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That made Morgunov chortle. For quite a while, in fact. By the time he settled again, everyone was staring at him. "Only a madman would not fear Iceheart," he said.

And no one responded.

Which made him laugh again. Harder, this time. The more uncomfortable his audience looked, the funnier it became.

There were so many things he could say here, so many demeaning or even infantilizing remarks that popped into his head. It was clear to him that Learxia just wanted him to hold Crowe's hand while they confronted the Vanguardian Field Marshal. To ensure the lad's safety. And hers, of course.

But pointing that fact out might just embarrass the two of them enough to go out and try to prove him wrong, to try to take down Iceheart on their own.

And yeah, that might've been amusing. Hell, imagine if they even pulled it off. The Man of Crows was a strong, growing boy. The possibility was non-zero.

But the risk was needless, all the same. Crowe was one of the two most powerful servants that Morgunov had at his disposal here. Bool would throw a fit if he allowed him to die so stupidly.

Especially when Morgunov was already planning to take to the field soon, anyway.

"I hope you aren't getting too eager for your own good," the Mad Demon said. "You two are supposed to set an example for the young ones, and they've already got eagerness to spare, I'm sure."

Still, no one said anything.

Well, that was fine.

"Anyway, good work so far," said Morgunov. "Keep me apprised of further developments."

"Of course, boss."

And they departed without another word.

Bool lingered, of course. 'Sometimes I forget how skilled you used to be in leadership,' the reaper said privately.

Morgunov smiled as he returned to his vending machine. "Y'know, there was once a time when I thought it was the reaper's job to lead and the servant's to follow."