***

“Oh, I met you just in time, Axion.”

“What’s up, Jun?”

“I want to ask you about Jeanne’s growth.”

“The god of fostering talent, Jun Karentia, wants my advice?”

Axion made a fuss. While talking like that, eyes fell flat.

It was an attitude that was not like Axion, who was usually cold and did not treat people like humans.

“Of course, I’ve got the general framework, but… I’m not a battle wizard, so I don’t really know the details. Please help me.”

“You don’t really know?”

Axion glanced skillfully and cheekily over his glasses.

It was unbelievable that the Flame Mage, a magical lover, knew how to joke around. People passing by gulped at the sight of him.

But Jun was calm.

“If you keep joking around, the dungeon you thought you’d follow me in favor could also be canceled.”

“You’re so mean! You’re like a tyrant!”

Axion shouted in frustration. They seemed to be close to each other by all accounts.

After the two of them left the corridor squirming, all of the Black Knights there let out a breath at the same time, as if they had been set up.

“I knew those two were close, but they must be really close.”

“Didn’t she ask him to pretend to be in a relationship because they were close?”

Of course, everyone in the Black Knights knew that rumors that Jun and Axion were lovers in the capital was just camouflage.

“However, there is still a little bit of room, so I guess that’s why she was making such a request.”

“That’s right. And it’s not uncommon to get angry when you pretend to be dating.”

“Phew, I don’t know about the Vice Commander, but the Squad Leader Axion had to catch the Vice Commander…”

“That’s true. It’s not easy for the Flame Mage to come across a decent partner unless it’s the Vice Commander, right?”

Everyone shook their heads together. The new recruit, who was not aware of the attitudes of such seniors, asked curiously.

“Why do you think so? Commander Axion is clean and has good skills.”

The newcomer hadn’t had any contact with Axiom since he joined the group and didn’t know much about him, but all he had was the saga he had heard passed down.

The most powerful Flame Mage. However, the attitude of the members of the Black Knights towards him was forever far from respectful.

One of the already established members of the order shook his head and immediately gave him a polite explanation.

“He’s smart, but he’s not interested in anything other than magic, so if you’re not good at it, and he gets caught by someone who sees only his background and approaches him, they’re totally done.”

“Or he’ll invest all his money in magic research and become poor, and the other party will run away.”

“Besides, his personality is a bit eccentric? If you don’t talk magically, he won’t even deal with you. But, are there common magicians who can communicate with fire mages?”

“Still, it’s not like there’s nobody at all, right?”

“But wizards like that are stubborn about themselves again. It’s safe to say that they’re a second Axion.”

The newcomer sighed softly.

Even just a few days ago, the memory of hearing about Axion’s hair-grabbing fight with the other wizards in the banquet hall of the achievement debriefing due to a difference of opinion came out vaguely now.

“What about the Vice Commander?”

“The reason why the Vice Commander and Axion are getting along so well is because Axion has accepted the Vice Commander as a rank above him… There is no such wizard. Hmm. There isn’t.”

“The Vice Commander is a rare case for a wizard. All wizards are stubborn and shrewd, and there are no cases of them having a successful social life. Does the supportive wizard trait show up in such places?”

A member of the Black Knights, not a wizard, nodded his head. It was a reaction that was a world apart from when Jun first joined the Black Knights.

But when they saw the bottom line that Jun had shown them for a year, they had to admit that she was capable.

Another member shrugged, and quietly added, looking around.

“Maybe the vice commander is extra crazy friendly. She’s doing well with the Commander, too? Oh, and Priest August.”

“Actually, it’s not enough to have melted into the elite troops without too much trouble, and if it’s just one more drink, the Vice Commander isn’t normal either.”

The Vice-Commander hadn’t blurted out her entire life to be obsessed with magic like Axion or closing dungeons like the Black Knight.

But wasn’t she the workaholic that Axion and the Black Knight recognized and approved of?

All three bet their lives on dungeons in different directions, and there could be no normal person among them.

“Well… It would be worth seeing even if the “Tyrant” and the “Flame Mage” were really dating. I’m not sure how His Excellency will react.”

“Is she really not in any relationship with His Excellency?”

“I don’t know. His Excellency should have been an original disaster.”

While they were all gathered like that, talking about the gossip of the elite troops, a dark shadow approached them.

It was the black armor and solid atmosphere of the “Black Night unit.”

Perhaps they had heard the noise they were making, but the grim look in the eyes of the Black Night unit grew stronger.

