F-ranker Sword Saint: My Soulbound Sword is Secretly SSS-tier!-Chapter 254: No Damning

"Sigh..."

A pink-haired woman in her late twenties exhaled heavily as exhaustion settled, washing over her like a tide.

Hailey slumped into her plush office chair.

A mountain of work was piled on her slim shoulders — scouting new possible talents, researching other possible paths the government could take, contacting her spies concealed within enemy ranks, and many more.

But for today...at least for today, she was done.

She would rest, then, come early morning, she would work again. There was no other way around it, and Hailey didn’t want it any other way, either.

She tried not to let certain matters take over her mind. However, Hailey, too, was only human. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

She had long accepted one of these matters and was willing to wait for as long as it took, but the other...Onimaru Kunitsuna’s...

It would help a lot if he woke up soon.

If not, then she would have no choice but to either antagonize the Seven Sword Guilds completely, breaking their shallow shell of submission too early, or risk losing Daru Finnley’s loyalty by showing his slumbering identity to the wolves.

While there were a few other solutions, they weren’t optimal.

Still, those few remained in consideration.

Hailey looked out the tall windows of her office. The moon shone brightly, its subtle silver light gleaming in her weary eyes.

The young division leader had lost count of how many times she allowed herself to think about inefficient things that only made her heart heavy and working tomorrow more difficult.

Tonight was just another of those nights.

...Until her fourth phone rang — the one reserved for special matters.

Hailey’s heart skipped a beat upon realizing who it was that was calling. The Warden of Slumber Ward 25!

She both liked and hated being called by this specific contact.

After all, the man could bring either bad news or good news — both of which would impact the entire government’s course and her heart heavily.

She didn’t like things that could impact her efficiency for the worse.

But this...this was something she had to face.

Hailey took a deep breath and picked the phone up.

"You called, Warden Paul?"

"D-Division Leader Hailey, something significant occurred."

She couldn’t help but curse inwardly. Why was the warden being so mysterious?! Can’t he just tell the matter directly, so as to save her the anxiety?

"Do tell."

Still, since the man was trying hard to suppress his emotions in an act of professionalism. She, too, couldn’t lose her composure.

"The patient in Cubicle Four, tagged as P1, had woken up."

Hailey’s pupils constricted.

"Tell him to stay put! I’m coming over!"

In the end, she lost her composure. How could she not? She had been dreaming of this day for years.

Hailey practically hopped off her office chair, her exhausted body rewarded with a surge of strength.

She hung up the call without waiting for the warden’s response, put all restricted phones back in her secure drawer — including the fourth phone — locked them all in, and jogged out of her office, snatching her blazer off the coat rack and pulling her office door open.

Her bodyguards immediately moved to follow her without asking any questions. Such occurrences weren’t too rare, after all, especially if one’s job was to ensure the safety of such high-ranking and irreplaceable government personnel.

Luxurious, black SUVs that oozed elegance and professionalism also pulled up at the exact same moment Hailey exited the building, receiving her and speeding off.

The convoy arrived in less than an hour, as she had tapped on a bit of authority for a bit of extra speed and convenience.

Hailey was slightly shaking as she disembarked from the vehicle.

She desperately wanted to run but couldn’t. Her position demanded her to be level-headed at all times, her composure a mystical barrier concealing whatever inner turmoil she was dealing with.

There were eyes everywhere, after all. Perhaps one was closer than she expected.

A moment of weakness can stir their courage.

She couldn’t throw caution to the wind and had to take every agonizing step with an impassive exterior.

Eternity, as it seemed to Hailey, she eventually arrived in front of the metallic door. Warden Paul had been waiting.

The guards already knew what to do, standing guard at the door.

Hailey, meanwhile, did not wait for the facility warden to lead her in. They weren’t strangers to each other, after all.

It was barely a secret, too, that the person in Cubicle Four was her younger brother.

Warden Paul had been looking after him for five years. He had a rough idea of how the young division leader was feeling.

Only, his estimates of their intensity should be multiplied by a hundred to be accurate.

Hailey immediately broke into a jog the moment the metallic door behind her clicked and beeped to a lock.

Her footsteps echoed throughout the metallic interior, drowning the serene hums of the air conditioners.

She was focused on a single aisle — the one Cubicle Four was in, but when she passed a certain one, she caught something in her peripheral vision.

Someone was wandering, scratching his head in confusion.

Hailey instinctively glanced in the young man’s direction. Her eyes widened.

"M-Mr. Finnley! Uh...W-Wait here, alright? I’ll be back for you!"

What a blessing...oh, what a blessing!

How could she have expected that half her problems — the heavier ones at that — were solved in a single night!

As much as she wanted to entertain Daru right now, there was a more pressing concern.

Her brother.

There was no way she would prioritize any other person than him right now.

Before Daru could make sense of what was happening, she was already gone. Still, he listened. He didn’t know where to go, anyway.

Hailey soon arrived in Aisle One, rushing towards Cubicle Four with watery eyes.

It wasn’t too far.

The moment she was standing in front of the deep green curtains, she forcefully pulled them open.

There her younger brother, Caleb Krauss, was, meeting her gaze with a wide smile.

"Hey, sis...I’m back, I guess? Sorry for taking too long..."

"Rascal! Damn you! Damn you! I thought you were never coming back!" Hailey cursed affectionately, unhesitatingly invading her little brother’s space and hugging him tightly.

Her tears finally flowed.

Caleb, however, flinched instinctively.

"D-Don’t say that ominous word, please! I’ve had enough of being damned...Also, can’t you be a bit gentler in handling a poor wretch? I can’t breathe. Hey!"