“Is it because I’m my mother’s daughter?”

Seeing Ms. Martina’s shoulders flinch at those words, I shook my head vigorously.

Knowing enough of the backstory, I fully understood Ms. Martina’s feelings as she averted her gaze from Marine.

However, silence cannot last for long.

Unable to endure Marine’s steady gaze on her, Ms. Martina finally raised her head and shouted.

“Ah! Yes, that’s right! I heard from Natalia that she entrusted you to me! So don’t even think about going to such dangerous places! If you die, how am I supposed to face her later!”

Right… how could one stop Marine from wanting to go somewhere dangerous when a close friend left such a message?

As I nodded along, engrossed, Marine spoke to Ms. Martina.

“…My mom is someone who trained me every day off. Even though there was only one holiday a week, she would never miss it. But honestly, when I was young, I wanted to spend time doing other things with her instead of training. So one time, I asked if we could do something other than that. Do you know what my mom told me then?”

“…What did she say?”

“She said that ultimately, the only one who can protect me is myself. She was worried a lot, so she trained me so that her precious daughter can protect herself later. Maybe my mom knew from that time that one day she might leave me. I wonder how much she must have worried.”

While Marine was smiling as she spoke, her expression turned serious.

“But you know, my mom, who probably worried about me more than anyone, trained me directly to become a hero. Even though she must have known I would be undertaking dangerous tasks if I became a hero. Thinking like that, I realized something. My mom hoped I wouldn’t face danger, but she also didn’t want me to live only in the safety of a cage.”

“…”

“I have no intention of living in a cage, just as my mom wanted.”

Ms. Martina tightly closed her eyes.

Feeling Ms. Martina’s internal conflict as I listened to Marine’s story, I also thought, how on earth should one tackle this situation…

Could it be that she was already grappling with the same struggle as I?

“B-but…”

“You said this is something that must succeed to protect everyone. And I certainly fit into that ‘everyone.’ I want to join the hunting squad to protect myself. Could you allow this?”

“I, um…”

In a situation where she couldn’t decide either way, Ms. Martina seemed ready to choke back tears while muttering a curse.

I couldn’t help but tremble at Marine’s way of speaking that made it impossible for anyone to refuse.

Marine, this scary girl…!

If Marine were a life insurance agent, I might have found myself unwittingly signing the papers.

Still, even in this situation, Ms. Martina couldn’t bring herself to permit Marine to go; I saw the desperate plea in her eyes as she sought a way out.

And when she looked at where we were perched, it was evident that a thought rushed into her mind as she exclaimed, “That’s it!”

“I would love to send you all, but look…! The seats are already fully booked, so there’s no place for you! I had organized the hunting squad to match the number of people we can fit on the flying spell. Right, Miss?”

Seeing if that was the only excuse to refuse, Ms. Martina desperately turned to Sylvia.

Certainly, with no space available, it would indeed be impossible to take them with us.

Withdrawing a current member wouldn’t work either.

Just as those thoughts crossed my mind, Sylvia responded with a smile.

“Well then, that’s not a problem. I think we can fit three more.”

“W-what?! But just a little while ago, you said you couldn’t fit any more!”

“I’ve been growing stronger every day lately. It’s fortunate that I can take along some more who can be helpful.”

“T-then…”

Ms. Martina’s expression transformed into one resembling that of a tragic female protagonist betrayed by someone she trusted, but she quickly recovered and sought to convince us.

“B-but not everyone has agreed! Some might not like the sudden increase in the number of people…”

She probably hoped someone would oppose that idea.

Surely, there might be people who would be apprehensive about such sudden changes in personnel.

However,

“Oh, I don’t mind.”

“I actually welcome it. From what I know, those kids can definitely do more than one person’s worth.”

“Haha, I think they might fight better than you did last time.”

“Well, it’s alright. If anything, we can protect them.”

Contrary to Ms. Martina’s intentions, the atmosphere was supportive of the kids’ inclusion.

If they were mediocre, it wouldn’t matter; they were immensely promising.

Dwight was a wizard who was said to potentially become a great mage on par with the one who created the barrier, and Marine was the daughter born to the captain and his vice-captain.

