"Couldn't you?" Elio's voice was sharp as a knife. "Or didn't you want to risk your life for the good of the city?"
The soldier swallowed hard. "I... I didn't want all the equipment and cores to be lost. I brought them back with the information as an apology, Von Elio. Please forgive me!"
"You want me to forgive you?" Elio spat. "Fine... Tell me, how many emblems did you have when you left?"
The silence that followed betrayed the truth.
Finally, Elio spoke again, his voice softer, almost considerate. "Thank you for the information. It's... valuable."
The soldier looked up, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Then... will you forgive me? For the information, for saving the mana and the cores..."
Elio looked at him for a long moment. "You're right," he said at last. "The cores and mana are important for the city."
The soldier began to smile, but froze at Elio's next words.
"That's why I can't leave them in your hands."