"No... that's not it!"
Lumen panicked slightly. Her father had merely "fallen unconscious," yet the situation had spiraled so far out of control. This was completely beyond her expectations.
"Ah, so this is what they call a thief crying thief?"
Just as the situation was about to completely collapse, Orson's voice rang out. After all, he had been using a virtual vocal cord the whole time; what they had heard before was merely a simulation.
"You bastard—ugh!?"
Orson, who had been restrained by everyone just a second ago, broke free from the bodyguards' hold in an instant. Not only that, he had pinned the security captain, who had been shouting the loudest, beneath him instead.
"What's going on—!?"
Everyone raised their weapons at Orson again, but this time he remained unhurried, as though his previous predicament had all been an act.
"Thank you for exposing yourself, Captain. And thank you all for cooperating so wonderfully by gathering around me because of this farcical little performance."
"A farce...? Then my father—"
Lumen asked in confusion.
"No, your old man really did try to run, and I really did give him a bump with that vase."
"What are you traitors talking ab—gaaahhh!!?"
With a crisp crack, Orson directly dislocated the security captain's arm.
"Of course, that wasn't the only way I could have stopped Master Andrei. But it was the only way to create enough chaos to gather all the security personnel together. That's right, this captain was correct: there is a Baikal faction mole among us. It's just that the mole is him."
Orson hauled the security captain beneath him up and spoke loudly.
"Don't you dare slander me!"
"Then explain who this communicator inside your clothes was meant to contact."
"—!?"
A communicator had appeared in Orson's hand. The security captain's pupils immediately contracted upon seeing it.
The intelligence W had provided was not merely that the current Sarkaz mercenary captain might attack. It had also included the information that there was a mole within the Rostov security force.
When facing Lumen and the Head of the Rostov Family in confrontation, Orson had considered using this method to gather everyone together. Then, he could use his ability at close range to scan the outlines of every security officer's abnormal external belongings before using Rest Note to snatch them away.
Sure enough, the fish had taken the bait.
"Want me to ask who's on the other end?"
Orson interrogated the security captain. The others had gathered around him as well, and the man finally broke completely.
"Were you also the one who revealed the weak points in our security when the guards were attacked? You... have served the Rostov family for at least ten years, haven't you?"
Lumen questioned him in disbelief, and the man finally tore off his disguise completely.
"Because this family is beyond saving! You touched the old nobility's cake. Even if those Sarkaz don't kill you, the army group will flatten this place! When that happens, no one will be able to escape! You idiots! I was just—pffgh!"
Before the security captain could finish, the guards whose brothers had died in the attacks greeted him with their fists. Yet even more guards fell into grave contemplation after hearing his words.
Orson had no interest in watching what happened next. He left the crowd and walked over to Lumen, who was still somewhat dazed from the shock.
"Are you all right, Natalia?"
"I... let me calm down first... No, I need to go see Father."
Lumen shook her head, then headed toward the infirmary. Orson said nothing and simply followed behind her.
By the time the two reached the infirmary, the Head of the Rostov Family had already awakened. After all, Orson had deliberately chosen a spot that looked dramatic but did little actual damage.
Of course, whether it hurt or not... it definitely hurt like hell.
"This is a little embarrassing... After saying all that, not only did I fail to leave stylishly, I got smashed to the floor with a vase by my own security guards."
Lumen's Father rubbed his forehead, then looked at Orson and Lumen.
"Why did you stop me, Oreo?"
"Did that hit reset you to factory settings...? Why are you calling me Oreo again? Anyway, I don't like watching people go throw their lives away. And this wouldn't solve anything. It would only be self-satisfaction."
"This is the only way. Only the Emperor..."
"No, you never intended to find any Emperor. You couldn't make that journey in dress shoes and that suit. And the documents in that briefcase should be contracts for the Rostov family's assets, right?"
"—"
The Head of the Rostov Family frowned gravely, then gave a bitter smile.
