I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 268: Not the Only One

"Solarys? I’m going. I don’t care if the Baroness agrees or not. I’m still going. I deserve a break, and I want to see Solarys. Who knows? I might run into that white-haired princess." Hawk grins widely.

Ethan exhales slowly.

With Hawk, it is never about strategy.

It is never about power balance.

It is never about long-term positioning.

It is always about ego, thrill, and whatever shiny thing catches his attention. And right now, that shiny thing is Thea Montrose.

"So you’ll go?" Ethan asks, just to confirm.

He personally sees no reason to go. Even if the Baroness is in the same city as Rhaenas, the chance of running into them is slim. Especially if they are being guarded as tightly as the reports suggest.

"Yes." Hawk nods without hesitation. His excitement is almost childish. "I want to see her."

Ethan rolls his eyes.

Hawk is not thinking about the Baroness.

He is thinking about Thea.

"Alright then," Ethan says calmly. "Who else?"

J.C. raises his hand first.

Taylor follows.

Then Carter.

Ethan scans the rest of the room.

"Only four of you? No one else?"

Fifteen heads shake.

Some avoid eye contact. Some shrug. A few simply look uninterested.

Ethan scratches the back of his head.

Part of him feels relieved.

Most of his team clearly shares his skepticism about Rhaenas.

But another part of him calculates quietly.

If he cannot even send five people to meet the Baroness, it reflects poorly on him.

On Isabelle.

On the Hunters as a whole.

And Ethan Barlett does not like looking small.

He looks at his team one more time and lets out a long sigh.

He takes out his phone and dials.

"Teacher, I’ve discussed it with my team. Five of us will go."

He listens quietly to Isabelle’s response.

"Yes," he says after a moment. "I’ll be going with them."

He ends the call.

Decision made.

------------------------------

Captain Chambers stares awkwardly at the bowl of egg porridge Maeve places in front of him.

Steam curls upward gently.

"Captain, don’t be shy. Go ahead," Maeve says warmly.

Captain Chambers scratches the back of his head.

He cannot even form a proper response.

He does not know how to behave in this apartment.

He does not know how to sit here, being served food, after what he did.

Maeve notices the tension in his shoulders.

She pulls out a chair and sits across from him at the small table.

"Is there anything I can do, Captain?" she asks gently.

Captain Chambers immediately shakes his head.

"No, no, no, Ms. Collins. You’ve been very kind. You and Ms. Montrose. I... I don’t even know how to say thank you properly."

He exhales slowly.

"It’s just... Ms. Montrose told me I’ve been unconscious for two days. Sleeping here. Two days straight."

He scratches his head again, still struggling to process it.

"It doesn’t make sense to me. I always have trouble sleeping. And yet..." His voice trails off.

Maeve frowns slightly.

"Thea didn’t explain it to you?"

"About how I slept for two days?" he asks.

"Yes."

Captain Chambers gives a sheepish smile.

"She did. I just... I don’t believe it."

Maeve tilts her head.

"Not because I don’t believe her," he quickly adds when he sees her expression change.

"But because I don’t believe it happened." He swallows. "It doesn’t feel real."

"Well," Maeve says simply, "it did."

She studies him carefully.

"Tell me, Captain. What do you remember?"

"I remember everything, Ms. Collins," he answers.

"Even the part where I blurted out all that nonsense. About wanting Chief Lutherford back. About refusing to listen to her."

"And how I fought Mr. Arthur. Mr. Liam. And Chief Lutherford." He winces slightly. "I mean, Ms. Lutherford. She doesn’t consider herself Chief anymore."

He looks down at the porridge.

"I remember all of it."

His jaw tightens.

"And I remember that I couldn’t control myself."

"My words weren’t mine. My body wasn’t mine. It was like I was watching myself from somewhere else."

He shakes his head slowly.

"I can’t explain it. Even now, I barely believe it. But I lost control of my mouth. My hands. Everything."

He looks up at Maeve.

"It was terrifying."

Maeve takes a deep breath. She doesn’t know how to check for the green mist without touching him. And she has no good reason to touch him.

I guess Thea already scanned him.

"Captain," she starts gently. "It did happen. I’m not saying it to torture you, no. But I’m saying it so that you’ll accept it. The sooner the better. And only after that, you can move on."

He chuckles awkwardly. "I’d love to move on, Ms. Collins. But right now, I feel nothing but embarrassed." He looks down.

"It’s normal. I’d be surprised if you don’t. But what’s more important is, what would you do after that." Maeve replies.

Captain Chambers blinks.

"And right now, the best course of action for you is, to eat that porridge." Maeve gestures with her chin.

"And get better. Then you can return to work."

She frowns, "You... do want to return to Solarys DEU as Captain, don’t you?"

Captain Chambers nod. "Yes. That’s for sure. I’m feeling very sorry toward Mr. Arthur right now. And also very thankful." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He lifts the spoon and blows on the porridge before puts in his mouth.

"Wow, this is delicious, Ms. Collins. Thank you." He smiles at Maeve.

His first genuine smile since Maeve entered the room.

"You’re very welcome, Captain. And there’s more of that in the kitchen. You can have more if you want."

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Claudia and Theo are chatting casually while eating pancakes.

"Well?" Theo asks when he sees Maeve returning from the guest room.

"He’s eating well," Maeve answers, placing the empty tray on the kitchen counter.

Theo nods once.

"Thea, he said he remembers everything. Did he tell you?" Maeve goes straight to the point.

Theo nods again.

"Yes. He did. I’ve checked. He’s clean. There’s no green mist residue left in him."

Both Maeve and Claudia exhale in visible relief.

"That’s good," Claudia mutters, scooping another bite of pancake.

Theo leans back slightly, fingers tapping against the table.

"Yeah. I know the feeling," he says quietly. "My number one concern right now is whether he’s the only one. Or if there are others."

He frowns.

"And how do I detect that without draining my mana?"

He is thinking out loud now.

Claudia swallows and wipes her mouth.

"You might want to start small with DEU. The officers who were in St. Lucas with Captain Chambers."

Theo pauses.

"That’s a good idea, Claude," Maeve agrees immediately.

"And it’s a good thing Arthur is the interim chief," Claudia adds with a grin. "You can just ask for permission."