The so-called 'inspection' was nothing more than checking whether Lancer posed a danger. Without a doubt, the result of the inspection was —————— None.
His weapon was placed in the weapons box. At this moment, he was alone. Besides carrying some money, he only had the scarf wrapped around his neck in addition to his clothes. Combined with Lancer empty right arm, he was almost immediately judged as 'non-threatening'.
Afterward, some simple questioning followed. Of course, Lancer mostly talked nonsense here. As for the reason for appearing in the Imperial Capital, he directly said that he hadn't visited for a long time, so he stopped by to take a look.
It could be said that Lancer was like a common passerby at this time.
"Apologies for bothering you for so long, but I hope you won't..."
"Kacha~!"
Before the other party could finish speaking, the door of the interrogation room was suddenly pushed open, and a man with a pompadour haircut walked in with a big smile.
"Yo~ Tatsumi? Haven't gotten off work yet? I came to pick you up!"
"Big Brother! I still have work to do! Can you please wait outside first?"
Tatsumi face was full of helplessness as he looked at the smile on his Big Brother face. He even suspected that what he saw in the past might all have been an 'illusion'.
In his memory, when he joined the army, the other party was an iron-blooded soldier with an immaculate hairstyle and a perpetually cold expression. Why had he become like this now?
"It's nothing~ It's nothing~ I've been listening outside for quite a while. Since everything's fine, let him go. We made an arrangement to eat together, didn't we~ I... Cough cough cough~!!! "
Bulat, who was still smiling, suddenly coughed loudly as soon as he walked up to Tatsumi and put his arm around his shoulder.
"Big Brother?! What's wrong? Are you okay!!"
"I'm fine! I'm fine!! I'm okay!!"
Although he was speaking to Tatsumi, his eyes were fixed on Lancer until a faint smile appeared on Lancer face.
As the smile gradually appeared on Lancer face, Bulat rushed to the door as if he had gone mad, locked it, and then rushed back to Tatsumi side. However, this time, his face was no longer that of a playful person, but was replaced by a look of seriousness.
"General! Long time no see!!"
'General?'
Tatsumi, standing next to Bulat, froze completely. This middle-aged man in front of him was an Imperial General? Wait?! The man's appearance did look somewhat familiar, perhaps in the square...
Tatsumi, who had been wearing a look of helplessness just moments ago, instantly looked extremely horrified.
"Eh?! Big Brother! Are you serious?! Lancer... No! No! Didn't that General already sacrifice himself during the suppression of the rebellion back then?! How could it be..."
"Back then... back then..."
Bulat was at a loss for words for a moment. After all, the matter of Lancer being alive was one of the highest secrets back then. Although Tatsumi and he had a very good relationship, he still couldn't tell him the truth due to the confidentiality regulations.
Lancer, however, helplessly waved his hand.
"I am no longer the General of the Empire. 'Lancer' sacrificed himself after that battle. I am just an ordinary person now, so there is no need for such formality. I originally just wanted to come back to the Imperial Capital to take a look, and I didn't expect to meet an 'acquaintance', and more than one at that."
'Could it be that General Lancer met other people too?'
Bulat naturally wouldn't know that the 'acquaintance' Lancer referred to was Tatsumi, but he didn't ask further. After all, he had no right to ask. However, his first reaction was to notify his superior, 'Liver', but Lancer shook his head at him.
"Don't notify Liver for the time being. I'll just wander around freely today, and I'll go find him myself later. It's rare for me to return, so I still have to see him. You just said you were going to eat? Why don't you include me."
Lancer primary goal was to see the current state of the Empire with his own eyes. The sequence for meeting acquaintances was secondary, so he didn't want to alarm others too early.
After hesitating for a while, Bulat nodded.
Since the other party didn't deny it and directly admitted it, there was no need to rush this moment.
——————
Lancer originally thought that the so-called meal would be at some restaurant, but he didn't expect the two of them to take him to a cake shop.
'Cake for dinner?'
Before Lancer could think too much, the door of the cake shop was pushed open, and then he saw a man and a woman walking over. However, the two, who had been smiling, were stunned when they saw Lancer, as there was a 'Temporarily Closed' sign hanging on the door.
But before the two could speak, Tatsumi quickly blocked them.
"Ieyasu, Sayo, this is Big Brother Bulat former commanding officer in the army. We happened to run into him today, so we invited him to join us for dinner."
"Happened to?"
The two had somewhat strange expressions. It wasn't that they were surprised that the person was Bulat commanding officer; what was strange was why he would come along. After all, even though it was a gathering, there was no need for everyone to come. Generally, Bulat should take the person to eat separately somewhere, right?
"Sorry for the intrusion."
"It's nothing~ It's nothing~ Mine and the others made quite a bit of food. Uncle~ Welcome~"
Strange as it was, the two still invited Lancer and the others in. As soon as he stepped into the shop, Lancer body froze. Immediately, a warning bell rang loudly in Bulat mind, because he followed Lancer gaze and saw a 'photo'.
The girl in the photo was wearing ethnic minority clothing...
'Oh no!'
"Commander..."
Before Bulat could finish his sentence, Lancer raised his hand to stop him.
"It's okay, I'm not angry."
After saying that, Lancer found an empty corner without saying another word and sat down, while Bulat cautiously sat next to him.
"You really don't have to mind me. You should know quite a bit about me from Liver."
Bulat naturally gave an awkward smile at Lancer words. Of course, he knew about Lancer, or rather, he was forced to know, as he was Liver's right-hand man. He also knew that although Lancer was like a god of slaughter on the battlefield, he was actually quite easygoing in everyday life. But since they parted more than four years ago, the other party had been silent. Who knew what changes the other party had gone through in these four years?
Moreover, back then...
Remembering the girl who disappeared in the ice field, Bulat unconsciously lowered his eyebrows.
"Pa~!"
Just then, the kitchen door was suddenly pushed open, and a twin-tailed girl with a Loli figure stormed out, holding a baking tray.
"Is Tatsumi here?"
Undoubtedly, this was Mine, who was angry because Tatsumi was late.