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Gilbert stroked the healing artifact he had received from the Rose Manager, feeling his heart grow lighter. The manager, who generously gave away good items, now seemed almost like an angel.

Though the manager’s face twisted every time he handed over an artifact, isn’t that what ascetic training is all about?

Sacrificing oneself to bring joy to others—he was at least someone worthy of being called a saint.

“Gilbert! Since when have you been playing Swat?! I was shocked. I’ve never seen such skill before!”

“It’s nothing special.”

Camilla’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Gilbert with a gaze filled with awe and respect.

Though Gilbert felt slightly burdened, he didn’t show it. He knew how serious she was about Swat.

“Nothing special?! I couldn’t even guess what you were thinking when you deliberately discarded the armed card in the last round!”

“If you only think about the effects of the armed card, you’ll easily get trapped in a box. Breaking free from that mindset is what’s important.”

On the way back to the lodging, Gilbert gave Camilla a brief lecture on Swat. Camilla listened intently, nodding and gasping in admiration.

“I see. That was really helpful. I think I understand how trapped I’ve been in my own thinking.”

“I’m glad it helped.”

“It’s always the most fun when I’m with you, Gilbert.”

“Is that so?”

Gilbert smiled faintly at Camilla’s words and then looked at the lodging building ahead.

The guards were scanning the area with sharp eyes, fully committed to their duties. Their disciplined demeanor seemed to stem from a sense of responsibility for the recent incidents at the academy.

Satisfied with their excellent work ethic, Gilbert thanked them and passed by. For some reason, he felt their gazes had grown sharper. It seemed his encouragement as a superior had given them strength.

“Stop right there!”

As Gilbert walked toward the lodging building, a commotion broke out behind him. He turned around, puzzled, and saw a figure standing before the guards who were on high alert.

Squinting, Gilbert recognized the figure immediately. It was Layla, the unit leader of the Golden Mane.

“Stand down. I vouch for her identity.”

“Understood… Hey, are you sure about this?!”

The guard, who had relaxed upon Gilbert’s assurance, suddenly shouted in alarm after taking a closer look at Layla’s condition.

Gilbert felt a sense of unease at the guard’s sudden change in attitude. He hurried over to Layla and checked her condition.

“Unit Leader Layla!”

Upon seeing Layla’s state, Gilbert called out to her with heightened emotions. Layla’s condition was far from good.

Her clothes were torn in several places, revealing numerous wounds. Her arms and legs bore burn marks, and her lips were bitten so hard they were torn and bleeding.

But that was the least of it. If it were just those injuries, Gilbert wouldn’t have been so shocked. However, when he saw her abdomen, he clenched his teeth tightly.

It looked as if she had hugged a bomb—her stomach was completely torn open, with her intestines visible. Gilbert quickly turned to the guards.

“Get a priest! Call a priest now!”

“Understood!”

While the guards hurriedly called for a priest using their communication devices, Gilbert rummaged through Layla’s tactical bag.

As far as he knew, rangers often carried emergency potions and recovery scrolls in their tactical bags, especially since they were frequently deployed on dangerous missions.

Damn it…!

Unfortunately, the explosion had affected the tactical bag as well, shattering all the potion bottles.

“Stay with me, Layla!”

“Lord… Gilbert…?”

Layla, her cognitive abilities severely impaired by her critical injuries, exhaled weakly and struggled to lift her head. Her voice, on the verge of breaking, made Gilbert frantic.

“I’ve called for a priest! Use the recovery scroll first!”

“Lord Gilbert… this… take this first…”

With trembling hands, Layla handed him a charred, blood-soaked parchment bundle. Gilbert took it and handed her the recovery scroll he was holding.

“Layla! Stay focused! That’s an order!”

“Lord Gilbert… mission… completed…”

Layla smiled faintly, relieved that Gilbert had taken the parchment bundle, and then closed her eyes and collapsed forward. Gilbert caught her and gritted his teeth.

‘I’m tired. Go ahead without me.’

Memories overlapped.

All the words his partner, his wingman, his friend had spoken before dying flashed through his mind in an instant.

“I won’t let you die!”

Gilbert’s mind raced. There was a limit to how quickly the priest could arrive. He used the recovery scroll he had given her, but it only provided first aid—it wasn’t enough to save her.

As he pondered other options, Gilbert’s eyes widened. A way to save her suddenly came to mind.

Gilbert pulled out the recovery artifact he had been carrying. This would definitely save Layla.

This recovery artifact was a one-time-use item, but its effects were extraordinary. It was no wonder it was called a “spare life.”

Excluding the legendary elixir, this artifact had the most potent recovery effects. Without hesitation, Gilbert used it on Layla.

A bright light burst forth and seeped into Layla’s body. Her minor wounds and the massive injury on her abdomen began to heal as if time were rewinding.

Layla’s ragged breathing, which had seemed on the verge of stopping, returned to normal.

Though not an expert in checking physical conditions, Gilbert, having survived countless wars and deaths, instinctively knew Layla had passed the critical point.

