“Interesting technique, Sir Yozen. It was very interesting, except that at first I thought you were the real Sir Yozen and tried so hard to talk to your alter ego that I didn’t even realize you were an alter ego since you usually ignore me so actively.”

“Hmph, I was about to run off in a huff, but I thought of Cadel, so I held it together. I’m sure there’s no other fairy as considerate as me.”

Yozen’s appearance drew a rush of members, eager to probe their comrade’s new skill. Of course, there was no response from Yozen, who merely stood there in silence until Cadel waved them all away.

“The Shadow Knight Order has left, and we’ve decided to explore a bit more, so you don’t have to hide uncomfortably.”

“I wasn’t hiding. I was just checking out a place that’s bothering me.”

“Bothering you?”

Cadel asked questioningly, and Yozen tugged on his wrist. Then, before Cadel and his comrades could react, he started moving quickly toward somewhere.

“Where are you taking Commander, assassin?! Don’t you dare touch him!”

Van stiffened, either annoyed by the grip on his wrist or by Cadel’s strangely docile demeanor. Yozen, however, was unperturbed by this and replied nonchalantly.

“I don’t plan on asking permission for each and every touch.”

“What, your head is so full of dark energy that you can’t think straight?”

“You touch Cadel all the time, pretending to feed him, stroking his hands and shoulders and whatever. Are you saying I can’t?”

“What, what did you just say?”

When Van couldn’t think of a straight retort, his embarrassment evident, the target quickly changed.

“Is that why you insisted on taking care of Leader’s meals every time? Your ignorance and lustful behavior are disgusting.”

“Unscrupulous, Van! Stay away from my darling in the future!”

“Shut up! When did I ever do anything so devious……!”

For Yozen, who had been spying on Cadel’s every move, there was as much information about Cadel as there was about the members of his group, and some of that information was embarrassing to reveal in public, so attacking Yozen unnecessarily would be met with a fiery retaliation.

Van quickly blushed and backpedaled, drowning out the jeers of his comrades, and Cadel, who had been listening to everyone with one ear for the sake of his sanity, spoke up. He was the only one who noticed something was amiss.

“Doesn’t it seem like things are getting brighter around here?”

The number of fireballs hadn’t changed, nor had the firepower, yet as he followed Yozen deeper into the mine, his vision grew brighter and brighter. Was it just that he was getting used to the darkness, he wondered, but there was no answer from the group, who were busy sniping at each other.

Instead, Yozen, who had tossed them a prey and gained his peace, spoke up.

“There’s a rocky opening around here, maybe that’s where the light is coming from.”

“A rocky opening?”

“It runs alongside the end of the mine shaft. It’s dark and cornered, so if you don’t look carefully, you won’t be able to tell it from the other walls, but I can feel without seeing.”

It didn’t take them long to reach a dead end in the mine. Yozen scanned the blocked rock wall for the spot he’d seen earlier, while Cadel looked around the much-brightened interior. All around them was a faint greenish glow, as if the light was penetrating through a thin sheet of paper.

“This is it.”

Cadel turned his head to follow Yozen’s voice, but the rock opening he spoke of was nowhere to be seen, just a plain rock wall that connected to the ceiling. Nothing protruded from it, nothing felt different. But there was no way Yozen, of all people, could be confused about the nature of the object.

Cadel made a marking fireball over the spot Yozen pointed to.

“We’d better try to break it, and I’ll reinforce the barrier in case the ceiling collapses.”

“It won’t break easily, I tried once, but it wouldn’t budge with any amount of force.”

“Then let’s push it down together.”

The Knight Order attacked furiously. Yozen’s words about the rock not being easily broken proved to be true, and the members’ faces turned serious as they pounded the rock with moderate force at first. As they gently scratched each other’s patience, they gradually increased the intensity of their attacks.

“Watch out, everyone!”

The ceiling shook violently as the rocks crumbled. Cadel, frowning at the dust obscuring his vision, stepped back, reinforcing the barrier.

“Commander, are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Is everyone okay?”

Once the rock had settled, the mine shaft stopped vibrating. The barrier had been reinforced beforehand, and thankfully, no one had been injured. Cadel cleared his throat and peered over the fallen rock in the slowly settling dust, and then.

“This is…….”

“……Beautiful.”

A myriad of emeralds. Beautiful green gemstones stretched down from the ceiling like icicles, glowing softly. They were too luminous to be ordinary emeralds, glowing smoothly and transparently as if they had already been cut.

