The Nokentoria Castle’s liquor warehouse was a treasure trove that had been passed down through the millennia.
A rare opportunity to drink when Meyer proposed alcohol first. There was no way Axion would miss that.
Meyer’s tongue rolled when he saw Axion’s frivolous smile.
“Anyway, greedy.”
“So why don’t you just unload a little booze for your people who usually have a hard time, this won’t happen. A man who lives in a warehouse with a pile of liquor…”
Axion’s gaze wistfully treated the liquor in the display table. Meyer snickered as Axion handed him the liquor and poured it into his cup.
“Hmph. If I drink alcohol, it won’t be with you.”
“No, why?”
“Why? Because if someone more competent than you likes to drink, I’ll have to invite them to join me.”
“Ha, is there any expedition member more capable than me?”
“Maybe, I don’t know.”
Meyer shrugged and pushed a glass full of liquor toward Axion.
Meyer was joking, but what came to mind for a moment was Jun Karentia’s face.
Does Jun Karentia like to drink?
Soon Meyer chuckled and shook his head. What a fuss. She hasn’t even joined the Black Knights yet, so what did it matter if she liked alcohol or not?
… But just in case, he might want to take care of even one of the liquor bottles. Meyer secretly put one of the liquor bottles that Axion had placed on the table to the side. Axion, who didn’t notice Meyer’s insides at all, grumbled all day as he was wetted with a glass.
“Please take a little care of the existing members of your unit. If you keep doing that, it can be crooked.”
“If you’re crooked, I’ll be right back. I’m already crooked.”
“Do you always study how to win word wrestling in dungeons, Commander? How can you not lose a word?”
“Actually, there is no way to lose and win at the right time.”
“Oh, really.”
Until that moment, Meyer thought it would not be too difficult to embrace Jun.
Fabian’s attitude toward Jun was just as bad.
He had heard rumors that she was Fabian’s faithful dog, but perhaps it was because Fabian was the only one who would appoint her as a supportive wizard.
If the Black Knights then had a proposal, she would come to them immediately.
Maybe… Jun gave information to the Black Knights through Nova in order to move to the Black Knights.
Meyer did not doubt that. However, Nova brought news that Meyer had not expected at all.
“She turned me down. I’m disgraced, Commander.”
Nova bowed his head as if he were ashamed of him leaving in confidence.
Axion did not hide a hint of resignation and lamented in a whisper.
“Wow, no matter how well the Black Knights have gotten along with the Fabian Expedition recently… She’s not playing?”
“No, sir. I was quite bewildered.”
Meyer kept his mouth shut and considered Nova’s report carefully.
“She said no? Why?”
While Meyer was in a daze, Axion rebuked Nova with a furrowed brow.
“Didn’t you make it too obvious? She seemed to have a strange plan.”
“I know. I am not a good actor, but I still did my best.”
Nova looked sincerely frustrated. Axion spoke teasingly to such a Nova.
“Maybe you weren’t as close as you thought. It was only your illusion that you were close, Nova.”
“I am frankly a little embarrassed to say this with my own mouth, but I think I was much closer to her than most of the Fabian expedition members over there.”
“Is her reputation that bad for the expedition team?”
“It looks like that.”
Nova shook his head as if he were in shock at Axion’s question.
“It’s just… You know. She’s a supportive wizard, but she participated in dungeon attacks so many times…”
Axion directly prepared the report on the Fabian Expedition. Axion rolled his tongue, as if he knew what it was that he could guess without looking at it with his eyes.
Naturally, Meyer, who had expected Jun to come to him, looked at his palm, which was spread out in a blur. It was as empty as a mirage passing through.
After that, Meyer often encountered Jun and Fabian.
Jun was still shoddy, still desperate and tremendous, always craving something from Fabian.
How could she go to such lengths and still not throw away Fabian?
I would take better care of you and treat you better. Why do you follow such a man who is despised but does not recognize talented people…
It was not until later that Meyer learned that Fabian had saved Jun’s life.
She went into the dungeon alone and Fabian saved her. Jun would give her life for Fabian’s sake. She had already given up one of her arms.
‘Fabian’s dog.’
Meyer’s lips pursed at the nickname hidden behind Gray Rose. Her loyalty was only proportioned to her savior, not to anyone else.
And the salvation was that he didn’t even have a chance to give it to her.
Meyer Knox felt he had been ousted for the first time in his life. He was covered with an unfamiliar clumsiness that he had never felt even when Fabian turned the tables.
Still, he only missed Jun Karentia and still had a chance to turn things around. Meyer did not let go of the string of hope…
However, it was not long before the string of hope was broken and torn apart.
This was because Tragula and Defectio, who had been an elite unit, had left the Black Knights and deserted en masse, taking their own members with them.
The departure of the elite troops was a bigger blow than the others. Even if the Fabian Expedition had been pulled out, it would have been meaningless if they had not been able to play an active role in the battle against the Demon King.
It did not end there.
After hearing the news later that Tragula had joined the Fabian expeditionary force, he felt empty, as if all his energy had been taken from him.
Meyer buried himself in the back of the sofa.
Was this the price he paid for all the heat and sincerity he put into closing the dungeon? A mere betrayal?
Meyer laughed hysterically. In desperation, he called Axion and August to him.
“The Black Knights are over. You are outstanding people… Perhaps the Fabian Expedition will accept you.”
The downfall of a man who was never going to give up, a man who was more massive than Mount Tai and more solid than a rock. Beyond the unusual, Axion and August were also perplexed by Meyer’s weak appearance, which they had never considered.
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
Axion, who tried to hide his upset heart, was envious and gave strength to his neck and said as if nothing happened.
“I have the same magical attribute as Fabian, the expedition leader there. There’s no way they’re going to hire me like that.”
“… There are several good healers over there, so they won’t even need my help. I am loyal to His Excellency because you are a faithful follower of St. Marianne and I have no doubt that St. Marianne has led me to your side. There must still be something left for me to do besides His Excellency.”
August said so, but Meyer couldn’t nod to him.
There was a time when he had no doubt that he would defeat the Demon King.
He thought that all the hardships that loomed over him would be painful. At the end of it all, he thought that he would finally cut off the Demon King’s head…
But now, in retrospect, all of that was just his own defensive mechanism to somehow get through this life without going crazy.
What more do I need to do? What was I missing that made me lose to Fabian?
Meyer lamented, biting his lip.
Meyer Knox was more dedicated than anyone had ever been. He never failed to work hard, and he gave up his life to close dungeons.
He could not have been more dedicated.
In terms of competence and level, the Black Knights were much higher than the Fabian Expedition.
However, even his outstanding ability could not overturn the number of individuals who closed dungeons… That’s right. If only he knew the information about the dungeons…
If he had,he wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to kill the Demon King so vainly. But it was too late for regrets. The arrow had already left the province, time was running out, and there was nothing he could do to prevent the arrival of the appointed day.
Meyer looked blankly at the backs of the last members of the group as they made their way toward the Demon King Battle Gate.
The smallest back. Jun Karentia was following at the tail end of the seven.
Perhaps the reason that Jun Karentia-like talent fell into Fabian’s hands instead of his own was because Fabian was St. Marianne’s choice.
No matter how much Meyer Knox struggled, he could not overturn it; it was a future that had been decided in the first place…
Such despair engulfed him.
