Because Cynthia Grant was returning to Morhaven with Flora Bloom, Five suddenly requested to leave with them.
Lex Cross didn’t have much of a reaction to the request, but Cynthia Grant’s expression soured as she began to object.
"Don’t. Lex definitely has important and dangerous business in Argent, so why would you follow us back? Your boss will need you, and you won’t be there. Could you live with that? Huh?"
Five’s expression was conflicted as he mulled it over, but then Robin Grant added, "I agree. Five, as one of Captain Cross’s men, you should focus on the bigger picture. It won’t be too late to return to Morhaven once Captain Cross has settled his affairs here!"
Faced with Robin Grant’s blatant opposition, Five’s expression turned grim. "Grandpa Grant..."
"Don’t. I don’t have a grandson like you. You can call me Mr. Grant or just Sir."
Flora Bloom didn’t know why Grandpa Grant was so opposed to Five trying to get close to Cynthia, but she smiled and spoke up to ease the awkwardness.
"Lex won’t be in Argent for long anyway. Five, you should stick with your boss. It won’t be too late to come back after everything here is settled."
"Flora!"
Flora Bloom arched an eyebrow. "I understand what you’re getting at, but I don’t think you’re the right person for Cynthia right now."
Hearing Flora lay it all out in the open, Cynthia Grant blushed instantly. "Flora, what are you talking about! There’s nothing going on between him and me!"
’Flora didn’t know what had happened to make Five suddenly take an interest in Cynthia Grant, but it was obvious Cynthia didn’t feel the same way. Giving Cynthia time to get used to it, or giving Five time to cool off—both seemed like good choices.’
Then there was the matter of Luna Thorne and Mervin Warren. Leigh Atwood was Luna Thorne’s maternal aunt, so she wasn’t from the Thorne family’s direct line. Yet after the old Thorne Family Head died, Leigh Atwood had taken direct control of the entire family.
Furthermore, according to Luna Thorne, even before her second uncle’s death, most of the Thorne family had been taking orders from Leigh Atwood, both openly and in secret. Meanwhile, she, a direct heir, had been left for dead.
Mervin Warren, for his part, refused to give up. His family had been murdered by Leigh Atwood, and he was naturally unwilling to simply leave. With his current level of strength, however, he stood no chance against her.
Ultimately, Lex Cross kept ten special-ops soldiers with him. Everyone else returned to Morhaven with Flora.
’In Flora’s opinion, Morhaven was now the safest place she knew of in the entire world. Bar none.’
She had tried searching the fields around the squat houses for spiritual plants, but unfortunately, she found none. A plant with no signs of evolution couldn’t release a plant spirit, even if she irrigated it with spiritual water. And that meant it couldn’t be claimed by her space’s imprint.
’On second thought, she was relieved. After all, if spiritual plants were that common and she could subdue them all, wouldn’t she be able to rule the world? It was a case of dripping water piercing a stone—a little adding up to a lot over time.’
’Given enough time, she could bring the entire global underground plant network under her control.’
The group had nothing to prepare or pack. The norm in these apocalyptic times was to scavenge wherever you went.
As for Five, he stared pitifully at Cynthia Grant, trying to get even a shred of her attention, only to find she wouldn’t even look his way.
The Argent base wasn’t far from the outskirts, where a large, open field served as a perfect airstrip. Flora Bloom summoned the airplane from her space. After Lex Cross and a few special-ops soldiers boarded to check its systems, Flora and the others got on. The Crown Prince and Wildcat took the controls, and the plane set a course back to Morhaven.
As he watched Flora’s plane depart, Lex Cross’s expression suddenly turned chilling.
Saul Sterling and the men behind Lex Cross could feel the cold aura radiating from their boss.
"Boss, what’s wrong? Why did you let Flora go back to Morhaven by herself? Our business here is finished!"
Lex Cross’s expression was cold as he gazed at the sky in the direction Flora’s plane had disappeared. "They’re here," he said softly.
Saul Sterling’s expression shifted. "Them?" ’For Lex Cross to use such a grave tone... it could only be *them*. After all, on Earth, there was no one powerful enough to put their boss on such high alert.’
Upon hearing Lex Cross’s words, Five’s earlier dejection vanished. "Boss, you mean... *them*?"
"Let’s go. We’re going to the base to see her."
「Argent Base」
An explosion in the research lab the previous night had shaken everyone at the base. As for the Thorne family, whose Family Head had died, everyone had assumed they would fall into decline. Instead, they had apparently appointed a new Family Head overnight and re-entered the public eye with an aggressive show of strength.