Chapter 289

"Two days from now, at this time, you can come back. I need to contact them in advance and prepare as well."  

Gaya said as he saw me off.  

‘Two days.’  

That was plenty of time to get a lot done. Turning my back on Gaya’s gentle face, I left the hospital.  

Lars followed alongside me. He cast a peculiar glance at Gaya’s hospital before shifting his gaze back to me.  

"I didn’t expect you to have an acquaintance who’s a Force user."  

Force was a defining symbol of the Holy Corite Alliance. Among the three nations, only the Holy Corite Alliance had a systematic training and education curriculum for Force users.  

"Being a Force user doesn’t make someone a monster or something other than human. They’re still emotional creatures driven by joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure."  

"If he’s that skilled with the Force, he could have been a high-ranking official or an important figure in Corite. There’s a chance he might be leading us into a trap…"  

"Listen, Lars. I’ve never needed a lieutenant for advice. I only need subordinates who can act as my hands and feet."  

I stopped mid-sentence and chuckled. Come to think of it, it was natural for Lars to be full of questions.  

Lars was still young and knew almost nothing about the background of this mission. He was carrying out an extremely dangerous task in a foreign country purely out of loyalty to the Empire and trust in his superior.  

He was fresh out of training. He wasn’t skilled in many areas and lacked experience. Corporate training prioritized minimizing casualties and maximizing efficiency, which meant he had very little ‘real combat’ experience.  

Thinking loosely, I continued speaking.  

"Gaya must have become disillusioned with the Holy Corite Alliance and walked away. He wouldn’t betray us for their sake."  

It was only speculation, but it was likely true. For Gaya, Corite was probably… something akin to what the Empire was for me.  

He must have come to Border City to escape the politics, organizations, and the endless power struggles, choosing instead to refine his own spirituality here.  

"…I see."  

Lars nodded in understanding.  

‘There’s no need to push Lars too hard. He’ll understand things if I explain them properly.’  

I acknowledged it myself—my excessive aggression was one of my flaws as a commanding officer.  

"So, what are your plans now? Are you going to meet up with Commander Ilay?"  

"There’s no need for us to stick together. Ilay will handle things in his own way. For now, I plan to find Jafa."  

"Jafa? You mean the head of the company currently under attack?"  

Lars voiced his doubt, pulling from his shallow pool of knowledge.

"Jafa Corporation might have information on Kinuan’s whereabouts."  

…There was logic in my actions. The Equessian mercenaries under Jafa Corporation had been the last to track Kinuan.  

With two whole days left, it was worth looking into that information.  

No, whatever. I should cut the excuses.  

To be honest, I didn’t care whether Jafa Corporation survived or not. But Jafa, Anguis Regina… and people like Lapis Lazuli—I didn’t want them to die. If they were still alive, I wanted to protect them as much as I could.  

It wasn’t because I was kind or morally superior.  

‘This is just basic human decency…’  

People I knew were in danger. Some of them I might even call friends. I wasn’t the kind of person who could just stand by and watch.  

*         *         *  

Lars and I took turns sleeping in a rundown hotel.  

While I was awake, I connected to the network to gather information about the corporate war unfolding in Border City.  

The Border City network had a well-organized summary of the conflict’s progress.  

‘Everything started on the day I acted as bait to lure Kinuan.’  

That day, Jafa Corporation had been in an extremely vulnerable state. Jafa herself was still in critical condition, and the elite Equessian mercenaries had left Border City.  

‘Jafa Corporation’s rival companies launched simultaneous attacks.’  

Jafa Corporation had many enemies. It had been suppressing them purely through its own capabilities until now.  

‘They struck precisely when Jafa Corporation was at its weakest.’  

Information could have leaked from within. Or it could have been Kinuan’s doing.  

Either way, the important thing was that Jafa Corporation had been attacked.  

"Hmm."  

Border City had over a hundred companies, including minor ones. A complex web of relationships appeared in a holographic display.  

