“Rob, could you step out for a minute?”
Two minutes later, we’re on a video call with Akifumi.
“Onorio! Pherebos! Good to see you. What can I do for you?”
“Well, for starters, you just confirmed this man really is Pherebos,” Onorio comments.
I barely stop myself from asking how many other Asgarnians with violet eyes he knows. I surprise even myself with that level of restraint. Too bad Wingo’s not here—he would’ve roasted him on the spot.
“And what exactly is your question, then?” Akifumi asks, raising an eyebrow.
“You mentioned information leaks,” Onorio explains. “And this guy asked some… odd questions. I wanted to clarify.”
“Apparently,” I cut in, “the Confederation members who were caught yesterday were automatically released and cleared.”
“That’s unfortunate,” Akifumi replies. “Pherebos, Onorio’s aware we’re looking for a traitor. You can speak freely in front of him.”
I was in charge of identifying the person leaking information to the Coalition. It was supposed to happen during the auction. To get into Vagantu, I posed as a buyer. I can confirm that the Coalition leader for this sector is dead. But the traitor? He was there yesterday. And he’s not in the database I just checked. At least… I don’t think he is.
“So your question makes sense,” Onorio says aloud. “You think the person we’re looking for slipped in among the Confederation personnel to justify their presence.”
“It’s the only explanation—if you really intercepted everyone who left Vagantu since yesterday,” I reply.
“Onorio, can we get a list of all Confederation personnel in the area since yesterday?” Akifumi asks. “Whether they were assigned to this operation or not. Someone won’t fit.”
“Can we also check if Henri, the governor of Jaga-18, is in the area?” I add.
“He’s not,” Onorio replies. “He’s back at his base, preparing for our arrival. Jaga-18 is the closest terraformed world, and several victims have requested to be relocated there.”
I can’t hide my disappointment. I really thought Henri was our traitor. That would’ve made things easier. That bastard deserves to be punished. Imprisonment, at the very least. But I don’t want him tounderstandthe cruelty of what he did. I just want the Confederation to know what kind of man he really is.
So… if it’s not him…
Then who the hell is the traitor?
Chapter 28.
Ileana.
After spending almost two hours in Onorio’s office, I went to look for Pherebos. Maybe he was finally out of the regeneration chamber.
Unfortunately, I’m not exactly great with directions, so I ended up wandering in circles for a while before finally finding my way back to the recovery room.
The first thing I noticed was that the pod where my beautiful Asgarnian had been healing was now wide open.
A pretty brunette nearby looked up.
“Looking for someone?”
“Yeah, I was looking for Pherebos! He was injured—he was in this chamber,” I reply, pointing to the spot where I’d left him.
“Oh, you’re the girlfriend of the sexy Asgarnian with the killer purple eyes?”
“Yeah… Pherebos is my partner.”
“He was called away for something important. That’s all I know. You can wait for him here if you want,” she offers kindly.
I don’t want to seem like the clingy girlfriend who couldn’t handle a little time apart, so I politely decline and try to find my way back to the cafeteria.
