“Pardon?”
I blinked my eyes. I couldn’t guess at what point he was displeased.
I told the truth with frustration.
“…Was Axion the right person?”
“There’s a better fit.”
“Who?”
I asked back, but Meyer only looked frustrated and didn’t answer.
I picked my fingers, recalling the other candidates step by step.
“August can’t be used because he’s not sly. And he’s also a priest. They say priests can marry, too, but if we get together and break up easily, there’s bound to be a story…”
“Not August!”
Meyer shouted out of frustration. But it was not easy for me not to be frustrated either.
Not August either? Then…
I asked, frowning.
“What the Commander is talking about is not Tragula, right?”
“…”
Meyer’s face crumpled.
I didn’t have to listen to him to know that I was firmly wrong.
However, there were only three men within the Black Knights Group with whom I could properly propose a fake relationship.
Others were not appropriate as shields because they were too old or too low in level.
No matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t even guess who Meyer was talking about.
Meyer’s frustration deepened as I hesitated and couldn’t continue talking.
He was noticeably anxious and soon cried with a deep sigh as if he couldn’t help it.
“…Why didn’t you suggest it to me?”
“Pardon?”
It was strange. I couldn’t understand Meyer’s words from before.
I was definitely listening properly, but I felt strangely unable to communicate.
I stuttered through what I heard and filled the missing object.
“So now, why I didn’t propose a fake relationship to the Commander… Is that what you’re saying?”
“… Yes.”
Meyer answered, turning his head.
He was so angry that he didn’t even want to make eye contact with me, and his neck was turning red under the collar of his black armor.
Why was he so angry?
I was so frustrated that I couldn’t continue with my story with my mouth hanging open.
After many times of silence, I finally couldn’t hold back my branching and stood up from my position with a shout.
“People stuck to me because I explained that I’m not in a relationship with the Commander. How could I say I was dating the Commander to prevent that? Does that make sense?”
“So you don’t have to pretend to be irrelevant to me from the beginning. Why do you hate being tied up with me?”
Meyer was also furious. Until earlier, he avoided looking at me, but this time he turned his head and faced me.
His gold eyes, staring at me, fluttered like the sunset shining on the sea.
He doesn’t seem to understand my situation at all, no, his political position.
Well, I didn’t think he was going to understand exactly.
He was a man who would give me the position of emperor if he could defeat only the Demon King.
When I heard that, I turned it over as a joke, but the more I learned about Meyer, the more I realized that he meant it.
Taking a breath and calming myself, I explained step by step.
“The Commander will defeat the Demon King and become Emperor. He will also marry and receive an empress. I didn’t have anything to do with such a Commander, but what if the one who will be the Empress doesn’t like me?”
“… That will never happen.”
“No, it will. If I were the empress, I would be terribly disturbed by the fact that a woman who had dated my husband in the past was in his entourage. I don’t want to get caught up in such a firestorm, and I don’t think the future empress will either.”
“…”
“It’s the most important thing for the Commander to defeat the Demon King, so you’ll only think about that, but my comfortable life after that is also important.”
As I doubled my suffering in the first round, I meant to say that I wanted to have a comfortable retirement.
I quietly added.
“Some say that you should not touch your head under an apple tree. It’s best to avoid situations where you might be suspected. That’s why I don’t want to complicate things like that with the Commander.”
“Is it just because of that?”
“Because of that. What other reason would there be?”
Meyer covered his head with his hand with a deep sigh at my brazen rebuttal.
Is it something to be so angry about? I watched Meyer’s countenance.
“Still, at least you could have consulted with me or… But at least you could have talked to me. Why did you run to Axion of all people?”
“I believed that the Commander would understand even if he heard it later.”
Whenever I said something, Meyer pursed his lips well.
He seemed to hold back what he wanted to say or not say.
As the title of the Black Knight, his mind was also dark, so I couldn’t tell with my own eyes what changes were made.
It was too difficult to grasp Meyer’s thoughts.
I glanced at Meyer, who kept sweeping down his face with his hands, and straightened my back.
‘He’s a more delicate and complicated man than I thought.’
Meyer murmured as if whispering with his face on his palm.
“I was going to take care of everything on my own… Anyway, you.”
