CHAPTER 149: EX 149. DISMISSED

The after-party kicked off with the rhythm of drums and the metallic hum of Federation trumpets echoing through the air. Tables sagged under the weight of roasted meats, seasoned grains, and local fruit delicacies. Laughter moved through the crowd like a rising tide. Officers clinked glasses of amber ale and clear water, plates in hand.

The newly promoted officers were the stars tonight, and across one cluster of laughing soldiers, the spotlight was firmly on one man.

"You really did good, Boniface," a young soldier said, raising his drink. "Elite Guard in just five years? That’s gotta be some kind of record."

Another, a woman with her black curls tied tight in a bun, leaned in with a grin. "We all joined the base at the same time, yet here you are. You’ve left us behind."

A third soldier slapped Boniface hard on the back, laughing. "Just hope you won’t treat us like grunts now that you’ve made it."

Boniface chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You guys really know how to flatter someone. But I don’t deserve it."

The conversation paused. As the jokes stopped mid-sip.

The man who’d patted him spoke first.

"What do you mean?"

Boniface looked at the ground for a beat, then turned his eyes toward the high table, where Leon sat with Elizabeth and Nikko, the three laughing about something only they could understand.

"Don’t get me wrong," Boniface said, voice steady. "I am proud. Being recognized by the Federation, earning the Elite Guard badge, it means everything to me."

He looked back at his squad, a tight smile on his lips.

"But with soldiers like that in the Federation..." His gaze drifted again toward Leon. "It makes your accomplishments feel less important."

Silence. Not the awkward kind, but a heavy silence. The kind that lingered.

Because every one of them understood.

It was human nature to compete, to try and climb past those ahead. To surpass them. But Leon wasn’t a step ahead. He was a world ahead. Some talents were so vast and untouchable that challenging them shifted to admiration. If it went further, that admiration would quietly shift to self-contempt.

Adrian had stood at that edge once. He had looked into that abyss of difference, and If Leon hadn’t dragged him back, he might’ve drowned in it.

Now Boniface had said the quiet truth aloud.

In time, the silence faded. Laughter returned. Drinks poured. But the mood never quite returned to what it was before.

And Leon, seated in the distance with a fresh drink in his hand and a lazy smile on his face, had no idea.

****

The celebration carried on, alive with the smell of grilled meats, the pulse of Federation drums, and the low hum of chatter and laughter. On one of the tables Leon sat with Elizabeth on one side and Nikko on the other, leaning back in his chair like a man without a care in the world. His uniform jacket was unbuttoned now, collar loose, the new Azure Colonel badge glinting against his chest.

The table was lively, or at least, half of it was. Elizabeth, relaxed and flushed with wine, laughed easily, her hand brushing against Leon’s arm as she spoke. Leon, eyes half-lidded with smug contentment, played the fool well.

"You should’ve seen their faces," Elizabeth said, picking up the story mid-stream. "One second they were all tough and arrogant, then bam, he took away what made them men."

Leon smirked. "They shouldn’t have come near you, then. That was their first mistake."

"Me being ten years old didn’t help," she added, rolling her eyes playfully.

"Exactly," Leon said with mock offense. "Who tries to flirt with a ten-year-old girl."

Nikko hadn’t said much, her hands folded on the table, head tilted slightly to the side as she listened. There was something almost soft in the way she looked at them, her eyes were bright, and a subtle smile touched her lips. Despite her stature, despite the immense power everyone knew she carried, right now she looked oddly... harmless. Like a silent cat watching two birds chirp.

But her silence didn’t last long.

"How did the both of you even start dating?" she asked suddenly, voice quiet but curious. "I know Elizabeth asked first, but how did it even happen?"

Leon straightened, his expression shifting to one of triumphant mischief. "Well, you can’t really blame her," he began, resting his chin on his palm with a theatrical sigh. "I mean, look at me."

Elizabeth groaned, grabbing a piece of bread and pretending to throw it. "Don’t mind this egoist. What actually happened was,"

She never finished.

As a new voice cut in, silk-laced with a hint of arrogance. "Oh my, seems I haven’t gotten the chance to congratulate our new Azure Colonel."

All three at the table looked up. Sakura stood before them, radiant in her own right, a wine glass in hand and a too-sweet smile on her lips. Her eyes locked on Leon, then flicked to Nikko with deliberate slowness.

The mood shifted instantly.

Nikko’s face didn’t change, but the air did. The warmth bled from the space around them, replaced by a creeping cold. Her aura didn’t lash out. It didn’t need to. It leaked like a silent mist, chilling and Predatory.

Sakura blinked, rubbed her arms slightly, and forced a smile.

"Oh? Did someone turn on the air conditioning?"

Neither Elizabeth nor Leon answered.

But in their heads, at the same time, a single thought echoed with uncanny unity.

’I don’t like her.’

****

Sakura tilted her head, smile never wavering, but her eyes were sharp as they studied Leon like a predator looking for their next target.

"Colonel Leon," she said sweetly, the title rolling off her tongue like honey. "Why don’t we have a little display? Show us the strength that earned you that badge."

Her tone was pleasant, almost teasing. But the weight behind her words wasn’t lost on anyone at the table.

Leon didn’t flinch. His answer came before she even finished the sentence.

"I’m not interested."

There was no hesitation, just indifference and a cold, bored dismissal. Like he’d swatted away a fly that had the nerve to buzz near his ear.

A faint frown crept onto Sakura’s flawless face. Her eyes narrowed just a fraction, but the shift was enough. Internally, the question struck sharper than she liked to admit.

’Was I just... dismissed?’

The thought stung. For a second, as her smile faltered.

And then it happened.

A ripple of killing intent slipped from her like a crack in a dam. Subtle at first, before it sharpened quickly, crawling across the courtyard like invisible thorns, brushing against the skin of every soldier nearby.

Chairs scraped. Conversations died. Even the laughter by the food stalls sputtered to a halt.

But before it could build, before it could become something worse,

BANG.

The sudden sound of a chair slamming back broke through everything. Nikko had stood up, her palm still on the edge of the table. Her eyes glinted with quiet authority, voice low but clear enough to pierce the silence.

"I told you," she said, each word slow, deliberate, and unmistakably final, "not to do anything you would regret."