Oh no.

The Black Knights, who belatedly realized that their mouths were too light, jumped up and down.

People disappeared like a low tide in the crowded corridor just before, and the Black Night unit remained alone.

A Black Night unit member quietly pondered what he heard alone. And belatedly realized how the situation was going and lamented.

“… Oh my. She wasn’t dating His Excellency?”

***

There was a lot to be dealt with before going into the dungeon. This was because once in, nothing could be done for several months.

It will be a year before the next results meeting.

If we leave once in the middle of the year, do a mid-term inspection, and then go back in, that will be the results meeting.

Therefore, it was necessary to set the growth direction of other expedition members in advance.

‘It’s better to be prepared, and if I don’t raise other expedition members appropriately other than the special unit, I won’t feel safe.’

Nevertheless, thanks to a recent major internal reorganization of the Black Knights, only a substantial number of members remain.

I visited Meyer with a bunch of member growth plans.

As soon as I was familiar with the path to Meyer’s office, someone called me.

“Vice Commander.”

I cocked my head at the old man’s unfamiliar voice.

There was a member of the Black Night Unit there.

He was the second in rank to the commander in the Black Night Unit.

Did something happen to the Black Night unit member?

We don’t really have a close relationship, and…. I’ve never even talked to him properly.

As I was trying to calm down the awkwardness and bitterness, the Black Night member approached me and said.

“I know you’re busy, but can I talk to you for a moment?”

“If you don’t mind in the hallway.”

I smiled softly and lifted the report in my hand. It meant that I didn’t have much time. It’s better if he reconsiders the conversation.

However, perhaps because of the suddenness of the situation, the Black Night member did not retreat, even though he understood exactly what I intended to do. He took a step closer to me with a serious face.

“It’s nothing else, but it’s about His Excellency.”

That was probably it. There would be no reason for a unit directly under the Black Knight to come to me except if it was related to Meyer.

Perhaps he had prejudice after hearing the strange rumor about me saying that I had seduced Meyer…

He may think that I am overstepping my authority with Meyer’s power behind me.

If you look at it, it’s not too wrong, but…

Scared, I waited for what would follow while preparing my mind.

“Can you tell me what aspects of the Vice Commander’s criteria His Excellency is lacking?”

“Pardon?”

I asked foolishly in response to a completely unexpected answer. I thought I heard it wrong, but the following words were the same as before.

“Please let me know and we, the Black Night Unit, will do our best to rectify the situation…”

And I think they are trying to get me in a good mood.

I was puzzled, but all I did was slowly close and open my eyes, which made the Black Night member grow impatient to see how I accepted it.

“Of course, there will be a lot of room for improvement with His Excellency. Perhaps because of his rough childhood, he may not know how to exchange affection… But can you please look at him in a good way?”

I’d rather he had a conversation with me to stop being a tiger to him.

What’s going on all of a sudden?

I didn’t expect this to come out of nowhere.

As well as the butler…Why is everyone so anxious that they can’t put Meyer on me?

The real party, Meyer, has no intention of doing that!

However, to be so angry, the foundation of their heads was in a Confucian country, so it was not easy to raise my voice to those with vain heads.

I replied quietly, smiling as I tried.

“The Vice Commander and I are not like that in the first place…”

“So, just the possibility that you can be in such a relationship…”

“The Commander doesn’t see me romantically. He said it himself.”

“That is probably what His Excellency said as nonsense. It can’t be!”

The Black Night member shook his head firmly. It was a gesture of desperate denial of the reality that had already occurred.

He would have laid down in a heartbeat if he had had room to cling to my legs and reconsider.

Of course, as for me, I wasn’t happy at all.

“Vice Commander, His Excellency may have many shortcomings, but there is more to him than that.”

“Oh, yes. I know. Whether it’s levels or mana, etc…”

“Even excluding those points. So if the Vice Commander can give a little grace and see his good points…”

No matter how much I say so…

It’s not a matter of whether I see his good points or not.

I looked secretly at the Black Night member.

I had no idea how to persuade him to leave, but now I had an excuse to escape. I asked him casually.

“But… Does the Commander know that you came to me and said such things?”

“No! He wouldn’t understand. If he did know, he would yell at me for wasting time. Yelling aside, if his pride is hurt…”

“Oh, my…”

I clicked my tongue low. Then I smiled awkwardly at the Meyer Knox that hung more heavily behind the Black Night unit member that blocked my front like a mountain.

“Hello, Commander…”