As I browsed news articles, I simultaneously pulled up data on each corporation. My pupils darted back and forth, absorbing the information.  

Sip.  

I blinked as I sipped the tea I had gotten from Gaya.  

If I were to make a joke here, I was a wholesome young man who neither drank nor smoked. Hmm, not that amusing. Good thing I kept that thought to myself.  

‘At first glance, this looks like a dispute stemming from long-standing tensions in Border City’s food industry.’  

Jafa Corporation was the apex predator of Border City’s restaurant business. It had aggressively expanded, devouring the entire industry. No matter where you went in Border City, you’d find a Jafa Corporation franchise, and you’d hear Anguis Regina’s songs and advertisements.

Other restaurant businesses must have been waiting for their chance. They seized the moment when Jafa Corporation weakened, launching an all-out offensive. They attacked Jafa’s franchise stores simultaneously and even destroyed branch offices across multiple districts.  

‘Jafa Corporation vs. the Anti-Jafa Restaurant Alliance.’  

That was the initial setup.  

If Jafa Corporation had been left unchecked, the other restaurants would have been doomed. They were making a desperate last stand, seizing what they believed to be their final opportunity.  

‘So, they were trying to divide the territory with this conflict—to establish Jafa Corporation’s domain and send a clear message not to cross the line.’  

The attacks against Jafa Corporation were especially intense in the eastern part of Border City. It seemed like the restaurant alliance planned to split the city in half and negotiate with Jafa Corporation.  

‘But by the third day, things took a different turn.’  

The restaurant alliance didn’t just attack the east anymore—they expanded their offensive to the west and even targeted Jafa Corporation’s headquarters.  

Even with the elite Equessian mercenaries absent, Jafa Corporation wasn’t an easy opponent.  

‘That’s when Sonsu Industries got involved. They backed the Anti-Jafa Alliance.’  

Sonsu Industries wasn’t in the restaurant business. They had nothing to gain from Jafa Corporation’s downfall in terms of market share. They must have had another motive for their involvement.  

‘…And that’s when some companies started pulling out of the Anti-Jafa Alliance.’  

These were still restaurant businesses, but they were ones with ties to non-human species or had a history of being inclusive toward them.  

‘Before anyone realized it, the battle between Jafa Corporation and the Anti-Jafa Alliance had transformed… into a conflict between non-humans and humans.’  

From that point on, the scale of the conflict grew exponentially. What had started as a restaurant industry dispute had spiraled into a full-blown racial conflict in Border City.  

On Planet Novus and in the Bellato Federation, humans were the dominant species.  

Many non-human species weren’t part of the majority and faced social discrimination—sometimes even outright persecution.  

Of course, there were conflicts among the various non-human species as well, but they likely paled in comparison to their struggles against humanity.  

That said, it wasn’t as though humans didn’t have grievances of their own. Many non-human species were superior to humans in various ways. If they entered society as equals, humans would have difficulty competing.  

For example, a naturally born human had to push themselves to the absolute limit—literally breaking their bones and tearing their flesh—to become a superior warrior compared to a Crawler or an Equessian. Even in manual labor, a species like the Crawlers could work more efficiently for lower wages than humans.  

Both humans and non-humans carried a deep sense of victimization against each other.  

‘You really stirred up a storm, Son Seok-jae.’  

Son Seok-jae had lit the fuse for this racial conflict. It was an incredibly sharp move.  

Somewhere along the line, what had begun as a battle between Jafa Corporation and the restaurant businesses had erupted into a war between species.

This entire situation had likely been orchestrated with the backing and schemes of racial supremacists, including Son Seok-jae.  

‘What a complete mess.’  

That didn’t mean the conflict was as simple as humans versus non-humans. Some corporations, as expected, were simply moving according to profit. Many mercenaries, in particular, worked purely for money, even if it meant fighting under supremacist employers.  

‘Chaos…’  

A situation Kinuan would absolutely love.  

