"No need to worry. Even though I do not need this, the elders made sure that this room is protected by high-tier artifacts, so you may speak freely." Seeing their hesitation, the lord calmly reassured them. "And yes, even the tiniest conversation within these walls cannot be overheard."
Not maintaining the awkwardness from earlier, both Bane and Chelsea walked further into the luxurious room before taking their seats opposite the great lord.
The lord simply offered a pleasant smile at their actions, displaying such perfect and radiant white teeth that many young women would likely swoon, mistaking him for an angel from above.
Bane suddenly felt an irrational urge to squint his eyes and look away from this 'radiance'.
'What the fuck is this? Is it just me, or does this bastard have some kind of holy light around him?! I mean, sure, over the years I have seen countless men and women with noticeable appearance but this lord's looks and charisma are on another level!'
Wanting confirmation, he glanced sideways at Chelsea, half-expecting her to be gawking at the handsome bastard as well, but to his surprise the girl appeared completely unaffected, as though this level of beauty meant absolutely nothing to her.
Sensing his gaze, Chelsea turned toward him.
Then, to his annoyance, she flashed him a charming smile followed by a teasing wink.
"Unlike me, it must be hard for a virgin like you." She teased.
"Much better than your life as your sugar mama's personal pleasure toy," he shot back, instantly touching her reverse scale.
"Hah? I—"
"Ahem!"
The sudden cough cut between them.
Both of them turned toward the lord.
Surprisingly, the man still maintained that same calm smile, seemingly not bothered in the slightest by their childish antics.
"I apologize for interrupting your precious moment," he said smoothly, folding his hands together. "But opportunities for chance reunions such as this are quite rare. So, if possible, would you mind settling your lovers' quarrel after our meeting?"
""LOVERS!? HUH!! WE ARE NOT LIKE THAT!!"" Both of them shouted in unison.
"...."
The room fell silent for a second.
Then the lord's smile deepened ever so slightly, as though he found their synchronized denial convincing in precisely the opposite way.
Chelsea immediately pointed at him. "As if I would ever like this bastard."
Bane's right eye twitched.
"As if I'd be interested in a lollipop girl," he shot back.
"Ahem!"
The lord coughed once more, though this time there was unmistakable amusement lingering beneath his composed voice.
"If you two are quite finished?"
Bane straightened in his seat first, and Chelsea followed soon after, though not without clicking her tongue softly before unwrapping a lollipop and putting it in her mouth.
"How was your journey here?" the lord asked, taking the initiative.
"Bad," Chelsea paused, licking her lollipop for a second, and replied bluntly.
"Well, it was meant to be," the man said calmly. "One cannot simply pass through the security around here, and the elders certainly would not allow strangers to meet me so easily. There have been countless assassination attempts on my life before."
She scoffed.
"That just means you were never important enough to attract the real deal. Otherwise…" she licked her lips playfully, "…you wouldn't even know how you died."
She didn't even bother mentioning that assassins from multiple organizations had already infiltrated this headquarters at various levels.
Some hidden among the servants.
Some among the believers.
Some as elders.
And perhaps even closer than most would dare imagine.
"Indeed."
The lord nodded calmly in agreement, as though discussing the weather rather than the possibility of invisible killers surrounding them.
"There is no such thing as absolute security," he said softly. "Only varying degrees of risk."
Bane rested his chin on his hand.
"So you do know."
"I would be a poor leader if I did not."
"Then why let Bolic run around freely?" Bane asked bluntly, not caring in the slightest that he was openly talking about one of the organization's elders.
Chelsea shot him a quick look, probably wondering whether this idiot possessed even a shred of empathy.
Unfortunately, the answer was most likely no.
Bane continued anyway.
"You know he's corrupt. You know he's tied to Honest. Hell, you probably even know he's waiting for you to die so he can grab everything you built." His eyes narrowed slightly. "So why tolerate him?"
"And he's not the only one," he continued coldly. "I have heard that there are others within this organization just like him. Some serve different factions, some pursue their own ambitions, but in the end they're all the same, people waiting to profit from your downfall."
The room fell silent.
"If you die, what happens to the people under you?" Bane asked, "Do you actually care about them? Are you aware of the consequences of your death? Or are you running this entire group for power? Greed? Some superiority complex?"
Then he pointed casually between himself and Chelsea.
"Or maybe you're just another screw-loose idiot like us who gets some kind of sick enjoyment out of getting fucked over by life."
"Oye, don't you dare say something like that to me?!" Chelsea snapped immediately. "And that's insensitive of you to—"
She halted mid-sentence.
The lord had quietly raised one hand.
Despite its simplicity, the gesture had an immediate silencing effect on the room.
Surprisingly, the smile that had been gracing his lips faded slightly, his eyes growing distant and hollow for a brief moment.
"…That," the lord lowered his head as he spoke, his voice calm and composed, "is quite the question, my friend."
Then he lifted his gaze toward Bane once more, his usual smile gradually returning as a soft chuckle escaped him.
"It is simply because this organisation gave me reach. Before, I could only help the people standing directly in front of me… only save those I could personally reach with my own hands."
His eyes softened slightly.
"But because of this organisation, because of the leaders who built it from nothing, I can now help far more people than I ever could alone and that is why I chose to trust the people who stood beside this cause from the very beginning."
"Ha ha ha… I know very well that there is no such thing as a human without darkness. And, surprising as it may sound, even I possess such darkness within me. I am not the saint everyone believes me to be."
His smile softened, carrying neither pride nor shame.
"I am simply an average individual possessing remarkable abilities, dedicated to providing whatever assistance I am capable of."