Chapter 899: He’s A Tsundere!

They finally reached the main building. It resembled an imposing noble manor built of black iron and reinforced stone, its windows completely bolted and heavily guarded by elite operatives.

Upon stepping inside, however, Cassius was surprised to find a sleek, remarkably modern aesthetic.

The corridors were pristine, illuminated by steady glow-stones. The workers in crisp, uniform-like attire bustled back and forth, carrying thick, color-coded intelligence dossiers with brisk, efficient speed.

"Each wing handles a specific strategic domain."

Brenda explained, pointing down various corridors as they walked.

"Wing A handles monster migration patterns and subterranean tremors."

"Wing B tracks logistics and supply lines."

"Wing C handles internal security and counter-espionage..."

They passed open doors where operatives were rapidly firing off tactical commands:

"—Deploy two vanguard squads to Sector 4! The ley-line pressure is spiking!—"

"—Ration shipment from the eastern depot is delayed by twenty minutes, adjust the caloric distribution for the 3rd Battalion!—"

"—Scout drone 6 lost signal in the lower caverns, dispatch a recovery team immediately!—"

It was a staggering display of efficient management.

They went deeper and deeper into the building until finally, they pushed open a massive door and emerged into a room that took Cassius’s breath away.

The room was massive, almost like a banquet hall. But instead of tables of food, it was filled with desks and people.

The air hummed with focused energy, with the chatter of reports being given and orders being issued.

Different devices lined the walls, displaying maps, signals, and data in languages Cassius didn’t recognize.

A massive screen dominated the front of the room, constantly updating with new information.

It was like something out of his previous world. A military command center. A war room.

And at the center of it all, standing before the massive screen with his back to them, was a tall figure with slicked back hair and a imposing aura that Cassius had been both eager and reluctant to meet.

Evander Drakostos.

Ragnora’s right-hand man.

The one who made everything work.

And, in Cassius’s mind, his current love rival.

’Let’s see what kind of man you are.’ Cassius thought, his eyes narrowing slightly.

’Let’s see if you’re worthy of standing by her side.’

Cassius took a step forward, squaring his shoulders and preparing his most confident introduction.

He would shake Evander’s hand firmly just to establish his position.

Nothing aggressive, of course. Just a subtle reminder that he was not a man to be trifled with.

But...he never got the chance.

SMACK!

The sound of flesh striking flesh rang out across the command center. And with it came a voice that was old, hoarse, and absolutely furious.

"YOU BASTARD!"

"What do you think you’re doing, dawdling over here?! Didn’t I ask for those reports an HOUR ago?!"

Cassius blinked, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing.

The person who had just been backhanded across the face and was now stumbling and clutching his cheek was not some random clerk.

It was the tall, handsome man he had assumed was Evander Drakostos!

But the figure who had delivered the blow was someone else entirely.

An old man. Short. Round-bellied. With a bushy white beard that seemed to explode from his face in every direction and messy white hair that looked like he’d just rolled out of bed.

His grey eyes were sharp beneath heavy brows, and his expression was one of pure, unadulterated irritation.

"I-I’m sorry, sir!" The handsome man stammered, bowing frantically. "I was just taking a moment to catch my breath! The task is more difficult than I anticipated—"

"More difficult?" The old man’s voice dripped with contempt. "Do you remember what I told you when you first came here looking for a position? Do you remember the ONE question I asked you?"

The handsome man’s face fell. He looked like a child caught stealing sweets.

"You asked me...you asked me if I could handle any task, no matter how difficult..."

"And what did you say?"

"I said...I said that no matter how hard the task, no matter how impossible it seemed...I would accomplish it. No excuses. No delays. No—"

"THEN WHY IN THE NAME OF EVERY GOD THAT EVER EXISTED ARE YOU STANDING HERE MAKING EXCUSES AND DELAYING INSTEAD OF ACCOMPLISHING THE TASK I GAVE YOU?!"

"I—"

"GET! OUT! OF! MY! SIGHT!" Evander’s finger swung toward the door with enough force to generate a small breeze. "And do not return until those reports are on my desk and you have written a five-hundred-word essay on the difference between ’I’ll do it’ and ’I’m doing it’! GO!"

The clerk fled as though a pack of demon wolves were nipping at his heels, while the old man watched him go, grumbling under his breath.

