Oenone casually sat down in the corner of the room, crossing her legs.
"Sit."
Ethel obediently sat down across from her.
"First, let's confirm something. What's your Concept?"
"Concept: Heart. About what you said earlier... was it true?"
"It was. At least eighty percent."
"I don't understand. Doesn't the First Division refuse to recruit anyone?"
"Do you know why?"
Though her tone remained casual, Oenone's gaze became strikingly serious.
She stared directly at Ethel. Only then did he notice that her eyes were two different colors. Her right eye was a soft lavender, gentle like blooming lilacs, while her left was a deep storm-gray, like the sky before a raging tempest. Despite their different colors, both carried the same unwavering intensity. Even the atmosphere around her grew noticeably heavier.
For the first time, Ethel truly understood what it meant to be sitting before a Perfect One.
"I don't."
"Then guess. Aren't you the wielder of Concept: Heart? Try to understand."
"My Concept only predicts incoming attacks."
"A Concept is exactly that—a concept. How far it can grow, and what direction it takes, depends entirely on its wielder." She smiled faintly. "Consider this your first lesson."
"Uh... I'll try."
"Not now. Growth like that doesn't happen overnight."
"Understood."
"Good boy." She nodded in satisfaction. "I heard you initially refused to join, until Tyra changed your mind."
"...Yeah."
"I've already spoken with Tyra. We're close friends outside of work, so go on."
"Right. Captain Tyra told me a few things."
"About her past?"
"Yes."
"Tyra has always been a serious child. Her only flaw is that she never knows when to stop." Oenone rested her chin on one hand. "Can you tell me what she said? Don't worry about revealing something she'd rather keep from me. Frankly, everything she wants me to know—and everything she doesn't—I already know."
"She said someone important died right in front of her. That's why she never wants something like that to happen again. She hoped my Concept could help prevent another tragedy. She also said that's why she came to recruit me personally. She wanted me to know how much she genuinely wanted me to join."
Oenone fell silent for a moment.
"This is the first time she's cared this much about recruiting a Concept Wielder. She wasn't nearly this persistent when she recruited Soth." She looked up. "Was that everything?"
"More or less."
"Did she tell you who that important person was?"
"No."
"Then use your Concept to find out." A playful smile appeared on her face. "If you can."
"...Wouldn't that be incredibly rude?"
"It would." She chuckled. "So I was joking."
Her smile gradually faded.
"But if you ever do discover the answer—whether through your Concept or by some other means—don't tell anyone."
Oenone straightened her posture and leaned closer.
"That was why you were recruited. Now I'll tell you what Tyra didn't."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Do you know why Sunblaze City's casualty rate is so low? Even among the Seven Cities, it's unnaturally low. I'm not talking about the usual explanations—'our Concepts are superior' or 'our soldiers are well-trained.' Those are just surface-level answers."
"I'm talking about the real reason."
"I don't."
Oenone raised three fingers before continuing.
"Sunblaze City has three combat squads, but their deployment ratio is extremely lopsided. Eight-one-one."
"Eight?"
"That's right. Eighty percent of all missions are handled by Tia's squad alone. That's not normal. Even if one squad is clearly stronger than the others, the gap shouldn't be this large. That workload would be excessive for any team. What's worse is the size of the First Squad."
"Is it that much smaller than the other two?"
Ordinary citizens would never know information like this. Most people only knew the three Perfecters who commanded the city's combat squads, and many couldn't even name their Concepts. As for the Lost Ones, people only knew how many there were. The number of ordinary Force Users below them was completely unknown.
"The Second and Third Squads deploy with six to ten members per mission. Excluding their permanent Concept users, they field anywhere from four to eight Force Users, with heavy rotation between missions. That's because Force Users don't have Concepts—they have to rely entirely on Force and their physical bodies."
"What about the First Squad?"
"Excluding the Concept users, they only have three Force Users. They deploy just five people per mission, with only two rotating teams. The entire First Squad consists of only eight members."
"Eight? That's way too few."
"They're all seasoned veterans with years of experience, so the low headcount is manageable. What's truly extreme is how they fight. Aside from the vice-captain, the other four members mainly provide support—keeping the Concept Demons occupied, baiting them into using their Concepts, and offering only the minimum level of interference during combat."
"You mean..."
"When it comes to actually fighting the demons—attacking, defending, drawing aggro, identifying weaknesses—Tia does all of it herself. In other words, you could say she personally defeats around eighty percent of all the Concept Demons Sunblaze City encounters. The fact that she's still alive is beyond miraculous."
"Why would she push herself that far?"
"Just as she told you, she never wants to watch someone die in front of her again. But if this continues, she'll be the one to die before anyone else does. She's survived this long through sheer determination and a great deal of luck. No one knows how much longer that luck will last. If Tia falls, the consequences could be dozens of times worse than The Heroes' Fall."
"So how can I possibly help? If she won't even let other people help her, what difference can one Lost One make?"
"Do you remember Abby and Layler?"
"I met them earlier."
"They were recruited after Tia became captain. Including Soth, his vice-captain, and those who later died or retired, six Concept users have been recruited during her tenure. Normally, Lost Ones are distributed evenly among the squads, but Tia refused to accept anyone, so four of them ended up with me."
"What about Soth?"
"He has... other issues. You know what he's like. He's..."
"Annoying."
"Exactly. But let's leave that aside. So far, Tia has turned down five Lost Ones."
"So what's different about me—the sixth?"
"I forced her to accept one Lost One. We hadn't decided who it would be at the time, but now you've appeared."
"You want me to cover those veteran teammates?"
"Exactly. Your presence tells Tia that her squad can participate in more of the fighting without her having to worry about them. This is the first step toward turning her squad into a real squad instead of Tia's one-woman army."
"Will those veterans really accept a newcomer?"
"They feel the same way I do. Don't worry—they won't reject you. If anything, they've probably been waiting for someone like you."
"But Captain Tia refused so many people before. Why would she listen to you this time?"
"Heh. Have you forgotten who I am?"
Oenone twisted her lips into a strained smile.
Standing before Ethel wasn't just the captain of the Third Squad. She had once commanded Foamfall City, the predecessor of Sunblaze City—the wielder of Concept: Foam, Oenone.
"We both want to change the way things are. Hopefully, you'll become the key. Since Tia herself acknowledged your Concept, it's only natural that it should be put to use in her squad."
"But then I won't be supporting all three squads like Captain Tia originally intended."
"That's why you'll be supporting both fronts."
"Huh?"
"It's not as bad as you're imagining. You won't be fighting. All you need to do is observe the battlefield from a safe distance and warn the others whenever you see danger."
Oenone hurriedly clarified.
"So I'm just being overworked for someone else instead..."
"I'm sorry. At least until Tia is willing to change. We'll keep trying to persuade her to let the others fight alongside her. And no, you won't be involved in every battle—only as many as we reasonably can. Please."
Seeing the sincerity in Oenone's eyes, Ethel could only nod.
Objectively speaking, if all he had to do was watch the battlefield instead of fight, even participating in every mission probably wouldn't be that difficult.
"Thank you. Sunblaze City can't afford to lose Tia."
Oenone's voice trembled. For the first time, she allowed the emotions she had kept buried for so long to show.
As the former captain, she had watched Tia descend further and further down a path of self-destruction, powerless to stop her. It had been agony.
Now, at long last, she could see a glimmer of hope.
There was no guarantee Tia would change.
But at the very least...
It was the first step.
She could only hope it would be enough.
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