‘If En and the Equessians managed to capture Kinuan and imprison him, that would be the best outcome.’  

But I doubted the Equessians had been the ones to get him.  

Kinuan knew he was going to lose to me. He would have planned ahead for what came next.  

‘Jafa Corporation hasn’t been completely wiped out yet. That means Jafa must be alive somewhere.’  

Finding Jafa was the priority.  

Of course, I had no way of contacting her right now. She had changed all her secure lines to avoid being tracked. And Jafa wasn’t the type to rely on my help anyway—she would push through this crisis on her own strength.  

‘This is exhausting.’  

I blinked and sat down.  

Whoosh!  

The moment our shift changed, Lars snapped to his feet like a machine, his movements filled with the rigid discipline of a fresh recruit.  

"Keep monitoring the news. Record every move the corporations make."  

I gave him the order as I lay down.  

Lars, with his full-body prosthetics, didn’t need to sleep. Technically, neither did I, at least not immediately. But I planned to get at least three or four hours of rest.  

‘This will be my last break. Once I wake up, I won’t be getting much sleep for the next few days.’  

And I knew the state of my own brain. If I skipped sleep carelessly, my mind would start screaming in protest.  

The pounding headaches were chronic. My emotions swung too easily. A deep, mold-like gloom settled into my lungs, refusing to leave. If my cognitive abilities dropped even a little, the line between reality and delusion would blur.  

Thud.  

I lay on the bed and closed my eyes, but sleep didn’t come easily.  

I was a trained soldier, capable of sleep control. The fact that I couldn’t fall asleep was not a good sign.  

Rustle.  

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pill. A powerful sleeping drug. I had a feeling I’d need it, so I had prepared in advance.  

Crunch. Chew.  

Only after biting into the pill and swallowing did I finally drift off.  

*         *         *  

I dream of capturing Kinuan. Of meeting Giselle again.  

I don’t know what will change once I have Kinuan and see Giselle.  

But something will change—whether for better or worse.  

‘Hope for change.’  

It’s the only reason we can keep going.

The most horrifying thing is despair that never changes. If despair remains stagnant and unyielding, life becomes unbearable.  

"Lu…"  

I woke up to the sight of Lars urgently shaking me.  

Twitch.  

I realized my combat reflexes were reacting too slowly—too sluggish for my rational mind to suppress.  

If my reflexes had been as sharp as they should be, I would have instinctively grabbed Lars’s hand the moment he touched me.  

"What… Damn it, how long was I out?"  

I groggily rubbed my forehead and cursed under my breath.  

"Five hours."  

Lars had likely tried to wake me earlier, but I simply hadn’t woken up.  

‘Did I just pass out completely unguarded?’  

Lars reported my condition.  

"Your vital signs were so faint they were nearly at a comatose level. If they had weakened any further, I was going to contact Commander Ilay."  

"It was the meds."  

I dismissed his concern. But deep down, I knew that wasn’t the real issue. It wasn’t surprising that I could collapse and die at any moment.  

‘I should be in long-term recovery, but instead, I keep throwing myself into battles and missions back to back.’  

Lars didn’t bother hiding his anxious expression. But he didn’t argue. He was slowly starting to understand my personality.  

"There were some important developments while you were asleep."  

Lars summarized the key events and displayed them on a holographic screen.  

As I scanned the news, my brows furrowed.  

‘Anguis Regina’s concert…?’  

A concert? In the middle of all this?  

Noticing where my gaze had stopped, Lars added an explanation.  

"An idol under Jafa Corporation… has made a public appearance. Holding a concert in the middle of a conflict… it seems insane."  

He hesitated slightly, as if he wasn’t entirely familiar with the concept of idols. I had also struggled to understand why people went crazy over a woman who just danced and sang.  

"Yeah… If she’s lost her mind, she’s done it properly."  

I muttered to myself as I checked the concert schedule.  

…It was this afternoon.  

Eight hours from now.

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