"Young people these days. So lazy. Can’t even finish a simple task. In my time, I would have completed it before my superior even finished giving the order..."

He turned toward a large panel of displays and began barking orders without missing a beat.

"You! Eastern quadrant monster activity! Give me the latest readings!"

A clerk near the front snapped to attention.

"Sir! Three new signatures detected in Sector Seven. Classification suggests Stoneskinned Flayers, possibly a breeding pair with one juvenile. Mana levels consistent with B-class threat assessment."

"B-class? You’re telling me a BREEDING PAIR of Flayers only registers B-class?! Check those readings again, girl. If the juvenile is old enough to hunt, it’s old enough to fight, and that makes them a coordinated pack. Bump it to A-minus and notify the western response team."

"Yes, sir!"

"You there! Supply status for the northern outposts!"

Another clerk, a lizard-kin with scales that shimmered green in the artificial light consulted his display.

"Sir! Rations at 74% capacity. Medical supplies fully stocked. Arrow reserves at 62%—we’ll need a resupply within two days at current expenditure rates."

"Two days? Make it one. I don’t want our archers counting arrows in the middle of a firefight. Route the supply caravan through the secondary pass—the primary has been unstable since that quake last week."

"Understood, sir!"

"Deployment rotations! Who’s on cleanup duty for the southern valley?"

"Hawk Squadron, sir! They’re reporting completion at 89%—should be finished within the hour."

"Tell them to double-check the ravine near the old refinery. Hawk Squadron always misses the ravine. I’ve told them six times. This will be the seventh."

"If they miss it again, tell them I will PERSONALLY come down there and demonstrate proper search technique by finding the monsters myself and shoving them directly up—"

"Message relayed, sir!"

Evander nodded, seeming marginally satisfied.

"And someone tell the eastern watchtowers to stay sharp. I’m getting a feeling about the next few hours. The mana patterns are too quiet. It never stays quiet for long. Something’s brewing."

"Sir! Should we increase readiness levels?"

"Not yet. The troops need their rest. Just...tell them to keep their eyes open. And their weapons close."

"Understood!"

The old man turned back to his displays, muttering under his breath about incompetent youngsters and the general decline of professional standards

Cassius stood frozen, his mind struggling to catch up with reality. He turned slowly toward Brenda, his finger pointing weakly at the old man.

"Is that...Is that Evander Drakostos?"

Brenda nodded respectfully. "Yes, sir. That’s him."

"The one...the one we’ve been treating as my love rival?"

Brenda blinked in confusion. "Love rival? I don’t understand what you mean, Sir Cassius."

Cassius didn’t answer. He was too busy staring at the old man for the first time. Short. Round. Bushy beard. Messy hair. Grumpy expression.

He looked like someone’s grandfather. The kind of old man who would complain about the weather and yell at children to get off his lawn.

"So this is just...how he looks?" Cassius asked Brenda, still struggling to process. "He’s not in disguise? He’s not secretly a young man who transforms at night?"

Brenda looked at him strangely.

"No, Sir Cassius. He’s always been an old man. Ever since he came to the Holyfield Mines ten years ago." She paused thoughtfully. "Though I must admit, he hasn’t aged much in all that time. Rather impressive for someone his age."

She leaned closer, her voice dropping with genuine respect.

"But don’t let his appearance fool you. Just because he looks senile doesn’t mean he’s slow. He’s a genius when it comes to management. He can calculate supply chains in his head, predict enemy movements before they happen, and organize troop deployments with perfect efficiency."

"He’s the brain behind everything we do here."

Cassius didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’God damn it.’ He thought, a wry smile tugging at his lips. ’To think I’ve been comparing myself to this guy...’

He shook his head, the tension draining from his shoulders. All that anxiety. All that jealousy. All that mental preparation for a rival who didn’t exist.

’The universe, it seemed, had a sense of humor.’

"Isn’t he a bit...harsh?" He finally asked, watching Evander reduce yet another clerk to a stammering wreck.

But it wasn’t Brenda who answered this time.

"Many people think so."

Cassius turned. Ragnora had moved to stand beside him, her massive arms folded across her chest, her golden eyes fixed on Evander.

But the moment she was by his side, she immediately felt nervous all over. But she didn’t dare show it out and instead focused on the topic on hand.