"My eye for people truly wasn't wrong. You're right."
"Father...?"
Lumen could not understand why her father had chosen to surrender without a fight.
"We'll find a way. You can't just—"
"Do we really still have a way?"
The Head of the Rostov Family interrupted Lumen.
"I've been contacting Marquis Boris and other business partners during this time, but all of them have said they will not interfere with Duke Baikal's actions. None of them ever intended to help. They're only waiting to feast on our corpse. Those people haven't even considered what Chernobog will become if the old nobility regains power!"
"Just like those who persecute the Infected have never considered how they would be treated if they became Infected themselves?"
Orson's words made Lumen freeze for a moment, while the Head of the Rostov Family laughed at himself.
"That's exactly it. We have no allies and no resources now. These merchants chose to side with the old nobility to protect themselves, and all I can do is use this life and the family's assets to try to buy you a chance to survive without being dragged into this, Natasha."
"..."
This time, Lumen could not offer any comforting words. In truth, she knew better than anyone that the new nobility had no chance of winning this war. Yet she had continued holding on, relying on the pride she carried as a member of the Rostov family to support herself alone.
Just as the atmosphere fell deathly silent, Orson spoke—though the sound came from his virtual vocal cord.
"I might be able to help you."
"—But the only question is whether you're worth my comrades risking their lives for. This has nothing to do with profit. What we want is a future."
"A future...?"
"That's right. How will you prove yourself, Head of the Rostov Family? Prove that after enduring this hardship, you can do something for the Infected—no, for the people struggling to survive in the northern territories?"
Orson questioned him. At the same time, for the first time, he took out his communicator in front of Lumen and the Head of the Rostov Family.
The Head of the Rostov Family looked at the youth before him. As a businessman, he knew perfectly well that he had found a trump card—no, a savior.
But he also knew that the reason this youth was still here was not for profit, nor because he coveted the Rostov family's power. It was because of Natasha, his daughter.
He had seen a certain "possibility" in Natalia, which was why he had remained here and was even willing to prepare for a confrontation with Duke Baikal.
If so, then he only had one "bargaining chip" left—
"Talula? It's Orson. I've more or less fully figured out the situation in Chernobog. Yeah, it's complicated, but there's also an opportunity—an opportunity for people to live better."
"Please have Reunion make preparations. I'm still negotiating with the Head of the Rostov Family here. Based on his answer, I'll decide whether to let my comrades—"
Orson was suddenly interrupted by a booming voice.
"Then there's only one answer! I'll give my daughter Natalia's hand to you—!!"
"Wha-wha-wha!?" "Wait a second!?" "Or—son—!?"
Lumen's Father's voice carried crystal-clear through the communicator to Reunion in the northern territories. Then came Lumen's startled cry, Orson's wail, and the sound of something catching fire on the other end of the call.
Lumen's Class Is Now in Session
A day had passed since the previous farce.
Driven by his survival instincts, Orson desperately explained to Lumen's Father, "If you still want to leave me a life to cling to, shut up right now," which finally prevented the Head of the Rostov Family from continuing.
As for Lumen, she had been even more straightforward. At the time, she had charged in with a Bear R, followed up with the second-stage dash of a King of Fighters R, then used a Zangief spinning piledriver in midair, transforming into a signal axe and executing her father on the spot! Obviously not.
Although the farce had temporarily ended, Talula had not contacted him since then. And whenever Lumen saw Orson now, she could not help turning her gaze away.
"Over here, over here~"
On his day off, Orson sat in a beverage shop beside the eldest daughter of the Rostov family. When familiar figures appeared in his field of vision, he immediately waved to signal where he was.
"Morning, Sonia. Morning, Anna."
"Yo."
Lumiere and Truth walked over to Orson and the others from the other side, greeting them as boldly and briskly as ever.
"Why did you call me out this weekend, Orson? Combat training?"
Lumiere asked Orson why he had summoned them, while also glancing at Lumen beside him and clicking her tongue.
