Chapter 53
Adela ca out of the tent as requested by the worker.
As soon as she stepped outside, the place where people were gathered caught her eye.
It was around the entrance.
The captains appeared to be in a state of full armant, as if they were right on the verge of leaving the camp.
“Let us go.”
As the worker guided her with his hand, she walked over to that spot.
Derek cast a glance toward her from within the buzzing crowd.
“She is here.”
Being called naturally, she stepped forward along with Serena.
Suddenly, an intense bloodlust pierced her skin.
It was Sir Carius.
He wore a nacing expression unlike any she had ever seen before.
She realized the reason imdiately.
Leo’s face was nowhere to be seen among those who had succeeded in returning.
The two survivors who had returned were Joshua and Tania.
“From now on, you had better choose your words carefully. If there is even the slightest lie...”
Carius swallowed the rest of his words.
Everyone understood what that ant.
“I will tell you exactly as it happened.”
Joshua had a calm expression.
Excluding the respective leaders, he was the only one who did not tremble.
“What happened to Leonard?”
“He is missing.”
“According to what I heard from the female students, I was told he moved with you. Reveal exactly how you beca separated.”
“We chose to fight the variant. However, it was stronger than expected, so things did not flow according to plan, and we beca separated during the fight.”
“How did you two survive?”
“We eliminated the variant.”
An awkward silence lingered.
Except for Sir Rodwell, no one seed to believe that story.
The variant was strong.
Anyone who had fought one knew this.
And they thought it was an opponent that could not be helped by the strength of a student.
However, as if to point out that such thinking was wrong.
The boy had done it.
While everyone was in shock and questioning the feat he had achieved.
Carius spoke as he furrowed his brows.
“That is a contradiction. You said things did not go according to plan. Yet, how can you say you eliminated the variant?”
“What I ant was that I could not handle it according to the initial plan. Losing Leo is an example of that. After that, I killed it through improvisation.”
Joshua made up the story.
What actually happened was different.
The plan he had first established proceeded smoothly like flowing water.
As a result, he succeeded in hunting the variant.
“Then, after defeating the variant, did you not think to look for Leonard?”
“Why should I have to do that?”
Joshua’s gaze grew sharp.
“Tania aside, there is no reason for to risk danger to save that boy.”
Carius flinched.
It was a logical point.
He had no obligation to save the boy.
The idea of forming comrades was only valid when there was a mutual benefit.
“To my ears, it sounds like you ignored him on purpose.”
“I will leave it to Sir Carius’s judgnt on how to interpret it. But even if I turned away for such a reason, there is no reason for to be scolded.”
Carius was seized by the impulse to kill the boy imdiately.
Following that will, he lunged with his fist.
The punch thrown in a straight line advanced ruthlessly toward the boy’s collar.
Tap! Soone’s hand snatched it.
It was Rodwell.
“I understand the feeling of being agitated since you lost two subordinates you brought. But did I not tell you? That this exam should not be carried out. Even so, the one who pushed for it was you. Now you must accept whatever result cos back.”
The gazes of the two clashed.
Carius lowered his hand.
He had not completely lost his reason.
If he fought Rodwell, the result would be irreversible.
Above all, there was no guarantee of winning.
He had showcased top-tier skills every ti in the Royal Jousting Tournant held every three years.
Of course, a tournant was rely a festival and was different from actual combat.
However, anyone with a deep knowledge of martial arts would realize.
This sly knight was much stronger when he put his heart into it.
‘Good grief, this bastard and that bastard alike!’
Carius cald his anger.
Losing the two was painful.
However, he did not want to put himself in danger because of them.
“Lead us to the place where you said you defeated the variant.”
“I refuse.”
“What did you say?”
“Tania and I must rest. We will do nothing until at least tomorrow. If help is needed, I will think about it after that.”
Joshua entrusted Tania to a worker nearby.
The worker showed a bewildered look but moved her to a tent once Rodwell’s permission was given.
“It seems you have not even a bit of respect for your superiors.”
“You said the forest was safe, yet a variant appeared. Would it not be more appropriate for to be angry than the Captain?”
“The one who decided on this forest as the stage was Sir Derek.”
“Do not think of shifting all the responsibility onto the Moonlight Knights. This was sothing you also permitted.”
“Y-You bastard! Do you know who I am to be talking back like this?”
“You are a Knight Captain. And a noble as well. But my personality is not one that keeps silent because of such statuses.”
Rodwell covered his lips with his hand.
He felt like he was going to burst into laughter just like last ti.
The boy was twisted.
In noble society, rebellion against a noble could be punished as a cri of insult.
Fearing that, people usually did not think of talking back.
Originally, a justification was not needed to kill the boy.
If he was not liked, that was a good enough reason on its own.
This world was that kind of world.
Even so, he survived.
It was simple logic.
If the benefit was greater when keeping soone alive rather than killing them, they had to naturally be kept alive.
The boy had always proven his value, and this ti he succeeded without change.
At least as long as he did not fail.
