CHAPTER 306: EX 306. ACCOMPANY

"Who are you, and what have you done with my friend?"

Lieutenant Samuel’s tone carried genuine suspicion, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Lancelot like he was some kind of imposter.

Lancelot let out a long exhale, the faint trace of patience he had draining from his face. "I don’t have time for this, Samuel. We have to report to the commander, so I suggest you get out of the way."

Samuel froze for a moment. ’Ah, there he is, the real Lancelot.’ The strict-faced, no-nonsense officer he knew all too well. The one who’d been smiling earlier with a bunch of teenagers? That had been the strange one. Still, the question gnawed at him: what could have possibly made Lancelot act that way?

His gaze drifted over the group, first to Rachel, then Adrian and finally stopped on Leon. Samuel tilted his head slightly.

’What a handsome boy.’

And then it clicked.

His eyes went wide in sudden realization before narrowing with a mix of disbelief and disappointment. "No way..." He looked at Lancelot, shaking his head slowly. "Lance, I didn’t know you swung that way."

The entire hallway fell silent.

Leon blinked. Adrian froze. Rachel’s mouth opened slightly, unsure if she’d heard that right.

Then, all at once, everyone’s gaze turned toward Leon and the silence grew heavier.

Lancelot’s face twisted in pure outrage, veins showing faintly along his temple. "You... fucking bastard," he hissed, his aura surging like a wave of pressure ready to crush the walls.

Leon, meanwhile, kept his expression blank. He’d been insulted before, but never quite like this. Inside his mind, Originus’ maniacal laughter echoed endlessly. ’Hahahahahaha..... this is priceless!’

Leon shut him out with visible effort, his eyes flicking toward the floor to hide the slight twitch in his jaw.

Rachel and Adrian stood awkwardly behind him, too stunned to even react.

And just as Lancelot took a step forward, the heavy door beside them creaked open.

Commander Markus stepped out, his sharp gaze instantly falling on the tense scene before him.

In an instant, Lancelot’s aura snapped back into place like a leash pulled tight. He straightened and saluted crisply, his voice steady though his expression promised future vengeance.

Samuel, realizing his timing couldn’t have been worse, followed suit with a sheepish salute of his own.

Rachel and Leon stayed still, they weren’t part of the Imperial Guards, so protocol didn’t apply. Adrian, though he technically was part of the guards, simply copied their stillness out of instinct. Peer pressure at its finest.

Markus eyed the group briefly, his voice calm but carrying authority. "Good. You can all come in."

Lancelot nodded sharply and entered the office, Leon, Rachel, and Adrian following close behind, leaving Lieutenant Samuel standing outside, still wearing that same incredulous, guilty grin.

****

Commander Markus sat behind his massive desk, the golden insignia of the Imperial Guards gleaming faintly on the wall behind him. Papers and mission reports were neatly stacked across the surface, yet his attention was fixed on the young man now seated opposite him.

Leon had taken the chair without hesitation, calm and composed as ever, as if he’d done this a hundred times before. Beside him, Lancelot followed suit, sitting down as well. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that the lieutenant realized his mistake; he hadn’t waited for permission. He shot a sidelong glance at Leon, a faint sigh escaping his nose.

’Great. Now I’m picking up his bad habits.’

Rachel and Adrian had already taken their seats on the couch across the room, the same one they’d used the day the Emperor himself had come to speak with Leon in this very office.

Markus leaned back in his chair, his fingers steepled. "You were really fast with the mission."

Leon gave a small nod. "Well, we had a minor hiccup at the beginning," he said, his tone even, "but after that, it was smooth sailing."

Markus hummed approvingly. "Good. Then when do you plan to tackle the next cluster?"

Leon blinked. "Excuse me?

"I presume you handled the one in Harlot’s Paradise," he said, his voice calm but measured. "What I want to know now is, when do you plan to tackle the remaining eleven?"

The entire office went silent.