“Gilbert, what on earth…?”

Camilla, who had been watching Gilbert’s emergency treatment in a daze, asked as she looked at Layla resting in Gilbert’s arms with a relieved expression.

Unfortunately, Gilbert himself wasn’t entirely clear on the situation, so he couldn’t answer her question.

“I don’t know either. But one thing’s for sure—Layla must have discovered something.”

Gilbert looked at the parchment bundle with a complex expression. As he scanned the densely written text, anger boiled up within him again.

He had clearly assigned a mission to the Golden Mane unit leader and two team leaders: to find the traitor within the academy who was colluding with the New Resistance. They had immediately set to work.

Several days later, today, the only one who returned from the mission was Layla, critically injured. Gilbert knew all too well what this meant.

The deaths of team leaders Johnson and Roel.

That was it.

“Over here! You need to come here!”

The sound of the guard returning with the priest reached his ears. In the distance, a priest in white clerical robes was running toward them, sweating profusely.

Only after seeing the priest did Gilbert finally relax. Though he had healed Layla with the artifact, she still needed continuous treatment.

Given the severity of her injuries, which had exposed her internal organs, it would take a long time for her to fully recover.

***

“Ugh…”

Layla struggled to open her heavy eyelids and woke up. Every part of her body ached, making even moving difficult. It seemed the explosion had caused severe damage to her abdomen…

Wait, abdomen?

Her groggy mind sharpened as the keyword “explosion near the abdomen” triggered her memory.

“Ugh!”

As her mind fully awakened, Layla reflexively tried to sit up, but the excruciating pain forced her back down onto the bed.

Though her stomach wasn’t completely torn open, she had been severely injured by Horizon’s magic just before escaping. Her stomach was so badly torn that her intestines were nearly spilling out, and she had given up hope of survival.

Healing such a severe wound would require a high-ranking priest, but there was no way such a priest would be at the Demia Empire Academy.

So, her final goal became delivering the data secured through the sacrifices of two people to Gilbert.

Every movement was painful, but she made her way to the temporary dormitory where Gilbert was staying. She wanted to hurry, but her battered body could only manage a crawling pace.

With each step, unbearable pain shot through her like sparks, but she clenched her teeth and pressed on, thinking of Johnson and Roel, who had sacrificed their lives to help her escape.

Finally, after meeting Gilbert and handing over the data, she closed her eyes, relieved that her final mission was complete and that their sacrifices hadn’t been in vain.

She had thought she would never open her eyes again, but somehow, she had survived.

“You’re awake.”

“Lord… Gilbert?”

Layla, who had been thinking of the fallen Johnson and Roel, turned her head in surprise at Gilbert’s voice.

Gilbert was sitting in a chair beside her bed, arms crossed. He had been waiting for her to wake up for a long time, and the parchment bundle she had given him was visible.

“Why are you…?”

“That’s what I want to ask. Unit Leader Layla. What exactly happened that night?”

“…”

Layla took a deep breath and reported everything that had happened without omission.

She explained how they had noticed the security barrier being repaired and deduced the culprit.

How they investigated the suspect but found nothing significant.

How they discovered a hidden underground pit and the information they obtained from it.

Layla calmly and concisely summarized the key points for Gilbert.

“Professor Horizon…?”

Upon hearing that the insider within the academy was Horizon, Gilbert felt as if his soul had left his body. The underground pit Layla mentioned was the same place where Fressia, from Tactical Combat, had been, so it wasn’t particularly special.

But the fact that the Great Sage Horizon was the insider was a huge shock to Gilbert. He had never once suspected Horizon.

Even though he had won the game, Horizon in Tactical Combat was just a mysterious NPC who didn’t interfere with the story. At most, he provided sub-scenarios, which were the extent of his involvement in the game.

Gilbert struggled to hide his confusion.

The data Layla had handed over contained information that wasn’t available in the game.

However, the person who had written the parchment had meticulously concealed any mention of themselves, so hearing an unexpected name left Gilbert stunned.

He took a few deep breaths to calm himself.

“What about Johnson and Roel, the two team leaders?”

“Team leaders Johnson and Roel have fallen in battle.”

“…Did they sacrifice themselves to deliver the information?”

“Yes.”

“May they rest in peace.”

Gilbert made the sign of the cross in the style of this world and briefly mourned their deaths. A proper funeral would have to wait until their bodies were recovered, but he couldn’t help but pray for their souls in this moment.

Their deaths were the result of the orders he had given.

“Unit Leader Layla. Your body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so just tell me the exact location of the pit. After reporting on Horizon, we’ll need to retrieve their bodies.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Don’t push yourself.”

“No. I’m fine. If we’re retrieving their bodies, I must do it with my own hands.”

Gilbert looked at Layla, whose eyes were filled with determination. Though unspoken, he could see the weight of the two lives and the grief she carried. Understanding that feeling all too well, Gilbert nodded.

“Then prepare yourself. I’ll go meet Her Highness, the Princess.”

“Understood.”

Gilbert immediately set off to find Seraphina.

 

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