Chapter 901: Black Band

Cassius’s thoughts were cut short when a voice called out from behind them, crisp and professional.

"Commander Ragnora! A moment, if you please."

They turned. A young woman with spectacles perched on her nose and an armful of papers hurried toward them. Her uniform marked her as one of the intelligence department’s senior clerks.

She bowed respectfully to Ragnora, then nodded to Cassius and Isabelle in turn.

"I apologize for the interruption. Master Evander has already departed, but before leaving, he left specific instructions for each of you."

Cassius’s eyebrows rose. "He left instructions? Even while running away?"

The clerk flushed slightly. "I wouldn’t characterize it as running away, sir. Master Evander simply had...urgent matters to attend to elsewhere. But he was quite meticulous about ensuring everyone’s duties were properly assigned."

Cassius couldn’t help but smile at that. Even when running away in embarrassment, he still manages to be efficient.

’That’s...actually quite admirable.’

The clerk continued. "I’ve already informed everyone else of their assignments. As for you, Sir Cassius—"

She glanced at him with unmistakable respect in her eyes. Word of what he’d accomplished the previous day had clearly spread through every level of the Holyfield Mines.

"—Master Evander wants you to survey the mines and investigate the source of the mana fiend surge."

She gestured toward a desk where several thick volumes were stacked.

"Those are the reports we’ve compiled from our previous investigations. I should warn you—" Her expression turned apologetic. "—we haven’t been able to extract anything useful from them. But you’re someone entirely different." Her eyes shone with reverence. "If anyone can find the answers, it’s you."

Cassius crossed to the desk and flipped through the topmost report, his eyes scanning the pages.

Diagrams of mana fluctuations. Charts of monster emergence patterns. Chemical analyses of soil and crystal samples.

The work was thorough, but he could see why they hadn’t found anything. The data was all surface-level. Symptoms, not causes.

He set the report down.

"I’m confused." He admitted. "I was under the impression that Master Evander wanted to test me. Evaluate my capabilities. I prepared myself for trials. Examinations. Perhaps an interrogation or two."

He spread his hands. "Instead, he’s giving me free rein to wander the mines as I please. That seems...unusually trusting for someone who fled the room at the mere mention of my name."

The clerk opened her mouth, then closed it.

"I...well..."

Fortunately, Ragnora answered for her.

"It means Evander trusts you, Cassius."

He turned to look at her, genuinely surprised.

"The fact that he’s giving you free permission to go anywhere in the Holyfield Mines, that alone tells you everything."

Ragnora’s eyes turned a black bracelet that the clerk was holding.

"He’s even assigned you a black band."

Cassius frowned. "A black band? What’s that?"

The clerk stepped forward, eager to explain as she handed the bracelet over to Cassius.

"The Holyfield mines operate on a color-coded clearance system." She said, her professional composure returning. "Every individual within the territory is assigned a band, a wristband, typically, though some prefer pendants, that corresponds to their authorization level."

She began ticking off colors on her fingers.

"Yellow bands are for residents and visitors. They allow access to the residential areas, the markets, the mess halls, but not the mining sectors themselves."

"Blue bands are for miners and support staff—they can enter designated work areas but not the more sensitive zones."

"Green bands are for the refining and processing personnel. Red bands for security forces. Purple for the mage corps."

"And black?"

The clerk’s expression grew more serious.

"Black bands are...different. A black band grants unrestricted access to every part of the Holyfield mines. The most volatile mines, the most precious resource deposits, the most sensitive research facilities—a black band opens all of them. No exceptions. No limitations."

Cassius was silent for a moment. "How many people have black bands?"

"Including yourself, Sir Cassius? Fewer than ten."

The clerk glanced at Ragnora.

"The Commander, Master Evander, myself as the department’s senior liaison, and a handful of others whose positions require absolute mobility."

"You are now among that number."

Both Cassius and Isabelle blinked in surprise.

They hadn’t expected the paranoid, grumpy old strategist to hand over such terrifying authority to a complete newcomer on day one.

Then a mischievous glint entered his eyes.

"Let me make sure I understand this correctly."

He said, turning toward the clerk with an expression of exaggerated seriousness.

"The black band allows me to go anywhere. Anywhere at all. No restrictions whatsoever?"

"That is correct, sir."

"So if I were to, hypothetically, enter the home of a certain beautiful clerk—" He pointed directly at her. "—while she happened to be taking a bath, under the pretense of conducting important research into the plumbing systems of the Holyfield mines, I would be entirely within my rights to do so?"

The clerk’s face turned the color of a ripe tomato.

"Sir, I—that is—the black band doesn’t—I mean, technically—but the intent was never—"

"Darling!" Isabelle grabbed Cassius’s arm and tugged him backward. "You can’t say such shameless things in public! We are guests here! Apologize to the poor woman immediately!"

"I’m simply clarifying the terms of my authorization." Cassius protested, though his grin betrayed him. "It’s important to understand the full scope of one’s privileges."

"You are not authorized to harass innocent women in their baths!"

"That seems like a significant oversight in the clearance system."

"Darling!"

But before Isabelle could scold him further, Ragnora spoke up and her words made everyone freeze.

"Actually..." She said, her tone perfectly matter-of-fact.

"He does have that authority."

Isabelle’s head swiveled toward her.

"C-Commander?"

"The black band permits its holder to conduct investigations wherever and whenever they deem necessary. So, if Sir Cassius believed that inspecting someone’s private quarters was essential to his research..."

Ragnora shrugged her massive shoulders. "He would be well within his rights to do so. The band’s authority supersedes most privacy protections."

Isabelle’s jaw practically dropped to the floor. "He can just...raid people’s bathrooms?!" 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

She whirled toward Ragnora, her tone laced with genuine bewilderment.

