World's Best Protagonist [BL]-Chapter 54: Selfish Reason

[Jade’s POV]

"What do you plan to do next?" Terrius asked me after listening to everything I had to say.

I glanced out the tall windows and let out a slow breath, steadying myself before speaking again.

"Vice-captain, what’s the punishment for awakened individuals who aren’t registered and use their powers for illegal acts?"

Terrius narrowed his eyes slightly, his arms still crossed as he leaned against the door.

"A heavy one." His voice was firm and serious. "Depending on the severity, it could range from imprisonment to execution. The higher the threat level, the harsher the punishment."

Execution. Death penalty.

I swallowed the sudden dryness in my throat, my fingers curling into fists at my sides. That’s good. Let it be severe. Let it be something my father can’t just slip away from easily.

I met Terrius’s gaze. "Then I want to report my father and his minions."

"Why not report what you’ve seen instead?"

"Do you think the UAO will immediately warrant their arrest just because I said so?"

I doubt it. I have no evidence. No one could testify what happened to me. I’m just going to waste my time explaining everything to them and then getting dismissed after telling me to wait for an official investigation.

Terrius said nothing. He simply exhaled through his nose, aware of what I meant. His expression was unreadable as he replied after a few minutes of silence.

"Just reporting them doesn’t mean they’ll be implicated right away. How much are you certain that they are unregistered?"

I couldn’t answer.

"The punishment is heavy, but accusations without proof mean nothing. Even if you tell the authorities everything, without solid evidence, your father and his minions will slip through the cracks. So, you’re trying an indirect way to point the authorities to them. But if they are registered, what will you do?"

"I’ll find evidence. Maybe sneak back in his mansion and take pictures of his laboratory."

"Doing it alone is dangerous and risky."

"What else can I do?" I stared at the vice-captain. "I don’t care about other people, but I absolutely don’t want that person to roam around acting like he is God."

Terrius’s gaze deepened, it was as if he was trying to dig something in me.

I looked away. There are a few parts I omitted. I didn’t tell him about the maid, or how I did nothing to save her and just let her die. My chest felt heavy, and I didn’t like the feeling.

Turning my back to the vice-captain, I once again looked outside, massaging my chest furtively, as if that mere act would lighten the heaviness in it.

Maybe my father was right. I’m just like him, so I’m trying to prove him wrong by catching him, putting him behind bars or under the gallows, or whatever way executions are done in this day. If I could see him over that platform, while I watched him among the crowds cheering for his death, would prove that I’m different than him.

That would certainly put me at ease.

"You’ve got a team, Jade. Don’t take everything on by yourself."

I froze. I could see Terrius’s somber gaze at my back through the reflection on the window. My head lowered, wondering if he would still say that if he knew what I did. If he knew my reasons. It isn’t entirely for the good of the people but for my own selfishness.

I heard him sigh. Then, he remarked, "I’ll speak with the captain about this. You should check their status on the UAO. If they aren’t awakened, then we can gather solid proof that they’re using their awakened abilities against the law. But if not... don’t act rashly and speak with us, Jade."

I nodded.

Terrius grabbed the doorknob, but before he opened it, he looked back and spoke one last time, "Be careful. Once your father learns that someone is trying to incriminate them, the first person he’ll come after is you. Don’t wander alone."

"Understood." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

After the vice-captain left, I called the UAO hotline and inquired about the matter.

"Sergio Dela Torre and Diego Renzo are registered awakeners, sir. Mr. Dela Torre registered a year ago, while Mr. Renzo was six months ago. Both are registered awakeners but not Seekers."

"How about their history? Aren’t registered awakeners that are not active in vortex raiding need to be monitored from time to time?"

I couldn’t believe those bastards were registered! Then, could what the old man said possibly be true? About his shitty laboratory operating legally?

"Yes, sir. Surveillance is done quarterly to ensure that there they are not misusing their awakened abilities, and also to check for anyone with active symptoms of Awakener’s Nightmare to prevent it immediately."

"What about them?"

"Mr. Dela Torre and Mr. Renzo’s records are clean, sir."

My hope was crushed. How could their record be that clean?!

"Did you check properly?"

"Uhm, yes, sir. I checked it twice already."

I was frustrated and disappointed as I ended the call. Plan A won’t work, so it’s Plan B. Infiltrate his abode and gather evidence about his illegal activities.

I walked out of the room feeling determined. Terrius said the team will help, so I’ll count on them.

Later that day, I was summoned by Claude to the Alpha team’s meeting room. Everyone was present inside. Claude motioned at the vacant seat and I occupied it silently. Then, the discussion began.

I wasn’t surprised that they were already informed, but I was shocked to hear that they already had a plan...without asking me for any personal matters between me and my father.

Or so I thought. I forgot there was an inconsiderate jerk in this team.

"So, how should we deal with your father, newbie? Should we kill him on the spot?" Noir asked, gesturing his hand on his neck in a cutting motion.

I hesitated to answer, clearly considering his suggestion.

Noir laughed. "You hate your father that much, huh? I did remember you telling me he used to torture you when you were a kid."

I did?

Lexie gasped. She looked at me with pity, then she turned to the captain and said, "Family members like that only deserve to be hanged."

Etienne, to my surprise, nodded in agreement. I was stunned, truly. His image crumbled in my mind a bit.

Then, there’s Allen who gently poked the back of my hand, as if sending his sympathy toward that simple gesture.

Claude cleared his throat, gaining all our attention. "That’s against the law."

Noir booed him. Etienne sighed, disappointed.

"But it’s different if we’re inside a vortex."

Their faces brightened. I shook my head, but a small smile formed on my lips.

"Let’s capture him without disobeying the law, please," Terrius, the only sensible one, commented.

They didn’t even doubt my words and believed my story right away. I’m grateful, but I also felt a bit guilty.

"Noir will help you with the investigation, Jade. He can be good at gathering information sometimes," Claude said.

Yeah, I know. He said he hired someone to investigate me before, but thinking back on it now, he must have done the job himself. Forcing someone to do something for him is his specialty after all.

Noir winked at me. This might be a good opportunity to talk too. We haven’t discussed the strange library ever since we came out of the vortex. Given that I failed, he must be itching to send me to every vortex raid to find it.

But now that this issue came out, that secret mission would be postponed.

"So, where should we start?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. The meeting was long finished, and, wanting to be done with this matter already, I suggested that we should start on it. But the fucking...Noir was just messing with me.

"If you don’t want to cooperate, then say so! Agh! You’re frustrating!"

Yeah, I lost my cool. This guy is so good at irritating the heck out of me. I walked out, but he followed, grinning from ear to ear.

He was hopping behind me, enjoying my outburst.

"Newbie, the team unanimously decided to help you catch your father, who, based on your own words, just your own words only, was keeping people to forcefully awaken them. No one questioned it because you stirred their sense of righteousness. But I don’t think you’re doing this because of those people. Am I right?"

My heart thumped. His senses are frighteningly sharp. I pretended like I didn’t hear him and continued walking away from him.

Noir chuckled. He crossed his arms behind his head, walking relaxedly while looking up at the sky.

"If it’s me, I’d do the same. Who cares about those wimpy bodies wanting to be strong through artificial methods? All I would care about was to put my father in his rightful place. A kind of hell I’d personally create for him."

I stopped in my tracks. My vision fell on my shoes. Some kind of hellish place for him? His ability is fire, so, I doubt he’d suffer in that kind of place.

What does...my father hate the most?

Something that would torture him mentally, so much so that he’d rather beg for death than be alive. That’s how much I despised him.