Eren's private chamber.
"Is this Eren Idril I'm talking to?"
A live spectral replica of a man in his early 40s asked Eren with a serious demeanor. He was a bit shorter than Eren. But his physique was well defined. He had spectacles on and was wearing an officer's army uniform.
Since it was the spectral replica of the man, it could look Eren straight in the eyes. It could mimic walking inside Eren's room even if he was not physically present.
Eren was standing in an army-standard posture while in front of this 40-something man. The army officer was walking around Eren to size him up.
"Yes, sir."
Eren replied with minimal words.
This man was a high-ranking officer in Edinburgh's army. However, Eren didn't understand why the man wanted to talk to him. Because he was not the butcher's superior by any stretch of the imagination. He let the call through because of the man's position in the army.
However, Eren had an inkling of what the call was about after learning the name of the man.
As you are probably aware, my name is Gilhause Remus. I'm just contacting you to tell you that I found some discrepancies in the report your captain filled in the records.
It says here that you were dispatched to the region near Rupert's lake. But your name doesn't get mentioned in any of the army personnel's reports assigned there. There is no record of you ever reporting to the army base there. It's almost like you were never there."
Eren nodded his head before answering.
"That's because I didn't report to the army base or meet up with any personnel. There was just one spatial distortion array that I needed to operate and handle. My task was to take action and contact the army base there in case the monsters from the Badlands decided to breach the borders Edinburgh has set up for itself. But that didn't happen.
I was the only person dispatched there. And I kept to myself. I didn't report to the army base there because I estimated that it was unnecessary."
Eren repeated the lies he had come up with long ago. Gilhause Remus was expecting answers like these from Eren. So he tried to grill Eren some more. But he found nothing that he could use against the young man.
Gilahuse started getting personal in his line of questioning. So that's when Eren decided to draw the boundary.
"I'm sorry, sir. But I don't see how my way of running my guild would affect my performance in the army?"
'Hehe. That's easy to answer. There's no performance to consider because you completely ignored the army after establishing your guild.'
Alephee's amused voice echoed in Eren's mind. She was now occupying the same pendant that Layla had used as her abode. Eren wasn't sure how the young witch would react to someone breaching her personal space. But he figured it would be okay for now since Layla wasn't going to come back anytime soon.
Eren had indeed renounced all his responsibilities in the army after establishing his guild. He used it as a springboard to launch himself to the level he was currently playing.
***
In his early days, Eren used his military privileges to create the guild and use it as a shield for protection. He had made arrangements with Arjun and came up with a plan to deploy him to an isolated region. He then used the deployment as a cover to finish conquering the Oni dungeon.
Upon returning to White Raven city, Eren reported to his army base that he had completed his mission. He had Arjun cover things for him in the army base. He had a legit record of his deployment there, too.
On paper, Eren had carried out his soldier duties with stellar perfection. So he knew no officer could touch him or call his bluff. At least not anymore now that he was done with everything.
However, that didn't mean Eren would admit how he had led the army's administration by its nose. And it's not his Missing-In-Action status that dealt a huge blow to the army or any of its bases. So he didn't care about whatever Gilahuse had to ask him.
***
Thankfully, Gilhause couldn't hear what Alephee had said to Eren. he looked at Eren with his narrowed eyes before speaking up in a lowkey threatening tone.
"Boy, I know that you weren't there at the site of deployment. Do you think I'm one of those gullible women you woo with your charming words and believe any horseshit that comes out of your mouth?"
Eren had black lines on his forehead when he heard Gihause speak.
'Okay. Who the fuck is leaking my private information to these guys?'
He thought to himself. He then smirked before responding.
"Prove it if that's the case. Gullible or not, the ones I want to woo and fu…."
A small burst of laughter ensued before Eren could continue.
"Hehe! Well, let's just say that I have my ways of getting what I want."
Gilhause removed the specs he was wearing and clenched his fists. He felt helpless dealing with Eren even when he was supposed to have greater control over the guy because of his rank in the army. This is because of his higher ranking status as an Expert ranker.
"I cannot prove your insubordination anymore. But what I can do is make your life harder from now on.
According to my understanding, you have requested approval from the army stating that your LA-on-filed assignment has been completed. Hehe.
I see that you have used House Argas's influence to create a safe exit strategy for you. And you had prepared for this long ago, even before you had the White Raven guild or the city you own right now.
I hope you understand, however, that the army has the right to choose an exit mission based on your current performance. That's the only way we can give you our approval.
Now I know I don't directly control your unit. But I can pull some strings and make things happen for you that may or may not be in your best interests.
Do you see where I am going with this?"