He would not let him die a dog’s death under his protection.
“In that case, you two follow us.”
Carius turned his gaze and looked at Adela and Serena.
The two froze at his fierce stare.
“It is also impossible for those two to move imdiately.”
“Shut up! Those two are none of your business.”
Joshua stepped back slightly.
When he backed down unexpectedly easily, Carius wore a dazed expression.
“I am sorry, but I cannot let these two accompany you either.”
The one who stood in the way instead of the boy was Derek.
He confronted Carius with a face full of displeasure.
“I heard that the blonde girl has detection magic. I will use it briefly and return her, so I would like you to lend her to , Sir Derek.”
“If I lend her to you, what will you do for ?”
“What did you say?”
Carius began to growl like a beast.
The veins bulging on his forehead made his face even more nacing.
“She likely exhausted most of her mana to get here. If she has to squeeze out more than that, it will be quite a strain. If she suffers permanent damage from that, it will be a heavy blow to us as well.”
A conversation that seed to evaluate a person as a tool and weigh them against money.
It was an unpleasant story to hear.
Joshua looked at Serena.
She could not follow the flow of the conversation and was only giving a thin smile.
“Are you going to cross us?”
“I think the expression is a bit extre.”
“Extre? Even in this situation, you decide whether to move or not by calculating profit, so what is an alliance, and what do you intend to discuss! We, the Sun Knights, will sever our ties with you from this point on.”
“Haha, Sir Carius. It seems you have lost your cool.”
“Lost my cool? I am very cool right now.”
The surroundings were stirred.
Everyone avoided their gazes and turned their eyes elsewhere.
However, the anxiety remaining on their faces was evident.
The harmony they had tried to achieve by investing nearly a week went up in smoke.
The most troubled person was Derek.
He was the host of this eting.
The Moonlight Knights, who had built a hideout in the mine, had run out of food and had no ans to be self-sufficient.
Thus, he wanted to obtain a trade route sohow.
“We are going down.”
Until then, Derek had a conflicted face.
If he had handed over Serena from the beginning, he would have avoided losing face.
It was too late now.
If he moved belatedly, he would lose his dignity.
It was dangerous to lose dignity in a place where the heads of groups were gathered.
He was in a dilemma one way or another.
In the end, he could not make a decision until Carius left.
“If you two had done a little better, this would not have happened!”
Derek’s anger flared in an odd direction.
It was Adela and Serena.
The two had to stand there and listen to the verbal abuse without being able to say anything.
Tania, who was beside them, wore a worried expression.
There was no other way to help.
He turned away from them and walked inside the tent.
Just then, he felt soone’s gaze, and when he turned his head.
Martel, the head of the rchant Guild, was looking at him with an unpleasant expression.
It seed he had decided whom to form a bond with.
* * *
“It is a catastrophe one way or another. Well, I knew it would fail, though.”
Rodwell, who followed him, spoke as he shrugged his shoulders.
Unlike other people, he was not intimidated by the atmosphere.
“In the first place, it is difficult to get along with even two groups, but for five to gather. It did not make sense.”
“Well, yes.”
“Still, should I see it as a gain on my part since you raised the na of our knights thanks to you?”
Rodwell had a slightly excited expression.
While heading to the tent, he sensed the reactions of the surroundings.
He felt a longing as if they wanted to join this side.
As the leader of a group, that was not a bad feeling.
“Do not be intoxicated by a sense of superiority. I am the one who did it.”
“Good grief, you really are a bastard with not a bit of cuteness.”
“Now it is ti for the settlent. You rember, right? That you said you would give a reward according to the results I achieved here.”
Rodwell nodded with a reluctant face.
“According to Sir Rodwell’s standards, how many points do I get?”
“There is no need to ask. It is 100 points. No, it would not be strange even if I gave you 120 points.”
Rodwell felt a sense of ‘Uh-oh!’ right after he spoke.
He intended to give a vague answer.
So that he would not make excessive demands.
It was after the water had already been spilled to take it back.
“Hmm~”
“What is that disgusting laughter?”
“It is because I think the evaluation of is getting better day by day.”
“Who was the person who just advised not to be intoxicated by a sense of superiority?”
Joshua laughed lightly.
“So what is it that you want? For your information, I cannot give you the horse. That bastard is a beloved horse I have shared affection with for three years, he even has a na. It is Rocinante.”
“It is a cute na.”
“Right? It is a na I barely ca up with after agonizing for several days.”
A horse was certainly a tempting reward.
In this place without a ans of transportation, the usefulness of a horse was great.
If push ca to shove, it also beca food.
The taste of horse at was excellent and it was known for being plentiful.
However, he intended to do Rodwell a favor here.
“To put it another way, it ans you intend to grant other requests except for the horse, right?”
“...Does it co to that?”
“Then I will request sothing else. I want the dal attached to Sir Rodwell’s uniform.”
Rodwell’s expression collapsed.
It was a face that had not even imagined he would demand a dal.
“A dal?”
“Yes.”