“An overturned forest…….”

Lumen muttered softly as he looked up at the emeralds. True to his word, the ceiling-filling emeralds were like a vast expanse of green vegetation.

[An overturned forest, endless passages, the sound of hope echoing with every step. Reach out like a blind man and you will find peace, the will of a hero’s legacy, never stop.]

The words began to fit together in his mind. Cadel pushed through the opening in the wall. It was bright enough to see ahead without the need for a flame.

‘I suspected it when I saw Port in the mine, but this is really where the Stone of Peace is.’

The keywords were all there. The text was full of vague descriptions, but everything it described was here.

‘But I don’t see anything that stands out, except for the emeralds…….’

His subordinates looked around the interior as well, but found no sign of the supposed ‘Stone of Peace’, though he wondered if it was hanging from the ceiling, and hoped not, given the vastly higher ceiling.

“Cadel, come here.”

Calling to Cadel, Yozen tugged him gently to his feet. Cadel hesitantly lifted his head at the close proximity and caught a glimpse of Yozen’s lips, red and swollen from the kiss earlier. Cadel stared at his lips, then blinked frantically to clear his mind.

“……Did you find anything?”

“I’m sensing a faint emanation of mana from that emerald.”

“Mana? ……Sure. It doesn’t look like an ordinary ore to me.”

“And what’s even weirder is that the emerald’s mana is radiating out in bits and pieces, each at a different angle, like it’s pointing at something, and eventually converging on a single point.”

Yozen pushed lightly on Cadel’s back, setting him on a spot.

“This is it.”

And Cadel stood on the spot.

Chwiing―

A strong resonance began to emanate from the emerald. The faint glow amplified to a blinding intensity that seemed to explode at any moment, and the sensation of the overflowing mana enveloping the space was palpable.

“Wow, that’s strangely familiar mana. It must be a stone sealed by the fairy. ……I feel bad.”

The members of the group stirred at the sudden change, but not Lydon, who merely stretched his lips in disbelief as he felt the flow of mana spreading through him. Instinctively, he knew it would not harm anyone here.

And that included Cadel.

‘This is…….’

Cadel could feel the mana from the emerald pouring down on him, like warm sunshine, enveloping him in its embrace. Choosing to remain within the cascade of mana, he carefully reached out. And it began to gather in his outstretched palm.

A strange greenish color, reminiscent of Kunra’s eyes, it condensed into a circle, swirling gently. Cadel watched the mana take shape in his hand as if mesmerized by something. He couldn’t look away, as if drawn by an irresistible force.

The emerald’s blinding light was pointed solely at Cadel. His figure, bathed in light, looked sublime, like a hero receiving divine revelation. Even the members of the Order, wary of the new threat, gazed in wonder.

And then all of the emerald’s power seeped into Cadel. From the darkened space, Cadel’s whispery voice drifted in.

“Found it. The Stone of Peace.”

「Sealing Stones Possessed: 1/7」

A beaming face looked back at his subordinates. He held out the deep green stone in his hand as if to show it off, and exclaimed happily.

“We found it!”

It was agreed that until all the Stones of Peace were collected, each kingdom would be responsible for the ones that they found, so the one found by the Scarlet Scales Knight Order went straight through Dasto to the Dunkelhai Kingdom.

Having successfully completed their mission, the Scarlet Scales Knight Order took a short break before returning to the Empire. The intention was to recharge their batteries, but unfortunately, Cadel was unable to fully enjoy the time.

There were many reasons for this, not the least of which was a storm of correspondence that hit Cadel as soon as he took up residence at the inn. A feast of missives asking for his findings, the magicians’ opinions on them, and suggestions for improvements kept Cadel at his desk most of the time.

And then there was another problem: the meddling of a subordinate who seemed to have had a complete change of heart.

“……Stop harassing me, Yozen.”

“I’m not harassing you.”

Yozen perched on the edge of Cadel’s desk while he worked, constantly touching his face. He rubbed Cadel’s slightly furrowed brow in concentration, stroked his cheeks, which twitched whenever he pondered something, and traced his tightly pressed lips. Even when Cadel turned his head away from the annoying touch, it was insistent, and there was no escape. 

Just when Yozen’s long fingers were about to secretly part his lips, Cadel, unable to bear it any longer, grabbed his hand and pulled him down.

