* * *

‘They must be eating dinner by now.’

After his comrades left for the castle, he wandered around for nearly half a day. The time he’d been gone would be a fraction of the time he’d lived through. Back in the White Kingdom, Garuel was constantly nostalgic for the past.

He saw the scars of war in the land he had once loved, the land he had given his life to protect. He felt bitter and lamented that he could no longer fight for his homeland, but then he remembered the face of Cadel, the man who had led him here.

The regret of leaving home was there. But that was all. Any desire or obsession to regain his old life was long gone. His place now was in the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, next to its commander, Cadel Lytos.

“……It’s been repaired quite a bit.”

After wandering for a while, Garuel finally stopped walking. His destination was Baskin Village, the place where Cadel had once cast the great spell to end the demon called Ergo. It had been turned into a wasteland in the aftermath, but after a year’s absence, the village seemed to have returned to life.

The rows of houses were dimly lit. Judging by the smoke from the chimneys and the smell of savory food, everyone seemed to be eating in their homes.

‘I wanted to see people who were safe, but……. I’ll settle for this.’

At the time, all he could do was heal the unconscious villagers. Without Cadel, he would have been too busy hiding his identity to properly protect them.

That his pathetic attitude in the past hadn’t led to someone’s misfortune. He had come to the village to find out, but perhaps today was not the day.

That was when Garuel turned to leave.

“Why are you here……?”

A familiar voice called out from nearby.

“……Knight Commander?”

Garuel turned to see it was none other than Cadel. He’d expected the king’s banquet to be in full swing by now, but he wasn’t the only one confused. Cadel was flanked by a man and a small child.

“Just, just a moment, Sir Modeleine. Just a moment, please. Finnett, you’re waiting here, too.”

Cadel rushed over to Garuel, who stared blankly in his direction. Quickly turning him around, Cadel whispered in an urgent voice.

“Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be resting in your lodgings?”

“Because I can’t stay in the inn all the time……. If that’s the case, then why are you abandoning the members and being with someone else?”

“I’m not abandoning them. I’m here to see a boy back there, a boy named Finnett.”

Finnett was the first survivor Cadel found in the Baskin Village. He had promised the child that he would return to the White Kingdom after saving the village from danger. Remembering his promise, Cadel asked Modeleine during dinner for the location of Finnett, and while King Danila was away on urgent business, he snuck out.

Garuel sighed and rubbed his forehead as he heard the news. The timing couldn’t have been worse, he thought, feeling a stinging gaze on his back.

“It’s not like I’m here for anything important, anyway. I just happened to be here, so please excuse me so I can leave…….”

This was not somebody to be taken lightly. Garuel chose to leave first to avoid an uncomfortable atmosphere.

“I see that Finnett has to go in for dinner, so we’ll have to leave as well. I know a tavern with good appetizers. Let’s eat together, Sir Cadel…… and his subordinate.”

Modeleine’s gravelly voice stopped him. Modeleine locked eyes with Cadel, who looked back in surprise and smiled weakly. He dismissed Finnett, leaving the two stiffened men behind and began to walk ahead.

“……When you say ‘his subordinate’, I assume you mean me?”

“I suppose so…….”

Cadel and Garuel remained frozen in place, staring at Modeleine’s back for a long moment before he turned and gave them an urgent glance.

* * *

The tavern Modeleine led them to was as familiar to Cadel as it was to Garuel. It was the place where Garuel, while playing dead, had given away his existence when he couldn’t resist the urge to drink.

Cadel and Garuel awkwardly took their seats, feeling their hearts sink.

“Ah, I suppose you two already know the place, Sir Cadel has been here before, and you, well……. It was so long ago, that I had completely forgotten.”

Modeleine frowned and tried to reassure Garuel. Despite his innocent and sweet face, it was impossible not to see that he was full of ulterior motives. The problem was, that it was suffocating even Cadel.

“I, I must admit, the appetizers here are tasty, and so is the liquor.”

“Yes, especially when the wine is properly aged, and I’ve heard it’s so addictive that drinkers have spent their fortunes and gone into debt to come here.”

“Ah…….”

“Addictive enough to throw away everything important in life. I wonder if it’s too dangerous.”

Each word was a thorn in his side. Cadel’s lips twitched up at the corners as he met Modeleine’s smile, while Garuel, seated next to him, kept his head down and sipped his drink, saying nothing.

Cadel hesitated, wondering if it was time to get Garuel out of this suffocating space.

“So, what should I call him now?”

“……Pardon?”

“Your subordinate, Sir. Not by his old title, of course. It would be embarrassing to call him by his first name. In public, he’s a black magician of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order, but……. I don’t think it’s quite right to call him a black magician in such a private setting.”

For the first time, Modeleine’s gaze, which had been focused solely on Cadel since they arrived at the tavern, rested on Garuel. There was a hint of hostility in his eyes as he studied Garuel’s bowed head.

“Well…….”

“Call me whatever you like. Call me a black magician, call me a traitor. Scum isn’t a bad title.”

While Cadel fumbled for a response, Garuel, who had been silent the entire time, snapped. Suddenly, the atmosphere turned cold, as if cold water had been poured over the table. Cadel felt goosebumps break out on his arms, and his mouth fell open.

