「Congratulations! The stat limit of Knight ‘Lydon’ has been lifted!」

「Knight ‘Lydon’ ‘s stats have been greatly increased.」

「You have earned a new title [Heir to the Hope of Fairy King Hesonia].」

Cadel slipped the [Ring of Fate] onto his index finger out of habit. Above the dull ring was a red thread that wound its way across the desert. The winds were strong enough that a moment of distraction could miss the thread’s direction, so Cadel focused all his attention on it.

Cadel was followed by Lydon, Van, and Lumen, who were fully restored by Stella’s healing, but when they awoke, everything was gone, including the temple. All they could see was a bumbling Lydon and a tired Cadel pushing him away.

They knew neither the details of their last trial nor how they had come to break Lydon’s seal, so they tried to piece together the events that had transpired between the gaps in their consciousness.

Cadel said he’d explain it later, and Lydon—

“So, how many times do I have to tell you? I got married to Cadel while you were lying there. I guess you’re all deaf, or do you want me to cut those useless ears off?”

He was busy defying the two men’s feelings with a voice that could not tell whether he was serious or joking.

“Are you deluded to death? Say something that makes sense. There’s no way a man like Commander would marry a fairy like you, and in the midst of all that nasty fighting? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Ahaha! Van, you don’t want to admit it? But we’ve decided to spend our honeymoon traveling the world. What do you want me to do?”

“Get lost.”

Tired of hearing the bluster, Van was tempted to beat Lydon into a pulp so he couldn’t speak, but Cadel’s presence prevented him from doing so. Van couldn’t wait to hear the truth. He was afraid to try and poke Cadel, as it would only add to his exhaustion from all the work he must have done on behalf of his unconscious subordinates.

That was why Van was in serious trouble. Lumen had already endured Lydon’s bullsh*t and irritation once before and was showing the kind of grace that only came with experience.

“Your seal doesn’t overwhelm Leader, does it? Did that woman ‘Stella’ heal him?”

“Hmph, you’re not worried about me? But it sucks if you’re worried about me though.”

“If you die right now, I’ll mourn you.”

“Ahaha! Funny, funny. Cadel’s fine, he consumed a lot of my love and he’s all better.”

It seemed that Cadel received the healing technique steadily. Lumen, who had grasped the gist of Lydon’s words, only then turned his attention.

The fatigue must have taken its toll, for Cadel was silent the entire trip. He did not stop Lydon from spreading empty rumors, and only silently moved. He wondered if it was the after-effects of the battle, but if Stella had healed him, Cadel was simply suffering from mental fatigue. In that case, it would be best to follow him and not talk nonsense.

That was what Lumen thought, but the reality was different.

‘’I finally broke Lydon’s seal, it’s all over.’

Since Van and Lumen had awakened, Cadel had consciously avoided talking to them. Lumen, to be exact.

Of course he would react this way. Lumen’s deadline had been ‘until Lydon’s seal is broken’, and now it was over. All that remained was for Lumen to leave the mercenary corps.

‘I don’t want to hear him leave even if I die. What should I do? Is there really no way?’

Lumen wouldn’t just walk away without saying goodbye. Perhaps if he avoided the conversation so that Lumen couldn’t say goodbye, he could slow his departure just a little. Cadel felt impatient, to the point of being unseemly.

At least if he knew why Lumen decided to leave, he could come up with a plan to change his mind.

‘Why can’t I have a day off?’

There was a lot of work to do, a lot of people to care about. It was a little overwhelming to realize that when he was done with one problem, there was another one right under his nose.

In the end, Cadel finished the grueling desert crossing without a single clue to hold onto Lumen.

* * *

Cadel’s party reached Dorne, a city near the border, three days later. Following the red thread without stopping, they found Mamil resting in a secluded inn.

“You’re alive and well, I thought you were dead because the thread was fluttering all day.”

“I know you were worried, but as you can see, I’m back in one piece.”

