Bermuda [bl]

Water dripped from Leonardo's wet hair, flowing down his cheeks and neck. A droplet that had gathered at the tip of his sharp chin fell onto the table he was staring at with sunken eyes.

Leonardo looked down at the gray prison uniform placed there with a blank expression. The water droplets soaked into the fabric, leaving dark gray stains here and there. And next to it was a lunchbox that looked a bit better than the one in the prison, but still seemed tasteless.

When he picked up the prison uniform, the neatly folded clothes spread out below. It was a one-piece work uniform with no distinction between top and bottom, and to put it nicely, that was all it was—a genuine prison uniform.

"These guys, seriously..."

His gaze was calm, but his low voice was not.

He inwardly cursed the Council for giving him such a thing as clothes, but soon, lacking the energy to do so, he shoved his arms and legs into the spread-out clothes with a resigned face. After zipping it up to the collar above his neck, the clothes that were clearly nothing more or less than a prison uniform somehow naturally looked stylish and presentable.

Leonardo stuck his left hand into the pocket attached to the clothes and placed his hand on the lid of the lunchbox on the table. Then, the cold lunchbox began to slowly warm up due to his mana.

At the same time, the moisture on his face evaporated, and steam gradually wafted from his wet hair. However, the mana-suppressing devices were still attached to his wrists, so it didn't dry all at once like before.

As warm steam slowly rose from the lunchbox, Leonardo removed his hand and opened the lid. Among the dried-up and disgustingly unappetizing foods, the most decent-looking sausage caught his eye.

Feeling like his stomach was sticking to his back, he pulled a nearby wooden chair and plopped down in front of the table. Then, he stabbed the rather plump sausage with a fork and took a big bite.

He didn't expect the juice to burst out, but Leonardo's face gradually stiffened at the taste of the tough and smelly sausage.

Holding it in his mouth like that, he spat everything in his mouth into the trash can next to him. Then, he closed the lid of the lunchbox and threw it into the same trash can.

Having lost his appetite, Leonardo opened the cap of the water bottle and gulped down the water. Then, he got up from his seat and moved towards the old cloth sofa at the back.

As he threw himself down and leaned his head back, his eyelids automatically lowered, and his eyes half-closed. Perhaps because he had been starving for days, he had no strength in his body, and the ticking sound of the clock's second hand was extremely loud, making this space feel very quiet.

This place was a temporary detention facility of the Council, and objectively speaking, it was a much better environment than a prison. The interior was structured like an ordinary room, equipped with a private bathroom, table, sofa, bed, and so on.

However, it was still a detention facility, so the windows were blocked with iron bars, the furniture was not very clean, and the walls and doors leading outside were made of sturdy iron, making it impossible to leave freely. It was definitely better than a prison, but the feeling of being trapped remained.

Moreover, with nothing to do, spending time like this was the only thing to do.

Leonardo blankly stared at the light coming through the tightly closed window. After doing that for a while, he heard a cry from his stomach, begging him to put some food in. At that sound, he rubbed his flat stomach a few times and then raised his hand toward the ceiling and quietly looked at it.

Mages with fire as their main attribute have a slightly higher body temperature than ordinary people. It's not to the extent of feeling hot when holding hands, but rather a little warmer. However, that 1-2 degree difference plays a significant role inside the body, consuming several times more calories than ordinary people even when staying still.

Because of that, even just a few days of starvation would visibly show on the outside. Leonardo's already sharp jawline had become even sharper, and the fingers in front of his eyes had also become thinner than a few days ago, making the joints stand out.

As the headache was gradually getting worse, Leonardo thought he would starve to death at this rate and glanced at the lunchbox he had thrown into the trash can earlier. However, he really didn't want to put that back in his mouth.

'In the past, when I went on missions, I ate even if it was tasteless, but I guess I've become picky.'

He didn't want to be fussy, but at least after promising Agrizendro to help with the subjugation on the peninsula, he didn't think he needed to be treated like a criminal and gratefully shove down tasteless food.

Also, thinking like that, it seemed ridiculous that he was obediently staying here just because he told him to behave.

'No, he's not even my superior. Why should I listen to the guy who caught me?'

After pondering for a moment, Leonardo abruptly got up from the sofa and picked up the lunchbox he had thrown into the trash can earlier. Preparing himself mentally, he carefully opened the lid and saw that the food inside was all mixed together, looking terrible.

Leonardo took it and approached the tightly closed iron door. Then, he knocked on the door strongly a couple of times and waited quietly.

However, when there was no response even after a long time, he raised his fist to roughly knock on the door once more. And at that moment, the small window at about eye level, barely large enough to see the other person's eyes, slid sideways, and the eyes of the guard standing outside the door appeared.

"What is it?"

At the indifferent tone, his forehead wrinkled, but Leonardo suppressed it and simply conveyed his business.

"Give me some proper food. I'm hungry and annoyed."

At those words, the guard responded in disbelief as if he was hearing all sorts of nonsense.

"The meal should be on the table. And do you think the Council is lenient enough to listen to your complaints about side dishes?"

