Chapter 59: A Sudden Arrival and a Secret Alliance

“Everyone’s here, I apologize,” Lyon said with a nod and a smile, settling into his seat. “Something came up just now.”

His sudden arrival diffused the awkward tension in the room. Quidar remained silent as the three settled in, commencing their routine meeting according to established procedures.

Fran sat nearby, observing and taking minutes.

Of course, expecting him to fully comprehend their rapid Teutonic chatter was a tall order. He could only grasp the general gist, as a specialist was assigned to handle the precise translation; he was merely there for appearances.

The primary topic of discussion for this meeting revolved around the “Purburg Patriot Alliance.” While the mansion now possessed most of the organization’s information, certain crucial details remained elusive.

Yuli hesitated to issue precise orders on what actions to take. Reporting to headquarters for instructions risked delaying their response.

‘Hmm…’

As Yuli grappled with her dilemma, Fran subtly nudged her from the side.

Fran dared not make any overt movements, only fretting silently and continuously signaling to Yuli. Yuli blinked, suddenly recalling what Fran had mentioned to her the previous night.

‘Oh… right!’

Yuli slapped her forehead. To gather more intelligence on the “Patriot Alliance,” couldn’t they simply go through Lyon?

‘Our Fran truly is a clever little one!’

With a confident nod, she abruptly turned to Lyon. “Lyon, have you perhaps planted any informants within that… Patriot Alliance? Could you share any information they’ve passed along?”

“Ah, well…” Lyon looked a little awkward, then nodded. “I do, but…”

“But what?” Yuli crossed her arms, clearly displeased by Lyon’s hesitation. Lyon averted his gaze, sighing.

If he had his way, he truly wouldn’t want to bring it up, but Yuli had asked so directly.

“Alright… the informant just sent a telegram today, saying they received a letter from the organization. As for the contents of the letter…” He pulled a telegram from his pocket and laid it on the table, speaking helplessly to those before him. “It’s already translated. It’s all written here; you can see for yourselves.”

“Well, well, Vice-Commander Lyon certainly keeps things under wraps,” Quidar remarked sarcastically from the side. Everyone leaned in to read the telegram’s contents.

Fran, in particular, wasn’t just focused on the message itself, but also on other important details within the telegram, such as the codenames Lyon and the informant might have used, or the format of the dispatch.

“Sharp Blade, received a letter from the Patriot Alliance today. Contents as follows: ‘Arrested members of the rescue team have defected. The organization has decided to relocate its headquarters, and the new location will be confirmed soon. All units are to maintain silence and await contact—Purburg Patriot Alliance.’—Homing Pigeon.”

Everyone read the telegram carefully. Lyon then retrieved it, waving his hand. “That’s the latest news.”

Yuli frowned, staring at Lyon with a hint of irritation. “Why didn’t you report such crucial intelligence sooner? The Patriot Alliance is already moving; what if everyone escapes?”

“Sister Yuli…” Lyon said, on the verge of tears. “They won’t escape. My informant is keeping watch.”

“Is that so?” Quidar stroked his chin, then dismissed the idea. “Not necessarily, right? Lyon, is your informant truly that privy to their organization’s movements? What if your informant can’t access the new headquarters’ location?”

“That doesn’t matter. The Patriot Alliance is a small organization, after all. Whether we catch them or not isn’t that significant. As long as my informant can continue to gather intelligence from them, we might even obtain information about larger anti-imperial organizations through this small group in the future.”

Lyon’s rebuttal greatly annoyed Quidar, who didn’t believe his explanation. What was all this nonsense about ‘casting a long line to catch a big fish’? This so-called Patriot Alliance hadn’t managed to connect with any major organizations in such a long time. What was the point of letting them run wild? The safest gain was to wipe out an entire organization in one fell swoop.

However, he refrained from a public outburst in front of Lyon, silently forming his own plans.

Yuli, on the other hand, rested her chin on her hand, looking troubled. Since Lyon had put it that way, perhaps… they should just continue to observe?

“Alright, then, we’ll continue to watch…” Yuli said, then suddenly remembered Fran’s suggestion from last night. ‘Right… that’s it!’ She looked up again, proposing to Lyon:

“Lyon, from now on, all intelligence provided by your informants should be brought up during our routine meetings. And if there’s any important intelligence, you must notify me immediately.”

“Yes, Sister Yuli…”

Lyon pursed his lips in resignation, a strange feeling stirring within him. What had gotten into Sister Yuli? She was suddenly taking charge of things.

After a short discussion, the routine meeting concluded. The other two departed, leaving Yuli alone, closing her eyes and sinking into the sofa with a sigh of relief.

Dealing with Lyon and Quidar had truly exhausted her. Now, she could finally rest. Moreover, the matter of the “Patriot Alliance” was temporarily resolved, significantly reducing her workload.

‘Wait…’

No, Yuli suddenly remembered that her report was still unfinished.

The young woman made a bitter face, looking at Fran beside her and complaining, “Ugh, the report isn’t done. I have to go back to the office for ‘prison time’ again.”

‘Uh…’

Fran blinked. ‘Apparently… logically speaking, this kind of thing should be done by the secretary, and I am Yuli’s secretary…’

However, he couldn’t expose that fact now; he certainly couldn’t write any reports.

Fran could only quickly adopt a sympathetic expression, comforting her, “There, there, don’t be sad. It’s your job, after all…”

“Waaah, but writing reports isn’t as fun as teasing Fran…” Yuli said, wrapping her arms around Fran’s neck, pulling him into an embrace, and even stroking his head.

‘Mmm… so healing~’

Yuli thought blissfully.

Fran, nestled in Yuli’s arms, dared not breathe. Then, he recalled the young woman’s strange comment from earlier…

‘With that attitude, how could you possibly do your job well?’

“Ugh, let go, Yuli, let go… Help me…”

“Eh?”

Yuli quickly released him. Fran pulled back his neck, panting heavily, while Yuli scratched her head innocently, a little embarrassed.

“Oh, forget it…” Fran saw the young woman’s self-righteous expression, as if she had just been holding a kitten, and sighed helplessly. “I’m going out for a walk today.”

“Eh… you’re not staying with me? Are you going to leave me alone in the office ‘prison’?” Yuli asked Fran pitifully.

“I have a feeling that if I actually stayed to help you write, you’d never finish it.”

Fran had no desire to say more. He had important matters to discuss with Borg.

As for this one…

‘Go to prison, you dummy!’

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