“Why should I worry about the guy who’s hell-bent on dying? ……By the way, who’s that kid next to you?”

Where Mamil’s gaze fell was Lydon in the form of a boy. Lydon had unlocked his sealed powers, but Cadel had decided to keep his identity as hidden as possible until the mercenary corps’ position was clear. Mamil had never seen Lydon before, so it never occurred to him that Lydon might be a fairy.

“A trophy from the desert. It’s my mercenary member.”

He pulled Lydon forward, and Lydon grinned and flapped his hands. Mamil’s face darkened at the sight.

“This is the end. You would use a child like this to further your own agenda? No matter how capable he is, this child needs to be protected. Blinded by greed like some trash magici―”

“It’s a fairy, Mr. Mamil.”

“……What?”

“It may be hard to show his face to the world now, but soon he will be able to fight with his true face.”

A fairy? Mamil’s eyes twitched briefly at the unexpected answer. Lydon didn’t really care what Mamil’s reaction was, so he quickly lost interest and looked up at Cadel.

“Cadel, I’m hungry. Can we go eat?”

“Hold on a second.”

How can that little boy be a fairy? There was nothing about the young boy’s appearance that suggested he was a fairy, though he did possess an overly nautical beauty and jewel-like eyes that were far from the norm. Mamil was tempted to dismiss it as bullsh*t, but there was nothing for Cadel to gain by deflecting the situation with a lie that would be so easily discovered.

And Cadel smirked as if he could see right through Mamil’s head.

“If you come when no one is around, I’ll show you the true face of Lydon. I also think children need to be protected, but he’s a fairy whom we don’t know how long he’s been around. I only roughly changed his appearance.”

There was a hint of joking resentment in Cadel’s tone, and Mamil couldn’t have been more suspicious when Cadel offered to prove it himself. No matter how he thought about it, Cadel wasn’t the kind of guy who would jokingly tell a lie like this.

In the end, Mamil’s mindset was ‘If he’s a descendant of Jenga Lytos, he can do anything’. If this boy was a real fairy, Mamil had a lot to find out. He had nothing to lose.

With that, the reunion with Mamil was over. Cadel decided to book a room at the same inn as Mamil. As he made his way down to the first floor, he saw Van and Lumen waiting for him. Cadel made his way to the counter, avoiding their gaze as casually as possible.

“I’ll get a room, so rest if you want.”

The tension was so intense that Cadel could feel his heart pounding in his ears as he walked by Lumen’s side. If Lumen told him he was leaving immediately, Cadel would not be able to stop him. He would not be able to cover his ears and avoid a heartbreaking parting.

With that thought, Cadel walked away impatiently.

“Leader.”

Lumen’s voice stopped him in his tracks. Cadel wanted to turn around and pretend he hadn’t heard him, but his legs had already stopped, and he had no excuse for ignoring him.

“……What.”

When Cadel looked back at Lumen inevitably, he saw a calm, unreadable face. He couldn’t read any emotion from his eyes.

“You don’t have to take my room.”

It had finally come. Cadel’s body stiffened at the sensation of separation. His mind raced, but he couldn’t think of anything. All he could see was the lips of Lumen slowly moving.

“I’ll leave as I told―”

“Take a break. If you don’t have a reason to leave right now, just take a break. You’re tired.”

The words slipped out without thinking. Cadel was surprised at how dry he sounded, even to himself. He was burning inside, and yet he was putting on a facade of modesty.

Cadel looked away quickly, lest Lumen catch his own trembling eyes, and heard Lumen’s dry voice behind him.

“……Sure.”

Cadel didn’t know if he should say it was a relief. He was not happy at all about the barely delayed separation.

T/N: Hi it’s Eliza! I’m sorry for the delayed update. Things are kinda hectic irl so I’ll try my best to keep the weekly update stable. Thank you for your understanding and enjoy this week’s updates! ^^