Chapter 424: Bruce’s Inspiring Aura

Chapter 424: Bruce’s Inspiring Aura

Open the sliding doors of the meeting venue and go just beyond the hallway, and one would come out to the expansive venue of the magic classroom.

This was the place where everyone practiced their magic and martial arts, and to cater to their needs, a water fountain had been installed here.

Currently, two of the Six Braves were here to wash their faces.

“...Whew.”

“Here, Miss Catherine.”

“Thanks.”

They were Catherine and Jacob.

They had dark spots under their eyes, and they were quite visibly worn out.

Catherine wiped her face with the towel handed to her by Jacob, then handed it back to him before turning to look back at the meeting venue. where lights still illuminated the dark night.

“Ugh, seriously, how dedicated can he be? Hasn’t he been in there for three days already?”

Jacob also wiped his face and proceeded to speak as he folded the towel,

“Frankly, he’s beyond ordinary. Even by the Duodecad’s standards — and he’s not even one. Even Miss Irene couldn’t keep up...”

“Well, I guess there’s no going around this — We’ll just have to bolster as much of our military strength as we can.”

“Are you saying we’re good enough to be fighting?”

“Well, if his invention fails, we’ll probably all die... So you know...”

Catherine sat down on a bench near the water fountain.

In the midst of this, a presence subtly disturbed the air. Neither of the two let that go unnoticed.

“Who’s there? Your hiding technique is pretty sloppy, you know?”

Given that this was the venue of the magic classroom, it was unlikely that an enemy would be here.

Catherine’s tone was casual, while Jacob had already placed his hand near his sword.

Then, two rushing sounds could be heard, each heading toward Jacob and Catherine respectively.

The two caught the objects that had been thrown to them without difficulty, after which a person approached them.

“Heh, good job, guys.”

Then as a silhouette drew closer, a cheerful voice reached their ears.

“Oh, you are... the Silver Wolf, yes?”

“Ah, the Special Forces guy... Bruce, right? It’s pretty late now — can’t you wait until tomorrow morning?”

The face, illuminated by the venue’s lanterns, was revealed to be that of Bruce of Team Silver.

“Oh, y’know, I figured you’d be pretty exhausted by now, so I brought you these.”

Bruce pointed at the objects in their hands — vials of juice.

“And what are ‘these’?”

Jacob promptly asked.

“Pochibitan D. Drinks that give you energy, pretty much.”

“Drinks from someone who’s functionally stranger? I wouldn’t take one at a dinner party — and I wouldn’t take one anywhere else, either. You can have it back.”

“What the hell, man!?”

Jacob’s attitude caused Bruce’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“You know, didn’t one of you guys knock us out that night in Regalia? ...Was it you?”

“Uh... either me or someone else, yeah. I don’t really remember. Anyway, that juice’s made by Asley. And just saying, it’s not spiked — Pretty much everyone drinks it around here these days.”

“Hmm...”

Catherine lifted the vial toward the starry sky, examining it.

Both she and Jacob understood there was no ill intent in Bruce’s words. Upon hearing Asley’s name in his explanation, the two exchanged a brief glance.

Then, only a moment later, Catherine opened the vial’s lid and gulped down its contents.

From their expressions, they had had enough of such a response by now.

“So what now? What do you expect to achieve with that information?”

“Well, you know... It’s hard to say... Hahaha...”

Bruce smiled bashfully as he looked at Catherine.

An emotion too complex for words — Having been told that, Catherine sensed Bruce’s intention.

“Look, no one’s going to mourn YOU specifically if you die out there.”

Catherine’s words sounded merciless.

“Feeling considerate today, I see. I suppose even the Silver Wolf has a gentle side to him.”

Jacob, too, understood the implication behind Bruce’s question.

“W-what the hell, guys?”

“Your team is one of the famous ones right now, you know? When a captain of theirs dies, it’ll be when most other people are already dead — There will be hardly anyone left to mourn you.”

“...!”

In the end, Catherine’s words were not at all merciless.

Even with access to the Limit Breakthrough, even with one’s levels boosted, a formidable army of enemies was still terrifying. Even Bruce could die out there. He realized that, and had veiled his concern with a question as a way to escape it.

What had most strongly inspired this fear in him was in fact Ryan — specifically, what the old man had gone through during Billy and Cleath’s assault on Eddo. It was a natural human response — something that took precedence over his reputation as the Silver Wolf.

“Everyone is afraid of dying, you know.”

“Yes, it is a very frightening thing.”

As Catherine pointed out, Jacob nodded in agreement.

“Even you guys?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Why would I not be?”

Catherine and Jacob’s usual sarcastic expressions returned.

However, they were not the same individuals they used to be.

“But you see...”

“Huh?”

“There are people who can’t move on — can’t face death without someone like you to inspire them.”

“...!”

Bruce’s expression stiffened.

“Now listen — I can offer this advice because I have ample life experience, you know?”

“That’s right, Miss Catherine. But you can’t be a ‘Special Forces’ Captain like him, can you?”

“Of course not. Advice, you see, is something you say while sitting in an armchair!”

“So honest. Much integrity. Wow.”

“Oh, by the way, about what I asked earlier conversation — were there any abandoned areas within the attacked cities?”

“There were a few, yes. Guild Master Scott mentioned that monsters probably ate the people whole, or they escaped early on.”

“Yeah, everyone should have done that... Oh, thanks for this, by the way.”

“I thank you as well.”

Catherine and Jacob placed their empty vials before Bruce and headed back toward the meeting venue.

Their words seemed casual, almost dismissive — However, Bruce interpreted them differently.

He clenched and unclenched his fists as a flame of determination raged in his eyes.

Bruce — The Silver Special Forces Captain. The Silver Wolf.

People were inspired by him — and for their sake, he knew he had to steel his resolve more than ever.