“First, let’s tell Sir Ector…….”

Cadel’s eyes widened slightly as he turned his head in Yozen’s direction. The man who had stood at a distance a moment ago was now crouched down beside him. Cadel’s chest heaved in surprise at the sight of Yozen’s blemish-free, white face right next to him.

‘……I thought I was getting used to it by now.’

The stealthy, not-quite-human movements never really seemed to sink in. Instead of straightening up and closing the distance between him and Yozen, Cadel turned to face him out of the corner of his eye.

His head was fixed in the direction of the magic circle, but he didn’t seem particularly interested in the magic circle; it was more like he’d been sitting in front of it for so long that he’d decided to join in.

“Speaking of which, how did you end up dealing with Sellev? It’s not like you would have gotten to her first.”

“I watched her at first, hoping to kill her, but when she remained motionless, I realized something was wrong, so I approached.”

“And then what?”

“She wanted me to get her a magician, so I tried to kill her right away, but I needed to know why…….”

Yozen, who had been speaking diligently, suddenly fell silent.

“…….Yozen?”

He tilted his head slightly and pressed the corners of his mouth together. As Cadel waited in bewilderment, unable to understand the reason for his sudden behavior, Yozen’s reddened earlobe peeked out of the corner of his eye. He casually reached out and rubbed his fevered earlobe, and Yozen jerked away, flinching.

“What’s wrong?”

“……Nothing.”

“I don’t think so. Don’t stop talking, I’m curious.”

Despite Cadel’s insistent urging, Yozen didn’t open his clam-like mouth. 

It was because he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Cadel would be pleased if he found out why the demon wanted the magician. How could he tell Cadel that?

He wanted to extract information from the enemy and then dispose of it neatly so that Cadel would be sure to praise him.

Yozen simply wanted to be adored. He was so taken by Cadel’s promise of more love that he acted instinctively, like a child craving affection. This was not normal. Even if he was extracting information from the demons, it shouldn’t be for his own gratification.

The fact that he craved Cadel’s affection was slowly turning into self-doubt. Yozen was digging furiously when he realized that he was alone in his anguish. Studying his expression, Cadel patted Yozen on the back as he tilted away from his touch.

“You did well, Yozen. You held her down instead of killing her right away, so we can learn something new.”

“…….”

“It’s all thanks to you, Yozen.”

Cadel didn’t know exactly what was going on in Yozen’s mind, but their last conversation had made this much clearer. When dealing with Yozen, the only answer was moving forward. There was no point in knocking gently on his door and waiting for an answer. He had already built up several layers of walls, and you could never get close enough to him without smashing them down.

So don’t hold back on expressing yourself just because Yozen isn’t expressing himself. He had to give Yozen lots of love until he got used to being loved.

「Knight ‘Yozen Vardikta’ ’s favorability has increased by 3.」

「Current favorability: 70/100」

Cadel stood up with a small smile as he glanced at the favorability window that had been waiting for him.

“Do you want a hug as a compliment?”

“……It’s alright.”

“Got it.”

As if he knew what Yozen was getting at, Cadel stood up and leaned down to grab Yozen’s head in a tight embrace.

“Don’t, don’t do that.”

The sudden embrace left Yozen stuttering and speechless, but Cadel didn’t care. Yozen’s hair was a mess from the tight embrace, and Cadel smirked as he let go of his reddened face.

“Let’s go. First, we have to finalize the bet.”

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the bet was in favor of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order. Putting aside the basic differences in their individual abilities, they had disrupted the other team with more enthusiasm than anyone else.

“It was a slim margin, and if I’d known it would be like this, I’d have tried to appease your fairy.”

“If you’d brought a three-layer cake into the forest, maybe we’d have gotten away with it.”

The Scarlet Scales Knight Order had hunted 89 monsters. The Guardian Knight Order had 45. It was a difference, to say the least, but Cadel didn’t dare stroke Ector’s ego.

“Anyway, keep your word, and let us get a good rest while the Guardian Knight Order does the hard work.”

“……You’ll have to get over that habit of yours. What a waste of a chance to get to know you. It’s a shame.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing.”

“Perhaps it’s because you’re a magician, but you’re very good at reading between the lines.”

With a wry smile, Ector turned to walk away, intent on recharging his men’s low morale.

“Sir Ector.”

“Yes?”

“I have something important to tell you. I hope you have a moment.”

“More important than recharging the morale of my men after their disastrous defeat at the hands of a junior Knight Order?”

“Of course.”

Ector cocked his head at Cadel, who, unlike when he’d checked the outcome of the bet, was not smiling.

“Tell me.”

Cadel recounted his meeting with Sellev, what she had told him, the magic circle she had shown him, and the outline of his findings. When he had finished, Ector turned to Cadel for guidance.

“……This is the first magic circle I’ve ever seen. I’ve traveled to many battlefields, but I’ve never heard of a magic circle that can change form.”

“I’ve never seen it either, and the part about it only responding to demonic energy. I think we need to summon the imperial magicians.”

“That won’t be possible right away. Many of our magicians have been absent since the beginning of the war, and those that remain are busy constructing the city’s defenses…….”

Ector, who had been rubbing his forehead as if it hurt, let out a low sigh.