"How on earth could Master Evander grant my husband such terrifying, unchecked authority? From everything you told us, he doesn’t seem like the type of man to trust an outsider so easily!"

"Especially when he looked like he’d seen his worst nightmare the moment he laid eyes on me." Cassius added, a dry, skeptical smirk playing on his lips.

"He literally fled the room with his tail tucked between his legs. So tell me, Commander...what is really going on here?"

Ragnora offered a wry, deeply helpless smile, running a hand through her hair.

"I...I honestly cannot give you a proper answer, Cassius. Whatever he saw when he looked at you triggered an extreme reaction...but clearly, amidst whatever panic he felt, he also recognized something in you that earned his absolute, unwavering trust."

She looked at Cassius with profound sincerity.

"That alone should reassure you. Evander harbors no ill intent toward you. He is simply...dealing with a very complex, personal matter of his own."

Cassius stood in amused silence, marveling at the sheer contradiction.

On one hand, the old man was so terrified of him that he let out coy gasps and sprinted out of the hall.

On the other hand, he handed him keys to the entire kingdom.

’Just what did you see in me, old man?’

Meanwhile, the poor clerk was standing in the corner, her mind spiraling out of control.

’Is...Is Sir Cassius actually going to break into my bathroom tonight?! Should I stop taking baths until he leaves?! Wait...what if he inspects me while I’m dry?!’

Catching herself before her thoughts degenerated further, the clerk snapped out of her daze.

"A-Anyhow! Those are your official instructions, Sir Cassius! As for you, Commander Ragnora..."

The clerk shifted her focus, reading off the secondary tab.

"Master Evander has requested that you personally redeploy to the Western Mining Trenches. There have been several minor mana surges detected along the lower fault lines, and the area remains highly volatile. He wishes for you to monitor the perimeter personally."

"Me?" Ragnora was taken aback, a look of genuine shock crossing her features. "Deploy to the Western Trenches?"

Normally, a Grand Commander of Ragnora’s stature was never assigned to routine patrol duties.

She was the territory’s ultimate strategic deterrent, reserved strictly for S-rank demonic incursions, catastrophic collapses, or threats that normal soldiers couldn’t dream of handling.

So, this deployment was rather strange.

"Master Evander explicitly stated that while there is no immediate emergency." The clerk clarified smoothly. "His predictive algorithms indicate a high probability of a structural or mana anomaly occurring in that sector within the next twenty-four hours. He wants you on-site to ensure absolute containment."

"Is there...no alternative?" Ragnora asked with hesitation. "What is the exact probability index? Do I have to go?"

Hearing Ragnora hesitate over a directive sent a wave of shock through the nearby clerks and staff.

Ragnora was a warrior through and through, a commander who would march through hellfire or dive into the frozen abyssal depths without a single second of doubt if duty called.

To hear her question a routine deployment was unheard of!

What the surrounding staff didn’t know, however, was that Ragnora wasn’t hesitating out of laziness or fear of the assignment.

She was looking directly at Cassius, her eyes filled with intense anxiety.

’I was supposed to stay by his side today...’

Ragnora screamed internally, her heart tightening painfully.

’Cassius is a brilliant researcher and a master of mana manipulation, but his physical combat capabilities are far weaker! Isabelle is the primary combatant between them!’

’How can I possibly leave him unattended when he’s planning to wander into deep, subterranean mine shafts where Mana Fiends could ambush him from the dark?!

The mere thought of Cassius being swarmed by feral monsters while she was miles away in the Western Trenches caused a agonizing knot of dread to twist in her chest.

’Why do I feel this way?’ She wondered desperately. ’He’s not a child. He’s a grown man. He can take care of himself.’

But the feeling persisted.

This wasn’t the professional concern she felt for her soldiers or the detached worry she experienced when miners were in danger. This was something deeper. More personal.

’It’s like...like how a mother worries about her son going off to war. Or a sister watching her brother march into battle.’

She shook her head internally. ’No, that’s not right either.’

And then, unbidden, another thought surfaced.

’It’s like a wife worrying about her husband going into danger.’

Ragnora’s fist clenched involuntarily. Her face flushed, the blue tint of her blush spreading across her crimson cheeks.

She couldn’t believe she had just thought that!

’Stop it, Ragnora! You’re thinking about another woman’s husband! Isabelle is right there!’

She scolded herself viciously, but the feeling wouldn’t go away. The more she tried to push it down, the stronger it seemed to become.

Isabelle, who had been watching Ragnora’s internal struggle with growing understanding, suddenly broke into a radiant smile.

She knew exactly what was happening.

And she knew exactly how to solve it.

"I’ll take the Commander’s assignment!"

Every head in the room turned toward her.

Isabelle stepped forward, her expression bright and confident.

"Commander Ragnora is needed here to guide my husband through the mines, to show him the areas she knows best. She’s the most qualified person for that task. Meanwhile, I can handle the western sector."

"Lady Isabel—" The clerk began.

"I may not be as powerful as the Commander."

Isabelle continued, cutting her off gently but firmly.

"But I assure you, I’m more than capable of dealing with whatever monsters might appear. You’ve heard about what I did to those demon wolves yesterday. An S-class threat might give me pause, but for anything less?"

She waved a dismissive hand. "I’ll be finished before lunch."

Cassius caught her eye from across the room. His expression was difficult to read—concern, perhaps, or a question.

’Are you sure about this?’

Isabelle gave him a tiny nod.

Trust me.’

Then she leaned in close to Ragnora, who had to stoop down to hear her whisper.

"This way." Isabelle breathed into her ear. "You can spend the day with my husband. Alone. In the mines. Where it’s dark. And private. And who knows what might happen when two people are all alone in the dark..."