Chapter 188: Meeting Martin

Victor's eyes flickered. His weathered face showed no expression, but after a slight hesitation, he finally replied, "I remember, their relationship should be quite good, right? He even gave his stepmother a rather expensive piece of jewelry."

Leon let out a long "Oh," then glanced at Rebecca.

At some point, the crazy girl had already stood behind Leon. Her cute little face was icy cold. She met Leon's gaze without speaking a word.

Leon didn't say anything either and looked back at Victor, "This information is very timely, Victor. Then, in two days, we'll go to the banquet."

"No problem. Oh, right, after we find Martin, what do you plan to do? How will you identify the traitor who framed you back then?", Victor asked.

Leon smiled mysteriously, "I've already thought of a way."

Victor was stunned for a moment, then forced a smile. "Ah, since I'm also one of the suspects, I won't ask too much."

"Appreciate your understanding."

After a pause, Leon added, "Oh, and since you brought this up, let me be direct, for safety reasons, I need you to stay in the bar for the next two days. Do you understand what I mean?"

Victor wasn't stupid. As someone who had once been a second-in-command in the military, he naturally understood Leon's intentions.

The so-called 'for safety reasons' wasn't about Victor's safety, it was about Leon and his team's safety.

If Victor really was the Empire's spy, then if given the chance to report back, Leon and the others would be doomed.

By keeping him in the bar while monitoring from the outside, they could cut off his connection to the Empire.

As for why Leon wasn't worried about whether there were already Imperial spies lurking outside—

That was because of the Master.

If there really were Imperial agents lying in ambush nearby, the Master would have rushed in to warn Leon by now.

Everyone in the 'old, weak and crippled' squad played a crucial role.

A three-man ranked queue, speedrunning the Imperial traitor dungeon.

After figuring out Leon's intentions, Victor nodded, "Alright, I understand."

"Good. Then, sorry for the trouble. In two days at night, we'll come find you again."

"Alright."

Leon didn't linger. He stood up and walked toward the door.

Rebecca walked ahead of him and stepped out first.

As he passed by the table near the door, Leon glanced at the guitar on it.

He suddenly stopped and asked, "This guitar has been used for years, huh? Haven't replaced it?"

Victor let out a bitter chuckle, "Life's tough. As long as it works, I keep using it."

Leon responded indifferently, "Oh," and his gaze landed on the ivory-white guitar pick beside it.

Crystal clear and milky white.

Victor always had a taste for sophistication in small accessories like this.

Leon thought to himself as he walked out of the room.

Closing the door behind them, the two stepped out of the backstage area, passing through the neon-lit dance floor and the smoke-filled hallways until they finally reached the outside of the bar.

The fresh, cool air rushed in.

Rebecca took a deep breath greedily, stretched lazily, and her flat-chested figure was displayed to the fullest.

"So, what do you think? Is it him?", Rebecca asked.

Leon furrowed his brows, deep in thought, then shook his head, "Hard to say. We can't jump to conclusions until we meet Martin."

Rebecca snorted, twirling her twin tails as she skipped beside Leon, "You're still as cautious as ever, Captain."

"Being cautious never hurts."

"And yet you still got stabbed in the back by a traitor."

"..."

'Good lord.'

'This girl might not be able to do 'team voice chat' like Rossweisse, but her mouth is just as sharp as that damn dragon's.'

She knew exactly where to stab Leon in the heart.

"But back to the main point, Captain, what if this banquet Victor mentioned is actually a trap? What if they're luring you in just to kill you and silence you? Are we still going?", What Rebecca was considering, Leon had, of course, already thought about.

"This is a rare opportunity to get in touch with Martin. If we miss it, who knows how long we'll have to wait for another chance. So yes, we're definitely going. But...", Leon chuckled, "We won't be going on time."

Rebecca's little head barely kept up with his train of thought, "Not on time? You mean we'll go late?"

Leon shook his head, "No. Quite the opposite. We'll go... early."

———

Rebecca inquired about the hotel where Martin's stepmother was holding her birthday banquet through the local imperial bounty hunter black market.

This cost Rebecca half a month's salary, and she demanded that the amount be deducted from Leon's account once the job was done.

Leon said, "No problem, if you can withdraw money from a dead man's account."

Rebecca smirked proudly, "If you're broke, I'll just take it from Old Man's pension. I never do a losing deal!"

Old Man patted his wallet, which was emptier than his face, wondering if he should sell the donkey to gather money for Rebecca.

———

Two days later in the afternoon, six hours before the banquet officially started:

Leon and Rebecca blended in with the hotel staff, helping to set up the banquet hall.

Tiger stayed outside Victor's bar, continuing his surveillance.

Inside the hotel's grand hall, the uniformed staff bustled around, not daring to slack off.

After all, this was the birthday of a royal minister's wife. Even the slightest mistake could cost them their jobs.