The kind of silence that pressed into the air and made the ticking clock on the wall sound louder than it should. Markus noticed the sudden shift in their expressions, Leon’s confusion, Rachel’s stillness, Adrian’s subtle grimace and frowned.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked slowly.

Then, seeing the way none of them answered, a flicker of worry crossed his features. "Wait... don’t tell me something happened on the mission. Did you sustain an injury? Something that’ll stop you from going after the remaining clusters?"

His concern deepened by the second. But before his imagination could run any further, Lancelot finally broke the silence.

"Commander," he said evenly, "Leon already destroyed the twelve clusters."

Markus blinked. Then exhaled, almost relieved. "Oh. So you didn’t get injured. You just destroyed the twelve clust—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

The meaning hit him all at once.

Markus froze, his chair creaking as he stood so fast it nearly toppled backward. "He did what?!"

Lancelot’s tone didn’t change. "He destroyed the twelve clusters, sir."

The commander just stood there for a long moment, silent. His mind raced, but his words refused to form. Eventually, he sank back into his chair, trying to compose himself, but his trembling hands betrayed him.

He drew in a slow breath. "...Explain to me," he said quietly, "everything that happened."

****

After Lancelot finished briefing the commander, a long, heavy silence settled over the office. Commander Markus leaned back in his chair, his fingers pressed to his temple as though the weight of the report had added a century to his life.

"So," Markus began slowly, his voice carrying a mix of disbelief and exhaustion, "in Harlot’s Paradise, you fought a corrupt creature with mid–Rank Seven prowess?"

Lancelot nodded firmly. "Yes, Commander."

Markus exhaled. "And you were beaten by this monster?"

Lancelot hesitated for half a second before replying, "Unfortunately, Commander."

Markus’s gaze shifted toward Leon. His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he were still struggling to piece the report together. "And he defeated that same creature... with one attack?"

Lancelot’s lips curved into a rare grin. "You should have seen it, Commander. It was something else."

Markus ran a hand down his face, his expression unreadable. "And the guardian of the cluster," he said after a pause, "was a high Rank Seven being?"

"Yes, sir."

Markus looked directly at Leon again. "And he fought it solo... and won."

Another nod from Lancelot.

The commander blinked once. Then again. His eyes darted from Leon to Lancelot to the others, and then back to Leon. "And after that, the remaining eleven clusters were handled easily enough that you even used them... to train those two?" He gestured vaguely at Rachel and Adrian, both of whom sat quietly on the couch, their faces neutral but proud.

"Exactly," Lancelot confirmed, his tone almost too casual for what he was saying.

Markus didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he slowly slumped back into his chair, his body going limp like a puppet with cut strings. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. Then a deep, strained sound escaped his throat—half groan, half laugh.

And then he really started laughing.

"Hahahahahahah...hahahahaha"

It began softly but grew into something wild, the kind of laughter that carried disbelief and exhaustion in equal measure. His head fell back against the chair as the laughter echoed across the office walls.

In Leon’s head, Originus’ deep voice rumbled with amusement.

"It seems you’ve broken him."

Leon’s eye twitched, watching the commander laugh like a man who had just realized the world no longer made sense.

Eventually, the commander’s laughter died down. He wiped the corner of his eye and exhaled shakily. "I wonder," he murmured, almost to himself, "how the Emperor will react to this."

A calm, familiar voice answered from behind them.

"I was surprised as well."

Every head in the room turned toward the source.

Standing in the office as well was the Emperor himself, Alexander Arman, his regal presence instantly commanding the room.

Both Lancelot and Markus shot to their feet, bowing deeply. "Your Grace," they said in unison.

Alexander’s expression softened faintly. "At ease."

As the two straightened, the Emperor’s gaze shifted to Leon. There was curiosity in his eyes, but also something else, an intent that Leon couldn’t quite read.

"Leon Kael," Alexander said, his tone calm but heavy with purpose. "I hope you won’t mind accompanying me to the palace."

****

A/N: Mass release if we reach top 50 of golden ticket ranking...Thanks for reading