd like to say 'who do you think I am'... but."
Sirel shook her head.
"To give you the conclusion: the patient is safe. Though she'll need treatment for a few more days. She's regained consciousness."
"Can I see her?"
"She's already fallen asleep. Enril only saw her face as well."
Sirel cut him off plainly.
"There was one bed left over... so I lent it to Enril. She'll be staying the night. But the treatment is definitely finished. You don't have to worry. Rest easy."
"......I see."
Jiha answered, his voice relaxing without him realizing it.
Mayan was safe.
At that, Sirel plopped herself down on the edge of Jiha's desk and stared down at him blatantly.
This was something absolutely no one else could do.
Jiha would never let anyone else get away with it, and his other subordinates wouldn't tolerate it either.
Only Sirel could do this.
'No, I can't let even Sirel get away with this in front of others anymore.'
Oblivious to Jiha's thoughts, Sirel pushed firmly on his forehead with her finger.
"Why are you scowling so much? Relax your face. Our romantically clueless one."
"Thank you."
"Only in words?"
"Shall I give you a special bonus?"
Sirel lightly pushed his forehead away and laughed playfully.
"Buy me a drink."
"Sure."
"But you won't keep a promise like that, will you? Want to drink this instead?"
Sirel pointed to a wine bottle displayed in a corner of the office.
It was a display item for guests to admire, a high-end product with the cheapest ones costing ten million Rel. Sirel was eyeing it greedily.
"Fine, take whichever one you like."
He had to be generous to Sirel tonight.
Sirel shook her head and said.
"What are you talking about, drink it alone? You have to drink, too."
"What?"
"It's punishment for never keeping your promise to buy me a drink. Drink with me now."
"......."
When Jiha didn't answer, Sirel made an exaggeratedly disappointed face.
"After I worked the night shift, even changing my duty schedule like you said—is this how you treat me?"
"Get the glasses."
Right now, he had to humor Sirel.
The glasses went around.
"Cheers!"
Still seated on Jiha's desk, Sirel said brightly, downing her drink in one shot.
When Jiha only lightly wet his lips, Sirel frowned.
"Hey, what's with this spoiling the taste of the drink? Down it. Gulp it down."
"Something might come up."
"Stop acting like a big shot and drink comfortably."
Was there a hidden barb in that?
Under Jiha's gaze, Sirel spoke quickly.
"I told you. Mayan is recovering safely, I confirmed it myself. Even if something does happen, you can just purge the alcohol with Mana, can't you? Stop ruining the taste of the drink by only wetting your lips and hurry up."
"......."
At her insistence, Jiha just downed it properly.
Only then did Sirel smile with satisfaction.
"Come on, don't skip. Drink. Drink."
She refilled his glass immediately, smiling as she urged him on.
She seemed intent on getting him completely drunk. Jiha didn't resist and just downed the drink.
"Nothing to snack on. Should I call someone to bring something?"
"It's late. The others are asleep."
"What's the big deal? There'll be something in the kitchen. If not, we'll have them make something, great one."
"You'll get fat if you eat at night."
At Jiha's words, Sirel pouted her lips sullenly.
"You never hold back with women."
"Sitting on someone else's desk swinging your legs isn't called a woman. It's called a lump."
"What, have you been sneaking peeks at my legs?"
Sirel laughed out loud and ruffled Jiha's hair wildly.
If his other subordinates saw this, they'd doubt their eyes.
Was there anyone who could treat Jiha so recklessly and stay unharmed?
"Our romantically clueless one. Yeah. Now you've learned to sneak a peek at a woman's legs. All grown up now, is that it?"
"Are you drunk already?"
"No, I'm perfectly fine. It's expensive alcohol, so I have to drink a lot."
"I'll leave it here. Drink it later."
At Jiha's words, Sirel gave a bitter smile.
"I can't come by often, right."
"......."
Sirel was acting without reserve, but she wasn't a fool.
Even Mayan—whom she had always addressed by rank, as Warsland dictated—
Sirel, slow as she was to pick up on information, was beginning to feel that she couldn't act that way anymore, even though she had known Jiha for a long time.
She must be gradually realizing that Jiha, the Chairman of the Investigation Committee, was now the de facto ruler of Waris in name and reality.
And that if she treated him casually in front of others now, Jiha would be put in a difficult position.
"......."
As Jiha suppressed his complicated feelings, Sirel smiled and tousled his hair.
"Our romantically clueless one. I didn't know you'd rise this high. I sure know how to pick people, right?"
"......."
"Still, there's no need to be so tense."
Sirel said cheerfully.
In a bright voice, as if she had guessed his inner thoughts.
"If the big boss is always scowling, everyone finds him unapproachable. That's not good, Elder Jiha."
"Yeah."
Jiha sighed and changed the subject.
"If you have any problems, let me know. I'll solve them for you."
"Wow, the big boss is speaking. So reassuring! I have connections now, huh?"
Sirel joked, laughing as she held out her glass.
Jiha clinked his against it without hesitation and drank.
Drinking together, just the two of them, his heart slowly unwound.
Sirel must have thought of this and come to offer him a drink.
"......."
Looking at her again, he saw her face was shadowed with fatigue; her body was subtly damp with sweat.
She had exhausted her Mana treating Mayan, and as soon as the patient entered a stable phase, she had come to find Jiha to drink.
Realizing this, Jiha put down his glass.
"It's late. The situation isn't good tonight, so sleep at the barracks and leave in the morning."
"Are you trying to seduce me right now?"
Sirel teased, but Jiha ignored it.
"Be careful for the next few days."
"What, are you ignoring me? Don't I look like a woman to you?"
Sirel placed a hand on Jiha's shoulder and leaned her upper body forward, bringing her face close.
Since she was sitting on the desk with her legs crossed and leaning toward Jiha in his chair, her top naturally stretched downward, revealing the inside.
The pleasingly full valley of her breasts and the apricot-colored bra holding them entered his field of vision.
Reflexively, lust surged up.
It was unbelievably intense.