＜ Episode 69 ＞
It was only for a moment that Tyrone’s eyes full of tension met John’s calm eyes.
Chick.
“after.”
Looking away, John lit the cigarette and let out smoke.
The act of burning a cigarette in the middle of a forest full of refreshing feelings felt immoral, and if anyone saw it, they would point a finger at it at any moment, but neither Tyrone nor John cared.
“Not at all.”
“···What?”
“I am not going to do anything. You can do your job.”
Tyrone made an expression of incomprehension as he looked at John, who emitted white smoke.
Tyrone narrowed his eyes, probably thinking too much, and his mouth opened cautiously.
“…Did you also receive a request from the city councilor?”
“no.”
John, who was calmly unclean, was about to throw the burned butts on the floor, but he hesitated for a moment, but then got them between his fingers and rubbed them lightly.
Skip.
Like a lie, the butt seemed to be broken, but soon it completely turned to dust and disappeared without a shape.
“It is true that I received a request from the National Guard. I was commissioned to escort Armstrong.”
There was a real request hidden behind it, but anyway, on the surface, Armstrong’s escort was the content of the request, and the content actually passed on to Miller was the same.
“I don’t understand. But why?”
Looking at Tyrone with a complicated face, John smiled.
“Tyron.”
“···yes.”
“Do you think someone in your situation would be alone?”
“···What?”
John continued, leaning against the fence of the mansion.
“The opponent is a city councilor. Although the National Guard is one of Luna’s pillars, it cannot defeat the city council with real power.”
John’s gaze moved over the forest.
“The very existence of this request proves it. If the strength of the National Guard had been equal, the story of killing Armstrong or saving him would not have come out.”
“…that’s right.”
Tyrone made a face of understanding at John’s story.
“There are only three people I suspect. In the worst-case scenario, I’m prepared to turn all the hired talents around.”
Although he was talking calmly, Tyrone’s expression hardened at the content of his words.
“…So that’s why they were arranged that way.”
Just when the defense plan was being drawn up, John ordered the hired talents to stand by the side of the outbuilding.
Robin and the servants were ordered to actively utilize the mansion’s facilities and monitor them, and the moment the enemy approached, the talented people attacked, adjusting it in the form of a detached unit.
Although the direction the enemy would attack was likely, it was a reasonable decision considering the location of the mansion, which was practically wide open, and since it was only necessary to hit the target accurately without following complicated tactics, the talented people followed John’s instructions obediently.
“Because if you need it, you can subdue it at once. It’s better than placing it in an element and opening it.”
No matter how capable they were, it wasn’t enough to ignore the power of the mansion itself.
Victory would not be easily guaranteed if Robin and the other five players were backed up by veterans.
If John and Armstrong joined in there, it was clear that even if all the talented people turned into enemies, it would be possible to subdue them in reverse.
“Still, you are familiar. It’s not awkward to talk separately. I called it to make sure what I suspected was certain.”
At John’s words, Tyrone put on an expression of understanding, but then hardened his face.
“Then what are you going to do? zone.”
In Tyrone’s opinion, this request is an impossible one to succeed.
“Do you intend to continue the request even after confirming this situation? With enemies inside?”
Tyrone himself is one of the enemies within, but now Tyrone was curious about John’s heart rather than his own position.
“I have to do something.”
John looked at Tyrone’s face and smiled.
“I received the request and accepted it. The environment is worse than I expected, but that’s unavoidable.”
Indeed, John, who maintained the attitude of an exemplary solver, lightly turned his arm.
“I will do my job. you do your job However, if you encounter intruders, please don’t fight clumsily. The enemies won’t be aware of your existence anyway.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Looking at Tyrone’s narrowed eyes, John continued.
“You’re talking about insurance. I only told you to assassinate Armstrong, haven’t you heard of actively responding to the intruders?”
“… that’s right.”
Tyrone’s expression wavered.
“If the fighting begins and you take advantage of the chaos to move, the criminal record could be further expanded. What the client expected would be exactly that.”
“…Is it a throwaway card?”
John grinned at Tyrone’s distorted face.
“It’s all about being a solver. It’s nothing new.”
John’s voice, more private and lower than usual, penetrated Tyrone’s ears.
“So think carefully. It’s good to fulfill the request, but also actively respond to intruders. That’s enough for me to be satisfied.”
crack.
A few words created a rift in Tyrone’s heart.
Tyrone wasn’t easygoing either, so he wasn’t one to be moved by a few words, but there was no lie in John’s words.
Since there were no lies, there was a lot of sincerity, and each and every one of John’s words made sense.
Any lie fades in front of the truth.
John looked at Tyrone with shaky eyes, then turned around.
“Then let’s do it well. An attack might come from today.”
Leaving Tyrone deep in thought with his face distorted behind, John’s gaze passed a corner of the fence as he headed towards the mansion.
***
– Then let’s do it well. An attack may come from today.
Kwajik!
Along with the voice coming from the speaker, the glass made of steel curled up like a piece of paper.
Shaking his head, Robin lifted a handkerchief and a new glass and set them on the table, while Armstrong tossed the crumpled glass against the wall.