"People see him as a grumpy old man who does nothing but complain and criticize." She cleared her throat and said. "They say he’s never satisfied with anything and he treats his subordinates like soldiers in boot camp rather than trained professionals."

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"And in fairness...they’re not entirely wrong. I’ve seen Evander genuinely smile perhaps five times in the ten years I’ve known him. He is, as you may have noticed, perpetually in a mood."

"I noticed." Cassius said dryly.

"But." Ragnora raised a finger. "That’s only the surface. Beneath all the bluster and the shouting and the creative insults...there is a genuinely good man."

Cassius raised an eyebrow. "You’re certain about that?"

"Absolutely!"

To his surprise, it was Brenda who answered, stepping forward with an enthusiastic nod.

"Commander Ragnora speaks the truth, Sir Cassius! Master Evander may be harsh, but he’s also the first person to help when something goes wrong."

She pointed toward a lizard-kin clerk working at one of the nearer desks, the same one who had reported on supply status moments before.

"You see him? About two years ago, he made a critical error in a report that needed to be submitted by the next morning. He was terrified of the consequences. But do you know who stayed with him the entire night to fix the problem?"

Cassius followed her gaze to the clerk, who was now typing furiously at his station. "Evander?"

"Master Evander." Brenda nodded firmly. "He spent the entire night in this very room, going through every line of that report, correcting every mistake."

"Did he scold the poor man the whole time? Yes. Did he call him every synonym for ’incompetent’ that exists in the common tongue? Absolutely!"

"But he stayed. He could have gone home. He could have let the clerk face the consequences alone. But he stayed."

Cassius’s eyebrows rose. "That does sound...unexpectedly kind."

"And there was another incident." Brenda continued, warming to her subject. She pointed to a bunny-eared beastkin woman at a nearby desk. "When a noble family came to negotiate a trade deal, their head made some...inappropriate remarks toward her. Nothing actionable, just crude comments. Any other boss would have ignored it—the deal was too important."

She smirked. "But Master Evander? He walked right up to that noble and smacked him across the face. Knocked out three of his teeth."

"He did what?"

"Didn’t even hesitate. Said something like, ’If you want to behave like that in a tavern, that’s your business. But in my presence, in front of my people, you’ll show respect.’"

"Naturally, the noble was furious." Brenda added, practically bouncing with enthusiasm. "He brought his personal guard—fifty soldiers—and demanded satisfaction. He was going to have Master Evander arrested. Possibly executed. There was a great deal of shouting."

"What happened?"

Brenda’s grin was feral.

"He was in the Holyfield mines! The moment the commotion started, five hundred of our soldiers showed up. The noble left very quickly. I believe he was...how shall I put this...actively soiling himself as he fled."

Ragnora nodded, a fond smile on her face. "That’s just how Evander is. He wants to help people, but he acts like he’s doing it for himself. As if he can’t stand the idea of being seen as kind."

Cassius couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him.

He looked back at Evander who was now glaring at a display screen as though it had personally offended his ancestors and saw him in a slightly different light.

"He’s like..." Cassius searched for the right comparison. "He’s like one of those characters in romance novels. The ones who are mean to everyone but secretly have hearts of gold."

Ragnora’s crimson cheeks flushed slightly at the mention of romance novels, but she nodded.

"That’s...a surprisingly apt description."

Brenda, meanwhile, was staring at Evander with a thoughtful expression.

"You know." She said slowly. "I’ve always felt there’s something...strange about him."

Cassius turned. "Strange how?"

"I don’t know exactly. It’s just..." She scratched her head, her broad ogre features scrunching in concentration. "The way he acts. The grumpiness. The harsh words. Sometimes it feels...forced. Like he’s putting on a performance. Like he doesn’t want anyone to see what’s really underneath."

She shrugged.

"Maybe I’m overthinking it. But sometimes I get the sense that Master Evander is hiding something. Something important."

Beside them, Ragnora’s body imperceptibly tensed. A flicker of deep, anxious panic flashed through her golden eyes before she quickly masked it.

Cassius, with his hyper-perceptive gaze, caught the subtle shift instantly.

’Ragnora knows something.’ Cassius noted silently, his curiosity piqued. ’Whatever Evander is hiding...she’s in on it.’