* * *

Kunra’s offer to separate the souls was Cadel’s only breathing space. It didn’t matter how long it took. If he could at least know his full feelings before the end of the story, it would help him choose between the two lives.

His troubles weren’t entirely resolved, but they were at least eased. Because of this, Cadel was able to stand in front of his subordinates with his sensitive attitude of the past few days slightly softened.

With the Dunkelhai Kingdom just around the corner, the members looked bewildered at their commander’s sudden announcement.

“Before we leave this mountain, I need to tell you something. Although I’ve been hiding it, I actually made a contract with Kunra. To be precise, I decided to get help.”

The Scarlet Dragon’s help. It was a shocking statement in its own right, but the subordinates who heard it were relieved before they were surprised.

They were each concerned about Cadel’s condition, which had noticeably changed since his conversation with the Scarlet Dragon. They wondered if he had made some sort of unilateral demand, and if so, they should go back to the Scarlet Dragon to confront him. Each of them had their own concerns, and Cadel’s words were not met with the usual exclamations.

The only person who reacted was not Cadel or the members, but Kunra, who appeared out of nowhere. Maintaining his humanoid form, he looked around at the members with a very displeased expression and stood crookedly with his arm draped over Cadel’s shoulder.

“Humans these days don’t even know the greatness of this one. Is this the only way to express the joy of the honor of being helped by this one? Such a disappointment.”

Lydon was the first to react to the arrival of the stranger with a snort and a click of his tongue. He instinctively flapped his wings and rolled his eyes.

“Get away from Cadel, lizard. Don’t you dare open your mouth and fly away.”

“Hmm, it would be better for my reputation if I were to be nice. If this one tells you to stay in the mountains, you will be separated from this human forever.”

Lydon muttered profanities in disgust as Kunra laughed mischievously. From the conversation between the two giants, the rest of the group was able to figure out that the man’s identity was the Scarlet Dragon Kunra.

To Van and Lumen, his presence was more like a kidnapper than the Scarlet Dragon, so they remained wary, but Garuel was relatively amicable.

“What exactly do you mean to offer help?”

“……Is this a collaboration between demons and humans? The blood is mixed creepily accurately, half and half. A masterpiece.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Well, even if I try to help, I don’t mean to leave the mountains. I’m just sharing some of my power with Cadel.”

Kunra flicked the air lightly, and a blinding red energy hovered over the knights’ bodies. It soon took the form of scales and began to cover their bodies, layer by layer. The result was delicate armors of translucent scales.

The members, and even Cadel, widened their eyes in amazement at the energy that had so quickly enveloped them. Despite the form of the armor, they weighed nothing on their bodies, and they could still see clearly. They didn’t need to be told that it was far more effective than a standard shield.

Kunra nodded in satisfaction as he watched the astonished faces of the humans.

“It’s roughly like this. You can go around bragging about being a human protected by the Scarlet Dragon, and I’ll give you that much credit.”

Cadel caught a glimpse of Kunra’s profile, which was showing off in a way that was inappropriate for his age, and looked again at the armor covering his body. At the same time, a system window appeared.

[The will of the hidden knight ‘Kunra’ flows through.]

[Passive skill ‘Kunra’s Protection’ has been acquired!]

[Passive skills do not affect the Knight Order Cost.]

[Current Knight Order Cost: 18/25]

A passive skill he hadn’t realized existed until now. Apparently, the system didn’t think that borrowing Kunra’s power was enough to recruit him.

‘Well, that’s great.’

Anyway, he had planned to recruit a knight other than Kunra from the beginning. His mind was a ragged mess from the unexpected events and unimagined truths, but a gain was a gain in the end.

With a shallow sigh, Cadel recalled the presence of the last knight to be recruited, Yozen Vardikta.

* * *

Despite its fearsome title of ‘Land of Assassins’, the Dunkelhai Kingdom was actually quite peaceful. People’s faces were cheerful, the sun was shining, and the only loud noises were merchants hawking their wares. If an assassin were to appear in a place like this, the dreariness would be immediately noticeable.

“Here you go! I put a few more on top because my hands get big when I see a handsome customer. Ha-ha-ha!”

“Ah…… Thank, thank you so much.”

“See you next time!”

Cadel bowed politely as he was handed a paper bag bursting with fruit. When he turned around, Garuel, who was with him, casually took the bag.

“Our Knight Commander is handsome. He’s pretty too.”

He spoke in a whisper and smiled slightly when he saw Cadel’s shocked expression. Garuel was wearing a black mask that he had purchased in the White Kingdom, and Cadel had also removed his earring and was wearing a dull robe rather than a striking uniform.

This was because he wanted to hide his identity as much as possible. They didn’t plan on staying here for a long time, but they didn’t just stay one night near the border like in the Principality of Snivec, they had to wander around the city.

If they met someone from the royal family in the meantime, trouble would happen. If word got out that the Scarlet Scales Knight Order was in Dunkelhai, all eyes would be on them. Not only did Cadel not want to go to see the King of Dunkelhai, but he would be less likely to see Yozen Vardikta if there was a commotion around him.

‘I don’t know what I’m going to hear if my position gets into the Emperor’s ear.’

Their true destination, the Inte Snowfields, was usually reached through the Principality of Snivec. So if the Emperor learned of the Knight Order’s current location, they would have to explain why they had traveled all the way to the Scarlet Dragon’s Nest and chosen Dunkelhai.

Cadel could have been honest and said that they were there to recruit, but the success of that recruitment was uncertain, and he couldn’t be bothered to come up with an explanation.

“Let’s hand out the fruit for everyone to eat, and then let’s go on a private date together.”

“Don’t be silly.”

“Well, I just wanted our spiritual intimacy to be as high as our physical intimacy.”

Cadel’s eyebrows cracked at Garuel’s fox-like expression as he slyly raised the corners of his mouth.

‘Does this guy really have no shame?’

Garuel always told embarrassing jokes, as if testing how far he could play with the other person with a single kiss. He even showed meticulous care to keep it out of earshot of the other members

Cadel didn’t want to regret kissing Garuel, but he had a feeling that he would regret it terribly.

Garuel looked at Cadel’s reddened ears and pressed the corners of his mouth together to stifle a laugh. From his point of view, he found it adorable that Cadel always responded so candidly to his teasing. Cadel kept making him act childish even though he didn’t want to be. It was quite unfair for Garuel as well.

“Well, if Knight Commander only wants physical intimacy with me, I can’t help it. I’m just a helpless subordinate, so I’ll be taken wherever you want.”

“……I will never develop physical intimacy with you again, so don’t worry about that.”

Cadel, who spoke sharply, quickly walked ahead of Garuel. Garuel eventually burst out laughing uncontrollably and hurried after him.

“I’m sorry, Knight Commander. I won’t make fun of you anymore, so let off your anger. Okay?”

“Don’t come any closer! Maintain physical distance!”

“You want to leave me with a scar that even demonic energy can’t heal? You are cruel despite your appearance.”

“How can you spout bullsh*t like breathing…….”

The two men exchanged a mixture of laughter and irritation as they made their way to the lodging they had arranged. As it turned out, the rest of the group was gathered in Cadel’s room.