‘I’m screwed.’

He shouldn’t have let them be in the same place in the first place. It was a mistake to follow Modeleine on his whims, to imagine what might happen. If he left them alone, emotions would run high and their already tenuous relationship would be completely destroyed.

Fearing a terrible ending, Cadel grabbed Garuel’s wrist. To drag him out of the tavern. But.

“……I’ll call you the magic swordsman. None of those titles you listed really fit.”

Expecting a sharp retort, Modeleine spoke in a softer voice. Cadel felt Garuel’s grip on his arm tightens; he, too, seemed surprised by Modeleine’s response.

“How did your excuse of being a black magician work, when you can only use light magic, let alone black magic?”

Modeleine asked nonchalantly, picking at a chicken skewer from the appetizer. His gaze was long gone from Garuel’s, but Cadel realized he wanted to talk to him.

Garuel was silent for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts, then slowly spoke.

“Knight Commander knows how to use dark mana, and whenever I use healing techniques, he’ll unleash it to blind people.”

“That sounds like a hassle.”

“I can’t help it if I want to hide my identity.”

The short conversation ended with a round of eating and drinking. Modeleine flashed Cadel a humanized smile whenever they made eye contact, but when he lowered his eyes, they quickly became expressionless.

‘……Sir Modeleine seems disturbed.’

Garuel wanted Modeleine to resent him perfectly, to use that resentment as fertilizer for the Twilight Knight Order to grow. To that end, he drove a stake into the heart of his loyal subordinate. Tormented by the knowledge that Modeleine would hate him forever, he turned his back on him.

Cadel sometimes thought about that fact. Even though Garuel was now starting a new life with himself, with new comrades, with new friends. He hoped that his past connections would recognize his sincerity. He didn’t want Garuel to be hated by the people he cared about.

And yet, he couldn’t think of a way to restore those relationships. He vaguely thought that maybe it would never be resolved.

But face to face, Modeleine was making an effort to talk to Garuel calmly instead of insulting and cursing him, and in that, Cadel sensed a glimmer of hope.

“Does it surprise you that I know how to use dark mana, Sir Modeleine?”

“Well……. You’re Sir Cadel, so it shouldn’t surprise me that you know how to use dark mana.”

“But I might be a black magician?”

“A black magician who saves the world, that’s certainly interesting.”

“I don’t know if there is prejudice or not.”

Cadel tried to lighten the mood, hoping to get Modeleine to loosen up a little. He hoped he wouldn’t curse Garuel. For Garuel’s sake alone, even if it was just a little bit of selfish greed.

As if Cadel’s efforts had worked, Modeleine, a little less tense than before, spoke in a light tone.

“Rumor has it that the black magician of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order has incredible healing powers, so great that he can raise an entire army from the dead in one fell swoop. ……He was great before, but not quite that great, was he?”

“Rumors are often exaggerated. ……But this one doesn’t seem to have much exaggeration.”

“Here’s what I mean by a rumor that isn’t exaggerated: The black magician, as skilled as he is, drinks like water, and you can smell the alcohol whenever you’re near him.”

“Don’t you know better than that how obsessed I am with cleanliness?”

“I know you don’t seem to care about your health.”

Lighthearted banter ensued, and the earlier aggressive demeanor gradually softened. Finally, for the first time, the two men locked eyes and burst into light laughter.

The corners of Cadel’s mouth twitched at the sight as if the old days had returned. Garuel, noticing Cadel’s exultant face, fixed his mask with a low sigh.

“The Twilight Knight Order is better off with you at the helm than it was before when it was more aptly named the Holy Knight Order.”

“……Mr. Magic Swordsman, you seem much happier now, too.”

He straightened his back and squared his shoulders. Garuel smiled a small smile at the way Modeleine had grown.

This was the kind of man he’d left his beloved Knight Order for. This was the kind of man who could never live on hate, no matter how much he tried to spit it out and be mean to him. He was a commander unlike himself, but a commander worthy of the title.

“By the way, about Pip and Sion, they’ve never listened to me. What have you been trying to coax them into doing?”

“Oh, them?”

“They’re prone to short fits of excitement, even in battle.”

“They have a favorite drink. Whenever they get excited, I put a bottle under their noses and they listen to my orders like they’re possessed.”

“……Pip and Sion are paladins.”

“I used to be a paladin.”

Different places, different values. Modeleine and himself were able to face each other as equals and have a proper conversation.

None of this would have been possible without Cadel. He would have fled long ago, and he would have destroyed the Twilight Knight Order.

How far did his knight commander intend to go to fix this hopeless life? Seeing Cadel rejoicing as if it were his own business, even though it wasn’t his own, Garuel felt something inside him melting softly.

After a brief dinner with King Danila, the Emperor sent a letter to Cadel granting him a week’s rest. The search for the Stone of Peace was complete, and it would be impolite to ignore King Danila’s hospitality.

It was a good thing for Cadel; he had done all he was supposed to do as commander of the Scarlet Scales Knight Order. He had found three of the Stones of Peace, trusting that knights from other countries would find the rest, and his faith was rewarded in a single night.