“I’m busy, leave me alone. We’ll hang out when I’m done.”

There was a mountain of work to be done. Mamil had been making good progress on the analysis lately, but if Cadel continued to help out when he could, they would be able to finish the formula sooner rather than later.

But Cadel’s reasoned conclusion didn’t seem to impress Yozen.

“I want to kiss you.”

Cadel’s mouth dropped open at the directness of the demand, and without missing a beat, Yozen slid his thumb into the open mouth. The firm fingertip pressed lightly against the soft, hot tongue, which flinched reflexively against Yozen’s skin. A satisfied grin spread across Yozen’s face.

“You don’t like it in the mine because of the crowds. You don’t like it when we come back because you’re busy. So I give you all the time in the world. How long do I have to wait?”

The quiet, languid voice tickled Cadel’s ears like a feather. Cadel hesitantly pulled his head back, a thin line of saliva dangling from the fingertips that had so willingly withdrawn.

Yozen casually brought his wet finger to his lips and rubbed them together, the embarrassment and shock of the act making Cadel gasp in horror.

“That, that’s dirty! What are you doing!”

“Still busy?”

Cadel wondered how Yozen could grin like a fox even though he was blindfolded. Where was the shy Yozen he’d known so far? The Yozen who had come to terms with his feelings was as aggressive as Lydon, as blatant with his desire as Garuel.

He didn’t dislike Yozen’s newfound frankness, but it was hard to get used to. Cadel, his face flushed red and making pained noises, rubbed his face.

“……Then just a little bit.”

“A little bit? Tell me exactly how long.”

“3 minutes.”

“3 minutes? Are you serious, Cadel?”

Sadly, even 3 minutes would be a waste of time in the current situation. He couldn’t help himself if he didn’t like the compromise he’d made. At that moment, Cadel shook his head in frustration.

“I told you, I’m really busy―”

Yozen, who had pulled the chair Cadel was sitting in in front of him, pecked Cadel on the lips. The chair tilted slightly as he lunged forward. Cadel felt the heat in his mouth, but also felt uneasy at the tilt, as if he might fall at any moment.

Cadel was startled by the tumbling chair and reflexively bit Yozen’s tongue.

“Don’t be surprised by everything. It’s a waste of time.”

Just before Cadel could fall, Yozen grabbed him by the waist and forced him to his feet, then continued the blood-tinged kiss. Casually, he picked Cadel up and sat him down on the desk, tilting Cadel’s head to meet his, hands on the sides of Cadel’s thighs.

The subtle flavor, far from sweet, licked every inch of Cadel’s mucous membrane. Yozen dug in boldly as if he were going to do everything he could in the short time he had, and Cadel was too busy being swayed by the drastic change in the man he’d once known.

Cadel shuddered, responding to the firm shoulders, to the touch that crept up his thigh, inch by inch. A heated electricity filled the room.

Yozen groped here and there to check on Cadel’s condition, and his touch was arousing to the point of being frightening to Cadel. Yozen was a man with a supreme gift for sensation, and he was equally gifted at manipulating his opponent’s senses. The kiss wasn’t forced at all, but he couldn’t help but feel in control.

“……Over.”

Concentrating for what seemed like forever, he made good on his promise exactly 3 minutes later. Having greedily possessed Cadel for such a short period of time, Yozen pulled away from his pressing body with a grunt of satisfaction.

Cadel sat dumbfounded, his face still lingering from the kiss, his head lowered with a wry smile.

‘I don’t know if I’m dealing with a man or a fox.’

Somehow, there were nothing but subordinates everywhere who were busy making mischief for the commander. It seemed to be a problem for him, too, as he was diligently being manipulated by those fox-like subordinates.

“I’m going to work now, so go outside and play with the other guys.”

“Call me whenever you have time.”

“I won’t!”

It was clear that Yozen wanted to have a good time whenever he got the chance. Cadel huffed and puffed, frustrated at the utter lack of cuteness.

Yozen, of course, was unperturbed; he’d decided to take Cadel head-on, which meant admitting to all the desires he’d harbored for Cadel that he’d had to deny until now.

It didn’t matter how Cadel reacted, he’d made a promise, he’d accept Yozen’s human side, so he could go out a little more brazenly.

With that, Yozen, feeling much better, strode out of the room. Left behind, Cadel touched his forehead as he thought about the many demands he would have to endure in the coming days.