Free Web NovelChapter 137: Those are exactly the type of people who don’t get promoted.
"I risked my life to save yours and this is how you repay me?"
Lucian groaned, Evelyn however, only leaned into his ear with a playful grin and—
"I can repay you later if you want."
She whispered softly.
And Lucian froze.
"Ahem."
Sarah coughed at those words, even Clara’s pen stopped for half a moment. Evelyn’s smile remained innocent.
"This is workplace harassment."
Lucian complained.
Evelyn only laughed, Sarah’s mouth twitched and Clara—
"Focus on the route, Cross."
She commanded.
Lucian nodded as he got to work as well. Evelyn sat on the chair beside him. For the next two hours, Lucian reviewed the route while Evelyn occasionally asked questions, some were simple, some were surprisingly sharp.
"Why not use this road?"
"Because if someone blocks it here, the car cannot turn."
"What about this building?"
"Too many windows."
"Can someone attack from above? What if the attacker’s a man inside a red tin can that can fly?"
Lucian paused.
Those words made sense, he looked at Clara for an answer, Clara made a note on her tablet.
"Add rooftop sweep."
Lucian grinned as he looked at Evelyn.
"Look at that, you are helping."
Evelyn looked pleased for a moment, then her expression became more serious.
"I do not want to be useless."
"You are not useless."
Lucian answered instantly.
"I was yesterday.
Worse, I was deadweight."
Evelyn lowered her head but Lucian—
"Being protected does not make you useless."
He spoke with a serious look on his face, holding her hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
"You are important, this is why we are here to protect you in the first place and important people are not useless, don’t say that again."
Evelyn looked into Lucian’s eyes for a good few seconds, then, she nodded with a determined look on her face and—
"Teach me what I am allowed to know."
She requested directly.
Clara looked up at those words, Sarah frowned as well. Evelyn then turned to Clara and—
"I do not need all your secrets, but I need to understand enough to not freeze next time."
"There will not be a next time."
Lucian spoke with a solemn look on his face.
"You do not know that."
Evelyn countered and Lucian...
He couldn’t say anything. His mind instantly thought of Evelyn’s upcoming concert and his face turned serious.
He looked at Clara, Clara looked at him, then, after a short pause—
"We can prepare a basic briefing.
Basic threat response, what to do if we say move, how to stay behind cover, how to read simple commands."
"I would like that."
Evelyn nodded as she looked at Clara.
Clara looked at her and she nodded back.
"Then we will do it."
"Look at that~
Everyone’s working together.
Feels so good~"
Lucian leaned back on his chair with a big grin and that was when Clara placed a new file on the table, a file that was thicker than the previous three files combined.
"I am not reading that."
Lucian’s face changed in an instant.
"I don’t care. Call Alaric or whatever, I did this for two straight hours, I deserve rest."
He raised his hand but when Evelyn opened the file curiously and he read what it was about—
Concert preliminary risk assessment.
Lucian’s expression changed.
"Give it to me."
He asked.
"You said you weren’t doing it."
Evelyn frowned.
"I was obviously joking, I am a very hard worker, I do everything my superiors tell me to."
Lucian spoke as he took the file.
"Those are exactly the type of people who don’t get promoted.
Work as little as possible and pretend as if you are the busiest man alive, that is the only way."
Evelyn nodded to herself.
Lucian laughed at those words, his mind however, was already focused on the file he was reading.
Concert.
That was important.
He wasn’t going to take it lightly no matter how much he hated the paperwork.
...
With that, time passed.
A day, then a few more days, then, two complete weeks passed.
And every single day at five, Lucian reported to Clara without fail and was buried under route files, security schedules, staff clearance summaries, guard rotations, vehicle assignments, venue layouts, emergency exits, crowd-risk reports, and movement approvals.
He complained every day, but despite his complaints, he took the work very seriously.
After his conversation with Alaric, he understood the importance of the paperwork and the command structure. He understood that Evelyn’s protection didn’t just start the time she was attacked, it started from the moment the day began.
The preparation was key.
This was what allowed the Humans, who had always been weaker than other supernatural forces, to fight against them and survive.
So Lucian started preparing as well.
He learned where routes became traps, where teams could be separated, where crowds could become weapons, where a car could be boxed in.
And as he learned—
He became frighteningly good at it.
Lucian’s mind was quick, especially now when it was clearer than ever since his energy reserves were full.
He only needed to look at a route once or twice before his eyes found the flaw. He could look at a visibly safer road and see it was easier for attackers to make them split there. He noticed how a backup route was dangerous because a single blocked turn would trap a vehicle inside.
He saw and marked it all, making more changes to the route than anyone expected him to make.
And Clara—
She noticed it first.
How could she not?
She was the one working closest to him on this, she was the one who taught him everything and saw how ridiculously quickly he absorbed all that knowledge.
After a while, Sarah noticed it as well.
Lucian still complained, but his pen never stopped moving. He marked weak points, thought of better alternates, rejected bad plans, and added new emergency options.
The paperwork was still a nightmare for him, but it was still a weapon and Lucian—
He was learning how to use it.
