New Year's was never a good holiday for a country in a state of war.
Even on a day like that, they still had to guard against surprise attacks by enemy soldiers.
That applied not only to soldiers on the front lines, but also to the Command Center in the rear.
So whether on New Year's Day or afterward, Bolent remained busy.
This continued until late January or early February, when Bolent received news from Inglis.
"Kili... Flores?"
Bolent stared at the report. His face, which seemed almost incapable of showing emotion, now displayed clear astonishment.
The report said that Kili Flores was Li Qi, and that his identity had been exposed in Inglis. Yet instead of being arrested, he was still being trained as a genius.
From this news alone, it was clear that Li Qi had betrayed Uno.
Although the news had been deliberately released by Inglis, Bolent fell into a long silence after reading it.
Holding the report, he studied every record of "Kili's" movements, then lit a cigar and began to smoke.
After puffing away for a while, Bolent picked up the report and went to Chief of Staff Imon's office.
"You're worried that he might betray us?"
Imon understood why Bolent had come. He glanced at the report Bolent had handed over and asked quietly.
Bolent's expression was grave as he nodded slightly.
"Li Qi... is a true magic genius. And you know Inglis's attitude toward magic. If... if his talent really is unprecedented, it wouldn't be surprising for Inglis to recruit him."
"If that's the case, why did you send him to Inglis in the first place?"
"I wanted him to stay away from the conflict between the Reformist Faction and the Traditional Faction. Besides, Uno's Magic System really is backward. Before firearms appeared,