“This is also a bit difficult. This is a gift bestowed by the Royal Family in recognition of my achievents. Using this in a trade is no different from an insult to the Royal Family.”
He was desperate to sohow gloss it over.
A dal was honor itself and one of the symbols of the status of a noble.
Nobility had not collapsed yet.
There were still countless nobles active.
“The excuse is sothing you should think of, Rodwell.”
“Ha, good grief... So how many do you need.”
“I would like to receive two.”
“Let us settle for one.”
“Was Rodwell’s capacity only this much? I thought you were a person with a very large scale.”
“...Do not flatter . It will not work.”
Rodwell agonized.
The wrinkles on his face grew deeper.
Soon, he slumped his shoulders as if he were discouraged.
“I will accept the deal.”
“That’s good.”
“I want you to know this. giving you two of them is my desire to deepen the relationship with you, in addition to this recent activity.”
“You want to be close with ?”
“...Well, sothing like that.”
Rodwell let out a painful groan.
There were a total of five dals attached to his uniform like badges.
He pointed to them one by one and explained what kind of achievent they were obtained for.
He listened silently.
If this would make his regret subside even a little, there was no reason not to.
“Then please give two from the very bottom.”
“Do you really have to pick out exactly only the ones I cherished?”
“It seems I have good talent.”
He took off the dals attached to the uniform.
However, he did not hand them over imdiately as if he had words remaining.
“Let ask one thing, you are not a bastard who would be interested in sothing like a dal. Because this is of no help at all for survival. Where do you intend to use it?”
“Because thoughts vary from person to person. Soone might think that a dal is more valuable than even food or water.”
It was not understood by the common sense of the human Kang Minhyeok.
However, this world was inside a ga, and the people inside the ga had lived in a completely different society.
Soone intended to use this disaster situation to achieve their own purpose.
And that soone possessed what he wanted.
“Are you saying you intend to make a trade? With whom?”
“I don’t think I can tell you that.”
Rodwell did not pry any further.
Only admiration flowed out.
The person he intended to trade with must have been one of the people inside the camp.
He found a new connection even while others were resting.
This was not a student.
dals had no charm for them.
To be fascinated by this, it had to be a person who had tasted the sweetness of power and status.
It was a leader of another group.
Once the reasoning reached that point, the boy in front of him felt massive.
“Here.”
Rodwell took off the dals and threw them.
Gold badges were gripped in the boy’s hand.
In the center of the pentagon, a pattern of an eagle was drawn.
It looked like a symbol of so noble.
“Is this the end of the settlent?”
“It is.”
“Good, I also have no lingering regret about what I handed over. I will no longer ask how you will use them. Only, I must point this out.”
He stopped his laughter and approached with a serious expression.
“Is Leonard really dead?”
Joshua was lost in thought.
He thought the acting he showed in front of Carius was excellent.
There was no action that was particularly worth finding fault with.
He did not tremble, his voice tone was stable, and he did not avoid his gaze.
Even so, a tiny flaw was caught by the man in front of him.
‘I could gloss it over like this, but.’
There was no basis that he was prying only into him.
Tania would not be able to react slyly.
It was right to keep the trust with him here.
“He is not dead.”
As expected, Rodwell did not have a surprised face.
He scratched his chin, feeling satisfied with his own insight.
“I see.”
“Was my acting clumsy?”
Joshua asked.
If there was a problem, he had to fix it starting next ti.
“No, it was perfect in my eyes?”
“But then how did you notice?”
“Because I thought there was no way you would have abandoned a comrade.”
He gave a bitter smile.
He was caught in a different part than what he had expected.
He looked at him while making a voice that sounded like it was mixed with a sigh.
“In any case, I intended to reveal it to Sir Rodwell.”
“If so, you would have had a face to see . If a boy who was thought to be dead is discovered later, our mutual positions will be troubled. You are not a bastard who would leave such a source of trouble. So, what do you intend to do with Leonard?”
“The recruitnt is finished. He will be with us when we return to the tower.”
“Even if Leonard has enough reasons to leave the Sun Knights, they will see him as a traitor. There is a risk in accepting a traitor.”
“I understand what you an by that.”
Rodwell was lost in thought while crossing his arms.
Soon, he ntioned one idea he had thought of.
“I heard that among magic, there are also spells that bind the opponent. How about using that?”
“That is a curse. It is not sothing to do to a boy who has just moved his residence. If considering Leo’s value, it should be avoided all the more.”
“Is that so?”
“I would like you to endure this part with your credit in .”
“You intend to manage the wolf you brought in yourself?”
“Yes, if a problem occurs due to failure in managent, I will take responsibility.”
“If you say it to that extent, it is hard for to refuse as well.”
The conversation ended there.
As long as he swore to take responsibility.
The room for Rodwell to interfere vanished.
He tapped the boy’s shoulder a few tis and left the tent.
Once he beca alone, strength drained from his body.
Drowsiness rushed in.
As he laid his body down on the sowhat uncomfortable hammock.
He fell asleep fast enough to surprise himself.
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