Rudger, who confirmed that the opponent appeared only as a flame without showing up, had no choice but to bite his tongue inwardly.
‘You don’t reveal yourself, but we meet like this.’
In fact, it was not a situation that he didn’t expect. A First Order will have to carefully hide its identity and not be exposed.
Considering the way he was signaled to meet, he vaguely expected something like this.
“You’re late.”
Whatever the case, the owner of the flame in front of him is a First Order. Even if he doesn’t know its true identity, he shouldn’t show his disappointment.
At this moment when they face each other and talk, if he let his guard down even a little bit, the other party might be suspicious of his identity.
‘There’s no such thing as regret.’
Rudger immediately washed away his miscellaneous thoughts. Even if they don’t meet in person, there are plenty of ways to get to know the other person.
A word that they say without any intention can be a great clue.
[I didn’t know you would be here so early]
The answer came back in a slightly hoarse voice. Although the flames were fluttering and the voice reverberated, it was easy to tell that the subject was a woman.
He didn’t think that voice was used to deceive him.
His opponent must be aware that he is Rudger Chelici, the ‘First Order’, and she wouldn’t use such a troublesome way.
“So what did you call me for?”
Rudger said, trying to figure out the opponent’s intention.
The [John Doe] that he is impersonating right now is a very relentless and merciless human being, even when it comes to members from the Black Dawn Society. He’s always annoyed and angry, and even kills them if he’s too annoyed.
Nevertheless, he maintained his First Order position because he was capable and Zero Order thought highly of him but there is no guarantee that it will be the same for the others First Orders.
Would this [John Doe] character behave as usual to the other First Orders?
Adding unnecessary words could have made him reveal who he really is so he must be careful with whatever he says now.
[Hmm?]
Was Rudger’s question unexpected?
A surprised voice came from the flame.
“......What’s wrong?”
[You’re less angry than I thought. You used to try to tear me apart.]
“It’s just a matter of time and place. If I get angry in a place like this, is there any advantage besides getting caught?”
[Oh. That’s definitely true, too. You’re a teacher of Theon now.]
“I’m very busy right now. I don’t know why you called me, but I’ll go back if you have nothing more to say.”
With that said, Rudger turned his back. Of course, it is not right to leave as he has not yet fully figured out who his opponent is. However, a detailed review of the situation changes the story.
In the first place, it was the flame in front of him, the other First Order, that asked for this meeting.
Since the other party wants something from him he can leave without worries because the other party will try to stop him.
[Wait.]
Indeed, as he expected, the flame stopped him. Rudger stopped walking but he didn’t look back.
He’ll listen for now, but it means he’s not fully committed and the opponent didn’t know that.
[Okay. Sorry, I’m late. I made an appointment first, but I offended you because I was just joking around.]
“Just get to the point.”
[Whew. You’re still hard and cold. Anyway, I called you like this because I need help.]
Only then did Rudger look back.
“Help? You?”
[...... I wouldn’t normally do it, but this is Theon and I can’t do things my way.]
Do things your way. If you say that with your own mouth, , it means that what you’ve been doing before was pretty glamorous.
Rudger found out the name of the person who made the fire in front of him.
I don’t know if it’s a code name like John Doe or a real name.
‘In the case of John Doe, he completely concealed his identity and called himself by a code name, but Esmeralda likely didn’t just like Victor Dreadful.’
John Doe was an unusual case, and I didn’t think the rest would.
[...Hey, do you have to check like this to make your stomach feel better?]
“It’s better to make a deal clear.”
Rudger said calmly so as not to be caught rejoicing.
[I told you honestly and now it’s your turn to answer. Do you accept my offer?]
“I refuse.”
[What?]
“There’s nothing I can do for you in my situation.”
[Wait. Are you really going to do this after listening to everything?]
The flames burned more strongly as if they were expressing anger but Rudger stared at the flames with a blank face and no sign of fear.
“Are you asking because you don’t know my position? I’m a teacher of Theon. Even if it’s nominal, it’s not an easy place to move.”
[If you’re good enough, you can do it. You always try as hard as you can to hide yourself. It’s just annoying, so can you do more than make an excuse?]
“I would normally have, but not now.”
[Why?]
“The president is still suspicious of me.”
Esmeralda could not argue more and shut up when the president was mentioned.
[You really can’t? Even though it’s a job that would put me in debt?]
“Yes.”
[There’s nothing we can do. Then we have to pick the right person]
When she clearly drew her line, Esmeralda took a step back, fearing that hanging on to me would hurt her self-esteem.
[But keep this in mind. If this is successful, it will help our Black Dawn Society a lot and you kicked the chance.]
“Everyone has their own thing to do. Just because I don’t help you doesn’t mean I’m not loyal to the organization.”
[You talk annoyingly as well. Anyway I’ll take care of it myself.]
I was grateful that she would give up on her own. However, Esmeralda kept complaining because she was angry that she was rejected.
[I was crazy to ask you for help.]
“So what are you going to do in the future?”
[Are you curious now?]
Even though the words were so blunt, she didn’t hide anything.
[What am I supposed to do? As always, I’m doing what I’m good at.]
“I see. Do your best.”
There was nothing more to be gained by asking more questions. Above all, he already figured out what he can find out, so this meeting was not without benefits for him.
When Rudger was about to say good-bye and leave.
[Come to think of it, I heard some interesting news recently.]
“What do you mean?”
Rudger felt anxious at the sudden remark. Why was she suddenly talking about interesting news at this time?
[You said you had a subordinate]]
The word subordinate flashed Sedina Rosen across Rudger’s mind.
[I mean, that’s weird. The John Doe who claimed to be comfortable alone, has a subordinate? A third order, too?]