Floene had also been noted to possess more potential than Captain Telos, so no one was assuming they would be inexperienced just because they were young.

In the past, that might have been the case, but everyone had become so accustomed to cases like Yoon Si-woo or Sylvia.

“If Floene insists on going…”

In the end, even Mr. Diakonos seemed swayed as everyone grew supportive, and Ms. Martina’s complexion turned pale.

While contemplating how unfortunate this was for her, I suddenly felt all eyes on me.

“…?”

When I regained my senses, everyone was looking at me.

Why was Ms. Martina staring at me as if she were boring a hole through me?

Caught off guard, Sylvia asked me.

“What does Lady Scarlet think? You don’t mind, right? About the extra people?”

And only then did I realize that I hadn’t voiced my opinion yet.

Honestly, I thought they wouldn’t ask since I was riding with Ari.

However, regarding my opinion…

While I was pondering, I caught Ms. Martina’s desperate gaze, as if she viewed me as her last lifeline, and I nodded slowly in her direction.

Right then, Ms. Martina’s face lit up.

“Just trust me, Ms. Martina!”

Honestly, I was against it!

Why do I oppose it? There was no particular reason.

I just didn’t want my friends to deliberately put themselves in danger.

To begin with, I never wanted this operation to be this large-scale, to begin with.

Nevertheless, this was still a complicated situation.

Saying no when everyone else was saying yes was quite a challenging task.

It was like going to a drinking party and being the only one to say that I wouldn’t drink; you could feel everyone’s eyes on you.

People do not usually like those with differing opinions.

Unless there’s a special reason, like accidentally filming a video that would haunt you for a lifetime while drunk…

The conclusion is that providing a different opinion without any reason is not easy; thus, one must consider a justification.

But the question was, what excuse could I possibly give?

Honestly, I wished there were no reasons to venture out into such dangerous areas, but arguing against Dwight and Marine’s words was impossible because I had already been swayed by their logic.

I couldn’t think of anything that could counter the two of their arguments, so what was I to do?

As I racked my brain for a moment, I couldn’t find a suitable reason.

So, at this point, I decided to just make up any reason.

Even the most trivial one would do, to create an excuse to say no.

I thought this was petty of me, but my desire to keep the kids out of danger was overwhelming.

With that in mind, I eagerly observed the kids.

Something I could latch onto as an excuse… Ah, that’s it!

For example, the fact that Dwight brought two backpacks by himself.

You might wonder what was wrong with that, but usually, when flying on a plane, if the total weight of the luggage exceeds a certain limit, there are extra charges.

While all the other hunters boarded with about one backpack each, Dwight had two; to me, it looked as if he was heading off on a grand trip.

Not paying attention to such a detail, he didn’t seem up to the mindset of a hunting squad soldier; how ridiculous!

That feeling was the angle I was planning to take.

It wasn’t because I was bothered about him bringing so many backpacks on a flying vessel.

I, who was terrified of any extra fees, would have my luggage packed as light as possible, while a junior I was traveling with casually brought two large suitcases along and said nonchalantly, “Huh? If I have to pay extra for exceeding weight, well, I’ll just pay it.”

So, I definitely did not envy that at all!

Having found an excuse, however, there was another problem.

It seemed that it would take more than the usual words to shake their resolve in this case.

So, for the sake of my friends’ well-being, I decided that, this moment, I would act more ruthlessly than anyone.

I envisioned myself.

Like that terrifying remark-slinging British chef I had seen in a video once, I thought of lines that would crush Dwight’s enthusiasm!

As I thought that, a small British voice inside me shouted.

“Hey, Dwight!! Bringing two backpacks by yourself? What unnecessary things have you packed?! You don’t think we’re going on a vacation, do you? Your mindset is entirely wrong! We won’t be accepting travelers into our hunting squad! You all, including you who came with Dwight, are out! You stupid sandwich idiot!”

It was a terrifying statement that could make one tear up just by hearing it.

It was so harsh that I questioned whether I truly had a knack for such biting remarks.

Thinking of saying such harsh words to a friend pained my heart, but since I considered this for the sake of my friends, I steeled myself and decided at this moment to become British.