He was just talking to himself, but it was unusual to let it go. Just in case, I stammered and asked.
“Commander, no way… Sending a notice to all the expedition teams in the Imperial Palace… You didn’t mean to do that, did you?”
“…”
As if I had hit the nail on the head, Meyer stopped talking again.
It was a stupid thing to do.
I slammed my palm down on the desk where Meyer was sitting.
“The Commander didn’t even say a word, just went about his business! Did you get this angry when I didn’t come to see you right away?”
“Ahem, ahem. When did I get angry?”
“You’re obvious!”
Meyer cleared his throat and averted his gaze. The serious look on his face had disappeared and he was now only moving his eyes from one to the other.
Meyer asked softly, his voice more gentle than before.
“Hmm… Anyway, you don’t trust Axion more than I, do you?”
“No.”
“Or is Axion your cup of tea…”
“No, he’s not. When you put it that way…”
Meyer is more to my liking.
The way he looks is the way he is. I have a preference for big, handsome men with good bodies…
As I thought about this, I realized I had misspoken and swallowed my words in a panic.
I hoped Meyer didn’t hear me.
But there was no way that Meyer, at the 80th level, could not hear the words I mumbled right under his nose.
Meyer raised one eyebrow and asked.
“When I put it that way?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
Meyer seemed not to back down easily. At his appearance of persistently inquiring until he heard an answer, I shook my head with a sigh.
“Anyway, Axion is not my cup of tea. I don’t like red hair.”
“What? You don’t like red hair?”
What nonsense is this? I crumpled my face.
“It reminds me of Fabian. I still feel bad at first glance. Of course, Axion has long hair and Fabian has short hair.”
‘I just thought of Fabian’s face and it made me feel sick.
Seeing my grimacing embarrassment, Meyer looked stunned.
I doubtedly looked through Meyer and took a glance.
“Are you still thinking that I might have forgiven Fabian?”
“Huh? No. No. You said absolutely not.”
Meyer quickly leaped to his feet and shook his head. How could the Black Knight Meyer Knox be so foolish? It was a very suspicious attitude indeed.
Continuing to be the ex-man, no, my current boss who cares about my former boss…
“Come to think of it, did Axion say that he’ll follow your beat without a reward? A cranky person who cares about nothing but magic?”
I don’t know who’s being cranky to whom. Perhaps when asked about Meyer to Axion, he would answer, “He is a cranky human who cares about nothing but dungeons.”
“… I decided to do something for him later.”
“What is it?”
“It’s nothing special…”
When I didn’t answer, Meyer stared at my lips in frustration.
I swallowed my breath small.
I was afraid of how Meyer, who hated to enter the appropriate level dungeon, would react when he heard that I decided to join the dungeon that fits Axion’s level later.
If it was the first time I entered the drawing-room, I would never have told him honestly, but his atmosphere had definitely eased compared to before.
He might not be so angry.
I said it carefully.
“We’re going to a break dungeon together later.”
“Later? When?”
“When my level goes up.”
“Anyway, that guy… It can’t be helped.”
Meyer sighed and shook his head. It was a much milder response than expected. I asked with a big smile.
“Do you want to join me?”
“Okay. I’ll come with you then, so I’ll report it in advance.”
Sure enough, he didn’t send me off smoothly either.
“I’ve thought about it a lot. Even if you enter the Demon Lord’s dungeon, you will have to deal with many demons before you meet him… In order to be as safe as possible there, it’s better to raise your level to the maximum.”
“But…”
“Now that you’ve crossed the wall, it’s time to attack high-level dungeons. Axion is more reliable than the trio. And I’m more reliable than him.”
Meyer was firm.
Well… For me, I just have to go to the dungeon with Axion.
It didn’t matter because I never said I wouldn’t tell Meyer.
I nodded gladly.
“Okay, then I’ll tell the Commander before I go.”
“Alright.”
Meyer smiled with satisfaction. I looked at him with a sideways glare.
‘I’m really fickle. My heart almost fell.’
Still, I could feel relieved to have solved one of the things that had been bothering me the most. I let out a small sigh of relief.
***
The rumors of the imperial palace also went into Fabian Ignis’ ears.
“Ha, Axion?”