"...No, I get it, so give me something fresh. Don't give me dried-up and smelly stuff. Isn't it a loss for you guys if I go and can't use my strength?"

Leonardo voiced his complaints with some reason, but the guard seemed to have no intention of listening to him anymore and tried to close the window again. However, Leonardo quickly pushed his hand in between, blocking it.

"Wha-what?"

The startled guard tried to forcibly remove his resisting hand. Leonardo took advantage of that gap and threw the lunchbox mixed with food directly at the small window.

"Ack!"

The lunchbox he shoved flowed down and fell to the floor, and the guard, who had received an unexpected food attack on his face, screamed and moved away from the door. Leonardo, who wiped a drop splattered on his cheek with the back of his hand, chuckled at the sight.

"How is it? You can't eat it either, right?"

"Blaine, what are you doing?!"

The sound of a commotion could be heard from outside, and another guard appeared through the window and shouted at him. Then, Leonardo lightly dusted off his hands and threateningly kicked the door with a bang.

As the guard flinched and retreated again, Leonardo coldly said to them,

"Call your Commander. If he doesn't come, tell him I'll escape from here. I'll give you exactly 5 minutes."

***

"Why on earth did you say such a thing?"

Hugo, who had visited Abraham's office, asked him, who was sitting on the opposite sofa enjoying tea. Even that was a condensed version of what he wanted to say, suppressing it as much as possible.

Abraham took a sip of the warm tea with steam rising from it and smiled contentedly as if he liked the aroma. The teacup held in his large, rough hands looked very small and dainty.

He soon put down the teacup and asked back to Hugo, who had come out straightforwardly,

"Didn't you also want to let that guy out?"

"Did you have to do it this way?"

"For now, to get a definite promise, using the peninsula as bait was the best option."

"You didn't just use the peninsula as bait, you included me as well, didn't you?"

Hugo expressed his discomfort with Abraham's arbitrary choice, but Abraham simply considered it as a grown-up disciple slightly talking back to his teacher.

"The tea tastes good."

At his behavior of always changing the subject when it became unfavorable, Hugo felt his blood pressure gradually rising the more he talked with him. In the past, he was a really scary teacher, but looking at him these days, he just seemed like a sly old man whose thoughts were unknown.

As Hugo didn't say anything further, Abraham, who had been savoring the aroma of the tea, changed the topic.

"So, how was it meeting him?"

Hugo could immediately tell that the subject of his words, without mentioning a name, referred to Leonardo.

Every time Hugo reported to his superiors that he was going to chase after Leonardo, Abraham seemed to want him to go directly, so Hugo thought he also wanted to raise Leonardo as a force for the Council.

However, Abraham's actual thoughts were different. Abraham said that now that Leonardo had been caught by the Council and all the business had been taken care of, he brought up the issue of the peninsula to let him out again.

Although he still couldn't understand Abraham's intentions of wanting him to bring Leonardo so badly and now wanting to send him back, Hugo, who had changed his mind a lot due to recent events, also honestly wanted to let Leonardo go.

So, Hugo was pondering for a moment on how to explain his feelings about the guy who had brought about a change in him.

And at that moment, a light knock was heard from outside the door, along with the voice of an adjutant.

"Commander-in-Chief, Adjutant Landon is here, saying he has a matter to discuss."

If it was Adjutant Landon, it was Gabe Landon, Hugo's adjutant. As Hugo turned his head, Abraham's gaze also shifted there.

"Come in."

The door to the office immediately opened, and Abraham's adjutant and Gabe were standing in front of it. Abraham's adjutant gave a brief greeting and closed the door, while Gabe, who entered, approached them with a somewhat troubled expression and saluted.

"Loyalty, I have come because there is something urgent to report."

"What is it?"

When Hugo asked, Gabe opened his mouth with a very embarrassed look.

"Uh..., Commander, the guard watching Leonardo Blaine's cell urgently came to the Commander's office."

'Leonardo Blaine.' Just hearing that name, Hugo was engulfed in a bad feeling and sensed that this was definitely not a good thing. In contrast, Abraham was listening to Gabe's words with interest while drinking tea.

Seeing Hugo's stiff face, Gabe hesitated and continued with difficulty,

"Leonardo Blaine said that if the Commander doesn't come within 5 minutes... he will escape... and told me to convey that."

He trailed off, lowering his head more and more, feeling very sorry for daring to convey such words. As expected, the Commander's expression had become extremely cold, and Gabe felt as if he had said something wrong even though it wasn't his own words.

Upon hearing the message, Abraham began to laugh loudly at the words that surpassed his imagination. At that, Gabe became even more flustered, and Hugo looked at Abraham and said in a chilling voice,

"Did you ask how it was meeting him? As you heard, he is extremely arrogant and does as he pleases."

Then, he immediately got up from his seat, leaving only a cold atmosphere behind, and went outside. As Gabe hesitated to follow, watching the situation, Abraham, still laughing as if he was having fun, gestured to him with his eyes.

"Go ahead."

Gabe, who politely bowed in greeting, hurriedly followed after Hugo.