“If you’re right, that demon left us a hint in hopes that we’d cross over into the Demon Realm, and I don’t think it’s going to disappear anytime soon, so we’d better prioritize preservation for now.”

“Looks like my rest is over.”

“Blame it on the fact that you are a capable magician. I’ll try to gather as many imperial magicians as I can, but until they arrive, you may as well rest, for it’s not as if overworking yourself will produce quick results.”

Cadel meekly agreed to Ector’s suggestion. He was right, grunting in front of the magic circle alone would not solve the problem.

‘Just when I thought I could just wait for the results of the summit, Sellev throws me an assignment, and I’m stuck with a list of things to do, and I don’t see myself resting.’

Rather than get frustrated by the mountain of work in front of him, Cadel decided to focus on the nectar of rest he was about to enjoy.

* * *

While the Guardian Knight Order was out scouting for monsters, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order had settled into a nearby inn and decided to take their own time. If they wanted to train, they would train; if they wanted to sleep, they would sleep; if they wanted to explore the town, they would explore. Cadel set his subordinates free to bask in the glow of victory.

Of course, the rest they wanted was time with Cadel, but if they all indulged their greed, Cadel would have to go straight to his next task without rest. So they agreed among themselves (unbeknownst to Cadel) to go about their business without seeing him except at meal times.

Thanks to their generosity, Cadel was able to enjoy a well-deserved rest.

「Demon Realm Summoning Progression: 00%」

「Human Realm Invasion Progression: 03%」

After sleeping in all day and eating a hearty dinner, Cadel lay back in bed and stared blankly at the system window on the ceiling.

‘Sir Ector says the summit doesn’t seem to be going as smoothly as he had hoped.’

Despite the successful dismantling of the great magic circle, the war was still ongoing. The allies could not meet in one place as before. The kings of the allied nations were attempting to hold talks via special communicators. However, delays and miscommunications have slowed their progress, and the story of Sellev and the magic circle had yet to be told.

‘Well, it’s only a matter of time before it’s resolved.’

The same could be said for the progress of the invasion. The Guardian Knight Order’s diligence in exterminating monsters had slowed the progress of the invasion.

‘The imperial magicians said they’d wait until after the summit to summon me, so……. Good, I can rest longer than I thought.’

Cadel’s expression relaxed at the positive conclusion. So what was he going to do with the rest of the day? He could go back to sleep, or have a midnight snack. A leisurely walk wouldn’t hurt either. Alcohol didn’t appeal to him after his recent binge, but a few beers would be refreshing.

As his mind drifted more and more toward drinking, a man’s face popped into his mind.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Garuel all day.’

He’d spent most of the day in bed, so he didn’t know what everyone was up to, but Garuel hadn’t shown his face at the dinner table, either. Lydon said he was holed up in a corner training, but he never showed up for late lunch or dinner.

‘He’d be the first one to come up to me for a drink…….’

Training without drinking? It seemed a little strange.

“I’ll go look for him.”

Muttering some inaudible excuse, Cadel scrambled to his feet, pulled on his thin coat, and left the room.

It took him exactly a full hour and 18 minutes to find Garuel after leaving the inn so curiously. After searching every nook and cranny of the town, he found Garuel in a clearing on the outskirts. It was a very small clearing, with tall trees rising up like a wall around it, and it took him a while to realize that there was a space beyond.

“Garuel!”

“……Knight Commander?”

Cadel let out a sound that bordered on exasperation when he finally found Garuel. He stalked over to Garuel, who stood dumbfounded, clutching his sword, and grumbled through his red, frozen nose.

“Why are you here? Lydon said you’d be in a corner somewhere, but I didn’t think it would be this far back.”

“Did you come looking for me?”

“Wouldn’t you know it? I thought about just giving up, but then I decided it was worth the walk, so I decided to come here. Ugh, it’s freezing!”

Had he known this would happen, he would have stayed in his room and slept. At Cadel’s whimpering, Garuel chuckled softly and lowered his sword.

“I was looking for a place off the beaten path, and here I am. If I’d known you’d be here, I’d have told you where to find me. Come here.”

With outstretched arms, Garuel immediately pulled Cadel into his arms. Normally, Cadel would have been busy pushing him away, asking what he was doing, but right now, Cadel desperately needed the warmth of his practiced body.

Cadel let out a languid breath as he warmed up in Garuel’s arms.

“……I didn’t even see you when you were eating. Have you been practicing here all day?”

“I brought a quick bite to eat. It’s a shame I missed the meal with you, but I needed somewhere to focus.”

“You don’t look right. I thought you were going out for drinks.”

“Well, I’m a pretty sober guy as far as I’m concerned.”

Of course, Garuel wasn’t a slacker when it came to practicing. But he was also not the kind of guy who trained so diligently that he’d let a golden break like this pass him by. After a few moments of silence, Cadel pushed himself away from the warmth and looked up at Garuel. The unmasked face was sending him a friendly glance.

“Don’t push yourself.”

“I’m not pushing myself. This is just a warm-up. I’m just trying to build up my stamina to match yours…….”

“You’re doing this for Lawrence.”

Garuel’s expression stiffened slightly at the stern words. Cadel pulled Garuel’s slackened arm off his shoulder and patted him on the chest, silencing him.

“Stop abusing yourself, and come play with me.”