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“Call me whatever you want. As long as the enemies are vanquished… that’s all that matters.”

Ana was not surprised to hear Charles utter those words, but still felt utterly terrible by his nonchalant— no, justified actions.

“What did I expect from someone like you…” She spat.

Her trust for Charles was now hanging by a thread, but she still couldn’t deny his authority.

“I’ll chase after Jeremy the moment I’m done giving my report!”

Charles sighed the moment he heard this. He had expected her answer to go along this line. Still, he had to stop her.

“Would you be reasonable, Ana? In your current condition, you’re exhausted. If you encounter a group of Hobs you wouldn’t be able to hold your own!”

Ana’s eyes tightened— she had already realized this. However, there was no way she could abandon Jeremy to suffer an unpredictable fate._.

“Just as you want to protect Jeremy, I’m sure he wants to do the same for you. That’s probably why he chose to go with the Subjugation squad. Of you end up suffering severe injuries… or worse… do you think he’ll be able to live with himself.”

Ana’s guilt was piling up as Charles gave her rational arguments layer by layer. The young woman gritted her teeth.

“Then… what do you expect me to do? Sit here knowing that every moment I waste is detrimental to Jeremy?” Her low undertone showed a hint of stubbornness and slight animosity.

Charles gulped. Ana was quite scary when she became like this. Plus, with his [Mind’s Eye], he knew she was speaking the truth. All the feelings she had toward Jeremy were genuine. That made things more bothersome.

“No, I’m asking you to trust the team. I can show you the Subjugation plan if you want. It’s something that doesn’t place Jeremy in any form of danger. I promise.”

The suspicion in Ana’s eyes wasn’t completely gone even after she was told this.

Charles took his time to explain things to her until she saw the complete efficiency of the strategy being used. In all honesty, Jeremy couldn’t have been any safer.

“Besides… do you really think Daniel would allow Jeremy to face any danger?”

Upon saying this, Charles added more validity to his promise of Jeremy’s safety. Daniel, like Ana, had a noble Alignment. They both believed in justice and did what was right. If he mentioned Daniel, Ana would have no choice but to concede.

“Fine, I’ll trust your words. But, first thing tomorrow, I’m leaving! The Subjugation team still needs the support of my squad.”

Charles nodded at Ana’s words. There was no way he would have been able to win against her stubbornness anyway.

“Fine. Now, then, can we return to the matter at hand? What resources did you bring this time?”

With that, the chapter to Jeremy was closed and the people within Charles’ office focused on the result of their mission. As expected, Charles saw many useful items within the supplies they brought.

Jeremy had already left behind enough food to last the time they needed to complete the project, so the appliances and clothing that Ana’s team brought would be quite useful.

“Thank you, everyone. You did an excellent job!”

The group sighed in satisfaction. Charles almost never praised them for their efforts. They thought this would be the same, especially since he had been mentioning the dire state the Camp was in. To their surprise, he seemed pretty calm about everything.

After a short moment of telling Charles of their less-than-eventful encounter, the group was excused.

As soon as they shut the door and the Camp Leader was left all alone in his office, he sighed heavily.

“Damn you, Jeremy!” Banging his fist on the table, he growled in annoyance.

He had to paint himself to be the bad guy in front of one of his most capable Camp members. Even if the Horse incident became resolved and they all survived, his reputation had been irreparably damaged.

This was all a result of Jeremy’s strategy. If only he didn’t play games as he did and just came clean to everyone— there would be no need for resorting to tactics like this.

Still, in a way, it was unavoidable. Their only hope of winning was Jeremy, though it pained Charles to admit it.

With his wife absent, the burdens of the Camp weighed very heavily on the man’s mind. His brows furrowed in exhaustion. He usually had his daughter come over to check up on her, but none of the Camp members knew she was actually his.

According to the story he and Tasha made up, they found her somewhere and ended up taking her in. The reason for that was the fear that his daughter may suffer for any of his actions. To keep her safe from the dissatisfaction of the Camp members or any special treatment, he had to hide her identity.

‘That means I can’t see her every time. But, if it’s for her safety… then that’s fine.’

So far, only eleven children were in the Camp, most of which were direct relatives of the Camp members. Though one could call them Dead Weight, Charles could see their potential through his Gift.

They all possessed marvelous Gifts. Once the children grew up, they would no doubt be capable of surviving on their own.

“I guess it’s true what they say…” Charles mused to himself.

“… Children are the future.”

*********************************

In a dark room that reeked of alcohol and cigarettes sat a man. There was a large sofa where he rested his body and he was cross-legged on the desk in front of him, raising his legs slightly.

The man puffed a cloud of smoke as he looked at the ceiling. The place around him was a mess— dirty laundry, remnant food, waste… the list could go on.

If not for the darkness currently pervading the room, anyone who walked in would be able to see the terrible state of the environment this man stayed in.

The man exhaled another cloud of smoke from his nose and removed the cigarettes from his mouth, causing more white mist to leave his lungs through his pursed lips.

A small smile appeared on his face as he appeared to contemplate something.

“So… Larry’s dead, uh?”