"If it's combat training, we can borrow a place at school later. By the way, Sonia, how's your emotional training while maintaining your fighting stance going?"
"It's all right, I guess. It's just that I feel like fighting that way doesn't have any presence."
"Presence is useless most of the time. You can't just rely on brute force."
Orson lectured her earnestly. Though Lumiere was displeased, she still memorized it seriously.
After all, he had originally used "I'll teach you how to become stronger" as leverage to pull Lumiere into forming the Bear Squad. After it was established, Orson naturally had not gone back on his word, teaching Lumiere combat techniques whenever he had the chance.
It was worth mentioning that when Lumiere had punched through a sandbag at first, Orson had merely thought General Winter was extraordinarily gifted.
Later, when Summer punched through a sandbag, Orson could only think that the two of them were truly a pair of freakish prodigies.
Then, when Lumen, who had somehow also begun sticking to Orson to learn fighting techniques, shattered a sandbag with one punch, Orson vaguely realized that he seemed to be the weakest one.
And when Gummy broke the sandbag with one punch, pierced its padding with two, and blew it apart with three, Orson stared lifelessly ahead and muttered as though his spirit had been broken, "So I'm actually the only useless rookie here..."
Lumiere and Lumen's strength was simply absurd. Fortunately, one barely understood fighting while the other had never encountered it at all, so Orson could still barely muddle through by teaching them some techniques first.
"So why is this girl here too?"
Lumiere pointed at Lumen, sounding displeased.
"I have the same question, Sonia. Don't tell me you came over on your own initiative?"
Lumen refused to be outdone, smiling as she radiated a terrifying aura.
An illustration was inserted here. It can be viewed after updating the version.
"Hah? You white bear—"
The two began clashing only five seconds after meeting, while Truth excitedly walked over to Orson's side.
"The answer to last time's riddle was that there were actually two corpses, and they died a day apart, right!"
"As expected of Anna. You got it right again this time. I'll prepare a new detective story next time."
The condition Orson had used to persuade Truth into joining the group had been "detective stories unavailable in the library." So Orson often told Truth detective plots and had her guess the culprit.
Honestly, Orson felt a little guilty. He had almost finished retelling the few mystery novels he had read. All that remained in his head were detective plots like Conan "kicking a soccer ball and blowing up an armed helicopter," which had absolutely nothing to do with deduction anymore.
"So what exactly are we doing today, Orson?"
After Lumiere and Lumen finished their routine squabble, General Winter sat down beside Truth without ceremony and asked why they had been called out today.
"Simple. Today is our Bear Squad's first extracurricular club activity!"
Orson sounded a little excited.
"...Club activity?"
Lumen frowned. With the Rostov family in its current situation, Orson was still organizing some kind of club activity?
"That's right. Though calling it a club activity is a bit much—it's really just shopping. Today's goal is to wander around and experience some of the interesting places in Chernobog. It's a shame Rada and Rosaline had things to do and couldn't come, but that can't be helped, hahaha..."
Halfway through Orson's explanation, a bead of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. Under the table, Lumen's hand had landed on his leg.
It was not the playful caress between lovers. Lumen was waiting for Orson to provide a more convincing reason. Otherwise, the next second, this white bear would crush Orson's kneecap with a million horsepower of magnetic rotation. Damn it, what could possibly withstand that!
To Lumen, this was a critical moment for the family's survival. Orson had talked her into coming out, only for it to be for a "club activity"? She could not accept that explanation.
"I-I have other considerations too, Natalia..."
Orson quietly explained himself to Lumen. In the end, she sighed, released her deadly bear claw, and chose to trust him.
If it's Orson, then there must be a reason for it.
Taking the risk of going out with Lumen this time truly was not merely for a club activity.
Helping Lumen find friends she did not have to hide herself around, friends she could genuinely laugh with, was also one of his goals. After all, after today, Lumen would probably be unable to live normally at her usual pace for at least some time.
Before you continue