Besides, they had heard that this minister's wife was particularly harsh. The young man in charge of organizing the birthday banquet looked absolutely miserable, which said a lot.

The young man's name was Martin, the minister's youngest son.

He wasn't supposed to be responsible for this event, but his stepmother had always been against him. Assigning him this task was just an excuse to give him a hard time.

Martin was naturally timid and didn't dare to openly clash with his stepmother. He could only grit his teeth and try to complete the job properly.

Even though he knew that no matter how well he did, his stepmother would still find faults with him.

But what could he do?

Ever since that incident three years ago, Martin had not only withdrawn from the Dragon Slaying Army but had also become increasingly introverted and timid.

For the past three years, every time he faced his stepmother's oppression or others' cold treatment, he couldn't help but wonder, 'If the captain hadn't died three years ago, if our team hadn't disbanded, would I have become braver? Would I have been able to resist the unfair treatment I suffer now?'

But reality didn't have "ifs."

The Silver Dragon Battle ended in a disastrous defeat. They accused the captain of being a traitor, of causing the deaths of countless comrades.

How could Martin believe that?

He wanted to use his father's power in the royal court to clear the captain's name.

But his father refused.

He then tried to prove the captain's innocence through his own efforts.

Until one day, Rebecca contacted him and told him to stop trying.

At that time, Rebecca was already wearing the patrol uniform.

From that moment on, there was nothing left in the Dragon Slaying Army that Martin felt was worth staying for.

He chose to leave, returning home to be the young master of the family, occasionally reminiscing about the days spent with the captain and Rebecca… and the courage he had once started to find.

His mind drifted. Martin shook his head and continued directing the staff in setting up the banquet hall.

Suddenly, he felt something hard and cold press against his waist.

He instinctively wanted to look down, but the girl in the staff uniform beside him warned, "Stay natural, little Martin. Don't panic. If you panic, I'll panic too. And if I panic… my finger might just slip on the trigger~"

Martin instantly recognized the voice, "Re—Rebecca? What are you doing here…"

"Your stepmother's birthday. We're here to spice up the party," Rebecca grinned.

"'We'?", Martin's eyes narrowed, "Who else? Victor?"

"Nope. Big Singer is busy. I'm talking about… someone else."

"Someone else… is—"

Before he could ask, an arm draped over his shoulder, just like how close buddies did back in school.

Martin didn't dare turn his head because Rebecca's gun was still pressed against his waist.

He could only sneak a glance at the hand on his shoulder.

Big, rough, covered in scars.

"Long time no see, Martin," Hearing that voice, a jolt like an electric current shot through Martin's spine.

His eyes widened in shock. He couldn't believe that after three years, he was hearing that voice again.

He would never forget the owner of that voice.

It was the person who once taught him to be brave. To understand the true meaning of courage and face his real self.

Without him, Martin wouldn't have mustered the resolve to join the Dragon-Slaying Academy.

Even though after his death, Martin's courage had gradually faded.

But now, hearing that voice again, besides the overwhelming shock, Martin also felt something else.

A tiny ember of courage, one that hadn't fully extinguished, struggling to reignite.

"C-Captain… C-Capta—"

"Shh~ What captain? We're just two hotel staff having a little chat with you," Leon whispered.

Martin forcibly swallowed his shock and countless questions, taking a good ten seconds to calm himself.

His hand on the railing trembled slightly, and he swallowed a few times.

Seeing Martin gradually settle down, Leon briefly explained his reason for returning to the empire, "...I've had to say the same thing three times in the past two days. Feels like I'm reading off a restaurant menu."

He even added a little complaint at the end to ease the tense atmosphere.

Martin struggled to digest what Leon had just told him. A moment later, he asked, "So, Captain, how should I cooperate with your investigation on the traitor? Just tell me what you need."

"Huh? I thought you'd try to clear yourself first," Leon raised an eyebrow.

After all, that's exactly what Victor had done.

Martin gave a slightly strained smile and sighed, "Captain, you're not the kind of person who'd rather kill the wrong guy than let one go. I believe you'll make the right judgment in the end. So there's no need for me to explain myself. Just ask whatever you need."

Just like in the old days when they fought together, Martin had unconditional trust in Leon and obeyed his commands.

Back then, Martin had admired Leon so much that he joined the Dragon-Slaying Army because of him. After graduating from the academy with outstanding results, he was directly assigned to Leon's squad.

A true case of successfully meeting his idol.

Leon patted Martin's shoulder, "Alright then. First question, today really is your stepmother's birthday, right?"

Martin nodded, "Yes."

Oh, so it wasn't a setup or a trap. Just a coincidence.

But even so, Leon wouldn't let his guard down.

He had already planned tonight's moves carefully, no matter what, he'd ensure that he, his mentor, and Rebecca could retreat safely, even if they failed to catch the traitor.

"One more thing, what's your relationship with your stepmother like?"

"Uh…", Martin hesitated.

"Oh, if it's too personal, you don't have to answer," Leon said.

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