Kwadeuk!
The walls of the Panic Room, which were made of reinforced materials, were distorted and the cups rolled into balls fell on the floor, but neither Armstrong nor Robin paid any attention.
Armstrong, with a terrifyingly distorted face, stared into the air, while Robin, who stood behind him in a picturesque pose, was silent.
Chick.
“after!”
how long has it been since
After taking a deep bite into his cigar, Armstrong let out smoke, then picked up a handkerchief from the table and wiped his hands.
“… that’s difficult.”
“Wasn’t that what you expected?”
At Robin’s calm words, Armstrong nervously chewed on his cigar.
“It means more than expected.”
Armstrong’s prudent expression was completely different from what John and other talented people showed him.
He was calm rather than hotheaded, and cautious rather than harsh.
Perhaps this is the true face of the person named Stephen Armstrong.
“What about Tyrone?”
Robin’s voice pierced Armstrong’s thoughtful ears, and Armstrong blew wild smoke in reply.
“Leave it. Because it’s shaking.”
“All right.”
Hearing Robin’s answer, Armstrong remembered John.
John Doe.
A cheeky fixer who rejected his offer, saying that his client was the National Guard.
I didn’t like the attitude, so I was thinking of putting it in the most dangerous place after pressing it once, but it didn’t take long for that thought to completely change.
He locked himself in the Panic Room with only a momentary gap, but he seized the powerful, Robin, and servants at once and established a defense plan.
This alone is admirable, but did not he cause a crack in his heart by roasting and boiling a person who had been recruited by the enemy with skillful speech.
The only thing he could trust now was his own troops and John.
“…Have John actively cooperate. It seems that the National Guard sent a real talented person. I will wait here.”
“All right.”
“What is the estimated time?”
At Armstrong’s question, Robin, who had been calculating something with his eyes closed, opened his mouth.
“I heard that it was about a week at most. It may be finished before then. The key is that we repel the attack of the city councilor.”
“…a week, I mean.”
Even city councilors who wield omnipotent power cannot just go out against the National Guard and the Armstrong family.
It’s a very unpleasant thing, but it’s already been negotiated, and Armstrong’s life can’t be aimed indefinitely.
Armstrong waved his hand at the story that the agreed time was a week.
Armstrong looked at Robin’s back as he walked out of the Panic Room with a moderate bow. Armstrong took something out of his pocket.
An ampoule containing a strangely glossy black liquid.
Armstrong, who had been looking at the ampoule with cold eyes, put the ampoule in his bosom and muttered.
“Maybe I should write this. Anyway, I like it.”
If it was a habit to offer him a recruit when he first met John, now he truly coveted the talent named John.
Armstrong crossed his arms and leaned into his chair as he pondered how to bring John under his command.
***
“Mr. Doe.”
“The butler.”
Robin approached John, who was waiting in a corner of the outbuilding.
“I hope you can speak comfortably. Because Mr. Dowoo deserves it. It is a wartime situation now.”
John narrowed his eyes for a moment at Robin’s words, which echoed strangely, then opened his mouth.
“i get it. Robin. What happened?”
Robin froze at the sound of John’s voice.
“Enemy movements observed. We are currently narrowing in the direction of the eastern forest.”
“The time has come.”
The sunlight shining brightly through the window disappeared before I knew it, and what I could see beyond it were countless starlights.
Read at noblemtl.com
Most raids take place at night.
“What should I do?”
“The number and distance of enemies?”
At John’s question, Robin checked the tablet.
“We have now moved to the 5 kilometer mark. The number identified was 16. About 2 squads are expected. Based on their movement speed, it seems more like a power recon rather than a full-scale raid.”
Robin didn’t particularly mute his voice, and tension appeared on everyone’s faces in the annex.
“Here you are.”
“…It’s faster than I thought?”
Fioren took a step forward amid the chatter of talented people.
“What are you going to do? zone.”
Like a lie, the hum stopped, and all eyes turned to John.
“There is no policy change.”
John stood up and turned around.
“You guys wait here. Robin and servants, keep vigilance at a predetermined point.”
John’s steps headed towards the entrance of the annex.
“Where are you going John?”
Tyrone’s question brought a chilly smile to John’s face.
“It’s nothing.”
clap.
“I’m coming over to say hello.”
John pulled out his revolver, and a cold energy rose from his body, and everyone was startled by the sudden change.
Robin followed behind John as he left the outbuilding, and before he knew it, he was able to reach the firmly closed front door.
“We approached 4 kilometers.”
“yes?”
John, who moved his body to and fro and relaxed, put on an expression of regret.
“I have a question.”
“Tell me.”
Facing John’s cold eyes, Robin unconsciously put on a serious expression.
“How far are you allowed?”
“…I’m not sure what you mean.”
I really didn’t understand, so I asked back, but Robin’s face turned pale at John’s answer.
“Is it okay to burn down the forest?”
Looking at John’s face with an infinitely serious expression, Robin couldn’t open his mouth.
＜ Episode 69 ＞ End