The next day, the Commander slowly woke up from his coma. Thanks to the control over his body gained from years of hunter training, he did not need to do much at all before he noticed that something was wrong with his leg.
He lifted the quilt and took a look. Sure enough.
The Commander's eyes dimmed a lot, and he struggled, wanting to get up from the bed.
Hearing the movement in the room, the Admiral quickly walked inside. Although they had just gone through a fierce battle yesterday, as high-ranking members of the Research Commission, they had only rested for a short while last night, and early this morning they had gotten up to start busying themselves with Astera's affairs.
Only the Admiral had temporarily taken over the Commander's position, handling all kinds of reports and issuing the corresponding orders on the still-intact Celestial Pursuit.
Therefore, as soon as the Commander made some noise, the Admiral, who was working next door, immediately noticed, hurriedly put down the work in his hands, and came over.
"Carlos."
Looking at his old friend, who was standing on the floor on one leg, the Admiral felt a tightness in his chest. Although he knew very well what a strong person his old friend was, when facing this kind of thing, how many people could truly accept such a reality?
Not to mention that the Commander had once been the most elite hunter and possessed his own pride.
"It's fine."
Before the Admiral could continue speaking, the Commander instead showed a faint smile on his face.
"I didn't expect that, facing that kind of guy head-on, I could actually still keep this life of mine. It's just that one leg is gone—I really am lucky!"
The Commander's tone was very relaxed, as if he really was feeling glad that he had picked his life back up.
Seeing that the Admiral still had that look of wanting to speak but stopping, the Commander tried hopping twice on one leg. That movement suddenly intensified the pain at the place of the severed leg, making cold sweat stream down his forehead from the pain.
Seeing this, the Admiral immediately helped the Commander back onto the bed.
"Hiss— it really does hurt!"
"Carlos, don't do this."
As a friend of several decades, how could the Admiral not see that the Commander was forcing a smile at this moment?
"Sigh..."
After a sigh, once he had eased up, the Commander stared blankly at his own leg, lost in thought, and the Admiral at his side also did not know what he should say.
After a long time, when that little boy came in carrying a bowl of porridge and saw the Commander, who had already woken up and was sitting at the bedside silently sighing, his eyes turned red, but he forcibly held back his tears and did not let them fall.
"Grandpa, it is time to eat."
For him, after his grandmother passed away, his parents, at the Commander's request, took his grandmother's ashes back to the Old World to settle down. Here, his only family was this grandfather whom he had always respected incomparably.
But now...
"Don't worry, I am fine." The Commander rubbed the little head in front of him. Looking at this little boy's face, which was almost carved from the same mold as his own when he was young, he suddenly asked in a deep voice: "Noah, do you want to go to the Old World and live together with your father and mother?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the little boy lifted his head. "Then what about you, Grandpa?"
The Commander looked at his severed leg. After a long silence, his voice was low and firm as he said, "I will stay here. Until I become a handful of ashes, I will stay in the New World."
Most of the Commander's life had been spent in the New World. For him, the New World was already his other home.
What was more, his ideal was here!
"If Grandpa is not leaving, then I am not leaving either. I was born here. The New World is my hometown!" Noah answered very seriously, his eyes red.
"You little brat..."
The Commander looked at his grandson, half gratified and half pained. He did not know whether this decision was right or wrong, but as a hunter, once one has decided on something, one will not easily give it up.
Although Noah was still young, in the Commander's view, he also had to respect the other's choice.
"Carlos, have you really decided?"
Sitting to the side, the Admiral timely interjected.
After all, every hunter who was disabled or seriously injured would, in the end, choose to return to the Old World. For these "heroes" who retired due to injuries, the Guild, and even the kingdoms of their homelands, would take responsibility for the rest of their lives.
In the Admiral and the others' view, the Commander returning to the Old World was the best choice. He had already suffered here for decades, and now he had suffered such an injury; he should not continue staying here.
"Of course. My decision has never changed. Unless you look down on me for being disabled and feel that this old guy who drags everyone back is not suitable to stay here."
"Don't talk nonsense! An old guy who drags everyone back could not possibly be the Commander of the Research Commission!"
After these words fell, the Admiral and the Commander both burst out laughing.
The knot in his heart that had just appeared, whose bud had only just begun to sprout, was thus nipped in the bud in just a few words.
"You just focus on healing. The Field Master has already pleaded with Chameleos, and every dusk there will be an appropriate amount of medicinal mist used to treat you. Hurry up and get well, old friend. We owe quite a lot this time, and many things have to wait for you to make the final decisions."
Fine. This guy, the Admiral, was rough and careless, truly not treating him like a patient at all.
No—one could even say he was not treating him like a person.
He was still in pain, yet this guy already intended to throw these troublesome matters onto him?
"You really are too much, you bastard!"
Although his tone was full of complaint, the Commander still had a smile on his face, and two turbid tears unknowingly slid down his cheeks.
Watching the Admiral leave with loud laughter, the Commander, under Noah's confused gaze, picked up that large basin of wild-vegetable porridge and began eating it in big mouthfuls with a ladle.
'Eat more to recover a little faster. Everyone is still waiting for me!'
...
In the blink of an eye, three days passed just like that.
In the original circulation area on the first floor, the hunters had already cleared out a section of space. At this moment, the Commander, leaning on a cane, was arguing with Ahtal-Ka, which was continuously chirping.
And the Admiral was just standing there with his arms crossed, cheerfully and carelessly laughing as he watched the scene.
In the end, under Ahtal-Ka's highly logical yet completely emotionless argumentation, he had no choice but to acknowledge a huge debt.
Not only did they need to pay metal materials equivalent to half of Annihilation No. 1, but they also had to dispatch enough manpower to help Ahtal-Ka perfect its Walking Fortress construction. Of course, the main work would naturally be done by Ahtal-Ka itself; the Research Commission would only be responsible for the fine touches along the edges.
Saying it sounded easy, but one must not ignore Ahtal-Ka's height and size. Calculating carefully, the workload was extremely astonishing. With the current manpower of the Research Commission, it was simply impossible to finish in the short term.
Fortunately, Ahtal-Ka was already accustomed to the Research Commission's work efficiency and agreed to slow the timeline to within ten years.
Please note, this was only the payment for Ahtal-Ka helping to deal with Yama Tsukami. Helping the Research Commission rebuild Astera—that was a different price entirely.
Watching Ahtal-Ka leave in high spirits after receiving the payment it wanted, the Commander sat down on a wooden stake, exhausted in his heart.
Looking at the carefree Admiral beside him, he said irritably, "Next time it will be your turn to—forget it, I will continue communicating with it."
He had only said half the sentence when he remembered the 'glorious achievements' from when he had once let the Admiral handle negotiations, and he gave up on the idea.
"Next will be the Sunblaze Dragon's side."
---
I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> patreon.com/TitoVillar
---