Just as I was about to spit out that line, Dwight approached Floene, who was standing dumbfounded.

“Hey, Floene. Take this.”

He handed her one of the two backpacks that he had been carrying.

…He just gave it to her. Why?

Seeing her expression, which I must have mirrored while dumbfounded, Floene asked the question.

“Uh…what is this…?”

“Your share of the supplies. I thought you’d come here without packing anything other than asking to be included in the hunting squad, so I brought some things along. It’s impressive how spot on my guess was… Were you planning to go empty-handed?”

“Ah…”

In an almost scolding tone, Dwight murmured, but Floene seemed very touched by the gesture.

Oh, I see. Dwight wasn’t a bourgeois carrying two backpacks; rather, he was a good guy who brought things for a friend who forgot their luggage.

What a heartwarming tale!

But then, what would become of my perfect plan to create an excuse…?

My mind went completely blank.

Just then, I heard Sylvia’s voice, pressing for me.

“Um, Lady Scarlet? Since you haven’t said anything, I take it you’re in favor? You’re not against it, right?”

“Ah… Yes… I think it’s okay…”

Before I knew it, I found myself nodding along as I said that.

At the same time, I could hear Ms. Martina’s silent scream of “I trusted you… I trusted you!!!!”

I’m sorry, Ms. Martina… I didn’t meet your expectations.

Anyway, now that I had also supported the idea, and everyone else had agreed to let the kids join the hunting squad, it seemed like Ms. Martina, feeling there was no further solution, let out a resigned sigh and looked at Marine, saying:

“Phew, I’ll let you go, but you absolutely must come back safe, okay?”

“Yes, I promise. I’ll come back safely with everyone.”

Having replied that, Marine gave Ms. Martina a tight hug before climbing onto the sparkling array created by Sylvia with the other kids.

And the moment the kids got on, Sylvia spoke to them.

“Well, thankfully, that turned out well!”

“Yeah, thanks to you, it worked out nicely.”

At Sylvia’s meaningful words, Dwight nodded and bowed his head in gratitude.

What is going on? What signal is that giving?

As I watched that exchange with a blank expression, Sylvia stole a glance at me and smiled slyly.

“Oh right, I forgot to mention this to Lady Scarlet. Actually, I received a request from Dwight yesterday. He asked if I could help out a little if such an incident occurred tomorrow. Since he had helped Lady Scarlet escape, he thought he should repay that favor this time.”

So there was already an insider from the start!

Hearing Sylvia’s words, I could only deeply lament.

Ms. Martina, this fight… was one we were never going to win from the beginning.

I took a moment to soothe the pain of defeat, then turned to the kids, who were celebrating their victory, and asked what I had been curious about earlier.

“By the way, Floene and the two of you don’t seem to have discussed this… what happened?”

Upon hearing my question, Marine smiled widely and responded as if pleased that I asked.

“Oh, that’s the thing! Actually, Floene has been really down lately, but the other day when she heard about the hunting squad, she insisted that she had to join. But then Dwight—”

“…Stop.”

At that moment, Dwight interrupted Marine mid-sentence.

But Marine, seeing Dwight’s reaction, just laughed more and continued.

“So Dwight was all frantic, saying that Floene wouldn’t be able to join the hunting squad by herself, and that we had to help her! Ah, I never would have imagined that usually lethargic Dwight would be so passionate for Floene’s sake!”

“Dwight…”

Floene looked at Dwight with tears of joy in her eyes, as if she were deeply moved by Marine’s words.

Dwight accepted Floene’s gaze as if it were nothing but also turned his eyes away slightly as he mumbled.

“…I just couldn’t focus on my magic while this girl was feeling down.”

“Oh, Dwight, I love you!!!”

“…Shut up. Don’t cling to me.”

Despite saying that as though it were nothing, I could see Dwight’s ears turning slightly red.

Seeing Dwight blush was quite rare.

As everyone looked at them with smiling faces, only Mr. Diakonos wore a perplexed expression.

In such a noisy environment, a lone bird and a glittering starlight began to drift away from the ground.

It was summer, no, a forwarding departure.